2006 Razor’s Edge Shiraz – $9
February 26, 2010 by dave · Leave a Comment
Every time I pick up a valued priced Shiraz, I go on the internet and find that it got 90 plus points from some national wine publication. This McLaren Vale Shiraz is one of Robert Parker’s Best Buy’s of Australia. From what I could find about the Razor’s Edge, it’s made primarily for American tastes. There is not much information available about how long it is aged in oak, etc.. on the internet for this wine.
The color is your textbook Shiraz, deep, dark, opaque burgundy red. The nose is interesting, it is not all fruit, there is mushroom, earthy notes and dark fruit (that’s the McLaren Vale influence). The mouth feel is slightly watery, but it does fill your mouth with flavor. Tart cherry juice and chocolate are the main flavors, but not candy sweet, now I see why these wines get 90+ points, who does not like chocolate covered cherries, it’s a very luxurious flavor. The finish is blueberries, it does not last a long time but it is pleasing.
I think I understand why all these inexpensive Australian Shiraz’s get these high grades, they taste great. That’s got to be one of the most important aspects to wine. Australia has a way with the Syrah grape. Lush, tasty wine is almost second nature with Australian Shiraz. Yes, the Razor’s Edge does not have all the layers and complexity of the the best Shiraz, but you can’t argue with “it tastes great”.
More Wine Labels For Your Amusement
February 25, 2010 by dave · Leave a Comment
2007 A to Z Oregon Riesling – $12
February 24, 2010 by dave · Leave a Comment
Sourced from 4 vineyards, two in the higher altitudes of Southern Oregon and two of the oldest vineyards in the Northern Willamette Valley. No malolactic fermentation (Wine Fact: Malolactic fermentation gives the wine a full lush mouth feel and imparts a buttered popcorn nose and a green apple flavor to the wine.) Fairly small production of 2,733 cases.
The color is a very light golden wheat yellow. The nose is tangerines, mineral dust and key lime pie. The flavor is soft orange blossom honey, delicate, not tart citrus. The finish is soft ripe peaches, again very delicate. A seductive wine, it does not hit you over the head with flavor, but it sneaks up on you, it wraps itself around your taste buds.
The A to Z has nice acidity, but don’t pair it with food that is too spicy. The soft honeyed citrus and fruit would better accompany lighter meals and dessert.
2005 Costano Solanera – $14
February 23, 2010 by dave · Leave a Comment
91 points Wine Spectator, 90 points Stephen Tanzer and Robert Parkers’ Spanish Wine Bargain under $20. Imported and custom blended by Eric Solomon, which is always a good sign, wines with Solomon’s name on the back label are usually a very good bet. A red wine blend of 65% Monastrell, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Tintorera sourced from the Yecla Region of Southern Spain, an up and coming wine region that does not have a trendy name yet. Unfiltered and unfined, ten months aged in oak.
The color is a dark plush deep blood red. The nose is smoke, red twizzlers and dry autumn leaves. Big and chewy with noticeable but smooth tannins . Tastes of silky dark chocolate truffles with liqueur centers, figs and blueberries. The finish is exactly the same as the initial taste that slowly fades into oblivion. A lush and I dare say, classy wine. Not fun and fruity, but deep dark and thought provoking. Another case of a under $20 wine that can compete with the big boys.
Red Bicyclette Pinot Noir Wasn’t Pinot And No One Noticed
Wine producers, traders guilty
A dozen wine producers and traders were found guilty of having supplied an American trader with mislabeled “pinot noir” wines, and six were handed a suspended prison sentence.
In a rare case pitting some local French producers from the southwest of the country against big U.S. traders E. & J. Gallo, the president of the criminal court in this medieval walled town said on Wednesday that “there has been fraud.”
In 2008, French customs found that during three years, some 13.5 million litres of mislabelled wine had been sold to Gallo. The producers and traders were accused of deliberately mislabelling the wine with a more expensive variety of grape.
The ordinary wines from the region sell at some 45 euros ($64) per 100 litres against 97 euros ($138) for Pinot Noir – well known abroad for its use in Burgundy wines and prized by American drinkers who favour single-grape wines over blended wines like Bordeaux.
Claude Courset of the Ducasse wine traders was sentenced to a six-month suspended prison sentence and has to pay a fine of 45,000 euros ($64,000). The prosecutor asked for a firm prison sentence.
Five other people were sentenced to fines of between 3,000 ($4,285) and 6,000 euros ($8,580) and the remaining six for less than that.
The Sieur d’Arques trading firm of Limoux was ordered to pay 180,000 euros ($257,000) in penalties
Courset was not present at the court case.
“The sentence was below what was asked by the prosecutor, that is re-assuring,” said his lawyer, Pierre Dunac, adding he was likely to appeal.
