Mini-reviews 15: Chateau Bonnet, Ilagares, Wakefield, Silver Birch

Reviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the final Friday of each month.

• Chateau Bonnet Blanc ($10, purchased): I picked up a couple of bottles of an older vintage of this top-flight French white when a leading Dallas retailer closed. I should have bought more. It has bright, sparkling, balanced fruit (green apples) with the right amount of acid.

• Bodegas San Martin Ilagares ($8, sample): Spanish red blend that offers incredible value, and could be the new Solaz. Assuming, of course, it's widely available, which it doesn't appear to be. If you can find it, expect red fruit, though not quite as fruity as the Solaz.

• Wakefield Promised Land Unwooded Chardonnay ($12, sample): An interesting Aussie white, with lots of apple and a hint of sweetness. I'm not wild about the 14 percent alcohol or that it isn't $9.99, but well done nonetheless.

• Silver Birch Sauvignon Blanc ($24 for a 3-liter box, sample): This New Zealand white, part of the Octavin series, delivers $6 a bottle worth of wine (a 3-liter box equals four bottles). The catch is that it also has $6 wine flaws -- not much of a middle and kind of thinnish.

wine reviews, cheap wine, $10 wine, inexpensive wine, Spanish wione, New Zealand wine, Australian wine, French wine, Chateau Bonnet, Ilagares, Wakefield, Silver Birch

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