root: 1 sauvignon blanc

Root: 1 Sauvignon Blanc
Casablanca Valley, Chile 2007

Me. Not a white wine person. Not versed in Sauvignon Blanc.
But this my friend is a perfect companion to my cooking "alone time" ...

lot 79 is better (cameron hughes)

Cameron Hughes, Lot 79 2005 Merlot
Napa Valley

So the value proposition is this: There is an over supply each year of what CH calls "super premium" wine and "value" wine (over and under $14/bottle). You can read all the reasons why on chwine.com.

Honestly it all seems a bit like a bored MBA put this together - isn't wine making supposed to be an art? It just seems a little too much like a business-school case answer to the "wine glut" problem.

Anyway, so what they do is take the oversupply and keep the integrity of each lot by keeping it as is - not blending it to make it better as other winemakers do with this over supply. (Um, the whole fun of it, but whatever...)

IN ANY CASE,

Supposedly you're getting a super premium wine at a good value.

I had a different lot a few months ago (which I didn't like at ALL - can't remember which one), but lot 79 was definitely good. Lot 54 is from St. Emilion, so I'd definitely like to give that one a shot and see if I buy this whole concept.

The devil, I tell you! ROOT: 1 Cabernet Sauvignon

It truly is the devil I tell you! I absolutely can't open the bottle without finishing it.

"A rich red wine with black currant, mocha and cherry flavors"

At least tonight I'm doing something productive while drinking my two glasses of ROOT:1, but last time I downed a whole bottle watching So You Think You Can Dance Chelsea & Matt's lyrical hip hop routine over and over on YouTube.

EMBARRASSING.

But that's how good it is. OH, and by the way, that was a Saturday night.

Needless to say Brady didn't really think that was too cool. And this is why it is the devil wine.

I seriously get scared pulling the cork that I might just drink the whole thing - I wonder, will I have the willpower to stop at 1/2 a bottle? THE DEVIL in a BOTTLE!

But I love it.

ROOT: 1 Cabernet Sauvignon

Colchagua Valley, Chile 2006

Made from original European rootstocks that typically do not survive - according to the bottle, Chile is super-special because the grapes grow unaffected by wine-grape disease (phylloxera).

Cost Plus / World Market on sale for $9.99

(but usually not much more than that - an AMAZING value, I promise).

And a beautiful bottle to boot.