Tag Archives: inexpensive wine

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

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: Protocolo Tinto 2020

protocolo tinto label
Protocolo Tinto 2019/$6-$8

Spend $7, get quality wine for dinner — what a revolutionary concept

An Italian wine that I paid $10 for in September cost $14 when I bought it a couple of weeks ago – same wine, same vintage, same retailer, and likely sitting in the same warehouse since the middle of last year.

So raise its price 40 percent!

Which is a roundabout way to sing – once again – the praises of the Spanish Protocolo wines, which come in red, white, and pink, as well as organic. Consistent, fair price, fair value, and enjoyable – without any mysterious 40 percent price increases.

The Protocolo Tinto 2020 ($7, purchased, 14%) is one more example of how this works. It tastes much like the 2019, though a bit more rustic. That means it’s far from smoooth and certainly not sweet; rather, it tastes like tempranillo from Spain — maybe some dark berry fruit, and enough acidity but not so much in the way of tannins so that it doesn’t taste like a focus group wine.

Yes, simple, but what’s wrong with simple for dinner on Monday night with the leftover pot roast from the weekend? Or one of those Jacques Pepin tortilla pizzas? And, believe it or not, two of the wine magazines like this wine, too, naming it a best value.

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy is the only person who doesn’t know what a great deal the Protocolo is.

Imported by Fine Wines of Spain

Wine of the week: Stemmari Grillo 2021

Stemmari grillo bottle
Stemmari Grillo 2021/$8-$11

Ah, to be drinking Sicily when the cheap wine is on the shelf

Bear with the Wine Curmudgeon, as I wax poetic about the old days.

Ah, Sicily.

Once, Sicily was going to be the world’s next great cheap wine region. And then it wasn’t, for any number of reasons that we’re all too familiar with on the blog. So when I run across one of the wines that never abandoned that quest, I am that much less curmudgeonly.

The Stemmari Grillo 2021 ($8, purchased, 13%) is made with a white grape, grillo, that deserves to be more than an answer in a wine geek quiz. When it’s handled properly, as it is here, it’s neither chardonnay not sauvignon blanc and certainly not pinot grigio. Rather, it is a fresh, every day kind of wine with its own particular character.

In the Stemmari, that means simple but not stupid, with some tell-tale nuttiness (almonds?), some pear fruit, and a clean, almost stony finish. And please ignore the back label hype about “jasmine and white flowers,” which is mostly marketing.

Put a bottle of this in the refrigerator and drink it when you want a glass, or serve it with something like chicken thighs marinated in olilve oil and lemon juice.

Imported by Prestige Wine Imports

Wine of the week: MAN Chenin Blanc 2021

MAN Chenin Blanc bottle
MAN Chenin Blanc 2021/$7-$12

Once more, South Africa’s MAN chenin blanc reminds us that cheap doesn’t always mean crummy

There are some wines that I drink, vintage after vintage, that don’t necessarily win awards, aren’t 90-pointed by the Winestream Media, and are mostly ignored by the wine geeks. They include this wine and this wine, as well as my beloved Tariquet, and I drink them because they offer value and quality. What other reason is there?

The MAN Chenin Blanc 2021 ($10, purchased, 13%)  is one of those wines. This vintage is not as impressive as the 2019, which won the Turner award in 2021, but it’s exactly what great $10 wine should be. That is: Worth much, much more than it costs, does justice to its varietal (or varietals), and doesn’t insult the intelligence of those of us who drink it.

This vintage of the MAN has lemon fruit and a certain stoniess associated with chenin blanc. It’s not sweet or even especially smoooth, but bone dry and speaks to South African chenin blanc. The only thing missing that was in the Turner wine is a little bit of something in the middle. and which turned a good wine into a great wine.

Chill this, drink it on its own or with roast chicken, and be glad that cheap wine can still be this well done.

Imported by Vineyard Brands

Wine of the week: Herdade do Esporão Vinho Monte Velho 2021

Herdade do Esporão Vinho Monte Velho bottle
Herdade do Esporão Vinho Monte Velho 2021/$7-$14

Once again, Portuguese wine shows off its value and quality

My tasting note for this wine is simple: “Very Portuguese — fruity (dark berries) and heavy-ish, but not heavy.”

Which, as brief as it is, says everything anyone who wants quality at a fair price needs to know. The Herdade do Esporão Vinho Monte Velho 2021 ($10, purchased, 13.5%) once again demonstrates that Portugal may offer the best value in the world for red wine (and the whites aren’t bad, either).

More specifically, this vintage of the Monte Velho is a blend of four grapes. This includes touriga nacional, Portugal’s national grape, and a smattering of syrah (that doesn’t get in the way). The combination offers something that isn’t particularly simple or as straightforward as a $15 California red. There’s some spice, and it tastes surprisingly fresh for its weight. Meanwhile, the tannins are there for anyone paying attention.

This is a winter dinner red wine, and especially for the middle of the week when there’s leftover pot roast in the refrigerator or you want to roast some mushrooms with assorted vegetables.

Imported by NOW Imports

Wine of the week: Flaco Tempranillo 2020

flaco wine bottle
Flaco Tempranillo 2020/$4-$12

An enjoyable cheap Spanish red wine – a holiday gift for all of us

One of the first rules in this business – any kind of journalism, in fact – is not to get too friendly with the people you write about. What happens when you have to say something they won’t like?

But that’s really hard to keep in mind with Patrick Mata of importer Ole & Obrigador. Patrick is just not a nice guy, but polite and professional and I’ve quoted him in my wine writing, here and elsewhere, and he has made several podcast appearances.

Fortunately, his wines are usually so well made that there is rarely any need for harsh words. One of my favorites is the Flaco ($11, purchased, 14.5%). It has been featured here three previous times, and this vintage shows again that it offers quality and value.

In fact, the 2020 Flaco is terrific even though the listed alcohol is higher than usual. I suspect that’s a tariff maneuver; the wine doesn’t taste too hot or alcoholic. A friend of mine, who is even more alter to alcohol for the sake of marketing than I am, was shocked when I told her how high it was.

Otherwise, the Flaco is as it always is — simple, enjoyable and varietal. That means some spice, some black cherry fruit, and minimal tannins. It doesn’t taste like a fine, aged Rioja, but – all together now – “it’s not supposed to.”

You can even chill this a little; serve it with winter beef dishes.

Imported by Ole & Obrigado

Wine of the week: Honoro Vera Verdejo 2020

Honoro Vera Verdejo 2020 bottle
Honoro Vera Verdejo 2020/$7-$12

$10 – or even less – delivers a Spanish white that offers quality and value

Those of us who drink a lot of cheap wine will see Honoro Vera on store shelves a lot. Sometimes, when we buy it, it’s a fine wine and great value. Sometimes, not nearly as much.

I’ve never been able to figure out this inconsistency, but I’ve accepted I need to take my chances with the brand. Fortunately, the Honoro Vera Verdejo 2020 ($9, purchased, 13.5%) is firmly in the first group – not just value and quality, but a wonderful example of verdejo, a Spanish white grape.

In fact, the wine does this even though it’s blended with sauvignon blanc, which is usually a sign in Spanish wine that the producer is trying do a little winemaking, either to nudge the wine in a cheaper or more smoooth direction.

But not in this case. The wine is little less tart than some verdejos, and there is a little more tropical fruit in the middle, courtesy of warm climate sauvignon blanc. But it still has that crisp and fresh lemon fruit that verdejo is known for, and sort of pithy finish is interesting.

So simple, but not stupid, and varietally correct. And just the thing for a busy holiday season when it’s time for dinner, even if dinner is only takeout chicken.

Imported by RTM Imports