Posted by: Dallas Lawrence | November 29, 2010

A Unique Bordeaux Blend From A Relatively New California Winery

This weeks kicks off a whilewind of posts for the Cork Scrooge as I scower wine isles from coast to coast (literally) for the best Holiday wine deals for you and your family. 

As I began my shopping, making my list and checking it twice, I decided to head first to Costco. I had forgotten just how amazing the California Costco wine isles are compared to the pauper’s selection those of us living on the East Coast are forced to endure from the “members only” warehouse distributer. This week I had the opportunity to stock up on several bottles of wine during our family vacation in Southern California. Costco really does it right by bringing in dozens of red wines from all over the world, affordably priced, and – for the discerning eye – quite enjoyable to the palate.

This week we cracked open a bottle from a vintner I was unfamiliar with – Highway 12 Vineyards – so named for the famed California Highway that stretches through some of the most amazing vineyards that comprise California’s fabled wine industry. The winery is a joint venture between some of the best known names in the Valley: Sebastiani, Serres, Sangiacomo and Hill and the grapes are sourced from several fo their vineywards up and down Highway 12.

As I poured the first glass of the Highway 12 meritage I was immediately greeted by a distinct and pleasant nose from the still very young 2008 Bordeaux Blend. You will notice right from the first glass that given a little time in your wine rack, this bottle will be better, tighter and more flavorful.

Even in its relative youthful current state, the Sonoma Valley blend of 34% Cabernet, 33% Cab Franc and 33% Merlot provides a hefty palate filling drink. The Cabernet Franc really drives the flavor of this wine providing something of a blended taste between a typical Sonoma Cabernet and a Central Valley Pinot Noir.

To be honest, for the first 20 minutes this one was a bit tough to review. The initial aromas and first blush tasting inspired optimism that the wine would open up nicely. 10 minutes later the wine had failed to mature as I had expected, not quite as mature and full-bodied as a “Cabernet” and not as smooth and crisp as a good Pinot.

I was about to write that for $13 a bottle – available widely at Costco stores around the country – the 2008 Sonoma Valley blend had a lot to offer a variety of palates, but just not mine. And then, I poured my third glass 20 minutes into the tasting. Redemption!

The 2008 blend is marketed as Highway 12’s Bordeaux blend, and it wasn’t until I let this youngster fully catch its breath that the dry tannins and fruit filled tastes grabbed onto my taste buds.

All in all, this wine offers a unique blend and for $13 deserves a shot at your next holiday gathering.

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Posted in Cabernet, California reds, Meritage | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: Dallas Lawrence | November 7, 2010

As the leaves go red, so does the wine – goodbye summer whites and hello fall reds!

As most anyone who knows we will attest, I love red wine.  And while I can enjoy a glass of red with just about any food pairing, there is something about a nice, crisp, cold glass of white during the summer season. This is especially true when slogging through DC’s scorching and humid summer months. Needless to say, during the past few months The Cork Scrooge has lacked the requisite inspiration needed to crack open and review the best (and worst) bargain reds available on the market. This past week as DC broke freezing for the first time this year, I cranked up the heater, tossed aside the cold white’s of the summer and bolted for a few big bold reds. The cellar is full, the spirit is willing and the weather is now cooperating so off we go…

To kick off the new season of reviews, I thought I would put my new local wine store to the test. I think the best indicator of a wine merchant is whether or not you can walk right in and say to just about anyone “I would like to try a variety of really nice red wines from all over the world for less than $15” and have the nearest employee leap at the challenge and begin filling your cart with bottle after bottle as he ticks through what makes each worthy of your time.

The folks at Arrowine were up to the challenge and the first bottle they slid into my cart was the 2009 Finca Sophenia Reserve Malbec from the Mendoza region of Argentina.  

Finca Sophenia’s grapes are harvested by hand in mid-spring from the foothills of the Andes and are aged in French Oak for 10 months.  Right from the bottle the intensely rich red color gives an initial hint of the deep plum and spice flavors to follow. As I poured the first glass the familiar spicy kick you want and expect from a legit Mendoza Malbec immediately fills the palate.  Priced at about $12, the Finca Sophenia opens up nicely, and as I finished my first glass and went to pour a second 10 minutes later and entirely smoother, plum flavored South American experience awaited.

The 2009 Finca Sopehnia Malbec is perfect for an evening sitting by the fire, pairing with a simple meal or just taking to your next dinner party. Enjoy!

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Posted in Argentina Reds, BEST BUYS!, Malbec | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: Dallas Lawrence | September 5, 2010

Support a Great Cause with an enjoyable glass of Newman’s Own 2007 California Cabernet Sauvignon

Paul Newman and his brand of consumer items have become staples in almost every salad grocery isle of the past few years. The “Newman’s Own” brand has raised more than a quarter of a billion dollars for charity and lives on after the actor’s passing as a truly wonderful legacy.

