I have been a fan of Chilean wines for many years… I often relate a funny story that happened way back in 1989 and cemented my admiration for Chile’s wonderful wines.

I was at a blind tasting that featured a collection of Cabernet Sauvignon from important regions around the world. Part of the exercise was to demonstrate that not just Bordeaux owned the bragging rights to producing fine Cabernet-based wines. The humorous part of the story revolves around the attendance at the tasting of a person who claimed that Bordeaux was “the definitive measuring stick by which all other Cabernets should be judged” and they went so far as to claim that they could” always pick the Bordeaux out of any line-up of Cabernets.” So the gauntlet was thrown down and I sat back to watch the fun unfold.

The group tasted through a nicely-varied flight of six Cabernet-based wines, of which two wines stood out on the list – a Château Montrose from Saint-Estephe and a Los Vascos from the Maipo Valley – primarily because one, the Montrose was a classified growth from Bordeaux and the Los Vascos was a fairly new, very inexpensive wine from a Chilean property owned by the premier Rothchild family. After ninety minutes, the panel was asked to pick their three favorites and, if so inclined offer their guesses as to which wines were which.

Our Francophile attendee who claimed preeminence in being able to identify the Bordeaux wine in such a mixed flight, proudly declared that their favorite was wine #6 and they were absolutely sure that the wine was in fact the Montrose. Much to their astonishment, they became quite hostile when wine #6 was revealed to be in fact the 1988 Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon – average bottle price at the time – $4.99 before the discount. I tried to assuage their bruised pride by pointing out the “French” heritage of the wine, given Rothchild’s involvement. Needless to say, that only further amplified their anger, such that they never returned to another tasting… I personally didn’t mind, I hate wine snobs.

Anyway, since that fateful day I have been an avid supporter of Chilean wines, which has not been easy. An acquaintance of mine who is fairly well-placed in the wine industry has always given an unkind moniker to Chilean wines – he calls them “Airline Wines,” presumably meaning that they are insipid, innocuous, but not unpleasant. It’s an unfair stereotype, but understandable given that most Chilean wines are inexpensive and many lack the strong characteristics of European wines.

But I have long said that there is a time and place for every wine. Heck, several years ago I wrote about the ten things that became true to me about wine appreciation over that year and one of my points was: sometimes it’s okay to drink Riunite…

Cono Sur (www.conosur.com) is a young winery in Chile, established in 1993 with a vision, as their website states:

“…of producing premium, expressive and innovative wines that convey the spirit of the New World. Our name refers to the company’s geographic position, representing wines proudly made in South America’s Southern Cone, on whose western edge lies Chile and its gifted wine valleys. Our logo also evokes a freehand drawing of the silhouette of South America.”

Among a number of significant milestones, Cono Sur prides itself on their devotion to sustainability – in 2007 they became the first winery in the world to obtain CarbonNeutral® delivery status for neutralizing their CO2emissions from their product shipments and in 2009 they created a Sustainable Development Area and started using lightweight bottles for Cono Sur and Isla Negra Wines.

I have been buying Cono Sur wines for a few years now – their Riesling from Bio-Bio is a refreshing, light-weight pleasure and their Cabernets are always fresh and approachable.

I recently picked up the 2011 Carmenere, a part of their “Bicicleta” line and at $7.99 per bottle before the discount, the wine is a tremendous value. The wine is all about fruit and drinkability and does not pretend to be anything that it’s not. Would my acquaintance call this Airline Wine? Probably, but remember, sometimes it’s okay to drink Riunite…

My tasting note:

Bright, fruity nose with fresh currants, cherry and floral hints – Lively. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and supple, well-integrated tannin – good balance. Ripe, juicy palate with fresh cherry and red berry notes – seductive. Moderate length – smooth and simple finish. Quaffable and not for aging – All around outstanding value!

Cheers!

Recently picked this up on special – $8.99 per bottle before the discount – I’m always in the market for inexpensive, everyday wines that I don’t mind opening with weeknight suppers. Often times I’m looking for something with character that is also easy-drinking and food friendly. This little wine fits the bill perfectly.

A 50% Merlot – 50% Cabernet Sauvignon blend, with grapes primarily from the Bordeaux area of Entre Deux Mers, the Château du Pin has a classic Bordelaise style with a very approachable, fruity palate. Because the appellation is the larger Bordeaux AOC, consumers will benefit in a strong vintage like 2010 because prices will be moderate – as evident in my opening sentence – and quality will be high.

My tasting note:

Fresh cherry nose with currant, anise and cedar hints. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and moderate, dry tannin – good balance. Dark fruit core with cocoa dust, tobacco leaf and classic earthy garrigue. Moderate length – smooth and just a little bit tight. Drinking well now – may improve over the next 2 to 3 years, but not meant to be laid down. Great value!

Cheers!

I’ve been on a Pinot Noir kick of late, primarily because I find this thin-skinned grape to be a friendlier red wine during summer. And yes, while I am usually drawn to Pinot Noir from Europe, I’m finding some of the Pinot Noir coming out of California to be more pleasant this summer. Fruitier and more approachable…

So there, I’m not a European wine snob after all.

