Big, dense yet subtle, Warwick Three Cape Ladies 2005 Cape Blend is a delicious combination of Cabernet Sauvignon (38%), Pinotage (25%), Syrah (22%) and Merlot (15%). The Pinotage is what gives this wines its character.

Nose: Spices,white pepper, leather, and cherries with smoke on the finish. Quite fragrant and lovely.

Taste: Blackberries, black currant, leather, cassis, and a hint of cherry cordial. Really big and dense with notable, yet well-managed alcohol (14.5%). Rich with loads of rustic Pinotage flavors.

Food: This would be perfect with a grilled tenderloin with au gratin Yukon Gold potatoes or a creamy risotto. The tannins would be a perfect counter to the richness of the food.

A nice, big, delicious. wine from South Africa.

Bogle is one of our all-time favorite wineries. They make consistently excellent wines at very affordable prices.

Bogle 2007 Old Vine Zinfandel is made in the current California style of red winemaking — which is to say big alcohol bombs. We’ve tried the wine a couple times now and it is consistently over the top in alcohol.

Nose: Cherries, alcohol, black berries, earth and menthol with a nice fruity finish,

Taste: Smokey black berries, earth, cherries, significant tannins and loads of alcohol. It has nice floral hints on the finish, but the alcohol overpowers everything in this wine.

Food: We’ve thrown a wide variety of food at this wine – from big cheddar cheese to pizza and pasta and the alcohol remains the wine’s dominant feature. There’s also a harshness to the finish.

We know the argument: it’s difficult to make a good Zin without a high alcohol level, which is pure bunk. California Zinfandel —  actually California red wines — used to have more subtly, complexity and style with well managed alcohol levels. But today the style is BIG — loads of fruit, loads of alcohol. There are still some California winemakers who take pride in producing well-crafted wines (see last week’s New York Times wine column), but most have turned into bomb makers.

We’ll be glad when this trend has run its course.

In the meantime, try any of Bogle’s other wines . . . you’ll be pleased with them.

We’re big fans of Bogle Winery — their Petite Sirah is a classic and their other wines are all well made and great values. Their 2007 El Dorado County Reserve Sirah is one of the best red wines we’ve had in months. Beautifully crafted, well-managed alcohol, wonderfully complex and easy drinking.

Nose: Rich, dark berries, burnt wood, earth and a hint of menthol. “Like walking through a vineyard.”

Taste: Earthy cherries, barrel, smoke and nicely jammy. The alcohol is 14.7%, but you never get a sense of it — very well done. An absolute pleasure to drink.

Food: We first paired it with a big, salty white cheddar cheese. The wine was a perfect balance with the salt and all the flavors. The cheese brought out more of the grape flavor and smoothed out the finish even more. We also paired it with baked Cod with roasted vegetables, which was lovely.  This would be great with roast beef or pork or a nice grilled tenderloin steak.

This wine is a joy.

Washington State’s Barnard Griffin produces some of the best wine values and this is no exception.

The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon is a big, balanced wine with a silky finish that pairs exceptionally well with food.

Nose: Really fruity with berries, cherries and hints of mint and white pepper on the finish. Big, almost meaty aromas.

Taste: Spicy dark berries with mocha on the finish and pronounced tannins. The finish is soft and velvety. The alcohol (13.7%) is a bit harsh at the beginning, but it settles down, especially with food.

Food: We paired this first with Beecher’s goat white cheddar cheese, which was perfect. The alcohol disappears and the tannins balance the richness of the cheese. You get bigger cherry flavors and the finish becomes even softer. Beautiful.

We also paired it with Field Roast vegan Classic Meatloaf with vegetable risotto — also a excellent combination. Again, the tannins really balance the richness of the food.

The winery suggests pairing this with a ”tender cut of beef”  – a great idea.

This is a great wine, especially at the price.

It was recently discovered that the Italian Primitivo grape has the identical DNA as American Zinfandel. Wine produced by both grapes can get a little heavy in alcohol, but the styles tend to be quite different.

Primaterra Primitivo is big and rustic with 13.5% alcohol that can feel more like 16% at times.

Nose: Big, lush floral aromas with lots of rich currents and a hint of confectioner’s sugar. It’s a mouthwatering combination that adds earth and oily leather hints as it is open more. Really great.

