2008 Montes Limited Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Carmenere 30%, Chile

Colored decadence…Deep dark red swirling to black at the center

Aromatically limited…Red plum, pipe tobacco, nail polish

Flavors that fade…I bounce around on pretty much everything Montes has to offer that I’ve sampled. I’ll like one wine but can’t stand the next and the third will be smack dab in the middle. There doesn’t seem to be any consistency in any of their sub-20 dollar bottles. I’m sure the more expensive bottles are amazingly complex, warm and textured, I just wish I could count on their wines to give me some kind of reliability where quality is concerned. This wine is no exception to that rule; except to say that this starts out very inviting but the longer you let it breathe the worse it gets. Wait too long (a few days) and you are left with a wine that doesn’t have anything in common with the wine you sipped upon opening the bottle. Sad to say, but this one doesn’t make the grade. If you drain the bottle before 24 hours goes by then you have a pleasant red wine with an attack personified by plums, grass, tobacco and some smoke. The mid-palate is smooth with tannins that ease in and out while the alcohol just brings a slight tingle to the gums and tongue and the astringency doesn’t really play a factor at all. The finish is long and brings back the plums, but adds dark cherry, blueberry and vanilla to the mix. In all it’s not a bad wine, but nothing spectacular. If you waited a day or two to finish the bottle you will now find the attack is a sickly, sweet mess of sugared plums and candied fruit. The mid-palate is thin, acidic and hot. And the finish is still long, but now shows off unripe berries, sour cherries, backed by plum preserves and a streak of paint thinner. Not a pleasant journey at all.(While I understand letting a bottle sit and get air can adversely effect a wine, a few days in the proper conditions should be possible for a red wine like this.)

Overall, this is the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of red wines. You can guzzle it down and have an OK experience with the bottle, but if you wait too long it’s going to make you cringe every time you take a sip. I can’t recommend this wine in the least. It gets a poor QPR at 15 dollars for this bottle I overpaid by 10 bucks and honestly feel ripped off. Even had I finished the bottle that first night I would have felt this wine didn’t live up to its price point. For the money the Montes Alpha is much better. Be glad this is “Limited Selection” because it might just fade out completely and make room for something good on the shelves. Leave this one alone!

Vina Montes 

2008 Munoz de Toro Valle Perdido Malbec, Argentina

Such a pleasure...Very dark purple with an exceptionally vibrant ruby rim

Sensual subtleties… Black currant, black cherry, vanilla, cedar chips

Just a tad bit lacking…I have been lucky enough to find this wine (as well as the Munoz de Toro Argie Bonarda) at a local olive mill. I say I’m lucky because this wine is an exceptional glass of Malbec, and for the nice price of 12.99. I haven’t done a lot of research on this except to find out that this is a Durigutti wine and while I wasn’t a big fan of the 2009 Durigutti Malbec; this is a much better pour. Be advised this wine needs time to breathe, even if you use a Vinturi or other wine aerator you need to let this sit out for a few hours preferably overnight. If you give this wine a chance to breathe it is quite a nice experience. The attack is all dark fruit layered one atop the next; cherry, plum, black currant with a smattering of blackberry and blueberry and just a touch of smoky wood underlying those fruit flavors. The mid-palate is just a little bit “weaker” than I’d like. I can feel just the mere hints of alcohol heat, and the tannins are very illusive. There is some nice acidity and some nice sweet-and-sour cherry/cranberry flavors. But overall the mid-palate isn’t what I’d expected in the least. While the mid-palate leaves me wanting, the long finish does not disappoint. Layer upon layer of black fruits (plum, blackberry and currant being predominant) are interspersed with cassis, vanilla, ash, loam, sage and leather; making this one of the more complex Malbec’s I’ve tasted in a while. This is a medium bodied wine with an exceptionally pleasant aftertaste of cherry and chalk that leaves me licking my lips and longing for another glass.

Overall, this is a wonderful wine experience with just a few hiccups along the way. The attack is somewhat one dimensional and the mid-palate is a disappointment but this wine shines in the finish and pours on the depth and character. Due to the beauty of the finish and overall pleasantness of this wine I recommend it and give it a solid, Good QPR. For your money it’s a decent bottle, but if you really just want a great drinking Malbec for the best price than you’d still have to pick up the Kaiken Malbec. This isn’t as cheap as the Kaiken and the Kaiken is a better all around wine in my opinion; but this is pretty darn close.

D U R I G U T T I 

2007 Valserrano Rioja Crianza, Spain

Easy on the eyes…Deep ruby red with a rusty rim

Heaven Scent…Strawberry, raspberry, vanilla

 Oh the flavors…Again and again I am drawn back to Spanish wines, particularly those featuring Tempranillo grapes (which in reds is the most common varietal). The flavors present in these wines are usually very distinct being fruit forward but not necessarily sweet as they are often tempered by hints of vanilla, cedar and spice box notes. This bottle is definitely a winner. The attack comes on with wonderful strawberry and raspberry fruits, followed closely by leather and vanilla and just a hint of smoke. The mid-palate is very smooth featuring mild tannins, perfect levels of acidity and astringency and just a tad bit of sour cherry flavors. This features a medium finish brimming with red fruit jams (strawberry particularly), blueberry, black pepper, burnt sugar and vanilla. This is a medium bodied wine that leaves an aftertaste of cherry, strawberry and oak/vanilla.

Overall, this is an excellent wine that is perfectly priced for the quality that you get. It easily earns a Great QPR. It isn’t immensely complex but it well balanced with layered fruit flavors and enough complexity to keep my palate engaged. More than anything it is very pleasing and easy drinking. I recommend drinking it with meat dishes but it is very food friendly and would do well with salad, macaroni & cheese and pizza. Truly a wonderful wine and highly recommended.

