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Premium Edition: Champagne - a sucker bet?
Love fine Champagne but hate the price? Subscribers will get frank talk on Champagne value and how to find it in tomorrow's 30 Second Wine Advisor Premium Edition. Your $24 annual subscription delivers 26 biweekly E-mail editions and helps support WineLoversPage.com. Subscribe today: Two affordable reds After a week of traveling in two of the world's great wine regions, Burgundy and Champagne, sampling wines of a quality and price that I can rarely enjoy at home, it's time to reset my standards back to the level that I can afford. Happily, my notes on a couple of $10 reds that I enjoyed in the days before leaving for France remind me that there's plenty to like in the budget realms. And if everyday wines like these don't always make you hear choirs of angels sing, why, that kind of a diet might be a little rich for regular consumption anyway. The new "Red Truck" table wine from California's productive Cline Cellars, a blend of Syrah and Mourvedre and unidentified supporting players, has drawn mixed reviews from the tasters in our Wine Lovers' Discussion Group, many of whom fault it for a lack of the acidic structure needed to support its abundant fruit. There's no question that you'll find a flabby padding around its vinous waistline, but there's still a lot to like in its juicy, very berry fruit. There's less reason for serious wine enthusiasts to quibble about today's other wine, a big, bold and even ageworthy Monastrell (Mourvedre) from Portico del Castillo in the little-known Yecla river valley of Southeastern Spain.
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This blend of Syrah and Mourvedre shows a clear ruby color with a reddish glow, with a ripe and luscious aroma of mixed red and black fruits. Juicy fruit carries over on the palate in a ripe, fresh flavor profile that's so fruity it almost seems sweet. It's a jovial quaff, but the fruit outruns minimal acidity, leaving a pudgy beverage that seems as much like a "spiked" glass of fruit juice as wine. That said, I find some things to like in it ... a wisp of tannins and an intriguing back note of minerality that's nostalgically reminiscent of old country rain barrels keeps me coming back until the glass is gone. (May 18, 2004) FOOD MATCH: Juicy, medium-rare hamburgers make a natural match with blowzy wines like this; even better was an upscale variation, lamb burgers laced with fresh ginger, garlic and minced South African Peppadew-brand red peppers. VALUE: The $10 I paid was a bit on the high side compared with online prices, and serious wine enthusiasts might award higher point scores to such competitors as Laurel Glen REDS, Bonny Doon's Big House Red or Cline's own Oakley Vin Rouge (formerly Cote d'Oakley). WHEN TO DRINK: Now.
WEB LINK: Here's a link to the Cline Cellars Website:
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE: Compare prices and find sources for Cline Red Truck on Wine-Searcher.com,
This Monastrell (Mourvedre) hails from Yecla, a small and rather obscure wine region in Southeastern Spain, near Jumilla. Very dark reddish-purple in color, it shows almost a bluish cast. The aromas are all earthy Mourvedre: Ripe black fruit accented by characteristic varietal accents of leather, "tree bark" and subtle "barnyard." Big and full on the palate, juicy black fruit gains structure from crisp acidity and gentle warmth from substantial 14.5 percent alcohol. U.S. importer: European Cellars Direct, NYC, Eric Solomon Selections. (May 18, 2004) FOOD MATCH: This gutsy, powerful wine has plenty of oomph to stand up to spicy, savory lamb burgers loaded with ginger, garlic and sweet-hot red peppers. VALUE: A very good value at $10. WHEN TO DRINK: Drinking nicely now, but balance, power and the nature of the variety suggest that it will hold up and even gain flavor interest with five years in a good cellar.
WEB LINK: I couldn't find a Website for the winery, but you might enjoy an interesting article about the Yecla wine region (in English) on the Website of the excellent Madrid wine shop Reserva y Cata:
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE: To locate this wine, check local wine merchants, or (for U.S. readers) find a distributor in your state on the importer's Website,
SUBSCRIBE: Administrivia To subscribe or unsubscribe from The 30 Second Wine Advisor, change your E-mail address, or for any other administrative matters, please use the individualized hotlink found at the end of your E-mail edition. If this is not practical, contact me by E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com, including the exact E-mail address that you used when you subscribed, so I can find your record. We do not use our E-mail list for any other purpose and will never give or sell your name or E-mail address to anyone. I welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future columns. To contact me, please send E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com All the wine-tasting reports posted here are consumer-oriented. In order to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest, I purchase all the wines I rate at my own expense in retail stores and accept no samples, gifts or other gratuities from the wine industry.
Wednesday, June 2, 2004 |
Cline Cellars 2002 California "Red Truck" ($10)
Portico del Castillo 2002 Yecla Monastrell ($9.99)
