2007 Vina Falernia Carmenere Reserva, Chile

Color – Dark red, nearly black

Nose – Blackberry, black currant, vegetal notes, alcohol

Taste – I would love to be able to rate this Carmenere right up there with my favorites because it looks good in the glass, it smells pretty darn good, and even the initial sip starts off well, but everything goes downhill from there. There is a lot more fruit in this wine than I am used to in Carmenere; I can taste blackberry, plum, dark cherry right from the initial sip, but those flavors get eviscerated in the mid-palate with a massive dose of alcohol. It is so bad that the aftertaste is one that I am only familiar with in terms of cherry flavored Nyquil. Basically after the first hints of actual flavor the wine degrades into a mouthful of fruit flavored alcohol. You can still catch tinges of brown sugar and cut grass, but they are completely trampled by a long, Long, LONG aftertaste of alcohol. The tannins in this wine might be nice and firm or they might be flabby and flat, I honestly couldn’t tell you because I can’t find them. The only thing my palate can detect after the second sip is alcohol. I tried this over a period of five days and the wine didn’t get any better after decanting or being consumed at higher or lower temperatures. It is a fairly heavy bodied wine and that makes it even harder to slug down.

Overall, I would say pass on this train wreck of a 10 dollar wine. It is not a good QPR, it is a terrible QPR. This wine is overbearingly alcohol forward and not a wine at all but closer to a cough syrup in flavor and nearly in texture. The wine is “heavy” on the tongue and with the predominant flavor of alcohol-cherry-chemicals it brings memories of taking Nyquil when I had the flu growing up. If that is your idea of a good red wine then this one is for you. For everyone else, dump this down the toilet and get ANY OTHER CARMENERE IN THE WORLD (that’s how bad this wine is).

Vina Falernia Wines

2009 Chateau Los Boldos Momentos De Chile, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile

Color – Dark red

Nose – Green bell peppers, forest floor, blackberry, wet soil

Taste – This is a very nicely put together wine. I have to say that after tasting the Momentos De Chile Carmenere I was not impressed. So I wasn’t expecting much when I opened this bottle, I got more than I bargained for. This wine is nice and tight, and some might say a little too young. I happen to like the sharp contrast between the fruit and vegetable flavors and the very large tannin and alcohol hints. On the first sip I get a nice flavor of sour cherries, bitter blackberries, tobacco and licorice, the mid-palate is quite tannic with good heat from the alcohol. The former does a nice job leaving my gums feeling nice and clean, while the latter makes my tongue prickle just a little. The finish is medium-to-long with more tobacco and licorice flavors. Pretty decent effort all the way around, I didn’t expect to like this based off the sour and bitter flavors but they work in this wine and are rather pleasing.

Overall, I would say this reminds me more of a Carmenere than a Cabernet Sauvignon, which is funny because the Momentos De Chile Carmenere I tried resembled a Cabernet more than a Carmenere. Maybe it’s just me or perhaps it’s only this vintage that is a little funky but I think these wines are just a little off the normal path for their particular varietals. I do like this wine despite its strange flavor profile. It’s different enough to make me want to revisit it, and it is rather good as well. I’d say you should pick this one up at least once to see what you think and then go from there.

Vinas Los Boldos

2008 Radius Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington

Color - Dark red

Nose - Blackberry, green bell pepper, molasses

Taste - On day one, glass one of this wine I thought it was going to be a nice even Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon that had dark fruits, oak and vegetal flavors. That's precisely what it was, though with less oak and more fruit. On day three, glass five this wine has lost most of the vegetal flavors and the bluberry, dark cherry and blackberry flavors have taken over. It's not bad, there's a nice bite right in the mid-palate and the finish is nice a smooth although only medium in length. There are some very subtle hints of brown sugar or molasses on the aftertaste which is very pleasant and fruity. The wine has a nice "warmth" to it that I've noticed in certain reds that I end up liking (perhaps a reaction of the acids and tannins, though I don't know).

Overall, I would say this is another wine that I've come to enjoy quite a bit. I would compare it to Columbia-Crest or Redwood Creek both in price and taste. It's an OK QPR, the wine is not complex but it's a great, smooth stand alone wine. Try it if you like fruitier Cabs or just need something pleasant and unoffensive for a get together.

