The Endorsement: Haras Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

I drink Chilean cabernet because it's cheap and solid. You can walk into your wine store, pay $5.99 for some label you've never heard of, and expect the pours to be spicy and serviceable. In my opinion, the better inexpensive ones are so spicy you feel like you're drinking fresh pepper from the grinder a swank SoHo restaurant. Those hold a special place in my heart.

Tonight, I selected a $9 bottle that I thought would pair nicely with Xanax and my own self-loathing. To my surprise, this Chilean cab blew me away. It's round and not terribly spicy, and it has this fab cedar body that I kept tasting sip after sip, not just on the first swallow.

In true Jane form, I've drunk two-thirds of the bottle tonight, and, like my multiple glasses, the name bears repeating (counting the hed of this post): Haras Estate Maipo Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005. The label features a sketch of a horse that supposedly honors Leonardo da Vinci. Between you and me, I chose this particular bottle because the back label shows that the winery is horseshoe-shaped. Apparently the land was first used to raise thoroughbred horses, and you guys know I am a sucker for an earnest theme.

So, yeah, go buy this one. Here.

And by the way, readers...I'm back. For now.