R.H. Phillips Night Harvest Cabernet Sauvignon (2004)

After half a case++ (for you Compy 386 geeks out there ;) ) of this wine, Lord Bacchus attempts to give this wine his seal of approval. At $7.99 a bottle this month at the NH State Liquor store, this wine is a keeper. Every bottle has been consistently good with strong cherry and vanilla notes. While the wine isn't particularly powerful on the nose, it lingers on the palate and the glass, making it the best-value red wine that Lord Bacchus has tasted in some time.

Lord Bacchus tasted (liberally construed to mean quaffed copiously) this wine with rib roast, lasagna and lamb (cooked with ginger and garlic) and it held up nicely to all three. IMHO (no tep) this rises above a Dancing Satyr due to it's price and overall quality. Sure, you will find wines with more body and texture than this one, but not below $15-$20. For consistency, quality and price, this wine gets a LBSA.

Clos Du Bois Riesling (2006)

OK, first off, Lord Bacchus tries every wine (noteworthy wine) at least twice to shake out the weeds. If it doesn't merit two tries, I'll post it as an Imminent Hangover (aka rot gut). If it does merit two tries, it may rise to the level of a Bacchanalian Revelry and get the Lord Bacchus Seal of Approval. Anything in between may get a Passing Belch, Woozy Wink or Dancing Satyr.

Tonight's (or this month's, depending on how far the piggy bank goes) reviewed wine is the Clos Du Bois(e) 2006 Riesling. At 12% alcohol it rises a point or two above your average Riesling and as such tends to be a bit on the dry side. Smacking of dry apple cider, it has fairly strong apple overtones, but doesn't have a lot of body. The legs (not terribly spindly) are brief on the glass suggesting a lack of glycerine in the wine.

All of that said, at $5.89 a bottle at BJ's, you won't find many wines that are as quaffable as this. So far the only wine at this price point that I would rank above it would be the Covey Run Riesling at about $7.99 a bottle. That however is for another review...

Lord Bacchus gives this wine a Woozy Wink after a few more sips...

Welcome to our den of iniquity

Here at The Hedonist, we are dedicated to low-cost, high-class living. Or, as Lord Bacchus puts it, "the Chateau Margaux of cardboard boxes." As such, you'll find a number of reviews for wine, liquor (aka booze), restaurants in the North of Boston/Southern NH vicinity, and recipes.

Try as we might, Lord Bacchus and I can't drink every wine out there. Believe me--we've tried. If you've got something you think we should try, shoot me an e-mail. Same goes for restaurants, recipes and booze. We may not get to everything--there being a finite number of hours in the day, dollars to spend, and brain cells to kill--but we're always looking for a great bargain to share.

That said, let the revelry begin!