Category:Wine of the week

Wine of the week: Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2020

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo bottle
Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018/$9-$13

The long-time WC favorite offers even more value this time around

The blog has long featured red wines from Italy’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo region. They’re almost always well made, inexpensive, and created with value in mind. Plus, they’re terriifc with food.

But this vintage of the Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo ($12, purchased, 13.5%) is even better than that. It’s not just a Hall of Fame wine, as the Masciarelli has often been, but a wine that will show up on the shortlist for the 2024 Turner cheap wine award.

That’s because this vintage – and I think the age has helped – is darker, deeper, and more interesting. Or, as my tasting notes says: “Wow.”

It’s earthy and rustic, but not heavy or off putting or too rough, as some cheap wines are. There is fresh, juicy cherry fruit, but it has that current of acidity so that the fruit isn’t cloying (as some cheap wines are). This is how to make a simple wine for every day drinking at a more than fair price.

Highly recommended, and just the thing as the weather gets cooler. So red sauces, sausages on the grill, and even something like a cherry tomatoes and gnocchi.

Imported by Vintus

Wine of the week: Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio 2021

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Yiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio bottle
Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio 2021 /$12-$18

Italian white reminds us that pinot grigio doesn’t have to be bland and boring

The Wine Curmudgeon has long had an ambivalent relationship with pinot grigio. On the one hand, I firmly believe everyone should drink what they want. On the other, most pinot grigio tastes like bland club soda.

So what’s the WC to do? Recommend the Tiefenbrunner, of course.

The Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio 2021 ($14, purchased, 12.5%) is one of a handful of widely available and higher quality pinot grigios – and that are worth the couple of dollars more than the supermarket brands.

That means this Italian white is much more than the hint of lime fruit and the not quite fizziness that characterizes the $8 to $12 wines that make up most of what people think about of when they buy pinot grigio. Look for some pear fruit and maybe some lime, as well as a wine that is much fuller in the mouth and has a longer and more interesting finish.

In other words, pinot grigio that will please regular drinkers as well as those of us who don’t drink it often.

Chill this and drink it on its own, or pair it with salads or roast chicken breasts – or a salad that includes roast chicken breast.

Imported by Opici Wine & Spirits

 

Wine of the week: Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon bottle
Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon 2020/$7-$14

How well-made is this cheap South African red? They’re selling it at high-end retailers

Imagine my surprise when I saw this on the shelves of one of Dallas’ most expensive wine shops. It’s the kind of place where the only $10 wines are usually half bottles of something more expensive.

So I bought it – not because I knew anything about it, but because if it was there, something must be going on.

Which, as I later found out after talking to several retailers, there was. South Africa’s Excelsior wines may be the next great cheap wine brand, and almost every store owner I talked to raved about their price and quality.

The 2020 cabernet sauvignon ($9, purchased, 14%) may be the best of the bunch. Yes, simple, given what it costs, but oh so well done. This is $10 cabernet that tastes like cabernet, without a bit of sugar, gloppy fruit, or all that fake oak. And how often do we see that? It’s stunningly balanced, with firm tannins, plum and black cherry fruit, and that distinctive cabernet aroma.

Pair this with red meat, of course, but it’s also so well balanced that it would go with roast turkey or serve as the base for coq au vin (which, if and when it ever cools off here, I will do).

Highly recommended, and certain to enter the Hall of Fame next year as well as to make the shortlist for the Turner cheap wine of the year award.

Imported by Cape Classics

Wine of the week: La Petite Perriere Sauvignon Blanc 2021

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

La Petite Perriere Sauvignon Blanc bottle
La Petite Perriere Sauvignon Blanc 2021/$10-$17

Want to fix the wine glut? Make more wines like this

The most important thing to know about this French white wine? This line from my tasting notes: “This is the kind of wine we need more of to bring people to wine drinking.”

The 2021 is is the fifth vintage of this wine to be a wine of the week, which speaks to its consistency and quality. It’s also famous – or infamous, as the case may be – as the wine my mom tried to buy at a Kroger subsidiary in Chicago because I was told it was for sale there. Which, of course, it wasn’t.

So, the details for the 2021 ($10, purchased, 12.5%): It’s a terrific weeknight sauvignon blanc – well-made, simple but not stupid, and neither too fruity nor too tart. That means a bit of mineral and stone, some citrus (more lime than anything else), and fresh and clean. In other words, what the wine business is trying to achieve by buying hard seltzer companies instead of trusting to wine.

