Category:White wine

Wine of the week: Chateau Fage Blanc 2021

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Chateau Fage Blanc bottle
Chateau Fage Blanc 2021/$9-$13

This French white Bordeaux is cheap wine of the finest caliber

The best thing to know about this white Bordeaux blend, which is as well-made a cheap wine of this style that I’ve tasted in years? It’s widely available.

Yep – 25 retailers listed in the free version of Wine-Searcher (and 150 listed in the paid). In other words, it’s buy a case time.

So how about the rest of the good stuff for the Château Fage Blanc 2021 ($12, purchased, 12.5%)? Because it does things at this price that don’t happen much any more.

• It’s a blend of 40 percent sauvignon blanc and 60 percent semillon; typically, these wines have mostly sauvignon blanc with a bit of semillon.

• Even so, it’s fresh and crisp, But it’s not a one-note, New Zealand style sauvignon blanc, which is – again – typical of these wines at this price.

• The semillion adds body and lift, balancing the crispness of the sauvignon blanc. That means some citrus, but also an almost floral, tropical middle from the semillion.

Highly recommended, and a candidate for Hall of Fame and the 2024 Turner award as cheap wine of the year.

Imported by Monsieur Touton Selection

Fourth of July wine 2023

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

super hero miniatures
Yes, using this picture again — how could I not, what with superheroes battling premiumization?

Fourth of July wine 2023: Four bottles offering value and quality for Independence Day

It will be a hot Fourth o July in Dallas this year, and not just because of the holiday. We’re in one of our 100 degree stretches as I write this. So enjoy these selections, as well as the blog’s summer and porch wine guidelines in mind since it’s so hot.

These four wines will get you started:

• Castello di Gabbiano Chianti 2020 ($8, purchased, 13%): Old-fashioned Italian red —  both in style and price — that is heavy in the mouth with sour cherry fruit and dry tannins? What more does one need for smoking pork? (And a tip o’ the WC’s fedora to Frankie Celenza, who reminded me about this wine. Imported by TWE Imports

• Henri Bourgeois Petit Bourgeois Sauvignon Blanc 2021 ($13, purchased, 13%): if you can find this French sauvignon blanc for $10 or $12, buy a case. It’s a classic everyday wine — crisp, fresh, and stony. Highly recommended. Imported by Virtuoso Selections

• Cote Mas Aurore Rose 2021 ($9/1-liter, purchased, 12.5%): This French pink is past inconsistent; some vintages taste like bad red wine, and some are as terrific as this one. Provencal in style, so barely ripe berries, stony, and crisp. Highly recommended. Imported by Taub Family Selections

• Charles de Fère Cuvée Jean Louise NV ($9, purchased, 11%): Simple, enjoyable French charmat bubbly that offers tremendous value. Given the silly prices for even the most ordinary sparkling wine, this is a tremendous value. Decent bubbles, some stone fruit and lemon. Imported by Boisset America

Photo: TFNY18_074c” by BAS Photog is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

More Fourth of July wine:
• Fourth of July wine 2022
• Fourth of July wine 2021
• Fourth of July wine 2020
• Wine of the week: Bieler Père et Fils Rose 2022

Wine of the week: Zestos Blanco 2021

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Zestos Blanco bottle
Zestos Blanco 2021/$11-$14

This Spanish white is one of the world’s great cheap wines

The pandemic was not kind to Spanish wine, which especially suffered from shortages and supply chain disruptions. That followed the Trump wine tariff, which had previously clobbered the country’s wine business.

So it has been four years since I have been able to taste a new vintage of the Zestos Blanco, which is usually one of the best cheap white wines in the world. I am happy to report that the 2021 vintage ($12, purchased, 12.5%) continues this trend. Call it the return of an old friend I haven’t talked to in entirely too long.

