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	Best of the Red Bunch

Marques de Casa Concha Merlot 2002

Imagine a world with only macrobiotic supermarkets, one flavor bagels, a single TV network playing Lawrence Welch 24/7, and every radio station in the land subjecting us to non stop folk music. I know it's too hideous to comprehend, yet it's the world so many wine drinkers inhabit. A zillion grape varieties to choose from (well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration) and rather than introduce their taste buds to new experiences, they slip cosily into the Cabernet-Chardonnay zone, where the world is safe and secure from scary monsters in grape disguises. It's only a very small step from Cabernet to Merlot. A tiny baby toddle to the soft, welcoming embrace of the younger brother of Cabernet. They're not actually related but they play together all over the world producing amazing wines which sell for preposterous sums of money, especially if they have the words Bordeaux and France on the label. Merlot has become a favorite amongst the "I'm not seriously rich but can still have a good time" set. Those of us who work for a crust and know the value of a Dollar, say a teary goodbye to each one that we leave in the supermarket or on the Big Mac counter and we want to be sure we invest wisely. And Chile knows how to squeeze every last drop of juice for your Buck and for just under $15 Marques de Casa Concha Merlot is a king in pauper's clothes. Concha y Toro is one of the most respected wine producing companies in Chile (and the most famous), and they produce this wine in the Peumo Vineyard, of Chile's Rapel Valley. The aging process in French oak barrels for just over a year and six months in the bottle results is a smooth, plummy wine full of eastern spiciness and western adventure. An all-rounder with food, there's virtually nothing this wine won't compliment, including your carefully maintained bank account.

REGION Peumo Vineyard, Rapel Valley, Chile

TECHNICAL The wine is aged in French barriques for 14 months in one, two and three year-old barrels and then aged a further six months after bottling.

PRICE (approx) £8.50 (UK) $14.99 (US)

amore!

Best of the White Bunch

Kim Crawford Unoaked Chardonnay 2003

Utopia was so overrated-don't you think? When I was a boy Utopia was the place you escaped to in your Lear jet when you grew up to be Donald Trump! My head was filled with images of gently rolling hills, brilliantly blue skies peppered with puffs of clouds and families of sheep idly wandering across endless expanses of velvet smooth grassland. But I hadn't planned on Starbucks coming along and destroying the vistas so vividly occupying my daydreams. Mocha lattes weren't part of the mental lanscape, while daydreaming in Mrs. Brown's history lesson, as she explained how the discovery of potatoes in the New World had given hope to mankind. I only recently realized that Utopia had moved. It found a realtor, packed up all it's belongings and scurried half way round the world where elves and hobbits live. Utopia merely changed it's name and is now called New Zealand. And if you don't believe me, open a bottle of Kim Crawford's Unoaked Chardonnay and you'll discover eternal happiness, way beyond your wildest dreams. Kim Crawford owns a winery and vineyards in Marlborough, the most famous wine region in the northern part of New Zealand's South Island. Kim's intent was to produce wines "to have control over my destiny". I applaud the fact that this wine isn't aged in oak and overwhelmed with wood flavors. It focuses on the natural qualities of the grape, with ripe tropical fruit softly dazzling the palate. And clever Kim is determined to bring the wine to our table in the best of health, so he has replaced the (hopefully soon to be extinct) cork with a screw cap. Bravo! I rarely drink Chardonnay these days as I'm regularly bored senseless by those I pour into my glass. When I do take the time to unscrew one that looks interesting, hope reigns supreme. And I can assure you, Utopia does indeed exist and it's rivers flow with the elixir produced by Kim Crawford, a man who has clearly kept his appointment with destiny.

REGION Marlborough, New Zealand

TECHNICAL Due to the cooler sites selected for these grapes, they obtained full ripeness with high levels of natural acidity. harvested in the early morning, the grapes were processed without preservatives and, once settled, fermented by a pure yeast culture to dryness.

PRICE (approx) £9 * $15.99