Comments on: Crane Lake Merlot 2003 http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/crane-lake-merlot-2003 Cheap Wine reviews from around the globe. Spend Less. Drink more. Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:37:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Agnes http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/crane-lake-merlot-2003/comment-page-3#comment-360353 Agnes Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:27:35 +0000 http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/?p=9#comment-360353 I found Crane Lake years ago at Bev Max in CT and have tried them all except the Zin and the Brut, I recently tried the Sangiovese and love it! I am hungarian and my family love wine so I brought the Crane Lake to a Thanksgiving get-together and everyone loved it and couldn't believe the price of $3.99! I drink wine most evenings with dinner so for this price its the best choice by far and everyone I have told about it can't believe how good it is. The funniest part is giving it to a wine snob and then watching their look when you tell them the price!!!!!! PRICELESS I found Crane Lake years ago at Bev Max in CT and have tried them all except the Zin and the Brut, I recently tried the Sangiovese and love it! I am hungarian and my family love wine so I brought the Crane Lake to a Thanksgiving get-together and everyone loved it and couldn’t believe the price of $3.99! I drink wine most evenings with dinner so for this price its the best choice by far and everyone I have told about it can’t believe how good it is. The funniest part is giving it to a wine snob and then watching their look when you tell them the price!!!!!! PRICELESS

]]> By: Luna M. http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/crane-lake-merlot-2003/comment-page-3#comment-358735 Luna M. Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:14:24 +0000 http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/?p=9#comment-358735 Bought the Zinfandel this week. It's decent too. Not my ultimate favorite, but a good one to throw into the mix if buying a variety of bottles. The Cab still remains my least favorite. Was happy to see my local Meijer has all Crane Lake on sale for 3/$7 till the end of the month. Bought the Zinfandel this week. It’s decent too. Not my ultimate favorite, but a good one to throw into the mix if buying a variety of bottles. The Cab still remains my least favorite. Was happy to see my local Meijer has all Crane Lake on sale for 3/$7 till the end of the month.

]]> By: Luna M. http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/crane-lake-merlot-2003/comment-page-3#comment-358418 Luna M. Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:31:34 +0000 http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/?p=9#comment-358418 Am on a Crane Lake wine tasting extravaganza here! In the last couple of days I tried the Pinot Grigio and tonight the Riesling, chilled. Both are pretty good, with the Riesling being a bit sweeter, of course. I drank the whole bottle of Pinot by myself and it looks like that's the plan for the Riesling too. At these prices I surely can! haha It looks like the only two I need to try now are the White Zinfandel and the Sangiovese. I did see the White Zin at Meijer, but will need to search on for the Sangiovese. Am on a Crane Lake wine tasting extravaganza here! In the last couple of days I tried the Pinot Grigio and tonight the Riesling, chilled. Both are pretty good, with the Riesling being a bit sweeter, of course. I drank the whole bottle of Pinot by myself and it looks like that’s the plan for the Riesling too. At these prices I surely can! haha It looks like the only two I need to try now are the White Zinfandel and the Sangiovese. I did see the White Zin at Meijer, but will need to search on for the Sangiovese.

]]> By: Luna M. http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/crane-lake-merlot-2003/comment-page-3#comment-358324 Luna M. Mon, 20 Jun 2011 12:55:24 +0000 http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/?p=9#comment-358324 Got to taste the Merlot, Cab and Chardonnay finally. Did NOT like the Cab so much. BF seconded that motion. Not that it wasn't drinkable, it just had a taste we weren't too crazy about. Reminded me of Grenache/Malbec blended wine I did not like years back. No love lost though. We 'cut' it with some Cherry 7-Up and down it went. :-) The Merlot was pretty good and I drank the whole bottle of Chardonnay myself, if that gives you any indication. Would buy those two again. Got to taste the Merlot, Cab and Chardonnay finally. Did NOT like the Cab so much. BF seconded that motion. Not that it wasn’t drinkable, it just had a taste we weren’t too crazy about. Reminded me of Grenache/Malbec blended wine I did not like years back. No love lost though. We ‘cut’ it with some Cherry 7-Up and down it went. :-) The Merlot was pretty good and I drank the whole bottle of Chardonnay myself, if that gives you any indication. Would buy those two again.

]]> By: Luna M. http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/crane-lake-merlot-2003/comment-page-3#comment-358212 Luna M. Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:50:05 +0000 http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/?p=9#comment-358212 Found the 2009 Merlot and 2008 Shiraz on sale at my local Meijer for 3/$12 ($4.49 regular price). Looks like the price has gone up. Meijer has always been a bit more expensive all around (for my taste) anyhow. Had the Shiraz last night and I was so surprised at how smooth and palatable the taste was for the price. Amazing! A better buy when on sale (and not) than my go-to daily/house Black Box Cab wine. Located the Crane Lake bottles on the very bottom shelf at the store and they were all out of Cab and pretty low on all the other varietals. Looks like it's a popular brand for those in the know like the previous reviewers here. Was intent on finding the Sangiovese, but it looks like they don't carry it (damn). I am TOTALLY sold on Crane Lake now! The label looks simple and classy too. I can totally see bringing this as a host(ess) gift as previous reviewers mentioned. Especially if on a budget. Possibly along with a Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay for contrast. Found the 2009 Merlot and 2008 Shiraz on sale at my local Meijer for 3/$12 ($4.49 regular price). Looks like the price has gone up. Meijer has always been a bit more expensive all around (for my taste) anyhow. Had the Shiraz last night and I was so surprised at how smooth and palatable the taste was for the price. Amazing! A better buy when on sale (and not) than my go-to daily/house Black Box Cab wine. Located the Crane Lake bottles on the very bottom shelf at the store and they were all out of Cab and pretty low on all the other varietals. Looks like it’s a popular brand for those in the know like the previous reviewers here. Was intent on finding the Sangiovese, but it looks like they don’t carry it (damn). I am TOTALLY sold on Crane Lake now! The label looks simple and classy too. I can totally see bringing this as a host(ess) gift as previous reviewers mentioned. Especially if on a budget. Possibly along with a Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay for contrast.

