As a man on a quest to find the best wine bargains out there, I keep an eye out for awards won by inexpensive wines and make a note to check those out for myself. Just a couple months ago, right here in Cincinnati, the 2007 Harlow Ridge Pinot Noir was awarded one of only nine gold medals in the Cincinnati International Wine Festival. I was a judge for that festival but the Harlow Ridge was not in the group of wines that I evaluated, and so I thought I’d give this one a shot.
The Harlow Ridge brand is part of the Bronco Wine Company portfolio of wines. This is the company best known for producing 2 Buck Chuck, and they have a number of bargain wine brands. Speaking of bargains, this wine sells for about $10, which is why it caught my eye when it won a gold medal.
So, how does it measure up?
The aromatics are surprisingly rich for a wine of this price. Violet, cherry, cola and truffle bring good complexity at a reasonable intensity. Right out of the bottle the nose is prevalent, which is pleasantly surprising. The palate doesn’t measure up as strong as the nose for me. It seems a touch off balance to the acidic side, but not dramatically so. There is a good fruit flavors with cherry, rhubarb and plum. And a hint of coffee adds more complexity. The finish is relatively long and the tannins are soft.
It doesn’t quite seem like a Gold Medal wine to me, but it’s a good Pinot Noir… particularly for the price. But due to the fact that I found it slightly acidic, I’m not surprised that it stood out to the judges. I have found that when tasting a lot of wines in one sitting, after you get a little palate-fatigue, wines that are more acidic tend to pop and stand out from the other wines.
Regardless of whether it’s just a good wine or a gold medal wine, it’s only 10 bucks. So I’d say, if you’re a fan of Pinot Noir give this one a shot to see what you think for yourself.
Wine: Harlow Ridge
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $10.00
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I’ve been wanting to do a Gewurztraminer review here for a while and I’m finally getting around to one today. And at the same time I’m wading into what might be the most debated wine pairing topic: Asparagus. I’m not going to spend a lot of time debating which wines go best with asparagus, I’ll just share this experience. Fellow wine blogger Neil at Brooklynguy’s Food and Wine Blog wrote a post about pairing wine with asparagus just a couple weeks ago, so you can check out his post if you’re interested. I agree with Neil’s position that the challenge of pairing wine with asparagus is exaggerated. And I also agree with his choice, Gewurztraminer—although the one he selected is drier than the one I had.
I will note that I didn’t pair this wine with straight asparagus, but rather with a shrimp and asparagus risotto. The strength of the asparagus flavor is a bit diluted in this dish, which probably makes pairing a wine with it even easier. I found the original recipe here, but altered it a bit to suit my tastes. Here’s what I did:
Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto
Ingredients
5 ounces of Arborio rice
4 ounces of asparagus, cut in one-inch pieces
4 ounces of boiled shrimp
4 cups of shrimp stock
½ cup of Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of chopped shallot
1 ½ teaspoons of chopped parsley
1 cup of dry white wine
Instructions
- In a pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil over a medium heat.
- Add shallots and cook until translucent.
- Add asparagus and cook for another minute.
- Add Arborio rice and toast lightly for about 2 minutes.
- Add the wine and stir continuously until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed.
- Gradually add the shrimp stock, about a ¼ cup at a time, stirring constantly.
- When the rice has absorbed all of the stock, add the shrimp and stir gently for 2 minutes.
- Once done, add the parsley and Parmesan cheese.
It had been a while since I’ve made risotto and I’m reminded both of why I don’t make it very often and why I should make it more frequently. It’s a lot of work, constantly stirring the rice to make this properly, but the end result is scrumptious.
Getting back to the wine, this is an off-dry to slightly sweet Gewurztraminer from the Alsace region in France. This is a region known for extraordinary white wines with rich mineral characteristics. While you can find some Gewurztraminer that is dry, more often than not it will be slightly sweet.
The Ruhlmann family, from which Domaine Ruhlmann-Schutz was born, has been producing wine in the Alsace region since 1688. The vines from which the grapes were harvested are old too, but not THAT old. They are 30 year old vines and as such produce small quantities of fruit, but the fruit that is produced is concentrated in flavor, and that is evident in the taste of this wine.
The nose is very intense and is brimming with rich floral aromas. Violets, rose, pear, lemon peel and mineral nearly overwhelm the senses. You can taste some of the floral notes on the palate as well, along with crisp pear, a hint of honey, lychee, lemon and mineral. I have, in the past, scoffed at wine reviews that mention lychee, because it’s so meaningless to most people… not everyone has tasted lychee. But it’s there, I can’t deny it. And it’s the best way to describe the flavor that I found in this wine.
In addition to the exceptional nose and palate, there is outstanding length on the finish. All the way around this is a great wine. In fact, it scored a 90 with me. And although some wines from Alsace can get pricey, this one is very reasonable at $15. An awesome deal.
Wine: Ruhlmann – Vieilles Vignes
Variety: Gewurztraminer
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 90
Price: $15.00
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I am a sucker for products that donate profits to charity. And I know that in many cases “sucker” is probably an appropriate word to use. There is a “feel good” factor that makes me enjoy products more if I think that the profits are going to support a good cause rather than going directly into the pockets of some multimillionaire in New York. But the product still has to be good for me to make a repeat purchase. I’ve been buying Newman’s Own Medium Salsa for years, because it’s good and I like the fact that the profits are going to charities.
I was intrigued when I learned about ONEHOPE wines because they donate 50% of all profits to different causes. While it’s not 100% of profits, a company needs some profits to survive… and 50% to charities is significant. Different wines from ONEHOPE benefit different causes, so you’re bound to find one of their wines that supports a cause that’s close to you.
I had a chance to try the 2008 ONEHOPE Sauvignon Blanc, which is exclusive to Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market. It’s not just exclusive, Fresh & Easy’s “Master of Wine,” Phil Reedman, worked with winemaker David Elliot to produce this wine. Fresh & Easy has about 70 exclusive wines that Reedman has been involved in producing. I’m not aware of other retailers that are that involved in the wines they sell (it might be happening elsewhere, I’m just not aware of it.)
Fresh & Easy released this Sauvignon Blanc about a month ago, on Earth Day. 50% of ONEHOPE’s profits from this wine will be donated to American Forests, a nonprofit organization that plants trees for environmental restoration. Basically, for every bottle of wine sold, they will plant a tree. To add to the environmental friendliness of this wine, it was produced using sustainable wine growing practices.
While all the charity stuff is great, the wine still has to be good for me to give it a “thumbs up,” and this one is good. This is characteristically a California Sauvignon Blanc. It has a little bit of grassiness in the aromas, but it’s much more subtle than in New Zealand or Chilean SBs. The aromas are mostly in the tropical fruit family, with honeydew melon, lemon and banana. The palate is delectable with melon, pear, mango and lemon flavors. The acidity is sufficient, although it’s not quite as crisp as I would have preferred. The finish is good on this wine with lingering citrus flavors and a hint of mineral.
For $9.99 it’s a good Sauvignon Blanc, and with some of that going to a good cause it’s even better.
Wine: ONEHOPE
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $9.99
Over the past several weeks I’ve posted a number of reviews for Merlot. I feel sorry for Merlot. It’s gotten an undeserved reputation as a boring wine. This is mostly due to the movie Sideways, and American’s tendency to foolishly be influenced by anything they see on screen. Let me set the record straight, Merlot can be exciting and Merlot can be exceptional. If my word isn’t enough and you need to see this message on screen, then check out the movie Merlove… it’s all about Merlot and explores how great it can be.
After I do a series of reviews I like to do a summary to see how all the wines stacked up, and to give you a quick reference for some you may want to try. Here’s the results of the latest Merlot reviews.
Top Picks
One of the things I enjoyed about this series of reviews is that there were quite a few that I liked a lot. Another thing that I enjoyed is the variety in the style of these different Merlots. And the top three, each with a score of 89 points, all present a slightly different style. I recommend any of these depending on your preferences.