Anyway, all that aside, there are a few areas in California that are better for Pinot Noir than others. The Russian River Valley and Los Carneros in the north are very well-known. The Central Coast is also well-known and some of the more popular sub-AVA’s within that zone, like the Santa Rita Hills are well documented in these pages. Another sub-AVA that is growing in stature is Monterey County. A few years ago, I was on the Monterey Penisular and found myself knee deep in really yummy Pinot Noir. Mostly from small producers, the wines don’t make it to the east coast very often, if at all. Yes, Cuvaison is an exception and one that I have touted before, but so many others never get past the Rockies.

The ones that do make the trip are usually more commercial offerings, which often lack personality, which is why I was pleased to stumble across the Bridlewood recently. A relatively inexpensive, Pinot Noir made from Monterey County fruit that is quite nice.

Interestingly, Bridlewood is a mid-size estate in the Santa Ynez Valley, which is smack dab in the middle of the Central Coast AVA. The estate consists of approximately 105 acres of total land, of which 40 acres are “set on a high bench of ancient seabed on the eastern edge of the Santa Ynez Valley, where the vines produce an intensely rich Syrah.” The Bridlewood web site had this to say about their Pinot Noir :

Monterey County enjoys a cool, foggy climate that is ideal for Pinot Noir. Typically, bud break begins several weeks earlier and harvest ends several weeks later than other growing regions. This extra month of time on the vine allows the grapes to develop intense, complex flavors. Monterey County houses the significant Monterey AVA, which includes nine sub-regions, united by the cooling influence of Monterey Bay.

Their winemaker added :

Most of the fruit was picked at night to keep the grapes as cool as possible. The fruit was then destemmed, but not crushed, leaving a significant portion of whole berries going into the fermentor. The skins had approximately 5 – 7 days contact, and the wine was racked as needed to maintain the purity of fruit flavors in the finished wine.

Judging by what I tasted, their appraisal is not too far afield.

Another interesting fact… Bridlewood was the starting location for The Amazing Race reality show on CBS back in February of 2012…

My tasting notes:

Ripe, jammy nose with cherry, red currant and lilac hints. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and moderate tannin – good balance. Dense, fruity palate with blackberry jam, vanilla and raspberry notes. Moderate length – smooth, easy drinking. Not for aging

At an average retail cost of $16.99/bottle pre-discount, this wine is an okay value – with the special discounts my cost dropped to $12.59/bottle – at that price this wine is a better value and worthy of consideration.

Cheers!

I first became acquainted with Mark West Pinot Noir with the 2003 vintage. I touted it then as a great value because the price was sub-$10 and the product was solid, if not overly simple. My point at the time was, not every bottle has to curl your toes or send you into rapturous convulsions – having a solid, well-made quaffer is fine, especially when that sip is really cheap. Here, here…

So I watched with dismay as successive vintages came to market several dollars over $10 and when it hit $16.99, I moved on. No great loss, but I was disappointed that such a clear cut value leader had succumbed to what I have dubbed “the West Coast disease,” wines that are clearly priced beyond their provenance.

And you can imagine my pleasure when a recent trip down the wine aisle yielded the current Mark West vintage priced at $12.99/bottle, with a special markdown to $9.99. Boo-yeah. We were back in the sub-$10 zone, so I picked up a bottle and was equally pleased that the quality was still there. Again, this is not a paean to age-worthy Pinot Noir with layers of complexity, unfolding with grace and elegance that conjures images of red-robed Chevalier paying homage to the Dukes of Burgundy. No, it is just a really fun, drinkable glass of red wine that’s weighted perfectly for summer. And it’s cheap enough not to worry about the fact that ketchup and BBQ sauce is going to spoil the party.

My tasting notes:

Bright, fruity nose. Ripe red berry and soft floral hints. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and supple tannin – good balance. Juicy raspberry and strawberry palate – very easy drinking. Moderate length – smooth – not complex, simply quaffable. Not for aging.

At an average retail cost of $12.99/bottle pre-discount, this wine is an okay value – with the special discounts my cost dropped to $8.99/bottle – at that price this wine is a superb value!

Cheers!

I started collecting wine with a case of Bordeaux wine almost exactly 30 years ago… The case in question? A 1983 Château Kirwan – magical wine indeed! It was expensive, but worth the investment and over the years, Bordeaux has remained one of my favorite regions. It is also fairly easy to understand from an appellations perspective and the many classifications make it fun to collect.

No shock, the prices in Bordeaux continue to escalate with a string of strong, vintages serving as the primary driver. My advice has always been to look at lesser labels, or second labels of “classified growths” in really strong vintages, because you can find some really tremendous values that have great aging potential and great drinkability. One needs to be careful, of course, but generally this approach has garnered some real gems in the cellar.

Another strategy is to look to the many sub-regions of Bordeaux that lack name recognition and notoriety. In these smaller, less-well-known areas, wine makers craft some really nice wine and sell it at very fair prices.

