Nice Night for Pedaling-3 Corks

Cycles Gladiator Cabernet. 2007
The In-Laws dropped by tonight and brought me a nice little gift. A bottle of Cycles Gladiator Cab. I had to go back and check which of the Gladiators I had already reviewed and found my first review was on their Merlot (I paired it with dog poop…. but in a nice way). Then I had the Syrah, drinking it while watching a football game, which Southern Boys seldom do.

I sorta remember buying the Merlot for two reasons. It was the cheapest of their selections and it had a “necket” lady on the label. I couldn’t afford the Cab at that time because it was above $10. Now, it appears to have come down. When I drank the Syrah it was in part to celebrate Alabama banning the sale of Gladiator products because of the “necket” lady. (I won’t go into the details on the history of the beautiful nymph on the cover… you can read that yourself). The marketing folks at Hahn couldn’t have bought this much publicity.

When I was a young lad attending Auburn University the banning of such a bottle would be just the tip of the iceberg for weird ABC laws. Back in the early 70’s you couldn’t sell beer within a mile of a college campus. Since just about every cow in Eastern Alabama was owned by the Auburn Ag School I’m surprised that you didn’t have to drive to Columbus or West Point to find something a mile away from Auburn property just to buy a Bud. They drew some gerrymandered line out on Wire Road and some little shack of a convenience store was pretty much the only place to buy beer (which oddly enough was within sight of the Vet School).

Buying alcohol with a meal downtown was not possible. You could go to the beloved War Eagle Supper Club out near the Interstate and have a beer with your pizza–provided you didn’t get up and carry it from your table… that’s why they banned pinball machines in drinking establishments. If you played pinball you might be tempted to carry your beer over to play. It was illegal to stand with a drink in your hand in the state of Alabama. And when drinking sitting down it came from a can or bottle. Kegs were illegal at that time. So you had to drive to Columbus to rent a keg. Having a beer party was our way of thumbing our noses at The Man. (And might I add that the only wine was Mad Dog 20/20 or Boone’s Farm–which they didn’t sell at The Supper Club).

My senior year the state legislature passed a law to allow local governments to decide if alcohol could be sold within a mile of a college campus. Auburn’s city fathers decided to give it a try. They allowed one downtown restaurant to get a pouring license and then shut off applications. That was a big step considering only 3 years before Auburn was still locking up Freshmen women in the dorms at 10pm.

Well times have changed and I believe that probably the barbershops in downtown Auburn sell beer now. But dammit, you can’t drink wine from a bottle with a necket lady on it. I digress.

We enjoyed a glass over a game of Euchre. (I’m proud to say that the men beat the women in both games). I enjoyed the Syrah and the Merlot. I really like the Cab. On first taste there was a bit of tartness toward the finish. After the bottle had been opened for awhile that seemed to settle down. Nice fruit forward. Not too dry at the start but a slight dry finish. The aroma actually reminds me of a fresh baked fruit pie. I would swear that there is a hint of a hard cider without any of the spritz you feel with cider. We had just eaten so I’m at a loss to say what foods would be nice with it but I suspect some lighter cheese like string cheese (hey we got a 3-year-old in the house so string cheese is king). I’m actually surprised I haven’t tried the cab before. This isn’t a complicated or fancy wine. Just a simple Cab that the average wine drinker would enjoy.

I better stop here. I might start reminiscing more about my beloved Auburn. Did I mention that I own a 60’s era coffee mug from the famous Kopper Kettle! I digress.

From: California
Winery: Cycles Winery (Hahn Family Wines)

Cost: $under 10
Year: 2007
Stopper: Cork

Score: 3 Corks
Dan’s Rating System:

1 Cork: Enjoy it with a game of sharpened lawn darts played at night
2 Corks: Enjoy it with a game of Zilch between two people
3 Corks: Enjoy it over a game of Euchre that you won