Category Archives: Price: 11-15 bucks

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2008

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2008_kungfu_girl_bottleshot

Producer: Charles Smith Wines

Grapes: 100% Riesling

Appellation: Columbia Valley (though from a single vineyard; see below)

Vineyard: Evergreen Vineyard, a 452 acre vineyard planted to 10 different white varieties and farmed by Milbrandt Vineyards. It is rather young, having been planted in 1998. The vineyard currently falls under the large Columbia Valley AVA, but is a part of the “Ancient Lakes” area, which is seeking AVA status. Ancient Lakes is a cooler region with soils of clay, sand, silt and Caliche.

Winemaking: 100% stainless steel fermentation and aging

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $11.77

Package: Kick-ass label. Screwcap.

My tasting notes: A slight spritz. Bright green apple and pear aromas on the nose with a waxy quality. Round, luscious mouthfeel yet with lively, zippy acidity. Makes me think of Clearly Canadian sparkling water from back in the 90s, if they made an apple and kiwi flavor. (I mean that as a complement – I loved Clearly Canadian back then, especially Mountain Blackberry and Western Loganberry flavors.)

Overall impression: A very enjoyable drink. A crowd-pleaser for your next party. Hell, I might pick up another bottle to have on hand for Thanksgiving. B

Free Association: I loved playing this game at the bowling alley arcade I was a kid.


More info:

Winery’s tech sheet.

Good info on the Ancient Lakes region from the Millbrandt Vineyards website.

Jeff at Viva La Wino reviewed this wine earlier this year and liked it, too.

Gary V. had Charles Smith on WLTV last year and they tasted the 2007 Kung Fu Girl.

Update: Found another blogger review from Ben at Benito’s Wine Reviews.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Oddball Wine of the Week: Lagrein

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This is the first post of a new series I’m starting on oddball wines. I thought I’d start in Italy, which is full of indigenous grape varieties that are produced in a small region and hardly anywhere else. This is one of those: Lagrein. Have you ever had one? Ever heard of it?

LaVis_Lagrein_LabelshotLa Vis Dipinti Lagrein 2007

Producer: La Vis

Grapes: Lagrein. La-what? It’s a red grape variety from the Trentino-Alto Adige region of Italy that is related to Teroldego. It’s pronounced Lah-GRAYN (hear it here).

Appellation: DOC Trentino, in northeastern Italy up near the Austrian border. Thirty years ago, red wines accounted for 80% of Trentino’s vineyard land, but today it’s down to 40%, with Merlot being the most common red grape (Chardonnay is the most planted white). However, the indigenous grapes are hanging on. [Info from The World Atlas of Wine.]

Winemaking: Spends only 2 months in oak.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $11.77 at Spec’s in Austin

My tasting notes: Dark color, though not opaque. I get dusty plum and cherry fruit on the nose, with a substantial Old World swampy/barnyardy stink. There’s something a bit wild to the fruit aromas, too. Interesting. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and starts off sharp and angular (though not necessarily in a bad way), with under-ripe raspberry flavors, light minerality and grippy tannins. A cranberry tartness and prickly acidity linger on the finish. I came back to this wine after it was open for about 48 hours and it was drinking very nicely. The acidity and tannins had softened a bit and the fruit was more evident on the palate. It paired well with a sausage, kale and white bean soup.

Overall impression: Not straight-up delicious, but really interesting and food-friendly. Worth it just for the geek-cred you’ll earn for trying this uncommon grape variety. B

Free association:

Demoiselles d'Avignon - Pablo Picasso
Demoiselles d'Avignon - Pablo Picasso

More info:

Tech sheet, which doesn’t state the vintage, so assume the specs are approximate.

Gary Vaynerchuk did a WLTV episode on Lagrein wines (though not this bottle).

Apparently, outside of Trentino-Alto Adige, Lagrein has developed a small foothold in Australia. And there is also an Oregon winery (with an Aussie winemaker), Amaranth Ridge, that is growing some. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

Another blogger’s review at Melodic Fermentables.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Deep Purple Zinfandel 2007 Lodi

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I should have known better than to buy this wine. I generally avoid wines with such gimmicky names/labels. But a few months ago I was planning a series of posts on Lodi old vines Zinfandel and was picking up just about every bottle of it I saw. I realized later that this one doesn’t say old vines on the label, so I didn’t include it in the series.

07_deep_purple_labelgrab

Producer: Deep Purple

Grapes: Zinfandel (it’s not stated on the label or fact sheet if it is 100%)

Appellation: Lodi (on the website they note that Lodi is “a totally respectable wine growing area mentioned in a Creedence Clearwater song“)

Winemaking: 8 months in French and American oak.

Alcohol: 13.9% on the label (13.6% on the fact sheet)

Price: about $12

My tasting impressions: In terms of color, “deep purple” it is not. I’d call it light-to-medium color, certainly not inky dark. The first whiff of this wine takes me back to 4th grade. Did you have a slot-car track when you were a kid? Well, remember when, after about 50 laps around the track, you’d get this overheated, metallic smell? That’s what I thought of when I first smelled this wine. (An overheated blender smells about the same, but my mind when to that slot-car track first.) That blows off after a short while and the (somewhat candied) bright berry aromas come to the front. There’s a bit of vanilla and green pepper, too. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied with plum and cherry flavors and a slight herbal edge. Needs some acid.

Overall assessment: In the end, I find this to be a rather simple wine. Expectations play a big role in how satisfied you are with a wine, I think. Based on the name Deep Purple and the wild label with words like “Monster Fruit”, “Exploding” and “Hedonistic”, I was expecting something much different. While it has plenty of fruit (if you don’t mind the candied sort), it’s not a big, bad, hedonistic experience. C/C-

Free association:

hippies-use-sidedoor

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremybrooks/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

More info:

Other reviews at Cork’d, Gabe’s View (via Bullz-eye.com) and Top Wine Values.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Wine Recommendation

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National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is winding down and pink has been everywhere. Even the NFL got in on it in a big way. So maybe that’s why I noticed this wine on an end-cap display at my local supermarket. It’s from Cline Cellars (a winery that regular readers will know I am a fan of) and it has a pink ribbon on the label. Cline is a supporter of the Breast Cancer Network of Strength Ride to Empower, and a portion of the proceeds from sales of this wine goes to this cause.

Cline07Cashmere_FLabelCline 2007 Cashmere

Producer: Cline Cellars

Grapes: 39% Grenache, 38% Syrah, 23% Mourvèdre

Appellation: California

Vineyards: Most of the Grenache comes from the Massoni Vineyard in Oakley. The rest of the Grenache and all of the Mourvèdre comes from the Big Break vineyard (also in Oakley). Big Break is one of Cline’s ancient vine vineyard jewels, with 80-120 year old gnarly, head-pruned vines in sandy (phylloxera-resistant) soil. The Syrah comes from Paso Robles.

Winemaking: Stainless steel fermentation. 9 months in dark-toast French oak (25% new).

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $15-16 retail

My tasting notes: A pretty violet-red color. The aroma is all sweet, creamy oakyness. On the palate, I’m immediately struck by the smoothness of this wine – Cashmere, indeed. It has luscious plummy, red berry, and blackberry flavors, with vanillin oak and spice accents. A touch of mint on the finish, which comes from the influence of a eucalyptus grove adjacent to the Big Break vineyard. Tasty stuff.

Overall impression: If you really don’t like oak-influenced wines, this probably isn’t for you. But it’s just plain delicious. I think this will be the wine I recommend the next time I get asked by a non-wine nerd for a good bottle. It’s very easy to drink, has terrific mouthfeel and I don’t see anyone not liking it (except the oak-haters). B+

Free association: This probably isn’t fair to Cline and their very nice wine, but I couldn’t resist once I saw this. The dresses below are from a fashion show put on by Canada’s top-selling brand of bathroom tissue: Cashmere. The dresses are “crafted entirely in 100 per cent pure, soft and luxurious sheets of Cashmere Bathroom Tissue.” The fashion show is part of a campaign to raise awareness and funds for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

CashmereTPdressPR

More info:

The winery’s tech sheet.

For more info and photos from the fashion show, click here.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Renwood Zinfandel 2007 Lodi

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logo-renhiendlabelhiI picked this up while browsing at Spec’s when I saw that it had Viognier in the blend. It’s not very common for white and red grapes to be blended together – the biggest exceptions being old-school Chianti and Côte Rôtie. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Zin/Viognier blend. Let’s see what it’s like.

Producer: Renwood

Grapes: 85% Zinfandel, 11% Syrah, 4% Viognier

Appellation: Lodi

Vineyards: The Zinfandel grapes are from “middle-aged” vineyards (30+ years old)

Winemaking: Interestingly, only 15% of the blend was aged in oak, and used oak at that. There is no indication on the tech sheet as to whether the Viognier was co-fermented or blended later, though based on the color I’m assuming it was blended.

Alcohol: 13.6%

Price: I paid $10 or $11 on sale at Spec’s in Austin (I think the regular price is closer to $13-14).

My tasting notes: Fairly light in color, surely due to the dose of Viognier (a white wine, for those who aren’t familiar with the grape). It has a pretty nose. I get the floral note from the Viognier and loads of raspberries, but not in a jammy way. There is also a wet-earth quality and a bit of sweet oak as well.  On the palate, it comes across as a relatively light-bodied wine, with more red fruit, slightly earthy flavors and a smooth, silky texture.

Overall assessment: A modest style of Zinfandel, which is less and less common these days. A nice quaff, if you don’t require a wine from the “These go to eleven” school of Zin. B-

Free association:

modesty

Question: Have you ever tasted or seen a Zin/Viognier blend?

More info:

Thanks to Renwood for emailing me the tech sheet which wasn’t available online.

I can’t find many reviews/tasting notes of this wine online. Wilfred Wong of BevMo gave it an 87. And there’s one review at CellarTracker. That’s all I could find.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Cannonau – WBW #62: A Grape By Any Other Name

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Argiolos Costera-Bottle Shot

The theme of this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday #62 (hosted by Dale Cruse at Drinks Are On Me) is “A Grape By Any Other Name”. The idea is to taste a wine labeled with a lesser known name of an otherwise common grape. Now this is the sort of thing that I’d normally stew over at length. However, on a recent trip to Costco, I happened upon a bottle that I thought was a great fit: a 100% Cannonau from Sardinia.

Argiolas Costera 2006 Isola dei Nuraghi

Producer: Argiolas

Grapes: 100% Cannonau – the name for Grenache in Sardinia

Appellation: Isola Dei Nuraghi IGT (Sardinia, Italy)

Vineyards: The Costera vineyard, a 61-acre vineyard with clay and limestone soils and southeasterly exposure. It was planted in 1989.

Winemaking: Tank fermented, then spent 6-8 months in French barriques.

Alcohol: 13.9%

Price: $14 at Costco

My tasting notes: Dark, yet translucent. A gemlike garnet in color. On the nose, this wine is pungent with tire shop smells. If there’s fruit there it is well-hidden. In the mouth, there is a lot of iron and perhaps a little tarriness, but some good raspberry fruit comes through as well. It finishes with nice grippy tannins. After being open a few hours, the tire aroma recedes and the fruit shows up on the nose. The palate integrates a bit more and starts to lean toward wild berries and meaty flavors, while retaining a stony minerality. On day two it’s drinking even better – the fruit is really shining now and it’s plush while retaining some backbone.

Overall assessment: I enjoyed drinking it over a couple days, and at $14 I don’t think it’s a bad value, but I do think there is a lot of competition at that price as well – stuff I like even more. However, I like finding nice wines like this from regions I rarely think about. B-

Reflecting on the theme of this WBW, I think this Cannonau has some similarities and some differences from the Grenache wines I’ve been drinking recently. First, it does convey the minerality that I find in Garnacha from Spain (e.g., Montsant) or Grenache from the Southern Rhone (e.g., Vacqueyras, Vinsobres). On the other hand, this one is much more tightly wound and takes lots of time (day 2) before the delicious fruit shows up. Of course, much of the French and Spanish Grenache/Garnacha is blended, often with Syrah, while this is 100% varietal. It was definitely an interesting bottle and I’m glad Dale’s WBW theme led me to it.

