At this point, I feel like I’ve tried most of the wines that the Sidekick brand, Iconic Wines have produced. The labels always get me pumped with the depictions of female superheroes. I feel like I should only be tasting them when I’m also doing something badass, but then I realize that living as a woman in Trump’s America is on it’s own badass and I move on from there.
This bottle was labeled as Merlot, but is actually a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc grapes. I am generally a big supporter of Cabernet Franc, given that it’s not as widely known and more difficult to find in the wild, which makes the hunt more fun. Cabernet Franc is generally used as a blending grape like with this bottle, but some wineries do bottle it solo and while these bottlings may be few and far between, I think they are worth the search.
Cabernet Franc is used more often as a blending grape, because on it’s own it can be quite powerful. You could consider it the Harissa of wine. It’s not for the faint of heart. It can be quite tannic and also pack a punch in the way of spice and dark fruits. Some people even claim that the tannins are simply too overbearing, and literally hard to swallow. But as someone who loves spicy and bold flavors, I say bring on the sole varietal bottles of Cabernet Franc! My taste buds need a challenge!
This wine was from Lodi, California and sampled on March 6, 2019. This wine was dark maroon in a way that only Merlot usually is. It gave off the very odd scent of pool water and fresh cut pine. I was listening to “This Must Be The Place,” by The Talking Heads. The acidity and body were both on the high end with a very low tannic feel. There was a small dark berry taste, like heated blackberries in the beginning that was quickly followed by wet clay. It brought a little extra zip to the smoked chicken and sweet potato thanks to the high acidity, which was nice. The pool scent lingers a bit with each sip though and kept throwing me off.
I gave this wine a rating of 2.5. I just could not wrap my head around what I liked and did not like about it fully. I tasted ok with food, but on it’s own it was too much, with too many overpowering flavors and smells. It seemed to be fighting against itself instead of the patriarchy.