2006 De Lisio Quarterback

Picked this up in DC at Zola's retail store in Penn Quarter on the way to a Restaurant Week meal at Teatro Goldoni. Made happy discovery that they have half price wines during happy hour Mon-Saturday and enjoyed a good chardonnay from Yalumba before opening the DeLisio for dinner. This one is roughly 1/4 (quarterback) grenache, cab, merlot and syrah and i could at least imagine that i could detect at least 3 of the components (not the merlot, which i suppose is the tamest of these 4 varieties). For about $20 it's a fine wine that stood up nicely to the various dishes at the restaurant. There isn't a lot of tannin there but the violet, blackberry, currant nose and spicy palate with moderately long finish, and decent acid backbone, suggest this could be drinking well for 3-4 more years. Parker gave it 90, which seems right to me:

The purple-colored 2006 Quarterback is a blend of 30% Shiraz, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and 21% Grenache aged for 15 months in seasoned French oak. It exhibits an already complex aromatic array of cedar, spice box, cherry, black currant, and blueberry. Smooth-textured, easygoing, and concentrated, it is an excellent value designed to provide pleasure over the next six years.