Category:Wine reviews

Expensive wine 107: Fort Ross FRV Pinot Noir 2013

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Fort Ross FRV pinot noirThe Fort Ross FRV pinot noir is a rarity from California – elegant, graceful, and varietally correct

California pinot noir is a conundrum, which is why we have movies about it, best-selling sweet versions of it, and critically acclaimed cabernet sauvignon versions of it. Mostly, the state isn’t cool and rainy enough to make a classical, varietally correct version of it. Which is where the Fort Ross FRV pinot noir comes in.

The Fort Ross FRV pinot noir ($52, sample, 13.8%) is elegant and, in its elegance, spectacular. It’s not what one expects from California pinot nor, given the excesses of many of the best selling labels. It somehow combines New World freshness with a little Burgundian complexity, so that each part of the wine complements the other and the whole is greater than the parts. It’s balance where balance is too often lacking.

Look for forest floor aromas (not too funky), plus dark red fruit and baking spice flavors, and soft, refined tannins. The tannins, as well as the exquisitely judicious use of oak, might be the most impressive achievements. This is a California pinot noir made to express pinot noir from Fort Ross’ Sonoma terroir instead of making it to get 94 points, the soil and the climate be damned.

Highly recommended. Ready to drink now, and probably won’t age for more than several years. Enjoy it with anything pinot noir–related, from roast lamb to salmon. And, given its grace, by itself.

Wine review: Vina Fuerte 2015

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

vina fuerteThe new vintage of the Vina Fuerte, once a dependable $5 Spanish red, isn’t very Spanish or  worth $5

The Aldi discount grocer is famous for its cheap, quality wine in Europe. Unfortunately, we’re not getting any of that in the U.S. – as the new vintage of the Vina Fuerte sadly demonstrates.

The Vina Fuerte ($5, purchased, 13%) is a Spanish tempranillo, and the 2014 was more than serviceable. It tasted like Spanish tempranillo – tart cherry fruit with some character and interest in the back. It wasn’t $10 Hall of Fame quality, but it was the kind of red wine to buy for dinner without worrying about whether it would be any good. In fact, I usually bought two.

The 2015, though, is about as Spanish as a pair of sweat socks. The tart cherry fruit has been bulldozed in favor of almost overripe California-style red fruit and the character and the interest in the back have been replaced by heaping amounts of fake oak.

This is disappointing, but not surprising. Aldi’s U.S. wine decisions have focused on the lowest common denominator over the past couple of years: Plonk like Winking Owl, copying the overpriced and very ordinary wines sold in traditional grocery stores, and bringing in one-offs that are priced for their labels and not what’s inside the bottle.

The days when Aldi sold Vina Decana, a Hall of Fame Spanish tempranillo, and the equally worthy Benedetto Chianti are long gone. Today, we’re stuck with focus group wines like the new Fuerte; apparently, we’ll never get to enjoy real wine like this.

It’s baffling. Aldi understands the U.S. grocery store market so well that even Walmart is running scared, but it treats wine with the same arrogance and disdain for the consumer that everyone else does. Is it any wonder I worry about the future of the wine business?

Wine of the week: Le Charmel Pinot Noir 2016

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Le Charmel pinot noirThe Le Charmel pinot noir is a pleasant, enjoyable, and lighter red wine that offers more quality than it costs

Mel Masters has been making wine in France almost as long as I’ve been writing about it, which should give you an idea of how serious this expatriate Englishman is about his craft. Best yet, Masters has focused on affordable quality wine like the Le Charmel pinot noir.

The Le Charmel pinot noir ($12, sample, 13%) comes from the Languedoc in southern France, so don’t expect any high-end Burgundian sophistication. Even though the aroma is a touch earthy, there is little classical pinot noir varietal character. Having said that, it is more than $12 worth of wine – a pleasant, enjoyable, and lighter red, with a sort of dried cherry fruit flavor that doesn’t overwhelm the soft tannins or the hint of acidity that keeps the wine from tasting like it was made in bulk in California.

In fact, the Le Charmel is the kind of inexpensive pinot noir that we rarely see made in this country anymore; and no, the Mark West is not what it once was. Drink this on its own if you want a glass of wine after work, and you can even chill it a little. It would also pair with weeknight meatloaf, as well as weekend hamburgers.

Imported by Winesellers, Ltd.

Wine review: Four Target California Roots wines

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Target California Roots winesThese four Target California Roots wines don’t do anything to help the cause, and three of them aren’t even worth the $5 they cost

The Wine Curmudgeon wanted to write a glowing, “run out and buy these wines” review. Those of us who care about cheap wine need the good news. But these four Target California Roots wines aren’t much better than the $3 junk I tasted earlier this year – sadly, more marketing hype than wine, and where the back labels are of higher quality than the wine.

