(May 12, 2015) … Night one of the All Canadian Wine Championships and after a day of Canada I like to open a few things from “away” … Tonight it was a Juan Gil 2006 Monastrell from the Jumilla region of Spain. Last time I opened an older bottle of this I was aghast to see a plastic cork, this time there was no such surprise. The nose was full of dried cranberry, oak, and cedar; sure seemed quite old aroma-wise. Palate still retained good acidity and much more fruit and spice than the nose let on – sure it’s mainly dried fruit but it was still quite lovely to drink.
The next bottle was of Argentinean origin, Chakana 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon … It was under a black plastic cork and this scared me a bit, but one must soldier on … The nose was incredibly muted, as in there was no smell to speak of, but the palate proved to be surprisingly robust of red and dark fruit and nicely balance … The wine died fairly quickly but was drinkable for a little while anyway.