Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

This is why Côtes du Rhône rocks!

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galevan_CotesDuRhone_2007_snapshotThis one is exciting! It was a quick grab from the Costco shelf. I’d never heard of it, but was in the mood for some Rhone action. Little did I know that lurking behind this boring label would be one of the tastiest little wines I’ve had in months.

Galévan ‘Paroles de femme’ 2007 Côtes du Rhône

Producer: Domaine Galévan

Grapes: 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre and 10% Cinsault

Appellation: Côtes du Rhône (AOC, France)

Vineyard: “stony soil” according to the label

Winemaking: No info on the winery’s very basic website. The winemaker is Coralie Goumarre.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: Around $10-12 at Costco in Austin UPDATE: I went back and it’s only $7.99!

My tasting notes: Deep, dark color. The nose is full of iron and graphite and dark fruit and figs and coffee – it makes me want to use the word “redolent” and I’m not the kind of guy who uses the word redolent. With coaxing, I also get this really nice, bright, beautiful raspberry note. In the mouth, there is dark fruit, but the primary flavors are savory, herbal, earthy. There is a spicy, black pepper note on the back-end as well. It finishes a touch hot, but the rest is so nice, I barely notice. I am really digging this wine. It’s layered but light on its feet. It’s pushing all my buttons.

Overall impression: A great wine for the price. This is why I love trying Côtes du Rhône wines. Good luck trying to find something this interesting from California at this price. Buy it. Buy it. Buy it. (If you’re in Austin, please wait until I’ve had a chance to get back to Costco) A-

I know that I’ve never really explained my rating system. In simplest terms, it’s a rating of my enjoyment of a wine not an attempt at an objective assessment of “quality” vis-a-vis the greatest wines on the planet. I’ll try to post a fuller explanation of the rating system soon, but suffice it to say… I really like this wine.

Free association: This wine makes me want to do the Balki Bartokomous ‘Dance of Joy’.

More info:

More tasting notes at CellarTracker.

Serge the Concierge posted about Coralie and Domaine Galevan a few months ago.

CWNSXJFRQDFZ

Price: 16-20 bucks, Tasting Notes

Oddball Wine of the Week: German Pinot Noir Rosé

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KesselerRose07_snapshotMost people, myself included, think of white wines almost exclusively when they think of Germany. But they do make wine from red grapes – in particular Pinot Noir, known there as Spätburgunder. In fact, according to The Oxford Companion to Wine (3rd edition, 2006), Spätburgunder is Germany’s third most planted variety and totals over half of the acreage of Riesling. This bottle is a rosé of Spatburgunder.

Producer: August Kesseler

Grapes: 100% Spätburgunder (aka Pinot Noir)

Appellation: Rheingau (Germany)

Vineyards: Assmanshäuser Höllenberg – The vineyards are on south- and southwest-facing slopes with soils of “heat-storing slate-phyllite.” The vineyards includes vines that are up to 100 years old.

Winemaking: This rosé wine is produced via the saigné method. During the production of the winery’s normal Spätburgunder, some of the juice is drained off during skin contact to improve the quality of the red wine. That drained-off juice becomes a rose – a lovely byproduct.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $16.78 at Spec’s in Austin

My tasting notes: The unusual color is one of the things that drew me to this bottle on the shelf. It’s very pale and I wouldn’t describe the color as pink so much as ‘light brown’ – okay maybe copper is nicer way of saying it (sorry no pics before the bottle was empty!).  The nose was rather closed, I had trouble picking up much beyond a general sweetish-wine smell and maybe some strawberry. On the palate, it offers up a pleasant candied apricot flavors and a bit of lime, with an undercurrent of stony minerality. It has 24.4 g/l of residual sugar, so it is sweet, but for me the acidity balances it well and it finishes clean.

Overall impression: A perfectly nice medium sweet rose. Definitely worth a try if you want to experience a different side of Germany, though I’d be more enthusiastic if it were $5 cheaper. B-

KesselerCork_snapshot_cropped

Free association:

Kramer's ASSMAN plates from the Seinfeld episode "The Fusilli Jerry"
Kramer's ASSMAN plates from the Seinfeld episode "The Fusilli Jerry"

More info:

The importer’s tech sheet.

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Ken Forrester ‘Petit’ Pinotage 2008 Stellenboch

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kenforresterpinotage_snapshot

Producer: Ken Forrester

Grapes: 100% Pinotage. A cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault, resembling neither, it was created in the 1920s in South Africa by Stellenbosch University professor A. I. Perold. Here’s a good overview of the grape and it’s history.

