Tag Archives: white wine

Wine of the week: Bonny Doon Picpoul 2021

Bonny Doon Picpoul bottle
Bonny Doon Picpoul 2021/$13-$20

Would that more winemakers understood the joys of picpoul

The Wine Curmudgeon loves picpoul, an odd white grape grown almost exclusively in southern France. The grape makes fresh, crisp, herbal and tart wines, perfect for hot summer weather like that in Dallas.

This means, of course, that picpoul is not easily found in Dallas (though those of you on the East Coast should have better luck).

Which is where Randall Grahm comes in. He has made this wine since 2012, and even in semi-retirement, his legacy lives on with the Bonny Doon Picpoul 2021 ($15, sample, 11%). It’s another in a long line of fine picpouls from France and California that showcases what the grape can do at a more than fair price.

Picpoul’s meaning is loosely translated as “lip-stinger” because of its acidity. The Bonny Doon is a little softer, thanks to some grenache blanc in the blend, but it’s not oaky chardonnay by any means. Look for some lemon and minerality, and an almost savory character. It’s a light wine in style, but it’s not thin.

Buy a bottle, chill it, and sit on the back porch – with plenty of shade, of course – as summer gets even hotter.

Wine of the week: Domaine Duffour Cotes de Gascogne 2020

Domaine Duffour Côtes de Gascogne 2020
Domaine Duffour Cotes de Gascogne 2020/$9-$12

Once again, a Gascon white wine that delivers value and quality for about $10

During the recent podcast with wine editor Felicity Carter, we discussed whether consumers really want different wines, or if that’s just a wine writer thing.

Here on the blog, I’d like to think it’s more than the WC pushing his Gascon white wines, and that there truly is demand for them. Because the wines are infinitely more interesting than another chardonnay, buttery or otherwise.

The Domaine Duffour Cotes de Gascogne 2020 ($10, purchased, 12%) is one more example of why that’s true. It’s unmistakably, wonderfully Gascon – tart, crisp, and refreshing, and made with all those weird grapes that we’re not supposed to know about.

In this case, the Duffour is mostly colombard, so it sits somewhere between the white grapey Domaine Tariquet, which includes ugni blanc, and the others that blend colombard and sauvignon blanc and taste more citrusy.. So the Duffour has bit of that white grapey flavor and less of the lemon and lime flavors.

So another simple, but not stupid, wine – the kind that is made and priced to drink with dinner, to enjoy with food, with conversation, and with those we’re eating with. Frankly, I can’t think of too many higher compliments.

Imported by Skurnick Wines

Mini-reviews 156: The geeking out edition

drinking wine
“Yes, the WC is eight. These are geeky wines.”

Reviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. This month, four wines that remind us how geeky wine can be

• Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan Großes Gewächs Riesling 2016 ($85, sample, 12%): This German white, which is apparently one of the country’s great wines, showed by magically and mysteriously — maybe a sample from a German wine trade group? It certainly is stunning wine, complex and layered (stone fruit, minerality); frankly, much more than I’m used to tasting. And it should age for years and years. Imported by Banville Wine Merchants

• Gillmore País Mariposa 2019 ($17, sample, 13%): The pais grape — known as mission in the U.S. — is about as trendy as these things get. Having said that, this red wasn’t very interesting. It tasted more like supermarket Beaujolais — some cherry fruit, too tart, yet thin and watery. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

• Bodega Marichal Tannat 2019 ($16, sample, 13%): This Uruguayan red is adequate tannat — rough-ish and heavy-ish, but not heavy or rough, with some almost cherry fruit and surprising acidity. If you like tannat, you’ll like this. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

• Tercos Bonarda 2020 ($14, sample, 13.5%): Fine example of bonardo, a little known red grape from Argentina. It’s a little earthy, with some spice and dark fruit, but not heavy. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

Photo:”Deya Drinking Wine at Four Point Winery” by nan palmero is marked with CC BY 2.0.

Wine of the week: Jolie Folle Sauvignon Blanc 2020

Jolie Folle Sauvignon Blanc
Jolie Folle Sauvignon Blanc 2020/$12-$16

The 1-liter Jolie Folle is a reminder that sauvignon blanc from France’s Loire can be delicious and affordable

The Jolie Folle 1-liter French rose has been on the blog off and on; it’s inconsistent, but when it’s worth buying, it offers quality and value. For the most part, the brand’s sauvignon blanc hasn’t even been up to that level.

Until this vintage of the Jolie Folle Sauvignon Blanc ($15/1-liter, purchased, 12%).

Typically, the brand’s sauvignon blanc has been thin or unripe or both, hardly the kind of white wine to spend money on. But not this time – the 2020 is stunning, one of those cheap wines that makes me wish more producers cared about making this kind of wine and doing it consistently.

