2007 Arrogant Frog, Ribet Red, South of France

Perhaps it is suitable that the first wine that this blog reviews is of a humble nature, given the blog's humble aspirations. Notably, the wine is made by the self styled 'humble winemaker', Jean-Claude Mas. 

The wine is self-deprecating, and I like that. It won't win any fans in France, but will he win friends here?

Firstly, the wine is not very good at all. But it is not entirely undrinkable either, which for a $10 bottle of red is high praise indeed. It definitely has the cheap red-wine taste - the disgusting smell of a watered down raspberry vodka-cruiser, a slimy mouth feel, practically no tannin, an aftertaste of running engine. On the whole, industrial. 

But what more can one expect. It compares favourably to other $10 bottles of wine, it is free of wine-making faults, and most people will find it mildly-inoffensive.

This blog predicts that many people will be looking to buy cheaper wines due to the Global Financial Crisis (hereinafter GFC). This wine may be a good choice if you are looking to spend $10. The positive effect that such a purchase may have is that you will be encouraging a segment of the french wine industry (the low-end) that ironically (and this wine is proof), is not 'arrogant' in the least.

My advice: buy a cheap white instead (see next post).

Score: 84/100

Why You Want This Wine: Because it's cheap, and during the GFC that matters - and it's french, at no extra cost.