The Frugal Oenologist: October 2011

Monday, October 31, 2011

Chain of Fire Shiraz 2008

This Australian red is anything but the typical fruit bomb. Rather, it's restrained in character, with dark berry elements tempered by not inconsiderable acidity. A nice wine, favorably priced at $7.99 with manufacturer's coupon.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Nieto Senetiner Pinot Noir 2010

I found this Argentine red disappointing. While the Malbec from this winery generally gets high marks, this Pinot Noir is immature and diffident to the point of disappearing from the palate. It's not in any way unpleasant, it just doesn't have much to say for itself. $9.99.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Conte Brandolini d'Adda Treanni

This Italian red from the Friuli is a blend of three vintages as well as of three varietals. It has a youthful vigor without being brash, tastes mostly of red berries and has a nice, tangy finish. Well priced at $9.99.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Bodega Elena Red Blend 2010

Here's something for the feminists: a wine by a female wine maker. A blend of Malbec, Syrah and Bonardo, this wine from Argentina's Mendoza district is a nice, restrained mixture of black cherry and blackberry elements, with enough of a bite at the finish to make it interesting. Nicely priced at $6.99.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Plumia Muscat 2009

When one thinks of Muscat/Muscatel a sweet white desert wine comes to mind. This one from Aragon however stops well short of being sweet. It's a somewhat assertive mix of pear and bitter orange with a fair amount of pungency. I'd say it would go best with a strong cheese. $8.99.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Ciconia 2010

This young Portuguese red blend is a pleasing blend of cherry and red berry flavors with a touch of chocolate and oak at the finish. $7.99, available for a dollar less throughout N.Y. and N.J. Ciconia means stork in Portuguese, so you ladies be aware!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Joseph Drouhin Laforet 2009

Whwn I reviewed this bottle I complained that it was excessively fruity. Well, this time around the overwhelming impression was one of pure citrus, to the point of being bitter. My advice is that, if a wine is that inconsistent, don't buy it.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Gonnet Ventoux 2010

A blend of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault, this young Cote du Rhone red is somewhat on the austere side. It lacks the fullbodyness of a typical CDR and is fruit forward, with a pepper finish and very drinkable. $9,99, a fair price for this bottle.

Some Personal Notes...

I was born and grew up in Belgium. There, as in all of the francophone world, children, as soon as they were old enough to sit up at table to have their dinners (usually at midday) with the adults, were allowed a glass of wine. The thought behind this was that they should enter their turbulent teens already accustomed to alcohol and not treat it as yet another exciting discovery, to be abused with the ungovernable energy that the hormonal storms of those years produce. By and large, this premise was a sound one. The level of alcoholism in the French-speaking countries tends to be well below that of the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian ones, never mind the United States. To be sure, this datum can be challenged on a matter of definition: while there may be fewer binge drinkers who get raging drunk whenever they have access to alcohol, a goodly proportion of the working class, which habitually has a glass or two of wine with breakfast, is working on a mild buzz throughout the day. Still, the results are less deletirious: they function. At one point a Prime Minister of France, appropriately named Mendes-France, himself an anti alcohol crusader, launched an initiative to persuade the French to throw away their wine and drink milk instead. Needless to say, the project was still-born. The French consume as much wine as ever. The point I'm trying to make is that it seems to me that it is eminently possible to go through life enjoying one's wine without being seriously impaired in one's judgement or one's work level. In the old days in Europe one had the main meal of the day at noon, invariably following that up with a nap, so that when one returned to work one's mind was again clear. Nowadays dinner tends to be taken in the evenings, which means that one isn't really fit to do much serious work afterward, but I would argue, pace all you workoholics, that one's evenings should be devoted to less demanding and more congenial activities. I have enjoyed my evening wine throughout a long life, I've drunk some very good bottles and remember them fondly, and I would urge you to do the same.S

The Frugal Oenologist