Category:Red wine

Wine of the week: Protocolo Tinto 2019

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

protocolo tinto label
Protocolo Tinto 2019/$6-$12

Once again, Spain’s Protocolo delivers a dependable and reliable cheap wine

Want to know the biggest problem with the various Spanish Protocolo wines, which have made regular appearances as wines of the week over the past couple years? They’re so well priced and so well made that when I buy wine, I buy them just to drink – even when I should be buying different wine to review.

The Protocolo Tinto 2019 ($7, purchased, 14%) is no exception. It’s the kind of dependable, reliable, and professional red wine that tastes like red wine that we see less and less of these days. (And is one of the reasons why I worry about the future of the wine business.)

What does that phrase, dependable and reliable, mean? It means the Protocolo tastes like tempranillo from Spain, and offers value at this price. So maybe some black cherry fruit and the requisite temparnillo acidity and background tannins. It’s not very complicated, and there won’t be orange zest or Rioja dustiness, but this is a $7 wine and not a $30 one.

And don’t worry about the 14 percent alcohol – that seems more of a labeling trick to evade the Trump tariff than an actual measurement. The wine is neither especially hot or rich; rather, it’s just a red wine to have with dinner, whether takeout pizza or meatloaf. Plus, it’s so widely available that even the crankiest among you should be able to buy it.

Imported by Fine Estates from Spain

 

Wine of the week: Mont Gravet Carignan 2020

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

mont gravet carignan
Mont Gravet Carignan 2020/$10-$12

Consider this an ode to one of the great cheap red wines of all time

This wine has been reviewed on the blog five times, with nary a cross word. Sometimes, it’s not as amazing as at other times, but it’s always worth drinking, always a fine value, and has always cost around $10.

So it’s no wonder the Mont Gravet Carignan ($12, purchased, 12.5%) is a wine of the week yet again. The 2020 vintage of this French red is as it always is — simple but not stupid, professional, and a stunning value in an age when a fancy label and a slick marketing campaign add $10 to the cost of a very ordinary bottle.

Carignan is usually a blending grape, but can make terrific varietal wines with the proper care. Which would be here — berries and cherries, maybe some spice, soft tannins, not too much acidity, and a front, middle, and a back. Think about that for a moment. How many $20 wines have you tasted that are overwhelmed by too much fruit or sugar or whatever?

And, let’s get this out of the way: Is it sweet? It is tart? Is it jammy? No!!!! (and yes, I meant to use all of those exclamation points.)

Highly recommended, and certain to return to the Hall of Fame next year. Chill this a touch if you want (ice cubes, even), and drink it with any late summer barbecue or fall casserole if and when the weather gets cooler.

Imported by Winesellers Ltd.

 

Mini-reviews 161: The “even more wines that make me cranky” edition

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

women drinking wine
“How can a wine taste like berry-ish 7Up?”

Reviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the fourth Friday of each month. This month, four wines that made the WC even crankier than usual

• Segura Viudas Brut Rosada NV ($10, purchased, 12%): This Spanish sparkling wine was once among the greatest of cheap wines. Now, thanks to consolidation, it tastes like poorly made Prosecco, too sweet, too soft, and with flabby red fruit. Can someone tell me what the point of that is? Imported by Freixenet USA

• Montes Sauvignon Blanc Limited Selection 2021 ($15, sample, 13.5%): This Chilean white doesn’t hearken to the country’s great days of sauvignon blanc. It’s a one-note wine (lots and lots of lemongrass) that doesn’t taste especially Chilean. Imported by Kobrand

• TerraNoble Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva 2018 ($18, sample, 14%): Chilean cab that tastes more like California — which, if the tasting notes are correct, is supposed to be the case. Sweet dark fruit and very rich, but not much else going on. Why do producers take the tannins out of cabernet? Imported by Winebow

• Borgo San Michele Mariage Brut NV ($18, sample, 11.5%): The multi-decorated bottle is more interesting than the wine, which is berry-ish 7Up – soft and boring, even for this style of Prosecco. Imported by Taub Family Selections

Wine of the week: d’Arenberg The Stump Jump Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot 2019

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

d'Arenberg The Stump Jump Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot 2019
Wine of the week: d’Arenberg The Stump Jump Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot 2019/$10-$18

Yes, that’s really the wine’s name – and it’s worth every syllable

Once again, Australian wine – once the scourge of all we stand for here on the blog – comes the rescue of those of us who are tired of paying too much for wines that are boring and bland.

The d’Arenberg The Stump Jump Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2019 ($13, purchased, 14%) may have one of the most awkward names of any wine that isn’t Italian. And, no, I don’t know why it isn’t called something simpler, like “red.” But regardless of name, it’s a tremendous wine – both for quality and value.

Frankly, I have no idea how d’Arenberg did this. Yes, it is a fine producer, and the company’s wines have been on the blog several times over the past couple of years. But this red blend is a stunning wine that somehow — and at this price — is herbal, rich, full, and even a little spicy. It’s made with the grapes used in red Bordeaux in France, but there is an entirely Australian – and enjoyable – spin on the grapes.

