Saturday, March 28, 2009

2005 Robert Mondavi Winery Oakville District Cabernet Sauvignon



2005 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville District - $45 California. The University of California at Davis has declared that Oakville, Napa Valley is the best place in the world to grow the cabernet sauvignon grape. This is debatable but one cannot deny that Oakville is a special place for great cabernet wine and this wine in particular is a solid representation of the area. The Mondavi Cabernet Oakville district is a real wine value. At $45 a bottle it might be hard to see this wine as a screamin deal but when you consider that other cabernets from Oakville can catch triple digit prices and only taste as good or slightly better, you begin to realize the real value of this wine. $40 is the "Welcome to Oakville Cabernet" price, and it only goes up from there, but don't worry because the '05 Mondavi Oakville cab is a really good wine. This wine is a blend of mostly cabernet sauvignon (%89) with smaller amounts of cabenet franc, petite verdot, malbec, and merlot; and the majority of the grapes come from the famous To Kalon vineyard (%79) with the remainder comprised from various vineyards in Oakville. The color of this wine is of deep purple, dark cherry and blackness. This cabernet has full flavors of lush dark fruits, smooth tannins, and a good bit of acidity, with aromas of tar. I really like and recommend this wine, for wines from Napa Valley it really is a good value. You can find this wine at finer wine shops, I know Total Wine carries it. The '05 vintage was the largest vintage in California history so there should be a good amount of this vintage still left to purchase. I got this bottle from the winery, and if you happen to get a bottle there as well I recommend stopping by the Oakville Grocery Store while you're in the area, the sandwiches are excellent. The rock solid cabernet goes really well with Wheat Thins Originals.

www.robertmondaviwinery.com

Thursday, March 26, 2009

2006 Markham Napa Valley Chardonnay


2006 Markham Estate Grown Napa Valley Chardonnay - $16 California. This chardonnay is uniquely different from the average California chardonnay it that the wine is the perfect balance of oak, and fruit. The aromas are of butter and lemon. The flavors are of green apples simmered in butter, with acidity that cuts nicely through the butter. A light to medium bodied chardonnay. I really like this wine it is both buttery and citrus at the same time. This estate grown chardonnay is also a terrific value because at $16 it's $5 - $10 dollars cheaper than comparable chardonnays from Napa. This wine should be able to be found at better wine shops.

www.markhamvineyards.com

2007 Man Vintners Shiraz


2007 Man Vintners Shiraz - $8 South Africa. This is the first wine I've had from South Africa, and I got to say this shiraz is a real value. The aromas are a bit funky reminding me of must and wood. The flavors are soft and juicy with a touch of spice and a bit of oak. This is an everyday drinking wine that really delivers quality flavor at a low price. I recommend trying this wine, it should be easy to find, I got this from World Market.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

2005 La Font du Vent "Notre Passion" Cotes du Rhone Villages


2005 La Font du Vent "Notre Passion" Cotes du Rhone Villages - $15 France. The winery is owned by the Gonnet family which also make wine in the more prestigious Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation. The Gonnet family uses the same specifications required in Chateauneuf; such as low yields, crop thinning, and hand harvesting, to make this wine. Robert Kacher Selections (the importer of this wine), calls this wine a baby Chateauneuf-du-Pape. I've heard this phrase used a lot but this time I agree, this quality in this wine over delivers for the price. This wine is a blend of 50% Grenache, 50% Syrah. The Notre Passion has aromas of earthiness and must with flavors of dark berries and dark cherries. The wine is well balanced with soft tannins and a dry finish. When I first tasted the wine it tasted scary, but after 30 minutes or so the wine opened right up and became a really good wine. I like this stuff, it's better than most of the Cotes du Rhone wines I usually have. I recommend this wine but it might be hard to find this vintage, at this point lower priced '05's are almost gone. Someone gave me this bottle so I'm not exactly sure of the price or where to buy it. I think that Total Wine carries a lot of the Rober Kacher Selections so that is where I would look.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

2006 Tormaresca Neprica


2006 Tormaresca Neprica - $10 Puglia, Italy IGT. Are you stuck in a wine rut? You can find yourself a good bottle of wine at a good price, but you find yourself drinking the same style of wine over and over. I'm the same way, sometimes I'll get stuck on California Cab's, Austrailian Shiraz, Cotes du Rhone blends, Argentinian Malbec, whatever it can get monotonous; sometimes I just find myself looking for something different. This wine is the cure for the common wine rut, it cheap, really good, and totally different. The Neprica is an unconventional blend of two native Italian varietals 40% Negroamaro, 30% Primitivo, and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine tastes like nothing I've ever had, the color is a deep crimson and dark purple; with aromas of coffee, smoke, and chocolate. The wine is dense, chewy, a touch of licorice, full bodied and soft. This wine is really interesting, and good. Most wine at this price point is not this good, and the ones that are aren't usually as interesting. I highly recommend checking out this estate wine value. This wine might be hard to find, I got it at Harris Teeter, but I've never seen it before, that being said it's a $10 bottle of wine so it shouldn't be that hard to find. If you can't find the '06 I heard that the '07 is just as good, maybe even better.

