Saturday night – Southwest theme night – Part2

Click here for Part1

The 2005 Carmen Merlot was second bottle we opened for the evening. This wine was brought over by Pat and Jack a couple of weeks ago when they were around for dinner and while we got through a lot of wine that night we didn’t get to this bottle. I have been looking at on the rack since then and my curiosity was peaked.

"A little bit of everything"

The nose on the wine was a combination of big plum and cedar aromas with a hint of white pepper in the background. The first sip of this wine brought a smile to my face as it was a big ‘chewy’ Merlot. The wine was smooth, nicely balanced but the acidity was maybe a touch too high, with a really nice smoky finish. Amy described this wine as a very Cab-like Merlot. It was a better pairing with the food than the Zinfandel was.

"Awesome value for money!"

After we finished rating the Merlot, I really wanted to know what the price was on this wine and hit the Internet for the LCBO’s website.

Here is the LCBO information on this wine –

Vina Carmen Reserve Merlot
LCBO 620690
750 mL bottle
PRODUCT DISCONTINUED*
Price: $ 10.95
Wine, Red Wine,
14.7% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : 1
Made in: Chile, Chile
By: Vina Carmen

Tasting Note - Deep ruby red colour; aromas of cherry, oak with earthy notes; dry, medium bodied, with ripe fruit flavours and notes of almond, coffee and plum.

Serving Suggestion - Steak with fried mushrooms or lamb.

"Yeah, the piece was that big!"

$10.95 a bottle?!?!? You have to be kidding me, as this wine was exceptional for that price. The unfortunate thing is the LCBO doesn’t have anymore stock on this which is a shame as I could easily see me picking up a case or two of this. Mick was also very disappointed that there was no more stock on this wine as he was thinking the same thing I was when I told him the price.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 88, Mark – 91, Kathy – 88, Amy – 89, Overall – 89.

For dessert we had a Mango-Raspberry Cheesecake which was a nice way to finish the evening as we all sat on the couch watching the race and chatting.

Cheers!

Mark