I have a few quick notes for you tonight on some upcoming wine events.
Wine Blogging Wednesday #53
You may recall that I was the host for the last Wine Blogging Wednesday, just a few weeks ago, when we featured value red wines from Chile. The next installment of this monthly event will be hosted by El Bloggo Torcido, the official blog from Twisted Oak Winery. The theme this month is Wine for Breakfast. The challenge is to pair a white or red wine with a breakfast dish. Sparkling wines, dessert wines and wine cocktails are not allowed.
As much as I love wine, I’ve never had it with breakfast. So, this will be a first for me and may be the springboard for a dark and ugly future. But check back here next Wednesday to find my breakfast wine selection and check El Bloggo Torcido for the summary from all the contributors.
Cincinnati International Wine Festival
Preparations are underway for the biggest annual wine event in Cincinnati, which happens March 12-14 this year. It’s a great event and a wonderful opportunity to sample from a huge selection of wines. I recommend getting a hotel room downtown so that you can walk to your room after the event (as you’ll probably be in no condition to drive). Hotels are offering special rates for the event. Tickets are on sale now.
Local Cincinnati Wine Tastings
Many of the local wine shops stopped doing tastings over the holidays because they were just too busy with holiday business. They are starting back up again, so get out and discover some new wines. Our friends at Liquor Direct contacted me this week to let me know that they are starting up again this Friday and Saturday. They are one of my favorite stops, since they not only pick some good wines but tend to keep the prices down to where a frugal guy like myself wants them to be. And this weekend they are featuring value wines! What more could I ask for?
And of course you can always check My Wine Education. This is wine blog written by another friend of mine in the Cincinnati area and she keeps a Cincinnati Wine Events calendar on her site where you can always find out what wine events are happening.
Cheers!
There’s a relatively new wine magazine in the market called Mutineer Magazine and I’m a fan. I appreciate those who challenge the establishment and try to do things a bit differently, which Mutineer Magazine does. Editors Alan Kropf and JJ Bagley, as well as their contributors, bring a fresh perspective to wine journalism. Check it out and I think you’ll find a refreshing and entertaining perspective on wines.
And if you find the latest issue (numer 3) you’ll find Cheap Wine Ratings highlighted in their “12 Blogs You Need to Read” article. I’m honored to be included in this list.
Also, they just posted an interview with yours truly on their blog. Check it out.
We head back to New Zealand today to try another Sauvignon Blanc. As I’ve previously mentioned, New Zealand has a reputation for good Sauvignon Blanc and this one lives up to the reputation.
The seeds of Nobilo as a winery began when Nikola Nobilo immigrated from Croatia to New Zealand in 1937 in anticipation of World War II. The Nobilo family had been producing wines in Croatia for some 300 years and Nikola continued the tradition in New Zealand. The Nobilo winery was acquired by BRL Hardy in 2000, which was then acquired by the wine and spirits giant Constellation Brands in 2003. Nikola Nobilo continued to produce wines for the company after the acquisition by Constellation, but he passed away in 2007 at the age of 94.
Nobilo produces wine from many regions in New Zealand, but this Sauvignon Blanc comes from Marlborough—reputed as the most desirable region in New Zealand for Sauvignon Blanc. After tasting this wine, I can understand why.
The intensity in the nose is good and it is a highly tropical Sauvignon Blanc. Pineapple, honey, melon, pear and a hint of flint give this wine a wonderful bouquet. When I first opened the bottle, it didn’t have the vegetal characteristic that many SBs from New Zealand have, but after it opened up a distinct green pepper aroma came to the surface. The palate is flavorful, well balanced and just as exciting as the nose. It has lemon, pear, melon, apple and mineral flavors. The finish is fairly long and enjoyable. All told, this is a great Sauvignon Blanc at a decent price.
Wine: Nobilo
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 90
Price: $11.99
The holidays are over and it’s time to start getting some new reviews posted on this site. Late last year I posted a few Sauvignon Blanc reviews and I continue this year with another SB. This one comes from Geyser Peak Winery in Northern Sonoma County, California.
While the Geyser Peak winery is located in Sonoma County, the grapes in this wine are sourced from cool coastal areas in California between Monterey and Lake County. The winery itself was established in 1880 and is located in Geyserville, CA with a view of Geyser Peak Mountain.
Compared with other Sauvignon Blanc, this one has a slight green hue—although the green color is very subtle. The nose is delightful and super-tropical, with mango, honeydew melon, peach and soft floral notes. The palate is outstanding. Big peach and melon flavors dominate, with a crisp acidity and a touch of mineral to round it out. This is a nice, refreshing Sauvignon Blanc.
Wine: Geyser Peak
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 89
Price: $11.99
I’m spending some time with family for a few days over the holidays and won’t have any new posts until after Christmas. But you can be sure I’ll be tasting some new wines and taking notes to bring you more reviews soon.