]]> By: Dave Heiserman http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/crane-lake-merlot-2003/comment-page-3#comment-356410 Dave Heiserman Wed, 06 Apr 2011 02:31:19 +0000 http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/?p=9#comment-356410 Hey, the Chardonnay isn't bad either. Hey, the Chardonnay isn’t bad either.

]]> By: surfermsc123@yahoo.com http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/crane-lake-merlot-2003/comment-page-3#comment-347896 surfermsc123@yahoo.com Sun, 01 Aug 2010 04:43:04 +0000 http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/?p=9#comment-347896 I just paid $7.99 for 2008 Crane Lake Merlot. I usually don't purchase any wine under $20.00 however the label said it was grown in NAPA Valley and they were out of the good stuff so I figured why not? I cannot believe how good this wine is for the price. It matched perfectly with dinner. A great tasting flavorful wine, medium to full bodied with a slightly lingering soft finish. Very nice! I just paid $7.99 for 2008 Crane Lake Merlot. I usually don’t purchase any wine under $20.00 however the label said it was grown in NAPA Valley and they were out of the good stuff so I figured why not?

I cannot believe how good this wine is for the price. It matched perfectly with dinner. A great tasting flavorful wine, medium to full bodied with a slightly lingering soft finish. Very nice!

]]> By: Molly http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/crane-lake-merlot-2003/comment-page-3#comment-336712 Molly Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:07:14 +0000 http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/?p=9#comment-336712 Try the Riesling! Try the Riesling!

]]> By: Donna http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/crane-lake-merlot-2003/comment-page-3#comment-326139 Donna Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:31:27 +0000 http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/?p=9#comment-326139 I have bought the Crane Lake Sangiovese in the past and found it to be very refreshing and had great flavor. When my local liquor retailer suggested I try the Sauvignon Blanc, I bought two bottles. I had two glasses with a spinach salad, and within a few hours, I had the same experience that Pam (from 2006) had: Nauseous, sick, and headaches all the next day. I believe that her bottle and mine were just two contaminated in a batch of many good ones. I never drank the second bottle, and threw out the remainder of the first the next day. My friend tried a glass of the second bottle about a week later and liked the taste and had no ill effects from it. I gave her the bottle to take home. So, I don't think I'll be buying the Sauvignon Blanc again anytime soon, but I will continue to buy the Merlot and Sangiovese. I have bought the Crane Lake Sangiovese in the past and found it to be very refreshing and had great flavor. When my local liquor retailer suggested I try the Sauvignon Blanc, I bought two bottles. I had two glasses with a spinach salad, and within a few hours, I had the same experience that Pam (from 2006) had: Nauseous, sick, and headaches all the next day. I believe that her bottle and mine were just two contaminated in a batch of many good ones. I never drank the second bottle, and threw out the remainder of the first the next day. My friend tried a glass of the second bottle about a week later and liked the taste and had no ill effects from it. I gave her the bottle to take home. So, I don’t think I’ll be buying the Sauvignon Blanc again anytime soon, but I will continue to buy the Merlot and Sangiovese.

]]> By: CP http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/crane-lake-merlot-2003/comment-page-3#comment-321965 CP Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:56:27 +0000 http://www.cheapwinereviews.com/?p=9#comment-321965 One of the best wine shops in the LA/OC area, Winex in Orange, CA, carries excellent wines most of which are $8 to $10 and up (and worth the price), and offer excellent value for price. The only $3 wine they offered in the last half year was CRANE LAKE. Crane is Bronco wines effort to supply small specialty shops with a good bargain wine. I bought the 2005 Crane Lake Petit Sirah and was astonished how well-balanced and chunky it was for the money - easily could compete with same variety wines $13 to $20. Winex is pretty picky and I think it is only carrying the 2007 Cab at the moment, I'm eager to try it if I can just stop buying the exceptional 2007s from Southern France (also often great deals but seldom less than $10). One of the best wine shops in the LA/OC area, Winex in Orange, CA, carries excellent wines most of which are $8 to $10 and up (and worth the price), and offer excellent value for price. The only $3 wine they offered in the last half year was CRANE LAKE. Crane is Bronco wines effort to supply small specialty shops with a good bargain wine. I bought the 2005 Crane Lake Petit Sirah and was astonished how well-balanced and chunky it was for the money – easily could compete with same variety wines $13 to $20. Winex is pretty picky and I think it is only carrying the 2007 Cab at the moment, I’m eager to try it if I can just stop buying the exceptional 2007s from Southern France (also often great deals but seldom less than $10).

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