Valserrano

2008 Francois Lurton Hacienda Araucano Carmenere, Chile

Simple shades…Dark purple that lightens at the rim

Fruit fragrant…Blueberry, boysenberry, cherry vanilla

Two-toned taste…I ventured outside my usual “wine stores” and purchased this bottle at the Whole Foods around the corner from my house. They stock a lot of the same wines that I see at my local grocer, but they have a decent selection of wines I’ve never come across. Most of them are organic wines and I had a quite pleasant conversation with an organic wine drinker that was deciding whether or not to try Syrah for the first time. That’s neither here nor there but it makes for a good story for another post. On to the review. Basically this wine is what I’d call a two-tone wine all the way around. The aromas are of blueberry/boysenberry and cherry vanilla. The attack features two distinct flavors blueberry/blackberry and licorice/tobacco. I’m not saying it tastes bad; it’s just pretty simple. The mid-palate lacks any real astringency, but shows a decent amount of alcohol heat and tingle on my tongue mixed in with some very playful tannins as they bring just a hint of pucker but serve to make the mid-palate and subsequent finish taste of wood/oak/smoke. The finish is medium in length and carries those same berry flavors, mixed now with the wood/oak/smoke and finally just a dollop of chocolate and cinnamon. The wine itself feels heavy in my mouth but it’s really only a medium bodied effort with an aftertaste of oak and apple (I know that sounds weird in a red wine but that’s what’s left on my tongue between sips).

Overall, I think this is just a bit too boring for me. I’d purchased this in hopes of finding yet another intriguing glass of wine from the Carmenere grape, instead I didn’t really find anything that reminded me of what I’ve come to expect from Carmenere. It lacks the signature herbaceous, green bell pepper and black pepper savory-ness of most Carmeneres; instead showing characteristics of a full bodied Malbec. That’s not saying this is a bad wine, merely an average wine and not a clear example of what this grape usually tastes like. It gets an OK QPR, and a weak recommendation from me only if you want to try something new or are bored with your usual Malbec. If that doesn’t describe you, steer clear of this and seek out nearly any Anakena Carmenere or Chateau Los Boldos Carmenere priced over 12 dollars.

 Francois Lurton

2009 Vecchia Cantina Rosso di Montepulciano, Italy

Elegance in a glass…Dark purple with a ruby rim and an ebony core

Magnificent aromas…Blueberry, mulberry, black cherry, vanilla and coconut

Joyous flavors…This is only the second Montepulciano I’ve tried since starting this blog; the first was a complete disaster this one is at the opposite end of the spectrum. I purchased this as another red wine to pair with Thanksgiving dinner, but at the last minute decided not to open this up. A few days ago I finally decided to pop the cork on this, and I was greeted with an absolutely wonderful drinking experience. The attack is silky and smooth with raspberry and semi-sweet cherry fruit flavors that are backed by leather, vanilla and burnt sugar. The mid-palate is nicely acidic with an even astringency and tannins that are smooth and balanced; overall the mid-palate is just a little too short for my tastes and edges into a medium finish. The finish is the most balanced part of this wine as the fruit flavors (cherry, raspberry and red currant) meld seamlessly with tobacco, vanilla, leather, and bittersweet chocolate. The finish is gorgeously smooth and leaves an aftertaste of burnt caramel and semi-sweet cherry.

Overall this wine is a definite winner. I believe I paid 10 dollars for this bottle; at that price this is a great QPR. This wine shows more “oomph” than most Italian reds and can be paired with a wider variety of foods. It held up well to burgers and fries, beef stew and spaghetti. Though it lost a little complexity with the hearty stew. I highly recommend this is you enjoy balanced and smooth red wines or just need something a little more complex than your usual table wine for about the same price. Pick this up by the case if you can, you won’t be disappointed.

Vecchia Cantina

2008 Michele Chiarlo Barbera D’Asti Superiore Le Orme, Italy

Humble hues…Rich, dark red with a garnet-violet rim

Simplistic scents…Berries and cream (specifically raspberry and blueberry), cherry candy

Cheap thrills…I’ve begun to test the waters of unfamiliar wines, this time centering on red wines from Italy. Every three months or so, I get a little bored with the “same ol’ same ol’” and go in search of a new wine. Last time it was Pinot Noir, before that Beaujolais. This time it’s not a particular wine, but a region: Italy. Up until recently my journey into Italian territory had been limited to very inexpensive red blends and grocery store Chianti. Then I went out on a limb on a 20 dollar bottle of Nebbiolo and here I am reviewing a relatively inexpensive Barbera from the same region in Italy, Piedmont. I could write an entire review comparing the two Italian reds but that would be a disservice to both of them; instead I will give this wine the due it so justly deserves. First off this wine is what I would describe as unassuming, rustic even bordering on quaint, but it is a pleasure to drink. There isn’t a whole lot going on; the attack tastes of near-ripe plums and strawberry with just a hint of sour cherry. The mid-palate is very smooth as this is not a tannic wine and that fact shows up in the fact that the focus of the mid-palate is all about subtle alcohol acidity and just a nibble of astringency around the outside edges of my tongue. The segue from mid-palate to finish is seamless and leaves me almost believing this to have a somewhat short finish, which it doesn’t. The finish is medium in length and comes back to flavors of sour cherry, young plum and strawberry, and adds tart raspberry and just a hint of nectarine on top. This is a medium bodied wine that knows just what it’s about and doesn’t try to bring any confusing ideas of grandeur but is pitch perfect just as it is. There is a nice aftertaste of nectarine, plum skins and sharp cheddar (I know that seems weird but after every sip I thought I was chewing just a small bite of sharp Irish cheddar).

