TRIVIA BREAK: What well-known Rhône winery uses braille on it’s labels? (Here’s a lesser known one.)

These wines were provided as samples for review. They each retail for around $12.

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Overall, I think the Torrontes is a solid example of it’s type for the price. It’s just not a style I’m a big fan of. Given the glut of inexpensive Malbec on the shelves of wine shops and grocery stores and gas stations coast to coast (depending on the relative enlightenment of your state’s beverage laws), I’d have a hard time recommending this one.

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And now an offering to the SEO gods (and anyone who needs to cut & paste):

Alex Elman 2010 Torrontes Mendoza (Argentina) | Floral, apricot/peach nose like a car air freshener. More apricot/peachy flavors on a medium-bodied, low-acid frame, with the barest hint of minerality. | C+

Alex Elman 2009 Malbec Mendoza (Argentina) | My first reaction is that it smells cheap. There’s lots of Christmas spice and it reminds me a bit of mulled wine (though maybe I’m just having a flashback to a really terrible tasting room experience in Fredericksburg TX). The flavors are blueberry/blackberry, a bit on the thin side and in need of some backbone. Overall, I don’t get enough of the richness I want when I’m drinking Malbec. | C-

I unscrewed it tonight with a Meatless Monday dinner of pasta with fresh corn, grape tomatoes, garlic, scallions and parmesan.

Lots of parmesan.

Montes Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Leyda Valley

Producer

Grapes: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Appellation: Leyda Valley (Chile)

Vineyards: Labeled as “Leyda Vineyard” — presumably a Montes-owned vineyard within the Leyda Valley appellation.

Vintage: 2010

Winemaking: no oak or malolactic fermentation

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: I got it for $9.99 at Costco. Regular retail is around $15.

Tasting Notes: Crisp, lemon pith acidity cuts through the plump tropical fruit. It’s also got that green, fresh-cut grass character that I love in an SB, plus a bit of minerality at the core. It all comes together to give the sense of a wine teeming with lifeforce, like some magic elixir you could pour upon the earth in a moonlit glade and conjure an Ent. (OK, that was a weird reference).

Overall impression: I think this is a dynamite bottle of wine at $10. Great for a refreshing summer sipper to buy by the case. If you are Costco-deprived and you find it closer to $15, it’s still a good deal. VINEgeek approved. Strong B+

Free association:

Image credit: matildaben via Flickr

More info:

90 POINT ALERT: This wine was well-reviewed by the big publications, receiving a 91 from Wine & Spirits and a 90 from Wine Enthusiast.

So why the hell am I talking about Kokomo? Well, it turns out there is a winery by that name as well. It’s not in Indiana; rather it’s a Sonoma-based winery started by a guy from Kokomo, Indiana. These fine folks sent me a couple of bottles of their wine to try. Would they smell of tanning lotion or transmission fluid? Hopefully neither. Let’s check them out.

Kokomo Petite Sirah Dry Creek Valley 2008

Tasting notes: Some enticing woodsy, herbal scents get my attention on the nose. The palate delivers inky dark berry and plum fruit (like a pen leaked in your mouth). It’s a little warm and a little oaky, but not a fruit bomb. There is a tightly-wound, metallic core and a slightly sinister quality.

Overall impression: An intriguing wine that I enjoyed drinking and contemplating. B+

Price: $25-30

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Kokomo Zinfandel Sonoma County 2008

Tasting notes: A bold, fruity nose, accented by woodsmoke aromas. On the palate, the wine brings dark berry and plum flavors similar to the Petite Sirah, but sweeter and riper. The mouthfeel is polished and almost plush. A bit of peach skin and a light peppery bite at the end add interest.

Overall impression: If you like ‘em fruit-forward, I think this is a bottle you’d like. It’s well-made and shows off some character. B/B-

Price: $25-30

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I found the Petite Sirah a bit more compelling, but both are good wines. So if you want to get away from it all … Kokomo may be just the getaway you need.

Disclosure: The wines were provided to me as press samples by the winery.

I’m always game to try something unusual when it comes to wine. On this blog you’ll see as much Baga as Bordeaux, as much Tannat as Tuscany, and more Mourvèdre than Merlot and Malbec combined. So you know when I had a chance to taste a Tempranillo Blanco, I was all over it. That’s right, white Tempranillo. Not white as in “white” zin, but white as in not red. The grapes themselves are not typical red Tempranillo, but a white- (well, green-) skinned mutant.

