L.A. Cetto Petite Sirah 2004

I should first note that I drank this while watching The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, which is such a great movie that it maybe swayed my mood upward! If there ever was a perfectly paced and structured western, it certainly ranks among the best.

The Ugly: The only thing ugly here were my expectations, since this wine hails from Mexico. I admit I had preconceptions about its quality (although I still got it on a recommendation). This was pretty unfair given what I ended up drinking.

The Bad: the structure is a bit simple and the wine has a tinge of that 'burn on the way down' feeling that is oh so wonderful. However, no more than most wines at this price point.

The Good: Let's just say this wine made me realize that I should spend a bit more time seeking out good budget wines, because they can often give you the value of something twice as expensive. The nose revealed mostly blackberry aromas, and a bit of alcohol (even though this was only 13.5%). The palate was quite interesting with cherry, blackberry, a bit of blueberry, black and red licorice and a hint of tar. I wasn't too into the slight taste of boysenberry on the finish, but that's cause I really don't like boysenberry. Overall it was a medium bodied wine with a lot of flavour. It comes from the valle de Guadelupe in Baja, and while I'm not too sure how many Mexican wines are worth drinking, generally this is an impressive effort and well worth the price.


Very Good
$17 at Liberty