My personal favorite brings a little dirty characteristic to the wine. The 2006 Oyster Bay Merlot has perfumey floral, herbal and fruit aromas that I found to be enjoyable and interesting. The palate goes from raspberry, to cherry, to licorice. It’s a great Merlot for $14.99.
If your preference is a big and juicy Merlot, bursting with plum, cherry, blackberry and cocoa flavors then try a Chilean Merlot. All the Merlot from Chile that I tried was big and juicy, but the best was the 2005 Cono Sur Visión Merlot for a very affordable $11.99.
And finally, if elegance is what you seek then go with the 2005 Alexander Valley Vineyards Merlot. You’ll find clove, violets, dark cherry and raspberry on the nose, with licorice, ripe fruit and black pepper on the palate.
Best Value
The honor of “best value Merlot” goes to the 2006 Red Truck. It’s a fairly simple and predictable Merlot, but still good. Raspberry and plum are the main features in this wine, but a touch of vanilla adds a little bit of interest. And at $7.69 how can you complain about a tasty Merlot?
The Ratings
Here’s how the top 15 good, cheap Merlots stack up. These are ordered first by rating, then by price.
I logged on tonight planning to post a summary of all the Merlot reviews I’ve done recently, in order to show how they all stack up to each other and help you pick the best bargains. When I pulled up my tasting notes database I saw that I had neglected to post a review of one of the best Merlots I’ve had recently, the Cono Sur Visión from Chile.
I’ve had a few different wines from Cono Sur recently, including an organic Pinot Noir that I recently reviewed, and I have yet to be disappointed. They seem to be consistently producing great wines at reasonable prices. And there are plenty of wines to try from Cono Sur as their wine portfolio is massive!
Chilean wine keeps coming up as a theme on this site as well. A testament to the great value wines coming from that region as a whole. Tomorrow night I’ll be attending a “virtual wine tasting” with a number of Chilean wine producers and other wine bloggers to sample and learn about some more Chilean wines. I doubt I’ll have anything posted on the blog about it as quickly as tomorrow night, but I’ll be feverishly taking notes for a review or two in the next few days.
Getting down to details on this specific Merlot, it comes from the Colchagua Valley in Chile. Mostly red wines are produced in this region, due to the warm climate. Cabernet Sauvignon is the most planted variety here, followed by Merlot. Although it’s the second-most planted variety in the region, Merlot in Colchagua Valley has suffered from weak root systems, resulting in dehydration. Careful site selection and proper rootstocks are key to successful Merlot from this area.
Despite the challenges of the region, Cono Sur got this one right. This is one of the biggest, juiciest Merlots I’ve ever tasted. The nose is very herbal with eucalyptus, smoke, plum and cherry. The palate is rich and mouth filling, with plum, cherry, blackberry and cocoa. It’s well structured and well balanced. The tannins are smooth and not overpowering at all. This is a very nice Merlot, especially for the price.
Wine: Cono Sur – Visión
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 89
Price: $11.99
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Today it’s nothing fancy. Just a quick and dirty review. This Merlot is one of the best sellers at one of my favorite wine shops. It’s a great price, and so I wanted to see what made this so popular. To be honest, that still seems to be a mystery to me.
I would call this an average, commercial Merlot. The nose is OK, although it lacks intensity. It has some classic plum, strawberry, earthy beet and sage aromas. But I also got a hint of sulfur on the nose, for which it gets a ding. The palate is fairly bland, although there’s nothing offensive about it. The fruit is a little weak—what’s there is plum and cherry. It’s slightly bitter on the finish and slightly heavy on the tannins in general. But the acidity is good. This is a drinkable Merlot, but nothing I would seek out.
Wine: Blackstone
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 82
Price: $7.98
When I see a wine named “Fat Bastard” I don’t know what to expect. My first impression is that wine is all about marketing shtick and has no real substance. But then I think that perhaps the winemaker just has a good sense of humor. There’s no real way to know without giving it an objective tasting.
Fat Bastard is even more odd for a name of a French wine, given how traditional and majestic the names and labels are on most French wines. I mean, I could see this coming from Australia, but France??? There’s something I like about the elegance of the traditional marketing of French wines, but it can also be intimidating to those who are new to it. I remember a time when I avoided the French aisle due to that. So, I have to give the producers of Fat Bastard credit for making a French wine more approachable from a marketing perspective.
According to the story they tell, the name comes from a joke between winemaker Thierry Boudinaud and wine entrepreneur Guy Anderson. One day when when they were tasting wine samples Thierry commented that a wine tasted like a fat bastard, and the name stuck.
As a brand, Fat Bastard offers seven different varieties of wine, all from the Languedoc region in Southern France. And all of their wines are priced for budget-conscious consumers.
This is a nice Merlot, although it is fairly simple. On the nose it’s mostly blackberry and plum with a very soft beet aroma. Yes, beets as in the root vegetable. And if you’ve never had roasted beets with a good, full-flavored red wine I suggest you give it a try, the pairing can be outstanding.
There isn’t much intensity on the nose, so it is a delicate bouquet. Contrarily the palate has a good amount of concentration, with plenty of ripe blackberry and plum flavors. It has a very well rounded and full mouth feel with rich silky tannins that linger into the finish.
It is a very approachable Merlot and a very good wine for the price.
Wine: Fat Bastard
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $9.99
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My friend Kevin Keith, blogger at Under the Grape Tree and head wine buyer at Liquor Direct in Northern Kentucky, has invited me to present the weekly wine tasting at Liquor Direct this Friday and Saturday, May 15 & 16. It’s really pretty casual, not a formal presentation or anything. Kevin asked me to pick the wines and I’ll be on-hand to talk about the wines you’re sampling. I did this one last fall and it was fun to meet some of the local readers of this blog.
Times and locations:
- Friday 4-8PM @ Fort Thomas, Liquor Direct
- Saturday 2-6PM @ Covington, KY Liquor Direct
Since there are 2 locations I can’t be in both places at once. Jonathan Seeds, another Cincinnati-area wine blogger, will be at the location opposite me at each of those times with his own theme. You can check out his blog too at Best Drink Ever.
The theme I picked for this tasting is European Red Wines for Under $20. Unless anything changes before then there will be a couple wines from Spain, a couple from Italy and one from France. And because I like to constantly try new wines myself, I picked a few new ones for this along with a couple favorites. Most of the wines we’ll be tasting are ones that I haven’t even posted an official review about. And so, I’ll give you the quick assessment. Please note that the prices are just from my notes the last time I bought these wines. I don’t work for Liquor Direct and can’t guarantee the prices. They usually have special prices at tasting also, so you’ll probably do better than what I have listed here. Here’s what we’re planning:
Villa Brondello Primitivo 2007
This is an Italian wine and if you’re not familiar with Primitivo, well it’s the same grape you may know as Zinfandel. That said, it is stylistically different from what you probably think of as Zin. The nose has a dusty nature to it. I would describe the nose on this one as cherry, dusty tomato, sage and coffee. The palate is much softer than California Zinfandel. It’s full of rich tannins, dark cherry, blackberry, oak and cocoa. It is not at all jammy. It’s well balanced and very approachable. To be honest, it’s slightly over-oaked in my opinion, but it’s still good.
Rating: 85
Price: $7.98
Mano a Mano Tempranillo 2006
Now we jump over to Spain for a little Tempranillo. This is a tasty wine and quite a bargain. Blackberry, salami, black pepper and tea on the nose. The palate has big blackberry flavors followed by tea on the mid-palate and finish. It’s not very complex, but it’s still a yummy Tempranillo.
Rating: 87
Price: $8.59
Tres Picos Garnacha
Since we’re enjoying Spain, let’s stay there for a minute to enjoy some Tres Picos Garnacha. To be honest, I don’t even have formal tasting notes on this wine in my database (yes, I’m that geeky that I keep a database of my tasting notes). It kind of amazes me that I don’t have notes on this one because it is a quick pick favorite of mine. If I’m having friends over or going to a party I’ll often grab a bottle of Tres Picos because I know it’s going to be good. If I had to guess (and I do) I’d say that it would end up getting a rating between 88-90 from me.