Overall, this wine is exactly what it advertises itself to be, a simple but enjoyable Italian red with a small price point. Nine dollars is a bargain for this wine, and that combined with how pleasurable an experience this wine is to drink gets it a solid good QPR from me. I can’t list this as a great QPR only because it really isn’t a great wine, but it doesn’t try to be a great wine all it wants to be is a solid wine that can be enjoyed with food or without. I advise drinking this with pizza or hamburgers though it stood up to a pork roast as well. I highly recommend this wine for just about any occasion especially if you enjoy sweet-sour wines or just about any wine from Italy, this should be right up your alley.

Michele Chiarlo Vini Classici del Piemonte

2009 Courtney Benham Courtney’s Angels Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Tempting tints…Very dark red with a garnet rim

Wild whiffs…Blueberry, cherry, plum and baking spices

Typical tastes…I thoroughly enjoy Courtney Benham wines, though they are mostly out of my price range. The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is one of my favorite wines and their Sauvignon Blanc is one of the few North American Sauv Blancs that I’ll drink. That being said, I’d not given this wine much thought when I shopped at Total Wine & More. It’s a 10 dollar bottle sourced from Paso Robles grapes. I figured it would be a fruit forward Cabernet Sauvignon with few redeeming qualities and absolutely no complexity or depth. I was 100% right about it being fruit forward but dead wrong about complexity and depth. The flavors here are blackberry, plum, black cherry and raisin with underlying nuances of cinnamon, anise, vanilla, all spice and chocolate. The mid-palate is light on tannins and astringency, though there is a vein of acidity that runs throughout this wine that shows up stronger in the mid-palate giving this a slight sour alcohol flavor. The finish is medium in length with returning cherry and blackberry flavors mixed lightly with grass, cocoa, and mint leaves. This is a medium bodied wine with a fresh fruit skin flavored aftertaste that will compliment just about any dish from salad to pizza to steak.

Overall, I’d purchase this wine again. It’s a little above average in flavor and complexity and about average in price. I give this a good QPR, though I’d say this has typical California flavors for a 10 dollar bottle this might hold just a little more depth than your average grocery store red wine from California. This is an easy drinking Cabernet Sauvignon, not too heavy but very food friendly. Pick up a bottle on your next visit to TW&M.

Martin Ray Winery

Mini-Review : 2010 Siegel Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Chile

Mini-Review

And so starts my “mini-reviews”. Wines that get mini-reviews will be run-of-the-mill wines that don’t really stand out either for the good or the bad. Basically there was nothing about this wine for me to write beyond one paragraph. Let’s begin.

This wine is dark purple edging to black with a violet rim. It smells of blackberry, blueberry and sugar cookie. The primary flavors are sour blackberry, raspberry, tobacco, and hints of green bell peppers and licorice. Thankfully the mid-palate is soft alcohol and relatively tame tannins otherwise this wine would get a full review, albeit a poor one. The medium finish is just a little harsh due to some sour berry flavors that come in rather strong, thankfully they fade quickly into a mélange of green bell pepper, leather and tar; not a threesome you want to stick around and these linger just a tad into the aftertaste but it mainly highlights some blueberry/blackberry flavors and not much else. Overall this wine is priced right at the top as far as quality goes. If you were to tack on a quarter, to the 9 dollar price tag I’d say you paid too much. So at 8.99 this is the peak that this wine should ever reach. This fares right in the middle of the pack of most 9 dollar Cabernet Sauvignons; it’s not great and it’s not terrible, it just is. Anakena’s Cab offerings are better, Casillero del Diablo is worse and Penfolds is about the same. I’d say pass on this and go buy a 9 dollar Malbec where you are sure to find better quality for your money.

Siegel Winery

2010 Gascon Malbec, Argentina

Color – Purple with a violet rim

Nose – Blueberry, strawberry, cherry

Taste – I had the chance to spend an evening out with my wife and mutual friends at The Living Room Wine Café and Lounge. First off this is not to be confused with a wine bar, the difference between them being this was closer to a club/bar than a lounge/wine sipping spot. Regardless the wine list was lengthy though not overly pretentious however they were out of the wine I was interested in trying. They offered me this wine instead at a 12 dollar discount (I shudder to think I could have purchased this bottle for that amount at my local supermarket, instead I paid 20 dollars for this bottle). This wine is young and very fruit forward. There isn’t a lot going on as far as flavor is concerned; sugary blackberry, strawberry and cherry dominate the attack with just a little plum and raisin hints as well. The mid-palate is lacking any noticeable astringency, but does carry limited alcohol and biting tannins. The finish is medium in length with sour cherry, leather and some of that cough syrup flavor I detest in wine (though it’s just a hint of the cough syrup flavor). This wine is medium bodied though it wants to be a full bodied wine. The aftertaste is pleasing enough with flavors of stone fruit and molasses.

Overall, this wine is young, fruit forward and not worth 10 dollars much less 20. It’s a pleasing enough though completely un-complex red wine. It tastes almost like sugared fruit juice. If you don’t like particularly bold red wines or are used to sweet wines this one’s for you. Otherwise I advise passing on this one; it has a poor QPR and for the same price you can get a pretty darn good Malbec if you pick up the Kaiken.

