Guest Author - Jim Fortune

Year: 2004
Winery: Mis en Bouteille a la Propriete
Region/Country: Bordeaux
ALC by Vol: 12.5%

This wine is probably not one that you will find where you live. That is because it is, what they call in the trade, a D.I. D.I stands for direct import. The importer gets a few cases of the wine on hand and sends out the army of wine reps to area wine stores. The stores taste this wine and maybe others that will be brought into the United States, and decide if they want to buy so many cases of the wine. If they do, they place a firm order to purchase this many cases. The importer then goes to the winery in the region and orders the number of cases that they have presold, plus a percentage for reorders. When I bought the wine, the merchant told me that when her supply was gone, she would not be able to get any more.

In the case of this particular wine, that is fine with me. The wine is a 2004 and has good color. Once I pulled out the cork, the wine had a musty nose in the bottle. I decided to let it breathe in the bottle for 45 minutes thinking that this would help the wine. After waiting for 45 minutes, I poured the wine into a glass and took a sniff. The musty smell had dissipated some what but not completely. To my taste, there was a strong acid taste on my palate. The wine all by itself was not pleasant. It needed to be paired with food. I got out some fresh mozzarella and cut a slice and tried the wine again. The cheese added something to the wine and the wine took on a whole different flavor. After having a glass with dinner, I corked the bottle and let it sit for two days.

On the second day, I opened the bottle and most of the musty smell had gone away. I poured a glass and let the glass sit for 30 minutes and then tried the wine with an Italian beef dish. The wine was O.K. with the food pairing, but the wine was not exceptional. I was able to get some oak flavor out of the wine and that was about it. I did not notice any cherries or taste any fruit at all. Overall it was an O.K. bottle of wine, but not one that I would ever buy again. The price was $18.99 for 750 ml. I would not recommend this wine to you for purchase.

Until next time, let me know what is on your mind, and how you are doing, O.K.?

Oh - have you signed up for our Wine Newsletter?

Jim Fortune - the Bella Wine Guy