Kudos to LMA Wines

It's easy to get stuck in a Baja rut: same fishing holes, same beer (Pacifico or Tecate), stay at the same motels along the road, eat at the same places, tell the same stories and for SWMBO and I, go to the same Guadalupe Valley wineries. A few times a year, LMA will have a 6-pack of wines from different wineries and we nearly always order them as they will have a few that we never heard of.

A few weeks ago we received another $99 six-pack that included Alixima Rosé, Emevé Isabelle (Chard, sauv blanc, viog blend) and Las Nubes Cumulus. These are established blends from good wineries that we have visited many times.

Three were from wineries we had never heard of:
Vinos Origen, Bodega Mine Penélope, and VR.
The VR sangiovese we have not opened, the other two are red blends. The thing we both like and don't like is the crazy red blends the wineries are trying. Unusual pairings we don't see in Nor Cal, for sure. Hit and Miss. Not to put too fine of a point on it, our local wineries are straining to make the perfect GSM while in Baja you soon start wondering if blends are made from whatever the next barrel holds.

Case in point, the 2013 Primate blend from Vinos Origen is 1/3 each of Nebbiolo, Merlot and Cab. Really? Who in their right mind would actually try that? It turns out this is a hit in our view and apparently shared by others having won a gold and silver in local competitions. Not many 5-year-old wine being released in the valley, good to see that.
The Me Unicas from Bodega, a granaché/petit syrah was really good, this lasted only one night, heh.

If you enjoy Baja wines, we highly recommend joining LMA and getting a few shipments that they put together; it will force you to try something different.

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Vina de Frannes