Wine Welfare » Napa Valley

Beringer Founders Estate Chardonnay 2008 Wine Review

Wine Welfare — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:45:15 +0000

Alright, let me start with full disclosure: I bought this cheap wine at a 7-Eleven. There, I said it. Think of me what you will. This is a Beringer wine, which initially makes me worry, but I was pleasantly surprised. This isn’t the cheapest Chardonnay Beringer makes, but it’s probably the best for under $10. The funny thing is that I can’t find it any cheaper online. It was $6.99 at the old 7-El, and the cheapest I’ve found it online is $7.48.

I’ll just stop talking now.

Color

It’s $7 Beringer Chardonnay. It’s gold in color. What else do you want? Maybe I should eliminate this section since looking at the color of under-$10 wines is kind of ridiculous.

Nose

GREAT NOSE. Wow, this was completely unexpected. Full scent with some great peach and lemon notes. You can even smell the wood, though I’m not sure if they aged this in oak at all.

Taste

A solid, solid wine. Acid that isn’t over the top, good fruit, and a textbook structure. The alcohol level is perfect for the flavors or creamy almond and buttery stone fruit. The lemon isn’t there, but it’s been replaced with this weird caramelly flavor that reminds you of the wine’s price. There is no finish other than a little residual heat. Still, completely solid for a hot summer day.

With Food

This is uncomfortable, but I can’t really find anything to pair it with. I ate fish with it, and it just didn’t work. My mouth ended up tasting the way a dock smells. Maybe some of you like that. I’ll be honest and just say that this wine should be popped towards the end of the party when you just need to have another glass.

Where to Buy

7-Eleven (ahem) like I said, but it’as also $7.48 at VineRepublic.com.

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Perfecta Merlot 2007 Wine Review

Wine Welfare — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:34:23 +0000

This cheap Merlot brings up an interesting question about blending. The Perfecta Merlot is 87% Merlot and 13% Syrah, yet they call it Merlot. I’ve searched online and can’t quite find out the rules when it comes to naming a wine after a particular varietal based on the percentage used of said varietal. Perhaps it’s 80%, 85% or perhaps Perfecta is just rebellious. One thing I know for sure is that the Perfecta Merlot does not qualify as a Meritage for two reasons, one of them obvious:

They didn’t call it a “Meritage”
Syrah is not regarded as one of the “Noble Grapes”

Speaking of Meritage, the Meritage Association has a fun and informative site worth checking out: http://www.meritagewine.org/home

At any rate, if someone could leave a comment or contact me regarding information on the rules, it would be much-appreciated. Now let’s get into the wine.

Color

Stiff, thick purple. Nothing light in this baby, and seeing as it’s hot as hell out there right now, I should apologize for reviewing it at this time. That said, save this for after sundown.

Nose

Oak, creamy vanilla and very fruit-forward. Lot’s of blackcurrant and even some prune. The wine was aged in American Oak for 23 months, which was very smart on the winemaker’s part (I’m sure he’s looking for my novice approval) because if it had been French Oak, this baby would have been a BEAST.

Taste

The fruit explodes here and almost overdoes it, but the alcohol is present enough to back it up. 2007 was a late year, meaning much of the fruit in Northern California had to stay on the vine longer than usual in order to achieve maximum maturity. This tardiness on the part of the fruit makes this wine great, not only because it ripened a bit more, but because the vines didn’t have it easy, thereby making the fruit more concentrated. The wine is your standard office building: straight-up structure, nothing flashy, and it really serves it’s purpose well. The American Oak comes in to finish off the deep prune and blackberry flavors with a little creamy smoke.

With Food

I see this wine as not over-the-top when it comes to fruit, despite the explosion mentioned above, so I think it would do well with something Provencal or stewed. I wouldn’t pair this with barbecued foods or cheese. Lamb stews, Coq au Vin, or something similar.

Where to Buy

$10.96 at WinesThatWork.com!

