What a dog, literally. Their Chardonnay, frankly, got much higher marks. This wine might be best suited to give to someone you really don’t like very much, unless they are dog lovers, and maybe not even then. I’m not sure I’d even want to cook with it. For the price, look elsewhere.

The wine has a clear, bright ruby-violet color with some light to moderate structure to the wine. While there are some faint berry notes to this wine, the remainder of you nose is going to take in a rather disagreeable (unless you are a dog lover) smell of wet dog/wet wool and maybe just a hint of earthy/moldy too. These are not very good combinations for a wine. Its dog problem doesn’t seem to follow through to the taste buds, but it’s also got a fairly aggressive astringency (dryness) and a hefty kick of tannins at the end that throws this wine out of balance. Its medium finish won’t help either as all of that bad taste just lingers, for too long. Time might help the tannins in this wine, but won’t help anything else.

Grade: D- Price: $9

Wine Reviewed:
Cycles Gladiator
2005
Cabernet Sauvignon
California
Alcohol: 13.5% by Volume.