Palo Alto Reserve from Chile

Last night we tried a bottle of Palo Alto Reserve from Chile. The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere and Syrah and retails right around $10. The reason we decided to pick this wine up at Kroger's was because it won a Gold Medal at the Cincinnati International Wine Festival. If you've never been, the Wine Festival is a fantastic event put on each March here in the Queen City. There are typically over 130 boothes serving over 600 wines throughout the evening. Of course you have no chance of sampling them all in the 2.5 hours the event runs each evening, but you can definitely pick out several you've been interested in trying and probably find many you had no idea existed. We've discovered many many wines at the festival that are now on our favorites list. We did not happen to try the Palo Alto at the Festival, but since it won a Gold, and given it's price, we decided to give it a shot. Overall assessment is, ok, probably wouldn't buy again. I would call it a very peppery wine with hints of plum. Nothing overly displeasing about it, it's just that there are so many good/fun wines at the $10 mark that I probably wouldn't go back to this one. Anyway, it was worth the try. Anyone else with stories of great finds at Wine Festivals or large tasting events? Feel free to comment, would love to hear.

Wine Tasting Notes 4-1-09 Gato Negro Cab

It's Wednesday evening, which means middle of the week, time to wind down, relax a bit and get ready for Lost. I think I've found the perfect wine to just sit back, relax and sip on for the evening. Tonight I'm drinking a '08 Cabernet Sauvignon from Gato Negro in San Pedro, Chile. If you haven't tried them, Chilean wines are some of the best wines for the $ available right now in my opinion (if you don't believe me ask my good friend @bobbyarnold who was there recently). This particular Cab retails for under $10 which makes it great for any simple night or occasion.

The nose on this to me is a bit peppery and a lot o fruit aromas. Certainly nothing overpowering, but just about right. In the mouth it's a great balance of a dry wine being not too dry. Mild fruit flavors, medium tannins, and a silky finish. At this price point, I really really like this Cab. First time I tried this was at a local tapas restaurant when it was on special for $12 (not bad for a restaurant price!), and I enjoyed it a lot then. Since then I've found it for as low as around $6 locally. Please, if you like Cab's and are looking for some good deals - go find this wine and give it a try. If you do, I'm sure you'll enjoy the first miracle!

•