Provided notes:

76% Mourvedre, 12% Syrah, 12% Grenache – 13.8% Alcohol

“We have been working the meridional side of the fence for some time now, striving to produce a brilliant blend of these grapes every year, and call the blend, Le Cigare Volant.  But yet, every year is with its challenges, and some lots are close to inclusion, but, well… Ah, the Blenders Art.  We are privileged to share this rare and unusual wine which was funded by Naked Angels (www.nakedwines.com), and have greatly enjoyed collaboration with this forward-thinking group.” – Randall Grahm

• Made with the same grapes that go into Randall’s iconic flagship wine Cigare Volant that costs $45 a bottle.
• Every year the blend for Cigare Volant changes a tiny bit and there are some grapes that taste great but don’t go into the final blend, so Randall bottles those for the Angels.

My notes:

Yes, I am a Naked Angel.  Get your mind out of the damn gutter.  I’m not turning this into an advertisement for Naked Wines.  Want to know what a Naked Angel is?  (Yes, yes you probably do.  Not to worry, it’s totally G rated.)  Check out their website.

Anyway…When I first poured it I noticed it was a little lighter in color than many Syrahs and Grenaches I’ve tried.  More of a purplish red.  Quite pretty in color.  Fragrance wise there wasn’t a whole lot there.  The most I could get out of it was a red grape juice like scent and even that was faint.  There’s a small hint of black cherry with maybe a hint of black currant?  I don’t even know what a black currant is, but anything that has ever been described as tasting or smelling like black currant definitely had a bit of a scent like this.

The first few sips (and by that I mean first glass) were pretty flat in flavor.  Drinkable, nothing distinguishable, but I felt like there had to be more to it.  It was then one of my tenants stopped by to drop off rent and I said, “Here, taste this.  What do you think?”  He replied, “It’s flat.  It’s flat if you just sip on it.  Here, try it again and roll it around in your mouth for a few seconds before you drink it.”  I’ll be damned if he wasn’t right.  I gave it a solid swish and it just opened up all of the flavors.  Very light, grapey, and had a pleasant warming feeling.  The only thing…there’s no finish.  The flavors stop abruptly.  This just makes me want to drink more of it.

Halfway through the bottle and I can’t put it down.  I’ve decided this is the perfect “I’m longing for summer in these cold winter months” wine.  It starts off as a nice wintery red, but is then light and fruity and feels like it could be enjoyed on a nice warm summer evening.

This would be totally awesome with some grilled chicken and veggie kabobs.  (Beef for you red meat eaters.)  Right now, I wish I had a bowl of penne with vodka sauce to go with this.

On a scale of “this tastes like piss” to “oops, I just drank the whole bottle”  I would give this a “I’m ending this review now so I can curl up on the couch and finish the rest of the bottle while I catch up on NCIS.”  Would I buy it again on purpose?  Yes.  Am I glad I somehow ended up with 4 bottles of it in this month’s shipment?  Definitely.

Final Grade: A-