As we wrote in our 2009 roundup of 15 Good Merlots Under $15, “merlot can be exciting and merlot can be exceptional”. I agree with this, but let me go on record here by saying I’m hard on merlot. Maybe it’s because I’ve tasted so many fat & jammy, cookie cutter examples that I’ve grown a little weary of the varietal, particularly with less expensive versions. Now that’s not to suggest that you can’t find a diamond in the rough. You certainly can, but the task is made much harder with a varietal that the industry, the domestic vintners in particular, have all but typecast.
So here we go again, in an ongoing effort to hunt down an exceptional, noteworthy merlot for under $15, we’re rounding up a few arrivals to Cheapwineratings.com, and seeing if one of these gets to wear the crown for most distinguished merlot, in an also-ran varietal category.
First up is Crane Lake 2008. This wine is rather light and jammy, but it shows a little character in the mid-palate, where it’s smooth fruit pleases. Unfortunately the wine turns mildly astringent in the finish and throws off the balance a bit. A decent offering, but it doesn’t get the crown.
Wine: CraneLake
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $4.99
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Next is the Concannon 2007. I was expecting big things from this wine, judging from the heft of the bottle and the overall impressive packaging. But the Concannon disappointed. It has a rather rustic style, which can be distinguishing, but the wine is overwhelmed with tannin and alcohol, making it appear “hot” and out of balance.
Wine: Concannon Conservancy Livermore Valley
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 82
Price: $14.99
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On to the Glen Ellen 2008, a winery that it could be argued is as mainstream as they come. But its humble class status belies the true nature of this wine. I was pleasantly surprised by the Glen Ellen. The wine offers up abundant plum fruit, tinged with cherry. It’s slightly jammy, but is the most balanced wine of the bunch, with nicely integrated tannins. This is a good example of traditional California merlot, but it’s not my style.
Wine: Glen Ellen Proprietor’s Reserve “Concannon Vineyard”
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 87
Price: $5.99
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Monthaven Winery’s 2008 merlot is by default the most distinguished wine here simply because it comes in a 3 liter bag-in-the-box. There are many advantages to this, not the least of which is being able to enjoy the wine well after it has been opened. In fact I’m still enjoying this same wine now over a month in. And don’t let the packaging fool you. This is a legitimate contender, offering a rich and textured palate with well-integrated tannins. The finish is a bit dry, but the wine shows an abundance of ripe plum and blackberry fruit, along with some pleasant herbal notes. You need to try this wine, if only to see how good bag-in-the-box can be.
Wine: Monthaven Winery
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 87
Price: $24.00 (3l)
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Then we have the Motos Liberty 2008. While the Motos, it could be argued, is one of the more distinguished wines here, offering up a nice nose of strawberry, plum and mild vanilla, turning herbal and cedary on the palate, the wine lacks intensity, and finishes with mild astringency. A good effort overall, but it finished mid-pack.
Wine: Motos Liberty
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $10.99
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Historically, Napa Ridge has offered solid value across their line-up of wines. And their 2007 Merlot is no exception. This example offers rich black fruit and integrated oak on the nose. On the palate the wine is quite lush, offering jammy plum fruit and good structure. This wine could actually fool you into thinking it was much more expensive than it actually is.
Wine: Napa Ridge
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 87
Price: $12
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Our last entry is Turning Leaf’s 2008. This wine initially offers a rich nose of banana and oak, but that fades to unripe plum and strawberry. The wine is nicely balanced with tropical notes and oak, but turns slightly tannic. This might appear as a flaw with some traditional merlot drinkers, but it actually provides this merlot with some distinction.
Wine: Turning Leaf
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $7.99
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So there you go, 7 merlots worthy of a try. I can’t say there is a wine worthy of the crown in this bunch, but there are some favorites. The search continues…….
A Salute!
Disclosure: These wines were received as samples.
People often ask me, “what’s your favorite wine?” And that’s an impossible question to answer because I really don’t have a singular favorite. There are so many options and the differences between them can be so vast that I have different preferences for different occasions. Now if someone asked me, “what’s your favorite wine to have with spaghetti?” it would be easier to answer, but I still couldn’t give just one. I’d say, Chianti or sangiovese, but I still wouldn’t have a specific brand. Anyway, that’s a long way of saying, “I love sangiovese.” So I was glad to give this one a try.
The thing I like about sangiovese is that it has depth. Its a medium-bodied wine with plenty of fruit flavors, some spice to make it interesting and, if it’s made well, good structure. It’s not too big or jammy, which makes it a good food wine. Yet it can be good on its own as well. When ordering a wine for a meal, I’ve often gone with the philosophy that you can’t go wrong with a good sangiovese.
