I’m in the red Roof Inn in Rutland, VT, again. This time I’m heading home from Thanksgiving with my girlfriend’s family in Maine. On our drive back we stopped at a rest stop on route 93 about one hundred yards into New Hampshire. It had a big ass liquor store, so I of course went in to see if they had any wines that I hadn’t had. They did, and they also had Two Hands Shiraz, a good wine I had recently with guest editor Sarah Freligh at Flight Wine Bar as we went over our Pushcart nominations. However, it was $64, so I got a Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Chateau Hyot Castillion Cotes de Bordeaux 2008. The back label of the Hyot said it had “huge fruit,” so I was sold.
Here’s what the whole back label said:
Variety: 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Color: Dense ruby/purple
Nose: Delicious blackberry, cherry, and cassis fruit interwoven with notions of solid and subtle oak.
Palate: Concentrated, medium body, with huge fruit, minerals, and supple tannins.
Assessment: Produced near the famous vineyards of Saint-Emilion, Chateau HYOT epitomizes the power and complexity of which Bordeaux blends are capable.
While most wines in this area are typical Merlot, both Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon play important roles in adding layers of complexity to the finished wines.
Anyway, to the tasting. Allons-y.
Oh yeah, I’m drinking out a plastic cup again, so you are warned.
The nose is dense and earthy and cheap smelling.(My girlfriend gets vegetables. She, of course, is correct.)
This nose suggests the wine is going to be oily.
It tastes cheap, too, and it’s not the plastic cup.
It’s a bit tart, too.
I’m not finding the huge fruits or subtle tannins. In addition, I’m not finding any images of this bottle on the internet, and, coincidently, I’m not finding anything about it on the internet. Am I the first reviewer of this wine?!
I don’t have much to say about this. It’s about 86 or 87 points. It’s 87, I suppose. I wouldn’t get this again. I wish I had a pizza instead of sushi, now. It will go better with pizza or hamburger. This would be really good with a big, fat, juicy hamburger with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and bleu cheese.
A Perfect Match
By the way, you should go to Flight Wine Bar. It’s awesome and at ease. And the staff is great. Go. Go now. Tell them I sent you. It won’t get you a discount or anything, and they might wonder who I am unless you mention Redactions, and still . . . but go anyway. It will be fun.//
The Line Break 
$64!!!!!! Whoa, that WAS some good wine. I went to Flight on Friday, on my way home from Park Avenue. It was snowing outside, very cozy and nice inside Flight. I had a glass of Gavi and graded papers. Let’s do a writing practice at Flight soon.
YEZ!