E. & J. Gallo, the largest family-owned U.S. winery, had bought the wine for its Red Bicyclette Pinot Noir line.
According to Gallo’s winemaking notes, the 2007 Red Bicyclette Pinot Noir was sourced from several areas within the Languedoc Roussillon region in Southern France.
The notes describe the wine as showcasing “dark fruit aromas and flavours of black cherry and ripe plum.”
“When more information becomes available to us from the authorities,” Gallo’s Susan Hensley wrote last week, “we will move quickly to ensure that the trust people place in our company and our wines is not put at risk.”
(courtesy The Montreal Gazette)
French Wine Sales Fall 17% In 2009
February 19, 2010 by dave · Leave a Comment
French wine and spirits exports in record dropPARIS — French exports of expensive Champagne and cognacs suffered a record drop last year as people drank less and switched to cheaper brands in the U.S. and Britain, its biggest foreign markets.
Exports of wine and spirits fell 17 percent to euro7.74 billion ($10.5 billion) last year, according to figures released Thursday by the Federation of French Wine and Spirits Exporters.
It marked the largest ever one-year drop and first annual decline since 2004, said Renaud Gaillard, a spokesman for the industry group. France is the world’s biggest wine and spirits exporter.
The biggest drops were in pricey bottles of Champagne and cognac. Exports of Champagne fell 28 percent to euro1.6 billion last year, the federation said. That represented a drop in volume of nearly 22 percent, to 8.87 million 12-bottle cases.
Cognac sales also suffered from the economic malaise, sliding 15.6 percent to euro1.4 billion last year.
U.S. imports of French wine and sprits tumbled 22.7 percent last year to euro1.34 billion, while sales fell 20.2 percent in Britain, France’s second-largest market for its wines and spirits.
“Falling global demand and consumers’ switching to entry-level brands weighed on our results last year,” said Claude de Jouvencel, the federation’s president.
De Jouvencel was slightly more optimistic for this year, saying that “2010 will not be as bad as 2009 and could return to slight growth, 5 percent at best.”
“In all markets, we see a disaffection of consumers, linked to the lack of purchasing power and confidence in the economy,” he said at a news conference.
People “are going out less to bars, restaurants, hotels and cafes, and are consuming at home,” and buying more wine at supermarkets and favoring mid-range wines over higher-end vintages, he said.
Vodka, not a drink typically associated with France, was oddly enough the single bright spot in France’s drinks industry last year. Sales of French vodka, accounted for almost exclusively by the Bacardi-owned Grey Goose vodka brand, rose 13.7 percent to euro238 million last year.
U.S. demand for the premium vodka drove the increase in sales, Gaillard said, as the country accounts for 70 percent of French vodka exports.
(Courtesy The Associated Press)
2006 Carhartt Vineyards “Chase The Blues Away” Rosé – $10
February 17, 2010 by dave · Leave a Comment
A small production Rosé (250 cases), Estate Produced and Bottled in the Santa Ynez Valley all for ten bucks. Carhartt Vineyards is a 10 acre family owned Estate on a mesa in the Santa Ynez Valley (Santa Barbara, California). The Rosé is a blend of Syrah and Merlot and the wine is aged six months in neutral French oak. To simplify things, a rosé is red wine grapes turned into wine using white wine methods. The grape skins are left in the vats for a short period of time at the beginning of fermentation. The wine gets a bit of color, but not much in the way of tannins.
The color is a very clear peachy, orangey red. The nose is bright fresh fruit, strawberry shortcake, I even think I detected a bit of whipped cream and raspberries. The flavor is smooth, crisp and light fresh, creamy red fruit. Not too sweet, very refreshing. The alcohol content is 13.6%, but it tastes much lighter.
It is winter in Chicago, but the “Chase the Blues Away” Rosé has me thinking of warm weather. A very nice choice for a lazy summer evening, this is a bottle that goes down nice and easy.
A small production wine, but you can find it at Lush http://tiny.cc/Qepbb
2006 Domain Menada Tcherga – $10
February 16, 2010 by dave · Leave a Comment
This is a first for me, a wine from the Thracian Valley Region of Bulgaria. A red blend of 70%Merlot and 30% Rubin (a cross of Syrah and Nebbiolo). The name Tcherga refers to the folk craft rugs made in that region (check out the label to see what those rugs look like). The wine is aged for 8 months in French and Bulgarian oak.
The color is crystal clear see thru burgundy red. The nose is strawberries, blueberry and spice. Nice mouth feel. The flavor is very bright fresh fruit, gobs of vanilla, very light tannins, the oak is lightly evident in the back of your mouth.The finish fades a bit too soon, but is a very nice combination of chocolate and vanilla. A very tasty wine.
