Winey Tasting Notes: The Empty Nest Series: Lab Red

Another article celebrating the only children left in the Winey Empty Nest: the doggies. Except this post could sort of be called a throwback post, because today I am going to celebrate the doggie that I grew up with: a black Labrador Retriever named Scamper.

Scamper, circa late 1970’s

Scamper (aka Scamper-damper, Scamper Boo-Boo, Scamper Doodle) joined my Winey childhood household when I was 13. I had accompanied my unsuspecting mother to a Labor Day picnic where someone uttered the now infamous words: “Hey, the neighbors’ dog just had puppies, anyone want one?” My mother never had a chance. For years, we had been living vicariously (and at times babysitting) the English Setters, English Sheepdogs (dear heavens I will never forget that dog) and various other pooches of our family and friends. In desperation, my mother had allowed us to adopt 3 gerbils, two parakeets and untold numbers of goldfish in an attempt to stave off the inevitable: We were a dog family and we were going to get a dog.

Action shot of Scamper and her beloved basketball.

So home came Scamper, the 6 week old runt of a litter of 12 who enchanted us from the very first day and never stopped doing so until she crossed the rainbow bridge at the age of 17. She was a credit to her breed: smart and loving and full of personality. She also had a vertical standing jump that NBA players would envy. She could stand in front of the back door and leap up to see out of its 4 foot off the floor window. Everyone commented on it. It was kind of her trademark.

So it was a no-brainer that I’d jump at  a bottle of wine called Lab Red Wine (2012, 13%, Portugal), right? This particular red blend hails from Portugal, which I love because that’s one of the wine regions I don’t normally find wines from. It’s extremely affordable, around $10 a bottle and is made up of varietals that were new to me:  Castelão (35%),  Tinto Roriz (25%),  Touriga Nacional (15%). These are all well known Portuguese grape varietals, but not ones that I regularly run across. There was one grape I was familiar with though: Syrah, which makes up 25% of Lab Red.

The nose on this Lab was full of very ripe cherries and a bit of leather. It tasted of dark cherry and black plum at first, and then evolved to some mocha coffee. There were hints of dark green spices as well. The tannins were on the strong side, but they were smooth, so that kind of took their bite away. Overall, it was a bit warm in my mouth, which  may have been the tannins from the Touriga Nacional, which is a rather tannic grape. ¹ I was very happy to have discovered some new grapes though – new grapes, new tastes, dog themed wine….it’s all good! Good doggie!

Buy this wine if you like your reds with a fruity bite. I wouldn’t call it a fruit forward wine – more like a “fruity wood and spice” wine. It would pair with lots and lots of different foods, so would be ideal for a pot luck party or buffet party. Or you could cuddle up with your own doggie and enjoy it on its own. Woof.

Cheers!

Check out my other Empty Nest Series Posts: Chloe Pinot Grigio and Fred’s Red.