Category:Wine of the week

Wine of the week: Marques de Caceres Rosado 2021

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Marques de Caceres Rosado 2021
Marques de Caceres Rosado 2021/$8-$14

Yes, it’s a a past vintage, but quality doesn’t always depend on that sort of thing anymore

The Wine Curmudgeon has a couple of bottles of this wine sitting in the wine closet as I write this. Yes, it’s a past vintage – or what should be a past vintage in more normal times – but one of the many benefits of the last decade’s rose boom is that many past vintages are worth drinking.

And the Marques de Caceres Rosado 2021 ($10, purchased, 13.5%) is just one of those sorts of wines.

Frankly, I was surprised that it has held up so well. For one thing, it’s a supermarket brand, and since it doesn’t cost as much as the $20 roses we’re supposed to drink, it can’t possibly be worth drinking. But the producer knows a thing or two about making quality supermarket wines, and I’ve always respected the importer. The other bonus? Lots of availability.

So what to know about this Spanish pink from the Rioja region? First, it’s made with tempranillo, so the fruit flavors are darker – more cranberry and black raspberry than strawberry. But it’s still clean and crisp and refreshing, despite the vintage. And no, it’s not sweet.

In other words, don’t be worried about serving this for Mom over the weekend, whether for brunch or an afternoon barbecue. And, with a little luck, we can keep drinking this vintage until the 2022 shows up.

Imported by Vineyard Brands

Wine of the week: Mont Gravet Cotes de Gascogne 2021

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Mont Gravet Gascon white bottle
Mont Gravet Cotes de Gascogne 2021/$10-$12

The perfect choice for these troubled wine times – a Gascon white

Wine world got you down? Tired of paying $18 for chardonnay that tastes like a Reese’s Cup? Worn out from seeing row after row of smoooth red blends on retailer shelves that all taste alike?

Have no fear. The new vintage of the Mont Gravet Cotes de Gassogne is here.

Regular readers know that white from France’s Gascony remains some of the best values in the world. And the Gravet ($12, purchased, 11%) is annually one of the best Gascon whites on the market.

This vintage is a 50-50 blend of colombard and sauvignon blanc, and it’s a step up – more Gascon in character, so not so much a sauvignon blanc knockoff as a tart, almost white grape juicey wine, and with just a smidge of alcohol. Plus, it’s fresher and almost stony this time around.

And who knew the WC was ahead of the times when he was recommending 10 to 11 percent alcohol Gascon wines all those years ago.

Highly recommended, and a good chance for the Hall of Fame in 2024 as well as making the Turner sward shortlist. Chill this and drink it on its own, and with almost any food you can think of. I’m not sure it’s prime rib, but I wouldn’t rule out meat loaf.

Imported by Winesellers Ltd.

Wine of the week: Alberto Conti Toscana Rosso 2019

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Quality Italian red blend highlights wine’s availability woes – even though it’s available

Alberto Conti Toscana Rosso bottle
Alberto Conti Toscana Rosso 2019/$8-$15

Whenever it’s renewal time on the blog, someone always asks about availability. And all the Wine Curmudgeon can do is repeat the mantra: “I try to review wines that are generally available; that is, an independent retailer in a decent sized city should be able to find it for you.”

Which brings us to the Alberto Conti Toscana Rosso 2019 ($12, purchased, 13%), which I bought at a small Dallas specialty grocer. It’s from a largish Italian producer that has been around for 150 years, but seems to be a label sold only to U.S. retailers (and imported by one of the biggest and most important U.S. importers for just that purpose).

So, no, it probably won’t be at the supermarket (though it’s listed on Drizly, oddly enough). However, the Wine-Searcher listing includes a couple of Total Wines, as well as independent retailers across the country. How is this possible?

Our old pal, three-tier, of course. Its archaic, different laws for every state, make it that much more difficult to sell a wine like this in more states. Which is a shame, since it’s well worth drinking.

It’s an impressive super Tuscan (a blend of sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot) at a fair price. Look for long, cherry fruit, some spice and earth, and all in balanced. And there’s probably a fair amount of merlot in the blend to round off the rough edges from the Italian cabernet used in the blend.

This is red sauce wine, as well as grilled sausages. Drink it, and ponder why we have such trouble buying quality $10 wine, and hope for change.

Imported by Misa Imports

Wine of the week: Castillo del Baron Yecla 2020

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Castillo del Baron monastrell
Castillo del Barón Yecla 2020/$9-$12

Once again, this Spanish red shows how cheap wine should be done

The Castillo del Baron, from Spain’s Yecla region and made with the monastrell grape, has only been featured three times on the blog. But that has absolutely nothing to do with its quality; this is one of the world’s great cheap wines, and especially for those who prefer their red to have a little more oomph.

