Category:California wine

Mini-reviews 158: Cleaning out the wine closet

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

man and woman drinking wineReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. This month, four wines after cleaning out the wine closet

• Fancy Flock 2020 ($4, purchased, 13%): Is this Spanish red from Aldi worth $4? Probably not — tart, not especially ripe, and rustic in a bad way. The pandemic has not been kind to Aldi’s wine selection. Imported by Mack & Schule

• Signaterra / Benziger Sunny Slope Red 2016 ($49, sample, 14.8%): I’ve been getting a lot of samples lately that aren’t available. Like you can’t buy them at all. No, I don’t understand that approach, either. This is terrific wine, save for that — fruity, rich. herbal, and with soft tannins.

• Tortoise Creek Mission Grove Pinot Noir 2019 ($12, sample, 14.2%): This red is $15 supermarket-style California pinot noir, with all that means — some heat, not much pinot character, and more rich and fruity than it needs to be.

• Apaltagua Envero Gran Reserva Carmenere 2019 ($16, sample, 14%): Solid, professional carmenere, a red from Chile, with all that means — very herbal (almost bell pepper) and not all that much fruit. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

Photo: Couple drinking wine, Pavel Danilyuk via Pexels

Father’s Day wine 2022

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Father's Day ties
Once more, the Father’s Day tie picture — call me corny, but I love it.

Father’s Day wine 2022: Bring on the well-made and value-oriented wine for Dad

Yes, despite economic uncertainty and all the rest, we found wine for Dad for Father’s Day that fits what we do here — price and value, and not silliness. And don’t forget the blog’s wine gift-giving guidelines — don’t buy someone wine that you think they should like; buy them what they will like.

Father’s Day wine 2022 suggestions:

• Carol Shelton Wild Thing Zinfandel 2018 ($18, purchased, 14.5%): Spot-on California old vine zinfandel (60 years at least) that is somehow jammy (berries and berries and more berries), but not heavy or hot. Having said that it’s a big wine and a mouthful, and needs lots of red meat. Highly recommended.

• Domaine Bousquet Brut NV ($13, sample, 12%): Argentine bubbly with surprising structure, tight-ish bubbles, not too sweet, and apple and lemon fruit. Imported by Origins Organic

• Jean-Pierre Boisson Rose Domaine du Pere Caboche ($11, purchased, 12.5%): Full, rich and surprisingly complex $10 French rose, with almost cranberry fruit and what one tasting note calls grenadine. Highly recommended. Imported by Monsieur Touton Selection

• Chateau La Maroutine Blanc 2020 ($13, purchased, 13%): French white Bordeaux blends sauvignon blanc and semillion; the latter, though only 20 percent, is noticeable, and gives the wine a rounder, less citrsusy feel. Lots of stone and minerality. Imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons

More Father’s Day wine:
• Father’s Day wine 2021
• Father’s Day wine 2020
• Father’s Day wine 2019
• Expensive wine 154: Frank Family Merlot 2018

Expensive wine 157: Ridge Geyserville 2018

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Ridge Geyserville 2018 bottle
Ridge Geyserville 2018/ $34-$60

One more reason why Ridge may be the best red wine producer in the U.S.

Has it been three years since a Ridge review appeared on the blog?

There’s really no excuse for that, given how much regard I have for Ridge and that it may be the finest U.S. red wine house. Which is even more impressive given that Ridge mostly makes zinfandel and red blends with zinfandel. (Yes, and Monte Bello.)

Case in point: The Ridge Geyserville 2018 ($47, purchased, 14.7%).

The Geyserville is not my favorite Ridge; that’s either the Lytton Springs or the Three Valleys. The former is usually a bit more restrained, while the latter is less expensive (though still a fine wine). I bought this because it’s all that was available in Dallas at the height of the pandemic.

And, of course, I was not disappointed. The wine is a blend of about two-thirds zinfandel, fleshed out with carignane, petite sirah, and alicante bouschet. It was very young when I tasted it last year, but was also very rich — and the two don’t usually go with each other.

Needless to say, there is lots and lots of black fruit — plums, an odd descriptor for zinfandel – as well as blackberries, plus so much else. Maybe some spice, maybe some cedar, maybe some herbs, certainly refined tannins. And even a savory thing.

This is a very pretty wine that should age well, getting more savory as it does. One review said to let it rest for 10 years; if you do, you’re more patient than I am. This is Father’s Day wine, either as a gift or for a holiday dinner or barbecue. Highly recommended.

Wine of the week: Bonny Doon Picpoul 2021

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Bonny Doon Picpoul bottle
Bonny Doon Picpoul 2021/$13-$20

Would that more winemakers understood the joys of picpoul

The Wine Curmudgeon loves picpoul, an odd white grape grown almost exclusively in southern France. The grape makes fresh, crisp, herbal and tart wines, perfect for hot summer weather like that in Dallas.

This means, of course, that picpoul is not easily found in Dallas (though those of you on the East Coast should have better luck).