In recent years the pioneering philanthropist decided to begin bottling something other than dressing and his decision is our good fortune. The 2007 California Cabernet is an incredibly smooth bottle of wine. For around $9 at your local grocer, each glass is filled with light currant and dark cherry flavors that don’t fall victim to the over fruitiness impacting so many value Cabernet’s these days.

Newman’s Own Cabernet is produced and bottled through a joint venture with St. Helena based Rebel Wine Company, a partnership between the “Three Thieves” and “Trinchero Family” vineyards. According to the bottler, the grapes for the Cabernet are sourced from throughout California’s wine producing coastal regions – including Napa, Sonoma and San Luis Obispo.

Aged in French and American oak, the wine held together nicely throughout our 30 minute tasting. To be sure, this is not a powerhouse California cab. But, for around $9 your glass will taste all the sweeter knowing you are supporting a very worthy cause.

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Posted in BEST BUYS!, Cabernet, California reds, Good Buys Under $10 | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: Dallas Lawrence | June 30, 2010

2007 Jekel Vineyards Arroyo Seco Cabernet Sauvignon

For more than thirty years the folks as Jekel Vineyards have been producing value wines from one of California’s most beautiful regions. Regarded as a pioneer in the Monterey wine business, the 2007 Arroyo Seco Cabernet Sauvignon does great credit to the winemaker’s heritage of producing value red wines.

“Arroyo Seco” refers to the protected canyon region of the California Salinas River Valley home to the grapes sourced for the winery’s Cabernet bottling. And the 2007 vintage benefitted from a perfect storm of long harvest and warm weather.

Right from the bottle this widely available $11 Cabernet had a bit of a tart-filled kick that reminds you of the fact that you are drinking a very different kind of California Cabernet. As the winemaker notes, the Arroyo Seco influence can easily be seen in this Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignon, which offers a deep garnet color and recognizable aromas of plum, dark fruits and black cherry mingled with spice from the oak barrels used in aging.

As I poured the second glass the wine began its slow maturation into what I would describe best as a Malbec/Cab blend filled with tongue grabbing tannins and wrapped in a light mineral fruit flavor that made for an entirely enjoyable glass of wine.

As the summer temperature notches ever higher, consider placing the bottle into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before taking it out back for your next BBQ. The 2007 is widely available at your local grocery store and for around $11 you will not be disappointed. As an added bonus for those looking to grab a quick bottle before heading to a picnic or outdoor summer concert, Jekel has embraced the screw cap – and man do I love the screw cap. Enjoy!

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Posted in Cabernet, California reds | Tags: ,

Posted by: Dallas Lawrence | June 2, 2010

The Perfect Budget Summer Trifecta (plus free shipping)!

Ever find yourself starring into the abyss at your local wine retailer, hopelessly confused as to how best pair wines for your summer evening? It’s warm outside, and you know you want a light, crisp wine but so many people these days have turned against the mainstay California chardonnays and budget Italian whites you’re not sure what to get for your guests. You know the juicy flavor-filled meats you just picked up to toss on the grill cry out for a glass of red – not a cab or a hefty zinfandel, but something lighter with enough character to compliment the meal.  Lastly, and perhaps most difficult of all, what do you grab to pair with your dessert of fresh picked berries and shortcake to ensure the continuation of the evening imbibing well into the night?

Stop gazing endlessly down the wine isle. Put back the mix-matched collection of wine you placed into your cart and keep reading – I have the perfect summer trifecta for your next gathering.

The folks from Oregon winemaker R. Stuart & Co sent along three bottles of their latest vintages earlier this week for the Cork Scrooge to review, and I thought our Memorial Day family BBQ the perfect setting to crack open each unique varietal they shipped.  I was impressed with each and whether purchased together for a meal or separately for individual enjoyment, the value and quality of these locally handcrafted wines is to be assured.

The 2009 Big Fire Oregon Pinot Gris was the first bottle to fill our wine glasses on the hot DC summer afternoon. It was approaching 92 degrees outside and I served the wine extremely chilled, direct from the ice bucket into the awaiting glasses I I cant stand lukewarm whites).  The vibrant pear flavors paired perfectly with our cheese and fruit appetizer spread.  Somewhere between a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and a French White Bordeaux would you find this refreshing, steel barrel fermented (no oak thank god) organic white wine perfect for just about any white drinker. Regardless of where you fall along the panoply of white wine connoisseurs, you will enjoy the Big Fire Oregon Pinot Gris.