Appellation: Stellenbosch (W.O. or Wine of Origin, South Africa)

Vineyards: Southeast-facing slopes.

Winemaking: Pressed off the skins early to avoid the heavy tannins sometimes associated with this grape.

Alcohol: 14%

Price: $9.99 at Spec’s in Austin

My tasting notes: Serious blue cheese attacks on the nose – like a really pungent Cabrales. The fruit aromas are plummy with an ashy note. On the palate it is nice and juicy with a good silkiness for a $10 wine. Good red fruit. I’m really enjoying this.

Overall impression: An affordable introduction to Pinotage. It’s definitely got the funky Pinotage character, but there’s plenty of juicy fruit to please. ‘n goeie wyn B

Free association:

cabrales

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/obis/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2008

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2008_kungfu_girl_bottleshot

Producer: Charles Smith Wines

Grapes: 100% Riesling

Appellation: Columbia Valley (though from a single vineyard; see below)

Vineyard: Evergreen Vineyard, a 452 acre vineyard planted to 10 different white varieties and farmed by Milbrandt Vineyards. It is rather young, having been planted in 1998. The vineyard currently falls under the large Columbia Valley AVA, but is a part of the “Ancient Lakes” area, which is seeking AVA status. Ancient Lakes is a cooler region with soils of clay, sand, silt and Caliche.

Winemaking: 100% stainless steel fermentation and aging

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $11.77

Package: Kick-ass label. Screwcap.

My tasting notes: A slight spritz. Bright green apple and pear aromas on the nose with a waxy quality. Round, luscious mouthfeel yet with lively, zippy acidity. Makes me think of Clearly Canadian sparkling water from back in the 90s, if they made an apple and kiwi flavor. (I mean that as a complement – I loved Clearly Canadian back then, especially Mountain Blackberry and Western Loganberry flavors.)

Overall impression: A very enjoyable drink. A crowd-pleaser for your next party. Hell, I might pick up another bottle to have on hand for Thanksgiving. B

Free Association: I loved playing this game at the bowling alley arcade I was a kid.


More info:

Winery’s tech sheet.

Good info on the Ancient Lakes region from the Millbrandt Vineyards website.

Jeff at Viva La Wino reviewed this wine earlier this year and liked it, too.

Gary V. had Charles Smith on WLTV last year and they tasted the 2007 Kung Fu Girl.

Update: Found another blogger review from Ben at Benito’s Wine Reviews.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Oddball Wine of the Week: Lagrein

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This is the first post of a new series I’m starting on oddball wines. I thought I’d start in Italy, which is full of indigenous grape varieties that are produced in a small region and hardly anywhere else. This is one of those: Lagrein. Have you ever had one? Ever heard of it?

LaVis_Lagrein_LabelshotLa Vis Dipinti Lagrein 2007

Producer: La Vis

Grapes: Lagrein. La-what? It’s a red grape variety from the Trentino-Alto Adige region of Italy that is related to Teroldego. It’s pronounced Lah-GRAYN (hear it here).

Appellation: DOC Trentino, in northeastern Italy up near the Austrian border. Thirty years ago, red wines accounted for 80% of Trentino’s vineyard land, but today it’s down to 40%, with Merlot being the most common red grape (Chardonnay is the most planted white). However, the indigenous grapes are hanging on. [Info from The World Atlas of Wine.]

Winemaking: Spends only 2 months in oak.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $11.77 at Spec’s in Austin

My tasting notes: Dark color, though not opaque. I get dusty plum and cherry fruit on the nose, with a substantial Old World swampy/barnyardy stink. There’s something a bit wild to the fruit aromas, too. Interesting. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and starts off sharp and angular (though not necessarily in a bad way), with under-ripe raspberry flavors, light minerality and grippy tannins. A cranberry tartness and prickly acidity linger on the finish. I came back to this wine after it was open for about 48 hours and it was drinking very nicely. The acidity and tannins had softened a bit and the fruit was more evident on the palate. It paired well with a sausage, kale and white bean soup.

Overall impression: Not straight-up delicious, but really interesting and food-friendly. Worth it just for the geek-cred you’ll earn for trying this uncommon grape variety. B

Free association:

Demoiselles d'Avignon - Pablo Picasso
Demoiselles d'Avignon - Pablo Picasso

More info:

Tech sheet, which doesn’t state the vintage, so assume the specs are approximate.

Gary Vaynerchuk did a WLTV episode on Lagrein wines (though not this bottle).

Apparently, outside of Trentino-Alto Adige, Lagrein has developed a small foothold in Australia. And there is also an Oregon winery (with an Aussie winemaker), Amaranth Ridge, that is growing some. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

Another blogger’s review at Melodic Fermentables.

