Trader Joe's Petit Reserve Maule Valley Carmenere 2021-$8 And Really Good This is a limited edition Trader Joe's wine from Chile. Carmenerein Chile has an interesting story (sorry, you have to listen to the Podcast). In the 1800s it was an integral part of the Bordeaux, and phylloxera hit. It somehow made its way to…
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The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Maule Valley Carmenere 2021 is a $7.99 exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Maule Valley in the south-central portion of the Central Valley in Chile. The back label says this wine was vinted and bottled by TerrAral Wines and here is a link to their website, they seem to own…
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The Los Vascos Cromas Carménère Gran Reserva 2019 is sourced from Domaines Baron de Rothschild (Lafite) vineyards located in the foothills of the Coastal Mountains in the Colchagua Valley of Chile, twenty-five miles from the Pacific Ocean. The Rothschild (Lafite) vineyards and winery were founded in Chile in 1988.Carménère was once one of the main…
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The Los Vascos Cromas Carménère Gran Reserva 2019 is sourced from Domaines Baron de Rothschild (Lafite) vineyards located in the foothills of the Coastal Mountains in the Colchagua Valley of Chile, twenty-five miles from the Pacific Ocean. The Rothschild (Lafite) vineyards and winery were founded in Chile in 1988. Carménère was once one of the…
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The Tussock Jumper Carmenere is the Chilean entry for Tussock Jumper’s 13 wines from around the world. The grapes are sourced from the Colchagua Valley, located in the southern part of the Rapel Valley, which again is part of Chile’s Central Valley. All the valleys are that these wine-growing areas are sandwiched between the Chilean Coastal…
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The Kirkland Signature Napa Valley Red Blend 2021 is a $10.99 Costco exclusive. Costco often names the producer of their Signature wines, but not here. This is a Bordeaux Blend with 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 10% Malbec, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Carmenere is the other Bordeaux-approved Red grape, but it is…
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The Los Vascos Cromas Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah, and 5% Carménère sourced from Estate vineyards of Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) Colchagua Valley vineyard and winery in central Chile. This Estate was founded in 1988 and was the first French wine project in modern Chile. Barons de Rothschild…
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The Aviary Birds of Prey Red Blend 2018 is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Malbec sourced from vineyards in Napa and Sonoma Counties.The Aviary line of wines is one of the Folktale Wine Group brands of wine; here is a link to their website for more information….
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The Aviary Birds of Prey Red Blend 2018 is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Malbec sourced from vineyards in Napa and Sonoma Counties. The Aviary line of wines is one of the Folktale Wine Group brands of wine; here is a link to their website for more…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Monterey Meritage Lot 168 2014 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes grown in the Monterey County AVA which is located north of Paso Robles and up to the Monterey Bay inside the Central Coast AVA of California. A Meritage wine is a Red blend that uses the grapes approved…
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The Trader Joe’s 2013 Grand Reserve Meritage Napa Lot 63 2013 is a $12.99 TJ’s blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec (these are 5 of the 6 grapes approved for Bordeaux Red blends, the only grape missing is Carménère) sourced from vineyards somewhere in the Napa Valley of California. When dealing with…
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The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Paso Robles Meritage 2014 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive and is a blend of Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from vineyards in Paso Robles (about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco) inside the Central Coast AVA. The back label says this blend was “vinted and bottled by…
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The Sterling Vintner’s Collection Meritage 2013 is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot sourced from Sterling’s Paris Valley Ranch Vineyard near Monterey Bay along with other vineyards in California’s Central Coast AVA. A Meritage wine (rhythms with heritage) is a Red Blend wine based on the wine-making tradition of…
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The Coppola Diamond Collection Claret Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Merlot sourced from grapes grown in Coppola estate vineyards, Sonoma, Napa and Eldorado AVA’s (Eldorado AVA is located inside the Sierra Foothills AVA). Claret is the British term for Bordeaux Red blend wines, in California,…
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I was never much of a fan of blind wine tasting, I figured it was simply an easy way to make a complete fool out of myself. I just knew that at some point I would mistake a Malbec for a Riesling and anyway I want to enjoy a glass of wine, not turn it…
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The 2012 La Playa Estate Series Cabernet Sauvignon is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc sourced from La Playa’s 600 acre sustainably farmed vineyard in the Colchagua Valley sub region of the Rapel Valley inside Chile’s Central Valley. The Colchagua Valley is one of Chile’s premier growing areas for Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Carmenere….
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The 2009 Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Napa Valley Meritage is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The term “Meritage” (pronounced like heritage) indicates this a Red blend using the grapes approved in Bordeaux wines. Either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot as the lead grape with Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot used as blending grapes (Malbec and Carmenere are…
Read MoreThe 2010 Clos LaChance Meritage (Meritage indicates the wine is a blend of some or all of Bordeaux approved grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carmenere) blend grown in certified sustainably grown Estate vineyards in the northern part of the Central Coast AVA of California. Clos is an old French term for a…
Read MoreThe 2010 Trader Joe’s Reserve Knights Valley Meritage is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. Knights Valley is an AVA located in the far eastern edge of Sonoma County, California, it is the warmest AVA in Sonoma and features volcanic soil and is well known for producing Red grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. The…
Read MoreThe 2011 Trader Joe’s Vinas Chilenas Merlot is a Trader Joe’s $3.99 exclusive. The wine is produced by Videma from grapes grown in Chile’s Central Valley. Videma’s vineyards are under the control of the Tarapaca Group, which includes noted winemaker Paul Hobbs. The Tarapaca Group instituted the “Ultra Premium Oenological Center,” with the goal to…
Read MoreTussock Jumper is a new line of 13 world wines, the usual, a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and a Malbec from Argentina, along with the eclectic, a Touriga Nacional from Portugal, a Carmenere from Chile and a Chenin Blanc from South Africa. These are wines produced by well known wineries in each country and…
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