All of the Zestos wines are worth drinking, and each offers something unique. The Blanco is made with malvar, a white grape little known outside of Spain. It’s not like chardonnay or sauvignon blanc, or even the lesser known French white grapes that I like. Rather, it’s less tart and more tropical than these grapes, with a sort of lime and stone fruit flavor combination, yet dry and clean and fresh on the finish.

And, for the wine geeks out there, the vines are some 70 years old and grow at 2,100 feet – attributes usually reserved for all those $125, 94-point red wines.

Highly recommended, and certain to make the short list for the 2024 Turner award for cheap wine of the year.

Imported by Ole & Obrigado

 

Father’s Day wine 2023

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Father's Day ties
Yet again, the Father’s Day tie picture — the WC does love it.

Father’s Day wine 2023: Quality wine for Dad, because that’s what we do

Once again, wine for Dad for Father’s Day that fits what we do here — price and value, and not silliness or scores or expensive wine for the sake of spending money. 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 2023 suggestions:

• Pedroncelli Sauvignon Blanc Giovanni & Giulia 2022 ($22, sample, 13.9%): Yes, more money than I usually spend, but I love this wine. It’s top-notch, varietally correct California sauvignon blanc — so some grassiness, some lime, and even some tropical. Highly recommended.

• Douglas Green Rib Shack Red 2021 ($12, purchased, 13.5%): Pinotage, baby! Which means it’s South African through and through — full and rich, a bit tannic, and with lots of black fruit (plus the telltale pinotage aroma and some fake oak). Imported by Cape Classics

• VillaViva Rose 2021 ($10, purchased, 12%): Not quite as well-rounded as the 2020, but well worth buying. Still savory, some red berries, some minerality. Imported by Aquitane Wine USA

• De Chanceny Brut NV ($15, purchased, 12.5%): Amazon Fresh private label (as well as Whole Foods). Made with the Champagne method, but with chenin blanc as well as chardonnay and cabernet franc. A bit softer, some lemon fruit, but still lively. Imported by Dropping Wines

More Father’s Day wine:
• Father’s Day wine 2022
• Father’s Day wine 2021
• Father’s Day wine 2020
• Expensive wine 164: Albert Bichot Fleurie La Madone 2019

Wine of the week: Vinho verde 2023

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

women at table talking
“Do you think vinho verde would have paired better with this food?”

Vinho verde quality rebounded this year, but prices remain high

Vinho verde, the cheap Portuguese white wine (and sometimes rose) hasn’t been especially cheap the past couple of years. Which raises an intriguing question: What’s the point of a cheap wine that isn’t cheap anymore? If I can buy better quality wine for $15 (and I can), why would I spend $15 for vinho verde?

Having said that, most of the vinhos I tasted this year — save for long-time favorite Faisao — were of higher quality than last year. Sadly, the Faisao, both white and rose, were too soft, too sweet, almost flat, and huge disappointments.

What do you need to know about vinho (and the blog’s vinho verde primer is here)? The wines are usually non-vintage, with slightly sweet lemon-lime or apple fruit, a bit of fizz, and low alcohol — all of which makes it ideal for hot weather and summer food. Most of the cheapest wines, like Santola, Famega, Casal Garcia, and Gazela (and that often have a crab on the label), are made by the same couple of companies but sold under different names to different retailers.

The most dependable vinho verde is the Broadbent ($9, 9%), which was less soft and more interesting this year; Broadbent also makes a rose ($9, 10%) that is almost more rose-like than vinho.  Check out these other vinho verdes:

• Gazela Vinho Verde NV ($8, purchased, 9%): Stunning upgrade in quality from what used to be a very ordinary wine. It’s fresh, wonderfully fizzy, sweetish but not sweet, and has terrific lime fruit. Highly recommended. There’s also a rose that’s worth drinking, but not as well mdde. Imported by Evaton

• Aveleda Vinho Verde Fonte 2021 ($10, purchased, 9.5%): Quality vinho producer’s whose vintage product is usually worth paying for. This vintage has some lemon, isn’t too sweet, and the fizz is fizzy. Imported by Aveleda

• Casal Garcia Vinho Verde NV ($7, purchased, 9.5%): Don’t know what they did, but this year’s bottling is two or three steps up from the last time I tasted it. More structure, more integrated sweetness, better quality fizz and nice lemon-lime fruit. Highly recommended. Imported by Avelada

More about vinho verde:
• Vinho verde review 2022
• Vinho verde review 2021
• Vinho verde review 2020
• Wine of the week: Herdade do Esporão Vinho Monte Velho 2021?

