Category:Holiday wine

Expensive wine 129: Bonny Doon X-Block Syrah 2013

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

x-block syrahThe Bonny Doon X-Block syrah is magnificent California red wine, combining the Old World with the New World

Those of us who love savory syrah – that is, where the wine is earthy and funky instead of being stuffed with sweet fruit, like the Australians do it – were especially sad when Boony Doon’s Randall Grahm sold his legendary winery at the beginning of the year. Grahm was famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) for many things, but I don’t think he ever got enough credit for wines like the Bonny Doon X-Block syrah.

Grahm was able to combine an Old World approach to syrah with California’s riper and richer fruit. In this, the Bonny Doon X-Block syrah ($48, purchased, 13.5%) is an amazing wine – funky enough for those of us who want that, but fruity enough so as not to turn off people who think funky is a slang term 50 years out of date.

The X-Block is a step up from Grahm’s Le Pousseur syrah, which costs about half the price. But it’s more than worth the added expense: There’s the smoked meat, bacon-y aroma, a bit of pepper and spice, soft tannins, and full, rich black fruit. Open the wine about an hour before you drink it, and serve it with anything beefy or smoky or both. In addition, it’s still young and should age for at least a couple of more years.

Highly recommended, and just the gift for someone who likes savory syrah, what with the Holiday that Must not be Named coming up later this week. So long, Randall. It was a hell of a ride.

Wine of the week: Val D’Oca Prosecco Extra Dry NV

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Val D'Oca ProseccoThe Val D’Oca Prosecco offers surprising quality and value for a New Year’s sparkling wine

Most Prosecco that costs less than $15 tastes mostly the same – a little sweet, not very sparkling, and kind of blah. There’s nothing really wrong with these version of the Italian sparkling wine, but it’s not something that you look forward to drinking. Enter the Val D’Oca Prosecco.

The Val D’Oca Prosecco ($12, purchased, 11%) has most of the things that the others don’t. Yes, it’s a little sweet, but the sweetness is balanced by a touch of citrus (lime?). Meanwhile, the bubbles are surprisingly tight and bubbly for a Prosecco, and the finish is actually clean and almost crisp. Again, that’s not common for a Proseocco at this price.

Finally, it’s also quite food friendly, whether to pair with something like grilled shrimp with with fried appetizers like frito misto. In this, it’s too well made to use for mimosas.

Rather, it’s exactly the kind of wine to toast the New Year with when you don’t want to spend $40. Highly recommended, and this comes from someone who doesn’t usually say that about Prosecco.

Imported by Prestige Wine Imports

New Year’s sparkling wine 2019

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

New Year's sparkling wine 2019New Year’s sparkling wine 2019 recommendations that emphasize value and quality

Anyone can spend $50 for a bottle of sparkling wine, and too many people do. Hence, value and quality for a more than reasonable price for New Year’s sparkling wine 2019.

Consider these wines for your New Year’s sparkling wine 2019 celebrations. Also handy: The blog’s annual wine gift guidelines and the sparkling wine primer.

• La Granja 360 Cava Brut NV ($7, purchased, 11.5%): This Trader Joe’s Spanish bubbly, pleasant and sweetish, tastes more like Italian Prosecco than cava. But if you don’t mind the style (common for Trader Joe’s sparkling wines), than you’ll appreciate the soft fruit (less tart green apple and more red delicious) and a much softer mouth feel. But the bubbles are tight, and you can do a lot worse at this price. Imported by Evaki

• Da Luca Prosecco NV ($10, sample, 11%): Acceptable, fairly priced Italian sparkling wine. It’s not especially sweet, which surprised me, but it’s still soft, though the bubbles are tight and the lemon fruit holds the wine together. Imported by Accolade Wines North America

• Dellara Cava Brut NV ($6, sample, 12%): This Aldi Spanish sparkler is a step up from similarly priced supermarket wines like Freixenet. Look for tart lemon and green apple fruit, decent bubbles, and some minerality. Imported by Mack & Schuhle

• De Chanceny Crémant de Loire Brut NV ($17, sample, 12.5%): Professionally made bubbly from France’s Loire, with the telltale chenin blanc lemon fruit and hint of softness. Tight, poppy bubbles and just enough acidity. Imported by Signature Imports

More on New Year’s sparkling wine
• New Year’s sparkling wine 2018
• New Year’s sparkling wine 2017
• New Year’s sparkling wine 2016
• Expensive wine 125: Two Bruno Paillard Champagnes
• Do consumers need to start worrying about flat sparkling wine?

Wine of the week: Alain Brumont Rose 2018

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Alain Brumont RoseThe Alain Brumont rose, a Gascon pink, makes the WC smile and sip and then smile some more

First, there was the Brumont red blend. Then there was the Brumont white blend. And now we have the Alain Brumont rose.

Do you get the idea this producer knows a thing or two about great cheap wine?

The Alain Brumont rose ($10, purchased, 12.5%) is pink wine from France’s Gascony, and we all know how much the Wine Curmudgeon likes Gascon wine. Even more impressive, the Brumont is made with tannat, syrah, and merlot. If anyone had told me a wine made with those three grapes could be so fresh, they would have gotten one of my looks.

