Hi there! Today we look at a 2013 carmenere from Chile, which I picked up at Costco for $18.
This can be quick, folks. Although Marques de Casa Concha has a very nice aroma and is full bodied, with excellent mouth feel and a good balance of dark red/dark purple fruit vs. gentle spiciness, it is…. a little sour.
Because of that sour kick, I don’t recommend this one. Maybe next year!
Today we look at a 2010 red from Fleurie, in France’s Burgundy region. I bought it at Total Wine for $22.
This wine is a nice choice for Thanksgiving. It’s not too strong, it has a good balance between light tannins and mild fruitiness (i.e. it’s not bone-dry) and it has flavors of black tea, nutmeg and cranberry, unique compared to American reds. Even with these interesting flavors and some minerality, it’s not a Read the rest of this entry »
Today we look at a 2008 100% montepulciano from Abruzzo, Italy. I picked it up at Premiere Wine in Delaware for $35.
Whoa. This is one of those “serious” wines that makes you pause.
What do I have here?
What exactly is going on? Read the rest of this entry »
Today it’s a 2009 red blend from Chile that costs $30 at total wine.
I am not going to dis this wine — at 14.5% alcohol, 45% cabernet sauvignon, 35% syrah and 20% carmenere, it is one big, spicy meat-o-ball. Read the rest of this entry »
Hello! Today we check out a 2010 rioja which is 14% alcohol and sells for $9-11.
This bright ruby-red 100% tempranillo from Spain is easy to drink, with a lot of acidity and snap for your ten bucks. It’s earthy, spicy and dry. Yet it also has some real Read the rest of this entry »
I drooled all over the 2007 Phantom in my “holy cow” review, right here.
However, the current vintage (2008) has lost that loving feeling. I am sitting here trying to Read the rest of this entry »
Today it’s a 2010 California red blend that you can buy at Costco for just under $9.
Quick lowdown: Very cool black and red bottle, very popular, a warm, sweet blend of syrah, zinfandel, cabernet and merlot. Smells like Read the rest of this entry »
This 2010 French red blend with the cool label cost me just $10.
Marius, from France’s Rhone valley, is a blend of syrah and grenache. The aroma is spicy and Read the rest of this entry »
Continuing our Italian restaurant experience, here’s a 2010 red blend from California that Bertucci’s sells for $7.50 a glass / $29 a bottle. It was paired with their Eggplant Napoleone.
The Coppola Rosso is a blend of zinfandel (33%), syrah (26%), cabernet (25%) and petite sirah (17%). Whoa — look at those grapes. But instead of a serious steak wine, the winery says it is intended as a lighter, sweeter red for casual dining. And that’s what it is. Likely to appeal to younger drinkers, for me it was a little too jammy, with vanilla and a dusty zinfandel zing.
But! Bertucci’s Michael Cropper and Chad Phillips paired it with a lovely modern caprese salad, featuring eggplant roasted in their famous brick oven, plum tomatoes and fresh mozzarella all drizzled with a balsamic glaze incorporating pesto without nuts, for those of you with allergies. The croutons were too crunchy, but no matter — Eggplant Napoleone rocks, and it made the Rosso shine.
I don’t recommend the wine alone, but I do recommend this pairing. This dish would also go very nicely with a pinot noir (Bertucci’s offers the delicious Estancia pinot, which I praised here).
This kicks off a series that will review various popular wines that are sold at Bertucci’s. These brick oven-style Italian restaurants on the east coast have a warm, modern atmosphere, open kitchen and a “dim the lights” feeling of class.
Manager Chad Phillips and culinary manager Michael Cropper in Christiana, Delaware treated us to their newest dishes (excellent) and wines (very good or excellent, for the price, with one exception). The evening was gratis, but I returned to buy each wine on its own.
In every case, the food improved the wine experience. In one case, the pairing caused a so-so wine to become downright enjoyable. Read on to learn which.
The pairings:
Today we review a 2010 Cotes du Rhone from Kirkland Signature (Costco’s brand) which sells for the low price of $7.