The Rocca di Montemassi estate is located in the Monterigio zone in Tuscany. Sangiovese is one of the main varietals they produce. The area has a long history of wine production, and the estate has been owned by the Zonin family since 1998.
This wine has a very pleasant nose, with aromas of cedar, spices, cherries and raspberries. In the mouth it offers plenty of plum and cherry flavors with a touch of spice. The tannins add a touch of black tea to the flavor and a dryness to the mouth feel. Vibrant acidity keeps this wine bright. While it has plenty of structure, it’s not overly acidic or tannic, making this is a very approachable wine. While many people would just think of this as an old world wine, I think it has the best of both worlds.
Wine: Rocca di Montemassi Le Focaie
Variety: Sangiovese
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 87
Price: $14.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.
Looking for an easy drinking cabernet sauvignon for the Fall? Well look no further than Flipflop’s 2009. We’ve recently reviewed Flipflop’s 2009 Pinot Noir and found it to be “pleasant”. Their 2009 cabernet sauvignon takes the same approach with simple, straightforward fruit and just enough structure to keep things interesting.
This is Flipflop’s first year making cabernet sauvignon, and as with the pinot noir, there approach to wine making is to make friends first. Like the pinot noir, there is absolutely nothing off-putting about this cabernet sauvignon either. Then again, like the pinot noir, there isn’t anything here to distinguish the wine. One could argue that there isn’t a lot of winemaking happening in the Flipflop cellars. This is about as straightforward as it gets.
There is plenty of blackberry fruit on the nose and palate, and the finish is mild with smooth, mild tannins and mild acidity. Again, there isn’t much to write about here. It’s wines like these that should make people who review wines worry, or, at the very least, think. If all wines were like these, there would be no point in reviewing them. How sad would that be?
A Salute!
Wine: Flipflop
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $7.00
Want another opinion? Here’s what some other reviewers thought of the 2009 Flipflop Cabernet Sauvignon:
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.
We’ve recently received a few wines from a new winery in California named Flipflop. Here we’ll be reviewing their first pinot noir, the 2009 vintage. We’ll also soon be reviewing their first cabernet sauvignon, also a 2009. David Georges started the Flipflop winery with the goal of creating wines that are true to their varietal characteristics, taste great, and don’t break the bank. That’s right in our wheelhouse! So let’s see how they taste.
But before we get into the review, I’d like to share an observation. I’ve been in the marketing and advertising space for over 12 years now and as I’ve mentioned in some of my rants and ravings here at Cheapwineratings.com, I can certainly appreciate when a winery offers up some clever branding. However, I have very little tolerance for brands with nothing more than unsubstantiated “sizzle”. When it comes to wines, I’m a purist, and there is simply no substitute for good old-fashioned quality.
From a marketer’s perspective, however, there is a lot to like here. If we were Cheapwinemarketingreviews.com, I would be scoring Flipflop in the high 90’s. As I dug more into Flipflop’s packaging, web site, and brand story, I was impressed with the execution. But I couldn’t help but feel that David Georges was trying to ‘make bank’ instead of helping his customers avoid breaking the bank. But I’ve thoroughly digressed.
We’re here to review a pinot noir. And, a pinot noir this certainly is. There is plenty of cherry up front on the nose and through the palate. The wine is very pleasant, but this is by no means a complex wine. The finish is mild, with mild tannins and mild acidity. The aroma is straightforward cherry.
There is absolutely nothing here that anyone would find off-putting. And, if you were to think so then I would recommend that you stop drinking wine altogether. You may even want to consider giving up grape juice, for that matter. All that said, Flipflop has produced a decent pinot noir in their first vintage. Here’s to hoping that they begin channeling some of that marketing money and thinking into creating some more distinguished wines.
A Salute!
Wine: Flipflop
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $7.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.
The weather is starting to turn to autumn, but we’ve had a few more warm days recently here in Cincinnati so I’m going to take advantage of it to continue reviewing tasty summer wines. But this is one that you don’t have to limit to summer drinking. If you’re a pinot grigio fan, this is one you’ll enjoy any time of year.
This past weekend I was invited to a crab boil, so I wanted to bring a good shellfish wine. So, I took my tasting notes on this one and enjoyed the rest with some crab. That said, I did not taste this one blind as we usually do.
