Category:White wine

Mini-reviews 144: Pinot grigio, MAN, Altano, Gavi

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

woman wine
“Which of these four wines should I look for this month?”

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 time, four white wines for April.

• ZIOBAFFA Pinot Grigio 2019 ($12, purchased, 12%): Odd, different Italian white, more in the pinot gris style than the usual pinot grigio tonic water. Plus, the finish seems to be almost oxidized. Not for all tastes, but I can see where some might like it. Imported by Mission Wine Company

• MAN Chardonnay Padstal 2019 ($10, sample, 13.5%): Pleasant, supermarket style chardonnay (simple, mostly varietal, a little thin) that doesn’t quite measure up to MAN’s chenin blanc and sauvignon blanc. Having said that, it’s not sweet and it does taste like chardonnay — some green apple and that chardonnay mouth feel. Imported by Vineyard Brands

• Symington Douro Altano Branco 2019 ($18, sample, 12.5%): Tart, lime-ish, and even orange-ish Portuguese white blend that is fresh and enjoyable — and somehow costs almost as much as two bottles of the MAN chenin blanc. Imported by Vineyards Brands

• Cameron Hughes Lot 752 2019 ($15, sample, 12%): The Italian white tries to answer the question: Is entry level Gavi, made with the cortese grape, worth $15? It’s clean, a bit spicy, and ultimately indifferent. Imported by Cameron Hughes Wine

Photo: “Deya Drinking Wine at Four Point Winery” by nan palmero is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Wine of the week: Les Hauts de Lagarde Blanc 2020

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Les Hauts de Lagarde Blanc
Les Hauts de Lagarde Blanc 202o/$12-$15

The Les Hauts de Lagarde Blanc is French white Bordeaux that is both affordable and tastes like a French white Bordeaux

Call it serendipity or luck or whatever. But in the midst of the pandemic and the tariff and limited availability and sky-high prices for French wine just because, I somehow found the Les Hauts de Lagarde Blanc. Which, depending on where you live, could cost as little as $12.

Which, frankly, means it’s time to buy a case.

I paid a little more for the Les Hauts de Lagarde Blanc 2020 ($14, purchased, 12%), but it was still worth it. If nothing else, how often do we find quality white Bordeaux that hasn’t been Chateau Bonnet-ed – jacked up in price until it’s worth more than it’s worth?

The Lagarde Blanc is still quite young, so the 40 percent semillon in the blend (with 60 percent sauvignon blanc) hasn’t quite fleshed out the mouthfeel. Hence, there’s probably a little more citrus (almost grapefruit?) than there will be later in the year. Plus, it’s not as stony as it could be.

But it’s fresh and delicious and well-made and affordable, all things that have been in short supply for wines at this price – and especially from France – for much too long.

Highly recommended. Chill this and drink it on its own, or pair it with grilled chicken marinated in garlic, herbs, and lemon juice. ( (And, for those of you who nag me about this, there’s a rumor it’s at some Total Wines in some parts of the country).

Imported by Natural Merchants

 

Wine of the week: Badenhorst The Curator 2019

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

curatorThis South African white blend is soft (but not sweet), pleasant, and enjoyable

One of the keys to finding wine that offers value, and especially for cheap wine, is finding a quality importer. Which is not always as easy as it seems. Some of the smaller importers that handle the best cheap wine often don’t have national distribution; even when they do, they may be limited in how much wine they import, be it because of logistics or limited supply.

I just finished a freelance piece about this, and will link to it when it runs. Until then, know that Broadbent Selections fits firmly into the value and quality niche. If you see a Broadbent wine, it’s almost always worth buying.

Case in point is Badenhorst’s The Curator ($10, purchased, 12.8%), a white blend from South Africa. As noted, I’ve had to look for cheap wine in places other than the usual suspects, thanks to the the pandemic and the tariff. South Africa has mostly not disappointed, and the Broadbent wines have been especially enjoyable.

The Curator is a blend of chenin blanc (a grape that does well in South Africa), chardonnay, and viognier. It’s pleasantly soft, as chenin can be, and a little oily and with some stone fruit from the viognier. The chardonnay contributes structure and a little tropical fruit (lime?). In this, it’s much more than the sum of its parts, and if it doesn’t flash bright acidity, that’s because it’s not supposed to.

Chill this and drink it on its own, or pair it with sheet pan chicken or fish.

Imported by Broadbent Selections

Wine to drink when you’ve had quite enough of spam phone calls

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

spam phone calls
Did we get spam calls on those old, black dial phones?

Three quality cheap wines to drink so you don’t break the phone, hurt the dog, or destroy a lamp

Spam phone calls, already annoying, have blown up in Dallas in the past month since our deadly winter storm. We were already getting them for auto warranties, home improvement, Google business search, credit offers (“Don’t hang up!”), and people who want to buy your house. The storm added more home improvement calls, as well as those for solar panels (“Never be without electricity again!”)

Ah, how post-modern and entrepreneurial is that, scamming money out of death and misery? Because, of course, being rich is all that matters.

The Wine Curmudgeon understands why we can’t stop stop spam. But I also have to answer the phone when it rings, even if I don’t recognize the number. Editors don’t take kindly to being ignored.

So I’ve decided to solve the problem as only the Wine Curmudgeon can – wine to drink when you’ve had quite enough of spam phone calls. The idea is to keep quality cheap wine on hand so that, if the calls become too overwhelming, you have a way to calm down. It’s much less counter-productive to drink a glass of wine than to throw the phone across the room and break it – as well as a lamp and possibly the dog’s head.

So here are three wines to drink if you’ve had quite enough of spam phone calls:

• Scarpetta Frico Rosato 2019 ($10, purchased, 12%): Italian rose that is so well-made that I don’t even mind the pig on the label. It’s almost savory, with lemon and unripe dark berry fruit, as well as clean and long on the finish. Highly recommended. Imported by USA Wine West

• Cellier des Dauphins Reserve Blanc 2019 ($10, purchased, 14%): This French white from the Rhone is almost geeky – some oiliness from the viognier in the blend, some lime from the grenache blanc, and even a bit of spice. Imported by Plume Ridge

• Chronic Cellars Sir Real Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 ($15, sample, 14.8%): This California red seems to be everything I can’t stand about 21st century wine – high alcohol, too cute name, and even more too cute label. Which is why the first rule of wine criticism is to drink the wine before you judge it. In fact, the Sir Real is not hot, not full of sweet fruit, and even has the proper sort of tannins. It’s firmly in the Paso Robles style, which means rich and full, but also very well done. Highly recommended.

Photo: “Yesterday’s Call” by Vincent_AF is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Mini-reviews 143: Citra, albarino, Lucky Rock, Chianti

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

“I need to get some of that albarino the WC likes.”

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.

• Citra Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2019 ($10, sample, 12%): This Italian white is more tart, more stemmy, and cheaper tasting than the 2018, which seemed to signal a quality cheap wine worth buying regularly. This vintage, though, is closer to a $6. Disappointing. Imported by Winebow

• Lagar de Cervera Albarino 2018 ($20, purchased, 12.5%): This is what albarino, a Spanish white, should taste like — some citrus, almost savory, clean, and fresh. It’s not simple, not over done, and speaks to so much that is wonderful about wine. I just don’t understand why it needs to cost $20. Imported by Favorite Brands

• Lucky Rock Wine Co. Pinot Noir Country Cuvee 2019 ($22, sample, 14.3%): This California red is hot and sweet, firmly part of the pinot noir should taste like a cocktail movement and cost $20. For which, going by the critical raves for this wine, there is tremendous demand.

• Coltibuono Chianti Classico RS 2018 ($12, sample, 13.5%): An old-fashioned and tart Italian red made with sangiovese. It reminds me of the house wine at a not very good spaghetti house. Imported by Dallas Terra

Photo: “veryserious wine drinker” by BRANDIlane is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Wine of the week: Garofoli Macrina 2019

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Garofoli Macrina
Garofoli Macrina /$12-$15

The 2019 version of the Garofoli Macrina shows vintage differences, but those are to be appreciated in a wine at this price

How screwy are wine prices these days? Consider the Garofoli Macrina, an Italian white that has long been a Wine Curmudgeon favorite.