As my father-in-law completed his barbequing mastery and laid out a feast of pork loin and Italian sausages, we shifted gears to the Big Fire 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir.  Given the summer heat, I chilled the wine in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before serving it with our meal (remember “room temperature” is not meant to be 90 degrees!)  The Big Fire Pinot Noir is a light, crisp pinot with delicious accents of dark cherry and chocolate that coalesce into a perfectly delicious summer red. Of the three, this was clearly the family favorite.

As we finished dinner and prepared to bring out a dessert of fresh strawberries and shortcake, I hesitated to bring out the third and final bottle the good folks at R Stuart had sent along for tasting. So far I had served two nice bottles and everyone seemed happy. Why risk oenophile ruin by serving a third oddly colored wine I had never tasted before I thought to myself?

Well, the wine glasses were empty, the desserts were served and the natives were getting restless so I pulled the 2008 Big Fire Oregon Dry Rose out from the refrigerator and filled the glasses around the table.  “Was this a rose?” they asked, surprised at the light and refreshingly fruit filled pink wine flowing from their glasses.  To be clear, the 2008 is not your grandmother’s bland rose. The winemaker’s at R Stuart blend Pinot noir, Syrah and Pinot gris to make this interesting pink blend that served as a perfect pairing to an equally light and refreshing summer dessert.

These three great wines, a Pinot gris, Pinot noir and a Rose are all on sale now and available online (http://www.rstuartandco.com/our-wines/big-fire/) . The folks at R Stuart are even offering free shipping for Cork Scrooge readers that pick up 3 bottles or more. Be sure to use “thecorkscrooge” as the coupon code to have shipping waived for the next two weeks.

Cheers!

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Posted in Oregon Reds, Pinot Noir | Tags: , ,

Posted by: Dallas Lawrence | May 16, 2010

A Great South African Cabernet For Only Eight Bucks!

For months I have been looking at the screw top South African cabernet sitting in the back of our wine rack trying to remember where I bought it and what its story was.

I knew it was a discount wine, and I was pretty sure it was a recommendation, but it had been sitting behind three or four other wines we had tried recently that were all quite terrible. To say I was a bit apprehensive about cracking the seal on this bad boy would be an understatement.

Image my surprise when I twisted off the cork of the 2007 Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon and found myself wishing I had tried this little $8 number much earlier.

Excelsior Estate is owned and operated by fourth generation winemakers Stephen and Freddie De Wet and the 2007 shows their commitment to truly accessible value wines. The Excelsior offers a full bodied mouthful of enticing blackcurrant and plum flavors wrapped in mildly dry tannins that make you sure you must have spent more for the bottle.  

I drank my first glass moments after twisting the cap, and it was very enjoyable. It is especially critical in the summertime months to be sure to slightly chill your red wine, it will make the experience all the more enjoyable and refreshing on a summer evening.

This wine tastes like a $14 to $18 bottle and continued to impress throughout our dinner of BBQ chicken and summer squash risotto. For what you’d expect to pay for a cheap glass of wine at a local restaurant, the 2007 Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon (available online and at local Total Wine retailers) offers a very nice bottle at a superb super value price. This one is one of my favorite super values on the market today.

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Posted in BEST BUYS!, Cabernet, South African Reds

Posted by: Dallas Lawrence | May 5, 2010

A Pretty Damn “Goode” California Cabernet For Around $11

This past Saturday while out in Southern California for a brief vacation with the family I had the opportunity to experience what a grocery store wine isle is supposed to look like: hundreds of different bottles all competitively priced in an attempt to grab the attention of casual shoppers stuffing their carts with hamburger meat, toothpaste and powdered donuts (ok, this was just what I had in my cart – but you get the point).

Having lived on the East Coast for the past ten years I have become accustomed to the over-priced mass produced twenty bottle selection offered by most markets in our area and found myself staring at the vast array of wines now laid out before me like a kid in a candy store.

Not having much time to shop, I quickly grabbed two California Cabs on sale and headed home. The 2007 Murphy-Goode “California” Cabernet was the first cork to pop once I got home and let me tell you, I was damn near shocked at how drinkable and tasty this wine was immediately from the bottle.

The dry, mouth-grabbing sensations of cherry – and to a lesser extent blackberry – you would expect from a California Cab are on full display with this $11 bottle. About fifteen minutes into my tasting the wine lost a bit of the dryness, replaced with a more fruit forward – yet still entirely enjoyable – flavor.

Honestly, this wine was superb directly from the bottle and very nice as the evening wore on. Not to be confused with the winery’s more expensive “Alexander Valley Cabernet” bottling priced at around $18, the 2007 “California” Cabernet is an exceptional deal for those looking for a nice bottle of wine for dinner, happy hour or family gathering. The “California” bottling (Note: the picture is of the “Alexander Valley” vintage as I forgot to snap a shot of the bottle, the only difference in the labels are the words “Alexander Valley” which are replcaed with the word “California” for this bottling) is their discount bottle and is not available from the winery, or for that matter even referenced on their website. This wine has been produced for the wide retail market and is most likely to be found on the shelves of your local Albertsons (where I found it) or other large grocery retailers.

