Always the bottom feeder, I tried this wine from TJ's today:
1. TraderJoe's Syrah GrandReserve Oakville/NapaVlly (Lot#40; 13.5%) ABJ Wines/Geyserville 2012: Med.dark color; strong very spicy/blackberry/Syrah/framboise/boysenberry slight peppery rather attractive/straightforward Syrah nose; soft fairly rich/lush quite spicy/blackberry/Syrah/framboise slight peppery flavor w/ light/soft/ripe tannins; long soft/lush/ripe strong blackberry/Syrah/framboise bit peppery/earthy finish w/ soft/round tannins; could use yr or two of age; not a profound Syrah but speaks strongly of Syrah and a rather decent value; blows away the Qupe CC Syrah. $13.00 (TJ)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. So who the heck made this wine?? I cannot find the identity of ABJ Wines. I came up w/ an address on FreiRd NE of Sebastapol. There is a wnry located there. It indicates AustinBriggs & Lynmar winery located there. The property appears to be in foreclosure. AustinBriggs is located in the NapaVlly/Calistoga. So perhaps an AustinBriggs Syrah?? TJ's also has a producer in Rutherford that buys distressed/excess wins & btls it under the JBA. One reviewer suggested it might stand for Anthony/Bill/John Terlato, who own RutherfordHillWnry. ABJ/JBA...sorta makes sense. When I go to TJ's next time, I'll ask to see the case the wine came in. By law, it must have the BondedWnry# imprinted on the box. Which should clear up the mystery of ABJ/JBA Cellars.
Tom