Winery: Château Laronde Desormes
Wine: Red Bordeaux Blend 2005
Location: Bordeaux Supérieur, France
Purchased: Friar Tuck
Price: $15.99

As the saying goes, what a difference a year makes. Jonathan and I first sampled this wine last September. As I re-read what I wrote about the wine the first time, a few things stood out. First, we chose this wine because we were preparing to go to France and were drinking more French wines. The bin for this wine was nearly empty so we figured others liked it. Secondly, I originally found this wine “interesting, mainly with the way the addition of food changed the entire complexity of the wine.” Jonathan did not have such favorable reviews the first time. He thought, “the wine almost tasted bitter and didn’t taste the fruit flavors

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Winery: Concha y Toro
Wine: Casillero del Diablo Reserva Privada 2006
Location: Central Valley, Chile
Purchased: The Corkscrew
Price: $17.99

We’ve long been drinkers of the $10 Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a price performer and a wine that we know what we’re going to get when we pull out a bottle. Jonathan has always loved the Casillero del Diablo just a little more than me, picking up bottles of Merlot or Carmenére to sample. Maybe it was the name that got him hooked, cellar of the devil. I’m just not sure. So a couple of weeks ago he spotted the Reserva Privada and proceeded to tell me that he was going to get it the next time we bought a case. Naturally, I made fun of him for his obsession and accepted that we’d soon be having a bottle of the Reserva Privada.

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Winery: Domaine Skouras
Wine: Cabernet Sauvignon & St. George blend 2006
Location: Peloponnese, Greece
Purchased: The Corkscrew
Price: $7.99

In my quest to try 100 varietals, Jonathan and I have been drinking some unusual wines.I’ve covered all the basic grape varieties so it was time to start trying wines from “unusual” or not your typical winemaking areas. A couple of weeks ago, we sampled a Bulgarian wine for around $10, not too bad. Domaine Skouras is a red blend from Greece. It’s not going to blow your socks off, but for $8 it’s an easy wine to drink in the evenings or as a second bottle.

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Winery: Casa Lapostolle
Wine: Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Location: Rapel Valley, Chile
Purchased: The Corkscrew
Price: $13.99

Several weeks ago, our local wine store tasted the 2008 wine of the year, Casa Lapostolle’s Clos Apalta Colchagua Valley 2005. Before tasting “the wine,” I sampled Casa Lapostolle Estate Cabernet Sauvignon so I could compare. While it was good, it didn’t compare to “the wine.” However, I mentioned it to Jonathan, and he was set on tasting it since he missed tasting Casa Lapostolle’s Clos Apalta Colchagua Valley 2005.

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Winery: Château La Tonnelle
Wine: Red Bordeaux Blend 2005
Location: Bordeaux, France
Purchased: The Corkscrew
Price: $12.99

I can’t wait to get another bottle and cellar it for a few years. That should tell you how I felt about this bottle! Since visiting France, we’ve paid more attention to the wine classifications and vintages. We knew that 2005 was a spectacular year for wine in Bordeaux, and Château La Tonnelle is a Grand Vin. So the plan was to try this wine, and if we liked it, purchase another for cellaring. Afterall, the price was unbeatable. It was evident Château La Tonnelle was young, and we decanted for about an hour. Fantastic! I can’t wait to drink this wine in its prime.

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