13 February 2008

2003 Marietta Angeli Cuvée

The 2003 Marietta Angeli Cuvée from Geyserville, California is a proprietary blend of Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, and Carignane. A whopping 15.7% alcohol, retails for around $30. After the hot alcohol blows off, you get dark plum and blackberry aromas. Blackberry flavors with strong tannins and firm acidity. Good match for a steak, some mushrooms, and steamed carrots.

I'm warming up to these Zinfandel blends. Not as refined yet as the Meritage/Claret blends, but I think there's some real potential and I enjoy the various experiments that are being performed.

There's no label here, rather the Marietta signature and Angeli logo are printed directly on the bottle with gold foil and the remaining text is in opaque white ink which looks nice against the dark glass. I'd quibble with the choice of Snell Roundhand Bold for the front text (personal pet peeve there, damn you Snell!), but otherwise it's a beautiful design.

The quality of a wine should never be judged by the label, marketing, or hype involved, but there's nothing wrong with appreciating good graphic design whether on a bottle or on a business card.

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