Medalla Real, Santa Rita, Maipo Valley Chile 2006

At a recent wine store visit, I was chatting with a representative of a winery from California and I told him that I drank a lot of Chilean Cabs, mostly because they were consistently good value. He said that he went through a phase where he drank many of them, but that he now prefers the California Cabs which are less earthy and organic their Chilean counterparts. I had this conversation in mind when I pulled this wine as our second wine for a Saturday evening dinner with my brother and his wife. (see prior post) The moment I tasted this Cab and contrasted it with our first bottle of a California Cab, I noted a much earthier flavor. Mrs. Vino announces that she likes this one much better. "More flavor." The Wine Spectator rated this at 91 points - exactly the same score as the BV wine from the prior post - but for two wines made from the same grape, scoring the exact same WS rating, they could not have been more different. This wine was much bigger and bolder. I loved them both and thought, "this shows why the point rating can be a useful barometer, but really says very little about the wine. I purchased this wine a little while back and am guessing I paid just under $20 for the bottle. Definitely pick this one up if you see it in that price range. I learned that inviting another couple certainly presents an opportunity for an informal wine tasting where two wines can be tasted. We all had fun with it!

Beaulieu Vineyard, Georges De Latour, Private Reserve, Napa 1996

A few years back, Mrs. Vino stole away with her book club for a spring weekend on the Cape. She asked what wine she could bring and I gave her a few lower priced "BV" wines, figuring the ladies weren't going to pay too much attention to the wine. When she returned on Sunday evening she handed me the bottle pictured to the right. As you can see it was a "BV" but a 1996 BV Private Reserve Cab from Napa! She says everyone insisted this was one of the wines she brought. Well I put it in the wine rack and over the last few years I've smiled and wondered every time I scanned our wines. Yesterday I decided, I better not wait any longer. To celebrate the grand opening of this 15 year-old bottle we invited my brother and his wife for some grilled tenderloins, along with fried mushrooms and onions, roasted potatoes, broiled asparagus and a fresh orange and yellow tomato dish. I was expecting a big hairy red, but I found the wine far more gentle and easy. I never would have guessed this was a straight Cab. My brother picks up on a smokey or toasty flavor, which is exactly what the Wine Spectator commented on when they gave it 91 points. Of course, 1 bottle is not going to last for the two couples on a Saturday evening, so see the next post for a contrasting cab that we opened. I see this wine is $70 on the web, much more than Mrs. Vino paid.

Porta Reserva Cab Sauvignon

Chile strikes again! Picked up this Cab for $10 and it is a nice big hairy red that I'll pull out for my next steak dinner. The Japanese gave this wine a gold medal in one of their challenge - with good reason. Mrs. Vino says it is too heavy for a summer night and while I agree, I think she'll feel differently in October when the temp hits the low 40's and we set our first fire of the season in the fireplace. Look for this one! BTW - allow me to explain my limited write-ups lately. I've been knee deep in the college search process for my son and it is all consuming. I have however found that shopping colleges is just like shopping for wine. Most importantly, you need to select a wine (college) to go with your meal (student). The match is critical! Like wine colleges and universities come in all sorts of flavors and many are expensive! Some may be worth it, others I'm not so sure. Then there are some cheap schools - relatively speaking -that appear to offer quite a bit. Just like wine, this is where I'm focused.

Line 39 Cab - Lake County 2007

On a recent weekend, Mrs. Vino and I stole away for a visit to some Massachusetts wineries. (Our dedication knows no bounds!) That evening we weren't interested in lots of wine, so we ordered glasses and Mrs. Vino chose the parellell 39 Cabernet. She liked it immediately and tonight we tried our own bottle at home. Apparently some of the best wines in the world come from wineries along the 39th parallel. This wine comes from Lake County which is just north of Napa. Lots of flavor and very fruit forward. Mrs. Vino dug deep and noted that it was like a fig newton - which was accurate both in flavor and texture. I see other web wine reviewers saying it is a summer sipper - so maybe we've picked the right summer night to open this one - because it is 85 degrees - and we've got it chilled a bit! Look for it before the summer ends! I think you'll find it and be pleased with the wine - and it's value, of course!