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Wine Review: Harding Merlot 2007 Napa Valley

Wine Welfare — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:00 +0000

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

COLOR: Well, it’s nice, but nothing to write home about. It’s the color of red wine. Maybe I should just get rid of this category.

NOSE: Tart, tart red fruit on this Merlot. Almost unripe. It isn’t very pleasant. After decanting for about an hour it began to give off more ripe cherry and perfumey smells.

TASTE: Good attack at first with the tart fruit coming through and melting into a nice shot of dark chocolate. However, the bitterness/unripe flavors are a bit off-putting, to the point that my jaw was screaming for me to spit it out or swallow. Still, it lingers a bit, and the alcohol is not setting everything on fire, which is always nice.

But we have to call a spade a spade here: This wine is DU-HU-HULL. Not exciting or enticing at all. A giant nap of a wine. You may find yourself thinking, “Well, it’s open, and I wanted wine, so I guess I’ll drink it.” Still, this is $9.99 Merlot here, folks. You should at least give it a try and see what you think.

WITH FOOD: Nothing says dull and boring like a rice cake!

WHERE TO BUY: $9.99 at BevMo!

Wine Review: Montpellier Merlot 2006

Wine Welfare — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:00:41 +0000

The Backwards Merlot

The Montpellier Merlot was another find at Cost Plus World Market. We were trying to see if we could pick up three bottles for under $20, and we just about did it. The Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir was another of the three, and the third is still to come. The Montepellier Merlot is unlike any of the other red wines we’ve ever had for one reason: It gets worse with air.

That’s like saying raising a kid gets easier as they enter the teen years.

We always recommend that you decant every single red wine, no matter how cheap. Two Buck Chuck? Throw it into that decanter and you might get an extra two bucks worth of flavor out of it.

But not the Montpellier Merlot. This wine actually increased in bitterness and lost all of its fruit once it had been opened and decanted. The reason I know this is because we popped the bottle, and enjoyed a taste. Delicious. We were looking forward to the fruit blooming even more and the earthy tones becoming more pronounced once it had sat in the decanter for an hour.

Our mistake. Here we go:

COLOR: Fair but still enticing. The wine exudes a kind of unfiltered quality and deep burgundy in the color.

NOSE: Blueberries with red sour gumballs. Sugar and earth. The dirt is palpable.

TASTE #1 (Just opened): Beautiful, ripe blueberries with sour blackcurrant and a good shot of milk chocolate right in the middle. Good finish with structure and tongue-drying tannins. Soil flavor left as a delicious reminder of the varietal.

TASTE #2 (Decanted): Vinegar and figs. Honestly, that’s all I can say. This wine lost its oomph through decanting. WTF? The structure was gone, the fruit withered and the finish was like a spoiled white wine. Obviously drink it immediately after opening.

WITH FOOD: Well, seeing as how you need to drink it right after popping it, we would suggest you wait until your appetizer of grapes and hard stinky cheese is ready. For a meal, try a decent pizza with some linguica or salami on it, or pair it with a good cut of lamb or perhaps even a nice duck with field greens and some orange peel.

WHERE TO BUY: $6.19 on sale at LowestWinePrices.com!

About $6.99 at Cost Plus World Market (In store only)!

Check out our other Merlot reviews!

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Christmas Wine and Post #100

Wine Welfare — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:21:44 +0000

It’s Christmas Time Up In This Piece

Ahhh, Christmas time. When you’re a kid it’s all about presents. When you’re a teenager it’s all about presents and no school. When you’re an adult, it’s all about no work and food.

Which is where we come in.

That’s right, we’re reviewing some Christmas wines for you at Wine Welfare. These two reds and two whites are sure to pair perfectly with whatever fattening grub you’re throwing on that table this year. So light a nice warm fire, cozy up next to that Christmas tree, and enjoy your family becoming slightly blurry as you polish off a bottle of one of these wines with your favorite uncle.