I am a fan of the Kirkland label — many times, I have been astounded by the quality of the products carrying this simple all-capital-letters logo. And that includes wine.
In this case, the dark purple juice that flows into your glass looks beautiful and has a nice subtle aroma of red fruits and flowers. The taste is certainly not terrible — yes, it’s a little too sweet, and yes it’s very simple, but these things can be forgiven at $7. What kills it for me is that it sort of tastes like Welch’s grape juice. Just a little weird, just a little “off.” Unfortunately, this bargain-priced Costco red is:
Not recommended.
Today we review a fine rioja from Spain that costs $15.
Spicy and energetically juicy, I must say that I really liked Cincuenta Se Cumplen Cincuenta Anos Desde Que Victorino Continua Con La Saga De La Familia Eguren En Su 3d Generacion Ugarte rioja the first time I tried it.
Although very dry, and lighter than you expect, Cincuenta Se Cumplen Cincuenta Anos Desde Que Victorino Continua Con La Saga De La Familia Eguren En Su 3d Generacion Ugarte rioja rewards your palate with bright flavors of black raspberry, rhubarb, and tobacco.
In fact I wish that my favorite steakhouse would carry it. Don’t forget to ask your local wine merchant for a bottle of Cincuenta Se Cumplen Cincuenta Anos Desde Que Victorino Continua Con La Saga De La Familia Eguren En Su 3d Generacion Ugarte rioja, at any price under $20, because this bright, dry-yet-friendly elixir from Spain is:
Highly recommended.
Folks, I reviewed this bargain $9 spanish wine from 2007, and recommended it, right here.
One problem! I’ve just now opened another bottle, and it’s not very good. Bitter, weak. Verging on undrinkable.
What’s wrong? Either I have terrible taste, and never should have recommended this wine, or — this is a bad bottle.
I will get back to you shortly. In the meantime, what do you think? Add a comment to let us know. Cheers!
-Wineguider
Today we review a 2009 blend of 75% merlot, 25% cabernet sauvignon from France. It’s $10 at Total Wine.
If you ever wonder why some people say that U.S. wines are too sweet, this is a wine for you to try. It’s just merlot and cabernet, but it tastes NOTHING like the merlot and cabernet that most Americans are familiar with. Smell: pure alcohol. Taste:
Dried cherry and coffee. Lots of dry cocoa-like tannins on the finish. Almost bitter, yet has a soft leathery texture. Serious. Elegant. Medium bodied. Understated. Tastes “tight” and too reserved when first opened, gets better on day 2. This dark burgundy-red wine from Bordeaux is absolutely killer for $10. I say give it a try, especially if you don’t drink French wine. Maybe pop open a Washington or California merlot to go with it. Compare and contrast. Let us know what you think!
Recommended.
Today we review a 2009 pinotage from South Africa that cost me $14.99.
John at Premier Wine in Wilmington, Delaware recommended this robust red wine to me, and he was dead on. Barista, as he stated, is the most espresso-like wine you will probably ever taste.
The aroma is like a hearty cabernet sauvignon combined with coffee liqueur. In the mouth, Barista is medium-bodied, with prominent mouth-drying tannins and flavors of espresso, combined with black cherry and rhubarb, and just a hint of dusty, unsweetened dark chocolate. Really quite amazing.
Barista is serious, yet fun at the same time because of its Starbucks overtones. And it’s delicious. It’s great to bring to a party, when you want a red that people will like, and will also get them talking. This one is highly:
Recommended.
Today we look at a 2006 red blend from Chile that I picked up for $18.
Hey! This wine is a super, duper, killer wine for summer grilling — IF you’re eating inside with the AC on. (Or if it’s not too hot outside.) It boldly delivers to your tonuge a mix of cabernet (36%), syrah (31%), merlot (17%) and carmenere (16%). Think — “dry steak wine… juicy… warm and soft… spicy leather.”
