Bogle Vineyards is consistently one of our favorite California value wines, and their latest offering- a 2009 called “Essential Red” is our new favorite. Released in June 2012, this juicy juice has spent the last 18 months in both American and French Oak.

It’s an unorthodox blend of Old Vine Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Syrah. Blends like this are a great way for producers to pair the best characteristics of these grapes together to make a great wine. Each individual grape variety may have been undrinkable on it’s own, leaving something to be desired.

The solution is to blend these juices together to create something sellable- and sometimes- creating a new smash-hit in the process. Like it’s older brother the Bogle Phantom, this wine has a roller coaster ride of flavors that makes you wonder why you ever spent more than $10 on a bottle of wine before.

With an initial taste of Zinfandel, the nose is predominantly rich, ripe Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s rich fig and prune flavor on the finish is subtle and enjoyable. Petite Syrah comes to the rescue guiding all of these juices together into one smooth, tasty body.

While we love Bogle Phantom, you can purchase two bottles of Essential Red for the price of one Bogle Phantom. Priced from $9- $12. We rated this bottle 90 points. Better yet, we found this behind the scenes look video on YouTube from Bogle: