Baja Fresh And Chilean Red

Monday night, I was starving, and was on the prowl for something quick, easy and cheap. I pulled into Baja Fresh and grabbed a carnitas burrito. I have to say, as far as ‘fast food’ goes, Baja Fresh seems healthier. Maybe it’s because the word ‘fresh’ is in their name.

And of course, whenever I have spicy Mexican or Southwest food, I always feel it appropriate to have either Spanish or Chilean wine- not just because Spanish is mostly spoken at all of the above locales, but because by and large, wines from these regions tend to go really well with spicy food. Monday night’s choice was the 2006 Los Vascos Reserve, which is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Carmenere, 10% Syrah, and 5% Malbec.  It should be noted that the Los Vascos operation is run by a little group of wine folk out of France called Domaines Barons de Rothschild-Lafite .  One glance at thier little logo triggers a reassuring voice inside my head:  “we’re in good hands here.”

This wine is a nice ruby color and looked mighty good as I gave it a swirl. On the nose was dark fruit and berries with lots of spicy, earthy notes. Sure enough, once it was in my mouth, the dark cherries and berries were nicely framed with ample amounts of secondary flavors: spice and chocolate, and a little green herb action. Decent tannins and acidity kept it balanced and structured, but overall this one is young. We decanted it for a good 20 minutes and it was still a bit tightly wound. A decent value at $20, and it was as fresh and healthy as my carnitas burrito.