Re: March Wine Focus - Wine Values ($20 and under)
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 10:36 am
When I'm looking for good value, I most often start my quest among Southern Rhones or cheap Tuscan reds. Here's one, not entirely successful but structured enough to settle down and work and play well with food.
Chateau Saint-Roch 2011 "Brunel" Côtes du Rhône ($13.99)
Dark purple, with a clear garnet edge. Black plums on the nose, good, simple black fruit and crisp acidity on the palate. Good food wine, really comes into better perspective with something good on the plate than it does for sipping alone, where it’s pleasant enough but somewhat one-dimensional. The lesson here is a good one: wine, or most wine, anyway, is made to go with food. If you want a cocktail, have the bartender mix you one.
Estate bottled, 50% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 25% Cinsault; 14% alcohol. U.S. importer: Shaw-Ross international Importers, Miramar, Fla. (Feb. 26, 2014)
FOOD MATCH: shepherds pie and gratin mashup as featured in the Feb. 21, 2014 article, Rich Comfort Food to the Extreme, turned into a plant-based dish by substituting a mixture of sauteed mushrooms and onions and a bit of soy-based "ground 'beef'" for the burger meat.
Chateau Saint-Roch 2011 "Brunel" Côtes du Rhône ($13.99)
Dark purple, with a clear garnet edge. Black plums on the nose, good, simple black fruit and crisp acidity on the palate. Good food wine, really comes into better perspective with something good on the plate than it does for sipping alone, where it’s pleasant enough but somewhat one-dimensional. The lesson here is a good one: wine, or most wine, anyway, is made to go with food. If you want a cocktail, have the bartender mix you one.
Estate bottled, 50% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 25% Cinsault; 14% alcohol. U.S. importer: Shaw-Ross international Importers, Miramar, Fla. (Feb. 26, 2014)
FOOD MATCH: shepherds pie and gratin mashup as featured in the Feb. 21, 2014 article, Rich Comfort Food to the Extreme, turned into a plant-based dish by substituting a mixture of sauteed mushrooms and onions and a bit of soy-based "ground 'beef'" for the burger meat.