The Wine Curmudgeon

Wine review: Mandolin Syrah 2009

This is a good news and bad news wine. The good news is that it's a tremendous value, another Mandolin wine that is much better than its price. The bad news? Availability, of course. It's not sold in the Dallas area, and its Texas distributor is small with limited capabilities. And, given the way the wine world works, if that happens in a market as important as this one, that means the Mandolin is likely to be difficult to find elsewhere.

Which is wrong. The syrah ($10, sample) is a wine that deserves to be in lots and lots of stores. It's impressive -- balanced and varietally correct, with just enough berry fruit to be fruity but not to be annoying. In this, there is acid to balance the fruit, which almost never happens with this style of wine, as well as a touch of oak and even some tannins, both of which provide even more balance.

Which, again, are two items that are rarely done well in wine from this part of California that costs $10. There is either way too much oak, to cover up a flaw or to give it a fake-y chocolate taste, or no tannins, to make the wine "smooth" and to appeal to people who don't like red wine. In fact, one reason why I don't drink much of this kind of wine is that it doesn't taste like wine, but something designed by a focus group.

Serve this wine on its own or with a weekend or holiday meal featuring beef or roast chicken (and yes, even for the holiday that must not be named). Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2013 $10 Hall of Fame.

Wine of the week: Château Font-Mars Picpoul 2010

The Wine Curmudgeon has always enjoyed picpoul, a white wine from southern France made with the picpoul grape that is grown, believe it or not, in the Picpoul region. Which is a weird naming convention even for the French. Picpoul is cheap and food friendly, one of those wines that you can keep around the house in case you want a glass of wine and don't want to have to worry about what you're drinking.

The catch, of course, is that it's difficult to find quality picpoul in Dallas. Those that I've had have mostly disappointed -- either sweet or too citrusy or overpriced. Hence my delight in finding the Font-Mars ($10, purchased), which is everything picpoul is supposed to be. And I did I mention that it's only $10?

It's a simple wine, but not in the way that too many cheap wines are simple, with one flavor or characteristic dominating all. Look for apricot and stone fruit in the front and a very nice stony finish with acid to balance all. I drank it over the New Year's holidays when I wanted something for dinner that wasn't overwhelming, and I was truly surprised at how well made it was. It's one of the early contenders for the 2013 $10 Hall of Fame, and highly recommended.

A personal note: The Wine Curmudugeon does not write about politics here; that's what political sites are for. But I do want to mention the controversy surrounding two proposals in Congress that would limit Interent speech, the SOPA and PIPA legislation. Copyright is one thing, and as a writer I certainly understand that. But free speech is even more important than copyright, especially as the Internet changes the way the world communicates. The New York Times explains what's going on today here. If you'd like to support those of us who believe that SOPA and PIPA are wrong-headed, you can sign this on-line petition.

Wine terms: Vin ordinaire

What do Americans call the kind of wine that they drink every day? Oh, that's right -- we don't drink wine every day.

But there is a term for it -- vin ordinaire, a French expression that means cheap wine for everyday use. Or, ordinary wine, as opposed to fine wine from Bordeaux and Burgundy, which is traditionally reserved for special occassions.

The term vin ordinaire has its roots in the French wine classification system. Each French wine region grades the quality of its wines, and wine that isn't from one specific region is labled Vin de Table. Many European countries have a similar classification, and one of the goals of the on-going European Union plan to reform the continent's wine laws is to make this more consistent across the various countries. In this, the Vin de Table wines are being replaced by wines labeled Vin de Pays or IGP. More, after the jump:

Wine of the week: Coltibuono Chianti Cetamura 2009

The Wine Curmudgeon has always wondered how to approach Chianti, which is not only the one Italian red wine that most Americans know, but the one Italian red wine that wine snobs turn their noses up at. If I review it, I run the risk of alienating both groups -- a neat trick, of course, but right up my alley. The former would think the wine was too obvious for them, and the latter would think I was naive.