I was expecting Bulgarian wine to be too sweet and too simple, but I was wrong. This is a good tasting new world style wine. Put Bulgaria on the wine world map, the Tcherga is a well made wine.
2008 Cotes Du Rhone Signargues La Granacha – $13
February 15, 2010 by dave · Leave a Comment
I was wandering thru the wine shop looking for a bottle to purchase, nothing on sale interested me. I saw a Granacha (why the Spanish spelling for a French wine, I don’t know) from the Cotes du Rhone, I checked the back label and saw that it was imported by Eric Solomon, that was a good sign. I have had good luck with Eric Solomon wines, he has a knack with finding good “off the beaten path”wines.
I hit the internet to find a bit of information and found this is sourced from 80 year old Grenache vines from the Signargues region of the Rhone Valley. Organic and sustainable farming, unfiltered and unfined (that means they do nothing to get solids out of the wine). Half the wine sees 6 months in French oak, the other half aged in stain-less steel vats. The Signargues is not a well known wine area, so the wines do not command a high price. The 2007 vintage got 91 point in Wine Spectator.
Opaque purple with a contrasting red halo. The nose is French funk, black licorice, the smell of coloring Easter eggs and raspberry jam. The taste is bright fresh fruit mixed with jammy fruit, blackberries and blueberries with a late splash of spice in the back of your mouth, a bit of acidity can be felt on the tongue. The finish is chocolate milk, berries and a touch of spice. A well structured wine, not just a ton of fruit, layered and nuanced. This is a versatile wine that can be paired with many different dishes and still be a good back porch sipper.
CheapWineFinder’s Wine Guide To Love
February 12, 2010 by dave · Leave a Comment
Valentine’s Day is no time to be a wine geek. But, if you know a little bit about the sensual world of wine, why not make it work for you? CheapWineFinder is a couple of guys, but we’ll try to make this guide gender-neutral – you know, using our vast knowledge and wisdom for the good of all. Valentine’s Day is not all about chocolate – sure it makes you happy, but does it affect your judgement? No it does NOT – that’s where wine comes in. We’ll try to distill all this information
down to a few user-friendly categories based on type of relationship. Just plug in the the type of your Valentine’s Day relationship, and voila you’ll find the right wine to help you achieve Valentine’s Day Nirvana.
First Category : Married Couple
Like B.B. King says, “The Thrill Is Gone”, but we have other plans. Kids, work, mortgage, familiarity, etc. can all turn things the most boring color of beige imaginable. This is a job for high alcohol content! You need to pop the top on a big, bold, really, really tasty bottle of wine – but with the economy being the way it is you don’t need to being paying $100 bucks a bottle. That will only lead to more stress. The solution is two bottles of one the following under $20 wines: Yangarra Shiraz, Ringland’s Ebenezer Shiraz or Turn4 Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines will wipe stress and worries away and leave only warm feelings of LUV. Treat them, even look at them like you did when you were dating (think big juicy steak) and a couple of bottles shared will leave you both relaxed, amorous and maybe even ready to do the things they have refused to do for the last 10 years.
Been Together Awhile, But No Ring
This is a touchy category – it could be,”Why change a good thing” or it might mean a holding pattern until you find a better place to land. We’re not going to get involved in any of that, but we’ll try to make the most of the day. This is where you need to spend a little money. Now we’re not fans of this wine, but maybe if you plop down for a bottle of Silver Oak you’ll be reassuring enough to get the desired results.
A Couple For Awhile, But No Allusions
This is someone you take to Weddings and other events that you don’t want to go alone to, but maybe you’ve been seeing another person or two in the past year. You have fun with this person, but something is not quite right. But who cares – it’s Valentine’s Day. I recommended two bottles of wine for the Married Couple, but I’m calling for three bottles of wine here. Now, don’t spend too much – Kung Fu Girl Riesling, Woop Woop Shiraz and Ravenswood Vintner’s Blend are the way to go here.
First Valentine’s Day Date
Ahhh, ain’t love grand. This this is where you need to be your most devious. I’m calling for sparkling wine – the first Valentine’s Day date does not quite call for French Champagne. Prosecco from Italy is a nice choice, sweet but light. The bubbles will go straight to your victims head, but you the pouncing tiger will be sure to not drink too much. If you forget and drink too much, you and your new sweet thing will still have had a great evening.
The Booty Call
All those hours of sexting and impromptu wee hour rendezvous call for a bottle of Choco Vine. $10 and there’s never another reason to drink this stuff. Bring it over next time you get the code texted to you (most likely NOT Valentine’s Day since they probably has a sig O) and forget about getting the glasses – you need to drizzle that nasty stuff all over their body and sip them silly.
Home Alone
Check the website and buy one of everything, that will teach those bastards.
Loading ...
