2007 Castle Rock Syrah and 2003 Sant'Appiano Chianti

I'm struggling with getting this blog out regularly because frankly I haven't been crazy about any of the syrahs and chiantis I've had (and I've been really busy). 

So I'm going to take a different tack: back to reviewing at least a couple cocktails a week in addition to these wine reviews.  I may even sneak in a beer from time to time.

So here are the 2 wines I've had in the last couple weeks, both middle-of-the-road red wines, not bad, not great, acceptable for a family meal or a dinner where the guest isn't anyone too important.

This chianti retails in the $15 range; I bought it for $12.  It's a nice pasta dinner wine.  The label says it's aged in oak for 6 months and in the bottle for 3.

The second is a 2007 Castle Rock syrah from California's Russian River Valley.  This bottle ran me about $10.  The label advertises notes of black cherry, smoke (guess I'll have to learn what smoke tastes like), and plums, with spice notes.  I would agree with the black cherry. 

This wine has a much more fragrant nose than other syrahs I've drunk this fall, and it was more drinkable right  out of the bottle without having to wait 30 minutes or more.  A good value for the price.