Winery: Les Bourgeois
Wine: Riverboat Red
Type: American Table Red
Price: $9.99
Service Temp: 45F
Alcohol Content: 12%
Biggest Pros: Enjoyable in the right context
Biggest Cons: Too sweet with dinner for us
Memorable fact: No date/year on label

According to Les Bourgeois’ website Riverboat Red is Les Bourgeois Winery’s best selling wine.  Riverboat Red is advertised as a sweet Missouri red with hints of raspberry, cherry and ripe fruit and meant to be served chilled.

Charlie and I picked up a bottle at the Hy-Vee grocery store in Kansas City North, Missouri.  At $9.99 it was reasonable to pick up a bottle for a sample.

We made dinner that night.  We did not know what to expect and we didn’t know it was a sweet red – we hadn’t read anything about the wine before purchase.  The label clearly and accurately but misleading says “American Table Wine.”  So we chilled it as the label prescribed and I started dinner.  We were both expecting a pleasant table red perhaps tasting of zinfandel, merlot or cabernet – or a blend of sorts.  With the wine we ate fantastic broiled rib-eye steaks, baked potatoes, garlic bread and a small mixed greens salad with an Italian vinaigrette. 

Well, we definitely missed the boat on the wine-food pairing.  Riverboat Red is not a table-serve-with-dinner red as it is a very sweet red.  It most certainly did not taste good with the steak.  It completely overwhelmed all other food that we were eating.  Charlie and I both agreed that this red would best be served alone or perhaps in lieu of desert.

So enough with the background and on to the notes:

Sweet, very sweet.  Tastes grapey, must be the “ripe fruit.”  Taste of concord. Where’s the raspberry?!?!  Very little cherry.  Tastes of salty buttery popcorn.  Take off dinner table and serve as desert.

Rating:
7/12 Corks

Recommendation:
Buy a bottle and try it.  Buy two and throw one in your cellar for an adventure when friends come over.  Do not serve at any party.  Buying a case may be excessive.  Share with your friends after dinner instead of desert.  Serve chilled.