And your thinking would be correct. Dense, warm, spicy, leathery, dark-fruited, with mouth-drying tannins and a slightly musty-basement-funk smell to keep things interesting — this blend has a very natural, real taste. You can really “get” the different dark red and black berry flavors. Unlike cheaper red wines, which can be nondescript and leave you asking, “what does this actually taste like?”
Primus, by Chile’s value machine Veramonte, is interesting, delicious, worth more than $18, and is highly:
Recommended.
Today we look at the 2009 Project Paso red blend from Paso Robles California, which costs around $11.
This is a second label from Sebastiani. It’s fun and flavorful, with an original personality that will save your life if you are bored to death with same-tasting California reds. In fact, it is all-around excellent for an $11 wine. At 14.8% alcohol, it will rock your block. This is party wine, people.
The fun begins with the funky new unwrappable rubber “cork”, built into the red/orange lid. Project Paso red blend smells like caramel. When first opened, it is reserved, with pleasurable medium-bodied texture but mysterious flavors. On Day 2 it blossoms, jammy, intense, and filled with deep dark fruit. Moderate tannins. Luscious black raspberry and cranberry flavors meet up with dark coffee and spices, spices, spices. All with a slight “dusty” quality. Brought to a dinner party recently, the bottle was quickly consumed.
A blend of grenache, zinfandel, petite sirah and mourvedre, Project Paso is a clear Best Value winner — hence the guy at the slot machine. It is enthusiastically:
Recommended.
Today we review a very popular 2008 red blend that’s 85% petite sirah and 15% petit verdot. It’s from California’s Lodi appellation and costs around $18.
This wine is powerful. Which is what you expect if you’re familiar with these grapes with the dainty-sounding names. Petite Petit is very juicy and jammy, yet also has medium-to-large amounts of tannins. Dark purple in your glass, it tastes almost thick. Somebody took “fruit bomb,” and turned it up to 11. If you want a deep, extremely dark blackberry-ish red wine, Petite Petit is your answer.
It also has a fantastic label, something that Michael David winery seems to be very good at.
The problem is that the actual flavor of this wine is almost lost. You’re too busy being overwhelmed by the big juiciness. (And the feeling that your teeth are now purple.) When you find them, the flavors in here aren’t really that delicious, so I would not spend another $18 on it. I prefer this winery’s Incognito, which I reviewed here.
Not recommended.
Before we begin I want you to know that I have very high regard for French wines. In fact I believe that with barely any effort at all, they have the ability to kick our California wines all over the room. When they feel like it, that is.
Now, today, we examine a $15 red from 2009 that I bought at Total Wine. The bottle says “red burgundy.” In fact, it is a beaujolais. Ahh, yes, the French. Their labels are so user-friendly. Their marketing is just so spot-on, warmly welcoming Americans with their every move. (You see, it can be a beaujolais and still have ‘burgundy’ written on the label, because beaujolais is one type of burgundy.) (Ahhh, thank you . . . . wait — that still doesn’t make any sense . . . plus, what is beaujolais, exactly? And burgundy?) (Shut up.) (Yes, thank you.)
Other fun things on this bottle for Americans include “MORGON” in massive letters, “Georges Duboeuf,” “Jean Descombes,” the very helpful “A. F.71570 Romaneche-Thorins,” and “W.J. Deutsch.” Great. Thanks. Anyway, that’s pretty much it. It never mentions beaujolais, and never tells you what gosh-darned grape this wine is made from.
(It’s gamay.)
(“Oh,” I said, acting like that was helpful information.)
In fact, after you study this bottle at the store, you would be forgiven for wondering, “so what the hell is this shit?” Ahhh, but then you’re supposed to just drink it, and forgive. Wine Spectator did, and they gave this dark purple juice a whopping 93. That’s very, very impressive.
However, I do not give this juice a 93. Or even a 92. It tastes, fine — not great. I do not want more and more. It’s fairly simple, medium bodied, extremely fruit forward (strawberries and slightly stinky blackberries), yet also has a tannic bite that makes it feel dry in your mouth. Kind of like Welch’s grape juice. Actually, really a lot like Welch’s grape juice. Athough it’s by no means terrible, even if it had a label that Americans could read, this red would remain:
Not recommended.
