2018 ZM Cuvèe - Part 2 Under $30

Varietal : Red Wine Blend (67% Zinfandel & 33% Mourvèdre)

Year: 2018

Area: Paso Robles

ALC %: 16%

Price: $28

Website: www.calizawinery.com/end-of-the-day

How Did This Bottle Show Up: Picked it up on a visit to Tin City in the Paso Robles area.

Color: A nice red, right in the middle.

Thoughts:

Before we get to deep into the tasting notes, here a quick note about how I found this winery. Located out in Tin City, a neat adult playground in the Paso Robles area. A fairly new label, it's a second label to Caliza Winery, but as I describe it, it's a chance for the winemaker to let their hair down a little and have a little more fun and be more experimental. The goal of the winemaker is to make a wine that's an affordable ($30 and under) drinker that can be drunk in the middle of the week and not make you feel bad about the price. Also, a portion of the proceeds that go to a local charity there in Paso.

So lets see how this wine goes.

When you first smell this wine it displays mostly earthly aromas, there's no fruity punch and only a slight hint of alcohol. It's displays a medium body profile. There isn't a lot of tannins on the first sip, but it does a pretty good job of drying your mouth out, after all, it is 16% alcohol. It coats the glass well and creates some thin, slow moving legs.

The first sip doesn't hit to hard and the middle is pretty smooth. The finish does have a pretty decent bite to it, but nothing that really lingers. There is a bit of an aftertaste but I couldn't really put my finger on how to describe it. It's almost like there is a little sugar that remains after you drink it. It's nothing crazy and wouldn't stop me from drinking this bottle.

Overall I'm pretty happy with this bottle. For me it's a mid-week drinker all the way, or a second or third bottle on a party weekend. But then again that's the target audience for this wine label, just remember that it is a little higher on the alcohol scale so plan accordingly when drinking it. If you end up in Paso and have a chance to swing by their tasting room in Tin City, I highly recommend it. They have one of the better prices for tasting and if you purchase 2 bottles they wave the fee.

Updated 1:

The bottle is a twist top, but don't worry, it's still good. Only issue that I run into is that my sealer doesn't fit this type of bottle well (I guess it's time to get a new one). Other than that, the wine held itself pretty well. A little more mellow today and a little more bite to it. But it's still a good drinker.

Update 2: I've had this bottle open now for 3 days and it still has a pretty enjoyable taste to it. In all fairness, I was able to get my vacuum sealer to keep a seal and also put some saran wrap around the top to help it out a bit. The wine still displays great legs and coats the glass very well. The taste hasn't changed much though the aftertaste does seem a little stronger on day 3. Overall a well put together wine.

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