2008 Panilonco Reserve Merlot/Malbec

2008 Panilonco Reserve Merlot/Malbec

Origin: Chile

Price: $3.99

Where to buy: Trader Joe’s

I have never had a Chilean wine before until I came across the 2008 Panilonco Reserve Merlot/Malbec at Trader Joe’s. Honestly, I typically do not venture below $5 for a bottle of wine. Why? Well when your spend under $5 you figure you are buying the bottle of the “barrel.” Being skeptical of buying such a young wine for so cheap had me worried that tonight’s wine wasn’t going to memorable. I couldn’t have been more wrong!

This wine is 60% Merlot and 40% Malbec from D.O Colchagua Valley Chile. This wine has a deep dark fruit flavor with a smokey taste. We had a nice steak with this wine certainly paired well. Doing a little research on Panilonco and its wine making yielded nothing worth noting on google. I contacted Evaki Inc. who imports the wine for more information. I will tell you this, the wine certainly is young. This reserve has a lot of potential, so I recommend stopping by Trader Joe’s and picking up a bottle before they are gone. Hell, for $3.99 pick up four! I did. Should be amazing in a few years!