Gascon Wines

2008 Kirkland Signature Napa Valley Meritage, California

Shades of simplicity…Dark red nearly black at the core

Pleasantly perfumed…Black currant, plum, vanilla, alcohol

Brute-force flavors…This intrigued me as I passed through the wine section at Costco last week. Another Kirkland Signature Meritage, this one 4 dollars less expensive than the Rutherford Valley Meritage I enjoy so much. Could this possibly have an equal QPR? Let’s find out. This is darker than I remember the Rutherford Valley Meritage being, and the proportions of the varietals is different as are the vineyards the wine comes from. The aromas present here are pleasant enough though the underlying smell of alcohol is a little off-putting. The attack is warm and spicy featuring a decent amount of oak, blueberry and plum; this is a heavily oaked wine or it just tastes like it was heavily oaked as the flavor of oak/wood is present from start to finish. The mid-palate has young, playful tannins and a lot of heat and tingle from the alcohol but there is also a decent level of sweet blueberry and plum fruit that would overpower this wine if the alcohol and tannins didn’t rein this in. The long finish carries forward the plums and blueberries, adds some black cherry and blackberry to the mix and tops it all with oak, pepper, chocolate and leather. This is a heavy bodied red that fares better at room temperature and benefits from pairing with a fatty, charred piece of meat. The aftertaste is immensely pleasant and full of plums and vanilla.

Overall, this wine doesn’t reach the same level of quality or complexity as the Rutherford Valley Meritage. Granted this wine is not as expensive as that wine, but this is a less pleasing glass of wine. I give this a good QPR if you can handle a rather oaky red wine that also shows a decent amount of alcohol flavors throughout the wine itself. In all honesty this wine will probably taste better in 5 years or so. It’s a little young right now and that shows; it needs the chance to mellow and gain some age. I can’t recommend this over the Rutherford Valley Meritage and to be honest you can find better bottles at the same price point (Kirkland Signature Carneros Pinot Noir is the first that comes to mind) but I will recommend it as far as price point goes. For me I will spend the 4 extra dollars and pick up the Rutherford or purchase this to add to my cellared wines.

2007 Wirra Wirra Catapult Shiraz/Viognier (95% Shiraz/5% Viognier), Australia

A Sight for Sore Eyes…Intense black core fading to deep red and finally garnet at the rim

Nose-tradamus Predicts…Blueberry, blackberry, raisin, plum, crushed peppercorns

Tasting a Rainbow of…The Wirra Wirra Catapult has been in the back of my mind for about two months now since I picked up the 2007 Waterbrook Syrah Reserve from Cost Plus World Market when their beverage specialist recommended both of the wines to me. I put off on the Wirra Wirra due to my lack of familiarity with Viognier and my skepticism on red wines blended with white wines. But when I stopped by recently and saw this reduced to 15 dollars (a 5 dollar price cut) I just had to pick up a bottle. I sipped this directly after opening and found it to be just a little on the fruit forward side for me and I immediately got worried that I wouldn’t be able to make it through the bottle (to my palate this is a very fruit-y, re: sweet, red wine). I let this sit for a good 20 minutes before returning and testing the waters. The wine was still fruit-y, though it tastes better now that it has had a chance to breathe and reach room temperature. I can taste dark plum, raisin and brown sugar flavors predominantly with hints of charcoal/ash and tobacco right as the mid-palate takes over. The mid-palate holds a decent amount of heat and some interesting tannins that nearly change the charcoal/ash flavors from complex and intriguing into pungent and unpleasant. Luckily these flavors fade rather quickly as the medium finish takes over. The finish is personified by more savory and robust flavors; tobacco, leather, black pepper and smoke. There are some light tinges of plum/raisin and blackberry in the aftertaste, but mainly it tastes like burnt sugar and tobacco. This is a medium-edging-into-full bodied wine with complexity in the attack and finish, and a mid-palate that is a little too rowdy for my tastes.

Overall, I would say 15 dollars is an ok price point for this wine, it is definitely a quality wine. Does it have its flaws? Sure, it’s rough and nearly unpleasant in the mid-palate, but the attack and finish are deep, warm and complex with flavors and textures that definitely had my attention. It is a little “sweet” for my tastes, I like my Shiraz/Syrah to feature fruit but this has just a little too much fruit and sugar for me, especially in the attack. All that aside, I would rate this a Fair to Good QPR at 15 dollars; it’s normally priced at 20 dollars and at that price I think I’d drop my rating a notch and call this an even QPR wine. But if you can find it on sale below 15 bucks, I think you will get yourself a good deal on a fairly complex offering. Will I be Catapult-ing again any time soon? Probably not, but I will think hard about cellaring a bottle of this because I do believe it will hold up well for 5-10 years and age into a very smooth, complex red wine.