The Tenuta Ca’Bolani pinot grigio comes from the Aquileia in the Friuli appellation in Italy. This area has been prized for its wines since Roman times.
When I’m drinking a pinot grigio, I’m not looking for intense fruit flavors. What I’m looking for is a very dry white wine with crisp acidity and interesting mineral characteristics to give the wine depth. And that’s exactly what I found in this wine.
The nose is really nice, with lime, melon and mineral aromas, plus some herbal/hay notes that added some complexity and interest. The palate is nice and tart, just like I like a pinot grigio, with exceptional acidity. The flavors are light, but enjoyable with notes of lime, granny smith apple and chalk. The finish is relatively long and brings a touch of sea salt, along with a continuation of the lime flavor.
Wine: Tenuta Ca’Bolani
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 87
Price: $12.99
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.
I wasn’t familiar with Silver Ridge Vineyards before trying their Napa sauvignon blanc offering, but with so many “Silver” and “Ridge” named wines earning such great accolades, I was sure that they chose the name smartly. From a branding standpoint, my subconscious seemed excited that I was about to consume a really good wine. Although, I’ve become such a fan of New Zealand sauvignon blanc that consciously, I was preparing for a let down.
Right off the bat, the Silver Ridge sauvignon blanc hits you with a rather buttery nose, with laces of honey turning to very mild sweet bell pepper. With a little more time to open up, aromas of banana and sweet bread begin to appear. While this is not my style of sauvignon blanc, (I much prefer the richer, peppery and grassy style of the kiwi’s) I certainly appreciate the complexity here.
On the palate, the wine offers up a nice core of tropical fruit and bell pepper. However, here is where, in my view, the wine’s buttery smoothness undermines it. While the fruit is there, the wine doesn’t balance it enough with a nice core of acidity. The finish seems especially muted. It doesn’t possess the raw zingy flavor that I believe people are becoming accustomed to now, particularly from New World sauvignon blanc. For sure this is a more elegant style, and one that I believe will appeal to California wine lovers. So while I gave it a good rating and recommend that you try it, I’ll pass, thank you.
A Salute!
Wine: Silver Ridge
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $11.99
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.
Alto Adige is a region in Northern Italy that produces some stellar white wines. But for some reason, most wine consumers in the US don’t seem to be familiar with this region — unless they’re wine geeks like me. Well, if you want to try some wines with character… wines with a little more to offer than your run-of-the-mill Italian pinot grigio… let me introduce you to pinot bianco from Alto Adige.
When I say that Alto Adige is in Northern Italy, I mean waaayyyyy Northern Italy. Where they speak more German than Italian. And pinot bianco is the prized grape variety from this region.
The Cantina Terlan pinot bianco has a nice straw color to it. It also has really nice aromatics, with a predominant pear fragrance complemented by honeysuckle and melon aromas. The palate also shows a lot of pear flavor, but there’s more to this wine than that. It has complexity and character. The acidity is good, making this wine really bright on the mid-palate. It offers some melon flavors too, and also a spiciness that really makes it interesting. The finish is nice too, with stone fruit and mineral flavors, plus a lingering floral nuance. This is a really enjoyable and interesting white wine!
Wine: Cantina Terlan Alto Adige Pinot Bianco
Variety: Pinot bianco
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 89
Price: $15.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.
Today is International Tempranillo Day and to celebrate wine lovers all over the world are drinking tempranillo today. And wine writers, like me, are writing about tempranillo all over the Internet. Why? … Why not? It’s always fun to explore different varieties of wine, and it’s always fun to come together with your fellow wine aficionados to celebrate a style of wine.
While I’m not a stranger to tempranillo, I have to admit that it’s been a long time since we’ve reviewed any on this site. And I think this is the first American tempranillo we’ve reviewed — all others being from Spain. But there are actually a number of producers in California (and other regions) making great wine with tempranillo grapes.
¡Viva Yo! from Bodegas Paso Robles is from the Central Coast appellation, despite the “Paso Robles” in the name of the producer. While some of the fruit in this wine is from Paso Robles, not 100% is, therefore requiring the appellation be the broader Central Coast. Specifically, this wine has tempranillo from Santa Ana Valley Vineyard in Tres Piños and from Starr Ranch in Paso Robles. This wine also has 10% cabernet sauvignon, which comes from Rancho Encino Vineyard in Paso Robles.
This is a small production wine too, which makes it special to wine geeks like me. Only 501 cases of this wine were produced, so you won’t find it in every wine shop.
