Category:White wine

Wine of the week: Saget La Petite Perriere Sauvignon Blanc 2019

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

saget la petite perriere
La Petite Perriere sauvignon blanc/$9-$13

The La Petite Perriere sauvignon blanc remains a terrific French white wine, despite its various travails and controversies

Never has a wine I’ve written about caused as much trouble as the La Petite Perriere sauvignon blanc. My mom was reprimanded by a Chicago supermarket employee when she asked if the store carried the wine. It was part of an availability controversy on the blog. And now, someone on CellarTracker, the blog’s unofficial wine inventory app, has chastised it for being acidic and not having much fruit.

Poor, poor La Peitite Perriere 2019 ($12, purchased, 12.5%).

Fortunately, La Petite Perriere, the Wine Curmudgeon is your friend. Those who think that the wine is too tart and doesn’t have enough fruit? It’s French. It’s not supposed to taste like it comes from New Zealand or California (where, at this price, it might have been tarted up with white grape juice to smooooth out the acidity and boost the fruit).

What it is supposed to taste like is what it tastes like: Some floral and mineral sort of aromas; maybe some lemon fruit; and that French-style clean and crisp finish. I’m not sure the 2019 is as interesting as the 2018, but it remains a terrific wine for this price.

So drink it, appreciate the differences between wine regions, and know not all wine is supposed to taste the same.

Imported by Taub Family Selections

Update: Porch wine for the long, hot summer

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

porch wine
“I found the porch — you bring the wine. What does the WC suggest?”

With record temperatures in much of the country this summer, it’s time to update the blog’s porch wine post

Over the years, I’ve gotten less than favorable comments about the idea of porch wine — because, of course, wine is entirely too serious for porch sipping. Sigh. Is it any wonder I worry about the future of the wine business?

Which is just more wine snobbery. Why should the pleasure of a shaded porch and the hint of a cool breeze be reserved for iced tea, beer, and whatever else is currently popular? I find the idea of porch wine especially relevant this summer, what with the record-breaking heat in much of the country, the pandemic, and all of the other foolishness we have had to endure. So, this porch wine update.

So know this about porch wine: It’s about lighter wines, red and white (and of course, rose), that are lower in alcohol and that offer relief from the heat. The idea with a porch wine is to drink something that won’t make the sweat bead on your forehead. The blog’s original porch post is here, and there is even a porch wine terms post.

And it’s OK to add an ice cube. Honest.

• The Beachhouse Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ($10, purchased, 13%): This white is a simple, not too grapefruit-y South African sauvignon blanc, which has an almost pleasant bitterness in the back. The minute I tasted it, I knew it was perfect for this post. Imported by Pacific Highway Wines & Spirits

• Moillard Chablis Coquillage 2018 ($25, purchased, 13%): Yes, this is expensive (though without the Trump tariff, the price may come down). But it’s also a perfect porch wine — well-made chardonnay from the Chablis region of France that is flinty, lemony, crisp. Imported by Advantage International

• Stemmari Sicilia Rose 2019 ($8, purchased, 12%): There’s nothing especially Italian about this pink; it’s just well-made rose in the international style — think Washington state. That means fresh, fruity (strawberry), and clean, but not much esle. Still, it is more than enjoyable. Imported by Prestige Wine Imports

• Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet 2019 ($16, purchased, 12%): Well-executed French white (made with the underrated melon de bourgogne grape) that is round in the mouth, but not soft. There’s a bit of structure and apple and pear fruit. Imported by LDM Wines

Photo: “Porch” by sonjalovas is licensed under CC BY 2.0

More about porch wine:
• Memorial Day and rose 2021
• Wine when the air conditioning is replaced
• Wine of the week: Vinho verde 2021
• Wine of the week: Vision Gruner Veltliner 2019

Wine of the week: Domaine de Pellehaut Harmonie de Gascogne 2020

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

domaine de pellehaut
Domaine de Pellehaut Harmonie de Gascogne /$9-$12

Ah, to be a wine drinker now that the Gascon whites – like the Pellehaut – are here again

The end of the Trump wine tariff brought almost unlimited joy to the Wine Curmudgeon, and especially when it came to my beloved white wines from Gascony. Once again, they cost around $10, remain delicious, and are still all a cheap wine should be.