But that hasn't stopped me before; there are handful of reviews and a variety of references to Chianti on the site (and, quickly, Chianti is the region in Tuscany where the wine is made, using mostly the sangiovese grape). And it won't stop me now, because the Coltibuono ($10, purchased) is well-made wine that offers lots of value.

In this, it's a simple, young, lighter Chianti with big dollop of cherry fruit (which apparently comes from a small percentage of the canaiolo grape, which also softens the wine). But there is still the telltale Italian acid, which means the wine cries out for tomatoes, pork and cheese. Or, in other words, pizza. I drank it with olive and tomato bruschetta, and that was terrific, too.

The 2012 $10 Wine Hall of Fame

Yes, wine prices may be in flux, and the wine world may resent cheap wine more than ever. But that didn't stop the Wine Curmudgeon from adding a near-record number of wines to the 2012 $10 Wine Hall of Fame. Eight wines were inducted, and only four dropped out. Click on the link above for the entire list, or the $10 link on the upper left of this page.

In fact, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of cheap wine last year, and there were some dozen wines that almost made the Hall. Two in particular are worth mentioning -- the Picada 15 red blend from Argentina, which was delightful but doesn't seem to be available in much of the country, and the Montecillo crianza, also wonderful and also limited in availability.

Call this year's Hall the world tour -- wines from Washington state, Italy, France, Argentina, Spain and even California made it. I was especially pleased to see California in the mix, given last year's California disappointment. One other disappointment: The Toad Hollow pinot noir rose dropped out this year, the first time it hasn't been in the Hall since I started it for a Dallas magazine 10 years ago.

The ground rules for this, the sixth annual, Hall of Fame: The wines have to cost $10 or less (Dallas prices, though I will make an exception if prices seem to be higher here) and be generally available. That means no wines like Trader Joe's Two-buck Chuck, which are only sold at one retailer. The final decisions are my own, and take into account what I think wine should be: varietally correct, balanced, and interesting enough to buy again.

I do take suggestions and input from dozens of people -- blog visitors and wine drinkers (who sent more suggestions than ever this year), people I know in the wine business, and other wine writers. Thank you for your help.

Talk about the $10 Hall of Fame on Olivia Wilder radio

The Wine Curmudgeon will be live on Olivia Wilder's internet radio show at 8 p.m. central on Sunday. The subject, of course, will be the new, 2012 $10 Hall of Fame, which appears tomorrow. You can join us in the chat room or call in -- go to the web site in the link for details.

Wine of the week: Chateau Bonnet Blanc 2010

This white blend from Bordeaux has been in and out of the $10 Hall since I started it for a Dallas magazine 10 years ago -- but not because of quality. Rather, what once was a $10 wine has been as expensive as $15 in Dallas, and though I like it a lot, it's not a $15 wine.

The good news is that Spec's, the largest retailer in Texas, has opened in Dallas, and they carry the Bonnet  (purchased) for $10. So it's back at a good price and eligible again for the $10 Hall of Fame -- the newest version of which will be announced in two days. Have a suggestion for the Hall? Leave it in the comments or send me an email.

But I'm not sure this vintage of the Bonnet is a Hall of Fame wine. This is not to say that it's not well made, because it is, crisp and fresh with lots of citrus fruit like lemon and grapefruit, and there is nothing off about it. It just doesn't taste very Bordeaux-like. Call me picky (that's a harsh charge for the Wine Curmudgeon, no?), but when wine is from Bordeaux I want a little minerality and not quite so much fruit. If I want this style of wine, I'll buy any of the equally fine $10 sauvignon blancs from New Zealand.

This doesn't mean the Bonnet isn't a fine $10 wine, and it doesn't mean that I won't buy it again. I will, and drink it chilled on its own or with almost any white wine dish that doesn't have a big sauce. What it does mean is that wines that make the Hall have to better than this; it is the Hall of Fame, after all.