Rating: 88-90
Price: I have to go from memory here $14-15
E. Altare Dolcetto d’Alba 2006
And now it’s back to Italy for a recent favorite of mine from a review of wines from Piedmont, Italy. Read about it in that post.
Rating: 90
Price: $17.69
Gerard Bertrand Tautavel 2005
This is a red blend from the Tautavel appellation in the Roussillon region of France, and it’s outstanding. It’s a combination of Grenache, Syrah and Carnigan… not a surprising blend at all from France. The bouquet on this wine favors the earth-side of the spectrum. Mushroom, toasted oak and walnut provide an earthy foundation to soft cassis and blackberry aromatics. The blackberry and cassis come to life in a big way on the palate, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it “fruit forward”. It is an elegant and full bodied wine, with silky tannins that give a luxurious feel to the wine. The berry flavors linger on the finish. This is a very nice wine.
Rating: 89
Price: $17.69
I hope you stop by, say hello and challenge me on my tasting notes.
If you’re a wine blog reader (and you wouldn’t be reading this if you were not one) then your opinion matters for a study about wine blogs being conducted right now.
Tracy Rickman, a doctoral candidate studying consumer research at Auburn University, is studying the viability of wine blogs as an information resource, and the influence wine blogs have on readers. This project is for her dissertation, and many of us wine bloggers are anxious to see the results. She has been conducting interviews for months to build her case and is now conducting a survey to add to the research… that is where you come in.
She has asked me and a number of other wine bloggers to spread the word and encourage you, our readers, to complete this survey. It will take you about 15 minutes to complete it, and once you start it you cannot go away and come back to finish it later. So once you start it, please stick with it to the end.
I encourage you to participate, as your input will not only help Tracy earn her doctorate, but it will also help wine bloggers like me better understand what info you seek on blogs and write better stuff for you.
Although New Zealand and Oyster Bay are both best known for Sauvignon Blanc, it’s the Oyster Bay Merlot that has captured my attention. I first tasted this Merlot at the first ever North American Wine Blogger’s Conference last October. At that conference there was an open tasting of 100 wines from New Zealand. Most of the wines were Sauvignon Blanc, but there were a few red wines in the mix. I tried this Merlot from Oyster Bay and it instantly had a “wow factor” for me. I had been tasting grassy Sauvignon Blanc prior to this one, so I wasn’t sure if the wine truly was as good as I thought or if my senses had become tainted by all the other wines. So… I took note of the wine and planned to pick some up to taste later.
When I returned from the conference I set out to find a bottle of this Oyster Bay Merlot and sure enough, I couldn’t find it anywhere. Isn’t that always the case when you know of a specific wine and you set out to find it? I stopped in several of my favorite wine shops and had no luck. I had given up on finding this wine, when one day I was casually strolling through the wine section at a Kroger grocery store and bam! there it was. Finally, I can check this thing out with a formal review.
The Oyster Bay brand was created by Delegat’s Wine Estate in 1990 and has gotten numerous accolades over the years. They are best known for their white wines from Marlborough, but also have some vineyards in Hawkes Bay, where this Merlot is produced. Hawkes Bay is the second largest wine growing region in NZ and the top producer of red wines in the country.
This is one of the most interesting Merlots I’ve tasted in some time. There’s a lot going on in this wine. The nose is filled with herbal, floral and fruit aromas. Raspberry, violets, sage and spice blend together in a dirty perfume that will have you smelling the wine over and over because it’s just wonderful. The palate is filled with ripe raspberry and cherry flavors along with a hint of licorice that leads into a relatively long finish. The tannins are just right. To me, this is a very good Merlot with a lot of character—but it may not be for everyone. Some may find this too dirty for their tastes, but I’d suggest giving it a try to find out how you like it.
Wine: Oyster Bay
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 89
Price: $14.99
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