Wine of the Week: Bogle Vineyards Phantom

Wine: Bogle Vineyards Phantom

Grapes: Petite sirah (46 percent), zinfandel (40 percent), cabernet sauvignon (11 percent), mourvedre (3 percent)

Region: Lodi & Amador, Calif.

Vintage: 2011

Price: $16.99

Availability: Trader Joe's, Lee's Discount Liquor

In the glass: Bogle Phantom is an opaque blackish-purple color with deep blood-red to violet streaks going out into a crimson, slightly tinted red rim definition with high viscosity.

On the nose: There is a plethora of deeply layered and crushed black fruits of the forest, with dominance by brambleberry, then blackberries, oak references, phenolic references, beef jerky, spice rack, black licorice sticks, black pepper and mineral content, but all around a very fruit-forward wine with slightly fruit-stewy undertones.

On the palate: There is a massive spicy mixed black fruit attack with crushed morello cherries, blackberry puree, underlying licorice root, reduced black fruit stew, ripe black plum skins, peppery sort of notes, with subtle vanilla from oak, massive yet supple tannin structure with a balanced, firm midpalate and a longish finish, still peppered with spice and some dissipating phenolic components going into cranberry at the end. What a hedonistic and ghoulishly interesting wine!

Odds and ends: Traditionally, I like to try to find a good bottle of wine to take to Halloween parties, and it is nice when something as aptly named as the Phantom fills the bill. It is a remarkably well-balanced wine based on primarily petite sirah and zinfandel, and is perfect for the adult costume celebrations while the little spooks gorge on candy. The packaging might make you think it is actually some sort of special Halloween cuvee. The eerie label has a sort of "Sleepy Hollow" feel to it and the wine delivers a murderously big punch on the palate, sure to please just about any congress of zombies that might be hanging out in the neighborhood. You can probably guess that a solid recommendation for this wine is for it to be paired with a bloody steak straight off the backyard grill. It is a muscular and full-bodied wine that will drink well now through 2018.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears on Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.