Today we look at a 2008 blend of cabernet (36%), shiraz (33%) and merlot (31%) from Australia that cost me $10 at Total Wine.
Wow, this one is tough. At this low price, I feel as though I should like it. It definitely tastes more expensive than most $10 wines. It’s very dark, juicy, and even interesting. Big. A little smoky. It smells mostly like shiraz — a kind of alcohol-intense blueberry compote. Although it has more cab than anything else, this is not your dad’s California cabernet — that sort of west-coast U.S. cab is nowhere to be found here. Rather, Ironberry tastes like a deep-fruit shiraz that has more mouth-drying tannins, more nameless red fruit, and less gooey-sweet blueberry.
At only $10, this wine is definitely worth trying. You may not love it, but as long as you enjoy “big” and fruit-forward reds, you probably won’t dislike it.
Recommended.
Here’s a 2009 red blend from Chile’s Maule Valley that will cost you $8 at Costco.
Say! This stuff is pretty good for $8! So, why I have I been preparing to “not recommend” it?
Because when I first opened it, it really wasn’t very good. But on day 2, this wine is very enjoyable — almost delicious. Although its aroma remains musty and nondescript, the taste has transformed from green, under-ripe sterno to a dry, alcohol-ish transport device for tannins. This glass of unknown dark and dusty fruit combined with spice and cigar paper is making me want more and more.
60% cabernet, 25% carmenere, and 15% syrah. 13.5% alcohol. If you don’t have the patience to wait a day after opening it (and re-corking, of course), then you might want to buy a decanter and let it sit for an hour or two before enjoying.
Recommended, and if it weren’t so quirky when first opened, it would also be a Best Value.
Today we examine a 2008 southern Aussie blend that you can buy at Costco for $7.69.
This medium-to-full-bodied red smells like a nice cab with some black cherry shiraz notes, but on your tongue it’s jammy blueberry shiraz all the way, balanced by soft tannins and a touch of chocolate. It’s better on day 2: you get more cabernet, and less alcohol.
And it’s a screamer. In fact, let me be frank —
it’s the new value red wine top dog — the big cheese, the head honcho — Penfolds Koonunga Hill shiraz/cab blend is HIGHLY desirable even at $13, and it’s better than many $20 wines I have tried. It’s warm. Tilted toward the sweet side of the sweet/dry spectrum. Big, but won’t overpower most food. It was the only red served at the hip New Year’s party I attended in posh West Chester, PA, and it beat 14 other reds in my friends’ $15-or-less blind tasting.
Our past favorites in the red wine value race are narrowly eclipsed by this reliable Godzilla. Highly recommended, and a blatant “Best Value” red. Bravo!
Today we review a $9 red wine from Chile — a carmenére — which I found at Total Wine.
Hi! Today we look at a different kind of wine, a carmenére. That’s a grape. For those of you just getting into wine, this was a helpful fact when I first started — all these names, merlot, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, are just the names of different kinds of grapes.
So, what does this stuff taste like? Have you ever gotten a big cigarette lighter and a piece of saddle leather and just lit that sucker up, blew it out, and then sucked on it? Me either. But I feel like this describes the experience I’m having right now. It’s not very good. But for $9, what do you expect? Well, I don’t expect much. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to recommend this wine. It tasted “cheap” to me on my first sip, and later sips didn’t really change my mind. Unfortunately, this wine is not recommended.
Next!
Note: This review has been updated here.
Here’s a 2007 blend of petite syrah, old vine zinfandel, and old vine mourvedre. It’s from California and costs $18.
Does anybody know the difference between mourvedre and “old vine” mourvedre? (“I love the old vine, but I won’t touch plain mourvedre with a ten foot pole.”)
