Dark purple.  Nice nose of dark currant, mint and oak slivers.  On the palate it is a pleasing wine with freshness, good dry tannins and flavors of Ribena, plum, bitter chocolate as well as a meaty note.  The tannins really kick in on the mid palate and the finish.  The wine is full bodied, full flavored and not shy about its structure.  It is somewhat tilted toward the tannic end with hardly discernible acidity at this time.  I think this wine needs some cellaring for a year or two to mellow out just a touch.  I’m going to be pessimistic and go with 90 points but I think it may improve.  If you must drink it now pair with Lamb Shanks and Couscous or maybe a seasoned T-bone on the charcoal.  I paid $12.80 each for two bottles on sale.  Regularly $21. 4 stars.  Salut….

Bright purple. Oaked up nose of blue berries and green peppers. Not my style as it has a strange tinge to it. Much better on the palate with some plums, blue fruits and some mint. A slightly green mid palate with sharp acidity comes through midway. Mild tannins and a shorter finish. 86 points and 3 stars for this $8 offering.  Salut….

Yes 2003, it’s not a typo.  It was brought over by friends for a party, I was not sure how to embrace this wine.  At $8 back in the day it was a serviceable red from Chile that got hammered by WS with 77 points, ouch.  I decided to open it and prayed for the best.  The cork crumbled halfway through the extraction, not a good start.  I coaxed the rest out and sorted the debris from the glass after I poured.  My initial impression- Cherry and blackberry nose, still fresh (surprisingly).  This wine was probably not stored in pristine conditions, yet I was about to discover a vibrancy I was not expecting.
Bright purple in the glass it showed no signs of aging, remarkable.  Lovely black cherry and black berry notes with great acidity and some nice tannins still lurking around.  Thoroughly enjoyable and quite young with a nice finish.  The bottle did show slight sediment, but then again this wine is 11 years old and not built for the long haul.  89 points and drinking till 2017 perhaps?  5 stars for such a valiant effort to age gracefully.  Wish I could find more!  Salut….

Ps. I accidentally deleted the photo of this yummy Chilean Cabernet.  However, I just read the latest Wine Spectator and they featured the same wine, 2013 vintage.  Priced at $12 it got 89 points.  I may take a punt and stock up on some of dat!  Cheers.

A wine with great pedigree from Colchagua in Chile yet it failed to impress me.  It was on special, 3 for $28, regularly priced at $14.  Plum and oak on the nose from a very dark purple glass made for a promising drop.  Unfortunately it was tart and thin on the opening leaving me puzzled.  I did manage to get some plums and eucalyptus on the palate along with some very basic tannins.  Black berries finally showed up on the mid palate with a certain sourness that was a little too unbalanced for me.  I initially gave this wine 86 points, but after opening the other two bottles I think I may have had some bottle variation.  Final verdict- 87 points and 2 stars overall.  I plan on re-tasting this one.  Salut….