Neyers 2006 Zinfandel Pato Ranch – $17.98 at WineLibrary.com or available at most wine stores or BevMo!

The Holidays are not complete without a delicious California Zinfandel. Sure, you could go with a Primitivo (basically Zinfandel in Italy), but American Thanksgivings and Christmases tend to call for the big, juicy California fruit bomb that is Zinfandel.

Neyers is one of California’s best wineries, working out of Sage Canyon in the Napa Valley. They are consistently earning 90-point scores and astounding wine-lovers everywhere. Their Pato Ranch Zinfandel is no exception, with delicious tobacco and cherry flavors swirling around a foundation of moist, stinky soil. Sounds good, right? Trust us, this should be on your table with that turkey or prime rib, especially at this price.

Marquis Philips Sarah’s Blend – $11.99 at WineAnthology.com or at BevMo!

Never even heard of this one before we tasted it, but the Marquis Philips Sarah’s Blend is both delicious and available in most wine stores. Deep, dark opaque color, like ink-infused Welch’s grape juice. The grapes keep coming as well, in the form of Nerds candy flavors. This is an Australian Bordeaux blend: Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Chocolate and plum jam come through like gangbusters, but the acid fights back to balance it all, leading to a cakey, long finish. Delicious with duck.

Big House White – $6.99 at WineLibrary.com or available pretty much everywhere!

Shockingly good for less than seven bucks. The Big House White is a rather odd blend of Malvasia Bianca, Muscat Canelli, Viognier and Rousanne. We’d never had any blend like it before, but this didn’t mess around. The funny thing is, you can taste elements of all of those varietals, but you taste more flavors of varietals that are not in the wine. Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay (big time, buttery and creamy) and the like. Big pina colada flavors and spiced apples. Serve this one only slightly chilled before the meal or with appetizers. Might not hold up to the likes of turkey, gravy and stuffing.

Fleur Des Pins Graves Sauternes – $12.98 at WineLibrary.com!

If you’ve never had a Sauternes, now is the time to try one. Holiday sweets go magnificently well with Sauternes, no matter if they’re cookies, cakes or candy. Sauternes makes everything better. We’ll go into more detail about Sauternes later on, but for right now, if you can’t find the Fleur Des Pins Graves, just pick up any one you can find. You may find it difficult to locate one under $20 (we did), but rest assured, even a $30 375ml bottle of this stuff will put a smile on your face. This is solid 50/50 Bar, with delicious lemon picking up as well. Very sweet, but with that smokey characteristic often found in botrytis wines (moldy grapes; again, more on this later). The result is you enjoying a magnificent flavor explosion and then passing out on the couch watching A Christmas Story. ‘Tis the season.

One last thing and, we didn’t really want to mention anything because we’re so embarrassed, but…well, this is post number 100 for us here at Wine Welfare. That’s all we’re going to say. Feel free to maybe, we don’t know, leave a comment, compliment or congratulate us. Whatever you like. Really. We don’t need validation or anything. But one last time, just to clarify:

100 POSTS!!! WOO HOOOO!!!!

So that’s it. We sincerely hope you check out at least one of these four bad boys, and slap some serious enjoyment onto that Christmas of yours.

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Happy Holidays and Cheers!

Wine Review: Charles Krug Chardonnay Carneros

Wine Welfare — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:50:43 +0000

Sounds All Fancy, but Really Just Another California Chardonnay

Despite the name, there is nothing extraordinary or fancy about this Chardonnay. It’s your run-of-the-mill Napa Chardonnay sold at a pretty low price point. No odd flavors, no expressiveness, nothing to really excite the mouth or make you crave a particular food to match it with. Wines like this are entering our orbit more frequently these days, all of them inducing a mighty yawn from our little collective. Maybe it’s time to branch out and look for some more cheap Europeans again.

Color

Golden. Go figure. Bit pale.

Nose

Apple, bit of vanilla oak hints, but mostly apple.

