WHY: We’ve been lusting after Michael~David’s wines for a while. In fact, when we purchased the 2005 Petite Petit, we also raided the piggy bank for the 2005 vintage of Lust. (An apropos selection for the season finale of True Blood.)

This wine was so smoky, we wondered if the Southern California wildfires had finally caught up with us. After checking Michael~David’s process and our air purifier, we settled in for a wild yet delicious ride. The initial bouquet brought a pachyderm’s nose worth of boysenberry, chipotle Tabasco and teriyaki beef jerky – ostensibly from a great pairing with Bi Bim Bap. This wine is juicy, like a sorority girl’s velour track pants. Tipping a glass of this luscious red delivers a good body, a great mouthfeel (no, we aren’t still talking about that sorority girl) and deep notes of dark chocolate covered cherries. The finish is smooth with little to no tannins.

The Wrap: The fact that a wine of this quality costs under $20 is obscene.  Much of the other bottles under the Michael~David label are dangerously around the $20 range. Thus far we’ve already enjoyed the aforementioned bottle of 2005 Lust, 2005 Incognito Rouge, NV Earthquake Zinfandel & a bottle of 7 Deadly Zins. Having found Petite Petit for $14 makes the temptation of a case purchase inevitable. Finding a 2005 vintage may be difficult at this point, but we’re guessing the 2006 is of equal quality. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have a new wine club to join.