Click image to enlarge.

We got the opportunity to try another one of Maynard James Keenan and winemaker Eric Glomski’s Arizona Stronghold wines last week, courtesy of our good friend, Judy Murdoch. We liked the Arizona Stronghold Nachise last month, so we were more than happy to give this one a go with grilled flank steak and see what it had to offer. Here’s our no-muss-no-fuss, quick-and-not-that-dirty review.

2008 Arizona Stronghold Mangus Red Wine Cochise County, 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Sangiovese, 9% Merlot, 14.2% alc., $19.98-22.99: Clean medium dark color, with a pretty overlay of cocoa to the red berry, cherry and plum flavors and aromas; medium-full bodied, creamy and chocolatey in texture, with moderate structure and decent length. An enjoyable, drink-me-now kind of wine, so there’s no reason to age this for any extended period of time. ASV’s intent with this was to create a “Super Tuscan blend,” and while it doesn’t really taste anything like any of that ilk that I’ve encountered, it does offer an easygoing wine similar in temperament to the Nachise. What’s more, it’s not as light in body and character as our benefactor had warned us that we might find it. The hipper-than-thou-natural-wine-only geeks might not care for this, but my only real criticism is with the back label, because ASV might do well to get a better proofreader.

“This wine expresses the intensity of MANGUS Coloradas father-in-law and brother in arms with the mighty Cochise. Great chief and leader of the Mimbres clan of the Apache. Mangus fought fiercely against injustices to his people and their lands.” Find this wine

Reporting from Day-twah,

geo t.

Related posts:

1. 2009 Arizona Stronghold Nachise and Other Delights
2. Red Wings & Red Rhônes: 2007 La Vieille Ferme Côtes du Ventoux Rouge
3. Red Wings & Red Rhônes: ’06 & ’07 Domaine de Font Sane Gigondas
4. Red Wings and Red Rhônes: 2007 Domaine Sainte-Anne Côtes-du-Rhône Villages
5. Red Wings & Red Rhônes~3 from the South

One Response to “2008 Arizona Stronghold Mangus Red Wine”