This French white Bordeaux is cheap wine of the finest caliber
The best thing to know about this white Bordeaux blend, which is as well-made a cheap wine of this style that I’ve tasted in years? It’s widely available.
Yep – 25 retailers listed in the free version of Wine-Searcher (and 150 listed in the paid). In other words, it’s buy a case time.
So how about the rest of the good stuff for the Château Fage Blanc 2021 ($12, purchased, 12.5%)? Because it does things at this price that don’t happen much any more.
• It’s a blend of 40 percent sauvignon blanc and 60 percent semillon; typically, these wines have mostly sauvignon blanc with a bit of semillon.
• Even so, it’s fresh and crisp, But it’s not a one-note, New Zealand style sauvignon blanc, which is – again – typical of these wines at this price.
• The semillion adds body and lift, balancing the crispness of the sauvignon blanc. That means some citrus, but also an almost floral, tropical middle from the semillion.
Highly recommended, and a candidate for Hall of Fame and the 2024 Turner award as cheap wine of the year.
“We can vouch for the WC’s excellent taste in rose.”
The blog’s 16th annual Memorial Day and rose celebration, in which we celebrate cheap, quality pink wine
The good news as we celebrate the blog’s 16th annual Memorial Day and rose extravaganza is that there is lots and lots of quality, inexpensive dry rose on store shelves. The bad news? Prices are higher, though not much more than last year. Plus, they’re all over the place, with some retailers charging twice as much as others for the same wine.
And perhaps the most interesting news? There may be a rose glut, with lots of older vintages — some as old as 2016 and 2017 — lurking in wait for unsuspecting wine drinkers. We’ve written about a potential wine glut before, and this is just another indication that lots of old wine is taking up space in warehouses. Know that most roses that are more than a couple of years old aren’t worth drinking, so buy that 2018 for $5 at your own risk. Hence, the the blog’s rose primer.
The roses here are each highly recommended, and tomorrow’s post will feature six more roses worth writing about. Many are 2021s; the 2022s have been slow to arrive. In fact, I still haven’t tasted blog favorites, Zestos, Charles & Charles, Scaia and La Vieille Ferme.
This year’s roses:
• Tenuta Fanti Rosato 2021 ($11, purchased, 13.5%): This Italian pink, made with sangiovese, was stunning — savory, yet almost fruit punch-like, in the Italian style that almost no one else does. Limited availability. Imported by Massanois
• Mont Gravet Rose 2022 ($10, sample, 12.5%): I tasted this French blog favorite before it was released to retail and it needed more time in the bottle. Having said that, it should evolve into what it always is — clean, bright Provencal-style rose (barely ripe berry fruit, minerality). There also a 3-liter box, non-vintage ($22, 12%), and it needs time, too. Imported by Winesellers Ltd.
• Funckenhausen Dry Rose 2022 ($16/1-liter, sample, 13%): Another stellar effort from a small Argentine producers — cherry fruit, but not sweet, clean, crisp, and all a rose should be. And a liter! Imported by Global Vineyard Importers
• Chateau Fage Rose 2021 ($10, purchased, 13%): Unpretentious and professional French rose, made with cabernet franc, that is a bit heavier and fuller than a Provencal wine. The cab franc fruit (dark berries) shows through. Imported by Monsieur Touton Selection
• La Chapelle du Seuil Rose 2021 ($10, purchased, 13%): Provencal rose for $10. A little more ripe, so the strawberry fruit is more noticeable, but also clean, some minerality, and a hint of garrigue. Imported by Skurnik Wines
• Domaine du Tariquet Rose 2021 ($12, sample, 11%): This French effort may be difficult to find, and prices are all over the place. But it’s savory and fruity, with a wonderful, almost dark finish (and the blend includes tannat). How do they do it? Imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons
