Lace ’em up.

Frustratingly formidable capsule.

Dark ruby color.

Fruity nose.

A bit of the old tennies.

(Maybe I should use my
decanter on these???)

I’ll just air out the first
pour before taking my first sip…

Dark and pale.

No oakiness.

SOME milkiness.

Maybe some tannins.

JAMMY I assume.

14% ALC. (Not again!)

I need food…

Until that HAPPENS, I’ll take
a few more sips and decide
that this tastes “French”.

My mind jumps to Cahors.

Clos La Coutale.

I don’t know about this, so
I have to go to school.

The main curiosity is “ageing”.
Surely the French use OAK.

What is “elaborated”???…
http://closlacoutale.com/vin_en.html

And to go ploddingly into the weeds,
this link indicates that OTHER FOLKS
think that these TWINS? need to be
“aired out”.

https://www.vivino.com/clos-la-coutale-cahors/w/36304?year=2015

I’ll jump back to the skinny part
of South America now.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrg.

Perhaps the accomplished wine
reviewer can make a flowery and
coherent statement about this wine,
but I’m left with a jigsaw puzzle
whose pieces don’t fit.

(Bear with me.)

Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

It’s like trying to figure out
if somebody spiked your strawberry
milkshake served in high tops with
kumquat juice or Jamaican rum.
Or both.

(That would be the milkshake in
high tops as opposed to the “somebody”.
I’m too woozy to deal with the finer
points of sentence construction
at this point.)

(Although, if it weren’t for the mustiness,
it might be appropriate to imagine
being served wine by “somebody” in high tops
at a “sports bar”.

Waiter (in high tops): What’ll you have.
OTWN: I’ll have a bar.
W: Do you need help carrying
it out to your car?

It’s not bad work (figuring out why
the wine is JACKED) if you can get
it. It’s just not what I applied for.

Saint Peter (holding a Barolo):
Why are you holding
that bottle of Malbec?
OTWN: I couldn’t figure it out,
so I couldn’t put it down.
SP: Didn’t you find it ?
OTWN: Yes, but I couldn’t determine
the relative weight to assign to
each characteristic so I could compute
why the wine was out of balance.
SP: You’re too analytic.
OTWN: You’re too judgemental.
SP: Go stand in the corner.
OTWN: I’ll trade you.
SP: Not on your life.

Sommelier: What are you eating tonight?
OTWN: Food.
S: What kind of wine would you like?
OTWN: Something just a little richer than rosé.
S: I’ll be back in a few minutes.
OTWN: Where are you going?
S: The French Alps.
OTWN: I’ll order an appetizer.

Day Two…

Ahhhhhhhh. That’s better.

This is the best part of
drinking a bottle over two days;
you almost always really enjoy
ONE OF THE DAYS.

Gina is nowhere to be found.

There are subtle herbal and
mineral “flavors” that are trying
to be appreciated.

The ALC is tolerable.

Let’s just enjoy this NOW.

This is why “wine tastings”
never made sense TO ME.

I have to align my senses to
the wine and BECOME THE WINE.

This takes time.

I have to feel the essence of
the wine pulsing through my being.

Just kidding. I just like the buzz.

Just kidding. I really am a
wine freak.

Just kidding. I just like to
have something nice with lunch.

All kidding aside, this wine is
like a Pinot Noir in a drum major
outfit.

(Apparently, there was some kidding
in the corner that escaped HIS
vacuum.)

Or maybe it is a wine that makes
you want to get educated…

https://vinepair.com/articles/6-universities-in-the-u-s-where-you-can-earn-a-degree-in-wine/

I need all six degrees because I get
cold in the winter.

APPARENTLY, the ALC in this Malbec
has me derailing at every thought.

Maybe I should try to discover
something about THIS PARTICULAR WINE.

Yawn.

Of SOME interest, this wine was “aged”
in concrete “vats” (eggs I assume).

If every wine was this good and
potent I would be homeless.

Saint Peter: Why did you
spend the last years of your
life in the gutter.
OTWN: I discovered Malbec.
SP: Why didn’t you control
yourself?
OTWN: I did.
SP: Say what?
OTWN: I drank ONLY MALBEC
to excess.
SP: Go stand in the corner.
OTWN: No way, those peeps
have erect pinkies.
SP: It’s OK. They’re pretentious
CA Chard drinkers.
OTWN: I need an inspirational
hymn first.
SP: How about…

Sommelier: I’m back, where’s OTWN?
Waiter: He was raptured after the crab cakes.
S: But he didn’t get to take
this fine French, high altitude,
wine with him.
W: That’s OK, he took Argentina.
S: Ah, that explains the
polar axis shift.
W: And the currency crash.

But, but, but, what about
THIS WINE THAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED
TO BE CONCENTRATING ON?

It’s gone. I’m giving it
demerits on “sustainability”.

OTWN: Why didn’t HE save HIMSELF?
SP: He is our chief wine maker.
OTWN: What does that have to do
with it?
SP: A good winemaker must be
born again.
OTWN: Heavens to Betsy!
SP: Of course, but she was
a his sommelier.
OTWN: Did they have kids?
SP: Go stand in the corner.
OTWN: Like hell I will!
SP: Exactly.

Hang in there