Tag Archives: Rhone wine

Wine of the week: Les Dauphins Reserve Rose 2020

Les Dauphins Reserve Rose 2020
Les Dauphins Reserve Rose 2020/$10-$14

This French rose delivers $10 worth of value – and then some. Actually, a lot of then some.

One of the many joys of rose is that there are literally hundreds worth drinking, and that it’s almost impossible to find one – even at the blog’s prices – that isn’t enjoyable.

In other words, the Les Dauphins Reserve Rose 2020 ($11, purchased, 12.5%).

I’ve been writing about rose on the blog for 14 years and drinking it for even longer, but did not see this wine until the start of the pandemic. Because, even when the supply chain is working, that’s one of the joys of wine availability. And it’s also worth noting that this wine has a couple of names and labels – some, like the one in the bottle shot, don’t refer to reserve.

The Les Dauphins is a top-notch pink blend from France’s Rhone that does everything a rose should at this price – and then a little more. There are red berries from the grenache, but it’s not too fruity or too jammy as can sometimes happen with grenache. And the little bit of cinsault adds some interest and depth.

Highly recommended, and just the thing for Thanksgiving dinner – even for people who may not like wine all that much. A candidate for the 2022 Hall of Fame, as well as the 2022 Cheap Wine of the Year.

Imported by Plume Ridge

Wine to drink when you’ve had quite enough of spam phone calls

spam phone calls
Did we get spam calls on those old, black dial phones?

Three quality cheap wines to drink so you don’t break the phone, hurt the dog, or destroy a lamp

Spam phone calls, already annoying, have blown up in Dallas in the past month since our deadly winter storm. We were already getting them for auto warranties, home improvement, Google business search, credit offers (“Don’t hang up!”), and people who want to buy your house. The storm added more home improvement calls, as well as those for solar panels (“Never be without electricity again!”)

Ah, how post-modern and entrepreneurial is that, scamming money out of death and misery? Because, of course, being rich is all that matters.

The Wine Curmudgeon understands why we can’t stop stop spam. But I also have to answer the phone when it rings, even if I don’t recognize the number. Editors don’t take kindly to being ignored.

So I’ve decided to solve the problem as only the Wine Curmudgeon can – wine to drink when you’ve had quite enough of spam phone calls. The idea is to keep quality cheap wine on hand so that, if the calls become too overwhelming, you have a way to calm down. It’s much less counter-productive to drink a glass of wine than to throw the phone across the room and break it – as well as a lamp and possibly the dog’s head.

So here are three wines to drink if you’ve had quite enough of spam phone calls:

• Scarpetta Frico Rosato 2019 ($10, purchased, 12%): Italian rose that is so well-made that I don’t even mind the pig on the label. It’s almost savory, with lemon and unripe dark berry fruit, as well as clean and long on the finish. Highly recommended. Imported by USA Wine West

• Cellier des Dauphins Reserve Blanc 2019 ($10, purchased, 14%): This French white from the Rhone is almost geeky – some oiliness from the viognier in the blend, some lime from the grenache blanc, and even a bit of spice. Imported by Plume Ridge

• Chronic Cellars Sir Real Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 ($15, sample, 14.8%): This California red seems to be everything I can’t stand about 21st century wine – high alcohol, too cute name, and even more too cute label. Which is why the first rule of wine criticism is to drink the wine before you judge it. In fact, the Sir Real is not hot, not full of sweet fruit, and even has the proper sort of tannins. It’s firmly in the Paso Robles style, which means rich and full, but also very well done. Highly recommended.

Photo: “Yesterday’s Call” by Vincent_AF is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Wine of the week: Jean-Luc Colombo Les Abeilles Blanc 2016

Colombo Les Abeilles BlancForget about “smooooth:” the Colombo Les Abeilles Blanc is a well-made, terroir-driven French white

Wine Curmudgeon alert: The Colombo Les Abeillles Blanc is not for all tastes – it’s not “smooooth,” it’s made with weird grapes, and it’s most decidedly a product of its terroir. So when you see people saying nasty things about it (some very nasty, in fact), you’ll know why.

And also why the Colombo Les Abeillles Blanc 2016 ($12, purchased, 13%) is the wine of the week. It’s a French white blend from the Rhone made with roussanne, which is sort of known, and clairette, which is barely known at all. As such, it doesn’t taste like chardonnay and it doesn’t taste like the high-score, trophy white Rhone wines that cost $50.

But it does taste like the kind of wine to have for dinner with chicken braised with chickpeas. The wine, despite its age, is still quite fresh. Look for a little petrol aroma, as well as that wonderfully off-center lime-ish roussanne fruit and some peach from the clairette.

The 2017 is the current vintage, which I have not tasted. But if it is as well made as the 2016, all should be well.

Imported by Palm Bay International

Mini-reviews 131: Raeburn, Pigmentum, Montmirail, Excelsior

raeburnReviews 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

• Raeburn Rose 2019 ($13, sample, 13.5%): California pink with some tart raspberry fruit that is well made, but the longer it sits in the glass, the more you notice the lingering residual sugar and that it’s not quite dry rose.

• Vigouroux Pigmentum Malbec 2014 ($10, purchased, 13%): Didn’t notice the vintage when I bought this French red, and that it’s so tasty is amazing given its age. Still has a little dark fruit and some earth, and still eminently drinkable.