Whatever holidays you’re celebrating this time of year, I hope they are good for you. Cheers!
Today I’m combining two recent themes in one post: 1) Sauvignon Blanc; and 2) Wine from Chile. Yes, it’s a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile.
This isn’t the first SB (wine lingo for Sauvignon Blanc) from Chile that I’ve tried. A few weeks ago I featured the 2008 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc, which was outstanding. In fact, there are a number of good SB wines coming from Chile. While the recent Wine Blogging Wednesday featured red wines from Chile, some participants were disappointed that they couldn’t review white wines as there are many very good Chilean whites.
Today I’m trying the De Martino Sauvignon Blanc, made from organic grapes in Maipo Valley—a region in Chile much better known for red wine than white. De Martino is a part of a larger operation that produces bulk wine under the Santa Inés brand, and they selectively chose grapes from their vineyard for the higher-end De Martino brand. They are best known for their Carmenère, in fact in 1996 they were the first winery to distribute a wine labeled as Carmenère.
The grapes for this Sauvignon Blanc were certified organic by BCS Öko-Garantie GMBH from Germany. While I’m not a stickler for organic wine, it’s a nice added quality.
This Sauvignon Blanc is more on the fruity side than on the grassy side. The nose has plenty of melon, mango, peach and grapefruit, with just a hint of cut grass and flint. On the palate it’s refreshing, light and fruity. Again the melon flavor is dominant, followed by lime, and a touch of peach. The finish is relatively quick and brings some flint/mineral flavor. This is a very approachable, simple and refreshing wine. All told, this is another good SB from Chile.
Wine: De Martino
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 87
Price: $10.49
One of my favorite things at Cheap Wine Ratings is the summary posts, where I can give you a list of wines that have been tried to help you find some great new wines at prices that won’t cause you to break the bank. The contributions are in for Wine Blogging Wednesday #52 and altogether we had 34 participants (myself included).
I think the results show that there are a lot of enjoyable and inexpensive wines coming from Chile. I saw particular excitement about Carménère, a grape variety that is thriving in Chile. Many of the reviews were positive—there were a few disappointments, but that’s to be expected with wines in this price range. Overall, I’m thrilled with the quantity of positive reviews and I think you’ll find a lot of good wines to add you your shopping list while going trhough the reviews.
I usually rank wines in the summaries I post, but with so many different contributors, with different evaluation methods it’s impossible to rank the results by numbers. Instead I’ve grouped them by what looks like good, mediocre and disappointing. If you think I put your review in the wrong category, just drop me a note. Also, please let me know if I missed anyone.
The Good
Let’s start out with some Cabernet Sauvignon. Typically this is not the first wine you’d pick in a tasting lineup, but since this is virtual we can go crazy!
- First time Wine Blogging Wednesday participant The Wine Predator brought two bottles to the table, the 2006 Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon “Alexandre” (about $20) and the 2006 Santa Rita Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (about $10). It sounds like both wines were good, and the Casa Lapostolle edged out the Santa Rita.
- William at Wine for Newbies tried the 2007 Rayun Cabernet Sauvignon and gave it a “doggone close to a 90” score. At a mere $10, this sounds like a great bargain.
- Michelle and Kevin at My Wine Education enjoyed the 2006 Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva for about $10 and reflected on the 2008 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc that we had enjoyed recently.
- John at Anything Wine gave a favorable review of the 2006 Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon which he found for about $15.
- At Chronic Negress, you’ll find yet another good review for the 2006 Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Jim at Music & Wine enjoyed the 2007 Miguel Torres Tormenta Cabernet Sauvignon for a very affordable $12.
Next up, let’s try some Merlot.
- Dan from Bibendum joined us as another first-timer to share his thoughts on the 2007 Valdivieso Merlot Reserva, which sounds like a good one.
- Joe at 1 Wine Dude provided an outstanding list of 5 reasons why Chilean wine kicks ass. And says that for $8, the Concha y Toro Xplorador Merlot is “damn good.”
- Erika at StrumErika shared her thoughts on another good Chilean Merlot, the 2004 Viña Ventisquero Reserva.
We had only one Pinot Noir in the mix, but it comes from the head wine buyer at one of my favorite local wine shops.
- Kevin at Under the Grape Tree tried the 2007 Cona Sur Organic Pinot Noir for $9.49, which he has added to his list of favorite entry-level Pinots.
Malbec often makes people think of Argentina, but we had a number of Malbec tasting from Chile for this event.
- The Winesleuth went for the 2006 De Martino Single Vineyard Malbec and gave it a glowing review, suggesting that Chile might even do Malbec better than Argentina.
