Queso: check. Solo cups: check. Cheap-ass white wine: check. Another successful Tuesday night in Tower 12B.  While the presence of refinement in these wine columns was questionable to start, it certainly will not be found at this late point in our senior year. Our first assessment of our wine for this week was “this will be an experience,” and likely not an amazing one. 

Why this reaction? We bought this bottle for only $4.99. Yes, you read that correctly. We bought this wine for less than Sabra Hummus at the C-Store (don’t you love those mark-ups?). For better or for worse, this is what we have come to.

But there appears to be a light at the end of this dark, boozy tunnel. Our wine, Simone, a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile (certainly no California arsenic for this column!), received 87 points and was labeled a best buy by Wine Enthusiast. Naturally, we were quite surprised that anything so cheap could be rated so highly. The only little hiccup was the small print indicating that this award was actually for the 2008 vintage, and our bottle tonight is from the ripe young year of 2013. 

Despite the deceptive advertising, Simone is actually quite tasty and not offensive at all. It is hard to gauge if our predilection for fine wines and purebred vintages has simply disappeared under the yearlong bombardment of under-$10 wines, but at this point we really don’t care.  The wine tastes crisp and refreshing. It’s more or less exactly what you would want out of a cheaper Sauvignon Blanc. While it is nearly impossible to smell anything but plastic when the wine is in a solo cup, we could still make out slight fruity notes with hints of citrus. 

The color of the wine is a light silvery-gold akin to the inside of a pear, and the mouthfeel is smooth; we may even go so far as to say slightly effervescent. This is a great spring wine. Even though it seems like we’re still in the depths of winter, there are signs that spring has finally sprung. Perhaps this wine will become a spring staple in our room.

In terms of taste, this wine was quite good. We honestly don’t know if the pleasing aftertaste was the queso or the wine (Brandon found that it had nice oakiness), but in either case we really enjoyed it.

All in all, this wine surprised us. We went into it with fairly low expectations that were quickly surpassed. Maybe this is a sign for Bottom of the Barrel that it’s time for us to drop the queso and start pairing with better options. Or maybe it’s a sign that the queso is making everything better. As the weather begins to match our Senior Spring attitude, we’re likely to believe in the latter. Graduation is swiftly approaching (hello cap and gown order forms, and LOL to registering for classes or entering the lottery), and this means that we only have a few short weeks left to enjoy life in college. Honestly, there’s no better way to savor this time than to hang out with friends over a bottle of wine and snacks. We’ll drink to that.

Additional Notes:
 
Brandon: “I feel like this wine is a good training wheel wine. It’s preparing me for my future life of guzzling Sauvignon Blanc at every available opportunity.”
 
Bryce: “While 87 points may be generous, a couple bottles of this could make a nice spring sangria.”

Nose: 3.5
Mouthfeel: 4
Body: 3.5
Taste: 3
 
Get your hands on Simone while it’s still at a crazy low sale price! Shaw’s: $4.99.