Category Archives: Price: 10 bucks or less

Commentary, Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Vinho Verde Makes Me Want to Quit Blogging

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I love vinho verde.

If you’re not familiar with vinho verde, you’ve got to rectify that. It’s a very light, low alcohol (<10%), slightly effervescent white white from Portugal. (Actually, it is an DOC appellation in Portugal and there are red and pink versions, but the vast majority of vinho verde that is exported is white.) It’s called vinho “verde” not because it’s actually green (like crappy American beer on March 17), but because it’s meant to be consumed young. The grapes typically used are Loureiro, Trajadura, Batoca, Arinto/Pedernã, Avesso and Azal. You can also find versions made from Alvarinho, but those are a bit of a different beast – higher alcohol levels and a few dollars more.

What vinho verde is mostly is refreshing. And goddammit I live in Texas and it’s hot. And sometimes I just want a wine that is thirst quenching and fun to drink.

But back to the headline. When I drink vinho verde, I forget about assessing it. I don’t care about flavor descriptor or scores. I just drink it. I usually keep the bottle on the table because I know I’m going to want a quick refill – and at <10% abv you can actually drink several glasses.

And if you pay more than $10 or $11, you did it wrong. You can find plenty of satisfying examples for $7 or $8, or even less.

This is what wine should be about.

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This post was inspired by a recent dinner after I stood over the grill on a 95-degree evening on the second day of Summer. The bottle I opened was the Opala Vinho Verde (NV). In the spirit of this post, I won’t do a full VINEgeek review with grape percentages, vineyard details, etc. Instead, I’ll just hit you with a Free Association:

It’s a lifesaver when you need thirst-quenchin’
like a kiss with a lymon twist, now you know that’s kickin’

and to push deeper into the realm of geekery…

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #19: Lorca Redux (2008)

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In the last Mourvèdre Monday post, I reviewed the Lorca 2006 Monastrell from Bodegas del Rosario. I wasn’t planning on doing this Lorca 2008 back-to-back with the last, but our dinner of chorizo, shrimp, olives and rice made me want to go to Spain with my wine choice, and this is the last Spanish Monastrell I had on hand. As you may recall, the 2006 did not leave me with high hopes for this one, but I pulled the cork and hoped for the best.

Lorca Monastrell 2008

Producer: Bodegas del Rosario

Grapes: 100% Monastrell (same grape as Mourvèdre, for newcomers). The 2006 had 30% Syrah.

Appellation: Bullas (D.O. Spain)

Vineyards: From youngish (10-20 years), dry-farmed vines at altitudes ranging from 550 to 1060 meters. The soil is clay, sand and limestone.

Winemaking: Stainless steel fermentation and 8 months in 2-year-old French and American oak

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: $9 or $10 at Costco

My tasting notes: Sticking my nose in the glass, I get the sense of walking the aisles at a hardware store. I start in Aisle 1 with the paint thinner and other solvents. Aisle 2 is the loose nails and bolts. Aisle 3 for some lumber. Oh look, they’ve got cherry Tic Tacs at the checkout. On the palate it’s light with the same sort of dusty red fruit as the 2006 bottling, still without much pop. It disappears very quickly at the end. A very flat experience.

Overall impression: Once again, the Lorca is not fun to drink. Please don’t make this your first Monastrell if you’ve never had one. Try this one or this one or this one instead. C-

Free association:

Photo credit: D’Arcy Norman via Flickr

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #18: Lorca 2006

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I already had a bottle of the 2008 Lorca waiting for it’s turn on Mourvèdre Monday when I saw this 2006 stacked up at Costco. I had high hopes this could be another nice Costco find. I originally intended to do a mini-vertical and open both of these at the same time for this post, but I already had 2 or 3 other half-empty bottles of wine open and felt guilty about opening two. So I’ll pop the 2008 another time. Let’s check out the 2006.

Producer: Bodegas del Rosaroio

Grapes: 70% Monastrell and 30% Syrah

Appellation: Bullas (D.O., Spain)

Vineyards: no detail on the website

Vintage: 2006

Winemaking: I don’t think this (the ‘Tinto’) sees any oak (they have ‘Barrica’ and ‘Crianza’ bottlings that get the oak)

Alcohol: 14%

Price: About $10 at Costco

My tasting notes: Not much fruit on the nose. Instead I get chalk dust and mineral aromas and a vegetal, whats-that-funky-smell-coming-from-behind-the-couch quality. Not promising. On the palate, it’s light-bodied and thin with the suggestion of dusty red fruit and a tight, dry, short finish. “Intense odor, complex sensations” is a tagline they use on the website. I think I agree, though not in the way they probably intended.