2009 Nbed 2gether Carmenere, Chile

Color - Dark red

Nose - Raspberry Jam, green bell pepper, cocoa

Taste - This is smooth, slightly fruity with hints of acid from the tannins which are just present on the tip of the tongue. I detect some creamy raspberry tones on the sides of the tongue and vegetal notes on the finish. The wine wants to be a heavy hitter like a Cabernet Sauvignon but falls short though not in a bad way. This is a pleasant wine by itself, though a little too vegetal at times. It has a very nice creamy flavor and texture when paired with cheese. The wine tastes better above 60 degrees. It tastes somewhat bland when served cooler. It's both fruity and vegetal upon my second drinking a few days later, though it remains rather one-dimensional. It has such a light "weight" on my tongue that I am left feeling as if I've just sipped water instead of wine, and sometimes it tastes nearly "flat" I'd say drink the bottle in one sitting as it loses most of it's limited complexity if given time to breathe.

Overall, this is an everyday run-of-the-mill medium-bodied red wine, you can find a thousand out there just like it. If you pick this up when it's on sale for 5.99, then you got a decent price, anything more than that and I'd pass. I would also advice that this is not what you will get if you pick up nearly any other bottle of Carmenere. This doesn't have the Carmenere spice, though it does have the green bell pepper hints that a lot of Carmenere has. It just tastes like a regular red blend, nothing special. You can keep it around for your friends that aren't wine snobs and bring it out a big social events, but I'd pass on it and pick up anything by Columbia-Crest, Redwood Creek or Concha y Toro for the same price and much more (though still rather limited) complexity and depth.

2009 Concha y Toro Casillero Del Diablo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile

Color - Ruby red

Nose - Black currant, blackberry, oak

Taste - My first impression of this wine(from this tasting, I've had this wine quite a few times in the past), is that it has a quick cherry sweetness to it which fades to a pleasant, light vegetal flavor reminiscent of grass, oak and mint on the finish. It has a decent medium-to-long finish with a mild bite right before it fades from the palate. There are subtle undertones of black pepper and spice, as well as minute flavors of green bell peppers. All of these spice/herbaceous flavors are just under the surface of the fruit and fade rather quickly. This particular wine is lighter than most Cabs I am used to drinking. It's good but uneventful, not complex at all, but not boring. It's definitely more medium-bodied, even leaning more to a light Cabernet. The wine really shines when it's paired with fatty meats or heavy cream sauces. The fats pull out the tannins and flavors of this wine that otherwise go unnoticed. It's not a great Cab, pretty ordinary, but you can pick it up at almost any supermarket so it's readily available if you need a decent Cab to go with your steak dinner.

Overall, I'd love to rate this as one of my favorite wines because I truly do appreciate Concha y Toro wines, but I really can't. It's a good wine, it's probably priced about 4 or 5 dollars too high, but if you get on sale for 8.99, it's a decent bargain. I would say pick it up for those summer grilling days, but you can just as easily find a better bottle for just a few dollars more. Try the Altera Cabernet Sauvignon for about the same price, or Courtney Benham Cabernet Sauvignon for just a few dollars more.

Concha y Toro Wines

2009 Bolla Valpolicella, Italy

Color - Light red with a near pink rim

Nose - Slight cherry, clean herbaceous hints

Taste - Having never had this particular style of wine, I didn't know what to expect, but right off the bat two things hit me. One, this wine is much lighter than I am used to drinking. Two, this wine has an interesting sour cherry flavor that permeates every sip. The wine is light colored and light in body, it doesn't hang around on your palate after you've swallowed though the sour cherry flavor stays with me for several long seconds before it fades. There are hints of grass, herbs or light mint as the wine fades on the tongue and nearly a pucker factor. Though the wine is sour it is still fruity and not particularly dry. The vegetal flavors are quite pleasant in the wine almost enough to balance the sourness. The wine is very smooth as far as mouthfeel goes, the tannins are nearly lost (in my opinion due to the fact that your mouth is dealing with so much sour cherry). It's young and kind of muddled, but not necessarily bad, just different. I usually stick with Chianti or Sangiovese if I purchase and Italian red wine, I tried this out because it was cheap and the back label made it sound like something my mouth would enjoy. There is a slight bite from the alcohol, but not a lot of heat from it, nothing.

