Fess Paker Frontier Red Lot No. 101 (85 Points)

DATE CONSUMED

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

VINTAGE

N.V.

WINERY/PRODUCER

Fess Parker

WINE NAME

Frontier Red Lot No. 101

TYPE OF WINE

Red

COMPOSITION

A blend of Syrah, Grenache, Petite Sirah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, and Carignane (varietal percentages are never revealed on the back of the label; for current release percentages, consult with Fess Parker’s website).

SUBNAME/NICKNAME

N/A

VINEYARD DESIGNATION

N/A

REGION/A.V.A.

California

ALCOHOL CONTENT

15.5%

PRICE PAID

$9.99

WHERE/WHEN BOUGHT AND/OR HOW PROCURED

Got this bottle at BevMo; anytime I buy anything at BevMo (especially during their 5Cent Sale) I always pick-up a bottle of Frontier Red.

BOUQUET

This wine exhibits plenty of red and black fruit (strawberries, blackberries, plums, and cherries), lots of spices (savory herbs and black pepper), earth, oak, and hints that this will be a rich, creamy wine.

TASTING NOTES

Sho-Nuff, there’s a spice cabinet’s worth of spices going on here (especially savory herbs like rosemary and sage, along with black pepper), along with a Freightliner’s worth of red and black fruit (raspberries, black cherries, plums, and blackberries).  The wine pours very dark and has a well-balanced finish.  The tannins are not overwhelming and the finish is relatively smooth.  This is a typical Frontier Red, which are all rich, creamy, slightly oaky, earthy, and tannic blends.  The flavor profile, which should be obvious by the inclusion of all those fabulous Rhone varietals, is nicely complex and deep, especially for an affordable, quality red blend.

For the price, this wine is tough to beat.  Lot No. 101 isn’t my favorite version of the Frontier Red (I gave Lot No. 91 a score of 90 points; obviously, I LOVED that version).  But for an affordable, rich, chewy, creamy, oaky, earthy red, one would be hard-pressed to find a more consistently delicious red blend out of California.  I’ve had $100 blends that weren’t as good as this $10 bottle!  We’re sitting on a bottle of Lot No. 102 and Lot No. 111.  Think I’ll let those bottles age for a year or two and see how that works.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS

We served this wine with racks of lamb spiced with Kosher salt, freshly-cracked black pepper, and chopped rosemary.  The wine paired very well with the lamb and would pretty much go well with just about any red meat dish, especially curried lamb shanks, Beef Bourguignon, or any rich stew.

AGING POTENTIAL

Being non-vintage, this wine is meant to be drunk fairly young and/or upon release.  But this wine has the structure (and the varietals used in the blend have the aging characteristics) to age and mature for several more years.  Despite being non-vintage and affordable, I wouldn’t be surprised if this wine aged beautifully for 10 to 20 years.

SCORE

85

Q.P.R. (QUALITY-TO-PRICE RATIO) (POOR, FAIR, GOOD, EXCELLENT)

GOOD to EXCELLENT

WINERY WEBSITE

http://www.fessparkerwines.com/