Or, as we say at Wine Curmudgeon World Headquarters: “Ugni blanc, baby!”

The Pellehaut Harmonie de Gascogne ($12, purchased, 11.5%) isn’t quite as white grapey as the Domaine Tariquet, but white grapey enough. That’s thanks to the ugni blanc in the blend. Ugni blanc, known in Italy as trebbiano, is one of the least respected grapes in wine. Is it any wonder I like it so much?

So light, crisp, and fresh, just the thing for a Texas summer – or frankly, summer anywhere. If I had to pick a wine descriptor for its fruit flavor, sweet lime, maybe? But this is not a sweet wine; it’s wonderfully dry.

Highly recommended, certain to go in the 2022 Hall of Fame and to make the short list for the 2022 Cheap Wine of the Year. A tip o’ the WC’s fedora to long-time blog reader, wine aficionado, and really smart wine business analyst Christian Miller for letting me know about the Pellehaut.

Imported by Fruit of the Vines

Expensive wine 146: Smith-Madrone Riesling 2017

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Smith-Madrone riesling
Smith-Madrone riesling/$30-$35

Smith-Madrone’s riesling is a top-notch New World take on a classic grape

Once more into the riesling breach, dear readers: And why not? I’ve probably tasted more reislings over the past 18 months than I have in the blog’s entire 14 year history. And I’ve rarely been disappointed. The Smith-Madrone, despite California’s lackluster track record with the grape, is just one more reason to sip and smile.

The Smith-Madrone riesling 2017 ($35, sample, 12.9%) combines New World-style fruitiness with the varietal characteristics that make great riesling so much fun to drink. In other words, not sweet for the sake of sweetness, and not some kind of fruity confection because, you know, that’s what Americans drink.

Look for lime zest, a bit of tingliness in the back, a hint of petrol, some sweetness floating around to remind you it’s riesling, just enough acidity to greet the sweetness, and stoniness in the finish. In fact, this is one of the few times where the wine geek descriptor “wet stone” almost makes sense.

Highly recommended – the kind of wine that people who don’t think they like riesling should try. Even the very tough crowd on CellarTracker (the blog’s unofficial wine inventory app) like this wine. And the usually only like high-end Napa wines.

Wine of the week: McManis Viognier 2018

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

McManis viognier
McManis viognier/$8-$12

This white shows that California producers who want to make great cheap wine can – and do

The Wine Curmudgeon has long been a fan of McManis’ $10 wines, which offer quality, varietal character, and tremendous value. In fact, the winery sometimes improves even on its own high standard – a bonus we don’t see much any more.

That’s the case for California’s McManis viognier 2018 ( $10, purchased, 13.5%). It’s a stunning white wine – my notes call it a “brilliant viognier that puts more expensive wines to shame.” In other words, all we can hope for from a $10 wine.

The viognier, despite its age, is still fresh. It’s a dry wine, with peachy fruit and a sort of oily quality, the kind of thing that sometimes shows up in the best French viogniers. The finish is almost pithy, which nicely balances the fruit and offers structure. This is summer porch wine – chill it and sip it.

Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2022 Cheap Wine of the Year (as well as to remain in the Hall of Fame). The bad news? Availability can be spotty for the McManis wines, despite their quality and the fact that the winery us among the 100 biggest in the country. There appears to be lots of the 2019, which seems to be the current vintage, but not as much of the 2018. But, given McManis’ quality, the 2019 is more than worth trying.

