Night 2 of the 3 for under 25 challenge (Piemonte Denominazione Di Origine Conrollata Dolcetto 2011)

This wine was a Piemonte Denominazione Di Origine Conrollata Dolcetto 2011, shortened on the bottle as "D'Oh" (thank goodness!). It alledgedly "crowns the pursuits, the work and the efforts to stay foolish that unite three hundred and fifty vitner families in Clavesana." Well... all I can say is that I hope those vitners skip this review. At the price of $12.50, it was the most expensive challenge wine, and that was a hefty price for this wine that didn't get much praise.

A - The only word that came to mind for me was 'Icky'. It smelled like normal wine, but instead of tasting like anything it just tasted like alcohol to me. Oh, except for the aftertaste of dirt and mould that I got. I would not drink this again, like seriously WOULD NOT. This sounds really mean, so to soften it I would say I could see it making a good sangria with oranges, grapes, cranberries, and more heavy coloured fruits. I later tried it with candied ginger, and found that through the sweet tangy-ness of the ginger the alcohol taste was diminished and I could kind of taste some cherry-ish fruits. But not everyone would eat candied ginger and drink wine I suppose.

M-It has a really good smell at first, quite promising in fact. It had a rich start but a poor finish. The website says it should end on a spicy not, I say no note at all! Unless that note is a thoroughly alcoholic one. It was a little bit spicy off the start and went alright with my nighttime snack of salsa and tortilla chips. It also had a nice deep purply colour. A- Aside: Purple was once reserved for emporers and senators in Rome, who probably would have given this wine two firm thumbs down (provided they still had them both)! My ultimate verdict: really appetizing until you take a sip. Definitely not a repurchase, especially not at this price point.

L- This wine was not a very complex one. It might taste better with food, specifically tomato foods or spicy foods or with some good sausage. Ya. That's right. A good Sausage. (editorial liberties may be taken :P) It was a lot to take on its own though. I didn't like it, frankly.

K- First off, this wine did not remind me at all of Homer Simpson as promised. I would second the "smell it, but don't drink it" suggestion. If it were cheaper I would perhaps turn it into beef stew, but at this price I would be hesitant to cook with it.