Photo: “Women Grow Business Boot Camp #wgbiz #dcweek _-164” by ShashiBellamkonda is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Wine of the week: La Chapelle du Bastion Picpoul de Pinet 2022

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

La Chapelle du Bastion Picpoul de Pinet bottle
La Chapelle du Bastion Picpoul de Pinet 2022/$10-$16

This white from southern France offers a refreshing change during a long, hot summer

One of the less appreciated aggravations of premiumization is that it has led producers to focus on specific wine styles – chardonnay, of course, and sauvignon blanc, as well as rose and reds – the trendy blends and a handful of varietals. So not only does ordinary wine cost more, but it has become more difficult to find wines that aren’t like those.

Cases in point are muscadet and picpoul, which sit somewhere between chardonnay and sauvignon blanc and which are not only interesting, but very, very fairly priced. Plus they’re just the whites for a hot summer, the antithesis of a heavy, too oaky chardonnay.

We’ve written much about both on the blog, despite the difficulty in sometimes finding the wines. But my job, if nothing else, is to keep looking, and it’s almost always worth the effort.

Such as the La Chapelle du Bastion Picpoul de Pinet 2022 ($12, purchased, 12.5%). Most picpouls, which come from southern France, offer a tart, almost puckery fruit flavor (picpoul can be translated as “lips-macking,” more or less). But this is a softer, rounder picpoul, so there is almost some stone fruit lurking in the mix, as well as the citrus and the sort of stony finish.

Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2023 Hall of Fame. Chill this and drink it when you want wine that refreshes.

Imported by Monsieur Touton Selection

Mother’s Day wine 2023

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Mother and child
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom

Four suggestions — white, sparkling, rose, and red — for Mother’s Day 2023

The blog’s 17th annual Mother’s Day wine post makes me smile — and how often does that happen? The point is that wine is about the people around us, and not boasting about scores or collecting trophies. The blog’s wine gift guide is here.

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

• Pedroncelli Dry Rosé of Zinfandel 2022 ($17, sample, 13.9%): Not the $10 rose it once was, but this California pink remains one of my favorites. This vintage is classic — fruity (zinfandel’s dark berries, believe it or not), oh so fresh and crisp. Not Provencal, but not supposed to be.

• Bodegas Eidosela Neboa 2020 ($18, purchased, 13%):  Let it sit for 30 minutes, and this Spanish white becomes exquisite albarino — savory, salty, a bit of lime fruit, and even some minerality. Imported by Valkyrie Selections

• Steenberg Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc NV ($20, sample, 12.5%): This South African sparkling is not for all tastes, and the price may put some people off. Having said that, it’s quality South African sauvignon blanc that has lots and lots of tiny bubbles. So almost grapefruity, but firmly a Champagne-style wine. Imported by Beck Family Estates

• Forty Ounces Red 2016 ($14/1-liter, purchased, 12%): No, there may not be a lot of this around, and yes, it’s an older vintage. But, somehow, this French red blend is worth drinking — berry fruit, soft tannins, and surprisingly balanced. Imported by Verity Wine Partners

Photo: “CL Society 408: Mother and child” by francisco_osorio is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

More about Mother’s Day wine:
• Mother’s Day wine 2022
• Mother’s Day wine 2021
• Mother’s Day wine 2020
• Expensive wine 165: Roederer Estate Brut NV
• Wine of the week: Broadbent Gruner Veltliner 2021