The Frugal Oenologist

Friday, March 29, 2013

Altos Los Pumas Pinot Noir 2011

A young Chilean red, this is redolent of raspberry and plum, but hasn't quite jelled. Maybe in a year or two. 9.99.

We're off on our Spring trip, and will report anything of particular interest.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Medrano Irazu Reserva 2006

Time respects no wine, and this red Rioja is nearing the end of its useful life, but it's still near its prime. A highly civilized mix of plum and raspberry, with both chocolate and vanilla elements, this is a superior quaff. Get it while you can. 11.99, and that's a bargain!

The Crossings Pinot Noir 2009

I wasn't exactly blown away by this New Zealand red from the Marlborough Valley. There's a slightly metallic element, overshadowing the fruity character, that's no to my taste. Nancy didn't mind it though. $9.99, after instant rebate coupon.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Estello Malbec 2011

This red from Lamguedoc is actually better than the white from the same producer, It has a reasonably dry character, with linguering elements of red berries. $6.99. So the PA House passed the privatization bill. Let;s see what the Senate will do. Raise your voices!

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Estello Viognier 2011

I should think that this white country wine from Languedoc is made especially with American tastes in mind: it flirts with being sweet, without quite crossing the line. It wouldn't make it as a pour in a French bar, but maybe there will be some who like it over here. $6.99.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Kaiken Malbec Reserva 2010

It's been some four years since I last reviewed this Argentine red from the Mendoza Valley and, if anything, it has improved. A nicely balanced red fruit and chocolate character give it its archtypical flavor, something to be savored slowly, sip by sip. Buy it up at the present sale price of $10.99.

Zinc 2011

Zinc is the French word for a simple bar, after the ubiquitous countertops made of that material. They serve simple wines, usually from the owner's home province, by the glass, and this country white from the Pays d'Oc could well be one of these. It's uncomplicated but goes down pleasantly enough and, at $6.99, won't break the bank.

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