Sattler Zweigelt `08 (not TJ's)$18.99 *

I was seduced by the label and the varietal.  I have never had Zweigelt before.What can I say?  I was seduced by something foreign, exotic,... new.... JPH let me bring it home.

At lunch, we were looking for something "Cheap & Cheerful" I forgot the price, and pulled this from the rack.  Time for an exotic Austrian grape to spice up our Sunday lunch.

The time from uncorking to irredeemable first sip, less than five minutes. If this bottle had been a tryst, it would have been the WORST first date ever - I apologized to S. for bringing this bottle home.

This was a musty, bitter, wine wrapped in a chic label.  S. shuddered after she took a sip.  (And she had been drinking 3 day open Palin with lunch!)  I grabbed my glass and tasted.  Bleech.  Tart, acidic, rough, and with an after burn that was epic. That was when I apologized for picking the bottle out.  JPH simply grabbed a bottle of Henry Fessey Cru Beaujolais, and lunch was saved.  (but I bet he'll think twice the next time I grab a bottle and say "Let's try this, I've never had it before!")

The bottle wasn't corked.  It just was terrible.  I looked on line at her reviews.  People out there like it!  Huh?  I am scratching my head.  Maybe the bottle that we bought was stored wrong before it made it to the shelves.  Or maybe it is just a really bad wine.  I will try Zweigelt again.  It has put me off Austria a little bit. (Is it possible for a wine to singe your taste buds?)

I didn't even bother to aerate it.  In my opinion, it was beyond redemption.

The bottle did not go to waste. S. used it to braise Elk Short Ribs for that night's dinner. 

"With enough of garlic, you won't taste it."

Thank you S. for redeeming this undrinkable wine.