Chapelle du Bois Syrah.

This is not a particularly good $10 wine. It’s OK, but not great. As it’s $4.99 at Trader Joe’s, however, it’s pretty darn good. Super decent. It’s like a consolation prize.
I just had a weekend in Napa with Trails and food and wine and food and wine and… you get the picture. My palate got overburdened by Sunday, and I had to have Irish food and beer for dinner.
Which certainly isn’t a problem.
So Wednesday rolls around, and I’ve got half a leftover Delfina pizzeria pizza to finish. Hen of t the Woods Mushrooms on 2 pieces and a Margherita with anchovies on the remaining slice. It’s time for another corner store wine review, and out comes…
This French Syrah I picked up at Trader Joe’s a while back. I look on the receipt: five bucks. OK, maybe it’s not going to stand up to that amazing thing they poured at La Toque, but for five bucks if it’s terrible, I can just toss it, right? Or use it to make Coq au Vin or something.
It’s corked with one of those fake-o corks, that’s made from recycled toilet seats or packing peanuts or whatever. I splash it around in my glass and…
The nose is a little thin, but not too bad. There’s not a whole lot going on, but at least there isn’t anything off-putting. Uncharacteristically for a French wine, it’s pretty fruit-forward, a little thin in the middle, and there’s a pretty long five dollar finish. Which means this isn’t going to stand up to anything serious, but it’s totally decent. The whole experience is a little thin, like the nose, but it’s not too bad.
Pretty perfect for rewarmed gourmet pizza and an episode of Sex & the City by yourself on a Wednesday night, in fact.

Chapelle Du Bois Syrah, 2004. $4.99, Trader Joe’s. Good luck.b