Anyone seen this in a store yet?

SIERRA CARCHE PROPRIETARY BLEND RED WINE 05

LCB Code 26873

Been searching around for this, but no luck....

Unfortunately this wine can be counted among those wines which have been listed at one time on the Upcoming Chairman's Selection list but then disappeared. Sometimes there's a lag of several weeks or even months then they arrive in stores and suddenly pop up on the Chairman's Selections Now in Stores list, sometimes they get reclassified as something else like a Premium Power Purchase or a regular specialty item, and sometimes they disappear into the ether. The fact that it shows up on the LCB product search page is an encouraging sign.

I've seen a list of Chairman's Selection and Sommelier Collection wines arriving in stores through June and that isn't on it. But that list didn't include PPP wines.

I'd say to keep watching, and/or set up automatic notifications for a couple large stores near you if you haven't already.

One last thing you could try would be to send an e-mail to RA-LBconsumer@state.pa.us and see if they can provide any info.

Good luck
Mark

FYI it's all over western PA right now, and ecola just gave it a great review (here)!

I figured it would have to be great, since it got a great review & 96 points from Parker...

Well I just had it with dinner tonight. Very good yes, worthy of 96 points (whatever that means), not so sure. Initial taste brought to mind something from the Rhone Valley. Rob Kimball at the McIntyre Square store informed me that Monastrell is the same grape as Mouvedre in France and Mataro in California...I learned something today! A nice wine for $30 and I'd be hard pressed to find something better for less, but for what it's worth (no pun intended) I've had better wines which were more expensive.

In the last couple months there has been quite a tempest swirling around this wine and the reviewer from The Wine Advocate, Jay Miller. Turns out that said reviewer has admitted going on trips paid for by the companies or importers whose wines he was tasting. Apparently he is a private contractor for WA and is not held to the same travel standards to which Parker himself adheres (always pays his own way). He apparently has been "disciplined" by Parker, whatever that means.

In regards to this specific wine, there's more...

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/07/24/we-are-searching-for-a-different-winery-for-this-brand/

Suffice it to say, those who felt that this wine was not deserving of a 96 point score (and there are several, here) are not in the minority.