The Frugal Oenologist

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Basa Rueda 2005

This Spanish white from NW Castille is pleasant enough, with a nicely blende mix of white fruit flavors. But it has, at best, a slight nose and no very convincing finish. Moreover it's beginning to show signs of age. Even the closeout price of $10.99 appears to be out of line.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Almira Los Dos Grenache/Syrah 2006

This Spanish Campo de Borja doesn't make it. Subdued is an understatement, there is practically no nose, the dark fruit flavors are barely perceptible, there is no perceptible aftertaste. Even at the closeout price of $9.99 it is vastly overpriced. Forget it.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Trivento Select Torrontes 2008

This Argentine white, although it has a pronounced nose and strongly defined mix of white fruit accents, with the citrus element predominant, is simply not ready to drink. Either it was picked too early, or it was insufficiently aged. It has some promise and may possibly mature in the bottle, it's anybody's guess. $8.99

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Kaiken Ultra Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Alright, so it was Valentine's Day and we splurged. This is the premium Argentine product of the Chilean Aurelio Montes winery and while it doesn't quite measure up to their superb Chilean Alpha, it's not all that far behind. What we have here is a rich, deep, beautifully blended wine featuring predominantly plum and oak. It's nose is modest, but for that it has a very even finish. It will make your holiday meal. $14.99.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Nobilo Marlborough Sauvignom Blanc 2008

This New Zealand white is produced by one of the world's biggest wine combines. It is a very young, relatively well made, very smooth blend of light fruit flavors, with peach predominating. It has a good nose but not much of a finish. It's hardly in the same class as the Giesen recently reviewed here, and even at the temporary sale price of $11.99, it's no great bargain.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Trapiche Chardonnay 2007

This Argentinian vineyard is best known for its premium reds. This Chardonnay is a relative bargain. A nice blend of white fruit flavors, while perhaps lacking a well defined acidic background, nevertheless asserts itself in competition with demanding foods. It stood up very well to our turkey mole. $6.99.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

El Coto Rioja 2004

This Spanish red, made from the Tempranillo grape, has a nice, soft, light blend of dark fruit flavors, with just the right touch of oak. It went beautifully with our paprika chicken, which can be demanding. The only thing wrong with this otherwise extremely pleasing wine is the really outrageous price of $13.99. (N.J. $9.99, which is about right).

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