- Vinagoth, The WIne Barbarian, said that the $10, 2007 Viu Manent Secreto Malbec “blew the doors off” a $40+ Napa Cab. He also has several other Chilean wine reviews on his site he’s another advocate for finding good wines right in the price range of Cheap Wine Ratings.
- The Bubble Brothers in Ireland tried the 2005 La Fortuna Malbec for €11.50 and had some good things to say about it including tasting notes in the form of a car ride analogy.
Syrah also mad an appearance.
- Richard at The Passionate Foodie enjoyed the 2006 Montes Syrah Alpha for $16.99, which as he points out is primarily Syrah but has 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Viognier.
Let’s not forget the red blends.
The most popular variety in this tasting was Carménère, so let’s check out all the options.
- Katie at Gonzo Gastronomy used Wine Blogging Wednesday as an opportunity to challenge readers to try some little-known varieties of wine. For this event she tried the 2006 Viu Manent Carménère Reserva, which it sounds like she enjoyed.
- Deb at Good Wine Under $20 tried the 2005 Viña Cono Sur Carménère and gave it an excellent QPR rating.
- Lenn at Lenndevours, and founder of Wine Blogging Wednesday, also tried the Viña Cono Sur Carménère but went with the 2007. While it wasn’t his “cup of tea” he thought that lovers of soft, fruity reds would enjoy it.
- Sonadora, the Wannabe Wino, found an affordable and enjoyable everyday wine in the 2006 Casa Silva Reserva Carménére for $13.99. And she earns extra points for using a coupon to save a couple extra dollars.
- Tim at Winecast also got on the Carménère bus and gave a positive review to the 2006 Casa Silva Gran Reserva Carménére.
- At Drink What You Like they tried three Chilean wines. The 2006 Casa Silva Carménère Reserva got a thumbs up, but they weren’t as impressed with the 2006 BrisAndes Cabernet Sauvignon or the 2005 De Martino Cabernet Sauvignon. Since the Carménère was the top pick, I listed this contribution in that section.
- Matt at A Good Time with Wine also brought three wines to the party—clearly he knows how to have a good time with wine. The wines included the 2007 Anakena Carménère, the 2006 Anakena Single Vineyard Carménère and the 2007 Morande Pionero Carménère. He thought all of them were quite enjoyable, particularly for under $10.
- At Spittoon, the 2008 MontGras Carmenere Reserva, which cost £5.39, scored an 88/100.
The “Meh”
There were a few reviews that sounded like the wine was OK, but nothing outstanding.
- At Recently Consumed the 2006 Veo Grande Cabernet Sauvignon got a so-so review.
- Dale at Drinks Are On Me also enjoyed the Montes Syrah Alpha and didn’t go gah-gah over it, but found it quite drinkable.
- Kori at Wine Peeps tried two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon. She tried the 2006 Calina Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva and the 2006 Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon. Both of which she characterized as decent sippers, with great QPR (both under $10) although not as big as Cabs traditionally are. It sounds like the Calina edged out the Los Vascos by a nose (no pun intended).
- Greg at The Cab Franco Files was a bit disappointed with the 2004 Maquis Lien. He found that it would have been a good wine for a few dollars less than the $14 he paid. But he gets extra points for being the only participant to include a Venn diagram as a part of his review.
- Bloviatrix was underwhelmed by the 2006 Viña Chocalan Carménère Selección Maipo Valley, despite the fact that it scored a 90 in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate.
- At Vinomadic the review of 2006 Ventura Carménère sounded mediocre, although the post was the most poetic of all contributions.
The Disappointing
- Ribbie at Ribbie’s Weblog joined us for his first Wine Blogging Wednesday and assembled a panel of tasters, including two native Chileans, to try the 2006 Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva. Unfortunately, they found this one not to be an ideal pick.
- David at 2 Days per Bottle tried the 2005 Viña Santa Rita Carménère 120 and his recommendation is to run away from this one.
- Alex at Eating Leeds tried the 2008 Casa Roca Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, which she found to be a disappointing fruit bomb.
Other Contributions
Robert at Wine Post participated but did not add a review due to a conflict of interest… Robert is a PR representative for Wines of Chile. Rather than a review, he offered some facts about Chilean wine.
Thank you to all who participated. I can’t wait to try some of these wines. Next time you go wine shopping, try something from Chile. I think your palate and your wallet will both be pleased. Cheers!
Today is Wine Blogging Wednesday #52 and I am honored to be the host. For those who don’t know, Wine Blogging Wednesday is a monthly event when wine bloggers from around the world all write about a common theme. It was all started 51 months ago by Lenn Thompson at Lenndevours with the help of a handful of wine bloggers who were blogging back then — and some of them are still at it today. I first discovered Wine Blogging Wednesday about two years ago when I was making plans to launch this blog. From the get go I wanted to be a part of Wine Blogging Wednesday and for me it is a “coming of age” moment to be the host.
