Don't let it be forgot that once there was a spot, for one brief, shining moment that was known as Camelot.

Tell me, did you ever buy a wine because it looked interesting and then go home only to find that you must have already found that wine interesting...... because it's already on your wine rack? Yeah, uhm me either.

Okay, so.... maybe it's just a case of Mommy-brain, but -- a couple of weekends ago I went to our local wine shop (that's just fancy Connecticut talk for liquor store) and decided to pick up a few bottles of wine -- maybe breath some life into this site.

While browsing the reds, I saw this 2002 Merlot with a little star-shaped sign that said "Ray's Pick -- Great Value". Now, Ray's just a dude that works there, so don't get too excited -- but for $6.99, "great value" seemed right up my alley, so -- into the basket it went.

My job is investment-related and although it's only Wednesday..... all this upping-and-downing of the markets has made for a really long week, so I decided a glass of wine was in order..... and Camelot seemed like a good mid-week choice.

The bottle's label doesn't offer much in the way of a description, and their website only mentions the 2003 Merlot, which has won some awards -- but wine.com includes the following winemakers notes for the 2002:

"Appealing cherry aromas carry onto the palate with deep plum richness and a subtle herbal distinction. Well balanced throughout, this wine has soft, round tannins without angular distraction. Delicate vanilla oak accents are apparent in a rich and complex finish."

I'd say that I agree with the majority of that -- this wine was very mild and as I was drinking it I said to the Big Dubya that it would be a perfect wine to just have on hand -- it's mild and unassuming enough that it would work with pizza or even something more involved -- and then I joked that it was a decent "table wine".

Bottom line --Ray was right -- for $6.99, it is good value. I probably wouldn't serve it to company, but it's perfect for a middle-of the week glass, to cook with or to accompany a casual dinner...... and, lucky me -- I've got another bottle.