The Wine Curmudgeon

Wine of the week: Cellar No. 8 Eight

The Wine Curmudgeon has written more than 200 wines of the week since I started the blog, and none has been a bigger surprise than this. Cellar No. 8 wines are about as ordinary as possible, the kind that defines grocery store wine. The reds all seem to taste the same, regardless of the varietal – lots of sweet fruit, some fake oak, and the kind of tannins that are there only if you pay careful attention.

And then there is the Eight ($10, sample), which is a stunner. This red blend, made with the usual suspects, is grocery store wine the way it should be. It has legitimate tannins and balanced acid and just enough red fruit – no cherry bomb here -- to round everything out. Yes, it’s simple, but it's clean and professional, and that's what you want in a simple $10 wine (which is probably closer to $8 in many locations). Drink this slighlty chilled on its own or with barbecue and burgers.

Given this brand’s track record, I almost didn’t taste it. But the Wine Curmudgeon is nothing if not stubborn, so I figured I’d have a glass and use the rest of the bottle for cooking. Stupid me. What’s the most important lesson in the wine reviewing? Taste the wine before you judge it.

Barefoot wine review 2012

Barefoot, the $6 grocery store brand owned by E&J Gallo, is tremendously controversial among wine writers. They refuse to believe that any wine that sells that well at that price can be any good. That it is “mass produced” doesn’t help their disposition, either.

Or, as so many of my colleagues have vowed (and especially the famous ones), “You aren’t going to catch me reviewing those wines.”

Which is not the way the Wine Curmudgeon does things, is it? After the jump, my annual Barefoot review, featuring the sauvignon blanc and pinot noir (with links to four of my Barefoot posts at the bottom of this one).

Mini-reviews 36: Ribera, La Vieille Ferme, Rodney Strong, Sledgehammer

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:

• Bodegas Peñalba López Monte Castrillo 2009 ($13, sample): Spanish tempranillo from Ribera del Duero with lots of thickish red fruit that needs beefy dishes. Decent value, but you have to like wine made this way.

• La Vieille Ferme Blanc 2011 ($8, purchased): Hugely disappointing vintage from the French white that is a long-time blog favorite. Big-time banana fruit, which not only isn't pleasant, but shows a change in winemaking to softer and more sweetish approach.

• Rodney Strong Sauvignon Blanc 2010 ($13.50, sample): Always dependable and value-driven California white. Look for melon and California grassiness, thought not quite as citrusy as other west coast sauvignon blancs.

• Sledgehammer Zinfandel 2009 ($15, sample): Yes, it is. A massive, oaky, and alcoholic zinfandel with extracted jammy fruit if that's what you're in the mood for.

Memorial Day and rose, 2012

You'll drink red and white; why not rose?

The Wine Curmudgeon appreciates his readers and visitors more than they will ever know. Without you, I’d have to get a real job, where I would probably not be allowed to drink wine.

Having said that, I must bring up one of your few failings: You don’t much rose. No rose review has ever been a top 10 annual post, and they barely crack the top 50.

I especially pondered that question preparing for this post, the blog’s fifth annual rose extravaganza. And I can’t come up with a good reason. Rose is cheap. It’s better made than ever before. It’s food friendly. You can put an ice cube in it. What more do you need from a wine?

After the jump, the basics about roses and this year’s recommendations:

Wine of the week: Meridian Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Meridian's wines make the Wine Curmudgeon crazy. Sometimes, they're really, really well done, and do things like make the $10 Hall of Fame. Other times, they taste like the grocery store wines that they are, and their $10 Hall of Fame worthinness seems very hard to believe.

Hence my trepidation with this review. The sauvignon blanc ($6, purchased) is an exceedingly well-made wine, and sets a high standard not only for Meridian, but for all grocery store wine at this price. It has lots of tropical fruit (pineapple and mango) in a very forward style, which gives the impression of sweetness. But since it's sauvignon blanc, there is plenty of citrus and California-style grassiness to balance the fruit. And, hard as it may be to believe, I think there is minerality at the back -- about as common in a $6 wine as me not being able to come up with a simile here.

Drink this chilled on its own, or with almost any kind of warm weather white wine dish. Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2013 Hall of Fame. Please, Meridian, don't let me down.

Expensive wine 39: Handley Cellars Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2009

One day, when the Wine Curmudgeon is feeling especially cranky, he will write the ultimate pinot noir rant. It will cover all of the changes in pinot over the past decade that have practically changed the definition of the varietal -- the high alcohol, the relentless use of oak, the gobs of sweet fruit, and the unnecessary addition of tannins.

Until then, I will drink Handley Cellars pinot noir and be glad someone still cares enough to do pinot the way it should be done. One of the best pinots I've ever tasted, and that includes those from pinot's birthplace in the Burgundy region of France, was the Handley 1998 Reserve. It was an exquisite wine, classic and timeless and a wonderful example of what pinot can be in California. Somehow, this 14-year-old wine was still youthful and fresh, with the traditional black cherry fruit, some earthiness, and a touch of oak. Sadly, it's almost all gone; there's maybe a case or two left at the winery.

But the 2009 ($30, sample), which I tasted with winemaker Kristen Barnhisel, is a worthy successor. It's still a little tight and needs more time in the bottle (perhaps six months?), but when it's ready, it will again showcase what Handley can do with pinot. The cherry fruit is there, as is the proper amount of oak and the Handley earthiness. And its tannins are those of pinot, not cabernet sauvignon. Highly recommended, and especially at this price.

Mother's Day wine 2012

Doesn't Mom deserve wine for Mother's Day?

Buy Mom wine for Mother's Day. She'll appreciate it. Right, Mom? Or, failing that, buy her wine for Mother's Day brunch. Whatever you do, though, keep our wine gift-giving guidelines in mind -- "Don't buy someone wine that you think they should like; buy them what they will like."

These suggestions should get you started:

• Bonterra Viognier 2010 ($14, sample): Easily the best California viognier I've had in years (yes, damning with faint praise, but praise nonetheless), with crisp, clean apricot fruit. A little oily, which was interesting, and a decent finish. If it was cheaper, it's probably in the $10 Hall of Fame.

• Local wine: We tasted wines from a dozen or so states at our recent DrinkLocalWine conference, and there is plenty of quality and value out there. If you're in Colorado, try the Guy Drew riesling 2010 ($16, sample), with lemongrass, a lot of acid, and a fair amount of residual sugar that is barely noticeable because of all the acid. Excellent example of terroir and high altitude grapes. Not in Colorado? Ask for a recommendation for your Other 47 state in the comments or send me an email.

• Toad Hollow Risque NV ($16, sample): Sparkling wine that takes sparkling wine to a place it doesn't often go. Sweet? Yes, but not just to be sweet, but as a style. And there are plenty of bubbles to balance the sweetness. It was a favorite of the late Todd Williams, who ran Toad Hollow and always told a good story about this wine.

More about Mother's Day wine:
• Mother's Day wine 2011
• Mother's Day wine 2010
• Wine of the week: Luc Pirlet Pinot Noir 2009
• Wine review: Cline Cellars Cool Climate Syrah 2010

Cartoon courtesy Gerald_G via OpenClipArt, using a Creative Commons license