2001 Messina Hof Barrel Reserve

[hotwine]

Took daughter & son-in-law out for dinner in Bryan Sat night; since we were staying at the Hilton, we decided to have dinner there. With NY strips and steamed spinach: good color but a very faint cab nose, barely discernible as that grape; likewise on the tongue..... could hardly taste any cab characteristics at all. A very simple wine that could have just as easily been labeled a field blend (which it might very well be). 13% alc/vol and $24 at the restaurant. Worth maybe $3 max. We were within a quarter mile of the winery, but after such a disappointment I wasn't anxious to pay them a visit. Steaks weren't bad, though, in spite of having been cooked over a gas fire.