To me, Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion is one of those lesser-known regions; a small satellite of the more well-known Saint-Émilion region, which has the potential for producing really nice wine, usually at very reasonable prices. Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion itself is on the right bank of the Dordogne River, northeast of Saint-Émilion proper, and was granted its AOC status in 1936. There are a little less than 2,000 acres under vine producing a little less than 1 million gallons of wine. Not prodigious, but enough. Only red wine is produced in the region, and while all of the five grape varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot) allowable in Bordeaux can be and are used, it is Merlot that dominates the blends.

Château Côtes de Saint Clair is a bit of a mystery… I could find almost no information about the property, but that does not diminish my enjoyment of the wine. A definite winner, which underscores the validity of my aforementioned Bordeaux wine-buying tip.

My tasting notes:

Lush nose with plum, blackberry and minerally hints. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and firm, dry tannin – well balanced. Dark fruit core with tobacco leaf, cocoa dust and black currants – very nice. Long finish – smooth with layered complexity – anise and bittersweet chocolate on the aftertaste. Drinking well now and should continue to improve for another 5 to 7 years in the bottle, at least. Great value!

At an average retail cost of $14.99/bottle pre-discount, this wine is a fantastic value!

Cheers!

I have been following Bodegas San Alejandro for almost ten years now and I have rarely been disappointed. Their website uses the year 2003 as the moment when wine critics really took notice of their wines, so I feel particularly prescient in that I was “ahead of the curve” on “discovering” this little gem of a wine. I’ve watched the price for their wines steadily climb as more and more fans discover the wonderfulness in the bottle. At the current price point the wine is still a good value, worthy of consideration any day of the week.

Bodegas San Alejandro is a cooperative consisting of more than 350 farmers, founded in 1962. The cooperative has almost 3,000 acres under vine in the minuscule town of Miedes, Calatayud, just north of the city of Madrid, within the Perejiles River valley. It is said that the relics of the real San Alejandro are kept nearby at a Franciscan convent.

The Las Rocas brand is the melding of Spain, France and America, with winemakers from all three countries collaborating to create, in their own words: “a modern wine that would capture the unique qualities of Garnacha and the special flavors of the Calatayud region.” The Managing Director of Bodegas San Alejandro, Yolanda Diaz is a truly passionate, focused woman who is dedicated to crafting wines of superior quality and style that showcase the unique terrior of the Calatayud soils. In keeping with this philosophy, the Garnacha grapes are cold soaked before fermentation to ensure the greatest vibrancy to both the color and flavor of the resulting wines, with a judicious use of lightly toasted oak during elevage to enliven spiciness without masking the richness of the fruit. According to Ms. Diaz: “we focus on making wines that are elegant and balanced. The most important element in our winemaking philosophy is to keep intervention at a minimum. Let the land speak in the wine.”

This must be why I like these wines so much, given that I tend to eschew many of today’s highly-manipulated wines…

About the region…

The Calatayud Denominación de Origen (DO) is located in the southwest corner of the Spanish province of Zaragoza, including 14,000 acres of vineyard in 46 small towns along the many river valleys. Most of the vines are planted at altitudes of 2,500 to 3,500 feet above sea level, on diverse soils ranging from chalk and limestone, to clay and marl. The region’s name can be traced back to the Moorish occupation of Spain, when the local governor, Ayud, had a fortress called a Qalat, where the town of Calatayud now stands. Wine has been made in the region for nearly 2,000 years.

The climate of Calatayud is continental with hot, dry summers and very cold winters. While summer temperatures occasionally soar to 100°F and the winter months pose a frost risk, the vines generally enjoy a temperate climate year-round. Most of the vineyards have loose, rocky limestone soils with low nutrient levels and high lime content. With an average annual rainfall between 12 and 20 inches, the vines in this region have to work their way deep into the fractured soils to find the water and nutrients they need to flourish.

Calatayud is best known for its red wines, which represent 83% of yearly wine production in the region. Of the 11 wine grape varieties approved for the DO (7 red and 4 white), Garnacha is by far the most widely planted with 55% of the overall total.

I recently had cause to taste the 2009 vintages of both the standard and Viñas Viejas bottles. Characteristic of Bodegas San Alejandro, I was very pleased with both…

My tasting notes:

2009 Bodegas San Alejandro Las Rocas Garnacha, Calatayud ($12.99/bottle)

Jammy, blackberry nose with spicy, black cherry and vanilla hints. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and supple, well-integrated tannin – well balanced. Fruity palate, black cherry, anise and violet notes. Juicy. Moderate length – smooth and easy drinking – not for aging. Great value.

2009 Bodegas San Alejandro Las Rocas Viñas Viejas Garnacha, Calatayud ($19.99/bottle)

Dark fruity nose, jammy with black cherry, blackberry and anise hints. Full-bodied with moderate acidity and supple, soft tannin – well balanced. Lush palate with lively fruit – cherry, berry and vanilla notes. Nice, refined structure. Long finish – smooth with layered complexity – spicy. Drinking well now and should hold for another 2 to 3 years in bottle.

Personally, I thought that the straight-up Garnacha was the real value here, given that the premium Viñas Viejas didn’t offer enough of a step-up in quality to warrant the additional cost… In my humble opinion.

Cheers!