Tonight I’m going to taste a bottle I got at the Shinsege Department store at the Express bus terminal. I must admit, the buyer for Shinsege has a nice nose and most of the wines I’ve gotten there have been pretty top notch. They wines in the 30-70,000 won (34-76 dollar range) have been wonderful. Everything seems well cellared and managed. I don’t know about the salesperson knowledge because my Korean is poor. They have a nice range of American, Australian, and French wines.
This wine is a 2001 Chateau de Callac. I bought it for 30,000 won at Shinsege. It won a bronze metal in 2001.
This wine is dark and has a fragrantly bitter bouquet. The smell lingers and wafts between sweet and tangy. It has some legs when I swirl it around. I really like the smell of it. It’s like Guatamala Antigua coffee with a bit of lemon zest.
It has a bit of a bite the alcohol is burns a bit, but as it sits out it mellows out. It has a woody, mesquite taste to it and I’m getting hints of cherries, a bit of mountain strawberry- it’s got a bit of a tang to it. It definitely has some oak to it, but the tannins are really light so it’s very drinkable.
I’m going to give it a 89. It’s something that would go great with a coffee crusted steak, asparagus and a light caesar salad.
In retrospect, the wine has a tobacco finish^^
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