Producer: Bodegas Juan Carlos Sancha ‘Ad Libitum’

Grapes: 100% Tempranillo Blanco

I’ll let Wikipedia tell the tale:

In 1988, Jesús Galilea Esteban found a cluster of white grapes on one of the Tempranillo vines in his vineyard, Murillo de Rio Leza, located in Rioja. He removed the cluster, leaving a heel which in turn produced two buds of white grapes. Galilea then contacted the Rioja government agency CIDA, who grafted the buds at their research station in February 1989.

CIDA concluded that apart from the leaves and fruit being a little smaller, the new plants were identical to normal Tempranillo in most respects, and confirmed this with DNA evidence. The most notable difference was that the grape skins were green-yellow rather than the usual blue-black, due to a natural mutation in a single skin colour gene. Similar mutations appear to have happened in many other grape varieties, such as Pinot Noir and Grenache.

CIDA, once the mutation had stabilized, expanded their collection to 100 vines in 1993, and started to make wine on an experimental scale. The first bottling of wine was in 2005, from a hectare of vines planted in 2000. It was fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged in oak barrels. The green-tinged wine had discreet aromas of flowers and tropical fruit such as pineapple, refreshing to drink but lacking a little in acidity. White Tempranillo is currently being distributed to growers having been registered with the State and approved for use in the Rioja D.O.Ca.

Appellation: Rioja

Vintage: 2009

Vineyards: Organically-farmed 1.5 hectare vineyard with clay and limestone soils. Dry-farmed.

Winemaking: Stainless steel fermentation. Native yeasts.

Alcohol: 13%

Price: I paid $16.83 via Garagiste. Closer to $25 online.

Tasting notes: I had no idea what to expect with this one. It starts off with a bold, aromatic nose of stone fruit and petrol. On the palate, it’s an intriguing mix of peach, plum skin and nuttiness with a pleasant bitter note. It has an oily palate presence and finishes long.

Overall impression: A must-try wine for the wine geek set. B+

Free association:

More info:

A good read from 2009 in Decanter on “the rise of indigenous grape varieties” in Rioja.

Image used in Oddball Wine of the Week header found here. If anyone knows the original source, let me know and I’ll credit.

It’s worth noting that I found the 2006 a few weeks after tasting this 2007 and didn’t like it nearly as much. Look for the 2007.

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Image credit: Illuminaut via Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/illuminaut/3996050349

An offering to the SEO gods: PLANETA La Segreta Rosso 2007 IGT Sicilia | This wine says f*ck you to bullshit $12 fruit punch wines from the New World. | Red berries, spicebox, dry leaves, earth, leather, badassitude | B+

Tastes more like 100% Smuckers.

This is a major dark berry fruitbomb. If that’s your thing, this wine is a bargain at around $10. It delivers a lotta JAM for your HAM…ilton. (groan)

It was way too much for my Taco Tuesday dinner, but actually worked pretty well with dessert — a super-sweet s’mores-like brownie thing. If you’re into drinking red wine with chocolate (me: not so much), this might be your new favorite wine.

I really wanted to like this because of the unusual blend, not to mention the oddity of Lagrein and Dolcetto in Australia at all, but this wine just isn’t a style that appeals to me these days.

Worth a search.

This wine was provided as a sample for review.

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Juicy, zingy nose of citrus crossed with pineapple. A fresh green herb note. Plump citrus fruit on the palate, including a sense of orange zest, yet with a mineral/metallic edge. Nicely crisp. Finishes long, if a little hot for a Sauvignon Blanc. Very enjoyable. A terrific bargain at $10. B+

Price: $12 for 1 liter

This wine was provided as a sample for review by the winery.

Tetra-pak

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Spicy berry fruit on the nose, with a dusty herbal character. Palate is full of sappy blackberry fruit, laced with exotic spice notes and a hint of smoked meat. A light tannic astringency on the reasonably lengthy finish. Definitely worth picking up if you want an inexpensive introduction to Monastrell or just want a tasty, fun-to-drink wine that fits a green lifestyle. B

UPDATE: Another review of this wine has gone up at The Passionate Foodie. He liked it, too. Check it out.

This wine is from Brancott’s “Letter Series” – their upper tier range of wines. Price: around $25

This wine was provided as a sample for review by the winery’s PR agency.