This is one of those rare inexpensive wines that’s actually made a reasonable amount of critical attention for being more than decent. At circa 8 dollars a bottle, it seemed like it was worth a shot, and on a recent trip to the store I decided to grab a bottle.

First, it’s worth noting that Penfolds is not like Yellow Tail. While the much larger, much more industrial winery doesn’t produce a bottle that can be had at Specs for over 10 dollars (750ml), Penfolds offers a wide range of wines up into the $80 price point. Thus while this particular Penfolds bottle may cost less than 10 dollars, Penfolds does know something about making a decent bottle of wine they can charge people real money for.

So how does it hold up? While the Koonunga Hill lacks the refinement of a more expensive bottle, it does manage to avoid what so often is the fate of wine in this price range – tasting watered down or overly sweet.  While it is sweeter than I’d like to see out of a Cabernet Shiraz blend, the sweetness isn’t distracting. Perhaps my biggest complaint about this wine would be that it ends up not showing me the character of either of its constituent grapes – not as bold as a good Shiraz, not as complex as a good Cabernet, and in the end I find myself feeling that the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts. There’s nothing particularly wrong with the Koonunga Hill, but somehow the particular blend lets me down in a way I can’t quite explain.

If you’re looking for a perfectly drinkable wine that has some of the character of a Shiraz and Cabernet, this is a great pick.  It’s cheap, it’s good, and it’s worth the purchase.  What it isn’t, however, is something I personally plan on buying a lot of.  As my first experience from Penfolds, it has certainly been good enough that I will purchase another bottle from the vineyard. But it probably won’t be this one.

Score: 86

Blended red wines are usually not our thing.  Too often it seems like winemakers create blends based on whatever their market research told them they wouldn’t be able to sell, or else make blends only to make their less palatable grapes drinkable.  Unlike the bargain basement “red wine” you typically find at your grocery store, however, several prominent Chilean wineries have come out with top-flight blended wines which promise to be a step above the others. Trio Reserva is one such wine from Concha Y Toro, one of Chile’s largest wineries with a portfolio of wine ranging from cheap value wines to elite Cabernet’s selling for close to $100 a bottle. At around $13 a bottle, was the Trio something we could like?

As its name implies, Concha’s Trio Reserva is a blend of three grape varietals – specifically 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Shiraz, and 15% Cabernet Franc.  From the first taste, you realize this is neither a typical single-varietal wine, nor a “red wine” your local Italian restaurant is trying to pawn off on you for entirely too much money.  Trio takes its body from the Cabernet Sauvignon, tannins clearly evident, adds a bit of peppery spice from the Cabernet Franc, and balances it off with chocolate sweetness from the Shiraz.  It’s all very well balanced, very well blended, very well controlled.  In fact, after tasting dozens of “red wines” that are little more than grape juice with vodka and sugar, you might call the effect refreshing.

Unfortunately, as we drank and the novelty wore off, we wound up feeling that the Trio wasn’t as special as we first envisioned.  Perhaps it’s not your bargain basement red, but it’s still a “red wine” – better than other red wines we’ve had, but still something we weren’t quite fond of.  While our first impressions were overwhelmingly positive, at the end of the day we were just not quite in love. This wine would go great with a meal, and would probably be a good choice if you were trying to please a variety of tastes with one single wine.

Score: 86

I like Concha.  One of the larger Chilean winemakers whose wines usually pack a good punch for the price, I’ve rarely been disappointed with a bottle, even from their lower end Frontera label.  I was excited, then, to grab the Winemaker’s Lot – presumably one of their more high end varieties. A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenere and 10% Syrah, this bottle bears the signature of Hector Urzua, winemaker, and promises that it’s “shared with honor”.  Let’s hope that goes better than peace with honor.

I’ll start by saying this wine was a disappointment, though some of that may come from my high expectations coming out of many enjoyed Concha wines.  I opened the bottle and let it breathe for about an hour before I took the first sip, but that simply wasn’t enough.  I was immediately overwhelmed by powerful tart flavors and a rustic, earthy boutique.  It was so shocking to me, in fact, that I had to consult another bottle of opened wine to make sure I wasn’t being overly harsh, or that my taste buds weren’t failing me.  Sure enough, the difference was striking – Winemaker’s lot had an amazing punch of tartness I might associate with raspberries or granny smith apples that have been simmered and reduced to their essence.  In the interests of disclosure, I enjoy tart flavors, and there have been many a disagreement between Lisa and I regarding our preference in that area, but this was simply over the top – even for me.  Cool with heavy tannins and an almost bitter finish, it was all I could do to finish that glass.  I threw on the Vacuvin and decided to give it a go the next day to see if things had improved.

Mercifully they had.  This is still a very cool wine.  It doesn’t have a warm character that lifts you up, but rather it seems to subdue your pallete. Even after mellowing significantly, it’s still a wine with a full flavor profile and pronounced tartness, though in much more managable doses.  I’ll do a followup if I find that additional breathing helps more, but at a minimum I’d let this one sit a day before you attempt to drink it.

What shall we say, then?  The reality is that of all the Concha bottles I’ve had, this is no doubt the one I’ve liked least.  It has potential, and after a day it was perfectly acceptable, though even then it was a wine I wanted to be finished with more than savor.  Given that it fits in the higher cost profile for Concha y Toro wines, I’d recommend you skip this one and go for something else.

Score: 80