For instance, why does $5 wine have a cork? Why do the bottles have a punt (albeit shallow)? Why is the phrase “vinted in the Golden State” on every bottle? Why should I care? Why is not one of the wines labeled sweet, including the moscato, when my mouth felt like cotton candy at the end of the tasting?

The wines were purchased; each cost $5. My Target didn’t have the red blend, the fifth wine. Read and weep:

• California Roots Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 (13.5%): Smells like boysenberry juice, tastes too much like children’s cough syrup, and finishes with that old Big Wine standby, charred chocolate fake oak. It’s not so much that it doesn’t taste like cabernet, but that it’s overpriced at $5.

• California Roots Chardonnay 2016 (13.5%): This smells like chardonnay, with lots of green apples, and I had high hopes I could write something nice. But the wine is so thin – diluted apple juice for babies? – that it had almost no flavor at all, save for a bit of sweetness. I’ve never tasted chardonnay made in the style of cheap, inoffensive pinot grigo.

• California Roots Pinot Grigio 2016 (13.5%): Professional and competent wine, even if it’s not exactly pinot grigio. Think Costco’s Kirkland pinot grigio (pears and tonic water), but with appropriate amounts of sugar to cover up any bitterness and to round out the rough spots.

• California Roots Moscato 2016 (10%): Not quite as sweet as white zinfandel, but that’s the approach. There’s a hint of the characteristic orange aroma of the muscat family, but everything else is sugar. And then a little more sugar just to be on the safe side.

Wine of the week: Little James Basket Press White 2016

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Little James Basket Press whiteThe Little James Basket Press white once again offers quality, value and terroir for $10

The Wine Curmudgeon has never been able to figure out why the Little James Basket Press white keeps improving in quality while its companion red keeps getting less interesting. One would think both would improve – or not.

The Little James Basket Press white ($10, purchased, 13%) is a sauvignon blanc and viognier blend from southern France. It’s made by Sainte Cosme, a top-notch Rhone winemaker that makes high-end wines that get critical raves (and which makes the red’s drop in quality even more disappointing). That the producer spends the time and effort to make $10 wine is as welcome as it is surprising.

This vintage of the white is fresher and more tart (lemon?) than the 2015, which means more sauvignon blanc character. The viognier lends a floral aroma; if it doesn’t soften the wine, it does balance it. What doesn’t it taste like? The pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc that it’s compared to on the importer’s website. It’s French, and doesn’t resemble Italian or New Zealand wine. Which it’s not supposed to anyway.

Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2019 $10 Hall of Fame.

Imported by The Winebow Group

Wine of the week: Bilbainas Zaco 2015

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Bilbainas ZacoThe Bilbainas Zaco, a $10 Spanish red, proves the first rule of wine criticism: Drink before you judge

The first rule of wine criticism – never, ever judge a wine before you drink it. The Bilbainas Zaco is a case in point.

The Bilbainas Zaco ($10, purchased, 14.5%) is not the sort of Spanish red from the Rioja region that I would normally buy; in fact, I bought it by accident, thinking it was something else. So when it was time to taste and I read the back label and saw the alcohol, I was prepared to write the wine off before the first sip. “Full bodied,” which is winespeak for too ripe fruit, is not what I want from Rioja.

Which is why there is the first rule of wine criticism. The Bilbainas Zaco is surprisingly enjoyable, even if it doesn’t exactly taste like tempranillo from Rijoa. There isn’t anything subtle or sophisticated here – just cherry fruit and a style that comes from young, not much aging before it’s released, Rioja. It’s a little rough from all the alcohol and the very unrefined tannins, but not in an unpleasant way. In other words, exactly the kind of wine that got 90 points from Parker and the Wine Spectator and that I would dismiss out of hand.

So taste it, and see what you think. Know, though, it’s a food wine: Beef, barbecue, and the like. Imported by Aveniu Brands

Wine of the week: Domaine de Pouy 2016

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Forget the snide comments, and enjoy the Domaine de Pouy for the easy drinking value it delivers

Gascon wine, from the southwest of France, gets so little respect in the U.S. that a well known sommelier once asked me why I wasted my time with it. His loss, I suppose; witness the Domaine de Pouy.

One reason for this ambivalence is the ugni blanc grape, central to much Gascon wine. The Italians, who call the grape trebbiano, have not always done it well. Hence, wines like the Domaine de Pouy ($10, purchased, 10.5%) are lumped into a category that they don’t deserve. It also doesn’t help that many Gascon wines use colombard, best known in this country for its role in poorly made, huge boxes of sweet wine.

But neither is a problem with Gascon wine, and I have tasted dozens. This vintage of the Domaine de Pouy is less citrusy (though still noticeably lemony), which I prefer. That means it’s less like sauvignon blanc and more like traditional Gascon wine, with that refreshing white grapiness and almost appley flavor.

Plus, at 10.5% alcohol, it gives new meaning to the phrase “easy to drink.” Chill this, drink it on its own or with any kind of salad or grilled vegetables, and enjoy.

Imported by Domaine Select