If it’s not quite as impressive as some of the others (the 2016, the one my mom looked for, was exceptional), it’s still well worth drinking and a Hall of Fame quality wine. Chill this and drink it on its own, or pair it with something like roast pork loin or takeout chicken.

Imported by Taub Family Selections

Wine of the week: Two Vinos de Arganza Mencias

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Vinos de Arganza wine bottle and glass
This is one of the wines, anyway.

Once again, wine availability is a wonderful thing

These wines are made by the same Spanish producer from the same mencia grape and come from the same vintage and the same region. They’re mostly the same price and they taste mostly the same.

In this, they’re both fine $10 red wines and worthy of the blog. My question: Why are they both on sale at the same time from the same retailer?

Chalk it up to the mysteries of wine availability.

Because, like the Rapitala Grillo a couple of weeks ago, none of this makes much sense otherwise. Just know there is a lot of wine on the market (“Shh, don’t call it a glut”), and producers, importers, wholesalers, and retailers are doing all they can to sell it.

Hence, the Arganza Flavium Premium 2020 ($10, purchased, 13%) and the Arganza Flavium Seleccion ($10, purchased, 13%).

The Premium is the more interesting of the two — earthy, some tart berry fruit, and just enough tannins to have some, but not enough to get the way. Call it highly recommended and a candidate for next year’s Hall of Fame. The Seleccion isn’t as deep or as layered as the Premium, but still a fine bottle of $10 Spanish red wine. There’s a little smokiness on the back that I didn’t expect; otherwise, some not too ripe berry fruit and even some herbs.

So, like the Rapitala Grillo, buy either or both if you can find them. Just don’t try to figure out why all of this is going on. Trust me — it’s not worth it.

Imported by Monsieur Touton Selection

Wine of the week: Charles & Charles Rose 2022

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Quality wins out, year after year

Charles & Charles rose bottle
Charles & Charles Rose 2022/$9-$16

Yes, the wine business makes me crazy. And then I get to taste a terrific cheap wine that reminds me why it’s worth all the aggravation.

In this case, it’s the Charles & Charles Rose 2022 ($12, sample, 11.5%). This pink from Washington state is terrific every vintage, doesn’t cost a lot of money, can be found in some supermarkets, and my Mom likes it. What more do we want from wine?

The blend for the 2022 is more typical of a rose than usual – about one-half syrah, one-third grenache, and the rest mourvedre. This puts it squarely in the Provencal style camp, though – as the tasting notes point out – it’s a lot cooler in Washington state.

That combination makes the wine just enough different from the 2021 so that any wine geeks paying attention can taste it and wonder how Charles & Charles does it at this price. It’s Provencal-like with barely ripe berry fruit, but there is an almost orange thing in the middle and a sort of savory finish. So yes, buy a case and keep it handy for Labor Day weekend.

Highly recommended and certain to return to the Hall of Fame next year, and perhaps show up on the short list for the 2024 Turner cheap wine award. Surprisingly – or not, given what’s going on with wine these days – there is still a fair amount of 2021 left. So don’t be afraid to get a bottle of each and do your own tasting. Why should the geeks have all the fun?

 

Wine of the week: Tenuta Rapitala Grillo

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Tenuta Rapitalà Grillo Sicilia Viviri label
Tenuta Rapitala Grillo /Pricing? Vintage? Who knows?

Wine availability is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?

You’ll notice there’s no vintage for the Rapitala Grillo in the headline for this post. That’s because this Sicilian white has three vintages currently available – which is a lot, even for the wine business.

Ain’t availability a wonderful thing?

I tasted the 2020, which I bought for $12 at the end of last year. I bought another bottle at the end of winter, same vintage, but it cost $14. And that’s not the end of the fun: Wine-searcher reports that the 2021 and 2022 can cost as much as $17.

Huh?

Yes, I know about pandemic supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine and glass bottle inflation. But how did a simple – albeit delicious – white wine made by the tanker load that seems to be widely available increase in price by almost 50 percent in less than a year? And with three vintages on store shelves?

Is it any wonder I worry about the future of the wine business?

Hence, this post. Look for the Rapitala Grillo, and buy it — any of the three vintages should be fine — if you can find it for less than $13 or $14. The WC has long appreciated the grillo grape, and this is a fine effort — well-made and interesting, since it’s more subtle and rounder than others, which is complemented with some almond and stone fruit.

Jut don’t try to figure out availability and pricing. It will make your head hurt – something I know first hand.

Imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons