Tag Archives: wine revews

Wine of the week: Azul y Garanza Tempranillo 2020

azul y garanza tempranillo
Azul y Garanza Tempranillo 2020/$12-$18

Neither the pandemic nor the supply chain can stop this Spanish red from offering quality and value

There are many things to like about the Azul y Garanza tempranillo. For one, it comes in a 1-liter bottle, so you get an extra glass for more or less the same price as a 750 ml. It’s made with organic grapes, for those who follow those things. And its importer, Valkyrie Selections, has a portfolio of terrific, inexpensive wines.

But the most important thing to like? This vintage of the wine ($15, purchased, 14.1%) continues the producer’s commitment to everyday wine that we can afford to drink and that won’t insult our sensibilities. The 2020 is a little more rustic and less fruity than previous vintages, while the alcohol is a touch higher than usual (no doubt an attempt to get around the Trump tariff’s 14 percent cutoff).

But the rest is as it should be. The wine opened up after about 20 minutes, showing dark cherry fruit and an almost peppery spiciness. The tannins are more upfront than usual, but they don’t get in the way. Serve it with anything meaty or Spanish, even a chickpea stew or lentils and sausages.

I’m not sure it will return to the Hall of Fame in 2024. Pricing has been all over the place, while availability has been spotty. But it’s still well worth drinking.

Imported by Valkyrie Selections

Expensive wine 119: Stags’ Leap Chardonnay 2017

stags' leap chardonnayThe Stags’ Leap chardonnay may be the best value among expensive wines I’ve tasted in years

This California white wine may be the best value for any domestic white wine costing more than $25 I’ve tasted in years. It’s certainly the best value in California chardonnay: It tastes like Napa Valley, where the grapes are from. It tastes like chardonnay, and not a tub of butter. And it’s only going to get better with age, truly amazing given its price.

Much of the credit for the quality for the Stag’s Leap chardonnay ($30, sample, 14.2%) goes to winemaker Christophe Paubert, whose approach is focused on the grapes, and not getting on the cover of the Wine Spectator. Hence, a wine that isn’t over oaked, isn’t hot, and isn’t stuffed full of winemaking tricks. “I’m not that kind of winemaker,” he said during lunch in Dallas last month.

Instead, Paubert worked with what the grapes gave him, and the result is a chardonnay that is fresh and bright, with crisp green apple fruit intertwined with a little lemon zest. It’s rich and full in the mouth, but not oaky and toasty, and it finishes with a certain sort of minerality one doesn’t taste much anymore in California chardonnay. Yes, there is oak, but it’s in the background, supporting everything else.

Highly recommended, and especially for Mother’s Day next month. This would pair especially well with something like crab and shrimp stuffed fish, or even a classic French dish like sole in a simple white wine sauce.

Wine of the week: Wente Sauvingon Blanc Louis Mel 2016

wente sauvignon blancThe Wente sauvignon blanc is a California white wine that speaks to terroir and quality

The Wente sauvignon blanc is a top-notch California white wine that’s widely available – even in some grocery stores. So why has it been seven years since it appeared as the wine of the week?

Blame it on the wine business.

Pricing, for one, is incredibly screwy. The suggested retail price is $18. It’s $16 on wine-searcher.com, $15 at wine.com, and as little as $11 in Dallas. Given that I try to keep the wine of the week at less than $15, and preferably $10 to $12, how do I decide what the real price is so I can use it?

This time, though, quality wins out. The current vintage of the Wente sauvignon blanc (sample, 13%) is classic California sauvingon blanc, the kind of wine that speaks to terroir but has been shunted aside in the rush to make everything taste like a New Zealand sauvignon blanc grapefruit.

The Wente is so far removed from New Zealand — and even some French sauvingon blancs – that many people won’t believe that’s what it is. But that’s exactly what it is, in all its grassy aroma glory – the smell of a freshly mowed lawn. It’s crisp and refreshing, but not simple, and there is just enough citrus flavor (lemongrass?) to hold the wine together.

Highly recommended, and areminder that not all wine has to taste alike –and that it’s not supposed to taste alike.