The Wine Curmudgeon

Kendall-Jackson: Solid wines, but little respect

Talk to a reasonably well educated wine drinker –  or even a wine professional – and ask them what they think of Kendall-Jackson. “Oh, it’s OK, but. …” they’ll say.

And the but? Usually something along the lines of K-J is OK for grocery store wine, or that people who like it don’t know a lot about wine, or it’s not my style of wine – anything to point out the difference between themselves and people who like Kendall-Jackson.

Well, those buts are mostly wrong.

Wine of the week: 2006 Louis Latour Macon-Lugny Les Genievres

It's not often that one can find an $18 wine that will improve with age. These days, spend less than $30, and you'd better hurry up and drink it. It's as fruity and as interesting as it's going to get.

The Latour (about $18), though, is a welcome exception. It’s white Burgundy, which means chardonnay, and since it’s Macon, it means it wasn't aged in oak.

This wine is perfectly acceptable now, and the Wine Curmudgeon drank it last weekend (with mushroom and artichoke crepes – why are crepes so little appreciated?). It's still a little tight, with some spiciness typical of young white Burgundies. But let it sit for a year or two, and it will open up, becoming a fuller, richer, more complex wine. In fact, I’ll probably buy another bottle and let it sit for 12 months to see just what happens.

Technorati Tags: white wine,chardonnay,white Burgundy,Macon,Louis Latour

Riesling: It's OK to drink sweet wine

Sweet wine is much maligned – so much so, in fact, that wine snobs don’t like to admit they drink it. Instead, when they’re forced to quaff something sweet, they call if off dry.

This not fair. Yes, some sweet wine doesn’t taste a whole lot better than Coke laced with grain alcohol, but that’s no reason ignore it. And it’s not a sign of wine weakness to drink sweet wine. German rieslings, most of which are sweet, are some of the best-made wines in the world. They can age for decades, just like red wines from France and California, and they provide a wonderful sweet, lemony, stony flavor that can be addictive. Plus, they’re a lot less costly than other high end stuff.

What to look for in a sweet wine? Stick to white, because most sweet reds aren’t very interesting. Explore German riesling, especially those with the term auslese or spatlese on the label. They denote degrees of sweetness (the latter is less sweet than the former) and are only used on the best quality German wine.

Wine review: Drylands Sauvignon Blanc 2007

Drylands is a New Zealand sauvignon blanc (about $12) for people who don’t want too much of the citrusy, grapefruit flavor that has made this style of white wine famous. The grapefruit is there, of course, but it isn’t quite as big, and there is also a welcome dollop of pineapple in the middle. Plus, it has a more interesting finish than other wines at this price, which don’t offer much more than the first burst of grapefruit.

Highly recommended for price and quality. Serve the Drylands with grilled shrimp, raw oysters or steamed mussels (using the wine to steam the mussels).

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Wine of the week: Rene Barbier Mediterranean White NV

My specialty is $10 wine, but even I'm surprised when I find quality wine for much less than $10. Below that price, producers are more concerned with profit margins than with quality, and much-sub $10 wine tastes like it. The reds are harsh and raw, and the whites are green and unripe. The alternative is sugaring the wine to mask those flavors, and that brings unpleasantness all its own.

Which is why I was stunned to find the Barbier ($4.99 at World Market) during my research for a $6 wine story that will run in the Star-Telegram in Fort Worth next week. It's terrific -- clean and crisp, with lemon, some minerality and a floral aroma. It’s made with the same grapes used in Spanish sparkling wine like Cristalino, though it tastes quite different. Serve it as a porch sipper or with anything made with garlic and parsley. It will also pair well with Fourth of July grilled chicken. One caveat: Make sure it's well chilled. The warmer the wine gets, the thinner and less interesting it tastes.

Technorati Tags: wine reviews,white wine,Rene Barbier,wine of the week,Spanish wine

Wine of the week: Robert Skalli South of France Chardonnay 2006

French wine, regardless of quality, has become ridiculously expensive. (Think weak dollar.) So when I tasted this chardonnay last week at a Skalli wine lunch, I could hardly wait to write about it.

It's well-made. It combines classic French style with a touch of New World green apple fruit. And, at $18, it's not ridiculously expensive.

How does winemaker Laurent Sauvage do it? He uses grapes from a less expensive region of France, the Languedoc, and can pick and choose which grapes to use to ensure the best quality. Because he is French, he understands the proper use of oak. Combine all that with vineyard management techniques that focus on maintaining acid levels instead of getting high alcohol, and you have a winner.

How big a hit was this wine? We had eight wines to choose from for lunch, and almost everyone picked the chardonnay. We ate it with chicken breasts in a dill sauce, and it was a smash.

Technorati Tags: Robert Skalli wines,chardonnay,white wine,French wine,the Languedoc,wine reviews

Wine review: Cucao Chardonnay Reserva 2006

I stumbled on this at an importer tasting, and I don't know that I would have tried it if Sergio Reyes Moore of Geo Wines hadn't insisted. After all, who needs to taste yet another New World, over-oaked chardonnay?