www.tormaresca.it

2007 Frontera Chardonnay

2007 Frontera Chardonnay - $4 Chile. The Frontera line is Concha y Toro's value label and most of the wines are produced and bottled by the winery, which means not only do they make the wine but they also grow the grapes. This is significant because most labels at this price point just purchase grapes or the juice itself. This chardonnay is a very light pale straw color, almost looks like a sauvignon blanc. The nose is very light with aromas of citrus. The palate is also light and citrus, lemoney. This is a very light chardonnay, it would be best to have this wine on a really hot day in the summer when all you can drink is a light white wine. This wine tastes like a cheap $4 wine, that being said it's not that bad, I've had worse for $5. This wine is good for the summertime heat or a party where no one is paying attention to the wine. This wine can be found in most grocery stores.

I've also tried the 2007 Frontera Carmenere and I think that wine is one of the best wine values I've ever come across. If I was to try another Frontera white it would be the Sauvignon Blanc, someone told me it was good for the money.

www.conchaytoro.com

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

2006 Reserve Perrin Cotes Du Rhone


2006 Reserve Perrin Cotes Du Rhone - $10 France. A blend of mostly Grenache (60%), blended with Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault. A deep crimson color with a bold nose comprised of cranberries, dark fruit, and oak. The taste is smooth and full bodied, with soft tannins and a gentle finish. My only gripe about the wine is a bit of tartness, other than that I think it's a well done effort for the price. For $10 it's solid, there are far worse bottles at this price point, you're money is safe with this one. This wine is a pretty consistent quality wine and it can be found easily in grocery stores and wine shops.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

2005 Monte Antico Toscana IGT


2005 Monte Antico Toscana IGT - $11 Italy. This wine is a blend of mostly Sangiovese (about 75%), Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. On the nose you get big cherries, and a bit of pepper and strawberries. On the palate this wine is dry with soft tannins that melt away, it's a bit round. I think this wine is very approachable, a lot of different palates will like this wine. As with just about all Italian wine it is better when consumed with food, pick your pleasure because this wine will go with many different foods. Good quality for the price.

2007 Sequoia Grove Chardonnay


2007 Sequoia Grove Chardonnay - $23 from Carneros, Napa Valley. The grapes for this wine come from vineyards in the very southern part of Napa, the Carneros district. Specifically the grapes come from the vineyards of Beckstoffer, Haire, and Ghisletta. Carneros is the coolest area of Napa and quite windy due to the breezes coming off of the San Pablo Bay. This makes it a great area for cool climate grapes like chardonnay and pinot noir. This chardonnay has aromas of lemon merange pie, pineapple, and lime. A full bodied wine, it is creamy, and well balanced. Nothing is really overpowering, it's well done quality. I highly recommend picking up a bottle.

www.sequoiagrove.com

p.s. pictured is the '05 vintage, the '07 label looks exactly the same except for the date.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

2005 E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone


2005 E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone - $14 France. The '05 vintage was as good as it gets in France for Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhone. This is the entry level offering from one of the most prolific quality produces from the Rhone Valley, and it doesn't disappoint. The wine is smooth, a bit silky on the mouthfeel, with moderate acidity and chocolate notes. A blend of 50% Syrah 50% Grenache, this wine is straightforward and well done, ripe, but not over ripe at 13% alcohol. A solid buy this wine needs a few minutes to open up upon uncorking but not long and it's ready to go. This wine goes well with Chex Mix chocolate flavored turtle, but if I had some good red meat to eat with it I think that would be better. Check it out. E. Guigal makes hundreds of thousands of cases a wine a year, this is their basic offering so it should be easy to find.

Monday, March 2, 2009

2005 Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo


2005 Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo - $9 Montepulciano, Italy. The color of this wine is of red cherry and a bit of rust. It has a nose of strawberries, raspberries, and cinnamon, very fruity. On the palate the wine is medium to light bodied with a dry tart finish. This is simple Italian wine that would go well with many different foods, although I didn't eat with it. I tried to figure out what the varietal of the wine is and had no luck, it's either sangiovese or montepulciano d'abruzzo. Italian wine can be very difficult to understand, if anyone know exactly what varietal this is holla at me. This is wine is simple, straightforward, and good, and they make a ton of it so it should be easy to find, I recommend it. Is it cliche to say it would go good with pizza?