Look for lots of red fruit (cherry, currants?) as well as terrific fine-grained tannins. And it’s not hot – the alcohol is not only surprisingly low for an Australian wine, but it’s balanced. And the bit of petit verdot (about 15 percent) seems to be the secret weapon, lending it an edge other wines might not have.

Highly recommended, and certain to make the Hall of Fame next year, as well to be one of the wines I taste again when it comes time to pick the 2023 Cheap Wine of the Year.

Imported by Old Bridge Cellars

Labor Day wine 2022

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

plates of marinated olives
A porch, chilled white wine, and plates of marinated olives. Yes, Labor Day.

Four wines to help celebrate Labor Day wine 2022

The Wine Curmudgeon pitched a Labor Day wine freelance story recently, and the editor was unimpressed. Her loss.

How could anyone not be ready for chilled wine — even the reds! — and sipped on a shaded place on the porch. And maybe some brats?

These four bottles will begin the holiday, but don’t be afraid to find your own — and don’t overlook the blog’s porch wine guidelines:

• Cantina Cellaro Luma 2019 ($12, purchased, 13%): Easily one of the best Sicilian nero d’avolas I’ve tasted in years — varietally correct, with dark, fresh, and almost plummy fruit, and even some substance and body. An honest wine, and not made to be smooth. Bring on the brats. Imported by Gonzalez Byass

• Trinennes Rose 2021  ($18, purchased, 12.5%): Yes, more money than I’d usually pay for rose, but well worth it. This is classic Provencal-stye rose — not much fruit (“wild strawberry”) and long and clean and stony. Missing garrigue, the herbal aroma, but that’s the only disappointment. Highly recommended. Imported by Sorting Table

• Garofoli Macrina 2020 ($13, purchased, 13%): This vintage of the Italian white isn’t as well rounded as the 2019, but there is still plenty of almonds, light citrus, and minerality on the finish. Bring on the olives. Imported by Garofoli USA

• Bellussi Prosecco NV ($13, purchased, 11%):  Soft but surprisingly structured extra dry Prosecco, the Italian sparkling wine (so sweet). There is appealing candied lemon fruit, lots and lots of almost creamy bubbles, and a clean finish. Much better than I expected. Imported by Misa Imports

Photo: v2osk on Unsplash

For more about Labor Day wine:
• Labor Day wine 2021
• Labor Day wine 2020
• Labor Day wine 2019
• Wine of the week: Shannon Ridge Sauvignon Blanc 2021

Mini-reviews 160: Elena Walch, Spanish monastrell, Jaboulet 45, Titus

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

woman holding wine bottles
“Quick — grab these wines. The WC didn’t hate everything.”

Reviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the fourth Friday of each month. This month, four reds – three of which the WC liked

• Elena Walch Ludwig Pinot Nero 2018 ($40, sample, 13.5%): Earthy, savory Italian pinot noir that bears more than a passing resemblance to red Burgundy – go figure. The fruit is sort of raspberry and the tannins are very reserved. Intriguing wine, but not easy to find (in addition to parsing the cost). Imported by Walch USA

• Castillo del Barón Monastrell 2019 ($9, purchased, 14.2%): This Spanish red, made with monstrell, is reliable from vintage to vintage – not too big or too rough, the tannins aren’t too noticeable, and the black fruit fits in nicely. Just the thing for a hearty weeknight dinner. Imported by Europvin

• Paul Jaboulet Aîné Parallèle “45” 2018 ($15, sample, 14.5%): French Rhone red is legendary for its reliability. So spicy and full with very syrah-driven dark rich fruit. But it’s not too heavy or too ripe, and the alcohol doesn’t show. Needs food. Imported by Fruit of the Vines

• Titus Cabernet Franc 2019 ($52, sample, 14.5%): Gorgeous Napa fruit in this California wine that has been turned into a dark, sweetish, very fruity red that isn’t particularly cabernet franc in style and, as two reviewers noted on Cellar Tracjer (the blogs unofficial wine inventory app), is “smooth.” I want more for $52 than smooth.

Wine of the week: Two Birds One Stone 2019

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Two Birds One Stone bottle
Two Birds One Stone 2019/$10-$12

Cheap French red wine that’s worth drinking – who knew it still existed?

I tasted the 2018 version of this wine last summer, and was impressed. It wasn’t quite wine of the week material, but it reminded me of the kind of everyday red wine that was common not all that long ago.

And, of course, no longer is.

So get out the debit cards, Bitcoin, and even cash — because the Two Birds One Stone 2019 ($10, purchased, 12.5%) is wine of the week material. It’s a fruitier and more polished effort than the 2018, and a noticeable step up in quality.

The wine is made with carignan, usually used for blending. That’s because the grape can be difficult to work with as a varietal since it has lots of tannins and acidity. These were noticeable in the 2018 (the wine geek term for the result is “rustic”), but are well under control in the 2019. In fact, it’s dark and deep in flavor, with lots of almost syrah-style black fruit and a finish that reminds me of the legendary Mont Gravet Carignan.

Drink this – and you can even chill it – with almost any summer roast, beef or chicken. There is apparently a 2020, but I haven’t seen it or tasted it.

Imported by Wine Circle Imports