- Silverstone's previous recommendations

Marques de Casa Concha Merlot 2002

Best of the Red Bunch

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.

Cheers!

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) $14.99 (US) £8.50 (UK)

- Silverstone's previous recommendations