Wirra Wirra Vineyards

2009 Tikal Patriota (60% Bonarda/40% Malbec), Argentina

My Crystal Balls Shows…Rich, dark purple that barely fades to violet at the rim

After a Sniff or Three…Blackberry, strawberry, blueberry, vanilla

The Taste Forecast is…I just about jumped up and down with glee when I saw this at my local Costco for 17 dollars this past week. Previously I’ve only been able to find this wine at Total Wine and at a price range that was a little above that at 20 dollars.  Needless to say I didn’t hesitate to place this in my cart; the resulting shopping trip was a nightmare because I was so impatient to get home and crack open this wine. We finally reached the house; I quickly unloaded the groceries, helped my wife put them away and then uncorked this bottle. Let me first say that this bottle could double as a deadly weapon. It’s heavy, made of thick glass, with considerable width at the base. I have read many articles that also comment on the cost of bottle and labels that wineries choose for their wines; this one is seems to be in a bottle that is of a higher quality than most other red wines I’ve tried. After this had decanted for a good 30 minutes I couldn’t help myself and finally swirled, sniffed and sipped. The aromas coming off this wine are complex but they are also very fleeting, you have to search to untangle the scents because they blend together so well. On the first sip my palate was absolutely overwhelmed with massive flavors of black fruit, dark berries and savory herbs and spices. I sipped down the rest of my glass and let the bottle get some air overnight before I returned to see if it had mellowed any. My second glass went nearly as my first did; the wine had mellowed slightly but not much. So this wine is just going to be a HUGE, DEEP red wine. The attack is complex, with bold strawberry and blackberry flavors that fold into creamy vanilla which melts into what I can only describe as peppery, oaky leather. These flavors dissipate like smoke leaving a slightly cracked window into a mid-palate of pitch perfect alcohol heat and tannic astringency. The mid-palate is so smooth on this wine that is almost makes me want to say bad things about the attack and the finish; while those are both complex and pleasant the mid-palate is so extremely balanced and smooth that it almost seems to be invisible. Yet when you spend a few sips experiencing just the mid-palate; you find it isn’t invisible it is merely so evenhanded and silky that it doesn’t seem to exist amongst the massive flavors of the attack and the finish. Speaking of the finish, it’s long and luxurious. It brings back the blackberry, oak and vanilla flavors; then adds to them grape skins, bittersweet chocolate, coffee and anise. There is no doubt in my mind or palate this wine is a full bodied wine. It pours dark and thick in the glass, evinces aromas that are blended but very dark and tastes just as warm, dark and heavy as you would expect from any full bodied red wine.

Overall, this wine is right up my alley; a big, bold red wine. Actually describing this is a big and bold is doing it an injustice. This wine is enormous in flavor, amazing in complexity, varied in texture and superbly priced. Had I paid 25 dollars for this bottle I would rate it a Good-to-Great QPR, at 17 dollars it’s as if I committed highway robbery and got away with it. Don’t misunderstand me; this wine will only satisfy a small portion of the population, those of you that like really LARGE tasting/feeling wines. If you fall into that category, as do I, you will love this wine and hopefully agree with my descriptions. As it stands I plan to return to this wine soon and frequently while Costco still carries it. I also plan to cellar at least 2 bottles of this wine; I think it will hold up well to cellaring for quite some time. I highly recommend this wine; buy this now!

Tikal Wines

2009 Domaine Du Riaz Cote-De-Brouilly, France

Color – Very dark purple

Nose – Strawberry, blueberry, flowers, leaves, bubblegum?

Taste – Again I’ve come back to sample another Beaujolais Cru, this one a Cote de Brouilly that sells for 15 dollars at Total Wine. I didn’t rely on the advice of a member of their staff but read through their offerings and randomly chose this wine. All of Total Wine’s Beaujolais Cru’s are between 13 and 20 dollars, and of those most are rated 90 points by one of the “Wine Journals”. This particular wine is rated 90 or 91 from one such magazine. First off the wine is definitely good. It has wonderful depth of flavor from the beginnings of the first sip. I can taste strawberry, grass, dirt, lavender, dandelion, sage and salt. These flavors simply edge into a mid-palate of perfect alcohol tingle mixed with some sour berry flavors and intense astringency. The finish is medium-to-long and made up mainly of leftover sour berries, salt, floral undertones, and of all things grape. I hesitate to call this wine complex, the flavors are diverse, but the wine itself doesn’t feel complex. It is medium bodied and the aftertaste is pleasantly cherry and grape-ish. But the wine seems a little watery, without any real weight. The astringency is just a little over the top, though the alcohol and sour berries are perfect. I began this wine liking it, but by the end of the bottle this particular bottle of Gamay grapes had soured on me.

Overall, this is an OK QPR, certainly a good wine for the price. Are there better examples of this wine? You bet, and quite a few are much cheaper. I’d take a bottle of Georges Du Beouf Beaujolais-Villages or Morgon Flower Label over this wine and both of those are cheaper. This wine has too much going on and not enough connecting all the dots. The flavors taste great and are the only saving grace for this wine, but it’s not enough for me to buy it again. I’d say pass on this one.

2009 Courtney Benham Lucca Red, California

Color – Ruby red

Nose – Strawberry, blackberry, alcohol

Taste – Three things influenced the purchase of this wine. The first is that I quite enjoy Courtney Benham’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley appellation. The second is that I have been on a red blend kick lately and after reading the tasting notes provided by Total Wine this wine had my interest piqued. The third is that at 13 dollars I was expecting to get some decent quality at a relatively low price. Having sipped this wine now for a few days and being near to the end of the bottle, I can honestly say that this wine doesn’t disappoint but it also doesn’t amaze. It’s a fairly fruit forward red blend, tasting more of “sweet” strawberry, blackberry and blueberry on the attack with minimal savory or herbaceous characteristics save for a small hint of black pepper right before the mid-palate. The mid-palate is full of playful, young tannins, abundant alcohol and what I like to call “fruit skin astringency” (the flavor of fruit skins followed closely by a mouth drying astringency). The finish is medium in length and carries more of those same berry flavors, with added dark cherry, tobacco, coffee and burnt sugar a la crème brulee. This wine falls right in the medium bodied category, though at some points it seems somewhat “watery” or thin. That doesn’t detract from the wine itself, but it just brings to mind the cheaper red blends I have had recently.

Overall, this wine is not what I was expecting, and I would rate is a mere fair QPR. It is a decent notch above Tres Pinos Three Pines Cuvee or Chariot Gypsy. But it’s also a few notches above those wines where price is concerned. I compare this to those two wines because all three of them are fruit forward, “sweet” red blends. This is the most complex of the three, but this doesn’t show off the level of complexity I had hoped for. For the same price I would much rather buy the Anakena Ona or Veramonte Primus. I advise passing on this wine unless you enjoy a more fruit forward red blend that borders on the sweet. If you like complexity, depth and boldness in your red blends pass on this and grab something else.