Overall impression: Not very fun to drink. I’m not too excited about opening the 2008 now. C-

Free association: Writing about this wine makes me feel pissy like Kristen Wiig’s Aunt Linda character from SNL…

Click here for video

More info:

Wine Spectator: 86 points

Other blogger reviews at Dallas Wine Blog and Wine Belly.

Fun fact from the Bodegas del Rosario website: “in Bullas (Murcia), in the mid 19th century, [Monastrell/Mourvèdre] was also known as Casca del País.”

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #17: Carro Tinto 2008

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This wine always catches my eye on the shelf, with it’s orange label and simple design. I’ve had past vintages and like it pretty well, so let’s see what’s up with the 2008.

Carro Tinto 2008

Producer: Bodega Señorio de Barahonda. They put out 10 or 12 different bottlings of Monastrell or Monastrell blends under the Barahonda, Carro and Bellum labels, including two previous Mourvèdre Monday wines: the Barahonda Monastrell 2006 (B-) and the Nabuko 2007 (B). Based on past results, I’ll taste as many of their wines as I can find.

Grapes: 50% Monastrell, 20% Syrah, 20% Tempranillo and 10% Merlot

Appellation: Yecla, (D.O., Spain)

Vineyards: From high-altitude vineyards (2339 feet) with rocky limestone soils.

Winemaking: no oak

Alcohol: 14%

Price: $9 or $10, usually

My tasting notes: Dusty blue and black fruit on the nose with significant earthiness, minerality and barnyard funk. On the palate, the funk goes on and on, with a strong meaty/animal aspect that brings to mind that episode of Man vs. Wild when Bear Grylls snacks on a dead Zebra (I mean that in the best possible way). There are some nice smoke and pepper/spice notes.  The fruit is there, too — blackberry & plum — but it’s not playing the starring role. The wine finishes very dry with a pronounced iron/mineral character that I’m enjoying.

Overall impression: Old World fans will find a lot to like here, while I suspect New World-ers may fear the funk. Give it a good bit of air for best results. I like what it brings to the table for $10. And, while only 50% Monastrell/Mourvèdre, it delivers a lot of that grape’s character, for my palate. B/B-

Update 6/08/2010: This review was written after one evening with the bottle. The next day, I finished the other half of the bottle and it was drinking beautifully on day two. So I’m bumping it to a full B.

Free Association:

More info:

88 points Parker (Jay Miller) and 87 points IWC.

Other blogger reviews: Bottle a Day, Wine Reviews You Can Understand and Wine-Smith

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #16: Sierra Salinas ‘Mo’ 2006

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It’s been a little while since a Spanish Monastrell has made an appearance on Mourvèdre Monday. This one comes from Sierra Salinas in the Alicante region focused on the Monastrell grape.

Producer: Bodegas Sierra Salinas

Grapes: Primarily Monastrell (the Spanish name for Mourvèdre), with Garnacha Tintorera (which is not Garnacha/Grenache, but the same as Alicante Bouchet), Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Appellation: Alicante (D.O., Spain)

Vineyards: 10-20 year old vines in limestone and clay soil at 600 meters

Vintage: 2006

Winemaking: 4 months in French oak (% new unknown)

Alcohol: 14%

Price: About $10

My tasting notes: The nose has a prominent dustiness coating the blueberry and chocolate notes. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and starts off a bit rustic, but smoothes out. It features raspberry and blueberry flavors with a touch of minerality and a dry, dusty finish.

Overall impression: Dominique Roujou De Boubee, who is a consultant for Sierra Salinas and has commented here a few times, called this an “easy wine”. I agree. It is not a complex, “thinking” wine, but a pleasant and enjoyable bottle nonetheless. Worth checking out at this price. B-

Free association:

More info:

Big pub scores: 90 points from Parker and 88 points from Tanzer.

Lots of ratings at CellarTracker (avg: 87)

Imported by Eric Solomon.

A profile of the winery (including a review of this bottle) is at CataVino.

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Oddball Wine of the Week: La Mano Mencía

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This is the second appearance of the Mencía grape here in the Oddball series. The first was the terrific Viña Caneiro 2007 Ribeira Sacra. But this one is from Bierzo, another northwestern region of Spain.

