1999 Ca’del Solo Big House Red

This wine is from the completely whacked folks at Bonny Doon Vineyards. They blend together traditional French varietals Syrah, Grenache, Carignane and Mourvedre with Italian varietals Dolcetto and Barbera. This blending produces a rather nice wine that comes in under $10. The price point is key here. There is so much crappy red wine out there now for under $10 that whenever I can find something that is good or very good in that price range, I will let you folks know. I know it is the year 2001 and I should stop using the $10 price range for bargain reds. I need to up it to $15. Many of the under $10 reds I have bought lately with at least modest expectations, I have had to pour out. They were nasty.

O.k., enough about other wines that I didn’t like, lets talk Bonny Doon. They have been producing this wine for a while now and it has been a success for them most every vintage. This release was over come by the successful Syrah vintage they had in “99” and it kind of took over the blend. They have tried to make this an Italian style “vino tavola”, and then dropped that idea for this release because the Syrah was so good. So the best grapes took over the blend. Ah, the joys of blending for wine makers that don’t have to follow any rules.


This wine is tasty, lush, zesty and down right nice. Good jammy fruit comes into play, along side the peppery taste and feel, provided by the Syrah. The “Big House Red” has nice dark reddish-purple colors in the glass and good depth. The aromas are a bit closed and don’t give you a real feel for what you may get on the palette, but there is a bit of berry and pepper in that semi-closed aroma. Just get that nose all the way into the glass. It is a pleasing overall blend of these grapes.

The mellow raspberry flavors that arise towards the end of this wine fade into an agreeable finish with a tinge of spiciness.

The wine is mouth filling and will be a nice addition on the dinner table paired up with full flavored dishes. Go Pork Tenderloin, Beef Stew or Beef-Stuffed Peppers. This wine may be your new favorite house wine that you can buy by the case. The price sure is right.

Randall Graham is always there to %&@* with the old school wine high society and has had such a great run with his wines over the last 20 years nobody can deny his impact on the industry. Randall is progressive, unique and pushes things to the next level. The 5.6 million dollars his winery received in financing last year, that is going towards improvements in his properties, can guarantee he keeps up his work for many years to come. Maybe he will continue to offer this wine at $9.99 a bottle for a few more years. Then again, probably not.

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