How to Trap a Unicorn

I love this tapestry which hangs in the Musée de Cluny next to the Sorbonne in Paris. It is actually one of six woven in the 15th Century and entitled, "La Dame à la licorne"

Each of the six represents a sense, this one obviously representing sight. What is the sixth sense? It is, "Mon seul désir," which some have interpreted to mean 'love.' Some of the six tapestries include a monkey- sorry Monkeyposh, not this one!

The medieval protocol for capturing this animal is to place a virgin in the path of the unicorn. Some accounts require the virgin to bare her breasts. The unicorn seeing the virgin will come lay its head in the lap of the virgin maiden and fall asleep.

Maria Callas

Maria Callas. She was a beautiful woman with an amazing, haunting voice that gave me an aesthetical experience many times when I listened to her recordings.

Although I recognize haut couture as a high form of art, and appreciate its beauty, I am not the kind of man to spend a lot of time looking at or thinking about clothing. However, When I attended a Maria Callas exposition in Paris, I found one of her dresses on display to be quite striking. I found it so striking that I purchased a post card of the dress. It is my only post card on the subject of clothing. Maybe it was because I had heard so many excerpts of her recordings, and saw many photographs of her throughout the morning. Staring at the dress in real life, I was imagining her alive: wearing the dress, moving, and singing. It was intoxicating experience.

I thought about the idea of scanning the post card from time to time, and somehow incorporating it into my blog, but the idea was intermittent and fleeting. Then, yesterday morning my friend MonkeyPosh told me of the death of Luciano Pavarotti. I think I was the last person on earth to know. I was surprised how many of my friends that normally listen to pop, rock, country and other non-art music made comments throughout the day about how they had been touched by Pavarotti's music. Inevitably, I read about Pavarotti's life and accomplishments, and my thoughts naturally came back to Callas, one of my favorite opera heroines, and the beautiful, striking dress I saw in Paris. Here it is:

(Click to Enlarge)

2003 Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon

Vintage: 2003
Winery: Concha y Toro
Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon- Marques de Casa Concha
Country: Chile
Region: Maipo Valley, Puente Alto Vineyard

A friend of mine, call her Posh Monkey, requested I provide her with information on a good red wine. This review is especially for her. Although she only asked for a good red, the wine under review is a VERY GOOD wine at under $15! Although I usually do not rate wines with points, I would say this wine hovers around 89.

Concha y Toro produces an entire spectrum of wines, but is often remembered for the less expensive wines of which many are familiar. I was remarking to a connoisseur, you know, the kind who constantly makes allusions to Château Pétrus, that Marques de Casa Concha is one of my favorite wines for the price. "Concha y Tora?" he asked. I told him to try it, but could tell he would not without some prodding. I brought him a bottle from my personal collection, and gave it to him. The next time I was at this friend's home, I saw several boxes of Marques de Casa Concha in his "cellar" area. He commented that he has shared this wine with several connoisseur friends who also like it.

Now, I had noticed that the price had gone up lately, and kicked myself for not buying more. I went from paying less than $10 to about $14 per bottle. I couldn't help but wonder if my blabbing about good inexpensive wine helped make the price go up. Or maybe several blabbers like me made the price go up- you know, all that supply and demand stuff. Anyway, it is still a bargain considering the quality, and you should try it, or the 2004 if it is more readily available in your area.

The delicious full-bodied wine is very bold with heavy oak flavors, striking but very drinkable tannins and red currant, fig, and cherry flavors. This wine is a pleasure, I mean a pleasure to drink, and I believe over time will become even more balanced. (Although I have seen the suggested peak projected to be 2007!) What makes it all the more pleasurable to drink, is that it is under $15. Despite the price, the taste is like you might expect from a wine of about $30. Hooray for Chile!