Grant Burge The Holy Trinity 2002, $29.99

OK. I need to start this blog with a warning, because life is often not fair. Well, that's not true exactly. There are multiple reasons I frequent Stew Leonard's Wine Shop, and one of them is because I like the staff, they like me, and they get my taste in wine. And sometimes they even cut me fantastic deals. This wine was originally $39.99 on the shelves, but this was the LAST bottle in the shipment, so Bruce gave me ten bucks off to clear the shelves. See? Fair & not fair.

I've seen this bottle on the shelves before, but in all honesty, it never did anything for me. For Grant Burge, the "Holy Trinity" is grenache (39%), shiraz (36%) and mourvedre (25%), all dolled up with a 14.5% alcohol punch. First of all, grenache is more Julie's grape than mine, and second of all, what the heck is mourvedre? I really have so much more to learn about the wine world. Plus, my own personal "Holy Trinity" is more along the lines of cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot & McLaren-Vale shiraz, though not necessarily all rolled up into one wine. But who am I to argue? The price is right & the alcohol content ain't wimpy.

I love this wine on the nose. I'm getting some really deep, grapey grape aromas with hints of cherry & strawberry jam. Strawberry jam? Now this is interesting. The legs on this glass are really interesting: this wine is so heavy-bodied that the sheet of wine literally hangs on the side of the glass for 10 - 15 seconds before these stubby legs show up.

At the first sip, all I can taste is the unmistakable grenache, and all I can think is that Julie would love this wine. This wine is weird because I literally taste nothing on the palate & mid-palate, but the aftertaste is just explosive and long. It's really tart & gamey in the beginning, but it seamlessly rolls into this smooth, almost sweet finish with a hint of custard in it, almost like a blueberry creme brulee without the burnt sugar topping. Well, I've never had blueberry creme brulee before, but this is how I imagine it would taste.

I'm not sure if I'm loving this wine or not, but it is complex, and I always appreciate a wine that makes me think. I know Stew's doesn't carry it anymore, but if any of my readers are interested, it's imported by Wilson - Daniels Ltd, and you can phone them at #707-963-9661 or fax them at #707-963-8566.

Cheers!

Kate