It is well worth tracking down the next time you find yourself on a grocery run.

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Posted in BEST BUYS!, Cabernet, California reds | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: Dallas Lawrence | April 28, 2010

A Costco Purchased Aussie Disappointment

I must admit, I am a bit reticent about writing tonight’s post. I wanted to like this wine, and in fact, I was so perplexed by my own reaction to the 91 point rated bottle that I had several family members opine on the tasting. To confuse matters even more, a few failed to fault the wine as I had, and in fact one even gave it a “thumbs-up” as a worthy everyday value wine.

With the wine’s back-story now laid bare, I feel free to weigh in on one of Costco’s highest rated, super value, monster reds.

The 2008 Marquis Philips McLaren Valley Australian Shiraz is an exorbitantly jammy wine right out of the bottle. The Aussie Shiraz is a mouth filler of plum fruit filled jam with a fairly strong kick of alcohol powered by the wines liver punching 16% alcohol. Unfortunately, the Marquis failed to mellow and open up with time as I had hoped. 15 minutes into the bottle the alcohol flavor was still overpowering the McLaren Shiraz sensation I had come to expect from my recent trip to the land down under.

To be fair, 30 minutes in, the wine began to mellow slightly and the thick jam opened a bit, however, all in all, this wine was a disappointment. The general consensus, even from those that found it a worthwhile value, was that this wine was too fruity and to boozy. For $12, there are far better values to be had at Costco that offer a truly enjoyable everyday red wine.

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Posted in Australian Reds, Shiraz | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: Dallas Lawrence | April 19, 2010

A Nice $6 Argentinean Malbec Blend from a Bordeaux Wine Making Family

Every now and then I truly revel in the pleasure that is being The Wine Scrooge. Most days however, like yesterday for example, are a real drag. I pop open a discount bottle of red and force myself to suffer through several interminable tastes to make sure the wine is truly as bad as my first impression. And, alas, it always is. And then, after soldiering through the mine field laden tasting, I sit down to write a review that provides no joy to anyone – and serves only as a warning of money to be wasted on another bad bottle of sub-fifteen dollar wine.

Well, tonight is not one of those nights. This is one of those nights that recharges my wine tasting batteries and gives me reason to persevere in my mission to root out crappy wine and spotlight the true super value reds available for everyday enjoyment.

The 2009 Phebus MMC from the winemakers at Fabre Montmayou is just such a wine. It was a surprising and enjoyable find during my recent trip to the Mecca of wine stores, Total Wine that led me to this intriguing Malbec blend.

Hervé Joyaux Fabre, the founder of the winery, hails from Bordeaux, France, and comes from a well established vintner family. Fabre brought a clear passion for winemaking to Argentina along with a deep rooted understanding that every bottle, regardless of the price, should be enjoyable.

The 2009 MMC is a testament to this belief and offers a blended Malbec that is ruby red in color with a light fruit-filled kick that is at times not too complex while still filling the glass with an entirely enjoyable glass of wine. The 2009 is a blend of 70% Malbec, 15% Merlot and 15% Cabernet (hence the name “MMC”).

Moments after corking the bottle the medium tannins grab your palette and let you know that this is still very much a young wine. 15 minutes into the tasting however the Phebus opens up nicely with red berry-jammyness filling out the glass.

In the super-value price range today, few bottles are drinkable let alone enjoyable. For $6 a bottle you will be hard pressed to find a better Argentinean red than the 2009 MMC.

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Posted in Argentina Reds, Cabernet, Malbec, Merlot | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: Dallas Lawrence | April 18, 2010

Not All Malbecs Are Created Equal: Some Really Suck

Unfortunately for my fellow Malbec fans out there, one thing has become alarmingly clear in the past few months - not all value Malbecs are alike.

In fact, while some are downright delicious and a bargain at the sub $15 range, a great many blatantly poorly made Argentinean wines are cashing in on the Malbec craze and are flooding the market with super value, sub-par bottles that do a great disservice to the reputation of their quality sister offerings.

Sadly, this is the case with the most recent Malbec I corked this weekend. The 2008 Las Perdices Malbec was just a disappointment in nearly every way. Where one would hope for tight, lightly spiced flavors of cherry, plum and raspberry, the Las Perdices falls completely flat.

The best summation of this wine comes from my wife Sarah who gave it one sip and said “this is pretty bad”. I could not agree more. For around $12 a bottle there are far better Malbecs on the market today worthy of your time and investment.

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Posted in Argentina Reds, Malbec | Tags: ,

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