Talk-A-Vino

So, what do you think – is there a such thing as dangerous wines? Let’s leave all the issues of addiction outside of this conversation, as this is not worth debating – addictions are bad, no matter what the subject is, so let’s leave it at that. So let’s start again – when would you call the wine “dangerous”?

First, of course, there are all the forms of the wine faults – wine can be corked ( smells like musty basement, not pleasant to drink at all, because no flavor left), wine can be oxidized (again, no flavor left), wine can be “cooked” ( this is usually the result of of prolonged exposure to the heat, like transporting the wine for a day or two in the trunk of a car during hot summer), and so on. If you actually interested in learning more about wine faults, here is  very good Wiki article.

Then the wine can be simply not made well. This is the case when you try the wine and you just want to spit, and then you declare a bottle “not good even for cooking”. Not sure if this is the case of “dangerous” we are looking for, but this is definitely the case of wine we don’t want to drink.

And now, let me explain what I call a “dangerous” wine. To me, dangerous wine is the one you can not put down. You take a sip, you say “wow”, you take another sip, your glass is empty, and then in a while you don’t understand what happened with the bottle? Where this all go? Did I spill half a bottle? Is my dog walks suspiciously – but, hey, she couldn’t reach that bottle, right? So what just happened here??? Yep, the wine was so smooth, so round, so it went down so easily that now you completely astonished – but it’s all gone… This is what I call dangerous :).

Recently, I was lucky to come across such a dangerous wine, thanks to my friend Zak from Cost Less Wines and Liquors in Stamford – this is the wine called Carchelo:

Carchelo 2008, Bodegas Carchelo, Jumilla, Spain

This wine comes from the Jumilla region in Spain, and it is a blend of Monastrell, Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine has very deep purple color, beautiful nose of dark fruit, plums, sweet cherries and blackberries, silky smooth tannins and good acidity, so all together comes in a “dangerously” balanced package. Final verdict:

Drinkability: 8

Try is today, and tell me if how dangerous it was for you!