Fourth of July wine 2021

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Let’s help the WC find quality cheap wine for Fourth of July

Fourth of July wine 2021: Four bottles to enjoy for Independence Day

The Wine Curmudgeon, several readers have noted, usually doesn’t choose U.S. wines for the annual Fourth of July post. Mostly, that’s because of price and availability. This year, though, I found one — as well as quality cheap wines from elsewhere in the world.

And, as always, keep our summer and porch wine guidelines in mind for this time of year. Consider these Fourth of July wine 2021 suggestions:

• Parducci Cabernet Sauvignon Small Lot 2018 ($13, purchased, 14.5%): Competent, professionally-made California cabernet sauvignon with all the requisite traits — lots of ripe, red fruit (sweet cherries?), soft-ish tannins, a hint of some kind of oak, not too hot, and just enough structure. This is firmly in the New World style, but also tastes like wine.

• Lubanzi Chenin Blanc 2019 ($15, purchased, 12.5%): This South African white isn’t quite as crisp as I like my chenin blanc, but still well done — apple and pear fruit, maybe a little lemon. It’s not soft — just not as crisp as something like the Ken Forester. Imported by Cape Venture

• Spinelli Terre Di Chieti Rosato 2019 ($8, purchased, 12.5%): This Italian pink costs as little as €3 in Italy. Berry fruit, almost savory in what seems to be an Italian style much preferred by Italians, as well as bone dry and a stony finish. Highly recommended. Imported by Enotec Imports

• Poema Cava Brut NV ($12, purchased, 11.5%): A touch softer than traditional cava, the Spanish sparkling wine. That means red apple instead of green and not as much lemon. But well done, and the bubbles belie the price. Imported by Kobrand

Photo: “Happy Fourth of July 2013!” by JD Hancock is licensed under CC BY 2.0

More Fourth of July wine:
• Fourth of July wine 2020
• Fourth of July wine 2019
• Fourth of July wine 2018
• Wine of the week: Domaine Bousquet Sparkling Rose Brut NV

Barefoot wine review 2021: Merlot and Crisp White Spritzer

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

barefoot wine
The guy in the middle must have tasted the Crisp White Spritzer.

• Barefoot wine (again): Value or just cheap?
• Barefoot wine: Why it’s so popular

Barefoot wine review 2021: A merlot that mostly tastes like grape juice, and a spritzer that takes sugar water where it’s never been before

The blog’s 14th annual Barefoot review focuses on the traditional and the au courant — merlot, about as old-fashioned as it gets, and a Crisp White Spritzer, which (I assume) is supposed to compete with trendy hard seltzers. The former tastes like most Barefoot wine — soft, just enough sweet, and devoid of varietal character. The latter breaks new ground — a cross between a hard seltzer and the infamous wine coolers of the 1980s.

The non-vintage merlot ($6, purchased, 13.3%) has a California appellation, and I had high hopes for it. The merlot has often been the most wine-like of the Barefoots, and it almost made the $10 Hall of Fame in the blog’s early days. But no such luck. This was formula winemaking using poor quality grapes. Each component was exactly where it should be — the sweetness (not quite as sweet as the red Apothic or Menage a Trois); generic fruitiness (think grape juice that isn’t tart); a murky finish common in this kind of red wine; and no tannins or acidity. In other words, cheap, smooth wine for people who want that.

I also had hopes for the Crisp White Spritzer ($6, purchased, 5.5%). Maybe it would be something like a vinho verde? No such luck. This isn’t legally wine, so it has ingredient and nutritional labeling. Hence, everything you need to know about the product is on the label — made with carbonated water, something called “grape wine,” and cane sugar. Almost one-quarter of its calories come from “added sugars.” So sweet, sweet, sweet, and not crisp by any stretch of the imagination. It’s so sweet, in fact, that it’s almost impossible to drink on its own. Mix with vodka or cranberry juice (or both), and hope for the best.

Photo: Sylvane, using a Creative Commons license

Blog associate editor Churro contributed to this post

More Barefoot wine reviews:
• Barefoot wine review 2020
• Barefoot wine review 2019
• Barefoot wine review 2018