I bought a bottle of the Hillebrand Winery Trius 2004 Cabernet Franc (VQA Niagara) this evening, partly on the strength of having enjoyed the 2002 version and partly because it was, er, conveniently available where I was buying the wherewithal for dinner.

J. nicely deconstructed (or perhaps reverse-engineered) the label as broadcasting a sort of sort of middle of the road, yuppie-ish, respectable-but-not-too-complicated vibe. Which is essentially what this wine is all about. It has a degree of interest — an attractive Niagara-red smokiness with a bit of greenness which isn’t necessarily a bad thing — but ultimately too much greenness (more raspberry-leaf than raspberry…) and a serious deficit on the palate.

I don’t regret giving this one a spin but at $14.95 and 13% there are better values out there.