1997 Chateau Moulin de Poncet

[hotwine]

This young red Bordeaux from the Entres-Deux-Mers region was delightlful last night with oak-fired beef tenderloin, garlic mashed potatoes, and cauliflower with cheese sauce, topped with a dessert of blueberry cake. At $9.99 retail, $7.99 discount, it's a wonderful bargain, with very soft tannins and lush round fruit, showing flavors of blackberries and raspberries. Where has this stuff been all of my life? Highly recommended.

[mrdutton]

Next time I am in Texas, I will come a-knocking at your door! Sounds like a scrumptous meal!

[hotwine]

It was indeed a wonderful meal. My only complaint was with the beef: although superlean and tender, and about 1.5 in thick, it was store-bought, and therefore lacked the flavor of a grass-fed animal. But the wine was superb, a meritage of 60%merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon. The four bottles I puchased last week must have been ofphans - there's no more to be found in this area.

[hotwine]

Dredged one of these up last night to have with leftover stroganoff, only to find that it had been ruined by a bad cork. That might explain why it was virtually given away last spring.

[Drew]

Ruined how Hotwine, corked or cooked?

Drew

[hotwine]

Corked. And very thoroughly so.

[Drew]

I doubt if the retailer discounted the wine because he knew it was corked. If he had that ability he could work for one of the large distributors and make lots of money detecting corked wines....or open a very sucessfull fortune telling business. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]:

Drew

[hotwine]

This bottle had a bit of mold on the outside of the capsule. I thought when I pulled it from the cellar that it might simply be mildew, since the humidity level in there is very high. But the mold was also very evident on the top of the cork, once the capsule was removed; and the corkscrew penetrated much too easily. When the cork was retrieved, the mold was visible on a third of its length. The smell and tongue-tip taste confirmed the problem.

This retailer has a history of dumping junk that he's picked up at a steep discount; thus my suspicion. I bought this stuff back in April, so returning it now is out of the question.