Courtney Benham from Martin Ray Winery

2006 Waterbrook Melange Noir (28% Cabernet Franc/21% Syrah/19% Cabernet Sauvignon/17% Sangiovese/14% Merlot/1% Tempranillo) , Washington

Color – Dark red, with a purple core

Nose – Blueberry, vanilla, grapes

Taste – I had hoped when I picked this up on clearance at my local supermarket, that this would be a standout wine. I had hoped it would surpass the two other Waterbrook wines I had tasted up to that point. Unfortunately I was sadly mistaken. This isn’t a bad wine, but it doesn’t have the depth and complexity that the Waterbrook Syrah and Waterbrook Cabernet-Merlot characterize so well. This wine looks big, bold and dark. It smells just a little more timid than that. But it’s in the flavor that it fails for me. The attack is full of jammy, fruity blueberry, raisin and plum flavors with veins of brown sugar, molasses and leather running through all the fruit. The mid-palate is relatively one dimensional, with the alcohol and astringency hiding and chewy, playful tannins showing up as the mid-palate makes its way into the finish. The finish might have redeemed this wine had it been just a little more complex and a little longer. It’s a medium finish that holds more brown sugar, molasses and plum flavors and brings on hints of vanilla, licorice and very minimal baking spices. The wine itself is medium bodied, though when left to sit and reach slightly above-room temperature this wine feels “heavier” on the tongue.

Overall, I can’t call this a bad/poor wine or QPR. At its normal price of 17 dollars I would have called it a poor QPR. But I picked this up at 9 dollars and for that price this wine is lightyears ahead of most other 9 dollar wines. The reason I deride it is because the other Waterbrook wines I’ve tasted have been so good, I expected the same from this wine. I didn’t get it. It’s a little thin, a lot confused as far as flavor goes and lacking anything I would call depth or complexity. If you can get this for under 10 dollars then I would recommend grabbing it just to try it and maybe you‘ll prove me wrong. If you can only find this for more than 10 dollars I’d advise passing and grab any other Waterbrook red wine.

Waterbrook Wines

2009 Urban Maule Red Blend (50% Cabernet Sauvinon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 5% Carignan), Chile

Color – Very dark purple, almost black in the glass

Nose – Blueberry, pepper, herbaceous nearly green bell peppers

Taste – This wine is really something of a conundrum to my palate. By the looks of the color I’m expecting big flavors. The nose hints at fruit, but pushes more in the realm of sharp and savory vegetal notes. And the flavor is basically a mish-mosh of both. The fruit comes on quick and is gone just as quick, personified by smoky, somewhat charred blueberry and blackberry flavors. This is very quickly overtaken by some very herbaceous flavors; sage, thyme and pepper as well as black tea leaves. These flavors linger through the mid-palate which is fairly acidic from the alcohol and equally astringent. The finish is medium-long and is the most straightforward part of the wine with flavors equal parts tart berry, smoky pepper and savory herbs. The wine leaves and aftertaste in my mouth of cherries and a spice cabinet, as if I’ve been licking the lids of every spice/herb container I have on hand. Not that pleasant of an experience. I will admit that I tried this over several days and only sat down to take the majority of notes on the last day rather than the first. My memories of day one are more pleasant, though the wine tasted very young with big tannins and flavors more closely in line with blackberry, green bell pepper and some hints of sage. That being said it wasn’t an amazing glass of wine then but it was slightly better than it is right now.

Overall, I’d say I wasted about 10 bucks on this bottle, and advise you don’t even bother with this wine. It’s a poor, nearly bad, QPR. Maybe it’s the blend, maybe it’s the grapes, maybe it’s me; but this wine just doesn’t work at all. It tastes convoluted on the attack and mid-palate, the finish is just barely passable, and the aftertaste is downright bad. For the same price you can find a myriad of good-to-great red blends, most of them available in your local supermarket (yes even the supermarket red blends taste better than this). Trust me, this is one wine you want to skip.

Bodegas y Vinedos O. Fournier

Head to Head to Head: Three Cabs

Being limited in my posts-per-week due to lack of internet, my next few posts will be multiple bottle reviews. We'll start with three Cabs (2 from California and 1 from Chile). This review will lay them out from least expensive to most expensive (not taking into account coupons or sale prices) and at the end I'll give a recap as to my preference of the three taking into account flavor, cost and availability. Without further ado, on to the review!

2008 Santa Helena Vernus Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile

Color – Ruby red

Nose – Blackberry jam, blueberry, raspberry, green bell peppers

Taste – This bottle of wine showed up at my local Costco, and I couldn’t pass up the chance to sample yet another Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. After this wine had decanted for nearly 30 minutes I decided to take my first sip, and I was nicely surprised. This wine seems simple, but in reality is far from it. The attack bears lovely notes of black currant and blackberry with just a hint of bittersweet chocolate. The mid-palate is rather “warm” with firm tannins, astringency that is nearly perfect and acidity from the alcohol but not a lot of heat. The finish is long with heavy flavors of licorice, burnt caramel, tobacco and leather. This wine is full bodied, fruit forward with a finish that balances the fruit notes with “sharp” flavors and leaves a pleasant after taste on my tongue. For under 10 dollars this is a pretty good purchase as this wine holds up to a lot of different flavors (I personally tried it with burgers, steak and pizza on three different occasions and this wine went great with all three).
Overall, this wine shows a good QPR as the flavors are complex enough to allow this wine to hold up to multiple kinds of foods. This Cabernet Sauvignon is also very drinkable by itself. I was surprised that this is as good as it is. I am truly perplexed by the number of superior Chilean wines that are priced in the sub-10 dollar range is so large; perplexed but very happy. This is a must try, pick it up on your next trip to Costco because it might not be on the shelves for long.

