Following a trip to Chicago to visit some relatives, my sister-in-law gave me a bottle of the Galena Cellars General's Reserve Red. The label features the visage of Ulysses S. Grant, 18th U.S. president, Union Civil War hero, and favorite son of Galena, Illinois, where this wine is made. (It's basically the etching from the old version of the $50 bill.) Oddly enough, the label features one of my favorite fonts, Souvenir, alongside one of my least favorite, Snell Roundhand. Ah well...
I'm not really sure what grapes are in this. The back label claims that it's made from a blend of European and American Hybrid grapes, while various websites claim that it's a Bordeaux-style blend using grapes from Sonoma. Yet other websites claim that it's an unorthodox blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir.
As I type this, I'm uncorking the bottle and trying it out... And the damned thing is eaten up with brett. Whenever I bring the glass to my nose all I can smell is rotten asparagus. The wine tastes OK, if a little bitter, but the smell is so overpowering that I can't stand it. I appreciate the gift, and will give this a second try if I come across it, but this bottle's going down the drain. And I've been looking forward to it all day...
No comments:
Post a Comment