Tag Archives: ugni blanc

Wine of the week: Domaine Tariquet Classic 2019

domaine tariquet
Domaine Tariquet Classic 2019/$10-$12

Scores be damned – the Tariquet remains one of the world’s great cheap wines

All you need to know about this vintage of one of the great cheap wines in the history of wine is that it averaged 64 points on CellarTracker, the blog’s unofficial wine inventory app.

That kind of score means the 2019 Domaine Tariquet is undrinkable, which also means it’s worse than every Big Wine supermarket sweet red blend; every mass-produced, 7-Up-style fizzy, faux sparkling wine; and every 15.5 percent, baseball bat fermented chardonnay.

And which also means there is more for me. So maybe the 64 points is a good thing after all.

This version of the Tariquet ($12, purchased, 13%), a French white blend from Gascony, is hardly undrinkable. It’s as it always is – a blend of three grapes, only one of which is well known and two of which (ugni blanc and colombard) are usually held in wine snob contempt.

The wine is clean and fresh, and stunningly well made. I left an open bottle in the refrigerator for a week, and it was just as enjoyable seven days later as it was when I unscrewed it. This vintage has more citrus fruit, though there is still plenty of the white grape juiciness that sets the Tariquet apart from even the best of the Gascon white blends.

Highly recommended, as always, and just the wine to set us up for the next two days on the blog – the announcements of 2022’s Cheap Wine of the Year and Hall of Fame.

Imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons

Wine of the week: Domaine de Pellehaut Harmonie de Gascogne 2020

domaine de pellehaut
Domaine de Pellehaut Harmonie de Gascogne /$9-$12

Ah, to be a wine drinker now that the Gascon whites – like the Pellehaut – are here again

The end of the Trump wine tariff brought almost unlimited joy to the Wine Curmudgeon, and especially when it came to my beloved white wines from Gascony. Once again, they cost around $10, remain delicious, and are still all a cheap wine should be.

Or, as we say at Wine Curmudgeon World Headquarters: “Ugni blanc, baby!”

The Pellehaut Harmonie de Gascogne ($12, purchased, 11.5%) isn’t quite as white grapey as the Domaine Tariquet, but white grapey enough. That’s thanks to the ugni blanc in the blend. Ugni blanc, known in Italy as trebbiano, is one of the least respected grapes in wine. Is it any wonder I like it so much?

So light, crisp, and fresh, just the thing for a Texas summer – or frankly, summer anywhere. If I had to pick a wine descriptor for its fruit flavor, sweet lime, maybe? But this is not a sweet wine; it’s wonderfully dry.

Highly recommended, certain to go in the 2022 Hall of Fame and to make the short list for the 2022 Cheap Wine of the Year. A tip o’ the WC’s fedora to long-time blog reader, wine aficionado, and really smart wine business analyst Christian Miller for letting me know about the Pellehaut.

Imported by Fruit of the Vines

Wine of the week: Domaine du Tariquet Classic 2015

domaine du tariquetThis vintage of the legendary Domaine du Tariquet may be the best yet

How enjoyable is this year’s Domaine du Tariquet? It may be the best bottle ever of the Wine Curmudgeon’s favorite Gascon white blend, and that’s saying something since I’ve waxed eloquent about it for eight vintages.

What makes the Domaine du Tariquet ($10, purchased, 10.5%) a great cheap wine? First, it’s simple but not stupid, with every flavor where it should be. The 2015 has the white grapiness I like, but also some lemon and lime that adds a little interest. That’s the biggest difference between this vintage and the others, which didn’t have as much citrus.

Second, ugni blanc, colombard, and gros manseng, three of the four grapes in the wine (sauvignon blanc is the other, and lends the extra citrus). What better way to irritate a wine snob than to mention your $10 white Gascon blend with ugni blanc? Let them find that in a $200, 92-point red something or other with its leather and cigar box aromas.

Third, it’s refreshing and fun to drink, and shows off its low alcohol. Fourth, it doesn’t require points or a wine app or an expert or special equipment to drink. You buy it, chill it, twist off the screwcap, and enjoy it. What more does an everyday bottle of wine need to be?

Highly recommended, and it will return to the $10 Hall of Fame in 2017.