Santa Helena Winery

2008 Dominican Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Color – Dark red, with a near black core

Nose – Black currant, licorice, chalk dust, caramel

Taste – This was a recommendation from one of the Total Wine “Beverage Specialists” or whatever they’re called. He talked about it as if it were the best Cabernet Sauvignon for under 20 dollars, considerably better than the Courtney Benham Cabernet Sauvignon I like so much. So at 17 dollars I went out on a limb and grabbed this bottle. I won’t say that he’s completely wrong, but his palate and mine differ quite a bit. This is a very silky, smooth red wine in the beginning that transforms into something of a mangled beast in the middle, then reforms again after the finish back to silky, smoothness. The attack is “warm” (reminding me almost of a liqueur or cordial) and somewhat heavy for my tastes. I can taste cherry, currant, raisin and licorice. The licorice holds on a long time, all the way through the mid-palate. Speaking of the mid-palate this one is a little rough for my palate; with the majority of it coming on as strong alcohol heat/acidity and puny tannins/astringency. As I said before the licorice comes through the rough but short mid-palate and right into the medium-length finish and is joined by blackberry, dark cherry, vanilla, black pepper and oak. The finish tapers off into a smooth, warm, silky mouthfeel that is full of cherry skins and red plum flesh. This is a medium-to-full bodied wine, and at warmer temperatures the medium falls right off that and this wine takes on a weight of its own that can seem rather cloying at times.
Overall, this is not my cup of tea, or glass of wine as it may be. I am sure this is a quality wine, I can tell by the mouthfeel and texture of the wine that runs throughout the entire sipping experience. It might even be a pretty good QPR, but for my palate I’d give it a fair QPR rating. I won’t be coming back here again even though this wine went well with steak and a hearty salad, it failed with simpler foods (spaghetti marinara on one night and grilled chicken breast with rice au gratin on another night). It’s just too much money for what I would consider a rather confused red wine. It starts yummy and smooth, and finishes yummy and smooth; but the middle is one big yucky “hot” mess. I’d recommend passing on this and getting the Courtney Benham I mentioned above for a few dollars more or maybe the Crios de Susana Balbo Cabernet Sauvignon for the same amount. Either of those are just as complex and far more balanced Cabernet Sauvignons. You let me know what you think.

2008 Wheelhouse Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Color – Ruby red with violet hints at the edges

Nose – Plum, cherry, licorice, vanilla

Taste – This delightful Cabernet Sauvignon was nearly half off at Cost Plus, and when I can pick up a 20 dollar bottle for almost 10 dollars I jump at the chance. It only solidified my decision when several employees and a customer informed me I’d made a good decision on my wine choice. I am happy I listened to them, though I’m not completely sold on this wine’s qualities. Don’t get me wrong this wine tastes good, but it’s not 20 dollars worth of goodness. There is some complexity and it starts off right as the wine passes the lips. The attack is evenly layered dark fruits and berries; plum and blackberry mixed with dark cherry and red and black currants. These fruit flavors aren’t overwhelmingly sweet but rather dark, smoky and rich with underlying spice flavors when the wine is moved along the palate. The mid-palate is full of firm tannins, bright acids and pleasing astringency. The tannins run into the long-ish finish in the form of ripe fruit skins, but the finish is also rather dark; the predominant flavors being those of licorice, leather, tobacco, cloves and smoke. This is full bodied, though it tends to feel “lighter” when it’s chilled just a little. It tastes equally well slightly chilled or at warmer temperatures, though it fares best when paired with some charred beef and at room temperature.
Overall, this is a good wine and at the price I purchased it, I would rate it a good-nearly-great QPR. But I don’t think I would pay 20 bucks for this bottle. It doesn’t give Courtney Benham’s Napa Cab a run for its money, but falls far short of the quality of that wine. I admit that this is better than 95% of any wine you will find under 15 dollars. But if you do a lot of tasting you will find those 5% bottles crop up even at your local supermarket. In all honesty I have to recommend that you try this wine because it is a very flavorful and complex wine, that being said; seek, find, and buy – but attempt to do it on the cheap!

Wheelhouse Wine Cellars


In closing, all of these wines were drinkable though the Dominican Oaks almost got cut from the trio due to it's messy and confusing mid-palate. In my opinion, the Santa Helena Cabernet Sauvignon is the best wine for the money easily containing the most complexity and depth for the price. If you can get the Wheelhouse Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon at a reduced rate (15 dollars or less) than you are getting the best of the three, but at full price this wine comes in second. It does taste good and offer considerable complexity and flavor, but 20 dollars a bottle is just a little off-putting. Coming in last is the Dominican Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon and truly this wine was close to being taken off this list altogether. If I could focus just on the attack and the finish this wine would tie the Santa Helena for first, but the sheer brutality of the mid-palate knocks this down to third place and that's not even taking into account the 17 dollar price tag on this bottle. The Dominican Oaks and Vernus are probably the easiest wines to find. Though I purchased the Vernus at Costco, I believe you can find it at Total Wine & More which is where I purchased the Dominican Oaks. I have only seen the Wheelhouse at Cost Plus and it might not be available at the Cost Plus in your region due to the purchasing tendencies of the Beverage Specialist at your local Cost Plus. In all I hope these reviews help you on your journey with wine.