La Mano Mencía Roble 2007 Bierzo

Producer: Vinos de Arganza

Grapes: 100% Mencía

Appellation: Bierzo (DO, Spain)

Vineyards: No info on the bottle or website, but if you watch the video below the vines are head-trained and look to be pretty old.

Vintage: 2007

Winemaking: 3 months in “secondhand” American oak barrels

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $9-10

My tasting notes: The nose on this wine is swimming with rocky, gravely minerality. The red fruit aromas are mouthwateringly juicy with a slight herbal edge (thyme, perhaps). In the mouth it’s medium weight with blueberry, cherry and other red fruit flavors. The tannins are pretty firm and the first glass comes across as pretty austere. It smoothes out by the second glass and I’m enjoying it much more.

Overall impression: Certainly not up to the standard of the Viña Caneiro 2007 Ribeira Sacra, but it’s much cheaper and easier to find. If Mencía is a new grape to you and you want to try one, this wouldn’t be a bad option. Be sure to give it a good couple of hours of air. B-

Free association:

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/floato/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

More info:

An interesting video from Axial Wines (the importer) about the wine.

90 points – Jay Miller in The Wine Advocate

Other reviews at CellarTracker (mean: 80, median: 83), Cork’d (avg: 89), BeerAndWineReviews.net (85) and originalverkorkt (heck if I know – it’s in German!).

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvedre Monday #8: Castaño Monastrell 2007 Rosado

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A recent post over at Benito’s Wine Reviews got me thinking about rosé. I need a reminder every once in a while. Almost every time I drink one, I think, “Why don’t I drink this more often?” Then I go back to my reds and whites. So, as I was contemplating what to pull from the cellar for this week’s Mourvedre Monday post, I thought of this rosé (or, more properly, rosado – though they use the term rosé on the back label). I’ve been on the hunt for the red Monastrell from Castaño, which has been recommended to me by several folks following Mourvedre Mondays. I haven’t found it yet in my local shops, but I did come across their rosé, which is how this ended up in my cellar to begin with. I haven’t done a rosé yet in this series, so it seemed like good timing. Let’s check it out.

Producer: Bodegas Castaño – a major producer in Yecla, owning about 10% of the vineyard land in the DO

Grapes: 90% Monastrell, 10% Garnacha

Appellation: Yecla (DO, Spain)

Vineyards: Limestone soils. 25-30 year old vines.

Vintage: 2007

Winemaking: Stainless steel aging (based on 08 info; no info on website about 07)

Alcohol: 13%

Price: Around $10

My tasting notes: The color is quite red for a nominally pink wine. Kinda like the color of red wine in TV sitcoms. (You ever notice that?) It smells like it’s going to be a sweet wine — kind of a burnt sugary thing — but with some good juicy strawberry and raspberry aromas. Also some Slim Jim on the nose (Oh Yeeeeah!). Good weight in the mouth and some strawberry and apple skin notes, but some slightly oxidized flavors as well. Pretty awkward overall.

Overall impression: Not an especially pleasurable beverage. You can do way better than this. C-

Free association: The kind of rosé an undiscerning Stormtrooper might order.

Photo credit: Greg Easton Photography (via Flickr). Be sure to check out the whole Adventures in Stormtrooping series and his other toy collections (prepare to lose an hour or two of your life!).

More info:

Imported by Eric Solomon.

Reviews at CellarTracker (avg: 81) and another at Chicago Vines Society, who liked it more than me.

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #6: Wrongo Dongo 2008

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I intended to avoid Spain for this week’s Mourvèdre Monday. Three of the first 5 installments have been Spanish Monastrells and I wanted more variety. I had my sights set on opening either a Bandol or an Aussie bottle in my cellar. But I’ve been sick since last Monday and I’m just getting back to relative normalcy. I decided to open the cheapest bottle of Mourvèdre I have on hand, in case my palate wasn’t quite ready (it was fine). I know very little about this bottle other than it’s from the same producer as the Juan Gil 2007 I liked quite a bit. Oh, and it cost me less than six bucks so what did I have to lose? Next week I’ll do my best to bring something serious to the party.

Producer: Bodegas Juan Gil

Grapes: 100% Monastrell

Appellation: Jumilla (DO, Spain)

Vineyards: no info

Vintage: 2008

Winemaking: no info

Alcohol: 15%

Price: I paid $5.71 at Spec’s in Austin.