Well it doesn’t matter, because this wine is fantastic. It’s almost a “Must Buy.” It’s super dark, super deep, super rich, and just, super. I love it. Lots of tannins that suck all the moisture out of your head, leaving you with a mouth made of felt, like a muppet. Tons of juicy cranberries and black cherries. Smoky spices. A fun balance of sweet red fruit and dry oak. And finally at the finish, more muppet mouth.
If you don’t like tannins, do not bother with The Phantom. But if you like red wine generally, you have to try it. It’s not super complex, and it’s not super fresh or organic, but at $18 you don’t expect these things. What you expect is pleasure.
And that’s why, at $18, this juicy, tannic wonder is:
Highly recommended!
Today we review a Spanish wine that costs only $9 a bottle.
Bottom line: Terrific if you enjoy dry red wine! This wine wins a “Best Value” designation.
OK folks, this one verges on incredible. It’s 85% tempranillo and 15% syrah (which is the same thing as shiraz). It’s made in Spain. It has cool modern art on the label. And it’s only 9 bucks. Even if you pay $12, it is still a very good wine for the price.
It’s spicy, and very dry when it first hits your mouth. But after drinking it for a little while you will begin to notice the dark fruit in there: plums, dates, maybe some black raspberry. All of them, “not quite all the way ripe yet.”
One thing: buckle up if you’ve never had Spanish wine before, because it has WAY more tannins than the typical U.S. wine. Tannins are what give you the feeling that all the moisture is being sucked out of your mouth. Associated with red wine, they are the result of grape skins being left in during portions of the fermentation process.
I suggest letting Zestos breathe for a couple of hours. Pouring the bottle into a decanter (any container that lets more of the wine’s surface touch air) speeds this up. Breathing helps to ripen those “not quite ripe” fruit flavors.
Zestos isn’t complex, it’s not going to pair well with everything, and it’s not a “crowd pleaser” due to those extra tannins. But at $10, it’s a great wine to sip alone, or to enjoy with steak, lamb or anything spicy from Italian to Thai. And so, it is a “Best Value” wine, and is:
Highly recommended.
Today we review an Australian shiraz/cabernet blend that costs only $7 a bottle.
Since we just reviewed two white wines that are “stupid cheap,” I figured we needed a red. Enter 2007 Black Opal shiraz/cabernet. Since I almost always hate cheap red wine, I have to admit that I was surprised that Black Opal was even drinkable. There are several new very cheap red wines flowing from Australia these days, including the confusingly similar “Black Swan,” and as you would expect, most aren’t that great.
But here we have a rich, drinkable red that is “full of berry, pepper, and spice aromas” (so says the winery’s website, and I agree) that also gives you some spice and pepper on your taste buds, along with very ripe dark fruit flavors. Tannins are there, sort of. I don’t really agree with the website’s claim that this is an “elegant” or a “full bodied” wine, but hey, their marketing people have to earn a living just like anybody else.
I’d say this is a medium-bodied red that doesn’t really taste like cabernet or shiraz, but rather just tastes pleasant. It isn’t silky or complex, but it doesn’t reek of cheapness either. If you’re on a tight budget, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. If you don’t like it, please e-mail me any $7 reds that you do enjoy, I’ll be curious! This super-affordable dark berry down under is:
Recommended.
Today we review Incognito, a $15 red blend from the Michael~David Winery in California’s Lodi appelation which was recommended to me by the wonderful Mia at Premier Wine in Wilmington, Delaware.
EDIT (August 2010): Sadly, Incognito now sells for $18 a bottle, so it is no longer a “Best Value”.
OK, if you like your red wine to be fruit-forward, powerful and super dark, this is your wine. The 2006 Incognito is a blend of — I don’t know. The mysterious label, true to the wine’s name, is silent on the subject, saying only that it contains “primarily” Rhone varietals. (Ugh: wine speak.) However, the winery’s website reveals that it contains Mourvedre, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cinsault, Carignane, Tannat, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Grenache.