2008 Zingari Toscana, Italy

Color – Ruby red with a near black core

Nose – Blueberry, strawberry, cherry

Taste – This is a recent addition at my local Costco that sells for 9 dollars, and while I’m not overly familiar with Toscana (This is a blend of Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah and Alicante; I was unable to find the specific quantities of each) I figured I would try it just to see if it passed my test. First off this wine benefits from decanting, and if you have the patience it really needs to sit overnight before you drink it. I sipped my first glass of this right after opening the bottle just to see what the wine tasted like and while it’s not bad it’s very tight with sharp flavors and tannins that tend to bite just a little. When I poured my second glass of this the following day the wine had softened, the berry flavors were not as sour and the tannins had mellowed giving this wine a pleasing all around flavor. The flavors on the attack are all berries and cherries; strawberry, raspberry and blueberry with a little ripe red cherry mixed in. The mid-palate has a mild alcohol tingle to it, tannins that still bite but not nearly as much as before and subtle astringency. As the mid-palate moves into the finish semi-sour cranberry flavors begin to pop up blended with sour cherry and raspberry flavors. The finish itself is medium in length with middling complexity that only really shows up in the aftertaste where flavors of leather mingle with the berries present throughout this wine. This is a light-to-medium bodied wine with limited depth in its flavor but that’s not necessarily a bad thing as the wine fares well with pizza, pasta and even salads.

Overall, I would say this is a decent-to-good QPR. The flavors are limited and they aren’t what I really seek out in a wine, but the wine itself isn’t bad rather it’s not my “cup of tea”. It drinks well with pizza and pasta as one would imagine, and doesn’t taste terrible by itself. It’s not going to win huge votes of admiration in my house, but I wouldn’t pass it up if I saw it at a pizzeria and wanted a glass of red to go with my slice of pepperoni pie. I would recommend this if you like cherry/berry reds with sour notes in the mid-palate and finish or as an alternative to your house Chianti. As for me, I’ll pass on this for now, but give it a passing grade.

Petra Wine

2007 Waterbrook Syrah Reserve, Washington

Color – Dark purple with violet highlights on the rim

Nose – Blackberry, blueberry, black currant, molasses, licorice

Taste – Yet another recommendation from the Beverage Guru at Cost Plus, this wine was not on the top of my list as I chose my bottles. However upon opening and sipping all of my purchases, this one shot right to the top as the best of the bunch. This wine is not just big, it’s HUGE. Intense coloration, deep dark purple with violet and ruby highlights on the rim when held up to the light. Lots of fruit aromas pour forth from the glass with each swirl and underlying them is just a hint of molasses and licorice. And when the wine touches your lips and tongue, hold on because the flavors absolutely assault the palate. Sugared blackberries, black currants, and blueberries piled on top of licorice and vanilla that melt finally into very light notes of molasses, brown sugar and oak. The mid-palate is the only part of this wine that can be just a little rough as the astringency, tannins and alcohol push just a little too hard and bring out some pucker in the form of sour black cherry/blackberry flavors. But these soon give way to a nice long finish with leather, caramel, burnt sugar (think crème brule) and more oak. This is definitely a full bodied wine, I sipped the next to another full bodied red and the texture in this Syrah is much more mature and “heavy”. The aftertaste is quite pleasantly berry-ish with some sugar and a nice zing of alcohol.

Overall, this is a new favorite of mine. I am pretty sure I paid 13 dollars for this, and I think it’s worth every dollar plus about 7 more. I don’t even have to give it a second thought, this is a great QPR. The quality exhibited in this wine is truly a marvel. I was able to stretch this bottle over three separate tastings; once with a grilled top sirloin, the second with hamburgers and baked beans, and the third time all on its lonesome. Each time the wine held up superbly, though it tasted much better when it was warmer, this wine tightens up just a little on the palate when it’s chilled. I highly recommend this wine if you are a fan of fruit forward, big bold reds this wine is for you. If you are a fan of great tasting red wine in any form and want a great experience with a bottle of red then this wine is DEFINITELY for you.

Waterbrook Wine

2009 Darien Tempranillo, Spain

Color – Smooth, garnet red

Nose – Raspberry, Strawberry, Cherry

Taste – Yet another interesting and fulfilling glass of this particular varietal, this wine shows what a simple but pleasing drink Tempranillo can make. This is the least complex Tempranillo I’ve sampled, but also one of the most enjoyable. That may sound like a contradiction but it’s not; to put it simply sometimes you really just want a wine that is going to be simple while being drinkable, this is one such wine. On the attack this wine has a nice mix of dark and red fruits; cherry, raspberry, strawberry, blackberry and perhaps a little blueberry as well but there is also enough tannin and alcohol to tame the fruits. The mid-palate is “warm” with alcohol, the tannins firm but not overbearing and the fruits disappear except for some dark, semi-sweet blackberry flavors. The finish is medium, even on the short-to-medium side with flavors again of cherry, blackberry, but also hints of sour cranberry and dust. This Tempranillo is firmly of the medium bodied variety leaving off the “weight” that a few of the Tempranillos I’ve sampled have contained. It went perfect with grilled meat, both chicken and beef, showing off the fruit in contrast to the smoky, charred flavor of the meats.

Overall, I would rate this a good QPR as the bottle only set me back 6 dollars or so. This is another Trader Joe’s wine, but it’s also one of their winners. I’m not saying this is a bulk buy wine, but it’s a GREAT table wine (if only it came in 1.5 liter bottles). It is perfect for summer barbecues, cold cut sandwiches or just by itself. It won’t turn heads or be featured in the Wine Spectator, but it’s a solid red wine that you can sip without feeling guilty over the price. I recommend this one for your summer get together!

Bodegas Darien