Tag Archives: French wine

Wine of the week: Domaine Guillaume Cabrol Picpoul de Pinet 2021

Domaine Guillaume Cabrol Picpoul de Pinet bottle
Domaine Guillaume Cabrol Picpoul de Pinet 2021/$10-$16

Once again, a French picpoul demonstrates its value and quality

The Wine Curmudgeon was talking to a friend the other day, and we were bemoaning the state of U.S. cheap wine. “Why can’t I find quality U.S, wine the way I can find quality European wine for less than than $15?” my friend asked. “You’d think, after shipping costs and the importer’s cut, European wines would cost more.”

Which makes perfect sense, but we are talking about the wine business, aren’t we?

Case in point: the Domaine Guillaume Cabrol Picpoul de Pinet 2021 ($13, purchased, 13%), which can be found for as little as $10. What possible economic reason can there be that this wine costs less than so many California wines of similar – or even less — quality?

Because the Cabrol is a terrific wine for the price: A sold, well-made, and varietally correct picpoul, something we’ve seen lots of on the blog in the past couple of years. Picpoul is a white grape from the Languedoc in southern France; its name literally translates to lip-smacking because the wine can be so tart.

This wine is a little more sophisticated than most; yes, it’s tart and lemony, but it’s not quite as rough around the edges and there’s even a bit of minerality. Chill it, serve it with a couscous salad and some grilled chicken breast.

Imported by David Bowler Wine

Expensive wine 164: Albert Bichot Fleurie La Madone 2019

Abert Bichot Fleurie La Madone 2019 bottle
Abert Bichot Fleurie La Madone 2019/$25-$40

Beaujolais offers nuance and subtlety in an age of fruity and alcohol-ixh red wines

There has been a lot of Beaujolais on the blog in the past couple of years, but not just those costing $15 and less. They have been cheap wine staples since the WC’s on-line adventure started.

Rather, there has been more high-end Beaujolais – what the wine geeks call cru Beaujolais. So what’s with their more or less sudden appearance? Because these are among the last French red wines that can still offer value at $25 and more.

Like the Bichot Fleurie La Madone 2019 ($26. purchased, 13.5%). Bichot is a quality Burgundy house, so when I saw this on a store shelf before the holidays, I snapped it up. (And yes, Beaujolais is kind of, sort of, a part of Burgundy). The wine did not disappoint.

This is a delightful, layered, and top-notch red made with gamay from Fleurie in Beaujolais. Fleurie wines tend to be lighter and more delicate, and the La Madone is exactly that. I was even a little surprised at how well made it was; not so much because it didn’t taste like ripe banana $10 Beaujolais, but because it wasn’t simple. Dare I use the descriptor “perfumed,” which typically ends up in snotty-sounding tasting notes?

There is balance, certainly (amazing tannins) and structure to go with the perfectly nuanced red berry fruit. Highly recommended. Pair this with almost any red wine dish that doesn’t seem to lend itself to a pairing. I drank it with roasted pork shoulder, and it was spot on.

Imported by Albert Bichot USA

Thanksgiving wine 2022

turkey holding a wine glassFour Thanksgiving wine 2022 suggestions

How about another Shakespeare quote this year? Or, more exactly, not quite a Shakespeare quote? “Gnarly, dude.” Because, after the past couple of years, it’s time for a good laugh.

So enjoy the holiday, and especially these Thanksgiving wine 2022 suggestions. The blog’s guidelines for holiday wine buying are here.

• McManis Pinot Noir 2020 ($12, sample, 13,5%): Lots of nits to pick with this California red — too much oak, it doesn’t need all that vanilla, and the acidity seems a bit out of whack. Having said that that, this is about as close to legitimate pinot noir from California at this price as you’re going to find. It’s fruity (berries and cherry), but not overblown, and the tannins are soft. It is wine, and not smoooth.

• Anne Amie Pinot Gris 2021 ($20, purchased, 13.9%): Would that all wine at this price was this well made and this true to its variety and terroir. This Oregon white has lots of lime, but is also balanced — a bit of mineral and some zippy acidity. Highly recommended from one of the WC’s favorite producers.

• Veuve du Vernay Brut NV ($9, purchased, 11%): There are, apparently, warehouses and warehouses jammed with inexpensive French sparkling wine, made with methode Champenoise for $10 or so and that are well worth drinking. This is one of them, soft but more than just fizzy, with some lemon and apple fruit and a longish finish. Imported by Patriarche USA

• Les Maitres Vignerons de la Vidaubanaise Le Provencal Rose 2021 ($15, purchased, 13%): Well-made and spot on Provencal rose, so there is garrigue, barely ripe berry fruit, and oh so stony. If you can find it for $13, buy a couple of bottles. Imported by Michael Corso Selections

More about Thanksgiving wine:
• Thanksgiving wine 2021
• Thanksgiving wine 2020
• Thanksgiving wine 2019
• Wine of the week: Cantina Cellaro Luma 2019
• Wine review: Patricia Green Dollar Bills Only Pinot Noir 2020

Wine of the week: Les Deux Moulins 2020

Les Deux Moulins wine label
Les Deux Moulins 2020/$10-$18

Yes, sauvignon blanc from France’s Loire can cost less than $15

One of the great joys  of wine is tasting sauvignon blanc from the Loire in France for the first time. Even these days, when most sauvignon blanc takes after New Zealand, there’s still something deliciously different in a Loire wine.

The catch, of course, is price (and yes, I’m as tired of writing that as you are of reading it). These are everyday wines in France, where paying less than $7 a bottle is common. But the same wines can cost $15 or more in the states.

Which brings us to the Les Deux Moulins 2020 ($17, purchased, 12%). Why is a $17 wine the wine of the week? Because it costs as little as $10 in some parts of the country, and I’m not going to pass up the chance to review a top-notch Loire because a Dallas retailer wanted extra margin.

The Les Deux Moulins is a well-made Loire sauvignon blanc with a little more citrus fruit and a little less flintiness than I expected. Having said that, it’s professional and quite drinkable, and doesn’t taste of grapefruit. There is some lemon zest and an enjoyable, almost pithy quality, on the end. It’s not big and powerful, but it’s not supposed to be.

This is seafood wine – simple grilled fish (even fried catfish) as well as chicken breasts marinated with lemon juice, olive oil, herbs, and garlic.

Imported by Paris Wine Company

Wine to drink while you’re waiting for fall to arrive

John Fogerty wearing a flannel shirt
If flannel is good enough for Fogerty, then it’s good enough for the WC

Because it’s time for flannel shirts already, dammit

October has not been very October like, even for Texas. We’ve set a bunch of record highs, and it was in the 90s several days last week. But the blog’s unofficial weather forecaster has promised (or, what passes for that, given it’s weather we’re talking about) that this week will be rainy and coolish. Which is enough for the WC.

So three wines to drink while I’m waiting for that forecast to come true.

• Domaine Les Deux Moulins 2020 ($17, purchased, 12%): Well-made French sauvignon blanc from the Loire with a little more citrus fruit and a little less flintiness than I expected. Having said that, it’s professional and quite drinkable. Look for some lemon zest and an enjoyable, almost pithy quality at the end. May cost two or three dollars less elsewhere in the country. Imported by Paris Wine Company

• De La Beche Morgon Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 2020 ($17, purchased, 13%) Sophisticated, top-notch Beaujolais, with more heft and less soft fruit (still berryish) than the wines from that French region that I’m used to. Needs food — and when do we say that about Beaujolais? Highly recommended. Imported by Vintage 59

• Boutinot Cuvee Jean Paul 2021 ($10, purchased, 12%): A sort of goofy blend for rose (grenache 60%, cinsault 30%, syrah 10%) that made love it all the more. Delightful, fresh, sort of fruity (cherry?, berry?) French pink. It’s not especially crisp, but it’s not supposed to be. Imported by Boutinot USA

More wine to drink. …
• … while you’re waiting for the avocado pits to sprout
• … when you’re waiting for an ice storm
• … when everyone (and it does seem like everyone) wants to buy your house

Expensive wine 161: Garnier et Fils Petit Chablis 2020

Garnier et Fils Petit Chablis label
Garnier et Fils Petit Chablis 2020/$23-30

Believe it or not, less than $30 buys top-notch white Burgundy

One of the biggest ironies in the almost 15 years that I’ve written the blog is that it has almost become more difficult to find expensive wine to review than cheap wine. One would think the problem should be just the opposite.

But this is the wine business, so common sense doesn’t often apply.

Why the contradiction? Shouldn’t it be easier to find a quality $40 wine than a quality $10 wine? Not these days, when $40 doesn’t buy the quality it used to (thanks, premiumization). In addition, since I buy most of the wine I review – and I’m not part of the 1 percent – quality expensive wine is increasingly out of my reach. One Dallas wine shop advertised value red Bordeaux the other day – for $45. Gulp.

Which is a roundabout way of introducing the Garnier et Fils Petit Chablis 2020 ($28, sample, 12%), chardonnay from Chablis in the Burgundy region of France. It’s everything a wine at this price should be, and then some — one of those wines that reminds me why I started doing this and why it can still be enjoyable.

The Garnier is a delightful, thoughtfully crafted and fairly priced white Burgundy in an age where there don’t seem to be any. Look for almost tart lemon fruit, as well as some apple and pear, and that wonderfully almost flinty finish that marks a Chablis.

Highly recommended — chardonnay for those of us who want to taste the wine and not the oak, and to appreciate paying more for a wine that is worth paying more for.

Imported by Martine’s Wines

 

Wine of the week: Mont Gravet Carignan 2020

mont gravet carignan
Mont Gravet Carignan 2020/$10-$12

Consider this an ode to one of the great cheap red wines of all time

This wine has been reviewed on the blog five times, with nary a cross word. Sometimes, it’s not as amazing as at other times, but it’s always worth drinking, always a fine value, and has always cost around $10.

So it’s no wonder the Mont Gravet Carignan ($12, purchased, 12.5%) is a wine of the week yet again. The 2020 vintage of this French red is as it always is — simple but not stupid, professional, and a stunning value in an age when a fancy label and a slick marketing campaign add $10 to the cost of a very ordinary bottle.

Carignan is usually a blending grape, but can make terrific varietal wines with the proper care. Which would be here — berries and cherries, maybe some spice, soft tannins, not too much acidity, and a front, middle, and a back. Think about that for a moment. How many $20 wines have you tasted that are overwhelmed by too much fruit or sugar or whatever?

And, let’s get this out of the way: Is it sweet? It is tart? Is it jammy? No!!!! (and yes, I meant to use all of those exclamation points.)

Highly recommended, and certain to return to the Hall of Fame next year. Chill this a touch if you want (ice cubes, even), and drink it with any late summer barbecue or fall casserole if and when the weather gets cooler.

Imported by Winesellers Ltd.