The Wine Curmudgeon

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

Wine of the week: Smoking Loon Old Vine Zinfandel 2006

Frankly, the Wine Curmudgeon didn’t think he’d like this. So what happened when I tasted it? I was quite taken with its quality – a well-made, varietally-correct zinfandel for about $8 at most grocery stores. It’s hard to beat that (and proves, once again, not to pre-judge wine).

Unlike some zinfandels, the Smoking Loon wasn’t especially fruity. I’m beginning to think that lack of fruit is a function of the 2006 vintage in California, since this wasn’t the first time I’ve noticed it. But this was not a problem, since the wine was spicy and brambly –- just the way zinfandel should be. It’s a contender for next year’s $10 Hall of Fame. Serve this with barbecue, pizza and burgers.

Technorati Tags: Smoking Loon,zinfandel,$10 wine,cheap wine

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 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

Wine of the week: Taltarni Three Monks 2005

Here's a red blend for Father's Day from an Australian producer that is one of the Wine Curmudgeon's favorites, a company that almost always delivers quality for around $20.

The Three Monks (about $17) is 70 percent cabernet sauvignon and 30 percent merlot, which means it's hardy enough to stand up to big steaks but isn't overwhelming. Best yet, it's not only low in alcohol for an Aussie wine (14 percent), but it has a bit of French style, so that the fruitiness doesn't overwhelm the wine.

Technorati Tags: Taltarni Vineyards,Three Monks,wine reviews,red wine blends,Australian wine

Wine of the week: Avalon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Time was, the Avalon was $10. The Wine Curmudgeon used to drink it by the case, buy it for visiting wine types and make them guess how much it cost (one of these days I'll have to share the story about the Avalon and the visiting Australian wine marketer), and recommend it at every opportunity.

It's not $10 any more (closer to $15, though you can find it for $12 every once in a while). But it's still one of the best values in the wine world, with almost all of the rich, fruity character of Napa cabernet at one-half to one-third the price.

How does Avalon do it? For one thing, the company only makes cabernet. For another, it doesn't own land or  touristy production facilities. It's based on the French negociant model, which allows it to keep costs -- and prices -- down.

Serve this with a Father's Day barbecue. Or buy a case and toast Dad with it throughout the year.

Technorati Tags: red wine,cabernet sauvignon,Avalon,Napa Valley,Father's Day

Wine of the week: Hey Mambo Sultry Red 2006

Simple, fruity red blends from California are not what they once were. This is upsetting, because  the Wine Curmudgeon appreciates simple and fruity wines quite a bit. Not every occasion requires a $50 bottle of wine. But prices for simple, fruity red blends have gone up or quality has gone down, or both, in the last couple of years.

The Mambo (about $13), though, has remained consistently satisfying. It's a six-grape blend (no cabernet sauvignon or merlot, thankfully) that offers dark fruit and medium tannins. Serve it with Italian food, hamburgers or anything else that requires a simple, fruity wine.

And yes, it has a silly closure called a zork that does seem to do the job -- and without need of a corkscrew.

Technorati Tags: Hey Mambo,California wine,red wine blends,inexpensive wine

Wine of the week: Solaz Blanco 2007

The Wine Curmudgeon has a closet full of free wine, samples from producers who want me to try their stuff and write about it. But I use my money to buy Solaz -- and a lot of it. And why is that?

Because it's cheap, around $7. And it's well-made. And it tastes good. What more can a wine drinker ask for?

Solaz, as regular visitors here know, is the wonderfully inexpensive wine brand from Spain's Osborne, one of my favorite producers. The various red blends have long been in the $10 Wine Hall of Fame, and the white has been in a couple of years. It's made from the viura grape, a mostly Spanish varietal that produces clean, crisp and floral wines with just a bit of apple fruit. Serve this chilled with salads (I had it the other night with a chef's salad with Russian dressing), Mediterranean food like hummus or bulgur salad, or on its own.

Technorati Tags: Solaz Blanco,Osborne,Spanish wine,$10 wine,cheap wine,white wine

Wine of the week: Raats Original Chenin Blanc 2007

South African wine doesn't get a lot of respect, and sometimes deservedly so. So when the Wine Curmudgeon finds one that is well-made, inexpensive and food friendly, it's a reason to write about it.

The Original uses a grape that is too often mishandled in South Africa, producing sweet, uninteresting wines. Raats, on the other hand, treats the grape seriously, and turns out a dry, refreshing wine that is fruity (think pineapple and orange) and even has some minerality on the finish. It's a lot to expect from a $12 wine.

Serve this chilled with salads, Thai food (though it's not sweet, it's fruity enough to stand up to spice) or on its own.

Technorati Tags: Raats Family Wines,chenin blanc,wine reviews,white wine,South African wine