The Frugal Oenologist

Friday, November 11, 2011

Gougenheim Syrah 2009

This Argentine red comes up to the standard set by the vineyard's other wines. It's a nice blend of dark cherry and plum, with a hint of chocolate and a certain smokyness in the finish. A nice buy at $7.99.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Gougenheim Malbec Reserve 2009

This red is the upgraded version of the wine previously reviewed here and it's very nice indeed. It exhibits a beautifully smooth and integrated blend of plum and black berry flavors, with the typical Argentinian Malbec chocolate element and just enough of a tannin element at the finish to make it interesting. Highly recommended. $10.99, but you can get it for a dollar-and-a-half less in N.J.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Alandra Red

This non vintage Portuguese red from the extreme south of the country is a blend of three local varietals. It's pretty much fruit up front, with a vaguely acerbic finnish. Not bad, but at $8.99 it's quintessentially overpriced, being available at three dollars less throughout N.J. Quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing from defenders of the PA system who maintain that my bias is unreaonable. Can't you people add?

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Calcu Malbec 2008

This Chilean red is lighter than one would expect of a Malbec, it is in fact on the verge of being insubstantial. If you insist that your wines take a back seat to your food, it may do for you. $7.99.

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.

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