The 2010 REDS “a wine for the people” Lodi Red is a blend of 60% Zinfandel, 30% Carignan (one of the main Red grapes of the Languedoc) and 10% Petite Sirah sourced from old, family owned, Heritage vineyards in the Lodi AVA, east of San Francisco Bay in California’s Central Valley. The REDS project is put together by Patrick Campbell and his winemaker Ray Kaufman. Patrick Campbell had owned and operated Laurel Glen vineyards and winery (Sonoma) for 35 years and just recently sold his holdings. He now is producing wines from old, out of the way, family owned vineyards in Lodi, California and Mendoza, Argentina. A Heritage vineyard is an old vineyard (some of the vines used to make the REDS were 123 years old) that is still growing the vines from when they were originally started, using basically the same growing techniques. These vineyards are becoming harder to find, the trend is pull out the less popular grapevine varieties and plant the hot selling grapevines. The 2010 vintage in Lodi was a very good year, with a long, cool growing season that allowed the grapes to fully develop and ripen. The alcohol level is 14.5%.
The color is a barely see-thru blueish purple. The nose is a combination of dark berries and light herbal scents, along with a strawberry fruit rollups. This is a California Red blend in the $10 range that has delicate intricate flavors and finesse to go along with all the juicy delicious fruit. It tastes of rich blueberry, cassis, licorice, raisin spice, tart cherry and herbal tea. The mid palate shows a transition to blackberry and curry spice. The tannins are sweet, the wine has structure and length, but no tannin bite. The acidity is balanced, it stays out of the way and the finish starts off bold and slowly fades away.
The 2010 REDS Lodi Red is the kind of ten buck Red blend that irritates wine snobs, they want to hate it, but they just can’t. This is a well crafted wine, made from unique and interesting grapevines, by talented, experienced producers that just happens to be reasonably priced. I guess the Soviet workers themed label is a tip off, in a perfect society all wine would be this good and this reasonably priced, comrade.
Of course it this was the old Soviet Union, only high ranking party members when get the good wine and this would be a website about cheap vodka.