Taste

More apple, bit of green Jolly Rancher and some toastiness. The oak isn’t overpowering, which is nice, but the wine lacks chutzpah. The BevMo review says “alluring on the finish,” whatever that means. It kind of ended abruptly for us and left us more interested in the crab we were eating with it. ZZZZZZ

With Food

The usual chicken or white sauce. Be warned though, that this is not going to add much to it. Maybe keep this in the rack for that special moment when everyone at the party is wondering what happened to all the wine? Then present this as some big woopty-doo.

$5.99 at GetWine.com, but they really gouge you on the shipping.

$15.99 at your local BevMo store if you are willing to pick it up in person. Surprisingly, this is still cheaper than ordering online.

Check out our other Chardonnay reviews.

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Wine Review: Black Mountain Shiraz

Wine Welfare — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:52:51 +0000

A Shiraz from California (What?)

The Black Mountain Shiraz was a chance find, and it turned out to be a winner of a Shiraz. Though we’ve only been able to find it at Trader Joe’s (which makes no sense given that it would probably cost the same if not less to sell it online), you might be able to find it at your local grocery store or wine shop. Just to be clear, this is actually a California wine, but the folks at Black Mountain are calling it a “Down Under Shiraz,” whatever that means. If you remember, Shiraz is made from the Syrah grape, but down under they just call it “Shiraz.” So, basically, Black Mountain just wants to confuse people. We even read somewhere that the Black Mountain company had actually trademarked the term “Down Under” in the U.S.

Color

Light for a Shiraz. Syrah is usually dark, somewhat inky, a rather fruit-forward, solid wine. This one looks like Pinot Noir.

Nose

Rhubarb, black cherry and black currants soaked in rum. There was quite a bit of heat on the nose. After a few minutes you could smell some cinnamon and pepper.

Taste

At least it tastes like Syrah: big blackcurrant jam, boysenberry syrup, cinnamon and white pepper. The wine doesn’t have much more than that. No real structure, and it kind of just sits in your mouth, giving off the fruit and spice flavors and then…leaves. Not much of a middle or end, so you can’t really call it hollow. It’s just, light and dull, but at $6.00, you can probably move past all that and serve to your guests during Thanksgiving.

With Food

Since the wine really has no structure but a lot of fruit, you might want to save this as an “end-of-the-evening-and-everyone-is-drunk-off-the-good-stuff” bottle.

Available at Trader Joe’s for around $6.00!

Check out our other Shiraz reviews.

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Wine Review: BV Pinot Noir Coastal Estates

Wine Welfare — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:37:30 +0000

A Good, Everyday Pinot Noir

Beaulieu Vineyards has long been a staple of the novice wine lover and a “Go-To” wine for the avid wine drinker looking to save some money on a decent bottle. But BV (as it is more commonly known), makes wines that run the gammet when it comes to quality, from budget-priced bottles to exclusive, high-end releases. The vineyard itself was founded in Rutherford, CA in 1900 by Georges de Latour.

Color

Juicy and light, displaying the ruby colors we expect.

Nose

Strong cherry, smoke, fresh-cut redwood and trailing with some blackcurrant.

Taste

Delicious through and through, even in the young vintages. The quality to price ratio on this wine is ridiculous, with the BV tasting far better than some $25 Pinot Noirs we’ve had. Great smokey cherries and some tobacco coming through, without overcompensating on the acid. Good fruit with a clean finish that has hints of autumn leaves and vanilla.

With Food

Since Thanksgiving is rolling around, it should be noted that Pinot Noirs actually go surprisingly well with turkey and stuffing. Otherwise, grilled lean meats such as lamb, ostrich or game would do just fine. Or, crack open a bottle and just enjoy it alone.

$6.99 at All Star Wine & Spirits!

Check out our other Pinot Noir reviews.

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Wine Review: Crane Lake Shiraz

Wine Welfare — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:32:22 +0000

Not sure why they are calling it “Shiraz” when it comes from the Napa Valley. “Shiraz” is normally reserved for wines made from the Syrah grape that come from Australia.

