Category:Wine of the week

Wine of the week: La Vieille Ferme Rose 2021

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

La Vieille Ferme rose
La Vieille Ferme Rose 2021/$6-$15

Once again, the La Vielle reminds us that wine doesn’t have to be expensive, snotty, or stupid

What better way to kick off the blog’s 15h annual rose extravaganza than with this French pink, which delivers stunning quality for oh so little money? And has done so for years and years and years.

So buy a case – or even the 3-liter box, if it’s available where you live – and thank the Perrin family that runs La Vieille for their skill and professionalism, as well as their decision not to dumb down or focus group the wine. Because it certainly must be tempting to do so in a rose world where very, very ordinary pink costs $18 (and you know who you are) and isn’t nearly as well made as this.

First and foremost, know that the La Vieille ($8, sample, 13%) is dry, and not the faux dry that shows up in too many California roses when the wise guys leave in a touch of residual sugar because they’re smarter than we are. In addition, it’s clean, crispy, and stony, with barely ripe strawberry fruit. In other words, rose the way French rose should be.

One sign that the Perrin family knows what it’s doing: This vintage isn’t labeled Ventoux, the appellation that the wine has carried for years. Instead, it’s merely labeled France, which I assume was done to keep prices down but to keep up the quality.

Highly recommended, and should return to the Hall of Fame next January. And why not, when something this well made costs this little?

Imported by Vineyard Brands

Wine of the week: Domaine de Bernier Chardonnay 2020

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Domaine de Bernier Chardonnay
Domaine de Bernier Chardonnay 2020/$9-$15

This $10 French chardonnay is a revelation – even for those of us who have all but given up cheap chardonnay

The Wine Curmudgeon has all but given up on chardonnay that costs less than $15 a bottle. It’s either sweet or crammed full of fake oak or undergone the buttered popcorn treatment – or, shudder, features some combination of all three.

So know that the Domaine de Bernier chardonnay is a revelation, a stunning French wine that is a reminder of what cheap wine should be – professional, varietally correct, and devoid of focus group shenanigans.

That means the Domaine de Bernier Chardonnay 2020 ($10, purchased, 12%) combines the best the best qualities of French chardonnay (round and full and green apple and pear fruit) at an unbelievable price. It’s not even especially simple, which is usually about the best we can hope for in this kind of wine these days. There’s a fair amount of subtlety going on, if I can mix my adjectives, and the finish is especially long and crisp.

So how is this wine this cheap? The grapes come from the Loire, hardly known for chardonnay, which helps keep the price down. In addition, the producer and importer understand pricing in a way too many others don’t. Price it right, sell it out, and enjoy the results.

Highly recommended, and almost certain to show up in the 2023 Hall of Fame and to make the shortlist for the 2023 Cheap Wine of the Year.

Imported by Vineyard Brands

Wine of the week: Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018/$8-$12

Once more, Italy’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo region yields quality and value – this time from Masciarelli

Count ’em – red wines from Italy’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo region have been been the wine of the week 10 times and several have made the hall of Fame. What does that say about the quality and value these wines deliver?

A lot, of course, as the Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018 ($11, purchased, 13.5%) demonstrates. These wines, made in a less known region with a less known grape, are textbook examples of how to find quality cheap wine, because lesser known tends to equal value.

The Masciarelli is simple and straightforward – a trattoria wine, says the marketing blurb, and that’s spot on. Look for tart cherry fruit and maybe some berries, and even a little smokiness stuck down in the middle somewhere. It’s also more full in the mouth than many similar wines, though there is the same longish finish.

And a tip of the WC’s fedora to my old pal Carmen Castorina for reminding me about this one.

Pair this with sausages and peppers on the grill as the weather warms up, or even bratwurst and sauerkraut. I’m also thinking about chicken braised in red wine, using this as the braising liquid.

Imported by Vintus

Wine of the week: El Coto Rioja Rosado 2020

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

el coto rosado
El Coto Rioja Rosado 2020/$8-$14

Terrific cheap Spanish pink wine for sharing with Mom

The theme on the blog these days seems to be defending cheap wine – here and here; and now, for the Spanish El Coto, which is one of the world’s great cheap roses.

Not just one person, but two – two! — scored the wine in the 70s on CellarTracker, the blog’s unofficial wine inventory app. That’s the kind of score usually given to something that you taste and spit out, and not a wine that has been terrific for years and years.

So nuts to scores and wine snobs.

The El Coto rose 2020 ($11, purchased, 13%) is as it always is: perhaps a little fruitier this vintage (strawberries and watermelon, maybe?), but bone dry and clean and crisp and long on the finish. Plus, as with most quality Spanish roses, it has an oh so pleasing aroma that could be oranges or even flowers.

Buy a case for Mom for the upcoming weekend, so she can drink it during the summer. And you can drink it with her and laugh about what the score freaks are missing.

Highly recommended, and certain to show up in the Hall of Fame next year. The 2021 is slowly making its way to the U.S., but there is still plenty of 2020 on store shelves.

Imported by Opici Wine & Spirits

Wine of the week: Domaine Duffour Cotes de Gascogne 2020

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Domaine Duffour Côtes de Gascogne 2020
Domaine Duffour Cotes de Gascogne 2020/$9-$12

Once again, a Gascon white wine that delivers value and quality for about $10

During the recent podcast with wine editor Felicity Carter, we discussed whether consumers really want different wines, or if that’s just a wine writer thing.

Here on the blog, I’d like to think it’s more than the WC pushing his Gascon white wines, and that there truly is demand for them. Because the wines are infinitely more interesting than another chardonnay, buttery or otherwise.

The Domaine Duffour Cotes de Gascogne 2020 ($10, purchased, 12%) is one more example of why that’s true. It’s unmistakably, wonderfully Gascon – tart, crisp, and refreshing, and made with all those weird grapes that we’re not supposed to know about.

In this case, the Duffour is mostly colombard, so it sits somewhere between the white grapey Domaine Tariquet, which includes ugni blanc, and the others that blend colombard and sauvignon blanc and taste more citrusy.. So the Duffour has bit of that white grapey flavor and less of the lemon and lime flavors.

So another simple, but not stupid, wine – the kind that is made and priced to drink with dinner, to enjoy with food, with conversation, and with those we’re eating with. Frankly, I can’t think of too many higher compliments.

Imported by Skurnick Wines

Wine of the week: Chateau la Freynelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Château la Freynelle Cabernet Sauvignon
Château la Freynelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2018/$13-$20

This French red – from Bordeaux, even – offers tradition and a fair price

Let’s get the aggravating bits about this French red out of the way:

First , the producer makes two reds – a blend and this wine, a varietal cabernet. So knowing which one to buy can be confusing. Second, availability can be spotty, even though it’s a well-known producer and a decent-sized importer. Third, prices are all over the place, as much as $20.

So why is it a wine of the week? Because the Freynelle cabernet ($13, purchased, 13.5%) is worth the aggravation – not just a Hall of Fame wine, but worthy of Cheap Wine of the Year consideration for 2023. And how often do we find that quality in red Bordeaux at a fair price these days?

In other words, stunning wine. The Freynelle is rich but not heavy and there’s just enough fruit and it isn’t too ripe. The fruit, in fact, comes damn close to Bordeaux’s legendary black currants. The wine is also savory, with proper tannins, and it’s oh so balanced.

Could it use a little merlot to soften it? Maybe. But who’s complaining?

Imported by Aquitane Wine

 

Wine of the week: Jolie Folle Sauvignon Blanc 2020

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Jolie Folle Sauvignon Blanc
Jolie Folle Sauvignon Blanc 2020/$12-$16

The 1-liter Jolie Folle is a reminder that sauvignon blanc from France’s Loire can be delicious and affordable

The Jolie Folle 1-liter French rose has been on the blog off and on; it’s inconsistent, but when it’s worth buying, it offers quality and value. For the most part, the brand’s sauvignon blanc hasn’t even been up to that level.

Until this vintage of the Jolie Folle Sauvignon Blanc ($15/1-liter, purchased, 12%).

Typically, the brand’s sauvignon blanc has been thin or unripe or both, hardly the kind of white wine to spend money on. But not this time – the 2020 is stunning, one of those cheap wines that makes me wish more producers cared about making this kind of wine and doing it consistently.

The Loire in France is famous for its sauvignon blanc, but many long ago passed the price that most of us can afford – or want — to pay. The Jolie Folle, though, is a reminder of how wonderful those wines are: ripe lime fruit, some minerality, and a long, clean finish. And did I mention it’s a liter bottle?

Highly recommended. Serve this chilled on its own as the days warm up, and it would pair with almost any kind of grilled chicken.

Imported by Crazy Beautiful Wines