Overall, this is a difficult wine for my palate to peg. My gut instinct is to find a different brand of this wine before I discount Valpolicella altogether, but to be quite honest I don't really like the wine all that much. I'm not fond of light red wines. This wine reminds me more of a sour apple Sauvignon Blanc more than it reminds me of a Chianti or other light red. Even the aroma has more in common with the few dry/sour whites I've come to enjoy. It's not an unpleasant wine just not what I would pick. I would hazard a guess and say a person looking to transition from white-to-red might enjoy this wine as an ice breaker into red wines. For the price I'd pick up a Chianti or Tempranillo or even a decent red table wine before I'd buy this again.

Bolla Wines

2007 Munoz de Toro Argie Bonarda, Argentina

Color - Very Dark Purple

Nose - Roses, Brown Sugar/Molasses, Plum (lots of plum)

Taste - This wine is very dry on it's first drinking, but very nice. Not something I would normally choose based on flavors, but it tastes exquisite all the same. It has a very long finish, slightly more tannins than I usually like with a strong acidic follow through. There are plum flavors (no surprise) with slight vegetal undertones. Very clean aftertaste, like chewing on apple skin. There are very tiny hints of molasses or syrup which is present in the nose. This wine coats my entire mouth. It's a VERY BIG wine based on what I'm used to drinking at the 16.99 price point. Quite complex compared to the other wines I've tasted of this varietal.
I paired this with Alfredo sauce pasta (a test I like to do with red's since they usually pair well with red sauces, I like to try the white sauces to see how they fair as well). The plum and molasses flavors are still very present. The wine is also very dry and the acid from the tannins pulls to the end of the attack so that the flavors go as follows: plum/molasses, tannins, clean/herbaceous notes. This is very fruity  and lighter than when I'd consumed this by itself. The plum flavor is heavy on my palate, almost too much, but it stops just short of being overwhelming. The abundance of plum has me perplexed since I don't usually drink wines that feature a lot of plum, this isn't for everyone, but it's PERFECT for me.

Overall, this wine is simply delectable. A BIG wine for someone that likes big wines with tons of heavy, dark fruit and syrup. I loved every second of it and I can't wait to get more of it to enjoy any time I want to. This is my favorite wine so far. It's the perfect wine for my palate though it's not your normal red wine. My wife bought it for me at a local olive mill, Queen Creek Olive Mill, and it's absolutely perfect for me.

Munoz de Toro Wines

2007 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Cabernet/Merlot, Australia

Color - Dark Red

Nose - Plum (lots of plum), minimal blackberry and oak

Taste - I am firmly of the opinion that this wine would have been a very offensive wine had it not been blended with the Merlot. It's sweet to begin with, lots of plum on the attack, there is a slight vegetal flavor that hides behind the plum. Very nice clean finish with little or no aftertaste, but leaves my mouth with a very pleasant clean feeling. A medium bodied red perhaps even leaning on the light side of reds, especially those I am used to drinking. The cutting acidity and tannins of the Cabernet are mellowed, almost to the point of nonexistence, by the Merlot quite nicely. It is enjoyable if somewhat one-dimensional and not a very good offering of a blend of these two grapes. There are many that you can find for the same price that taste better. The wine is smooth with little or no alcohol heat to it.

Overall, This wine is good, not great. It's definitely not something I would drink often or even out of preference, but I wouldn't shun this wine if it was offered to me at a party or get together. It's far to "light" for my taste of reds. The Merlot really softens the Cabernet's heaviness, which isn't bad because I truly think this Cabernet would be a subpar offering. The few times that it broke through it was just too herbaceous and unpleasant for my palate. This would go well with food from your barbecue grill, pork chops, or fried dishes. Not nearly my favorite from Penfold's, they do have a lot of good wines, this one is not one of them.

Penfolds Wines