2008 Stonehead Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Well, it's Friday so I have no excuse for not opening up a bottle of wine with my dinner!  And tonight I've decided to open up a bottle I picked up last Friday at John Russo's in Grand Rapids, not to be confused with G.B. Russo's which is also a great wine seller here in Grand Rapids.  I'd never been there before, but as I was waiting for my fuel injectors to be cleaned I figured I'd have the shuttle from the dealer drop me off to do a little wine shopping, and the shuttle driver suggested I try John Russo instead.  So why not?  I ended up buying about 8 bottles of wine, including the one I opened tonight, the 2008 Stonehead Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile.

The color is a deep purple in the glass, just as you might expect from a Cabernet, and the nose has some strong notes of prune, blackberry and just the faintest bit of leather and mint.  There's also a bit of earthiness, and some aromas that remind me of charred meat.  The taste is fairly subdued, with some nice dark fruit up front that transitions to some stronger mint notes midpalate, but the finish was pretty disappointing as the taste just seemed to end abruptly.

Despite the lackluster finish, the wine was ok and I'd rate it a 7 simply because it was an outstanding bargain at only $4.99!  I've had a lot worse for under $5, so how can I complain?  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with some Thai green curry with chicken and veggies over rice, as the spice of the food makes up for the short finish on the wine.