RM Wines, Australia

There's a discount grocery chain in California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts west called Bargain Grocery Outlet (BGO). They've got a pretty fabulous wine buyer in California who buys for all the stores. Lately they've been buying some amazing wines from Washington and Australia. We've gotten some amazing wines there; wines that ordinarily sell for $10.00 to $20.00 a bottle for around $3.99.

Right now, BGOs in Washington and California are featuring wine from Australia under the label RM. We've been thoroughly enjoying their wine, and it seems that the BGO has a lock on the entire stock; there's a Shiraz, a Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon, a Merlot, a Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon, and aCabernet-Sauvignon, and even a decent RM Chardonnay. They've all been quite good, and well worth the $3.99 or less a bottle we've paid, but the Cabernet Sauvignon quickly became not only our favorite, but the favorite of a number BGO customers who are buying it by the case, and not just because this very young (2009) Cabernet Sauvignon is a steal at the price, but because it's simultaneously fruity (the taste reminds me a bit of black currant juice; the nose has a lovely hint of plum), just enough tannin and slightly dry, and is very much what you'd expect from a quality Australian Cabernet Sauvignon. I've been told that the RM Cabernet Sauvignon wholesales for $10.00 a bottle. The bottles are all screw-cap, which oddly enough has people making disparaging comments, but I assure you the contents are fabulous with hearty beef, homemade tomato sauce on pasta, and with fruit and cheese.

And I'm going to have to re-visit my anti-merlot prejudices; I liked the Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon so much, that we tried the Merlot. To my shock, I liked it. I do not, in general favor Merlots, so this was a bit of a shock. I'll have to investigate more thoroughly, though I suspect I'll ease into Merlot by way of trying some more Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon blends. I've been informed by the wine buyer at the local Haggen's that "Merlot is dead," but I'm not convinced after trying RM's Australian Merlot.

There's not a lot of information to be had about RM wines. They're apparently produced by the Nugan Estate, bottled by Ozpak, and distributed by Plume Ridge. Nugan has substantial sourcing agreements in the Coonawarra region, a prime area for award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon.