Tag Archives: Marques de Caceres

Wine of the week: Marqués de Cáceres Verdejo 2022

Marqués de Cáceres Verdejo bottle
Marques de Caceres Verdejo 2022/$7-$15

Spanish white is cheap, available, and enjoyable — what more do we need?

The Marques de Caceres verdejo is a long-time blog favorite; three times a wine of the week before this, and always consistent, well-made and a value. Yes, it’s a supermarket wine, but that describes its availability and is not meant as a slight to its quality.

The 2022 ($10, purchased, $13.5%) isn’t quite as impressive as previous vintages, but that there are vintage differences in a $10 wine sold at supermarkets says a lot about the wine, the producer, and the importer (another WC favorite, Vineyard Brands). It means everyone involved understands cheap wine is about more than just being cheap.

This vintage is clean, simple, and enjoyable. There isn’t much going on but tart lemon fruit from the veredejo grape, but there really doesn’t need to be. This is wine for dinner in the middle of the week, whether with takeout chicken or if you want to use up the can of tuna in the pantry with some leftover couscous. Or, even, if you just want a glass during all of the holiday bustle.

No muss, no fuss — because that’s what we really want from wine, don’t we?

Imported by Vineyard Brands

Wine of the week: Marques de Caceres Rosado 2021

Marques de Caceres Rosado 2021
Marques de Caceres Rosado 2021/$8-$14

Yes, it’s a a past vintage, but quality doesn’t always depend on that sort of thing anymore

The Wine Curmudgeon has a couple of bottles of this wine sitting in the wine closet as I write this. Yes, it’s a past vintage – or what should be a past vintage in more normal times – but one of the many benefits of the last decade’s rose boom is that many past vintages are worth drinking.

And the Marques de Caceres Rosado 2021 ($10, purchased, 13.5%) is just one of those sorts of wines.

Frankly, I was surprised that it has held up so well. For one thing, it’s a supermarket brand, and since it doesn’t cost as much as the $20 roses we’re supposed to drink, it can’t possibly be worth drinking. But the producer knows a thing or two about making quality supermarket wines, and I’ve always respected the importer. The other bonus? Lots of availability.

So what to know about this Spanish pink from the Rioja region? First, it’s made with tempranillo, so the fruit flavors are darker – more cranberry and black raspberry than strawberry. But it’s still clean and crisp and refreshing, despite the vintage. And no, it’s not sweet.

In other words, don’t be worried about serving this for Mom over the weekend, whether for brunch or an afternoon barbecue. And, with a little luck, we can keep drinking this vintage until the 2022 shows up.

Imported by Vineyard Brands

Wine of the week: Marques de Caceres Verdejo 2021

Marqués de Cáceres Verdejo bottle
Marques de Caceres Verdejo 2021/$8-$12

Spanish white demonstrates one more time that scores are useless

The Wine Curmudgeon has no idea why the Marques de Caceres Verdejo, one of the world’s great cheap white wines, scores so poorly on CellarTracker, the blog’s unofficial wine inventory app.

Oh, that’s right. I do know. Scores are useless.

And also know that the Marques de Caceres Verdejo 2021 ($10, purchased, 13%), which always offers value and quality, does even more this vintage. It’s almost nuanced and subtle, an amazing accomplishment for a $10 wine and even more amazing given that so many producers no longer care about that, opting for smoooth.

The Caceres, which comes from the Rueda region, is made with the verdejo grape, which gets about as much respect as most grapes used to make cheap wine (and which no doubt accounts for the poor scores — ITS NOT CHARDONNAY). Nevertheless, the 2021 is more round and full, and it’s much less tart and much less of a one-note wine. There’s an almost tropical middle to go with verdejo’s typical lemon fruit and lingering freshness.

Drink this on its own, or with grilled or roasted chicken, as well as something as different as braised chickpeas with lemons and herbs. Highly recommended, and does all that a $10 wine should do – and much, much more. Sure to be on the shortlist for the 2024 Turner award.

Imported by Vineyard Brands

Wine to drink when you’re waiting for an ice storm

ice storm
If Dallas still had street cars, this is probably what today would look like.

Because that’s what we do in Dallas every February

Feb. 4 update: So far, so good. We got through Thursday with a surprisingly few number of power outages reported in the Dallas area. If we can make it through today, the forecast is favorable for the weekend and early next week.

The Wine Curmudgeon is writing this on Monday, since I don’t expect to have electricity on Thursday and Friday. That’s because we’re expecting our annual February ice storm.

If nothing else, the company that distributes power told us not to worry. And we know what comes after that, don’t we, Gov. Abbott?

So the WC has filled the car up with gas, charged all the battery packs, phones, and laptops, baked bread, and laid in the requite supplies. That means lots of batteries; an extra hoodie for Churro, the blog’s associate editor; a couple of battery-powered lanterns; and, of course, cheap wine. Hopefully, I won’t regret not buying a generator.

Interestingly, I’m not the only one who has pondered cheap wine during an ice storm and blackout. Lauren Daniels, the food editor at the Dallas Observer (for whom I write an occasional wine piece) emailed me yesterday asking for a suggestion to run on the weekly’s website.

So here are three wines I stocked up on that I didn’t tell Lauren about:

• Umani Ronchi Podere 2020 ($11, purchased, 13%): This Italian red, from the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo region, is a long-time WC favorite. This vintage is a touch more tart than usual, but still has what it should – cherry fruit, some earth, and spice on the finish. Needs food, but that’s not a problem during a power failure. Imported by Vineyard Brands

• Domaine de Pajot Les Quatre Cépages 2020 ($12, purchased, 11.5%): What would a crisis at WC World Headquarters be without a Gascon white wine to fall back on? This one uses all four gapes – sauvignon blanc, ugni blanc, colombard, and gros manseng – in the blend. There’s lots of citrus fruit, though not as much white grapiness as I like, and it’s fresh through and through. So simple but not stupid. Imported by Polaner Selections

• Marqués de Cáceres Rosado 2020 ($9, purchased, 13.5%): This supermarket Spanish rose is almost always a fine value. It’s a little softer and more fruity than I would have thought, with what almost seems like a dollop of strawberry in the middle. But that’s hardly a problem – crisp, fresh and ready to drink. And yes, rose in in the middle of an ice storm – I won’t have to chill it ahead of time, will I? Imported by Vineyard Brands

Photo: “Abandoned streetcars after ice storm in December, 1942.” by Ross Dunn

More wine for bad weather:
• Wine to drink during rolling power blackouts
• Wine to drink when the power goes out, 2014 edition
• Jerry Jones, wine, and bad weather

 

 

 

Mini-reviews 146: AIX, Marques de Caceres, Ponga, Clean Slate

summer wine
“What does the WC suggest for summer wine drinking?”

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 summer wines.

• AIX Rose 2020 ($20, purchased, 12.5%): Hugely popular Provencal pink made for the U.S. wine drinker who wants all wine to taste like it came from California. So this is softer and fruitier (watermelon and strawberry), with less minerality. Nothing wrong with it if that’s what you think Provencal should taste like — and if you think that’s what rose should cost. Imported by Kobrand

• Marques de Cáceres Verdejo 2020 ($10, purchased, 13.5%): This Spanish white is much more supermarket in style than the 2018, which was terrific. It’s just tart (lemon?) and not much else. Not badly made — just not as nicely done as the 2018. Imported by Vineyard Brands

• Ponga Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ($14, sample, 12.5%): Well-made supermarket sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. Yes, lots of grapefruit, but hints of one or two other things stashed in the middle that make it more than it should be. Sadly, this wine would cost $9.99 in a perfect world. Imported by Winebow

• Clean Slate Riesling 2019 ($10, sample, 10,5%): Disappointing German riesling made in the “focus group” style. That means appreciably and annoyingly sweet and devoid of almost all riesling character save for some sort of peach something or other. This is the kind of $10 wine the industry gives us because they assume we don’t know any better. Imported by Mondovino

Photo:“Glass of White Wine” by Smabs Sputzer (1956-2017) is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Mini-reviews 79: Black Friday wine

Black Friday wineReviews of wines that don ?t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the final Friday of each month. This month, four wine reviews for the price of one — how much more Black Friday wine can you get?

? Marqu s de C ceres Rioja Reserva 2009 ($18, sample, 13.5%): Spanish red from the Rioja region is terrific value, especially since it’s probably much cheaper in most supermarkets. True reserva tempranillo, with integrated oak and tart cherry fruit, and not just a fruitier version of the entry-level crianza.

? Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva 2009 ($14, sample, 13.5%): This Spanish red, like the Caceres from one of the country’s biggest producers, is also much better more enjoyable than its crianza, though not as well-rounded as the Caceres reserva.

? Gianni Masciarelli Villa Gemma 2013 ($17, sample, 13.5%): This Italian white, made with two little known Italian grapes and a splash of chardonnay, is heavier and richer than I expected, with white pepper and only a little white fruit. Having said this, it’s an intriguing wine that needs food (chicken in a wine sauce?) and should improve with age.

? Georges Dub uf Beaujolais-Villages 2013 ($9, purchased, 13.5%): Surprisingly acceptable French red, given how disappointing so much Beaujolais is these days. A little rustic, even though it’s an older vintage, but varietally correct, grapy and fresh.