Category:Wine reviews

Mini-reviews 170: Four more imported wines of varying quality

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

woman buying wine and shamppo
“I hope the WC gave this wine a good review.”

Reviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the fourth Friday of each month. This month, four more imported wines of varying quality.

• Frisk Prickly Riesling 2021 ($10, purchased, 10%): I really wanted to like this wine, since it’s $10 and Australian riesling. But it’s mostly just simple —  sort of sweet and sort of fizzy and not much else, missing the oiliness of better quality rieslings of this style. Imported by Old Bridge Cellars

• Viña Eguía Rioja 2020 ($15, sample, 14%): Spanish red that tastes like old-fashioned red Bordeaux — tannic and rough. Which really isn’t the point of wine from Rioja, is it? Imported by Quintessential

• Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc 2021 ($17, purchased, 13,5%): Yes, the WC paid $17 for New Zealand sauvignon blanc. Sigh. One-note (grapefruit and more grapefruit) that comes in a too heavy bottle and costs one-third more than similar wines. Imported by Foley Family Wines

• Santa Julia Rose del Mercado 2022 ($15/1-liter, purchased, 13%): This seems to be the Whole Foods private label for the always terrific Santa Julia rose malbec from Argentina. So it’s a little pricier but still well done — not quite tart berries, some minerality, and a pleasant finish that reminds me of a fruit dessert. Imported by Winesllers, Ltd.

Photo: “Shampoo and Wine” by Conor Lawless is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

 

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: Broadbent Douro Red 2020

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Broadbemt Four Red bottle
Broadbent Douro Red 2020/$10-$16

This Portuguese red blend reminds us heavier wines can still be pleasant

“Smoooth” wine is not the only trend dominating the wine business; there’s also “biggg wine,” aimed at men of a certain age where the point is to make the wine rough and tannic so that one can go around fist-umping after drinking a couple of glasses.

This is not that kind of wine.

Instead, the Broadbent Douro Red 2020 ($13, sample, 13%) is a wine made in a heavier style because that’s what the grapes do when they’re turned into wine. There isn’t any winemaking going on to appeal to specific demographics; in this, it’s what I call an honest wine, in which the winemaker takes what’s there and makes something enjoyable out of it.

In other words, a professional, competent Portuguese red blend (four grapes, including the Portuguese version of tempranillo). That means it’s a little heavier in the mouth than a Spanish tempranillo. But there is also dark red fruit (black raspberries?), softish tannins, and bright acidity. The tasting notes say a bit of spice, and that may well be true.

It needs food, but that’s not a problem this time of year – almost anything on the grill will work, and especially for a Father’s Day barbecue.

Imported by Broadbent Selections

Expensive wine 169: Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon bottle
Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon 2019/$63-$75

Napa red offers elegance and style for Father’s Day

We’ve waxed poetic about Smith-Madrone wines on the blog before – its riesling is one of the world’s best. But this red is the wine – because of the way the wine world works – that made the winery famous.

Taste it, and you’ll know why.

The Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 ($65, sample, 14.3%) demonstrates what happens when quality grapes meet top-notch winemaking and there is a vision for what the wine should be. That is, not just another 93-point wine, but a bottle that reflects who is making the wine and where the grapes are grown. In other words, wine the way it should be.

This is a stylish and layered red – 83 percent cabernet sauvignon, 12 percent cabernet franc, and five percent merlot – in which the cabernet franc adds a a surprising amount of structure. I didn’t know the blend when I tasted it, but – if I may boast – I figured there had to be something else there to lend that sort of backbone.

Look for all oft the characteristics that define a cabernet from Napa’s Spring Mountain District: tannins that don’t stick out and hurt the back of the mouth, what the tasting notes call zingy acidity, and lots and lots of dark fruit – some berries and some not – plus a touch of black pepper. Know that the wine needs food to stand up to all that it offers.

This is still a young wine, and though it’s more than drinkable now – yes, for Father’s Day – it should age for nicely for four or five more years.

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