This week has been fun in terms of really getting into this project. I've bought a few wines for the upcoming weeks and begun to think more about how I want to structure this next year and the blog. I've also learned a few things too.
First, I've learned that I am really lucky to have a decent sized wine store nearby that really caters to this price point. To really appreciate my local wine store I had to visit another one to realize how great I've got it here. In town my go to store is Big Red Liquors, affectionately named to reference the Indiana University Hoosiers since the university is located here in Bloomington. When I've told some of the wine guys at Big Red about my project, they were excited to show off some of their favorites. It's here that I bought the Santa Ema Merlot that I'll write about below.
However, I went up to Indianapolis last weekend for a little day trip and stopped into a liquor store up there. I'll omit the store's name in the event that my experience was an anomaly. I excitedly told the first person who offered to help about my project and rather than responding with excitement or even going to look for a bottle, he told me that I should change the project to wines in the $10 to $20 range. WHAT?! Of course I should be able to buy decent bottles in that range, that's not a challenge at all for me or for him. If I wasn't doing this blog I think I would have been embarrassed and shamed into buying a $15 bottle when I really didn't want to. But, since I'm on a mission I smiled politely and said I know that would be easier but that's not what I needed. After wondering around the store for a bit he found a "staff favorite" that was on big display in the middle of the store - now that wasn't so hard after all. This is the Chateau La Rose Du Pin, a French white that I'll write about below.
I have a few pairs that I'll be reviewing in the coming weeks. In these few that I have coming up there is a similarity between them; they're the same varietal or from the same region. However these two have very little in common other than they're both half empty bottles in my kitchen and won't even be that for much longer!
We tried the Santa Ema, a Chilean Merlot last night before and during dinner. It's from the Maipo Valley region of Chile which is located in the central part of the country. The label describes how the founder of the winery moved to Chile from Italy and placed emphasis on making the best wine possible in Chile using the Italian wine making tradition. Well - I think they did. It was robust and full and stood up nicely to the pasta with chicken I was eating. It would be great with a steak or red meat.
The Bottle: 2006 Santa Ema Reserve Merlot
Price: $9.99
Would I Buy This Wine Again: Definitely. This would make a great host/hostess gift at a dinner party.
The second bottle was the "staff favorite" from the liquor store in Indianapolis I mentioned above and is called the (Blanc/White). I'm really glad I copied down the tasting notes at the store because there are none on the bottle and I couldn't find anything on the internet. Most notably, I couldn't identify the varietals of the wine and know only that it's from Bordeaux. The notes at the store described it as having a nose of grapefruit and cut grass and an herbaceous finish. I definitely picked up on the grapefruit nose and the finish is fresh. The herb/cut grass almost became too much for me but I still enjoyed the bottle.
The Bottle: 2007 Chateau La Rose Du Pin (white)
Price: $9.99
Would I Buy This Wine Again: Probably. My husband Matt really liked it and it would make a nice accompaniment to a summer meal.