Soapy and alcoholic, the VA barely covering the interminable mastif-shit I just stepped in. In between staining the sides of my glass orange, it projects its home-wine-gone-awry dad-flabby cloying Chef Boyardee and Keystone core of spice into a nose so gaseous you can’t even appreciate the comfort.

In the mouth, bitter bitter bitter: not good bitter, not tannic bitter, not rose hips bitter, just bullshit bitter–bad bitter. Bitter actually a little refreshing, as it cuts the fat-dude ass-crack jogging-sweat and Vendange bunco-wine like B12 makes bad crank more nutritious. Completely washed out fruit splattered in all directions against this watery bitter that never goes away even as it trounces the road tar peeking from the finish.

This is a shockingly bad wine and exacerbated by a couple extra years of age past a time you probably shouldn’t have drank it either.

2009 MESA DEL SOL Syrah Arroyo Seco Monterey Co. California 14.2

www.mesadelsolvineyards.com