Wines I'm Drinking: 2007 Cousiño-Macul Maipo Valley Merlot

I recently reviewed the 2005 Maipo Valley (Chile) Merlot from Cousiño-Macul in these pages, having picked up half a dozen bottles at our local Grocery Outlet. It was such a good value that I went back to buy a case yesterday but was disappointed to find the 2005 gone. I must have bought all there was. The store now has only the 2007. I bought a case anyway, assuming that it was unlikely to be overpriced at $2.99 a bottle, even if it was less interesting than the 2005.

I was right on both counts: It is a less interesting wine, but it's still a bargain.

The 2007 was noticeably thinner and less tinged with orange. It looked like the younger wine that it is. It had some of the herbaceousness of the 2005, but nothing like the pronounced sage scent of its older sibling. The nose was more floral, suggestive of pencil shavings, and altogether more distant. On the palate, the wine was light in body with delicate fruit sweetness and very light tannins. The general impression it gave was one of smoothness but it had no especially endearing characteristics. The mid-palate was a trifle weak, but the wine had fairly good length, with distant, lingering, slightly woody tannins on the finish. With time some cocoa hints developed. No rough edges. This wine is perfectly acceptable for everyday drinking, but it lacks the distinctive characteristics and depth of the 2005. Its somewhat austere, rather European flavor profile may not appeal to wine drinkers used to the up-front fruitiness of California wines. Still, this is a good value at $2.99 and I don't regret buying a case of it. If, however, your Grocery Outlet has the 2005, snap it up.

Wines I'm Drinking: 2005 Cousiño-Macul Maipo Valley Merlot

Grocery Outlet is an interesting place to buy wine. The selection is a bit bizarre--ranging all over the place and including wines that show up nowhere else (around here anyway)--and always changing. Odds and ends. That all makes sense. Grocery Outlet generally picks up leftover lots and older vintages (often a good thing) at deep discounts from wineries and distributors that need to clear storage space for newer products.

The prices can be ridiculous (ridiculously low, that is). I stopped in this morning returning from teaching a printmaking class at my son's school. Grocery Outlet (in Santa Rosa, at 1116 College Avenue, occupying the site of a former Safeway) just happens to be on my way.

My usual strategy is to buy a mix of cheap wines on speculation, try them all quickly, and then go back to stock up on the good values before they disappear. Today I bought 12 bottles, of which six were the 2005 Cousiño-Macul Maipo Valley Merlot (I was pretty confident this would be worth the price). I had intended to buy ten bottles, but the cashier pointed out there was a 10% discount on cases, even mixed cases. I was flabbergasted (I hadn't been aware of the case discount), so I went back for two more bottles. I couldn't help laughing. Not even Trader Joe's gives a 10% case discount on its inexpensive wines, arguing its prices are already heavily discounted, and rightly so--but, I wasn't going to complain.

The wine was a moderately deep garnet red--suggestive of its age. It had a distinctive nose--herbs and leather. After some thought, I was finally able to pin the herbaceous scent down to garden sage. A bit unusual, but the pungency was not at all unpleasant. Tasting the wine, I was immediately impressed. It was surprisingly elegant, with restrained flavors, but a very good balance of delicate, fine-grained tannins; lingering, fruity sweetness (just enough); and delicate acidity. Showing signs of maturity at five years, but still vibrant and fresh. Moderate to good length. With a little time and some air, the bouquet began to gain complexity. The wine became suggestive of black cherries, licorice, and earth. Not great wine, but excellent everyday wine--or better.

So, how much did I pay for it? $2.99 a bottle. Excuse me. It was $2.69 a bottle with the case discount. Needless to say, I'm going back for more. This is likely to become the house wine for the time being (until it's all consumed). Recommended. The 2005 Cousiño-Macul Merlot normally retails for $8.99-$12.99 a bottle--probably about $25 on a restaurant menu.