2009 Chateau Liversan Haut-Medoc Bordeaux, France

By now I am fully on board with the 2009 Bordeaux craze. After sampling several of them, I have figured out that even the most economical Bordeaux is quite satisfying and there are exceptional values to be found between 15 and 20 dollars. This particular bottle is available at my local Costco for 13 dollars among a few other bottles ranging in price from 10 to 20 dollars. This pours dark red into the glass, with a subtle violet rim. It carries aromas of black currant, chocolate, caramel and smoke with delicate nuances of brown sugar and anise. The attack starts with focused black fruit (blackberry and black currant mainly), followed by leather, cocoa and cedar. The mid-palate features chewy tannins, near perfect astringency and some nice acidity that takes the form of semi-sweet, chocolate and caramel dipped cherries. The finish is beautifully long, washing over my palate with flavors of plum, currant, smoke, damp earth, licorice and leather. This is a full-bodied wine that brings a whole lot in the flavor department and leaves an aftertaste of chocolate and black cherry. 

Overall, this is yet another great bottle of wine from Bordeaux, France. This particular bottle features 50% Merlot, 49% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc. The fruit is definitely the best part of this wine; each fruit is represented wonderfully though none of the fruits lean too heavily towards the “sweet” area. This is beautifully complex though not on the same caliber as the Chateau Malrome, but it’s darn close. I give it a soli, good QPR, and would recommend it above most bottles of Cab or Merlot at the same price point. This really is a must buy.

2008 Santa Ema Amplus Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile

Thank God for the wine buyer at my local Costco and their ability to bring in amazingly priced gems like this particular wine. Priced just under 17 dollars, this particular Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon might seem a little overpriced for those of you that frequently purchase South American wines. And that would be a valid point if this wine wasn’t as balanced and complex as it is. I am a huge fan of Chilean Cabs and Carmeneres as well as a big fan of Argentinean Cabs, Bonardas and Malbecs. And while those wines are frequently very inexpensive, they just as frequently display a limited level of complexity even at the 15-20 dollar range. This particular bottle brings out some of the best qualities of the Chilean terroir while limiting its shortcomings. 

This pours a lovely deep purple shade with rose shaded bubbles and a black core. The nose is sweet blackberry jam, creamy vanilla, golden butter and just a dash of lean green pepper. And oh, how this sips! Gorgeous black currant and blackberry flavors built on a foundation of vanilla and tar with shimmering walls of pencil lead and green bell pepper. The acidity, astringency and tannins, all perfectly balanced, morph this wine’s sweet-ish fruits into wonderfully semi-sweet/sour flavors. The finish is quietly long; what I mean by that is that it is a rather mellow, balanced finish that lingers quite some time. The flavors present here are green bell pepper, blackberry, currant, raspberry, vanilla, oak, tar, ash and just the smallest notes of black pepper, grass, and forest floor. This is a medium-to-full bodied wine that leaves an aftertaste of blackberry, grass and smoke. What truly sets this above and beyond the majority of Chilean Cabs is the fact that the green bell pepper flavors present in the Amplus are quite reserved and take a backseat to the fruits and other herbaceous notes in this wine. Most sub-15 dollar Chilean Cabs have a tendency to be overwhelmingly bell pepper flavored; limiting the versatility of the wine and my palate feeling abused. This has just the right amount of herbaceous flavors and a surprisingly heavy dose of fruit for a Chilean Cab.

Overall, I’d rate this a great QPR if you hold it up to its South American counterparts. Though you will find a slew of sub-15 dollar Malbecs that outshine this bottle you won’t find many Cabs from anywhere that taste like this does. It features just the right amount of savory characteristics while not overdoing the fruit. I haven’t found a Chilean Cab that is this balanced nor this inexpensive and I’ve sampled quite a few. I would highly recommend this if you enjoy drinking wines from Chile or want a pleasantly refined, yet inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon.