Free association:

TireTreadMacro

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cobalt/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

More info:

Imported by Winebow/Leonardo LoCascio. Lots of geekster details on the wine at their website.

CellarTracker tasting notes (avg. 88 points).

Other blogger reviews: Viva la Wino, Canadian Wine Guy, The Gastronome’s Cellar and Wine Belly.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Vale do Bomfim 2006 Douro

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Bomfim_bottleshotAs sales of Port have been trending downward, many Port houses are using a portion of their grapes to produce red table wines. I like Port, but I drink it maybe a couple times a year and almost always at a restaurant by the glass. So I love this trend. I love that they use indigenous grapes that are rarely found elsewhere. I love that they aren’t 15% alcohol monsters. And I love the price point – most are under $15.

Let’s see if this one is a winner.

Producer: Symington Family Estates (Dow’s)

Grapes: 40% Touriga Franca, 25% Tinta Roriz (the Portuguese name for Tempranillo), 20% Tinta Barroca, and 15% Touriga Nacional.

Appellation: Douro Valley DOC (Portugal)

Vineyards: Quinta do Bomfim (profile) & Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira (profile). Schist soils and hillside vineyards.

Winemaking: Stainless steel fermentation, then 9 months in a mix of French and American oak.

Alcohol: 13%

Price: $10-12

My tasting notes: Inky dark color – near opaque. Nose of dark fruit, oak and dried flowers. (Both Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional are noted for producing wines with floral qualities). A bit green and stemmy, but not in an unpleasant way. Rich blackberry and cherry flavors with leather, mineral and chocolate notes and chewy, spicy tannins. Maybe a bit on the rustic side. A lengthy finish.

Overall assessment: This is an enjoyable red for those who don’t require exuberant fruit. While there is a richness to this wine, and it’s certainly not austere, it’s not what I think most people would consider fruit-forward (note the lower alcohol, too). I liked it and would like to try it again with more time in bottle. B-

Free association: I normally don’t use photos of the vineyards in my “free association” spot. I like to be less literal. But the Douro is such freaking beautiful vineyard land, that’s what my mind goes to when I think of these wines. Feast your eyes…

Dows_Bomfim_VineyardTerraces Dows_BomfimWalls

Dows_Senhora-da-Ribeira_Vineyard Dows_Senhora-da-Ribeira_Vineyard2

(Photos from the Dow’s website.)

More info:

Other bloggers reviews of this wine (all liked it): The Wine Curmudgeon, The Grape Crusader, The Wine Skinny, Red White and Food, The O’Neill Review. Also a few reviews at Cork’d and CellarTracker.

A discussion of the 2006 vintage in the Douro (and at Bomfim in particular) by Paul and Charles Symington at JancisRobinson.com

The producer’s tech sheet.

“Portugal: The California of Europe” – Interesting marketing from PortugalWines, a promotional organization for Portuguese wines in the US. Isn’t it usually the US producers comparing latitudes with famous European wine regions?

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Boots Grenache 2005 Barossa

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Boots05Grenache_snapshot

Producer: Trevor Jones (Boots label)

Grapes: Grenache

Appellation: Barossa (Australia)

Vineyards: Old bush vines

Winemaking: This wine sees some time in French oak, but just how long isn’t clear from the label or website.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $12-13

My tasting notes: Very light color. Bright nose of pine forest, cherries (cherry cough syrup, really) and Wint-O-Green LifeSavers. Some oak coming through as well. On the palate, this wine is silky and pleasant with cherry, herbs and a maple syrup quality. But it lacks backbone. There’s a bit of tannic grip at the end and a dry finish, but overall it feels unstructured.

Overall assessment: Not what I expected from a Barossa wine; it’s certainly not BIG and jammy. This wine walks the fine line between interesting and odd. I think I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt and calling it interesting. C+

Free association:

odd_shaped_glasses

More info:

This wine scored an 89 in The Wine Advocate (Jay Miller).

A few tasting notes at CellarTracker.

