Not one of my rosier wine reviews...

1) Panuelo, Merlot/Cabernet Savignon, year? (Spain) - This was a disappointment because I gave a decent review to their grenache blend basically calling it a value.  This wasn't "bad" per se, it just was a weak below average cab blend.  4 out of 10.

2) Kim Crawford, Savignon Blanc, 2006 (Marlborough, New Zealand) - This is the high point of the review because it is indeed a quality white.  I'll give it 6 out of 10 for high average.  The disappointment though is I really don't detect much difference from other New Zealand whites.  They're seeming pretty much the same.  And this was a slightly pricier version than the Matua brand I reviewed earlier.  I'd probably even give Matua an edge on the crispness and flavor.

3) Fifth Leg, Shiraz/CabSav/Merlot/CabFranc, 2005 (Western Australia) - Oh, what crap.  First let me explain why I bought this.  I had a day trip up to Salem MA.  I always thought their liquor store named the Bung Hole was fascinating and I wanted to buy something there.  It wasn't very big and the wine selection seemed almost 100% mainstream stuff I'd find anywhere, but this one stood out as a brand I hadn't seen before.  Sure it looked like a marketing gimmick.  The name is funky, the label shape is funky, the writing on the label is funky, the twist top was a cool purple.  Of course I feared it may just be hype.  Yep.  Both the look and the taste were quite artificial.  To me it seemed like a watered down cough syrup.  Yuck.  Nancy didn't taste cough syrup, she thought instead ginger, but we both agreed we didn't like it.  And not just that we didn't like it - we simply couldn't drink any more of it.  The whole bottle went down the drain.  1 out of 10 (for never buy this again).

4) Smoking Loon, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 (California) - I've seen this everywhere.  It's a cool name and a cool label.  But it hovers under $10 so I suspected it was hype too.  I saw a sign in a store that said this is the best selling cabernet sauvignon in the U.S., plus I'd been planning on sampling the mainstream under $10 cabs to see if any where up to speed, so I bought it.  My assessment is you get what you pay for.   Sure it's not an offensive wine - it's simply a mild generic cab.  But I've had other wines for $10 or less that I liked better so it's not like I think it deserves to be the best selling cab.  In fact I'm not so sure that claim was true.  Anyway, it's not crap, it's just not remarkable in any way.  It's a 5 out of 10 for lower average.