Taste: Currents, smoke, earth — as big as you can get. Great character and complexity. However, within 10 minutes the alcohol really kicks in and you feel it in your stomach. Not a great sipping wine once it’s open a while.

Food: We paired it with a wonderful goat cheese cheddar from Beecher’s and it made a huge difference. The alcohol settled down and the finish smoothed out. It was a nice, rich complement .

We set the wine aside to try again the next day with some other food. This is definitely a wine that deserves a second chance.

We’re big fans of Middle Sister wines and Forever Cool Merlot didn’t disappoint. It’s a beautiful, well-balanced wine — 94% Merlot; 6% Malbec.

Nose: Light, wonderful aromas of cherries, mineral, and grape with liqueur hints on the finish.

Taste: Earthy cherries with hints of cocoa after it’s been open for a while. A jammy mouthful of flavors, but not at all heavy. Nice complexities and weight.

Food: We tried it with some Vermont white cheddar, which really soften the finish. Delicious wine. The winery recommends pairing with Portobello mushroom burgers, grilled tuna, braised lamb shanks, aged jack cheese.

This is an excellent wine and like all the other Middle Sisters wines we’ve tried it was fun to drink.

Barnard Griffin Cabernet-Merlot (11% Cabernet Franc as well) is a great everyday wine. Nothing fancy, just a solid, drinkable red wine.

Nose: Cherries, plums, mocha/cocoa and a little white pepper.

Taste: Soft plums with mocha on the finish. You really get a sense of the Cabernet Franc, which adds some great character. A hearty mouthful.

Food: This is a great wine for comfort food: hamburgers, pepperoni pizza, macaroni and cheese, chocolate dessert. Our pairing (which was unplanned) didn’t do the wine justice — a Thai-influenced noodle and broccoli stir fry with peanut sauce. The wine was fine, but the food took away some of its flavor and punch. (A good Viognier would have worked).

Great wine, great price.

Albero 2008 Rosé is is the first organic wine we’ve tried that didn’t sacrifice the wine in the process. In all the others we’ve tried (not that we’ve conducted a scientific study) the taste of the wine seemed to suffer in the process of the organic farming.

Made from Bobal, a grape native to the Utiel-Requena region in Valencia, Spain, the wine is light, crisp and refreshing.

Nose: Bright strawberries with hints of watermelon, straw and confectioner’s sugar. Nice, light aromas.

Taste: Crisp, tart strawberries — light, refreshing and juicy. “The best organic wine we’ve had.”

Food: We paired it first with a smoked Gruyère, which mellowed some of the crispness and smoothed the finish. Very nice. We also tried it with a southwestern duck pizza, which is probably a bigger food than this wine can handle, yet it was still delicious. This would be great with pan fried scallops or a salmon caesar salad.

Great, versatile wine, great price with the added bonus of being organic.

If you give this wine a little time to open up, it’s quite good. Big, fruity nose and lots of dark fruit flavors.

Nose: Bursting with fruit and lots of dark berries, cherries and currants as well as a nice spiciness — cinnamon and nutmeg.

Taste: Really tight when you first open it. Oily tannins, earth, leather, dark cherries. It took about 30 minutes for it to really open up.

Food: We tried it first with some smoked Gruyere, which really smoothed it out and brought out more fruit. We later paired it with a grilled chicken spinach salad. Because it had been open for over 30 minutes, it was an excellent pairing with less pronounced tannins and more fruit.

A very nice wine if you can wait for it. A good wine for decanting.

Another amazing wine from Layer Cake — big and bold, yet well balanced and complex.

Nose: Big and smokey with earthy black cherries and nicotine. “Explodes with aroma.” Everything you could want in a wine.

Taste: Delicious! Dark jammy berries/cherries, a little mocha, a little spice. A big, meaty mouthful. An absolute pleasure to drink.

Food: We did two unusual, but delicious, pairings. First, we tried it with Trader Joe’s organic cheddar — more as a palette cleanser than anything else — and wow – big cherry flavors and a smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Second, we tried it with smoke paprika salmon. It still had its bigger character, yet it balanced very well with the meal.

Layer Cake Malbec is an outstanding wine.