2006 Chateau Chevalier Cabernet Sauvignon, California

One of the few purchases I’ve made that breaks my budget rule; one could call this a splurge wine seeing as it comes in at $24.99. I don’t feel that this is that much of a splurge. Sure it breaks my rules, but I picked it up when it was on sale for 20 dollars; so I figured it would count. It pours a very dark red with midnight flecks throughout. Wafting from the glass are amazing aromas of spice box, black cherry, blackberry jam, and cedar. The attack is just as amazing as the nose, full of dark berry and stone fruit flavors intermingled with wood smoke, dust and a nice level of chalkiness. The mid-palate is exceeding smooth, with soft tannins that glide over the tongue tempering some of the sour cherry flavors that pop up, and leaving my tongue and gums with a wonderfully clean and tingly sensation from the perfect astringency. The finish is delicate and long, stretching out with flavors and textures of oak/cigar box, anise, white pepper, chocolate covered cherry, cola and dirt; then rallying back with hints of leather, ash and black tea. This is a full bodied wine that comes across just a little lighter in body due to the balance of flavors and textures, especially where tannins and alcohol are concerned. It left my tongue with a black cherry and burnt toast flavor that was actually quite nice.

Even though this is a little bit above my usual price point, I still love this particular Cabernet Sauvignon. It falls into a budget wine if you can get it on sale, if not you should still pick it up for a special occasion or when you have wine-discerning guests coming over. The complexity and overall smooth flavors/textures of this wine make it a truly special bottle. I would rate this a good QPR at 25 dollars, and good-to-great if you can find it under 20 dollars. For a fan of the Cabernet Sauvignon varietal this is definitely a winner and one to add to your list of Cabs to try before you die. Maybe add a bottle to your cellar, you won’t be disappointed.

Chateau Chevalier 

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 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, California

A gorgeous glass…Dark, ruddy hue fading to pinkish-red at the rim

Stunning scents…Black currant, cedar, loam, compost, syrup

Fantastic flavors…To be quite honest, this was a desperation purchase on a quick trip to my local super market. I wanted something with quality and had heard this wine had particular depth and character for a wine frequently sold in grocery stores. So I placed it in my cart and came home. Then promptly forgot about it as I had placed it in my new wine cellar. After a few months I was rearranging my cellar to organize it by varietal and ran across this particular bottle. Once again my interest was piqued and while my wife sipped on a bottle of Sparkling Wine, I chose to pop the cork on this beauty. And beauty it what this wine is. It’s not a 92 or 93 point wine, but it has defined levels of complexity that you won’t find in many wines sold in the super market, particularly at the 20 dollar mark. Be warned, this wine needs a good day of decanting before you start to sip it; it’s big, bold and very dark in flavor and texture. The attack is full of heavy black fruits blackberry, black currant, roasted black plums and black cherry jam mingling with vanilla and butter all floating atop a foundation of oak, wet leaves and peat moss. The mid-palate has a whole lot of everything; chewy tannins rise in force shoving astringency across the surface of my tongue to battle against alcohol warmth and tingle that flees from acidity and flavors of leather and dust. The mid-palate seems overwhelming and long, when in reality it merely melds right into a long finish that is full of more dark fruits and heavy savory characteristics; the first of these show up in the form of dark cherry with vanilla buttercream layered on top, this melts into a very pungent oak and tobacco taste with just a hint of sour blackberry and finally comes the wet leaves, loam, chalk and compost bringing sensory overload to my palate. This is a full bodied wine with a wonderful aftertaste of wet wood, damp earth and cooked plums.

Overall this is an excellent wine with few failings. Sure it’s not for every palate. It’s a very heavy red wine with lots of tannins and particularly deep/dark flavors. It will assault many red wine drinkers and overwhelm their “softer” palates, but for a Cabernet enthusiast this hits the spot. It’s not overly expensive or immensely complex. It shows flashes of complexity above a 20 dollar wine but provides a lot of even quality. I recommend this and award it with a solid Good QPR. If you are in a hurry at the grocery store grab this bottle, it will pair wonderfully with those steaks, heavy stews or hamburgers.

Beringer Vineyards 

2008 Los Nevados Malbec, Argentina

Color – Inky purple with a very dark red rim

Nose – Blackberry, black currant, minerals

Taste – This is one of a few bottles I picked up recently on a trip to Cost Plus World Market. I chatted with their “Beverage Specialist”, and after some time passing wine stories back and forth I decided we had similar tastes in red wines. He recommended this Malbec due to its level of “spicy-ness”, more akin to a Carmenere was my guess and he agreed. So I was pleasantly surprised when I popped the cork, took a first sip and found that to be a very true statement. If you don’t let this decant it does have a lot of spicy, peppery flavors that mix and mingle with dark fruits and berries (plum, blackberry, dark cherry) all of these flavors balanced with firm tannins and a decent alcohol bite. But if you let it decant, the peppery flavors soon fade away nearly altogether and you are left with a somewhat earthy Malbec. Either way this wine is a good one. Right now I am sipping the wine after it’s been open for just over a day and enjoying the flavors of blackberry and black currant on the attack, a mid-palate characterized with nice acid, tannin and alcohol and a medium-long finish personified by flavors of tobacco, dark cherry, pepper, and wet earth. I would have to say this is a full bodied effort as it feels rather weighty in my mouth and with a texture that almost feels like there is sediment, chalk or very find sand mixed into the liquid (which is not the case at all).

Overall, I would have to say this is a fabulously satisfying Malbec with a good-to-great QPR. If consumed right after opening you will be in for a treat, as this wine tastes like a decent blend of Carmenere and Malbec. If you let this sit overnight or decant it for a while this wine taste like a Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec blend. Neither of those are bad things as this wine has awesome flavors, is priced just right, and is VERY drinkable. I will be purchasing this again at 9 dollars a bottle, it is worth it all the way.

Los Nevados Wines

2009 Bonterra “Organic” Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Color – Dark red with a lighter, even red rim

Nose – Raspberry, cherry, blackberry

Taste – Based on the way that the nose presented itself, I was prepared for a fruit bomb or barring that at least something that featured fruit, in what I would consider abundance. That’s not necessarily the case here; yes there are some fruit flavors as the wine touches my palate. I can taste sour cherry, minimal raspberry, and what tastes most like tar and chocolate. The mid-palate is characterized mostly of tannins that are just a little too present and alcohol that is slightly muted. The finish is fairly long with more sour cherry added to leather, chalk and possibly burnt blackberries. The finish is also very astringent, my mouth felt like I’d taken a blow dryer to it as the mid-palate moved into the finish. The wine is medium-to-heavy bodied and not what I’d expected in the least. This wine is absolutely useless without food. It deteriorates into an undrinkable mess of tannins, alcohol and super sour cherry, so be forewarned. That being said, it tastes very good when paired well. I sampled it with a pot roast and it was very satisfying leaving my mouth quite happy.

Overall, this wine is an OK QPR. At 10 dollars there are better, or more well-rounded wines out there, but that doesn’t mean this is a bad wine. It’s just not a very balanced wine at this price. This is a good example of a Cabernet Sauvignon that isn’t too fruit forward or too “green” it’s right in the middle with some spice hints but also a decent level of fruit to it. I would advise trying this maybe as a sixth bottle if you are purchasing half a case or something interesting to try if you are in the mood for something new.

Bonterra Vineyards