The Wine Curmudgeon

Wine of the week: Barahonda Monastrell Sin-Madera 2010

The joy of wine – the absolute, most wonderful thing – is tasting something you’ve never had before and knowing that it’s something you want to drink again and again.

Such was the case with the Barahonda ($9, purchased, 14%), a red wine from Spain made with monastrell and from another regions that only Patrick Mata at Ole Imports seems to have hard of.

How impressive was this wine? It’s a previous vintage, and whenever an $10 wine still tastes like this, imagine how wonderful it will be when it’s the current vintage. Look for a funky Spanish aroma -- the wine geeks call it barnyard, but that doesn’t do it justice. It’s an earthy, intriguing smell that always makes me think of Spain. There is also some dark fruit, lots of spiciness and not a bit of oak.

It’s a food wine, as many Spanish wines are, and really needs something like grilled meat to show it at its best. Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2014 $10 Hall of Fame.

Wine of the week: Cusumano Nero d'Avola 2011

One day, perhaps, Sicily will take its place as one of the world’s great wine regions. The Winestream Media will flock there, and its members will write glowing 94-point reviews about wines made with grapes most people have never heard of. The region’s winemakers will become celebrities, starring in glossy cover photos and showing up in wine gossip columns.

Until then, let’s drink the wine and not let anyone else know how well done it is.

Case in point is the Cusumano ($10, purchased), yet another Sicilian wine that is stunning in its combination of value and quality. It’s made with the nero d‘avola grape, common on the island, and one that gives the wine a dark, plummy and almost earthy character. Which, of course, is not what most of us expect from a $10 red wine. There is no sweet fruit, no winemaking alchemy to take out the tannins and smooth out the acid. You get what the terroir and the grapes offer, and that’s a drinkable, impressive hearty red wine of the kind not found often enough in California.

Pair this with a red sauce, roast chicken, hamburgers or sausage. And if someone asks you where you got it or how much it cost, mumble your answer so it stays our secret.

Wine of the week: Faustino 2010

Rioja – red wine made with the tempranillo grape from the Rioja region of Spain – has long been one of the world’s great wine values. The simplest Riojas, called crianza, are everyday wines that usually deliver tremendous quality for $10. That more of us don’t know about them is one of the many things that make the Wine Curmudgeon so cranky.

Bodegas Faustino, which has been making wine in Spain for 150 years, has long been known for its wines with Roman numerals – Faustino I, Faustino V, and Faustino VII. This Faustino ($10, purchased, 13%) is part of its “modern reds” line – a term that usually makes me run screaming into the night, hinting as it does of merlot blended into the mix, winemaking alchemy to produce sweet fruit, and lots of fake oak.

Happily, this “modern red” is terrific basic Rioja, with everything as it should be. Look for cherry fruit, bright acidity, earthiness and that wonderfully funky Rioja aroma. The only thing that seemed modern about it was better winemaking – no off flavors or smells, which can sometimes happen with old-style Rioja.

You can serve this with almost anything except a white cream sauce, which is one of the great strengths of Rioja. It’s especially fine with bean dishes.

Mini-reviews 44: Knez, Leese-Fitch, Camelot, Paul Blanck

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

• Knez Pinot Noir 2010 ($30, sample): California red was OK as far as it went, but not very interesting. The various parts were there – pinot smokiness and some black fruit – but something was missing.

• Leese-Fitch Sauvignon Blanc 2011 ($12, sample): A stunning grocery store white that I’d drink again -- just 13 percent alcohol and almost no fruit at all (for a California wine, anyway). Lots of grassiness on the aroma and an almost flinty finish.

• Camelot Chardonnay NV ($7, sample): Lots and lots of fake oak, though it does taste like California chardonnay if you like lots and lots of fake oak.

• Domaine Paul Blanck Riesling 2011 ($18, sample): Disappointing, especially considering how much I enjoy Alsace riesling. Too sweet for the alcohol level, and though it had the requisite amounts of petrol on the nose and soft, ripe white fruit, seemed out of balance.

Expensive wine 46: Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages 2005

This is a classic California wine, practically dating to the state’s wine pre-history. In 1990, when the first vintage was bottled, Robert Parker had barely scratched the surface of California wine.

This is a critical part of the success of Cing Cepages, a red blend that is mostly cabernet sauvignon. It has an identity that few other high-end, highly-valued, and highly-scored wines have, which give it a basis for comparison. Each vintage doesn’t exist in a vacuum, ready to be discarded when the next winemaking trend comes along.

This does not mean that the wine doesn’t change, because it should. The weather and soil aren’t constant, and different winemakers bring different approaches. But the change comes within the house style, something that doesn’t happen often enough in this country.

The 2005 ($75, sample, 14.4%) is just getting ready to enjoy, is still available, and at a discount. I had it with prime rib and Yorkshire pudding, and the pairing couldn’t have been better. Look for rich black fruit that is well forward, but complemented by  layers and layers of flavor (graphite even). This is an iconic wine, and it's easy to see why after you’ve tasted it.

Wine of the week: Alaya 2009

There’s a certain style of Spanish wine that is decidedly un-Spanish but has become a particular favorite of the Winestream media. These wines are red, often made with garnacha, and are fruitier and higher in alcohol than most Spanish wines.

Having said that, some of them are actually worth drinking. We’ve covered Evodia on the blog (and I’ll be reviewing the new vintage later this year), and the Laya ($9, purchased, 14.5% alcohol) fits into that category as well.

It’s not quite a $10 Hall of Fame wine – the oak that’s there gives it an almost Adams Extract vanilla flavor. But everything else is present for great cheap wine, including lots and lots of black fruit that is neither sweet nor extracted – just intense. Yes, the alcohol is high, but the wine handles it well and you won’t flinch when you taste it.

It’s probably a bit much to drink on its own, but it would pair with most winter dinners, including beef stew and maybe even macaroni and cheese.

Wine of the week: Falesco Vitiano Rosso 2009

Consider these quotes from the Wine Curmudgeon’s previous reviews of the various Vitiano wines:

• "I sound like a gushing school girl. …”

• “Riccardo Cotarella is a genius.”

• “How does Ricccardo Cotarella produce a wine of this quality, ship it to the U.S., overcome the high euro, and sell it for about $10?”

Needless to say, I like the wines.

The 2009 Rosso ($10, purchased) is yet another triumph – a red blend of sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot that is not too fruity, not too alcoholic, not too tannic, and not too acidic. In other words, balanced, as all great wine should be, whether costing $10 or $100.

The 2009 is more rustic than previous vintages, with some heft and a leathery feel, but this variation is one of its charms. Most cheap wine is made to taste the same from year to year, but Cotarella’s wines are better than that.

Drink this with any red sauce or any combination of beef or chicken with red sauce. It will be back in the $10 Hall of Fame when it appears next week, a testament to the concept that cheap wine does not have to taste cheap.