The Loire in France is famous for its sauvignon blanc, but many long ago passed the price that most of us can afford – or want — to pay. The Jolie Folle, though, is a reminder of how wonderful those wines are: ripe lime fruit, some minerality, and a long, clean finish. And did I mention it’s a liter bottle?

Highly recommended. Serve this chilled on its own as the days warm up, and it would pair with almost any kind of grilled chicken.

Imported by Crazy Beautiful Wines

Expensive wine 155: Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc Les Sétilles 2018

Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc Les Sétilles 2018
Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc Les Sétilles 2018/$20-$40

Ah, white Burgundy – why does it always make the WC smile so?

The first thing to know about this wine is to ignore most of the tasting notes and reviews you might see. Otherwise, you won’t want to drink it.

It’s too oaky. It’s not buttery enough. It’s too rich. It’s not complex enough.

Sigh. Why must we ruin all the things we love (and yes, baseball, that includes you)? The Big Guy brought this bottle of the Le Setilles ($30, purchased, 13%) over to WC world headquarters last fall, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

And why not? It’s a fine bottle of chardonnay from France’s Burgundy, made by a fine producer — and even sort of affordable (in that weird, white Burgundy way). Know that this vintage is not exactly the same as some others; it’s richer and fuller, without the freshness and green apple fruit that often marks the Les Setilles. Instead, look for not quite juicy stone fruits and a bit of lemon. The oak, of course, is as integrated as it should be for this style of wine.

Does it matter that it’s different?
Nope – because, as the late and much missed Diane Teitelbaum told me all those years, wine isn’t supposed to taste the same every year.

A vintage note: There is still lots of the 2018 left, as well as the 2019 and 2020. I’d opt for the 2018, if only because the age will make the wine more interesting. And prices are all the place, too – as little as $20 at some stores.

Imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons

Wine review: Elk Cove Pinot Gris 2020

Elk Cove Pinot Gris 2002/$15-$20

This Oregon white wine takes the state’s pinot gris in a different – but equally enjoyable – direction

Oregon pinot gris, though not as popular as the state’s pinot noir, has long been one of the best styles of wine that not enough people know about. It’s fresh, much more interesting than the tonic water pinot grigios from Italy and California, and sometimes can be layered and complex.

In fact, until premiumization took hold, the blog regularly touted affordable Oregon pinot gris.

Sadly, that’s no longer the case – even ordinary, supermarket-quality wines cost more than $15. So when I find something like the Elk Cove Pinot Gris 2020 ($18, purchased, 13%), it’s worth writing about, even though it costs more than I usually spend.

That’s because the Elk Cove is a lovely, fresh, and appealing Oregon pinot gris that shows how diverse the grape can be. Many of the state’s pinot gris feature crisp lime fruit, sometimes venturing into lemon and lime. But the Elk Cove is made in a softer style (melon, tangerine and papaya, maybe, if we’re going to be geeky) that is as welcome as it is different.

Having said that, the wine isn’t cloying or chardonnay-rich in its approach; then it wouldn’t be pinot gris. The grape’s appealing minerality is still there on the finish, and it’s still a terrific food wine as pinot gris almost always is.

Highly recommended – not only for quality, but because it is a fine value at this price.

Wine of the week: Marques de Riscal Verdejo 2019

Marqués de Riscal Verdejo
Marques de Riscal Verdejo 2019/$8-$12

This is quality Spanish white wine that can be found at many supermarkets

Welcome to part three of the WC’s supermarket wine search, where we find cheap wine that tastes like it came from a winery and not from the marketing department. This time – Spain’s Marques de Riscal Verdejo 2019 ($10, purchased, 13%).

One of the difficulties with finding this kind of wine among the plonk on the Supermarket Great Wall of Wine is that many grocers don’t bother to group wine by country any more. Hence, all of the sauvignon blancs are crammed together, as are the red blends, the chardonnay, and so on and so forth.

Which leaves wine made with less common grapes, like the Riscal, stuffed in a corner and difficult to find. But many supermarket verdejos are well worth kneeling to find on the bottom shelf. It’s a white grape that isn’t too tart and can be quite herbal; not bad for $10, yes?

And, in this case, the Riscal is exactly what a cheap wine should be — well made (clean and crisp); varietally correct (just enough lemon fruit); and simple but not stupid. It’s not a life-changing wine; rather it’s the kind of wine to drink on Tuesday night with a big salad when it’s 100 degrees out. That it’s Spanish and not Californian speaks to how screwed up the wine business is. California used to excel in just this kind of wine.

Imported by Shaw Ross