Cycles Gladiator Merlot Gets Me Pedaling-3 Corks

Cycles Gladiator Merlot

Okay, let me go ahead and jump in the gutter (with apologizes to the Hahn Family). I had to wonder, “what wine goes with dog poop?” The answer: any wine if you’ve just spent hours cleaning it up.

The names are changed to protect the innocent. Mrs. D we’ll call her, decided to vacuum our new living room rug before Mr. Ben had a chance to completely cover it with toys. It being a dark rug, and still being early in the morning, she didn’t notice the present Miss Adobe, the dog, left for us. The spinning front brush of a Hoover sweeper vac makes quite a smelly mess, all the way through to the bag.

Guess who spent about 4 hours disassembling a Hoover upright, disinfecting every inch and then putting it back together (about 4 times since I didn’t quite remember how the parts were on there in the first place). I was amazed it still worked. I even found a nail in the main motor housing that had been forced through by the blade. That took a while to remove.

So, at the of the day I didn’t want to pair a wine with anything except my mouth. Mrs. Dan… er Mrs. D, tackled the carpet so she was in no mood to doing any pairing except maybe her foot with a little white dog’s hind quarters.

I have been preparing this lean mean pedaling machine of a body for this year’s BRAG (Bike Ride Across Georgia). For those of you who don’t know me I’m sure you’re impressed that I would spend a week pedaling my bike across the mountains of North Georgia. For those who do know me can stop laughing since you know the only lean thing about me is my iPhone and the only mean thing is the size of my gut.

I’ve always loved the Cycles Gladiator wines for the classic painting of a nymph floating along with a winged bike. In all my years of cycling I’ve never quite seen anything like a nude blonde hovering over a bike but on RAGBRAI 2000 I did see some things in public that would make the nymph put her clothes back on.

The label’s artwork is from a French advertising poster for a bicycle manufacturer. The label says “The invention of the bicycle ushered in a new spirit of freedom during the late 19th century. The Golden Age of Cycling reached it’s pinnacle in 1895 — that same year French painter G. Massias created one of the great Parisian art posters advertising a fashionable new bicycle: Cycles Gladiator.”

They have a cool website. They also have an amazing cycling jersey from Hincapie Sports featuring the label artwork. But I must keep to my cheap bastard ways and just dream of wearing one.

I digress.

I wanted to prep for BRAG with some cycling-themed labels. BRAG’s two weeks away but after such a “poopy” day this was the closest bottle so it won. BRAG can wait.

I’ve tried some of this label before but didn’t remember much about it. The Merlot is the cheapest of the three common red Gladiators. One of the fancy wine magazines said it was one of the best under $10 Merlots. The Cab is under $10 but is about $2 per bottle more. The Pinot Noir is about $5 more and puts it out of this cheap bastard’s $10 price limit.

Much drier that the Merlots I typically drink. I really enjoyed it wanting to keep a note in my wine diary saying, “drink this because its enjoyable” rather than “it’s Merlot and typically you drink Merlots.” A good fruit taste that isn’t typical of Merlots (at least the cheap ones I buy) Not overly sweet. The soft tannins are are not distracting. The soft finish pleasantly lingered. Enough of the comments. I liked it. Mrs. Dan like it so I think I’ll be pedaling back for more. Maybe next time I’ll splurge for the extra $2 get the Cab.

From: Central Coast, California

Winery: Cycles Winery (Hahn Family Wines)

Purchased: Toast
Cost: $7.99
Size: 750ml
Year: 2006
Score: 3 Corks
Dan’s Rating System:
1 Cork: Use it to mask the poop smell in the vacuum.
2 Corks: Will do in a pinch when cleaning up a mess.
3 Corks: I think I might treat myself to a second glass.

3 Responses to “Cycles Gladiator Merlot Gets Me Pedaling-3 Corks”

1. Philip Woodrow says:

   May 27, 2009 at 12:06 pm

   Good morning Cheap *******, I must say you had me more than just a little freaked out in the first couple lines of your blog…but I persevered and read the rest of your post. And thank you for your glowing review of our Cycles Merlot, our cool web site, and the rockin’ Hincapie jerseys. I’ve bookmarked the bottle report and look forward to reading future reviews. Cheers!
2. WineDiverGirl says:

   May 27, 2009 at 12:28 pm

   Mr. D…that has to be one of the best wine/poop stories ever…and I appreciate your well-deserved wine at the end of a difficult day. I work for Hahn/Cycles Gladiator Wineries…and wanted to say thanks for the kind words. We regularly sponsor Bike Races including the Sea Otter Classic, Tour of California and Livestrong. Good on ya for taking on the BRAG Ride challenge regardless of how lean and mean anything you own may or may not be. It’s the power and character inside (the bottle and the person)…not the shape one might appreciate. Leave shapeliness to the nymph
3. Dave Wyman says:

   June 9, 2009 at 1:22 am

   I’ve just discovered the Cycles Gladiator website – and this one. Last March I traveled to New York to visit my daughter for a few days, and to purchase a bike (which I shipped back to L.A.) and ride it for a few days in the Big Apple.

   One night, on our way to dinner, we stopped into a wine shop, where I spotted a bottle Cycles Gladiator. Could anything be more appropriate (even if it IS a California wine)? We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and the wine.

   Now that I’ve found the CG webiste, I realize I may have to purchase a jersey….