The theme this month is Value Reds from Chile. The criteria is simple: Write about a red wine from Chile that costs $20 US or less. Some argue that I set the price limit too high, but $20 is the limit I adhere to on this site and even though that was the upper limit, I challenged participants to try to find a real bargain if they could. Another challenge I put out there was to find a red wine from one of the lesser known regions of Chile.
Since I put the challenge out there to find something from a lesser known region I felt obligated to meet the challenge myself. And it was quite a challenge. I went from one wine shop to another looking at all the red wines from Chile and on every one all I saw was Aconcagua, Casablanca, Colchagua, and Maipo — some the most well known wine regions in Chile. After much searching I finally found one with grapes from Bío Bío, Nomad 2004. Well, at least 2% of the grapes in this wine come from Bío Bío. So I guess you could say that I barely met the challenge.
I also find it interesting that this is a 2004 with grapes from Bío Bío, as that was a particularly rainy year in that region, which posed challenges for producers.
Nomad was produced by Corpora, a producer with a number of vineyards throughout Chile—including significant properties in Bío Bío. The winemaker was T.J. Evans, who spent three years working in Chile but is now at Domaine Carneros in Napa, CA. This wine appears to be somewhat of a special project by Evans as it combines grapes sourced from a number of regions in Chile. It’s 75% Cabernet Sauvignon from Maipo Valley, 16% Syrah from Cachapoal, 7% Carmenere from Maipo and 2% Malbec from Bío Bío. I don’t expect you’ll come across much of this wine as only 1,100 cases were produced.
A deep, almost opaque crimson color is the first clue that this is going to be a rather big wine. There is good intensity in the nose with a nice balance of earthiness and fruitiness. Blackberry, plum, tar, leather and subtle mint is the best way I can describe the bouquet. The palate is fairly big, but it’s not overly big as I thought it may be from the aromas. It has abundant ripe fruit with blackberry, cherry and plum flavors. And there’s a bit of cocoa on the finish. There’s a slight bitterness from the tannins, which is my only real complaint. Overall, it’s a decent wine for the price. It’s good, but not one that makes the “I need to give a bottle of this to all my friends” list.
Wine: Nomad
Variety: Red Blend
Vintage: 2004
Alcohol: 13.7%
Rating: 87
Price: $13.99
Check back here in a few days when I’ll have a summary of all the participants of todays Wine Blogging Wednesday so that you can discover more Chilean wines and more great wine bloggers. Cheers!
Tonight we’re back to another Sauvignon Blanc, this one from the Marlborough region in New Zealand (as you might have guessed from the title.) This bottle comes from Brancott, a producer with wines from all parts of New Zealand. I’ve previously reviewed the Brancott Unoaked Chardonnay from the Gisborne region of New Zealand and I liked it quite a bit.
I simply couldn’t taste a series of Sauvignon Blancs without including at least one from New Zealand, after all the Marlborough wine region is really known for this variety more than any other. About 65% of the grapes grown in Marlborough are Sauvignon Blanc. The sunny and dry, yet relatively cool growing conditions and soils with low fertility have a reputation for producing Sauvignon Blanc with particularly unique and intense characteristics.
Sauvignon Blanc from this region is often known to have a grassy character and this is no exception to that rule. The nose is primarily cut grass and mineral aromas, with some grapefruit and mango beneath it. The palate has strong mineral characteristics, mango and high acidity. The finish is medium in length and doesn’t bring any real additional complexity. This is a decent Sauvignon Blanc, but doesn’t knock my socks off.
Wine: Brancott
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $11.99
Following up from my last post, here is another red blend from the Corbières region in France. Domaine Lignères was established in 1957 and has expanded over the years. It is owned and operated by a family full of medical practitioners and scientists. Seriously, the family that runs this vineyard includes two general practitioners, a pharmacist, a dentist and a biologist. In 2002, they started working with Italian wine consultant Stefano Chioccioli and the partnership has resulted in outstanding results.
Philosophically, they strive to extract the characteristics of the terroir where their grapes are grown and Chioccioli helps them bring that to life.
They have several different wines available, most of which are slightly more pricey than I usually purchase. But I was lucky enough to find this one for $15.
The blend in this wine consists of 60% Carignan, 25% Mourvèdre and 15% Syrah. To me, this comes across as a new world style wine that is very fruit-forward—more so than I would expect from a wine from this region. The nose is mostly fruit, showing cherries, plum, blackberry and a bit of licorice. There is very little of the earthy aromas you often find in French wines aside from a hint of straw. The palate is also rich and fruit-filled. Blackberry and plum dominate the palate and carry you into hints of chocolate covered cherries on the mid-palate and a slightly spicy finish. Overall, it’s a very good wine.
Wine: Domaine Lignères – Aric
Variety: Red Blend
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 90
Price: $14.99
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