Vina Santa Ema 

2009 Chateau Malrome Comtesse Adele Bordeaux Superieur, France

One of the happiest days for me is the day the mailman drops off the Total Wine & More mailer. I quickly rifle through it glancing here and there for particularly stellar sales or intriguing offerings. After my quick glance, I start over with a Sharpie and begin to read through each wine listed, circling those that I plan to purchase over the next month. Many times my circles far outnumber what my budget can handle and I’m forced to pare down my selections, but I keep all of the mailers I receive and put in notes on the wines I’ve tasted. This particular gem was featured in the March/April mailer reduced to $14.99. a 5 dollar savings. I’d read the hype surrounding the 2009 Bordeaux wines, every wine writer worth their stuff is heralding this vintage as a truly superb year. I figured I’d snatch up some bottles, but in the back of my mind I was skeptical. My skepticism was wrong, very wrong. This wine pours dark red in the glass with a purplish-black core and violet bubbles/rim. Aromas of cassis, black cherry, vanilla and spice box waft from the glass leaving my nostrils positively buzzing with wondrous scents. The attack is amazingly smooth, complex and balanced with intense black fruits (black currant, blackberry and cherry), deep smoke and oak, leather, anise and coffee; every flavor mixing effortlessly with the last in subtle harmony. The attack merely folds into the mid-palate, shifting the focus from the flavors to definitive textures; the mid-palate has wonderful, supple tannins that bring just the right amount of astringency and acidity and center on the oak and cherry flavors drawing them out and further into the finish. The finish itself is medium in length, and as said before starts with noticeable oak and cherry notes then adds blackberry, chalk, damp grass, charcoal and savory. All of these flavors blend and balance each other, playing the fruits against the earthy flavors. This is a nice medium to full bodied wine that finishes with just an up-tick of alcohol that isn’t present in the rest of the wine thus leaving an aftertaste of alcohol, chalk and berries.

Overall this is a very nice drinking experience. Superbly complex, varied in flavor but at the same time balanced and exceptionally graceful. At 15 dollars this is a great QPR and an excellent bottle to pick up for your get together with those “snooty wine folk”. I highly recommend this bottle for drinking now and for cellaring. If this is a “temperature test” of the 2009 Bordeaux wines then I can’t wait to drink through a few other bottles I picked. Truly an excellent bottle with loads of potential, a must buy.

2009 The Vac Vacqueyras, France

I have been toying with this wine for the better part of 4 months, each time grasping a bottle, setting it in my cart only to go back and set it back on the shelf. But after reading through the spring Total Wine & More mailer, I finally decided to purchase a bottle. Rated 92 points by the International Wine Cellar, this wine features strawberry and cherry aromas with nuances of plum and pepper wafting from the rim of a ruby rimmed, dark purple pour. The wine is quite fruit forward, with notes of plum, blackberry and raspberry and lingering hints of cola and smoke. The mid-palate is nicely acidic, bringing up bright textures and a slight pucker factor with subdued tannins and astringency. In my opinion, this wine shines during the finish; pouring on loads of dark, smoky blackberry, black currant and plum with vanilla, leather, pepper and something akin to flower petals. These flavors swirl together mixing in a dark dance of dark fruit, then savory spices and finishes with wood and smoke characteristics. This is a medium bodied wine with cherry vanilla, oak and rose hips. This is a wonderfully complex wine, though it tries to trick you and make you think it is a nice fruit forward “California” red; in reality, it is a textured French red with earthy characteristics that mask the relatively sweet fruits thus transforming a potentially bland, one dimensional Rhone blend into something elegant, compelling and very satisfying.

Overall, I am not a huge fan of Rhone blends as they tend to be more fruit forward than I like; however this wine balances its sugars with equal helpings of spice and earth. It makes up for its shortcomings by providing a very broad range of flavors that blend nicely together leaving me quite satisfied. I don’t often seek out “sweet” French reds, but this would definitely make my list of must haves for rounding out your wine cellar. A bottle of The Vac will please most discerning wine drinkers that stop by for Coq au Vin, Beef Burgundy or a myriad of other savory dishes. It earns a good QPR and a recommendation from me.

Arnoux & Files Vins des Cotes du Rhone