But the Brumont is fresh and interesting. It’s more fruity than most Provencal and Spanish roses (cherry, strawberry?) and more New World in style, thanks to those three red grapes. But it’s not heavy, it’s not overdone, and it’s cloying. Somehow, it’s clean and brisk, as rose should be.

Highly recommended, and just the thing for Christmas dinner for people who aren’t sure what to drink, who may not like wine, and for everyone who wants something different.

Imported by Kindred Vines

Christmas wine 2019

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

christmas wine 2019Four recommendations for Christmas wine 2019

Suggestions for Christmas wine 2019, whether for a last minute gift or for a holiday dinner. As always, keep our wine gift giving tips in mind — don’t overlook the blog’s 2019 holiday gift guide.

These will get you started:

• Sierra Cantabria Rosado 2018 ($12, purchased, 13%): This Spanish pink does all it should for the price — a little orangish red fruit and it’s stony and crisp, as well. It’s worth noting once again that Spanish rose is among the best values in the world when governments aren’t playing tariff games. Imported by Fine Estates from Spain

• Vinum Cellars Chenin Blanc CNW 2017 ($15, sample, 12.5%): This California white is exceptional, but I have no idea how much it costs — prices range from $10 to $17.  It’s just not well-made and varietally correct chenin (crisp, with lime and tropical fruit, but it’s a wonderful food wine. If you can find it for $15 or less, buy several.

• Juvé y Camps Brut Rose NV ($18, sample, 12.5%): This pink Spanish sparkler is a perennial favorite — always professional and enjoyable. This version is more cava-like (even though it’s made from pinot noir), so more tart red fruit. Highly recommended. Imported by Winebow

• Bonny Doon Clos de Gilroy 2018 ($16, purchased, 14%): This California red from Randall Grahm isn’t as grenache-y as past vintages — so less jammy fruit and more spice. It’s different and interesting, and a fine food wine. Plus, probably still a touch young.

More about Christmas wine:
• Christmas wine 2018
• Christmas wine 2017
• Christmas wine 2016
• Wine of the week: CVNE Rioja Cune Crianza 2015
• Expensive wine 126: Patricia Green Pinot Noir Reserve 2017

Photo: “time to bring out the good wine” by rockyradio is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 

 

Expensive wine 127: Charles Joguet Chinon Cuvée Terroir 2015

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Charles Joguet Chinon The Charles Joguet Chinon Cuvée Terroir demonstrates that French red wine is more than cabernet sauvigon and merlot

Red wine from Franc’s Loire is made with cabernet franc, which explains why most of us have never tasted red wine from France’s Loire. Which is too bad, given the quality of the Charles Joguet Chinon.

The Charles Joguet Chinon Cuvée Terroir ($25, purchased, 13%) is from Chinon in the Loire — not quite coastal, but close enough. That means a cooler climate and less fruity wine, though the Joguet doesn’t taste like that on first impression. But that’s what makes it such an interesting wine — it is fruity (black cherry?) at first. But that gives way to something more Chinon-like: that graphite, almost pencil lead quality that defines Old World cabernet franc, plus a sort of pine forest something or other.

Highly recommended. This is holiday food wine at an incomparable price, whether prime rib, roast salmon, or a vegetarian mushroom dish.

Imported by Kermit Lynch

Holiday wine gift guide 2019

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

holiday wine gift guide 2019

No, the Wine Curmudgeon is not suggesting anyone buy this wine workout Christmas tree ornament.

The Wine Curmudgeon holiday wine gift guide 2019 — great wine and even a wine coloring book

• Holiday wine trends 2019

The Wine Curmudgeon’s holiday wine gift guide 2019 offers practical, value-oriented, yet still fun gifts. What else would you expect after all these years?

Consider:

• This year’s collection of wine books was, sadly, a bit pretentious for the blog. But never fear: How about a wine coloring book? When Life Gets Complicated, I Wine ($13), with 12 colored pencils. Take that, wine snobs.

• The Edmunds St. John Bone-Jolly Gamay Noir 2018 ($29) is the current vintage of one of the best wines I have tasted in almost three decades of doing this. It’s a California wine made with the gamay grape in a region far, far off the tourist track. There usually isn’t much of it, so when I saw it on wine.com, it moved to the top of the holiday wish list. Highly recommended, and marvel at how this wine reflects the berry fruit of the gamay, as well as its terroir.

• Italy’s white wines are too often overlooked, and especially those made with the arneis grape. The Vetti Roero Arneis 2018 ($22) is one such example — almost nutty, with wonderful floral aromas and the soft, citrusy flavors. Drink it on its own, or with holiday seafood or poultry. Highly recommended.

• The Repour Wine Saver ($9 for a 4-pack) is a single-use stopper that preserves leftover wine one bottle at a time. In this, I was surprised at how well it works, and it’s not as expensive as more complicated systems like the VacuVin.

• Wine-Opoly ($21), because why shouldn’t we try to take over the wine world just like Big Wine? No dog or iron playing pieces in this wine-centric version of Monopolyl rather, they are wine bottles.

More holiday wine gift guides:
• Holiday wine gift guide 2018
• Holiday wine gift guide 2017
• Holiday wine gift guide 2016