2008 Kirkland Signature Series Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon, California

*You may notice that I have changed my "style" of reviews to be just a little more amusing. I don't know if this will prove to annoy my readers or amuse them, but I wanted to enjoy writing my reviews a little bit more and this is one way where I have found more pleasure in writing. On to the review.*

The Nose Knows…Blackberry, forest floor, compost, pencil shavings

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory…Dark red swirled with purplish-black notes

Taste a Rainbow of…Balanced fruit and berry characteristics (blackberry, black currant and plum) mixed with pepper and vanilla; nicely rounded tannins dance with subdued alcohol heat and astringency; finishes big, bold and pleasant with more blackberry/currant flavors, black pepper, oak, vanilla, licorice and wet soil.

Survey Says…This is a surprisingly pleasant wine that’s pretty darn close to my price limit ($17.99 at Costco). This bottle is my first foray into Stag’s Leap territory of any varietal. After I’d purchased this bottle I read a few reviews of the previous vintage of this wine and found ¾ of them rated this wine poorly. Perhaps they have more experience with Stag’s Leap wines in general because I don’t have any experience with them but I found this wine to be quite a pleasant drinking experience. It’s smooth and balanced with a nose that makes me want to sit and sniff it for hours on end. It didn’t need a lot of time to decant (though I gave it about an hour after sipping a very small glass straight after opening). It opened up a little after an hour and smoothed out just a hair more than it had been upon the initial pour. It’s safe to say you can enjoy this right after popping the cork. The attack is full of ripe blackberry, currant, black plum, vanilla creaminess and peppery tingles. The mid-palate shows off near perfect tannins, rather subdued heat and acidity from the alcohol and mild astringency that suits this wine just fine. The finish is big and bold, the berry/fruit flavors come back strong to be joined with black pepper, oak, vanilla, wet soil/forest floor, and lastly licorice that runs deep in this wine but comes on strong in the finish and aftertaste. This is a full-bodied wine with a long finish and a pleasant licorice-y aftertaste. Based on what I’m used to drinking this is way up there as far as quality goes; it’s so smooth and balanced it’s hard to believe I was drinking a 2008 vintage it seemed older and more aged. It is a little pricy as far as I’m concerned, but to my knowledge this is the least expensive Stag’s Leap AVA Cabernet Sauvignon you can purchase right now. If there is one at a lower price point I can’t find it in Arizona. That being said I would really only drink this on special occasions or if I had wine snooty friends over because I think this would pass their tests. I plan to cellar a bottle of this for a later date just to see how well it ages, but it’s not going to be an everyday or even every month bottle for me. Despite not being an everyday bottle it still gets gets a good Quality-to-Price Ratio and a passing grade. Let me know what your palate says about this wine.

2008 Chateau Labrande Cahors Malbec, France

Color – Deep, even purple

Nose – Blackberry, wet soil, plum, compost?

Taste – I was weary of this Malbec due to my last run in with the French offering of this grape, however I was pleasantly surprised upon taking my first sip of this particular wine. It’s deep and dark in color and has interesting aromas that bring to mind very dark fruit, damp earth, and the combination of the two in what I can only describe as compost. The first flavors that come through are both fruit and somewhat savory flavors; I taste sour blackberry and dark plum mixed with bittersweet chocolate, coffee, and burnt caramel. The mid-palate has just a hint of alcohol, perfect tannins, and a nice even mouthfeel. The finish is medium-to-long with the recurring flavor of burnt caramel now joined by clean fruit skins and leather. The wine is full bodied with nice “warmth” to it as the mid-palate fades into the finish. This wine shows just how pleasant and different Malbec from France can be; it’s definitely a journey I enjoyed this time around.

Overall, I would say this wine is a good-to-great QPR. At 9 dollars a bottle and with the depth, complexity and flavors provided you’d be hard-pressed to find a better full bodied Malbec than this. I would say stock up on this while it’s available at Costco. Don’t expect to find the same flavors as Argentinean Malbec since the terroir in France provides this wine with a more savory flavor profile and a heavier “weight” to this wine. It’s still a winner, a wine I would compare to the Bodegas Flechas de los Andes Gran Malbec but for 4 fewer dollars this is one you want to find right now.

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

2009 Chateau Los Boldos Momentos de Chile Carmenere, Chile

Color - Dark red with a black core

Nose - Plum, black cherry, wet soil

Taste - I get lots of plum that gives way to what I can only describe as fresh pepper-like and then quite nicely tannic with a mild alcohol heat. There are herbs on the finish which is medium in length and has hints of oregano and smoke (the smoke is present throughout the entire body of the wine). This wine is young and has a lot going on, probably too much going on as it can easily get confusing on the palate. While I get some of the typical Carmenere flavors this is more fruity than herbaceous. It's a medium bodied wine but feels "heavier" on the palate than I think it actually is, a lot of that in my opinion is due to the presence of alcohol and smoke. It benefits from decanting though you can drink it right out of the bottle and it isn't too offensive. It's good by itself or paired with savory dishes and steak, but doesn't really get any better than "good".

Overall, I'd say this is an average Carmenere. It's somewhat muddled and maybe a little expensive or perhaps not what I'd expected from a wine at this price point, 10 dollars. In reality it's an OK QPR and I'd say take a pass on this and pick up the Anakena Indo Carmenere or Santa Alicia Carmenere. This one's just average, those are blockbusters in comparison.

Chateau Los Boldos Wines

2008 Georges Vigouroux Pigmentum Malbec Cahors, France

Color - Deep purple with a dark red rim

Nose - Wet soil and unwashed lettuce (I know, sorry, this is what I get from this wine)

Taste - This wine got me right from the first sip, actually from the first whiff. There is minimal or muted fruit in the flavor though there are hints of smoky dark berries on the mid-palate and finish. Mostly I taste the following: (in order) damp soil, lettuce and celery, wood smoke, berries, lots of minerals and an almost bitter aftertaste. This is all after decanting the wine for two hours and then again tasting a glass on day two and another glass on day three. There is a strong level of astringency and a lot of tannins. The wine is medium-to-full bodied with a quite long finish. It would probably do well to be paired with a decent steak, savory game dishes or sharp cheese.

Overall, this wine is what you get when you don't pay attention when picking out a new wine. I am familiar with Argentinian Malbec and the flavors of their particular terroir. Until this wine I'd only read about French Malbecs and how they differed from their Argentinian brethren. I now have a first hand experience. This is not a wine I would drink often. It's not bad at all, in fact, it's pretty good just not my preference. I'll stick with the Argentinian Malbcs, but I would recommend this as a good wine with a decent QPR and if you are looking for a change of pace or want to be a little adventurous, try this out.

Georges Vigouroux Wines