2007 Alamos Malbec $10

2007 Alamos Malbec $10 - from Agentina. Malbec is the leading grape of Argentina, and one of my personal favorites. To my tastes I think that there is a lot of bang for the buck in a average or good bottle of Malbec. This estate grown malbec has a powerful nose of earth, and must, these aromas are the calling card of this varietal. The color is deep black and red. The taste is soft, smooth, with hints of dark coffee and chocolate. This wine is an uncomplicated and straightforward balanced malbec. With the Alamos wines the winemaker is going for a pure expression of the varietal , which means the wines are one grape, no blending. It is impressive that a wine can taste this good, be well priced at $10, and be widely available (I got this at Fresh Market). This is also a wine that has good quality nearly every vintage. I definitely recommend this wine, it is one you should seek out, it's at the high end of the quality scale for the $10 range. If you like a Napa Cabernet or a Bordeaux blend and you haven't tried a 100% malbec this is a great introduction.

Argentinian Estate Grown Chardonnay Value

Alamos 2007 Chardonnay - $10 Argentina
This estate grown chardonnay from Argentina has aromas of pear, pineapple, and butter. The Alamos has a rich, full, mouthfeel to it that finishes with tartness and just a bit of acidity. I think this is a very nice chardonnay, I definitely recommend it. If you like California chardonnay but you'd like to try a different style check out this balanced chardonnay. Another aspect of this wine I like is the fact that it is an estate produced wine. What this means is that all the grapes are grown by the winery in their own vineyards, there is no purchasing of grapes from other growers. Alamos controls all the quality factors in producing this wine. Most $10 bottles of California chardonnay are made with grapes purchased from a multitude of growers, so quality can be compromised. With estate produced wines the quality falls 100% on the winery so if it sucks it's all their fault, and if it's good, the same it true. Estate made wines have a bit more incentive to do a good job. Alamos is the value line from the Catena wine family (one of the most prestigious wineries in Argentina and South America). The fact that this wine is easy to find ( I got this at Costco) makes it even better. Check it out, I think you'll like it.
http://www.catenawines.com/eng/wines/alamos/alamos-ch-2006.html

2006 Cotes Du Rhone Parallele 45

2006 Cotes Du Rhone Parallele 45 from Paul Jaboulet Aine $12. Paul Jaboulet Aine is a large wine producer from the Rhone valley in France, they produce a wide range of wine from basic everyday wines like this one to $200 bottles of Syrah that need 20 years of cellaring. The Parallele 45 is an everyday wine that is a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, and it is meant to be drunk immediately, no cellaring needed. The nose of the wine is very relaxing, with aromas of dark berry, cherry, and hint of chocolate and some earth. This wine is very smooth, the taste is just like the smell dark berries and cherry with mild tannins and a slight dry finish. It's not special it's just solid, and in my book solid is good. I recommend this as a reliable everyday drinking wine.

2006 El Quintanal from Spain $10

I'm in need of value so I'm looking to Spain for the goods. This 2006 El Quintanal from the Ribera del Duero region is 100% Tempranillo, a native Spanish varietal. There is not much of a nose to this wine but you can smell aromas of smoke and berries, no particular berries just generic berries. Medium light feel on the palate with some tannins that kick at the end. This is a simple wine, it would do better with food than it does on it's own as a sipper. I feel it's worth $10 bucks but the value isn't screamin. I've had better and I've had worse for $10. I would only buy it again if I was sticking to a strict $10 maximum price rule. It's ok, not bad, not real good.

p.s. the wrong vintage is on the label pictured but the label is otherwise the same as '06

2007 Frontera Carmenere from Chile - $5

This time it's an old varietal from the new world, the carmenere grape. Up until sometime in the 1990's vintners in Chile thought the carmenere grape were merlot and marketed it as such. In the 90's they did some type of DNA testing and found out that it was not merlot but carmenere, which is an old blending grape from France. Really the only place you'll see carmenere bottled on it's own is Chile. This wine is from the Concha Y Toro winery which is owned by the French MoetHennesy conglomerate. The nose of the wine has the classic musty smell going on, I mean that in a good way, carmenere has a very distinctive nose. Musty sounds unpleasant but it is a positive description for this wine. The color is deep rich red and black. This medium bodied dry red is an easy going wine meant to be drunk now. It is soft on the palate and the finish is smooth. I definitely recommend this wine, it could easily be mistaken for a $10 or $12 bottle of wine. Another benefit of this wine is it's wide availability, I bought this at Kroger, it will be easy to find this wine. For simple good quality great value wine check out this bargain.

Enjoy

2007 Estancia Pinot Noir Monterey County $14

California pinot noir is like most pinot noir, overpriced, so it's hard to find the good stuff for less than $20. This Estancia has a fairly basic nose not much going on there, but there is a decent cherry and oak component on the smell. On the palate the wine is soft and light. The wine is dry with a slight bite from the tannins on the finish. This wine is alright but I don't recommend it. I have found it really hard to find a decent bottle of Pinot Noir at a reasonable price lately, I'm almost turned off by the whole variaetal. But it is best to keep trying to find a good one cause they are out there, it's just not this one. This wine is by no means bad but it is just not interesting.

The Southern Wine Report - ’05 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Tuesday, November 25, 2008

This week it's the Thunder From Down Under: Peter Lehmann Of The Barossa Shiraz '05 $15. This classy wine has dark cherry and dark chocolate aromas. Real nice nose to the wine. The dark fruit flavored wine is medium bodied and well balanced. The tannins are well managed, the mouthfeel is soft and supple, the finish smooth and harmonious. This 100% shiraz shows why the Barossa is the leader in Australian Shiraz. This wine is one you should seek out, it will complete dark meats nicely but stands on it's own as a sipper as well.