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

2008 Kaiken Malbec, Argentina

Color – Inky purple, nearly black

Nose – Blueberry, plum, vanilla

Taste – For our eleventh anniversary, my wife and I went to a restaurant we frequented during our dating years. While sitting perusing the menu, I decided to order a bottle of wine. My first choice, a Carmenere, was out of stock. I took a few more minutes and decided on this wine that I had seen quite a few places but always put off purchasing. Yes I paid three times what I would have paid at Total Wine, but I found out just how good Kaiken Malbec is; and why I should have been drinking it since I started this blog. First off this isn’t some mediocre, supermarket Malbec. This is a great big, amazing flavor, huge depth, Malbec. I am sure you can find it in some supermarkets, if that’s the case buy it now. I tasted it the first night with a plate of gyros and tzatziki; the wine tasted warm and spicy a wonderful complement to the red onions, kalemata olives and yogurt sauce. I finished off ¾ of the bottle and left it in my wine cellar for the past 4 days. Tonight I fired up the grill for some rib-eye steaks I had laying around. I went through two other wines, a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon and a Chilean Carmenere blend, before I poured the final glass of Kaiken Malbec to sample with the last quarter of my steak. How I wished I had tried this wine first. Bursting with flavors of blackberry, black plum, vanilla and clove this wine practically jumped up and down on my taste buds when I took the first sip. The mid-palate was firm, ripe tannins, elegant alcohol heat that made my tongue tingle, and dark cherry/blueberry flavors. The finish is medium in length with more dark berry flavors, along with delicate wood smoke, bittersweet chocolate, and tobacco. This is medium bodied, nudging into full-bodied just a little with warmth and texture one would expect from a really good Malbec.

Overall, this is hands down one of the best Malbecs I’ve ever tasted if not the best representation of this varietal. It has everything I love in a wine; depth, character, flavor, heat, tannins and astringency but all of those things are in perfect proportions. Normally I would shy away from non-fruit forward Malbecs, but this is a masterpiece of a wine. I would say this is a great QPR at 10 – 12 dollars a bottle depending on the store you shop at. I would advise making this your house Malbec, as it is inexpensive and amazing. A stand-alone wine or a wine to be paired with just about any dish. Keep this one in your cellar at all times.

Kaiken Wines

2008 Graffigna Centenario Malbec Reserve, Argentina

Color – Dark purple with a black core

Nose – Black currant, blackberry, brown sugar, caramel

Taste – A word of advice before we start, decant this wine for at least an hour before you begin to sip. Once you do start sipping be prepared for very strong flavors. This wine is not a fruit forward Malbec. Instead it starts with flavors of blueberry, blackberry, dark cherry, heat from the alcohol and leather. The mid-palate comes on strong with plentiful tannins, brown sugar, and muted spice box flavors. The finish is long and can seem a little harsh at times due to the tannins and heat that run through the entire wine. There are some dark fruit flavors on the finish (blackberry, plum, currant) as well as tobacco, bittersweet chocolate, and more leather. This is a full bodied wine and not an everyday Malbec as I’ve mentioned previously. There are fruit flavors but they are more even in this wine, blending with the tannins, heat and tobacco/leather flavors rather than overpowering them.

Overall, the wine is not bad when paired well and when sipped slightly chilled. As the wine warmed in my glass the tannins evened out, but the alcohol took a big step forward and really overwhelmed all of the other flavors. If you do purchase this wine (Costco for 8.99), make sure you serve it slightly chilled. This barely makes the grade for a wine that I would recommend. It has a pretty good QPR given that this wine’s quality is definitely there with a nice level of complexity and depth. This isn’t an inexpensive Malbec, but the flavors here won’t work for everyone. I won’t be seeking this out when I want a good all around Malbec, instead I will grab Alamos or Chateau Labrande, but if I am in the mood for something a little more robust and complex I’d buy this again. Let me know what you think.

Graffigna Wines

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.