The nose of this wine smells a lot more pleasant than just about any concert I've been to (maybe Alanis Morissette excepted). It's full of licorice, dusty cherries, plum and toasty oak with plenty of vanilla. It's a big opening number.

If the palate is the second song of the night, it definitely shows its power in more subtle ways. Like a ballad that starts mellow but no less rockin, red and black cherry are so soft they're almost creamy. Lots of earth is there, too, and that keeps the song a little edgy. It's not all pretty piano chords here.

Finding a ticket to Chateau Bel Rose's concerts may prove a little difficult (they're selling at Trader Joe's, and select other store -- imported by Carlton Distributing Co.) but at this price, the search is worth it*. I wouldn't bite the head off of anything for it, but I might wear a low-cut number with a skirt that doubles as a belt.

Cheers,
TSW

* - Lalande de Pomerol is a great region for affordable wine. If Chateau Bel Rose isn't playing your area, check out another bottle on tour from this part of Bordeaux. Chateau Fontenil and Chateau Faizeau are both consistently great, affordable finds.

If red Bordeaux under $20 seems as rare as an intelligible utterance from Ozzy Osbourne, finding anything from a French Chateau for a paltry $12 must be an impossibility on-par with Mariah Carey wearing modest attire.

Let the impossible come to pass! Chateau Bel Rose is giving you an Ozzy-to-English dictionary and giving Mariah a moo-moo/smart pantsuit.

I may be mixing musical metaphors, but this wine breeds confusion (just like French wine labels). It's Bordeaux-ian, yet affordable. It's very young, yet ready to drink.

The color isn't quite as dark as bat blood, yet isn't as light and transparent as anything worn by Ms. Carey. It gets light toward the edge, but never gets watery (it better not at this age).