So I first discovered this wine several years ago at my favorite wine bar, WineYard, in Thousand Oaks. Let me start by saying I love Grenache, it is truly one of my favorite varietals. And when I saw this cute pink sassy label, of course I had to try it, because I seriously thought I might have discovered my "signature wine." And every REAL food/wine blogger needs a signature wine, right?



At the time they were pouring the Bitch, it was a 2007, and it was robust and fruit forward Grenache with a dry finish. It was nice! The Bitch line also had a sparkling wine and it was in a cute little bottle, perfect for stocking stuffers, so I swear every female on my Christmas list got a bottle that year. And well then the Bitch disappeared.

I saw it back on the market a few months ago and so I bought it. The 2009 was on the shelves and so that is what came home with me. Last night, after a late night at work, I decided to open the bottle and sit down on the couch to watch some reality tv with my Bitch. The description says the wine is,"Dark cherry and raspberry. Spicy, peppery and hints of anise." It is supposed to have balanced acidity with a sweet fruit palate.

Well I just didn't get that. I thought the wine was a bit acidic and to me it had a strong alcohol finish. Yes, it was fruity...a bit...and I did get the raspberry, but it my opinion it just didn't resemble the Grenaches I love.

I know the years are different and I learned several years ago that varietals are a bitch, after falling in love with a 2005, only to be left confused, sad and depressed with the 2006. So I definitely thought that could be a distinct difference with this one, but I wanted to know more.

So I started to do some research to see what had changed and to try and figure out where it went. The first thing I noticed was that it was strange that the winery "R Winery" did not have a web site or market itself on-line. Most wineries/vineyards have a strong on-line presence. Sure R Winery had plenty of locations where their wine could be purchased, but not a web page specific for their winery.

The next thing I learned was that the 2007 was made in Australia, which is what I remembered. And the 2009 was made in Spain. It has grapes that were sourced in Aragon and Navarra. Well that would create quite a distinct difference in taste.

Upon further research I learned that the entire production had moved from Australia to Spain. I also found that several web pages, that were selling the Bitch, had the country of origin incorrect in it's description. I also read one article that said the country move was due to financial troubles.

I also learned that the 2009 was un-oaked. I don't remember if the 2007 was oaked or not, but I thought it was out of the ordinary for a Grenache not to be aged in oak. Just a thought.

The wine is still being made by the same winemaker, Chris Ringland, who is a well known Australian winemaker, who is best known for his Syrahs. He started making wines when he was 12, is that legal? Regardless, that is still a cool fact. Robert Parker actually said that Ringland's Syrah was,"arguably the greatest Syrah made in Australia," and that is quite a compliment.

Overall, I would say the label is fun and a great gift, the wine is drinkable but not incredible and due to the high alcohol flavor I think this would be a hard wine to pair with food. I guess what I am trying to say is that life is sometimes just a Bitch.