EAST COAST PALATE

Cold Monday morning.  Last night I fell asleep watching football after eating 2 pounds of delicious cajun wings from BWB.  A few minutes after waking up I decided to taste some wine with an untainted palate, so I grabbed one of the brown bagged bottles sitting in the rack (I have to admit the process can't be called a blind tasting because I know that 8 of the 9 bottles there are French).  Making sure to not look at the cork, I poured myself a few ounces.  Ruby color, aromas of cherry and wet stones.  I thought, this beats the hell out of coffee.  The wine has a bit of a synthetic cherry thing going on, but its balance of fruit and earthiness is solid.  On the back of the tongue the wine leaves a bitter flower petal residue that gave it a weird finish, but all-in-all a good product.  I'll give it a B (86-87).  After unveiling the bottle, it is Paul Avril's Le Petit Vin d'Avril (NV).  The Chateauneuf de Pape big brother of this wine is the best in the world from '07 according to Wine Spectator (who, incidentally, rated the Petit Vin an 88).  
I paid $18 for this wine, but you can find it elsewhere for less.  I would recommend finding it for less.