I paid $12. It’s $14, marked down to $12, at an East Coast retailer, but $15 at another. And it’s $17 on Wine.com. Ain’t wine availability grand?

So what’s a wine drinker to do? Buy the Garofoli Macrina ($12, purchased, 13%) if you can get it for less than $15. It’s that well made and that enjoyable, and especially as spring arrives.

The Garofoli is made in the Marche region with verdicchio, one of the seemingly countless number of Italian white grapes that gets lost in the pinot grigio shuffle. It’s much more interesting than pinot grigio, with more depth and more structure, and sometimes shows an almost almond flavor.

Garofoli is a top producer in the Marche, and this wine has a DOCG designation, which the Italians use to identify a distinctive (if not always higher quality) appellation. In this case, the DOCG matters for quality.

The 2019 is bit more bright and fresh then the 2017, the last Garofoli I tasted. There‘s green apple and lemon, so it’s fruitier and less citrusy, and the almond and spice isn’t as noticeable. But that’s a vintage difference and not something to complain about.

Highly recommended – a Hall of Fame quality wine that should be on the short list for the 2022 Cheap Wine of the Year.

Imported by Garofoli USA

Wine and food pairings 12: Hot dogs (because everyone refuses to believe it can be done)

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

hot dogsThe Wine Curmudgeon pairs wine with some of his favorite recipes in this occasional feature. This edition: three wines with hot dogs — a fancy version, but hot dogs nonetheless.

The Wine Curmudgeon once hosted a weekend cookout where the main dish was hot dogs. To which one of the guests sneered: “I’d like to see that — drinking wine with hot dogs.”

Oh ye of little faith. Wine is not reserved for $100 dinners or dishes made with three sauces. Wine is for dinner — no matter what dinner is. Which, of course, has been the point of the blog for almost 14 years. Hence, wine with hot dogs, which is something I’ve wanted to write about since my Cordon Bleu teaching days. We did part of a class where the students paired wine with fast food, to show people learning haute cuisine that wine didn’t have to be haute.

This version, called Hot Dog Boats and adapted from the Tastemade/Tasty cooking hegemony, is much fancier than those 8 for 99 cent hot dogs served on the buns that fall apart as soon as you pick them up. A compound butter, and par-baking the buns even. But it’s well worth the effort — think of it as a chili cheese dog for people who want to take the hot dog to the next level.

Click here to download or print a PDF of the recipe. Pairing hot dogs isn’t as difficult or as goofy as it seems. It’s a sausage, after all, and the Germans and the French in Alsace have doing wine and sausages for centuries. These wines will get you started:

• Old Soul Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 ($12, sample, 13.7%): This is a simple, Lodi-style cab, so there’s lots of sweet berry fruit. But it’s more than just another sweet red wine, with a bit of heft in the back for balance. A fine value.

• Inazio Urruzola Rosado 2019 ($16, sample, 10.5%): Interesting Spanish rose from the Basque region that’s made with truly obscure grapes. It’s  lemony and savory, and not what most people expect. Imported by Winesellers, Ltd

• August Kesseler Riesling Kabinett 2018 ($13, purchased, 10.5%): Zippy, oily, and sweetish German riesling, with some lime and stone fruit. Because riesling with sausages. Highly recommended. Imported by Vineyard Brands

Blog associate editor Churro contributed to this post.

Full disclosure: One of these days, I’ll remember take a picture of the dish; the one accompanying the post is from Tasty.

More about wine and food pairings:
• Wine and food pairings 11: Croque monsieur, turkey style
• Wine and food pairings 10: Lemon rosemary roasted turkey thighs
• Wine and food pairings 9: Mushroom ragu

Slider photo: “Rome Elite Event: wine, food and nice people” by Yelp.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0