The nose has outstanding intensity, with aromas of plums, raisins and coffee. It has a lot of depth and character to it too. It’s the type of wine that I spend more time smelling than drinking, just because the aromas are so fascinating. But then again, the palate is pretty interesting too.
It has loads of jammy fruit up front, like plum and cherry. Towards the mid-palate it becomes more tart and spicy, while the finish leaves you with mouth-watering fruit flavors and an aromatic herbal twist. At my first sip, I thought that the concentration of the fruit may become too much, but by the third sip my palate had adjusted and found it balanced – although powerful. The acidity is stellar and the mouth feel nice. All in all, this is a really nice wine.
Whether it’s this wine or another tempranillo, I encourage you to pick up a bottle of tempranillo today to celebrate with us. Let us know what you’re enjoying today. Even if you’re not reading this on the official Tempranillo Day, may your own day! Cheers!
Wine: Bodegas Paso Robles ¡Viva Yo! Tempranillo
Variety: 90% tempranillo, 10% cabernet sauvignon
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 92
Price: $24.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.
Editor’s Note: Since our readers are interested in finding great inexpensive wines, we thought we’d invite another bargain hunter to stop by and share his cheap wine recommendations. The following is a guest post from Jon Thorsen of The Reverse Wine Snob.
If you’re a fan of CheapWineRatings.com then I know that you know there is plenty of good wine to be found for less than $20. Once you start talking about wine under $10 however, it gets a little dicey. Tim has graciously allowed me to share some of my favorite $10 and under finds. So without further ado, here are my top five wines under $10.
2010 Familia Zuccardi Santa Julia Organica Malbec
Available for $9-10. 100% Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina. Very smooth, very drinkable and it’s even organic. From a vineyard that subsidizes health care and gives free education to their workers so you can feel even better while enjoying its smooth plum flavors and slightly spicy finish.
2009 d’Arenberg The Stump Jump Red
Available for $9.99. 42% Grenache, 33% Shiraz, 25% Mourvédre from McLaren Vale, Australia. Strong aromas of plum, ripe fruit, and a little spice. The wine is very smooth with tastes of dark fruit, blackberry, and dried herbs. The wine ends with a great medium-long spicy finish.
2008 Concannon Vineyard Conservancy Petite Sirah
Available for $9.99. 100% Petite Sirah from Livermore Valley, California. Ahh, Petite Sirah, a wine with an interesting up and down history that doesn’t seem to get enough recognition today. This one has sweet blackberries and a little chocolate and pepper on the nose. The palate showed blackberries and even a bit of mocha. The dry finish has nice tannins and is overall just a really nicely balanced, full-bodied, drinkable wine.
2010 Caligiore Staccato Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon
Available for $9.99. 60% Malbec and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon from Mendoza, Argentina. A second organic wine in my Top 5 Wines Under $10 list, but really that’s just a bonus because this wine is simply great. This is a deliciously fruity wine with smooth but firm tannins on the finish. Medium-bodied with blackberry and spice.
2009 Altovinum Calatayud Evodia Garnacha
Available for as low as $6.99 (at Costco). 100% Garnacha from Calatayud, Spain. This wine comes from vines up to 100 years old. Black cherry and cola on the nose, followed by raspberry notes with a bit of pepper and heat. Slightly dry and a very smooth finish that lingers nicely. Sublime is really the best word to describe this one. Highly recommended.
*All wines except the Evodia were samples received for review purposes.
Last week we reviewed the Les Deux Rives Corbières Rosé, and staying with the “summer sippers with Rhone varietals” theme we’re checking out the white wine from this brand, Les Deux Rives Corbières Blanc.
This comes from the same region in southern France as the rosé and is made from a blend of 60% grenache, 20% marsanne and 20% roussanne. I assume it’s a “grenache blanc” since it’s a white wine, although the label only specifies it as “grenache.” And you may recall from another recent review, marsanne and roussanne are a couple of my favorite white varieties. The marsanne and roussane add some really interesting herbaceous and mineral characteristics to this wine, while the grenache gives it a good fruit base.
The aromas from this wine are a delightful blend of honeydew melon, lime, straw and wet stones. On the palate, it serves up lime and mineral flavors with moderate concentration. This wine has a light body with delicate flavors and soft acidity. I would have liked a touch more acidity, but it’s dry enough that the acidity is balanced with the sweetness — or lack thereof. It finishes with mineral and a hint of lemon. Well chilled, this would be a nice sipper on a hot summer day.
Wine: Les Deux Rives Corbières Blanc
Variety: 60% grenache, 20% marsanne, 20% roussanne
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $10.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.
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