Shannon Ridge 2007 Cab

Cut to the chase. I WILL be looking for this $11 cab again! This went perfectly with burgers on the grill and some Mrs. Vino homemade fries. We also mixed in a little fried plantain just to keep things interesting. Mrs. Vino and I both felt the wine needed a bit of air time to open up and were tempted to decant, but decided to just wait. Another indication that we like this one is that the bottle is GONE! The winemaker has a cool web site that I linked up. Lake County looks like a great wine country destination. Holy smokes - the suggested retail on this is $19! I'll be rushing back to my new favorite wine store to pick up more of this bad boy before the end of the week! I'll say it again - look for this one!

Hess Allomi Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Last fall, when attending a distributor function at Julio's I sampled a California Cab. I confessed to the Hess representative that I generally drink Cabs from Chile. (Not that I'm opposed to other Cabs, it's just that the Chilean wines are much less expensive, generally reliable and I like them!) "Too earthy," he says to me. "Don't get me wrong," he says, "I went through a phase where I drank a lot of them, but I now prefer the California Cabs." I liked the sample and picked up a bottle - in the $18 range - although that was a special that night as it is generally around $22. I match in up with some mid-January charcoal grilled steaks. This is a "big hairy" red - and I'm beginning to see the distributors point. I love it and would recommend it to any of you big hairy cigar smokers out there. Mrs. Vino isn't a big fan - finding it just doesn't have any sweetness. I'll look for it! Shhh - Don't tell her. She'll learn to like this one. (Hey - ck out Brett "it is all about me" Fav-raa playing for the Vikings in the playoff game in the background. )

Santa Ema Cabernet Sauvignon

Another Chillean Cab! While I've liked this in the past, this one just isn't quite as good as the Montes or my new best friend, EL GATO NEGRO - at $4.99. (I did pick up a case of the Cat BTW!) Don't shy away from S Ema, but if you see the Montes or EL GATO, then go with that instead. Allow me to digress: I hear that the FTC is thinking of trying to enforce bloggers to disclose when their being paid by the company/product they are reviewing. Good luck to them! There are now 30 million blogs on the net! But, I'm a law abiding and highliy ethical CPA, so here's the full disclosure from me: The Chillean Cabernet Sav Society is paying me mucho dinero to talk up their great wines.

Montes Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Three years ago I read a WSJ article that raved about a great Chillean wine - Montes Cabernet Sauvignon 2004. The wine was $10 and rated "delicious". My local merchant (Julios) had the wine. I now know that never happens so it was a eureka moment. The boredom of beer was soon left behind. I can't believe I haven't blogged on this wine yet. Thank God Mrs. Vino had it opened after I arrived home at 7:30 tonight after a long day. Tons of intense fruit flavor, with very light oak. If you find this wine, buy a case and drink one bottle every 6 months. In 6 years, when you're drinking the last bottle, you won't believe you paid $10 for the bottle. Actually, with the case discount, you'll pay less than that. Definitely, look for it!

Gato Negro Cabernet Sauvignon

Another Chilean bargain. Me gusta el Gato Negro! Cuanta questa? $4.99 per bottle! I'll be force feeding this one onto Mrs. Vino M, T, W, Thursday! On the nose I get a stale cigar. Mrs Vino gets gasoline. We're both impressed with the taste however and can't believe the price. Much better than 2 - errr 3 buck Chuck! This shows that price can be irrelevant and don't be afraid to venture out - especially if the wine is from South America. At $4.99, look for it! Muy bien el gato negro! Vamanos!

35 South Cabernet Sav - 2006

Had to try another Cab from Chile. Or NOT. Nothing special here - even at $10. Drinkable and fine for a Tuesday night, but my advice is just keep going if you walk past this one in the wine store aisle. Although if you're in the South America aisle, pick up a Montes or a Saint Ema! I score 35 South at 79. Mrs. Vino is traveling. I know you miss her:)