Yes on both counts.

Fattest chardonnay ever...YellowTail Reserve.

I’ve been drinking so many inexpensive wines from South America and Spain (under $15 that I call “drinkers”), that I’ve been buying from wine.com; I haven’t had a whole lot to recommend lately. The other night though, I opened a Napa Zin and it was outstanding. Terrific nose with fruit that wasn’t over the top. It has a good fruity pallet you find in most Napa Zins, but it also had some spice and smoke with it at the same time. It wasn’t the typical Napa over-extracted jammy fruit that Parker likes either, just nice crisp clean fruit. It’s high in alcohol (15.8%), but you’d never know it. The wine just hid it well and I would have pegged it between 13.5 and 14%. A little spendy, but I still recommend it to anyone who likes zins.

The wine is from Klinker Brick Winery. It’s their “Old Ghost” vintage…2005. $37.00 http://www.klinkerbrickwinery.com/old_ghost_old_vine_zinfandel.htm

I have six more on order……

I'll keep that one on my list for later, if I didn't already have a truckload of Zins I would order a couple now.

I am interested in some of your favorite under $15.00 dollar buys from Latin America. I really enjoy the Root 1 Cabernet that I was getting for under $10.00 a bottle. I'm also really liking some of the Argentine Malbecs.

Two days to the chardonnay tastings.

I’ve had many great bottles from South America. It’s actually more of a challenge to find one I don’t like… I’ve had the Root 1 and like it. I usually have three or four in the “drinker cooler”.

Here’s a few I’ve tried and really enjoyed.

2004 Veramonte Primus $15
Anything from Concha y Toro (I love the Don Melchor) $10 - $65
2005 Santa Rita carmenere $13
2003 Gascon Presidents Blend Malbec $17.50
2004 Unico Luis Miguel Gran Reserva Cab $15
2005 Terrazas de Los Andes Malbec $15

One from Spain worth mentioning as well:

Los Rocas Garnacha $11

Thanks Mike, I've tried a couple Concha y Toros and really enjoyed them. The others are going on my to order list.

I picked up a cab from Concha Y Toro form Costco and really liked it. The more it breathed, the better it got. (I forgot to use the Vinturi!) The third, and final, day, was the best.

Another one from Chile that I’ve mentioned a couple times already, but worth mentioning again is Almaviva. It's hard to find because they only have one US distributor that cascades to sub-distributors, but damn it's good. It’s a joint venture of sorts between the Concha y Toro Winery and the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild. If you ever see one, just suck it up, pay the price and take it home for a special occasion. I’ve got a couple 99’s and if I see any when I wander through wine shops that are laying down, I buy them. I’ve had the 99, 2001 and 2004. They were all outstanding.

http://www.almavivawinery.com/

Concha y Toro Trio 1999 was one of the best reds i ever had and it was a whopping 12 dollars.
They have since changed the 'blend' and i didn't care for the last one i had.

The Don Melchor is stellar, and ageing nicely in the cellar.

MMMMmmmmm, Don Melchor.