Wine Shop Wednesday: The Most Expensive Wine in the Bar

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This week we welcome Bryant Phillips to Wine Shop Wednesday. You may remember Bryant from Sturkey’s or Chalk. Currently you can find him out at the excellent Wise Owl Wine Bar in West Chester. If you’re anywhere near IKEA, you’re near the Wise Owl. Stop by and have a drink – it’s worth it. I visited last week and fell in love with the place.

Last week I got into a conversation with two of our guests about a particular wine. In itself, this fact is not unusual; however, this wine happens to be on our list for $274. We discussed the varietal composition, heritage, etc. But after they left, I was still thinking about our 2006 Bodegas El Nido conversation even into the next day.

The wine is made by Aussie Winemaker extraordinaire Chris Ringland in the rustic dry region of Spain called Jumilla. I usually tell people that El Nido is the Granddaddy of obnoxious Spanish wine. I think that is a misconception though. El Nido is more like your rich Uncle who lives in the city, drives a Porsche, is a consummate bachelor, and slips the kids an XBOX 360 for Christmas, even though they might not deserve it.

From the satin label to the inky black color, this wine exudes cool. It’s capability to cellar for more than a decade is impressive, but so is it’s ability to be consumed right now, attributed to its powerful yet balanced structure and depth.