I’ll be honest, I was surprised at the results of the poll. I had not pegged these two wines as the winners, though I did enjoy them. Since this poll has been going on for nearly a month now, I’m not going to write a big hulaballoo post here. Too excited to just get to the winners. And here they are.

Best White Wine of 2010

Chateau Ballan-Larquette Bordeaux Rose 2009

I liked this wine from the start. The strawberry, the crispness, the slight thickness. This was a wine built for food. Altogether a delicious wine that rings in at just under $10. A great, great buy.

Best Red Wine of 2010

Montevina Barbera 2008

A sleeper of a wine that appeared on my radar in September. It won the gold medal at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition, and with good reason. Velvet cola, caramel, red fruit, and the most intoxicating finish I’ve experienced in a red wine in quite awhile. All this from a California Barbera. Amazing, amazing wine and only $9.99.

So there you have it, folks. The best wines as voted on by the readers and by our tasting back in early December. Overall it’s been a blast choosing the best out of all the brilliant wines under $20 I’ve had the good fortune of tasting throughout the year. I look forward to doing it again next year, and I hope even more of you will get involved!

Cheers!

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Roses are usually at one of two extremes: Way too light to the point of sweet water (think White Zinfandel: Ugh) or far too strong so that you are robbed of the bouncy fruit and crisp, acidic sweetness. For the roses that are too dark (like Syrah roses or many from California) I sometimes feel cheated. They make me think the fruit that went into them just wasn’t up to snuff for a red wine. For my palate, a rose should be what it’s name suggests: Rose-colored. Not cranberry juice or a light pink water.

The Ballan-Larquette Rose is neither of those. 45% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Cabernet Franc. It’s balanced and delicious, and because of that, it is a strong contender for our Best of 2010 voting/tasting. Read on to see why and be sure to pick up a bottle ASAP.

Color

Proper pink. Nothing too light or too dark.

Nose

Strawberry fields. Not just strawberries, but the dirt and dust that you smell along with them in the fields on a hot day. Some freshly cut cherry as well.

Taste

Medium-bodied, not too light, which I like very much. Very good fruit on the attack, the strawberry and cherry flavors from the nose are intact and give a nice brightness to the wine. There is a hint of sweetness as well, but not too much that you wouldn’t want to enjoy this with something more savory. The barnyard is present as well in this in the form of a soil and stink element that is tough to pin down. Great finish with a pleasing dryness.

With Food

A very versatile food wine. I’ve most often had roses with chicken or salads that have fruit in them. One of the best pairings has been with a chicken and berry salad. Any berry will work, though I’d aim for strawberries. I light vinegarette with some garlic in it will help. For some reason I’ve always found that strawberries and garlic go well together. I probably just made all chefs everywhere cringe.

Where to Buy

$9.99 at BevMo or BevMo.com!

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Guest Post by Brian Hedrick!

Cabernet Franc is like the elegant, elder brunette, thin-skinned and wisest of the Cabernet Family, one of the five varietals of Bordeaux. It’s often used in blends to cut at the tartness and tannins of a Shiraz or it’s more popular progeny, the Cab Sauvignon. Interesting fact you probably know: the Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc grapes met on some steamy night and passed along their DNA to the Cab Sauvignon, so we owe the Cab Franc quite a bit. Or so we think.

So in homage to this patriarch/matriarch, we present the 2006 Santa Ines Cabernet Franc (made in the Santa Ynez Valley and, one must deduce, named after the Santa Ines Mission there, not the Santa Ines vineyard in Chile. That was complicated! Whew! It’s made at the Kalyra Winery by the vintner Mike Brown). A pal said (paraphrasing), “this is my go to wine any time I’m heading off to drink other people’s more expensive wine at a party or something, because it’s good enough to make me feel like I’m not being cheap, and almost everybody says ‘huh. Cabernet Franc. That’s different.’”

COLOR: A dark cherry that wouldn’t concede a hint of purple, even if you took a spectroscope to it (that’s not true, but it’s a statement with conviction, so just go with it).

NOSE: All fruit and booze, but nothing overpowering. Blackberry and cherry, and a whisper of vanilla to make you want to wash down that first tri-tip/sauteed zucchini-combo bite. Has a hint of an alcohol kicker on the exhale (more on that).

TASTE: The mild fruity nose deceives, as the alcohol is heavy in the swish and the swallow. Wouldn’t hurt to decant this one to allow the flavors to pop a little and to give it some room to flower. Tannins are pretty light but the peppery texture rides the tongue through the swallow.You’ll enjoy the second glass more.

Gotta say. we’ve had three or four of these now and they’re inconsistent, but 3/4s of them have been worth finishing off so it’s worth a try.Bottom line is it drinks a little better than the nine bucks you spent on it would indicate and like we said earlier, it’s a little more interesting than you average Cab,(Sauvignon or otherwise).

WITH FOOD: This one works with typical appetizer fare or a low-brow steak and veg meal.

WHERE TO BUY: 8.99 at Trader Joe’s. Just about the only place we’ve seen.

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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!

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You’re Recommending a Non-Chardonnay Kendall-Jackson?

Indeed we are. Kendall Jackson Chardonnay is how a lot of people first started drinking that was higher quality than the jug wines or White Zinfandels they were used to. Kendall Jackson still makes a killing with their Chardonnay in every vintage, and is one of the best-selling Chardonnays in history. They practically mailed samples of the stuff to suburban homes back in the nineties as a requirement to drink. So because of this, we feel like we don’t really have to say anything. To us, it would be like recommending gasoline for your car.

Therefore, without further or do, we bring you the Kendall Jackson Meritage 2003. This is a plush blended wine (“Meritage” means “Blend”) in the Bordeaux style. Remember, a Bordeaux wine can only consist of the following five grape varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Frank, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The Kendall Jackson Meritage contains three out of the five: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

Bad News First

The wine tastes fake. That’s as bluntly as we can put it. Kendall Jackson has been around for so long and has to bottle such large amounts of their wine to get them into thousands of grocery stores, that some of their wines taste “rushed.”

There were flavors in this juice at some point in time, but we’re guessing that they ran out of time and so had to fake a few tastes to make the wine more tasty, palatable and pleasing to the public. One such method would be to over-oak the wine, as this certainly is. If you are not into the super-California-style wines or vanilla oak elements in red wine, stay away.

Basically, there are better, hearty red wines available for less money. the Hahn Syrah for one.

Good News

Color: Rich, red garnet. The color is pleasing and makes you want to get to drinking.

Nose: Very dark cherries and oaken vanilla. The oak really does bash you right in the face here. You might also pick up hints of earth; wet earth. Rainy mornings on a redwood deck.

Taste: We have the oak again, and man oh man is it in the front. It dominates every other flavor, turning this wine into a bowl of vanilla ice cream topped off with some cedar chips and some vanilla extract. Did we mention vanilla? The deep, dark cherries complete themselves from nose to taste here, it’s virtually the only fruit you will get, depending on what you might be eating. Weak tannins, so there is the slightest hint of dryness, but given the varietals blended here, there should be much much more. So if you are into New World styles, and especially California New World, you might want to give this a whirl.

With Food

Strong cheeses or fruit, perhaps red berries or cherries. Normally, blends such as these work well with red meats or even red sauces, but given the weak structure and tannins, it just won’t hold up. Take it easy with this one.

Only $12 at Winerz.com! (Yes, we know it is slightly cheaper on other sites, but this one looked like they could actually ship it to you rather than tying it to a pigeon and hoping for the best. We’re always looking out for you.)

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