2009 Domaine Pignard Beaujolais, France

Color – Ruby red

Nose – Strawberry, cherry, floral notes, honey

Taste – This is another 10 dollar bottle of Beaujolais that Total Wine now carries. I didn’t see this a couple of months ago, but on a recent trip this was something new and I just had to see how it compares to the other Gamay wines I have sampled. It looks the same in the glass, somewhat thin, but upon swirling it isn’t watery and clings to the glass nicely. It smells of light red berries, cherries, flowers and what I can only describe as honey or sugar cane (that sweet scent that smells unprocessed and fresh). The attack is very similar to the Georges Duboeuf Flower Label Beaujolais-Villages that I have fallen in love with; layered tastes of strawberry, sour cherry, grass, salt and flowers. The mid-palate is all soft textures; tannins that effortlessly slip over the tongue, smooth astringency and alcohol that just barely bites. This is a light bodied wine with an even, medium length finish that carries more complexity in flavors; showing sour (but not puckering) cherry, cranberry, lavender and just a touch of black pepper. In my opinion this is a wine to drink chilled and with a light cheese or just by itself. It is perfect slightly chilled and will refresh you on a warm summer day.

Overall, this one is another winner as far as I’m concerned. It’s a good-to-great QPR with flavor and complexity that keep your palate happy. I paired it with a pork roast and it fared well, but mostly sipped glasses of it all by itself. This is a red wine for summer drinking for those of us that don’t like to switch to white wines. You can’t go wrong here, I’d say get this wine on your next visit to the wine store.

2007 Louis Verge Morgon “Les Pierres Fines”, France

Color – Light, nearly transparent red

Nose – Cherry, blueberry

Taste – I am pretty sure this Morgon is truly from the Gamay grape and an actual Beaujolais Cru though I could be wrong. The bottle does not identify the varietal, however, this wine is quite similar to other wines I have tasted featuring the Gamay grape. That being said this wine does not fare as well as any of those wines. I have read online that 2007 was not a particularly good year for Beaujolais winemakers and this wine definitely shows that. The wine itself needs a chance to breathe, at the very least decant this for 10 minutes, though 30 minutes would be better. If you don’t decant this you will find the wine acidic, bitter, and tannic; three things you don’t want to find in your Beaujolais. After breathing this wine mellows quite nicely and the flavors can actually be deciphered. The wine is light-to-medium in body. There are flavors of cherry, strawberry, and some floral notes as the wine first touches the tongue. These transition quickly into a mid-palate of sour cherry, smoke and grass. Finally the finish is short and features hints of dust and more smoke.

Overall, this wine surprised me. It surprised me where the actual flavor of the wine is concerned. It surprised me that it might actually be a Morgon Beaujolais Cru for under 10 dollars. And it surprised me that it has tannins and acid that actually show up when you drink it. Not all of surprises are good surprises. Sure it’s nice to drink Beaujolais and not have to fork over 15 bucks, but in all honesty I’d rather buy the 8 dollar Georges Debeouf Beaujolais-Villages than this bottle. This wine isn’t bad, I’d drink it again, but not when I want Beaujolais. But if I want a light red that I can pick up for under 8 bucks this is pretty good. It’s not going to win any awards and it’s definitely closer to the” Red Table Wine” on its label than actually being a Beaujolais.

2009 Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages, France

Color – Nice even red

Nose – Raspberry, strawberry, cherry

Taste – Quite some time ago, a wine clerk at Total Wine recommended that I try 2009 Beaujolais Cru as the 2009 vintage is the best to have been produced in quite some time. I shook it off and didn’t think much of it until a few days ago when I picked up a bottle of Beaujolais-Villages at the local supermarket. Now this isn’t the same as the Cru, but its pretty close according to Wikipedia, and boy was I impressed. It’s a very low tannin, high acidity wine with flavors of strawberry and rose petals. The mid-palate has characters of sour cherry but not enough to bring out the pucker. And the finish is medium-to-long with more floral notes. The wine is quite light, but very pleasant. Honestly this is perhaps one of the best varietals I’ve had the opportunity to try. Though this is light-bodied, quite floral in flavor, and astringent, it is a fantastic glass of red wine. It’s refreshing but pairs well with food. You can drink this all by itself or try it with some good cheese. For a decent red that’s not too heavy and more accessible to the average person, you should pick up a bottle of Beaujolais-Villages.

Overall, this is a pretty darn amazing wine with complexity, depth, flavor, and versatility. I would recommend this as a wine to drink just about any time, any place. Sure it’s not a big, bold red like I normally enjoy, but that’s what makes this wine so good. It has TONS of flavor, with hints of flowers that run through it making the flavor very compelling. The QPR on this is quite good at 8.99 a bottle, I would say this is one of the better wines at this price point. Serve this to anyone including those that don’t like red wines, I would be willing to bet they’d like this. Pick this one up!

Louis Jadot Wines

2008 Mouton Cadet Bordeaux (65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc), France

Color – Dark red, with a garnet rim

Nose – Currant, blackberry, flowers, spice

Taste – Beautiful flavors of red currant right from the first sip. This wine is very smooth and easily very accessible. The red currant mingles with some sour cherries, then a mid-palate of blackberry and well balanced acidity. The finish is very smooth, medium in length, with flavors of red currant, leather, floral hints and some creamy textures as well. All in all a very nice quaffable effort. This is closer to a medium bodied wine than a full bodied red. It nicely mixes the three varietals of grapes, Merlot, Cab Sauv and Cab Franc to the betterment of the wine. The red currant flavors and smooth texture from the Merlot come right through and stay from first sip through the finish. The Cab Sauv adds some weight, tannins and acid to the wine and defined flavors in the mid-palate of blackberry and cassis. Finally the Cab Franc helps balance the “heaviness” of the Cab Sauv and the delicate Merlot with hints of floral characteristics in the nose and on the finish. I think this is a great entry level Bordeaux, you aren’t going to find anything cheaper with the word Bordeaux on it or the quality you will find here. But you aren’t going to find the depth, complexity and wonderful character of the terrior you will find in more expensive Bordeuaxs.

Overall, this is a good red wine with a good-to-great QPR. It has nice flavor, texture, and decent depth. It’s not going to suck your wallet dry and it is very drinkable. It will let you get your “toes wet” where Bordeaux wines are concerned but it won’t break the bank. It’s also not going to teach you a lot about Bordeaux wines, but it will satisfy your desires for a good red wine.

Mouton Cadet Wines

2009 Challis Lane Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Color - Deep red

Nose - Blackberry, blueberry

Taste - This wine is what I would call a "two-faced" wine. One face is fruity with a lot of dark berries that transition into loads of alcohol bite and a long finish that is astringent and sour. This is the face of the wine you see when you drink it by itself. The second face is much less fruity, instead it has wonderful floral flavors with vanilla and licorice hints that give way to some nice heat from the alcohol and a pleasant, long finish. This is the face I saw on the two occasions I paired this wine with food; the first time with a meaty lasagna and the second time with a rather mild cheese pizza. As you can imagine the second face is the one I prefer. That being said I would pay the price for this wine if I had it in mind to pair with a good meal, but I would pass on this if I just wanted something to sip on.

Overall, this wine has an OK QPR. There is nothing amazing about it, but there are far worse Cabs at this price. I would recommend you do a little more shopping and find something that's more balanced than this. You won't have to look long to be able to find a solid performer that outshines this wine. But if you want something new you are more than welcome to try this out, just don't expect it to take you on any adventures as this is a pretty run-of-the-mill Cabernet Sauvignon.

Challis Lane Cellars