Prices are going up.
Not a lot, mind you, and it mainly looks as if it is for lower-priced bottles. This leads me to believe that the higher-priced bottles are already well padded to endure any sort of economic upheaval. Was at my local over the weekend and the prices on the bottom shelf were increased anywhere from 1 to 3 dollars. Again, not much, but enough to scratch my head and make me contemplate if the price increases really are offsetting fuel costs, or just lining the pockets of some asshole in the Florida keys who needs another yacht.
At this point, it's not enough to turn me off and resort to depleting the aging home supplies, but it's enough for me to become a bit more selective with each trip. And maybe it was a sense of foreboding dread that compelled me to grab this bottle, or maybe it was the low price point, but I grabbed the remaining two bottles on the clearance shelf, thinking about how I'm going to weather the next few years of continuous price increases, low supply, high demand, climate change, global war, drought, famine, etc.
This is an odd duck, one that couldn't settle down with some air. The nose is full of black cherry and cola that carry on to the palate, which slowly shifts to notes of black licorice rope and flat cola. The finish is where things get interesting as it shifts to a more earthy, mineral mode.
I am not sure I can do a full-throated endorsement here, as there are plenty of more engaging, consistent bottles available at this price point (for now). But if you're stocking up for the ensuing armageddon in bulk it may be a decent daily bottle when everything else has turned to dust.
$11