Tonight I have a buddy!

My husband is off work tonight, so I decided to share my wine with him while I do my new tasting. We have the previous Alamos Malbec, Rex Goliath Pinot Noir, and boxed Merlot along with a boxed Cabernet Sauvignon which I have not yet tried.

First I must mention that I recently read a book which I really enjoyed: "Swallow This" by Mark Phillips. One of the things I learned from it is that I may not be getting these bottled wines at their best for these tasting flights. Apparently wine can become "off" in just a few days after uncorking. Well, to be honest, I've never noticed this. Sure, after a few weeks or certainly months an opened bottle of wine will go bad. But just a few days? I'm not too worried about it.

So let's start with the Cab, since it's new to me. It smells a little bit green and has a somewhat tart taste (which I guess I'm supposed to call acidic). Hud thinks it tastes watered down and bland, but I'm not getting that at all. It's not bad. I'd buy it again.

The Merlot kind of smells like vanilla, but not like a cupcake or anything. It's a little more sour than the Cab. Hud says it tastes more dry and tart. I'm not really noticing that it is any more dry than the others. It has a slightly different flavor from the Cab, but I think they're about equal.

OK, maybe the Malbec has turned by now. There was a lot of sediment in the bottom of the bottle and it tastes a little odd. Maybe it's unfair to compare it to the others, because I'm afraid it's been exposed to air for too long and it's not at its best. Hud says it tastes less tart, but at this point I'm not sure how valuable his opinion is. It does taste a little weird, though.

The Pinot Noir is kind of bland. I can smell grapes (imagine that!) and it tastes like beer. Hud thinks it would be better with a little Jack Daniels in it. Of course, Hud thinks just about everything would be better with a little Jack Daniels in it. I didn't try that.

Hud's final prouncement was, "I don't know. They all taste like crap." I don't know what's wrong with him, because I say they're all pretty good. My least favorite is the Rex Goliath, but even that is decent. I think next time I'll just keep my wine to myself. No sense in wasting it on someone who doesn't appreciate it!

Rex-Goliath Giant 47 Pound Rooster Pinot Noir

I fell for a kitschy label, but happily it's a pretty decent wine anyway. It's a beautiful ruby red, and has a nice fruity but not sugary smell. The taste is a little unremarkable, but nice.

This was the first time I noticed how easy it is to reuse the fake corks. They're not only good for helping to conserve cork oaks!

My only question is, what does it say about a wine if it's not even labeled with a year?

Alamos Malbec 2008 Mendoza, Argentina

I found another good one! It's a deep, dark, purplish red, and it smelt of elderberries. (Not really. I have no idea what elderberries smell like, actually. I just had a small Monty Python moment). I'm having a little bit of trouble smelling this wine, as I was given a very nice-smelling hand soap for Christmas by my good friend Margaret, and that's sort of all I can smell. I tried holding the goblet at the base and nearly poured the wine up my nose. So for tonight I'm just going to have to go with a combination of "it smells good" and "it smells like wine." Which is the same thing, really.

I seem to have lost all my descriptors tonight, because all I can think to add is "it tastes great too." It's a little acidic, but not in a bad way, and has a great flavor. Nice legs, too.