Eden Cellars 2003 Forbidden Red Wine

*Bottle #33: Eden Cellars 2003 Columbia Valley Forbidden Red Wine
*Price: $13
*Running Tab: $447

On a hedonistic indulgence binge, I consumed a large amount of wine, all starting with this little number from Eden Cellars. I thought if I'm going to intentionally sin, I might as well do it with a wine sporting devilishly good fashion.

Smartly positioned and coyly playing off the biblical and sinful desire for the prohibited, Eden Cellars' Forbidden Red quotes the great Mark Twain with such tact and perfection. "There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable," Twain wrote. Nicely said and kudos to Eden Cellars for making the connection. If there are two things we all know I love together, it is wine and well-versed older men. No point in denying it anymore.

I decided to pair up with a semi-versed, little bit older man and taste this wine out, to hear someone else's opinion up against or with my own for my usual winescapades. Plus he's been in the biz longer than yours truly and had a slight contribution this week. His notes are included with mine and I will probably take credit for all of them but I'm attempting to acknowledge him now!

Here's my accustomed disclaimer: I really liked this wine for all that it was. $13 for a table wine that packed a punch (15.2% alcohol). For one such hedon, that was a decent amount for Bottle #1 (of many) for the evening.

Hailing from the oldest vine-growing regions in Washington State, the Forbidden Red from Horse Heaven Hills shot off aromas of pepper, blue and blackberries, black olives and a very strange stewed note. Not bad, just strange. There was an all-around cigar box smell to it as well, the cedar box combined with tobacco. I was later to find another aroma that was defined to me as "brett" - Brettanomyces, a bacteria that grows in fermentation tanks when not supremely cleaned. The smell was later described to me as "blueberrie pie but instead of crust, you get Band-aid." Yummy.

All sarcasm aside, it was tasty for what it was. Juicy, soft tannins with an extremely dry finish, this medium bodied red had a distinct creaminess to it. Passing over "velvety," it was down right like skim milk. Again, not a bad thing. Just not exactly what I was expecting from Horse Heaven Hills grapes... Or maybe just wine, in general...

I feel very Presidential-candidate-esque about this wine. I couldn't make up my mind on my stance and said something about it the first time trying it and then said this later. What's the political terminology? Flip-flopper?

I think I'll just stick to wine.

Score: 5.