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Oddball wine series

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I’m going to start a new series on the blog focusing on oddball wines. Oddball might mean an uncommon grape variety, an unusual blend, an out-of-the-way region, a variety in an unexpected location (French Zinfandel?) or an unusual production method. Now, I’m sure that sometimes a few of you will think a wine is not so odd (“I drink Australian Gargenega every week”), but I’ll aim for stuff that I expect 9 out of 10 of you (and probably me, too) won’t have ever tasted.

I’m still looking for a name for this series. What should I call it? Oddball Wine of the Week? Weird Wine Fridays? Any ideas?


Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Deep Purple Zinfandel 2007 Lodi

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I should have known better than to buy this wine. I generally avoid wines with such gimmicky names/labels. But a few months ago I was planning a series of posts on Lodi old vines Zinfandel and was picking up just about every bottle of it I saw. I realized later that this one doesn’t say old vines on the label, so I didn’t include it in the series.

07_deep_purple_labelgrab

Producer: Deep Purple

Grapes: Zinfandel (it’s not stated on the label or fact sheet if it is 100%)

Appellation: Lodi (on the website they note that Lodi is “a totally respectable wine growing area mentioned in a Creedence Clearwater song“)

Winemaking: 8 months in French and American oak.

Alcohol: 13.9% on the label (13.6% on the fact sheet)

Price: about $12

My tasting impressions: In terms of color, “deep purple” it is not. I’d call it light-to-medium color, certainly not inky dark. The first whiff of this wine takes me back to 4th grade. Did you have a slot-car track when you were a kid? Well, remember when, after about 50 laps around the track, you’d get this overheated, metallic smell? That’s what I thought of when I first smelled this wine. (An overheated blender smells about the same, but my mind when to that slot-car track first.) That blows off after a short while and the (somewhat candied) bright berry aromas come to the front. There’s a bit of vanilla and green pepper, too. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied with plum and cherry flavors and a slight herbal edge. Needs some acid.

Overall assessment: In the end, I find this to be a rather simple wine. Expectations play a big role in how satisfied you are with a wine, I think. Based on the name Deep Purple and the wild label with words like “Monster Fruit”, “Exploding” and “Hedonistic”, I was expecting something much different. While it has plenty of fruit (if you don’t mind the candied sort), it’s not a big, bad, hedonistic experience. C/C-

Free association:

hippies-use-sidedoor

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremybrooks/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

More info:

Other reviews at Cork’d, Gabe’s View (via Bullz-eye.com) and Top Wine Values.

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

Can Petit Verdot, Tannat and Spain Harmonize?

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There is very little information about this wine online. It’s not even listed on the importer’s website and the winery’s blog doesn’t say much more than what’s on the label. But it got 90+ points from Jay Miller in the Wine Advocate so I guess that’s why it ended up at Costco. When I saw that it was Petit Verdot and Tannat from Spain and it was 10 bucks, I couldn’t resist.

cuveeharmoniebottleChapillon Cuvée Harmonie 2006

Producer: Chapillon

Grapes: 90% Petit Verdot, 10% Tannat

Appellation: “Red Wine from Aragon” (Spain)

Vineyards: No info, but some photos from the winery’s blog are at the bottom of this post.

Winemaking: No info

Alcohol: 14%

Price: About $10 at Costco.

My tasting notes: Good dark color with a vibrant red edge. An enjoyable and interesting nose. Initially, I get loads of black pepper and behind that are pine and dusty violet aromas. On the palate, it is very green/herbal/stemmy and dry, with bright (not rich) raspberry and blueberry flavors and a bit of meatiness. A few times I catch a hint of creamy oakiness, but it’s fleeting. I’d say it leans toward medium-bodied.

Overall impression: Pleasant and interesting, though probably not compelling enough to make me seek it out again. I can’t help but think it might be improved with a healthy dose of something richer in the blend. A decent (and cheap) introduction to varietal Petit Verdot, perhaps. C+/B-

Free association:

GreenViolet-EarHummingbird
The Green Violet-Ear Hummingbird

More info:

The winery’s blog reproduces the 90+ point Wine Advocate/Jay Miller review.

Another wine blogger review at The Caveat Emptyer Wine List.

Mean score at CellarTracker is 88.5 (from 9 ratings).

Signalwriter, an ad blogger, didn’t like this wine, but liked the plastic cork.

Importer is Misa Imports, Inc. (Dallas).

Photos of the vineyard:

ChapillonHarmonie_vineyard_photo2

ChapillonHarmonie_vineyard_photo

grand cru geekery