Tag Archives: Spanish wine

Wine of the week: Zestos Blanco 2021

Zestos Blanco bottle
Zestos Blanco 2021/$11-$14

This Spanish white is one of the world’s great cheap wines

The pandemic was not kind to Spanish wine, which especially suffered from shortages and supply chain disruptions. That followed the Trump wine tariff, which had previously clobbered the country’s wine business.

So it has been four years since I have been able to taste a new vintage of the Zestos Blanco, which is usually one of the best cheap white wines in the world. I am happy to report that the 2021 vintage ($12, purchased, 12.5%) continues this trend. Call it the return of an old friend I haven’t talked to in entirely too long.

All of the Zestos wines are worth drinking, and each offers something unique. The Blanco is made with malvar, a white grape little known outside of Spain. It’s not like chardonnay or sauvignon blanc, or even the lesser known French white grapes that I like. Rather, it’s less tart and more tropical than these grapes, with a sort of lime and stone fruit flavor combination, yet dry and clean and fresh on the finish.

And, for the wine geeks out there, the vines are some 70 years old and grow at 2,100 feet – attributes usually reserved for all those $125, 94-point red wines.

Highly recommended, and certain to make the short list for the 2024 Turner award for cheap wine of the year.

Imported by Ole & Obrigado

 

Mini-reviews 169: Even more rose reviews 2023

woman drinking rose
“Ah, the WC’s annual rose extravaganza.”

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, five rose reviews as part of the blog’s 16th annual rose fest.

• The 16th annual Memorial Day and rose 2023 post

• Bodegas Ostatu Rosado 2021 ($16, purchased, 13%): Well-made and very Spanish rose — so almost orange fruit, barely ripe cherry and crisp and fresh. But not that much better, given the price, than the $8 La Vieille Ferme. Imported by De Maison Selections

• La Roche Palais Rose 2021 ($10, purchased, 12%): French grenanche-cinsault blend (60/40) made in the Provencal style, so barely ripe strawberry and lots of minerality. Highly recommended. Imported by Monsieur Touton Selection

• Curator Rose 2021 ($5/250-ml can, sample, 12.5%): This South African wine in a can is a bit pricey, but well done (berry fruit, very dry). I’m told it’s available, but it doesn’t show up much when I search for it. Imported by Broadbent Selections

• Purato Terre Rose 2021 ($10, purchased, 13%): Nero d’avola rose from Sicily that is fruitier than I thought it would be (ripe strawberries, but not tart), but that isn’t sweet and has a longish mineral finish. Interesting and fun. Imported by Vias Imports

• Cellier Des Dauphins Rose 2021 ($11, purchased, 12.5%): Cellier Des Dauphins makes three or four French roses with similar names around this price — all are worth drinking (red berry fruit, refreshing). So why I am being so vague about which wine to buy? Because, in the finest tradition of the wine business, I think they’re the same wine, but with different names for different retailers. So if it says Cellier Des Dauphins, you’ll be OK. Imported by Monsieur Touton Selection

Photo: Jacalyn Beales via Unsplash

Mother’s Day wine 2023

Mother and child
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom

Four suggestions — white, sparkling, rose, and red — for Mother’s Day 2023

The blog’s 17th annual Mother’s Day wine post makes me smile — and how often does that happen? The point is that wine is about the people around us, and not boasting about scores or collecting trophies. The blog’s wine gift guide is here.

These Mother’s Day wine suggestions should get you started:

• Pedroncelli Dry Rosé of Zinfandel 2022 ($17, sample, 13.9%): Not the $10 rose it once was, but this California pink remains one of my favorites. This vintage is classic — fruity (zinfandel’s dark berries, believe it or not), oh so fresh and crisp. Not Provencal, but not supposed to be.

• Bodegas Eidosela Neboa 2020 ($18, purchased, 13%):  Let it sit for 30 minutes, and this Spanish white becomes exquisite albarino — savory, salty, a bit of lime fruit, and even some minerality. Imported by Valkyrie Selections

• Steenberg Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc NV ($20, sample, 12.5%): This South African sparkling is not for all tastes, and the price may put some people off. Having said that, it’s quality South African sauvignon blanc that has lots and lots of tiny bubbles. So almost grapefruity, but firmly a Champagne-style wine. Imported by Beck Family Estates

• Forty Ounces Red 2016 ($14/1-liter, purchased, 12%): No, there may not be a lot of this around, and yes, it’s an older vintage. But, somehow, this French red blend is worth drinking — berry fruit, soft tannins, and surprisingly balanced. Imported by Verity Wine Partners

Photo: “CL Society 408: Mother and child” by francisco_osorio is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

More about Mother’s Day wine:
• Mother’s Day wine 2022
• Mother’s Day wine 2021
• Mother’s Day wine 2020
• Expensive wine 165: Roederer Estate Brut NV
• Wine of the week: Broadbent Gruner Veltliner 2021

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 of the week: Castillo del Baron Yecla 2020

Castillo del Baron monastrell
Castillo del Barón Yecla 2020/$9-$12

Once again, this Spanish red shows how cheap wine should be done

The Castillo del Baron, from Spain’s Yecla region and made with the monastrell grape, has only been featured three times on the blog. But that has absolutely nothing to do with its quality; this is one of the world’s great cheap wines, and especially for those who prefer their red to have a little more oomph.

Rather, it has everything to do with – all together now – availability.

The current vintage is the 2020, and I have also reviewed the 2019 and the 2017. But the 2018 and the 2016 never made it to Dallas. Go figure.

Which is a shame, because, as I wrote in my notes for the 2020 ($10, purchased, 14.2%), “Another spot-on effort — a little more rustic, as it has been for the past couple of vintages, and a tad hot. But it’s balanced, almost earthy, and the cherry fruit shows just enough. All it needs is a little red meat or sausage for dinner drinking.”

And, frankly, given some of the plonk I’ve had to spit my way through recently (most recently, a $15 Oregon pinot noir that tasted like Welch’s that had gone off), I’ll take this wine every time.

Highly recommended, and – assuming it’s available, of course – a candidate for the 2024 Hall of Fame.

Imported by Europvin

Expensive wine 167: Ameztoi Hondarrabi Zuri 2021

Ameztoi Hondarrabi Zuri bottle
Ameztoi Hondarrabi Zuri 2021/$18-$32

Calling all wine geeks – a sweetish, fizzy Basque white

Regular readers know – for all of my wine practicality – that there are a couple of grapes and regions that make the Wine Curmudgeon geek out.

One of which is Basque wine from northern Spain and a region called Getariako Txakolina, featuring the hondarrabi zuri grape. It’s used to make whites and roses, but it’s not for all tastes. Anyone who likes lots of oak or lots of too ripe fruit or lots of smoooth will probably find these wines lacking. But that’s OK; that’s the way wine works.

The Ameztoi Hondarrabi Zuri 2021 ($22, purchased, 11%) is from one of what seems to be a number of smallish producers, in this case Ameztoi (which I’ve not seen before). Having said that, the wine does everything it’s supposed to do – a bit of spritz, a bit of citrus, a bit of sweetness, and maybe even a bit of savory. Because that’s how these geeky wines work – a bottle of contradictions. My only complaint is the price; if you pay much more than $20, you may be disappointed.

I suppose, if one is looking for a comparison, it would be the Portuguese vinho verde. But wines from Getariako Txakolina are more complex and more interesting, in the way cru Beaujolais is more interesting than the supermarket versions.

This is warm weather wine, perfect as spring starts to unfold. Highly recommended, and especially for anyone who aspires to wine geek-dom.

Imported by De Maison Selections