Tag Archives: French wine

Wine of the week: Chateau Bonnet Blanc 2022

Wine of the week: Chaeau Bonnet Blanc 2022
Chateau Bonnet Blanc 2022/$8-$20

This French white blend remains one of wine’s great values

The blog’s final wine of the week is a French white blend, Chateau Bonnet Blanc — one of the great cheap wines of all time. It has been a wine of the week five times and has been a regular in the Hall of Fame since the first hall appeared on the blog in 2008.

Of course, wine being wine, I haven’t reviewed the Bonnet Blanc for three years. For one thing. I haven’t seen it much on store shelves since the 2018 vintage. For another, when I have seen it, the price has been as high as $20, which is ridiculous. It’s a great cheap wine, not a mediocre supermarket wine.

So be glad I found the Chateau Bonnet Blanc 2022 ($12, purchased, 13%) in time for this post. This vintage is mostly what it has always been, a traditional white Bordeaux blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon. The semillon is still noticeable, and it adds some richness and a little spice.

But there’s also a touch more lemon fruit and less minerality than in previous years, so the wine tastes a bit less French in style and more like New Zealand. Still, that could be a vintage difference and not a deliberate attempt to focus group the wine.

Regardless, I bought six bottles of it (with a new label, even) before tasting it, and I haven’t been disappointed. You can’t offer higher praise than that, can you?

Imported by Monsieur Touton Selection

Expensive wine 175: Val de Mer Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc (No Dosage) NV

Vale de Mer cremant bttle
Val de Mer Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc (No Dosage) NV/$21-$25

This French sparkler is about as different from the typical $60 bubbly as possible

What better bottle to use for the blog’s final expensive wine post than this one? It’s purposely made to taste unlike the typical, overpriced Champagne; it’s not especially expensive given sparkling prices; and it got a crummy score on the blog’s unofficial wine inventory app.

In other words, there’s more for the rest of us to enjoy.

The difference between the Val de Mer Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc (No Dosage) NV ($24, purchased, 12%) and Champagne (other than region) is that sugar (called the dosage) isn’t added to the fermented still wine to spur on the second fermentation and soften the bubbly’s acidity. There’s a more complete explanation here, though the subject can get past technical.

For our purposes, it’s enough to know that leaving the dosage out makes a tauter, more dry wine than even really nice $100 Champagnes, which can have a hint of residual sugar. Yes, even this one.

In the case of the Val de Mer, leaving out the dosage produces a wine where the chardonnay really shows off and that is oh so bone dry. So it tastes very little like this Champagne. Which, of course, is the point — and the reason for the crummy scores.

Not that it matters to the WC. This wine has gorgeous, tight bubbles, lots of apple fruit (with a bit of lemon tucked in the back), and what one tasting note calls chalky minerality. It’s an amazing wine; highly recommended and a steal at this price.

Imported by T. Elenteny Imports

 

Wine of the week: Les Costières de Pomérols Picpoul 2022

Les Costières de Pomérols Picpoul bottle
Les Costières de Pomérols Picpoul 2022/$8-$16

This vintage of the French wine is different from the last, but that doesn’t make it bad

Wine is not necessarily supposed to taste exactly the same every vintage, no matter how hard Big Wine tries to make it otherwise. Because, as I learned a long time ago, vintage differences are one of the things that make wine wine.

Case in point: The Les Costières de Pomérols Picpoul 2022 ($12, purchased, 13%). Picpoul is a white grape that is known for the tart wine it makes — hence, lip-stinger. The 2022 is softer and not as tart as previous vintages of the Costieres de Pomerols, but that is neither good nor bad. It’s just different.

The 2022 has more golden delicious apple fruit (sort of geeky wine descriptor alert!) than the more typical lemon and citrus. But the other bits of a well-made picpoul are there, including a touch of green herbs and that classy, clean finish. Chill it and drink on its own, or with almost anything that isn’t big, red, meat.

It’s also worth noting that picpoul wines remains tremendous values, despite everything else going on in wine. I checked the Wine-Searcher list of most popular picpouls for this post, and 18 of the top 20 cost $15 or less.

A wine of the week doesn’t get much more curmudgeonly than that, does it?

Imported by Kysela Pere & Fils

Wine of the week: Cellier des Dauphins Reserve Grenache-Syrah 2019

Bottle of Cellier des Dauphins Reserve Grenache-Syrah 2019
Cellier des Dauphins Reserve Grenache-Syrah 2019/$10-$15

A red Rhone that is both affordable and enjoyably rustic

The WC has often had a difficult time evaluating red wines from France’s Rhone region. Many of them have a quality that can be off-putting — an earthiness that can sometimes get out of hand, producing a rough and occasionally unpleasant wine. The catch is that earthiness is an important part of these wines, so how much is too much?

The Cellier des Dauphins Grenache-Syrah 2019 ($12, purchased, 14%) offers an example of the correct amount of earthiness. It’s just what one would expect from this sort of wine at this price — rustic and earthy, but not disagreeably so, and surprisingly balanced given its grenache-style red fruit, which can be too jammy. It’s not for all tastes — it’s hardly smoooth — but for those who want to see what the Rhone is like but don’t want to spend $40, this wine do the trick.

