2009 Kirkland Signature Rutherford Meritage(70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc), California

Color – Purple with a violet rim

Nose – Blueberry, blackberry, vanilla, pencil shavings

Taste – This wine provides one of the most fulfilling red wine experiences I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying since I started taking notes on the wines I sip. From the color to the aroma to the first sip, this wine is all about flavor, balance and depth. There is a decent amount of dark fruit on the palate, a mélange of black currant, blackberry, plum and blueberry. The mid-palate is a wonderful experience of firm tannins, subtle astringency and perfect levels of alcohol. The finish is long with blackberry, plum, vanilla, oak and semi-sweet chocolate. The wine is full bodied, the mouthfeel silky with an aftertaste that reminds me of clean mint and fruit skin, all of this combines to give the feeling that this wine is more mature than it actually is. Had I tasted this blind, I would have guessed an ’05-’06 vintage and a price tag between 20 and 30 dollars. Boy would I have been wrong.

Overall, this wine has a great QPR. For 14 dollars you get to experience a wine that has the complexity, depth and balance of a wine double the price. I can honestly say that I have only tasted two wines since January that compete with this; the first was the Courtney Benham Cabernet Sauvignon and the last Clos Pegase Cabernet Sauvignon. There were a few in between (Munoz de Toro Argie Bonarda , Bodegas Flechas de los Andes Gran Malbec and Crios de Susana Balbo) but that’s really only five wines in five months that have this superior level of complexity and depth. Sure the few Beaujolais I tried also meet these standards but they aren’t the same “type” of red wine as this is. I would recommend this as a definite buy, stock up while Costco has this in stock, you won’t regret it.

2009 Tres Pinos Three Pines Cuvee Red Wine

Color – Ruby red

Nose – Cherry, cut/wet grass

Taste – This particular red blend features Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel in unknown quantities and is available at Trader Joe’s for $4.99. Does it pass the cheap wine test? Yes it does. How does it fare when measured against the previous red blends I’ve purchased from Trader Joe’s that were similarly priced? Right smack in the middle. That being said the nose is rather simple and truly the cut/wet grass really only comes out with vigorous swirling. The first taste shows off cherry, strawberry and/or raspberry and some definite heat. The mid-palate settles in with some quite rambunctious tannins and peppery flavors. The tannins flow right into the medium finish along with some tart cherry, damp soil and wet leather flavors. As far as mouthfeel goes this is a little bit watery and can almost seem like you’re drinking something other than wine as far as body goes. I would say this is light-to-medium bodied with the only real “oomph” coming from the tannins. In all a decent red wine, superior to the Chariot Gypsy but inferior to the Trentatre Rosso.

Overall, regardless of how I feel about this wine, it still has a good QPR. It’s hard to find wines that I would seek out that only cost a fiver. This is one of those wines. It’s not pretentious or complex but it is pretty darn satisfying. It needs a little time to breathe after opening it and tastes a lot better if its slightly chilled; but I would still say this wine is a decent value and one you might want to think about purchasing on your next trip to Trader Joe’s.

2008 Kirkland Signature Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Color – Deep, dark red

Nose – Blackberry jam, licorice, vanilla

Taste – I am fast becoming a believer of the Kirkland Signature wines in flavor, quality, and price point. I sampled their Rutherford Meritage to great results and on a whim the next time I was in Costco picked up this delightful Cabernet Sauvignon. From the pour, this wine had me in its grip. The color is a dark, inviting red, the nose is layered fruit and spice, and the flavor takes the best notes of the nose and builds on them. On the attack I can taste ripe (nearly overripe) blackberries on top of the creaminess of vanilla melted into dark cherry and black currant and just a touch of chocolate. The mid-palate is a happy marriage of alcohol warmth, astringency from firm tannins, and dark cherry/vanilla. The finish is medium-long with more cherries, licorice and vanilla but also little hints of chocolate and black pepper. Surprisingly this wine is more medium bodied than full bodied; with its color and flavors I had expected it to be “heavier” but was pleasantly surprised with a medium bodied wine that is very easy to drink. This isn’t a big fruity Cabernet Sauvignon; it’s big and tasty but rather complex as well. Definitely another winner for Kirkland Signature.

Overall, this is a very nice, drinkable Cabernet Sauvignon with an even nicer price point. I think you can pick this up for 11 dollars only at your local Costco, which makes this is good-to-great QPR. The level complexity present means you are getting a wine that can compete with anything you would purchase for 15-20 dollars from the supermarket or even Total Wine. I highly recommend this wine if you want a Cab with depth and complexity but remains drinkable all by itself. Get it while they have it!

2009 Martine Galhaud Moulin “MGM” Pinot Noir, France

Color – Dark, inky purple

Nose – Sweet, dark cherry; red and black plum, licorice

Taste – This is an interesting and I would guess un-Pinot-like Pinot Noir. This is quite dark in color, large in aroma, and heavy in weight for a Pinot Noir. That’s not to say this wine is bad, just not a good representation of Pinot Noir. I will say if you drink this with an open mind, you might like this wine. The flavors on the initial sip are of very ripe plums, and dark cherry fruit; the mid-palate is cinnamon, brown sugar, heat and astringency though none of these are out of proportion. The finish is medium-to-long with flavors I can more closely describe as sweet plum liquor. This surprised me and with the first two glasses I was unimpressed and a little put off. But as I began to drink my third glass I decided to drink it with the mindset that I was drinking just another red blend. The wine went down much easier and I was quite satisfied. The flavor profile doesn’t align itself with any wine I have tasted up to this point. At times it has a closer resemblance to a sweet mixed drink or wine cooler than a red wine made only of grapes. The abundance of plum and dark cherry flavors is so strong that you really can’t avoid them or at times find any other flavors. That can be both a good thing and a bad thing, but in all I think it works in this wine.