My tasting notes:  On the nose it kind of pings around from Robitussin to earth & black pepper to blueberry-scented magic marker. On the palate it’s smooth-textured with dried cherry and blackberry fruit, a mineral component that makes me think of a wharf and a bit of a chocolate note at the end. Like many of the other reviews linked below, I get the black tea astringency. It’s kinda of like an unsweetened blackberry-flavored tea.

Overall impression: I don’t know that I’m really digging this one. If you’re looking for super-cheap bottles that aren’t bad, give this one a try. But for me, I’d rather drink something else. C

Free association:

More info:

88 points Jay Miller for Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.

Other reviews at Palate Match, Fermented Reviews, The Small Wine Review, CellarTracker (avg. 81 pts) and Cork’d.

Anybody know the story behind the name? If so, please share.

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Mourvedre Monday #3: Casa Castillo 2007

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I’m still sort of tip-toeing into this Mourvèdre Monday series. I’m saving the big guns for later in the year and I’m sticking with a bargain Spanish bottle again this week. This one got 90 points from Parker and Tanzer, so let’s check it out.

Producer: Casa Castillo

Grapes: 100% Monastrell (Mourvèdre)

Appellation: Jumilla (DO, Spain)

Vineyards: From dry-farmed estate vineyards on the valley floor and lower slopes, with sandy clay soils. The vines are relatively young (up to 22 years old) and are bush vines, not trellised (see photos below).

Vintage: 2007

Winemaking: Fermented with natural yeast. The wine spent six months in 3rd-year oak: 80% in 500-liter French oak barrels and 20% in 225-liter American oak barrels. (The latter size are the more common — these days anyway — Bordeaux-style “barriques”, the kind you probably have seen on a winery tour.)

Alcohol: 14%

Price: $9

My tasting notes: On the nose, I get bright berry fruit and spice, but also definite whiffs of horse stable and even body odor (thankfully fleeting). On the palate, the wine is high-toned with vibrant cherry, blueberry and raspberry flavors with a strong herbal edge, a bit of minerality, good acidity, and dry tannins. The herbal, high-acid character of this wine is almost Italianate to me. It really smoothes out nicely by the second glass and becomes almost sexy.

Overall impression: Very nice. I wasn’t sold on the first glass, but the second won me over. This wine is more high-toned and “fresh” than I expect from a Mourvèdre/Monastrell (especially Jumilla), but I really like it. A nice bargain wine, just give it some air. B+

Free association: Lois Lane as a centaur…

More info:

This wine scored 90 points from Parker and Tanzer. Meanwhile Gary V delivered a beatdown to this wine during his NYC week earlier this year, giving it a 68! (I bet it was a pop-n-pour situation.)

Photos of the vineyards that this bottle is sourced from:

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Cameron Hughes Lot 160 Old Vines Zin 2008 Lodi

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I always feel a little guilty when I buy a wine from Cameron Hughes and their ilk. If you aren’t familiar with the model, Cameron Hughes calls itself a “modern international negociant.” Negociant is French for “Man Without Dirt”. OK, I just made that up. But a negociant owns no vineyards and buys up various “lots” of wine from wineries and vineyards that are selling them off instead of bottling them. The negociant typically blends them into wines they sell under their own label. For the Cameron Hughes Lot Series, the purchased lots are not blended, but bottled separately. Their website explains a number of reasons why a winery might sell off a perfectly good lot of wine instead of bottling it. And I get it, but I just don’t like not knowing where the wine comes from and who made it. It spoils the romance for me.

But I do buy them occasionally (as well as wines from Vineyard Block Estates, a similar operation). I bought this one because I did a series on Lodi old vines Zin a while back and struck out on most of those wines. I keep wanting to find better examples.

Producer: Who the hell knows. “Cellared and Bottled by Cameron Hughes Wine.”

Grapes: Zinfandel (presumably 100%)

Appellation: Lodi (AVA, California)

Vineyards: It’s a secret. They say the source vineyard consists of 30-60 year old vines.

Winemaking: no idea

Alcohol: 14.9%

Price: $8.99 at Costco in Austin

My tasting notes: Pretty cherry/raspberry/blackberry juice aromas wrapped in creamy oak. A touch of white pepper or maybe clove as well. On the palate it’s very Robitussin, with cherry and vanilla flavors and a peppery bite at the finish. Smooth textured with just a touch of tannic presence. Got awkward on day two.

Overall impression: It tastes good, but isn’t terribly interesting for me. But a good value for a burger/BBQ/party wine at $9. C+/B-

Free association:

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/belljar/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

More info:

6875 cases produced.

Info on the wine (including a video) at the Cameron Hughes website.