I have discovered my new all-time favorite red wine (for $5 or less, that is).
Regular readers of this blog will recall my quest to find a bottle of red wine in Prague that was both cheap and delicious. Turns out it's possible.
My previous favorites basically boiled down to two wines:
-- The Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot from Brise de France (around 80 CZK per bottle, or around $4.80).
(I just noticed that the 2007 Cabernet from Brise de France has been selected for the Gilbert & Gaillard wine guide, which sounds pretty impressive for a $5 bottle of wine, but I don't know anything about that particular guide. It's possible that wineries may pay to be included in the guide.)
-- The California Cabernet Sauvignon from, believe it or not, Tesco. At 55 CZK ($3.35), it was a real bargain, which is why it previously held the crown of the Best Red Wine In Prague For $5 Or Less.
But there's a new king.
It's not cheaper, but it's more bang for the buck.
I'm talking about the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from Misiones de Rengo, an award-winning Chilean winery with a cool website.
I first saw it at the large Interspar grocery store at the Metropole mall at Zličín. It looked promising. A Chilean red for only 79 CZK (about $4.80). I bought a few bottles to try it out. I'm very glad I did.
A deep black-red in color with the taste of of black cherries, and a bit of spiciness and tannin. It's a chewy mouthful of flavor.
I give it a 9 out of 10 on the Wino-Meter.
It reminds me very much of the Carmenere or Merlot from another Chilean winery, Tarapaca. The difference is that the Tarapaca is normally around 289 CZK per bottle ($17.60) in Prague. (Although I stocked up during the summer when the Hypernova at the Šestka mall near the airport was selling it regularly for 99 CZK ($6) per bottle.
I must have bought about four or five cases at that price, of which only two bottles remain. I'm waiting for it to go back on sale.)
Anyway, the Misiones de Rengo is an absolute steal at 79 CZK per bottle. The only problem is that I've only seen it at that particular Interspar. If anyone has seen it closer to the city center, please let me know.
In the meantime, it's the new king of the cheap but tasty Prague wines, and I'm heading to Interspar to bring back a few dozen bottles.
I've definitely seen it also at Tesco at the Eden shopping mall
ReplyDeleteTesco, huh? That would be great. I'll have to look more closely next time I'm there. Thanks very much!
ReplyDeleteI'm heading out there to buy some today. Why? Because the music on the website suggests it is formed from the dripping sounds in an echoing cellar, and it's the music of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' and that's just too funny not to be a fan of...
ReplyDeleteLeave me some!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great wine tips! I found the Misiones for sale at our local potraviny in Letna. It is the first potraviny on the right hand side of Smeralova ul at the Letenske Namesti tram stop. Get off the tram and walk towards Levne Knihy (or Fraktal). Continue just 20 or 30 meters down Smeralova towards Stromovka park and you will see the fruit stands etc outside on the right. The owners are wonderful people and worth giving business to. Unfortunately they are selling it for 109 Kc though. But it is still worth it.
ReplyDeleteHey, Craig. Thanks for the info. Too bad about the price, though. But you're right. It is still worth it at that price. I've also learned that it's for sale at the Tesco in Roztoky, which is good news, and for 79kc to boot.
ReplyDelete