$4 Rendez-Vous 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau France Trader Joes

This wine is a lovely jewel tone of reddish purple and is quite rich looking. It smells of subtle plums and cherries. The first few sips yield layers of black currant, black cherry and blackberry. It is also very peppery with heavy spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. This Beaujolais is medium-bodied with a very long, spicy finish. It is very nice indeed... I would definitely keep a bottle of this on hand.

I give this wine 4 out of 5 stars

$5 Now and Zen 2008 Alsace White France Trader Joes

Melon and citrus on the nose, with a bit of papaya. Upon sipping, it is a very well-rounded blend. There is a bit of just about everything in there... fruit, crisp flavor with a touch of sweetness. There is a bit of a Moscato-ish flavor with some flavors of Pinot Grigio too. This would be a great table wine, when you are serving a lot of different people with different tastes.

I give this wine a 4 out of 5 stars

For a more in-depth review of this wine, check out Jason's review at Jason's Wine Blog

$5 Syrah-Merlot 2005 Sainte Croix France Trader Joes

I opened this bottle at 8pm last night, right after dinner. I poured a glass, but didn't get to it for nearly an hour. The immediate flavors were very raspberry-ish with bold tones of grass and green peppers. This wine is strongly astringent and has a long finish and a slight bitterness to it. It is a strong, bold wine. The Shiraz definitely overpowered the Merlot in this blend, but I could see this Shiraz being too bitter and peppery alone so the grapiness of the Merlot helped to even things out. Overall, a decent wine.

I give it a 3 stars out of 5.

I would buy this wine again and I think it would go better with a rich tomato or chile sauce or a nice roasted lamb.