Tasting Report: Lucky 7 Wines
Friday, April 16, 2010
Late last year a new wine brand launched you may have seen in stores- Lucky 7 Wines. The seven varietals in the line-up retail for around $9.99 and you may be able to find them for a little less if you look around.
I tasted through three of these wines recently- a Carmenere, a Sauvignon Blanc, and a Cabernet Sauvignon. For me, the wines succeeded for offering affordable varietally-reminiscent introductions to each of the grape varieties they're made from. Without breaking the bank, I believe that anyone who tries one of these wines as the first example they've had of wines made from one of these grapes will get a reasonable feel for whether they want to explore the category more. And that's a great thing because it's not always something we see at sub-$10 price-points. Here are my notes...
2009 Lucky7 Carmenere
13.5% Alcohol
From the Rapel Valley of Chile. Dark magenta/purple in color. Smells quite delicious with abundant fruit amply backed up a mixture of spices. Packs a lot of round flavor on the palate. It's definitely got a little green pepper, a common Chilean Carmenere flavor, but just a touch. More noticeable are the mix of chocolate and red-candy overtones. These I thoroughly enjoyed. Just a hint of tannic grip and acidity. Quite nice.
WWP: 87/100 Very Good
2009 Lucky 7 Sauvignon Blanc
13% Alcohol
This wine comes from the Maule Valley of Chile and similar to other Chilean Sauv Blancs I've had behaves like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc without the pungent aromatic edges. It veers more towards creamy and tropical than citrusy and what it lacks in acidity in makes up for with utter drinkability.
WWP: 85/100 Good
Lucky 7 Cabernet Sauvignon
13.5% Alcohol
Also from the Rapel Valley. Luscious and medium-full bodied. Thankfully avoids the green pepper aromatics present in so many Chilean reds. I would say "sweet tannins" but there are hardly any tannins to speak. Would benefit from more grip and acidity but this too is an easy drinking party wine that would play well at an informal party.
WWP: 83/100 Good
Samples for review.
Question of the Day: Have you had Lucky 7 Wines? If so, what did you think?