#5 - Georges Duboeuf Cabernet

I'll totally admit that I bought this wine because of the colors on the label.

I had grown wary of bright, neon colors after the Full Circle debacle.* I still caved and bought Fish Eye, which is a delightful wine with a bright orange label and a catchy electric blue font. I only did this because I knew and trusted Fish Eye.
Buying two neon labeled wines was just too chancy. I needed something sophisticated and reserved... I needed a tender periwinkle and violet flower set against a stark white label with understated, classic black text. The text that says "Cabernet Sauvignon" is larger, centered, and more noticeable than the actual brand of the wine, which is hidden in small, white font set against a periwinkle box that barely makes it onto the label. There is no boastfulness here, only somber assuredness of wine superiority.
And in the two for $10.00 bin, no less!

By this point, you're probably curious about the wine itself. I'm getting there. We haven't even gotten to the back label yet!
This Cabernet Sauvignon has a rich and complex bouquet, ripe with fruity aromas. It is well-structured and medium-bodied, with understated tannins.

Yeah, yeah. Here we go with the tannins. What can I tell you about this wine? Nothing really pops out at me, but it seems kind of light. It's definitely not watery; it's more that the wine has a pleasant taste as it hits the tongue, but it doesn't leave much of an aftertaste. Some wines like this will kind of fall apart at the end - a note that is really zesty and spicy will turn sour or acidic. No, this wine stays mild and pleasant throughout, and doesn't change at all at the end - it just disappears. It makes you want to drink more and more. Its elegant label hides the ugly truth - this wine is a pusher, complete with a catchy website. Note the kindly smile of the older gentlemen as he beckons you closer. If you get too close, the handsome young man in the pink shirt will seal the deal.

In summary: Georges Duboeuf Cabernet is tasty in a refined way; there are times that a label actually tells the truth. And that man in the pink shirt? He was just as tasty and refined as the wine, but left me in the morning with a terrible heartheadache.

Update: Oh no! The classy website has either disappeared or moved. Perhaps I didn't post the good review in time for them to pay their domain bill.

#3 - Full Circle Cabernet

I walked into Whole Foods to get some of the amazing honey roasted peanut butter that you can grind yourself. I normally do not purchase wine at Whole Foods because they have the nerve to charge $3 extra a bottle for some of the same brands I can get at my local grocery store. (I give them credit for having some tasty organic wines that I cannot get anywhere else.) But as soon as I walked through the sliding doors into the foyer of sales promotions, I was greeted with hundreds of bottles of wine.

The brand was Full Circle, and the price was $7.99. That's a little more than I normally pay, but the bright neon caps on the bottles were just so appealing! I picked out the Cabernet and the Merlot.

I cracked open the Cabernet that night. To quote my housemate, it was.... red. It was the most standard bottle of Cabernet that I might have ever sipped - nothing exciting, nothing alluring, but nothing offensive, either. It had that very slight peppery zest that many Cabernets seem to have, but without being showy. This is the wine that you give to friends who don't have a palette. This is the wine that you can serve to hundreds of people and have nary a complaint. Nobody is going to gush over this stuff, but it gets the job done.