• Château de Montmirail “M” 2018 ($10, purchased, 14%): This red Rhone blend has some heft and black fruit, but isn’t overdone or too heavy. Availability may be limited, which is too bad since it’s close to a Hall of Fame wine. Imported by Kindred Vines

• Excelsior Chardonnay 2018 ($10, purchased, 14%): This South African white will not help the country get back into the U.S. market. It’s a Kendall Jackson chardonnay knockoff, complete with residual sugar. Imported by Cape Classics

Silly wine descriptions

Wine and food pairings 5: America’s Test Kitchen pizza

America's Test Kitchen pizzaThe Wine Curmudgeon pairs wine with some of his favorite recipes in this occasional feature. This edition: three wines with a thin crust America’s Test Kitchen pizza

Pizza is as much a part of the Wine Curmudgeon’s being as wine and the Chicago Cubs. How could it be otherwise, growing up, going to college, and starting my career in the Chicago area?

But leave Chicago, and pizza becomes something to miss. In the three decades I’ve lived in Texas, I’ve had a handful of great pizzas (not including Louie’s, since Lou was from the Chicago area as well). Hence, I usually make my own, and the thin crust America’s Test Kitchen pizza works much better than I hoped.

This recipe, adapted from from ATK’s Christoper Kimball days (and no, we don’t want to go there) is about as close as you can get to top-notch professional pizza in a home oven. Yes, it’s thin crust, but that’s because it’s almost impossible to replicate authentic Chicago-style thick crust at home. And believe me, I’ve tried.

Plus, it takes just one rise by using Rapid Rise yeast; there is a minimal amount of kneading; and no special equipment is required other than a full-size sheet pan. In all, from taking the ingredients out of the cupboard to eating it, the process takes less than 90 minutes – or about as long as it takes pizza delivery on a rainy Friday night.

Click here to download or print a PDF of the recipe. These wines will get you started on pairings:

• Azul y Garanza Tempranillo 2017 ($10/1-liter, purchased, 13.5%): This vintage of the Spanish red is a little tighter and not as soft as previous vintages; so I enjoyed it more. But there is still lots of cherry fruit balanced by refreshing Spanish acidity, making it’s one of the great values in the world. Imported by Valkyrie Selections

• Three Thieves Rose 2017 ($8, purchased, 13%): Never doubt Charleis Bieler, rose maker extraordinaire who contributes to this pink when he isn’t making the Bieler Sabine or the Charles & Charles rose. It’s another terrific value, sitting somewhere between Bota Box and the Charles & Charles — not too heavy, a little tart strawberry fruit, and a clean finish.

• Familie Perrin Côtes du Rhône Villages Rouge 2016 ($10, purchased, 12%): This French red Rhone blend is pleasant enough, with dark, Rhone-like fruit (not too ripe berries?), centered around the idea that it’s a value-driven, professionally made wine. Imported by Vineyard Brands

More about wine and food pairings:
• Wine and food pairings 4: Oven-friend chicken and gravy
• Wine and food pairings 3: Bratwurst and sauerkraut
• Wine and food pairings 2: Roast chicken salad with Chinese noodles

 

Wine review: Clos Chanteduc 2013

Clos ChanteducClos Chanteduc, a French red Rhone blend, is the kind of wine that reminds us why we love wine

The Clos Chanteduc is the kind of wine that explains why the Wine Curmudgeon loves wine: It’s not just that its sum is greater than its parts, but that it’s so honest and so direct that when I taste it, I can imagine sitting in the French farmhouse near where the grapes are grown.

Am I being a bit too poetic, especially given how cranky the last 18 months of wine tasting have made me? Nope. That’s the reason for all my waxing – because this wine has nothing to do with the overpriced plonk that I’ve had to plow through to do my job. The Clos Chanteduc ($18, purchased, 13%) is what red wine from France’s Rhone should be:

• Funky, with that appealing rustic aroma, yet also fresh.

• Fruity, with lots of wonderful red grenache fruit, but also earthy – forest floor and mushrooms, from the syrah in the blend.

• Traditional in style, but done with modern winemaking. How else to explain this quality for this old a vintage at this price?

I didn’t know this when I bought the wine, but Clos Chanteduc is owned by cookbook author Patricia Wells and husband Walter. Wells made her name writing about French bistro cooking (I own a couple of her books), and the wine fits that style perfectly. It’s steak frites and roast lamb with potato and tomato gratin and chicken braised in red wine – the sort of food to serve your friends with lots of wine and conversation and hope that dinner never ends.

Highly recommended. There are a couple of later vintages, and I would assume they are just as delightful.

Imported by Eric Solomon Selections

Mini-reviews 113: Cusumano, Pace Rosanebbia, Torremoron, La Bastide

cusumanoReviews 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

• Cusumano Insolia 2016 ($11, purchased, 12.5%): This Sicilian white, made with the native insolia grape, is heavier and more chardonnay like this time, without the freshness and citrus of past vintages. But what do you expect when some PR type describes the wine like this: “… a sensuality that could only be born under the Sicilian sun.” Imported by Terlato

• Azienda Agricola Pace Roero Rosanebbia Vino Rosato 2017 ($20, sample, 14%): This Italian pink wine, made with nebbiolo, is rose for people who only drink red wine – hot, tannic, and bitter.

• Torremoron Ribera del Duero 2016 ($13, sample, 14%): Well-made Spanish tempranillo from the Ribero del Duero that isn’t too heavy or too rich or too un-tempranillo. It’s the ideal wine for someone who wants something with more heft than Rioja, but doesn’t want to break the bank. Imported by Ole Imports

• La Bastide Saint-Dominique Côtes du Rhône 2016 ($18, purchased, 13.5%): A well-made, competent, and enjoyable red blend from France’s Rhone that tastes exactly like it’s supposed to – rich, fruity, a little earth. But it costs $5 more than it’s worth. Imported by Europvin USA