Which shouldn’t be surprising, since the Cellier des Dauphins wines usually provide value, and I’m especially fond of the rose.

The red is a food wine, and needs something substantial — takeout pizza perhaps, as the holidays get closer. Or even something beefy for an informal holiday dinner.

Imported by Monsieur Touton Selection

Thanksgiving wine 2023

Cartoon of turkey with wine glassFour Thanksgiving wine 2023 suggestions

The WC’s favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I get to cook and share wine and food with the people I care about. How can that not be terrific?

So enjoy the holiday, and especially these Thanksgiving wine 2023 suggestions. The blog’s guidelines for holiday wine buying are here.

La Fiera Pinot Grigio 2021 ($11, purchased, 12%): This Italian white is about as consistent as this kind of wine gets (though it’s more Kirkland in style this vintage). But its still well made, with a hint of lemon peel and very clean and dry. Imported by Winesellers Ltd.

Althea Prosecco NV ($15, purchased, 11%): $15 Prosecco for people who like Prosecco — so a touch sweet, terrific fizzy bubbles, and a bit of lemon fruit. Very professional. Imported by La Cigale Wines

Domaine Laroque Pinot Noir 2021 ($12, purchased, 12.5%): Simple, almost rustic French pinot noir that mostly tastes like pinot noir. Some dark red fruit, a bit more tannin than it should have, a surprisingly pinot noir aroma, and, overall, probably greater than the sum of its parts. Imported by Aquitane Wine USA

Zestos Old Vine Rosado 2022 ($12, purchased, 12.5%): All of the Zestos Spanish wines are worth buying, and in large quantities. This vintage of the rose is more in the Provencal style, with barely ripe berry fruit and some minerality. Imported by Ole & Obrigado

More about Thanksgiving wine:
Thanksgiving wine 2022
Thanksgiving wine 2021
Thanksgiving wine 2020
Wine of the week: Santa Julia Malbec Organica 2022
Expensive wine 167: Ameztoi Hondarrabi Zuri 2021

Wine of the week: La Petite Perriere Sauvignon Blanc 2021

La Petite Perriere Sauvignon Blanc bottle
La Petite Perriere Sauvignon Blanc 2021/$10-$17

Want to fix the wine glut? Make more wines like this

The most important thing to know about this French white wine? This line from my tasting notes: “This is the kind of wine we need more of to bring people to wine drinking.”

The 2021 is is the fifth vintage of this wine to be a wine of the week, which speaks to its consistency and quality. It’s also famous – or infamous, as the case may be – as the wine my mom tried to buy at a Kroger subsidiary in Chicago because I was told it was for sale there. Which, of course, it wasn’t.

So, the details for the 2021 ($10, purchased, 12.5%): It’s a terrific weeknight sauvignon blanc – well-made, simple but not stupid, and neither too fruity nor too tart. That means a bit of mineral and stone, some citrus (more lime than anything else), and fresh and clean. In other words, what the wine business is trying to achieve by buying hard seltzer companies instead of trusting to wine.

If it’s not quite as impressive as some of the others (the 2016, the one my mom looked for, was exceptional), it’s still well worth drinking and a Hall of Fame quality wine. Chill this and drink it on its own, or pair it with something like roast pork loin or takeout chicken.

Imported by Taub Family Selections

Labor Day wine 2023

people sitting in front of table talking and eating
“I told you the WC’s wine recommendations were super good.”

Enjoy these four bottles for Labor Day wine 2023

Labor Day traditionally marks the end of the summer in the U.S., which will be most welcome this year. Even the WC, who vowed never to shovel snow again, was getting overwhelmed by 105-degree temperatures. And then some more. And then some more.

So bring on fall, cooler weather, some chilled reds, and relaxing on a shaded place on the porch. And maybe some lemon roasted chicken?

These four bottles will give you a start — and don’t forget the blog’s porch wine guidelines:

Jolie Folle Sauvignon Blanc 2021 ($13/1-liter, purchased, 11.5%): This French white is more New Zealand in style this vintage, with grapefruit instead of lime and less minerality. But it’s still a fine value. Imported by T. Elenteny Imports

Umani Ronchi Podere 2021  ($13, purchased, 13%): A surprisingly fresh and berryish Italian red from Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, though it’s not as light as some. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be chilled slightly and served with bacon cheeseburgers.  Imported by Vineyard Brands

Castle Rock Rose 2022 ($12, sample, 13%): A California pink that is crisp, fresh, and enjoyable — and dry, dry, dry. Look for rose petals on the nose (honest), plus barely ripe berry fruit and a very pleasant stony finish. I’m told it’s available, so its Wine-Searcher entry is probably wrong.

Campo Viejo Cava Brut Rose NV ($11, purchased, 11.5%): This Spanish bubbly is made with trepat, which is a good thing. But it’s a little less crisp than it could be and it’s not quite up to the standards of what great cheap Cava once was. But it has nice wild berry fruit with decent bubbles, so it will do. Imported by Pernod Richard USA

Photo: Priscillia Du Preez on Unsplash

More about Labor Day wine:
Labor Day wine 2022
Labor Day wine 2021
Labor Day wine 2020
Wine of the week: Zestos Blanco 2021