Periodically, I like to dip into the nether world of low-end-of-premium supermarket wine; it is after all where most people go when they want a slightly more impressive bottle at a reasonable price. Sometimes you can get lucky finding value in the $16-$22 range but I find this is often the price range where wineries like to push their luck hoping good marketing from a highly regarded region will net them a few dollars above the intrinsic value of the wine. That is the case here with this Constellation brand. Billed as bold and complex, it is in fact neither. This is generic juice, tolerable but for the $20 I spent I want more.
The nose of black cherry, hints of dark plum, dust and mocha hide a faint chemical note. The concentrated palate shows cloying chocolate at first with a soft, smooth foundation then giving way to a midpalate seam of flat, dried out fruit that lacks vitality. The powdery tannins disintegrate into a kind of fog so the short finish leaves almost no impression.
A timid irresolute wine, browbeaten and unnerved commiserating about lost love with The Cure’s Pictures of You
#42 by the way refers to Washington as the 42nd state in the union.
Score: 85
Price: $17-$20
Alc: 13.5%
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 