The Grateful Palate is the importer. Here’s their page on this wine (though it appears to not be updated to the 05).

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Volteo 2008 Viura + Sauvignon Blanc + Viognier

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volteo_vi-vi-sau_2008I typically look for wines with specificity: a single grape variety, a single vineyard, etc. I like to think I can learn more that way and that I’m getting a truer essence of something or other. But I’m also a sucker for interesting blends. I imagine the best qualities of each grape marrying together into a delicious whole. I’m especially a sucker for Viognier in the blend, as I assume it will add that I-could-sniff-this-all-night floral quality to the nose. So that’s how I ended up picking this bottle up on a recent trip to the wine shop.

Before we jump to the wine itself, a quick interjection on the brand name. Volteo is the Spanish name for the sport of “equestrian vaulting.” What the heck is that, you ask? Well it’s as if some gymnasts got stoned and said “Dude, what if the pommel horse was, like … a real horse.”

Now let’s take a look at this wine.

Producer: Volteo

Grapes: 50% Viura, 35% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Viognier

Appellation: Castilla-La Mancha (Vino de la Tierra, Spain). This is the largest wine region in Spain, producing half of the nation’s wine.

Vineyards: no info

Winemaking: This wine spent some time on the lees before being bottled.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Package: Screwcap. Temperature-sensitive label. Also, there is a graphic on the top of the screwcap that shows the outline of Spain and the region the producer’s wines are from. Kinda cool.

Volteo_screwcap

Price: $11

My tasting notes: It’s mostly appley and pineappley on nose with a bit of lemon pith and hay. There is a softness to the nose like a very light perfume. It’s creamier on the palate with white peach and nectarine flavors. A little citrus at the end and a medium-long finish.

Overall impression: A nicely balanced wine. It doesn’t command your attention with intensity or draw you in with complexity, but it’s an enjoyable sipper. B-

Free association:

LyceumDonQuixote

More info: Importer’s tech sheet.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Vina Robles RED4 2007 Paso Robles

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VinaRoblesRed4_labelThis wine had a lot of “shelf appeal” for me. First off it’s from Paso Robles and it’s got the vineyard named on the label. Yippee! Then I see that it’s a blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah, Tannat and Touriga Nacional. Geek-tastic!

Producer: Vina Robles

Grapes: 51% Petite Sirah, 43% Syrah, 4% Tannat, 2% Touriga Nacional

Appellation: Paso Robles

Vineyard: Huerhuero – an estate vineyard (cool map here)

[from the winery] Huerhuero Vineyard occupies a rolling terrain on the southeast border of Paso Robles, with largely south-facing slopes that reach a maximum elevation of 1,200 feet. This location is a crossroads for marine air entering the region from both the Templeton Gap and Salinas Valley. The soils are shallow, shifting from clay loam to sandy loam, with rocky calcareous subsoils—a well-drained composition that naturally tames vine vigor. The main soil types are the Nacimiento – Los Osos and the Arbuckle – Positas complex. A tight vine spacing of 6 by 4 feet in several blocks creates root competition and also controls vigor. The result is smaller vines, with balanced canopies and small, intensely flavored grapes.

Winemaking/aging: “up to” 14 months in 1-2 year old French oak

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $14

My tasting notes: This wine leads with bright red and blue fruit on nose, with some meaty/gamey aromas. On the palate, the fruit gets deeper and darker (blackberries, black cherries) with a steely/mineral quality that makes me think “old world” momentarily. Some oak and drying tannins on the back, but smooth overall considering the grapes involved.

Overall impression: This is definitely a wine I would buy again. Plenty here for everybody. It’s got gobs of fruit, but plenty of natural structure as well. Very solid. Plus it’s got fun grapes. B

Free association: I don’t know why but… Darth Tater (dark, but cheery?)

41+wowf371L._SL160_

More info:

Winery’s tech sheet (all their wines are in one pdf so you have to scroll down to find this wine)

Other blogger viewpoints at: Wine Peeps (score only: 2.5 stars), Young Winos of LA (scroll down), Wine and Cheese and Wherever You Are.