On a Sunday afternoon, Xavier and I went to lunch at a local restaurant called La Paz. It’s right up the street from our all time fave, Cacique, and we thought it would be fun to try a new place.
We thought wrong.
La Paz is why restaurants outside of New Mexico should not serve food they don’t understand. Additionally, the service was terrible. It took an hour to get our food and the food we finally got was mediocre at best.
Speaking of mediocre, the wine list was also laughable. Featuring such fine selections as Sutter Home White Zinfandel and Bare Foot Pinot Noir, I seriously considered just ordering an iced tea but then I saw one choice that looked promising: 14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon.
I had never tried it but I knew that 14 Hands wine usually cost more than $6 at the store so it was the creme de la creme so to speak.
This glass of wine was quite delightful and, were it not for it’s presence, we probably would have left when the waiter came to apologize for the 45 minute wait, explaining that the kitchen had sent our food to the wrong table, and promising that our lunch would be delivered eventually.
Despite the underwhelming nature of the restaurant, I really did enjoy the wine so I decided to get a bottle of my very own.
I wish this story got better but, well, it kinda doesn’t.
There was something amiss about the bottle I bought. While it generally tasted alright, it smelled weird.
Perhaps I should rephrase. I thought it smelled weird. Xavier said, “That’s what Cabernet Sauvignon smells like.”
He thought it smelled fine.
Oddly enough, I thought it tasted alright just as long as I didn’t sniff the top of the bottle. Overall though, I liked the wine I had in the restaurant better than the bottle I brought home.
The restaurant wine was dark and smooth, very full bodied and pleasantly woody with a good amount of oak.
Maybe I got a dud bottle. I’m sure it happens from time to time.
Trust The Devil You Know 