Wine Drank by John Jaster
I went from tea totaler to Wine Century Club member and have tried 156 different wine grapes in three years.
French Rabbit Chardonnay; Chateau Coucheroy Bordeaux; J Vidal Fleury Rhone; Montes Cab/Carmenere

I'm listing these lowest to best today although many of the ratings score the same.








1) French Rabbit, Chardonnay, Vin de Pays D'oc, 2005 (France) - This is the first "box" wine I've ever tried and cost somewhere around $8.  The box itself is interesting because it's smaller than a wine bottle but still holds as much, seems quite light weight, sturdy, and well designed, and is even cute in a way - like an oversized juice of soymilk box.  The wine inside is what I expected: cheap, limited flavor, but yet acceptable in that you already know it's a cheap box wine.  At least it's not offensive.  You could drink this with a meal and be OK with it.  Anyway, this experience doesn't discourage me from box wines, I'll try some more to compare, but based on this first attempt I don't plan on giving up on bottles anytime soon.  A very low 5 out of 10 for the lowest of the "average" category.








2) Andre' Lurton, Chateau Coucheroy, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, 2001 (Graves, Bourdeaux, France) - It had been a long time since I had a real bordeaux and although this wasn't real expensive (around $12 I think) I had decent hopes because it was decently aged (7 years), said it was 1/2 cabernet sauvignon and 1/2 merlot, and claimed to be a "Grand Vin de Bordeaux".  Sadly it was a disappointment.  The flavor was quite weak.  It had just the slight memory of tannins.  The bouquet was mild and decanting for a long time did boost the bouquet but not the flavor.  Possibly this wine was past prime, and maybe that even explains the price, but bordeaux wines in particular are famous for actually needing 5 or more years of aging to come close to their potential so I'm really pretty disappointed with this one.  Still it wasn't offensive, and yeah you could drink it with a meal, so a pretty low 5 out of 10 for lower average.








3) J. Vidal Fleury, Cotes du Rhone, 2005 (France) - I bought this for less then $10 but I've also seen it 5 extra in price so I'm not sure of it's real value.  Personally I'd say the flavor and weight of the wine remind me of the cheaper range.  It does have some nice fruit and some acidity and will go well with food.  I'd put it right in the middle of the average range, but still scoring a 5 out of 10.








4) Montes, Limited Selection, Apalta Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon (70%) Carmenere (30%), 2006 - I also loved their limited selection pinot noir so now anytime I find this brand on the shelf I have an eye out for their limited selection offering.  Really really good stuff.  In this case you get a deep, rich, excellent cab which is complemented with a cocoa-mocha infusion from the carmenere.  It's really exellent stuff.  8 out of 10, which is a pretty rare score from me.  And what's really amazing - the limited selection wines I find from Montes usually cost around $15.  That's a value!







2008-03-08 15:43:42 GMT
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