By Rob Bralow, Wine Post Editor
I am so jaded by marketing gimmicks. I see funny names, wacky labels and stupid stunts in wine every day. Maybe even twice a day. A few days ago a very good customer came into the store asking for Effen Vodka. Why did she want it? So that she could give it as a gift and say, "Here's an Effen Vodka. Now make me an Effen drink."
So when I received a bottle of 2007 Bad Boy Red from Rocca Family Vineyards, I was anything but enthusiastic. There it is, with that shadowed cowboy looking down as his hat covers his eyes. It screams marketing, which tends to mean that the juice in the bottle came as an afterthought.
I tasted the wine and did a double take. I needed to make sure the wine I had poured in the glass actually came from the bottle I had in front of me. This was a serious wine and I had been treating it like crap since I got the bottle! The nose had beautiful violets and black fruit pouring out of it, soft and smooth. The taste was velvety with excellent blueberry and blackberry, topped by a spicy kick in the finish as the alcohol warms you up.
I was seriously impressed with this wine. It goes to show that you never know what is in the bottle until you taste it. The price on this is about $30, and worth every penny.
Disclaimer: I received this bottle as a media sample.
