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Courtney Benham Lucca Red North Coast 2014

The "Winery Direct" wines at Total Wines and More are usually placed on the middle level shelves at eye level.  Total Wines stocks a lot of these wines and the clerks encourage you to buy them since the markups are greater than for most name brand wines.  I do not review these wines regularly since they usually are only available at Total Wines.

However, there are a few Winery Direct wines that are worthy of our attention.  The wines from Martin Ray Winery fall into that category.  Martin Ray Winery is in Santa Rosa California and they produce wines under Angeline (entry level), Courtney Benham (mid level and limited production) and Martin Ray (premium level) labels.  I have enjoyed these wines for several years and  once experienced  a great  visit to their winery.

Courtney Benham Lucca Red is a blend of Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  The grapes are sourced from vineyards in northern Sonoma County and Mendocino County and aged in American, French and Hungarian oak.  The listed alcohol content is 13.9%.  This is a medium bodied wine that features lighter fruit flavors.  It is very easy to drink without harsh oak flavors and would be well suited to accompany pizza or pork barbecue.  I like this wine and have enjoyed it numerous times over the years.  The wine is regularly priced at $11.99 and with a coupon you can often purchase it for around $10.19.

SC Wine Joe rating = 89 points






































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