Anyway, it doesn’t really matter that much, because this wine is terrible.

Color

Very beautiful. Great, dark, boysenberry syrup colors. Very deceptive.

Nose

Wow. Alcohol. Some hints of cherry and some blueberry, with sugar added, but mostly alcohol coming through.

Taste

Two ingredients: Sugar and water. The wine is hollow. Tongue feels empty. Bitter acid with really overblown tannins. The fruit that is there is very very fake. We like wines that remind us of particular candies with all their artificial flavors, but we don’t want the actual artificial flavors in the wine.

We can say one good thing about this bottle. While it is cheap wine, it does not have the typical “cheap wine” flavor.

But it still sucks.

With Food

Hahahahahahaha!

$2 at Henry’s Farmer’s Market!

$3.99 at ShopRite Liquors – Laurenti Wines if you don’t have a Henry’s Farmer’s Market near you.

Check out our other Shiraz/Syrah reviews!

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Wine Review: Francis Coppola 2007 Syrah

Wine Welfare — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:00:18 +0000

Francis Coppola 2007 Syrah

The first Coppola wine we’re reviewing, and it’s a pretty good one.

Color

Good, stiff purple all the way through. Slightly cloudy, which makes it even more appetizing for some reason. Boysenberry syrup, once again.

Nose

Tight nose. Ethanol, which probably won’t be too appetizing to many people. Cherries, smoke, tight blueberry, and still-hard blackberries.

Taste

The finish on this wine is spectacular (we’re even talking about it first!). Great acid. Also, that ethanol on the nose was confirmed by the extra dose of booze. Delicious, bursting dark cherries and then you’re suddenly gnawing on a freshly sawed cedar 2×4. The mid-palate of this wine is perfection. The oak is not overpowering, but not understated. It makes you lick your chops and take another drink. Last comment: while we were enjoying the cherry and wood elements, we were hoping for a bit more variety in the fruit; it is a bit one-sided.

With Food

As usual, Syrah is great with BBQ, and since we’ve got about a month or so left of summer, light those coals and pour a glass of the Francis Coppola Syrah.

Only $12.97 from LittleBrosWine.com!

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Wine Review: Michael Pozzan Merlot Special Reserve 2006 – $17.04 for 2!

Wine Welfare — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:44 +0000

BevMo’s 5¢ Wine Sale is still going strong! Today we have found the brilliant Michael Pozzan Merlot Special Reserve 2006 for you.

Good News: This wine displays all of the classic flavors that you should expect from a Merlot. Michael Pozzan wines are often on special at BevMo, and they are always top-notch. The Michael Pozzan Merlot Special Reserve is 97% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is silky, silky, silky. Great blueberry and blackberry on the nose. The immediate flavor is exactly what we look for in a Merlot: boysenberry syrup. Since the wine is fairly young, the tannins are there, but not as full as we like them. This thing could sit for a couple more years and be even better, though we know how difficult it is to store the stuff for any length of time (if it’s that good, it’s too tempting). There is quite a bit of oak here, which lends the typical vanilla flavors to the finish, but it is not overpowering. Good balance of alcohol and the finish stays silky for a good length of time.

With Food: Merlot is pretty versatile. You can enjoy it with pretty much anything except seafood. Red sauce, white sauce, chicken, steak, burgers, pizza, etc. BBQ is better with a stiffer wine, like Syrah, Zinfandel, Malbec or Cabernet, but this should hold up (as long as you don’t like your steaks burnt to a black crisp). And, as usual, a wide array of fruits and cheeses would work here, but don’t go too pungent with the cheese; the less stinky, the better.

$17.04 for 2 at the BevMo 5¢ Wine Sale!

$10.98 for 1 bottle after the sale is over at HopsandGrapes.com.

Check out our other Merlot reviews:

Kenwood Jack London Merlot (also on sale at the BevMo 5¢ Wine Sale!)

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