Montes Alpha - Cebernet Auvignon

Price: $20
Region: Chile
Year: 2007

I debated which wine review to write tonight because I really had a very good wine last weekend that I wanted to get to, but since I missed my review last week, I decided to get to one that I had two weekends ago. I tend to skip wines whenever I miss a week, and I didn't want to end up forgetting about this one. I'm going to try and make some time this weekend to write about the one from this past weekend. Anyway, as has been the case for a whole lot of weekends in a row, my wife had a couple of bottle of wine on the counter when I got home from work on Friday. She's kind of been on a South American kick lately, and this weekend was no different.This Cabernet from Chile was a bit more than I would look to spend on a wine for a normal weekend, but the one thing I like about my wife picking the wines out each week is that the tend to be further away from $10, then they do closer. I've found however, that doesn't always necessarily mean a better wine.

Not that I worry too much about pairing wine on Friday night, since we mostly get take-out, but this one went along nicely with the hamburgers from Five-Guys. As seems to be the case with the South American wines I have had lately, this wine was super dark. It had very little red tint to it, and poured into the glass with a dark purple demeanor. I started to get familiar with the heavy fruit (like black cherry) smell of a Cabernet, this one seem to hit me with a more earthy and floral aroma. It was really quite nice. I really did not have much to complain about at this point, and was also very happy when I took a sip. It had a nice bold upfront taste, and was very consistent right up to the end. It had good length and fairly chewy tannins. overall I was quite pleased, but I kept going back to the price. At $10 - $12, this wine would be a home run for sure, but at $20, I just think there are better buys out there.

Rating: 3.25 corks (Can find one just as good for a better price)

Cruz Alta - Cabernet Sauvignon

Price: $13
Region: Argentina
Year: 2009

The far majority of the wine reviews I have written over the past 2+ years have been ones I've opened over the weekend, jotted down some notes in my wine journal, and reviewed the following week. Every once in a while, I get to sit down with a glass of wine I just poured, and write about it on the fly. That just happens to be what I decided to do tonight. I usually only have wine (or sometimes beer) on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Tonight as I was driving home however, it was just one of those days that seemed like a good day to break from the norm. So, I opened a bottle of wine that my wife bought for me last weekend that I didn't get around to opening.

I was a bit late getting home from work today, so I had a little dinner by myself. I was enjoying a nice plate of pasta bake when I poured myself a glass of this Cabernet from Argentina. I'll tell you, wines don't get too much darker red than this one. It really is almost black it is so dark. When I went to give this wine a swirl, and take a sniff, I got a nose full of a really nice aroma. I've never been really great at having a particular smell stand out when I smell a wine, but I do get just a hint of coffee in this one. I really do not like the taste of coffee, but I sometimes enjoy the smell. So far I was fairly impressed. Then, when I took a sip, I realized this was one of those fairly inexpensive wines that really gets it right. It had a very nice upfront ripe fruit taste, with really good length and a smooth finish. I took another quick sip to make sure it was as good as I thought the first time around, and I was not disappointed. It has really been a while since I found a wine that cracked my top 5, but I think I just found one.

Rating: 4.5 corks (Grab a bottle and try for yourself)