Which is where Randall Grahm comes in. He has made this wine since 2012, and even in semi-retirement, his legacy lives on with the Bonny Doon Picpoul 2021 ($15, sample, 11%). It’s another in a long line of fine picpouls from France and California that showcases what the grape can do at a more than fair price.

Picpoul’s meaning is loosely translated as “lip-stinger” because of its acidity. The Bonny Doon is a little softer, thanks to some grenache blanc in the blend, but it’s not oaky chardonnay by any means. Look for some lemon and minerality, and an almost savory character. It’s a light wine in style, but it’s not thin.

Buy a bottle, chill it, and sit on the back porch – with plenty of shade, of course – as summer gets even hotter.

Mother’s Day wine 2022

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

mother's day
“Yes, honey. We’ll buy some of the WC’s Mother’s Day wine suggestions.”

Four suggestions — white, sparkling, rose, and red — for Mother’s Day 2022

The blog’s 16th annual Mother’s Day wine post speaks to how far we’ve come in making it OK to buy cheap wine, despite all the obstacles over the years.  So, as always, the emphasis is on value and quality — and with the reminder that we should buy Mom something she will enjoy and not something we think she should drink.

These Mother’s Day wine suggestions should get you started:

• Calcu Rosé Reserva Especial 2021 ($13, sample, 12.5%): Much more going on with this Chilean pink (a blend of malbec and petit verdot) than it would seem. Crisp, tart, stony, and barely ripe berry fruit. Highly recommended. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

• Duquesa de Valladolid Verdejo 2020 ($10, purchased, 13.5%): Solid, professional Spanish white from the Rueda region. That means very bright lemon fruit, as well as very fresh and very crisp. What more can one ask for in $10 wine? Imported by Monsieur Touton Selections

• Paula Kornell Brut NV ($18, purchased, 12%): Quality California bubbly for less than $20 is almost unheard of, so the Kornell has gotten a lot of attention. Look for some sweet stone fruit, maybe some lemon, and lots and lots of bubbles.

• Castillo del Barón Monastrell 2019 ($9, purchased, 14.2%): I’ve been buying this Spanish red for several years, and it has never disappointed. It’s not too big and not too rough, as some can be, and it has not too noticeable tannins and just enough black fruit —  drink with a hearty weeknight dinner or Mother’s Day barbecue. Imported by Europvin

Photo: CarolinaJG, via MorgueFile

More about Mother’s Day wine:
• Mother’s Day wine 2021
• Mother’s Day wine 2020
• Mother’s Day wine 2019
• Expensive wine 151: Bellavista Franciacorta Cuvee Brut
• Wine of the week: Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc Petit 2019

Expensive wine 154: Frank Family Merlot 2018

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Frank Family Merlot 2018/$38-$55

This is classic Napa Valley merlot – big and powerful, but a wine that still tastes like merlot

The Wine Curmudgeon has long been baffled by California merlot. Too many are made to taste like caberent sauvignon, because that’s what producers think their customers want. And too many are turned into cheap and unsatisfying varietals and blends, often sugared up to mask how poorly made they are.

In fact, I was so curious about why this happens that I wrote a freelance story about it.

Given all of thit I didn’t expect much from the Frank Family Merlot 2018 ($45, sample, 14.5%), which showed up out of the blue a while back. It’s not the kind of sample that I typically get (or that I ask for), but it was in the wine closet and my job is to taste wine.

So I did, and was much pleased by what I tasted. This is classic Napa Valley merlot – big, powerful, and complex, but that still tastes like merlot and not cabernet. Trust me – that doesn’t happen often enough.

No, it’s not a red Bordeaux with earthiness and minerality, even though the wine has some cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc in it. Rather, there is the unmistakable aroma of a Napa red, with all of the herbs and cedar. The fruit is concentrated (plums, maybe, with blackberries) and it finishes long and almost soft, with a bit of baking spice.

This is definitely a food wine, and especially with beef braised in red wine.

Mini-reviews 153: Tannat, Rioja, and two sauvignon blancs

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

wine demandReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. This month, cleaning out the wine closet to start the new year.

• Marichal Tannat Reserve Collection 2018 ($20, sample, 13%): Well made tannat from Uruguay — softer, which with tannat is a good thing; more dark fruit and less tannic. Price is problematical. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

• Bilbao Rioja Crianza 2017 ($20, sample, 14.5%): There’s nothing really wrong with this Spanish tempranillo, though it’s a bit less subtle than classic Rioja. There’s nothing to make it stand out, either – and $20? Imported by Zamora Company

• The Goose Sauvignon Blanc 2017 ($12, purchased, 13%): This is a stunning South African sauvignon blanc that has just enough French style — almost flinty — to go with New World citrus fruit. How it aged this well is beyond me – highly recommended. So what’s the catch? It will be almost impossible to find, which seems to be how the wine world works, isn’t it? Imported by IM Premium Imports

• Castle Rock Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ($10, sample, 13%): Supermarket sauvignon blanc, made to hit the $10 price and not necessarily because it tastes like California sauvignon blanc. Almost bitter, some lemongrass, some minerality.