Two every day wines, or ‘Vin Rouge du Tables’, if you prefer.
#1: In 2007 I started taking notes on the 2006 Los Vascos, a Chilean Cab Sauv that is a killer choice for great grape, body & structure, now a part of the Rothschild-Lafite empire. a 70-year olf French grape with huge lineage + great soil in southern hemisphere=perfect world red choice to offset the new growths from France. Anyhow, the 2007 was close, and the 2008 is a step back just in terms of not quite perfect- probably weather, soil, or rushing to meet a market demand. But it’s very good- and in the 9.99/bottle, the 2008 is a rocking daily wine. They call it a Classic, I’ll agree. It’s my house red. Good ruby color, Red plum and raspberry with floral accents and a charcoal base. Not too acidic, good balance. Great with everything from pizza to chateaubriand.
Keep an eye out for the wines from the same house that really shine: the Los Vascos Reserve, and Le Dix Los Vascos. Each one is a step up in price (Reserve @ 16, Le Dix fom $25-40 depending on the source, both limited and hard to find. Reserve only makes 40k cases a year, Le Dix under 5000 cases for the whole world.) Really fabulous, and comparable to young wines from the second growth classifications IMO.
#2: La Chasse Cote du Rhone Prestige: A good every day Burgundy. Had the 2007, enjoyed it. The 2008 is similar, a ruby color with fruity, floral nose. Black plum and raspberry on the front, earth and spice on the finish. For the price, 10-12 per bottle, its a solid vin du table that will serve you well. It’s nothing unusual or extraordinary but is consistent and well structured. Great general Burgundy or “soft red” when you don’t need a star player like a Chateneuf0-du-Pape. For a Burgundy in the 12 range, it drinks like a 20 bottle- of which, I honestly haven’t found any. I find the younger Burgundies are best in either the under $14 or over $40.
jvb uncorked 
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