Whatever. This stuff rocks. It smells wonderful (blueberry and rhubarb pie?) and has a great balance of dark fruit and spice on your tongue. It’s a bit complex, with lots of entertainment for your taste buds, but it’s nowhere near as complex as that list of grapes suggests. It’s so heavy that it leaves a bit of aftertaste, but it’s a GOOD aftertaste. And at 14.5% alcohol, it will rock your block.
Is Incognito bigger, warmer, and darker than the powerhouse reds reviewed below, Jip Jip Rocks Cabernet/Shiraz, and Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz? Yes! Is Incognito the most powerful red I’ve ever tried? No. That award (or is it a booby prize?) goes to Gotham, which I will review soon.
Incognito red is highly recommended by your wineguider. Enjoy!
Today we will review two big Australian reds.
Jip Jip Rocks (2008), $15:
First: you don’t want the cabernet. And you don’t want the shiraz. (They are drinkable, but merely average.) You want the shiraz/cabernet blend, recommended to me by Michelle at Premier Wine in Wilmington, DE.
Jip Jip is a hit because it tastes big — REALLY big — yet it is not overpowering. It’s very fruit-forward, without being ooey-gooey sweet. It has some mild tannins. It’s very warm, it’s very dark purple, and it’s delicious. Its mere existence makes you think of steak. And it has a cool name and zero “get used to it” phase: most red drinkers will like it right away.
However, Jip Jip is not layered or super complex. And prior vintages were better. Either 2008 was a so-so year, or Jip Jip is beginning to “dumb it down” by using cheaper grapes for greater profit as the brand becomes popular. We won’t know which until next year’s vintage. For now, it’s still very good, and I still buy it.
Jacob’s Creek (2006), $11:
Another red that I buy fairly regularly, the Jacob’s Creek reserve shiraz has been around a while. It’s usually incredible for its low price, but it’s always at least good. The goodness-to-dollars ratio is so exceptional that I have deemed it a “Best Value” (hence, the guy laughing at the slot machine). It’s a very deep and dark red in color, very BIG, very warm, and utterly yummy. However, it’s drier, smokier and spicier than Jip Jip, with more tannins. You wouldn’t call this one a fruit bomb.
The Jacob’s Creek works well with food, or on its own. One note: you don’t want their regular shiraz. You want the reserve. Finally, Jacob’s Creek is not super complex, and the current vintage is not their best ever.
Which is better? This year, for me, it’s Jip Jip, as its higher price would suggest. But if you like smoky, spicy reds and you avoid juicy, fruit-forward wines, you’ll prefer the Jacob’s Creek. Either way, you get wonderful bigness on a budget, without the excess oaky taste that is injected into so many California reds.
Both recommended!
Welcome to Wineguider’s wine blog!
Our first post will review Sexy Wine Bomb’s “Blends Have More Fun”, a red wine from California that costs $10 a bottle.
This red is a blend (Merlot: 38%, Zinfandel: 38%, Syrah: 23%, Petite Syrah: 1%) that has a warm, fruit-forward taste with nothing weird going on and a bit of oak and spice in its finish. I liked it right away. That loving feeling might wane over time, but so far, this stuff is a hit — and that first impression is just what you need if you’re looking for a wine to bring to a party. Not to mention the reasonable price tag, and the conversation-starting label, which depicts a bomb next to a sexy female silhouette from an 18-wheeler’s mudflap.
With this wide variety of grapes, you’d expect some complexity, and you do get it, but it’s a $10 version of complexity. Good enough to be entertaining but not academy award-winning. Sexy Wine Bomb is a new winery, and this is their first offering, so they need it to work. And I think it does. It’s not perfect, and it’s not fall-down-on-the-floor delicious, but at this price it’s appealing and a very solid contender.
The winery’s quirky website states that the grapes come from “all over California,” but more importantly provides verbatim comments from their pre-release marketing survey (many of which are very negative and are still provided with cheerful commentary from the winemakers). My favorite comment: “NO.”
But I say, “YES.” Enjoy!
Wineguider wine reviews 