Overall, this is another decent QPR from Trader Joe’s. It’s not as good as Trentatre 33, Viriato TInta de Toro or Alexander & Fitch Cabernet Sauvignon but this is still a pretty good wine for the money. It’s better than 75% of the wines from supermarkets that are priced in the sub-eight dollar range. I won’t be buying a lot of this or buying it often but I’d keep a bottle around just in case I wanted a very fruit forward, plum flavored red.

2009 Georges Duboeuf Morgon Flower Label, Beaujolais Cru, France

Color – Garnet red

Nose – Raspberry, flowers, lavender, cut parsley

Taste – How I have come to love the Gamay grape, this is another wine that cements that love even further. First off this wine has a “heavier” mouthfeel than the Beaujolais-Villages I have sampled in the past, but it’s not an overwhelming “heaviness”. The flavor itself shows the wonderful depth and character this wine has. There are the normal raspberry and strawberry flavors, along with some candied cherries and lastly grass, lavender and floral hints. The wine is medium-to-full bodied with a very nice long finish that has soft and supple tannins and perfect alcohol characteristics. The wine itself is smooth and rather cool on the tongue mostly because it tastes better at cooler temperatures. It isn’t overly cloying like some heavier red wines rather it actually serves to refresh me more than anything else, strange for a red wine, but something I have come to appreciate.

Overall, this is a great wine with an equally great QPR. It tastes wonderful; every sip reminds me just how much I have come to value Gamay and the wines that come from the grape. Is this better than the 2009 Beaujolais-Villages of Louis Jadot and Georges Duboeuf I have tried in the past? That’s hard to say, on the one hand this is a heavier wine with more flavor, heat and depth. But on the other hand those wines are 5 dollars cheaper than this wine and nearly this good with nearly the same level of complexity and depth. I think it’s a close tie on this count. This wine is superior to the Beaujolais-Villages I have tried, but just barely. I would be just as happy drinking any of these wines. I recommend that you stock up on this or either of the Beaujolais-Villages. Or you could jump in and try just about any 2009 Beaujolais (except Beaujolais Nouveau) and probably have just as good as an adventure as this one, if not one that surpasses my own. At any rate the 2009 Beaujolais Cru and Beaujolais-Villages are both wines to stock up on and savor often.

Georges Duboeuf Wines

BevMo! 5 Cent Sale is Here...

(I do not own the rights to this picture)

Yup the 5 cent sale is back and if you've read my previous post on shopping at BevMo you know just how much I cherish that store. But as I said previously, now is the only time to shop there. From my understanding, they have added quite a few more qualifying wines some are even wines that have been scored above 90 points in one of those "wine trade journals". You can look at this event one of two ways. 1) This is the time to get two moderately priced (20-30 dollars a bottle) wines for the price of one. 2) This is the time to go hunting for that wine that only BevMo! carries that just might be a diamond in the rough so you can stock up on it for cheap. I prefer the second option as the treasure hunt is an equally exciting part of wine drinking. I haven't made my trip to BevMo! just yet but that's because I found some stellar deals at my local Cost Plus World Market, but I will keep you all up-to-date on what I do purchase from BevMo! when I do get around to heading over there. I have looked at their online catalog and these two wines look interesting: 2008 Gen 5 Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi, California; 2009 Ampakama Malbec, Argentina. More to come!

BevMo!

2008 Chateau Labrande Cahors Malbec, France

Color – Deep, even purple

Nose – Blackberry, wet soil, plum, compost?

Taste – I was weary of this Malbec due to my last run in with the French offering of this grape, however I was pleasantly surprised upon taking my first sip of this particular wine. It’s deep and dark in color and has interesting aromas that bring to mind very dark fruit, damp earth, and the combination of the two in what I can only describe as compost. The first flavors that come through are both fruit and somewhat savory flavors; I taste sour blackberry and dark plum mixed with bittersweet chocolate, coffee, and burnt caramel. The mid-palate has just a hint of alcohol, perfect tannins, and a nice even mouthfeel. The finish is medium-to-long with the recurring flavor of burnt caramel now joined by clean fruit skins and leather. The wine is full bodied with nice “warmth” to it as the mid-palate fades into the finish. This wine shows just how pleasant and different Malbec from France can be; it’s definitely a journey I enjoyed this time around.

Overall, I would say this wine is a good-to-great QPR. At 9 dollars a bottle and with the depth, complexity and flavors provided you’d be hard-pressed to find a better full bodied Malbec than this. I would say stock up on this while it’s available at Costco. Don’t expect to find the same flavors as Argentinean Malbec since the terroir in France provides this wine with a more savory flavor profile and a heavier “weight” to this wine. It’s still a winner, a wine I would compare to the Bodegas Flechas de los Andes Gran Malbec but for 4 fewer dollars this is one you want to find right now.