Seven Red Table Wine (NV)
$15.99 (3L) @ Copp's Grocery Store
Brian sez: Bodegas Osborne (pronounced os-BOR-nay by Iberians), long-famous for producing sherry, is also responsible for placing the iconic bull silhouette billboards that dot the Spanish landscape. However, since the Spanish government banned advertising alcohol on billboards some years back, Osborne was forced to remove their company name from them, leaving most tourists to assume they are simply decoration.
Seven is made by Octavin (possibly rhymes with "octagon"?)-- you might already be familiar with some of their other grocery store wine offerings, e.g. Pinot Evil, Big House and others. Between having had decent experiences with Octavin products in the past and knowing Osborne's reputation for producing a solid product, I figured I'd give Seven a shot.
A blend of seven different grapes (I see what you did there, Osborne...), Seven is reminiscent of a young, red-fruit-forward Crianza that you could pick up for a couple Euros in any Spanish taps bar.
At this price point, it's no surprise that it doesn't have much complexity on either end and as we found out last night it doesn't hold up to chili, but it makes a perfectly adequate Triscuits and cheddar accompaniment and I wouldn't turn down a second (or third) glass if you served it to me at your holiday party.
Julia sez: It's okay.
Binary scale rating: 7. I mean 1.