Which goes to prove one of the the Wine Curmudgeon's most important rules: Don't pre-judge wine. The Cucao (about $12) is as far from New World, over-oaked chardonnay as possible. It's made with 15 percent marsanne, a Rhone grape used mostly for blending. This gives the wine a freshness that most inexpensive chardonnays don't have, and it adds some tropical flavors that make it a more versatile food wine. Think Asian or Cajun, which is usually too spicy for chardonnay. And it wouldn't be bad with roast chicken, either.

Technorati Tags: Chilean wine,chardonnay,New World wines,Cucao

Wine of the week: La Vigne D'Argent 2005

The Wine Curmudgeon manages his inventory on some nifty software called CellarTracker, and one of its most interesting features is the ability to read what others write about wines that I've had. I especially enjoyed the comments for this wine.

It's not that other CellarTracker users didn't like the D'Argent, because they did. Rather, they were baffled by it. "Nice to experience a different kind of sauvignon blanc," wrote one. "I'm more familiar with 100 percent sauvignon blanc, and it was interesting to compare to this sauvignon blanc/semillon blend," wrote another.

In our increasingly review-oriented, score-driven wine world, the D'Argent (about $10) is an old-fashioned, very unhip kind of wine. Which means it's not going to be written up, which means people aren't going to try it. Which is a shame, because -- as the CellarTracker drinkers learned -- it's well worth trying. Forget about New Zealand sauvignon blanc  and grapefruit. This white Bordeaux has very little fruit flavor (maybe some lemon) and lots of flinty minerality -- all of which makes for a refreshing, food-friendly wine. It's what most sauvignon blanc was 15 years ago, and that's not a back-handed compliment by any means.

Serve it chilled with big summer salads, almost any shellfish, or grilled chicken marinated in garlic, herbs, and olive oil.

Technorati Tags: white wine,white Bordeaux,sauvignon blanc,La Vigne D'Argent

Riccardo Cotarella is a genius

And it's not because the Italian winemaker makes high end wine that gets big scores from the wine magazines. Or that the wine is merlot, hardly an Italian mainstay. Or that he is renowned the world over for his talent.

No, it's because Cotarella makes some of the best $10 wine in the world. The Wine Curmudgeon regularly raves about the Falesco Vitiano red, white and rose. And if I needed any reassurance about how well made they were, consider this.

The basics of enjoying wine, part III

This is the third of a three-part question and answer series about wine basics. To see part I, go here; part II, here.

Everything you have said so far sounds good. But how do I find out what I like to drink?
Drink a glass, of course. If you like it, then buy something similar. If you don’t like it, pour it down the drain and try something else. Wine is not rocket science. You don’t have to go to school to learn how to like it. If it tastes good to you, that’s enough.

Start with inexpensive wines, and work your way up. And don’t be afraid to try different wines. Just because you like white zinfandel doesn’t mean that’s the only wine you can drink. Try a rose or a German riesling. They are similar to white zinfandel, but more sophisticated.

Well, I suppose. But there are so many wines to choose from. How do I get started?
Walk into a wine store, or a grocery store with a good wine department, and ask for help. Do you want to learn about reds? Whites? About a region? About wine for picnics? About inexpensive wines? Don’t try to learn everything in one day. It can’t be done, for one thing, and it’s not any fun either.

Tell the staff how much you want to spend, if you have any preferences (dry vs. sweet, red vs. white, and the like), and ask them to recommend something. In addition, ask if they offer classes or tastings. These days, as wine becomes more popular, more and more stores do those things. They’re cheap and easy ways to taste even more wine.

How can you tell I tell if the retailer is any good? If they don’t tell you what wine you should drink, but ask you what you want to drink. It’s your money – don’t let a snooty retailer with inventory to move make you buy something you don’t want to buy. And if you buy something you don’t like on a retailer’s recommendation, it’s perfectly acceptable to tell them the next time you’re in the store.

That makes sense. But aren’t there some simple rules of thumb, just to start with?
Sure. Remember these, and you’ll always be able to come up with a decent bottle in a pinch. First, all wine doesn’t have to be a varietal like chardonnay or cabernet. The best values, especially for inexpensive wine, will be blended from several different grapes. It’s very difficult to find a terrific cabernet for less than $10, but there are a dozen red blends that will do the same thing the cabernet does for one-third less.

Second, younger is better, since less expensive wines were not made to last as long as their more expensive cousins. Stay away from red wines older than 3 and white wines older than 2. It’s better to have a wine that’s a little too young than a little too old.

That should you get you started. The rest is up to you. The most fun part about wine is the journey – so much wine to taste, and so little time to do it.

Technorati Tags: wine basics,wine 101,wine questions and answers,buying wine,wine blends,wine tastings