2005 Cellers Capafons-Osso Masia Esplanes Montsant (Previously $30)

How does 50% off the regular price for a great bottle of wine sound? This $30.00 blend of Merlot, Cab., Granache, Carignane and Syrah with several years of bottle age is a great wine and a great value at only 15 bucks. Think Priorat here: tons of dark fruit, muscular structure, balancing acidity and a deep, mineral infused finish. This is a big, rich wine that has the power and balance to handle the ripe fruit and plush texture. VALUE.

Besides Greg St. Clair, two other wine buyers for K&L have had a really bad influence on me, in terms of what has been going into my wine cellar now: Joe Manekin (Spanish and South America) and Mulan Chan (French Regional and Rhone Valley). They are really dangerous people in that they keep finding remarkable wines at prices totally unrelated to their exceptional qualities. Let's start with that Wascallly Wabbit wine buyer, Joe Manekin. He turned me on to a Spanish Gem recently that is to die for: the Cellers Capafons-Osso 2005 Massia Esplanes Montsant, a Priorat-lookalike that is rich, broad, and complex. Deep ruby in color, the opulent nose shows tons of cassis, terroir, power, and richness that carries over to its very impressive set of flavors, with dark chocolate undertones and a finish that just absolutely goes on into the night. This is an amazing wine of monumental proportions that will easily age another 10-plus years, if that is what you want to do with it. According to Anderson, we need several cases of this Gem to nurse us through the next several winters. 14.5% abv

I love it when a wine is on sale, and this one is nearly half off! This is a big, dark beauty. It has a lovely, dark ruby color with nice, dark, sweet notes of currant and boysenberry on the nose. The palate has gobs of black cherry, licorice and berries with a solid layer of chocolate and spice underneath- and a nice, smooth, loooong finish. This wine IS NOT small... but the price tag is... Snatch a bottle up, you'll be happy you did. Check out our tasting notes webisode on this one at www.wineexpedition.com.