Rather, it has everything to do with – all together now – availability.

The current vintage is the 2020, and I have also reviewed the 2019 and the 2017. But the 2018 and the 2016 never made it to Dallas. Go figure.

Which is a shame, because, as I wrote in my notes for the 2020 ($10, purchased, 14.2%), “Another spot-on effort — a little more rustic, as it has been for the past couple of vintages, and a tad hot. But it’s balanced, almost earthy, and the cherry fruit shows just enough. All it needs is a little red meat or sausage for dinner drinking.”

And, frankly, given some of the plonk I’ve had to spit my way through recently (most recently, a $15 Oregon pinot noir that tasted like Welch’s that had gone off), I’ll take this wine every time.

Highly recommended, and – assuming it’s available, of course – a candidate for the 2024 Hall of Fame.

Imported by Europvin

Wine of the week: Broadbent Gruner Veltliner 2021

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Broadbent Grüner Veltliner bottle
Broadbent Grüner Veltliner 2021/$11-$18

Once more, the WC finds a gruner that doesn’t make him crazy — which is why wine is so wonderful

Regular readers know that the Wine Curmudgeon has little use for gruner veltliner, a white Austrian grape that has been hip and with it for so long that its original proponents are probably long retired from the wine business.

So what has happened over the past couple of years? The WC has found three gruners worth buying and drinking. Which, if anyone who reads this needs reminding, is one of the wonderful things about wine.

The Broadbent Gruner Veltliner 2021 ($15/1-liter, sample, 12.5%) comes from one of my favorite “value” producers, the same people who bring us the vinho verde that I drink so much of. In this, it’s made along the same lines — varietally correct, not stupid, and a fine value.

Look for a lime and green apple fruit thing, plus some stone fruit if you taste it closely. I didn’t get the white pepper that the wine geeks say is there, but I don’t think the wine is lacking because of that. In the end, it’s dry, pleasantly balanced, and with a long and almost spritzy finish. Just the thing for spring — salads, the first barbecues, and all the rest.

Highly recommended — and, if I could get over my gruner prejudice, a candidate for the 2024 Hall of Fame.

Imported by Broadbent Selections

 

Wine of the week: Castle Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2019

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Castle Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley label
Castle Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2019/$8-$12

Yes, a U.S. cheap wine that tastes like it’s supposed to taste

Castle Rock makes lots and lots of $10 wine, of which the Washington state reds are usually among the best. They taste like Washington state reds, they aren’t sweet, and if they’re simple, they aren’t stupid.

Which is all we ask.

Castle Rock’s Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 ($10, sample, 13.5%) is an excellent example of just that kind of wine. It’s widely available (more than two dozen listings on Wine Searcher), it’s not soft just because someone, somewhere, decided soft was the way to go, and it offers cabernet character.

Which, again, is all we ask. Who knew that was so much?

Look for black fruit (maybe even some plum?) that isn’t too ripe, too over the top, or piled on to cover up other deficiencies. Even more worthwhile: There isn’t too much oak, and what there is mostly tastes like oak and not flavored wood chips. And the tannins are noticeable – not too astringent, but professionally pushed to the back, as they should be in cabernet.

Just the kind of wine for takeout pizza or burgers, or to keep around when someone who likes red wine drops by the house.

Wine of the week: The Curator White 2021

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

curator white wine label
The Curator White 2021/$8-$17

Once more, South Africa sets an example for the rest of the world

The Wine Curmudgeon has been doing this long enough to have seen any number of wine fads come and go. Sadly, South Africa got stuck in several of them, including Parkerized shiraz and New Zealand-style sauvignon blanc that didn’t come from New Zealand.

Maybe this time, though, the country is establishing something that will become much than a fad: quality cheap wine.

The Curator White 2021 ($12, purchased, 13%) is just one more wine that demonstrates that the South Africans may have figured out something that baffles so much of the rest of the world (yes, you California!). Almost a dozen South African labels have been a wine of the week in the past two years, and that doesn’t include the epic MAN Family chenin blanc that won the Turner award in 2021.

And why not? The producers who do these wines – including MAN, Boekenhoutskloof, Ken Forrester, and Badenhorst, which makes Curator – have figured it out. They make $10 and $12 wine that tastes like wine and not a fruit cocktail.

In this case, it’s a white blend (mostly chenin blanc and chardonnay) that is somehow pleasantly oily, as chenin can be; fruity (stone fruit) but not sweet; and fresh. This is not easy to do, even in wines costing twice as much. That Badenhorst does it so well here speaks to its commitment.

Drink this chilled on its own, with takeout chicken or leftovers when you’re cleaning out the fridge. Highly recommended, and almost certain to be included in the 2024 Hall of Fame as well as the shortlist for the 2024. Turner.

Imported by Broadbent Selections