ScrewZoo

In addition to being famous for it’s wines, the Bordeaux region of France is also well known for it’s hype. Every vintage has to be spun in one way or another because in the wine biz, there are real estate prices, the economy and the bottom line. If you’ve read anything in the wine world in the last few months, you’ve of course read at least a bit of hype about the 2009 Bordeaux vintage. Perhaps your interest has been piqued or maybe you feel it’s all hype? Certainly, some of what has been said, particularly if it’s coming from a Chateaux, has to be hype. Follow the money. These folks have a vested interest in selling a lot of Bordeaux! Still, no one can argue that Bordeaux does not produce good wine and from time to time, spectacular vintages. When it comes to 2009, everything points towards a spectacular, classic vintage that will be highly collectible. This is going to be a highly valued vintage which will be compared not only to 2000, ’82 but even ’61. Both the Left Bank districts of Margaux, St. Julien, Pauillac and St. Estephe and Right  Bank’s Pomerol and St. Emilion have vast potential for some truly classic wines, particularly with the reds which have been promised to have complex tannic  structure with great balance.

Already, pre-ordering is taking place for wines expected to deliver sometime between 2011 and 2013. As always, I like to balance potential with VALUE! One could go crazy with their own excitement and hype about a vintage with this kind of potential. Luckily there is a little time to think about what makes the most sense for the budget minded collector or taster. Some possible highlights for myself include:

2009 Lilian Ladouys, St. Estephe at around $20

2009 Poujeaux, Moulis at around $30

2009 Tour Maillet, Pomerol at around $30

2009 Reserve de la Comtesse Lalande, Pauillac at around $40

2009 Malescot-St-Exupery, Margaux at around $110

They’ve all received excellent ratings from the usual experts and since I wasn’t able go Bordeaux for the barrel tastings this year, it’s about what I have to go on. Perhaps it there will be some hype and disappointment involved, however, life is not without risk and with Bordeaux, certainly not without pleasure.

What are your picks for the 2009 vintage? Or will you pass?

So, here is another nice cab that can be picked up for under $10 on a fairly regular basis. I think Wine Spectator or one of those gave it a 90 point rating. Fine. I suppose it deserves that. I think it tastes great ( reminds me of the guy from Sideways, “Tastes pretty good to me!”) and represents a very high value for under $10. Compared to some of the crap wines over $20 I’ve had, it really rocks. It makes me wonder though how a bottle like this might age. You know those Napa cabs they give ranged ratings to like “RP 94-96″ which shall be perfect in 15 years. I mean, how do they do that??

Better hurry though. I went to Trader Joe’s just the other day and noticed (gasp) that the 2008 had showed up. I’m afraid to try it. Some chick was looking at me weird when I removed half the bottles on the shelf to get to the remaining bottles of 2007 towards the back. One bottle left for me. I guess I’ll save it for a few years and see how it does age. In the mean time, I’ll keep on the look out for any stray bottles of 2007 still lurking on the back of shelves.

Cheers!

So, recently I’ve had some good luck in the budget wine department and a few failures along the way.Let’s talk about Bogle. One of my best discoveries, made during a nice 2 month 30% OFF SALE at Safeway, was the 2007 Bogle Petit Sirah. It’s a really nice wine and considering that I was getting it for under $7, it was a steal. I bought several bottles. Bogle is all around a great producer. Their old vine Zinfandel is pretty nice. Not the greatest zin in the world but then again, under $10. Now, the 90 point 2007 Bogle Cabernet Sauvignon is a real bargain. I picked that up at TRADER JOE’S. I haven’t been all that excited about TJ’s as of late for the wine dept. but I was able to pick up this nice Cab for under $10. I’ll be going back for more. Oh, and I almost forgot that the Chardonnay is quite nice as well. I’m not the biggest white wine buff in the world and I’ve certainly had better (think Costco 90pt. New Zealand Chard for under $10), but the Bogle Chardonnay is   a bright and zesty fruitfest worth the $10 price tag.

Recently, I went to an Oscar party and they had this great Italian red which I loved very much but I was so stoned on the blueberry vodka martinis (think Avatar), I didn’t catch the maker. I bought what I THOUGHT was the right wine at Trader Joe’s based on the label and found I was sorely mistaken. It either got poured into the cooking wine bottle or down the drain, I can’t remember which. Another big mistake was trying the 2000 whatever year Yellowtail Shiraz. UGh! Now that has to be the worst wine I’ve had in quite sometime. Poof! Down the drain with it. I swear, I tasted wet dog AND burned tires. Not going there again.

Back to the success column. Costco has been carrying a lot of nice 90 pt. or high 80′s wines under $10. Specifically, they carry a 2005 Argentinian Malbec that Robert Parker rated 90 pts for $8.99. It’s called Valle Las Acequias and in my opinion represents one of the best values in wine commonly available today. It’s bold and has a lot of spice and pepper flavors. It’s my current favorite for sure. Also good is the 2006 Parducci Petit Sirah. 90 pts from Wine Enthusiast. If you love a dry Petite Sirah, this wine is for you. To beat all, it’s organic, sustainable and family farmed for under $10.

There you go. A lot to choose from for the red wine lover! Enjoy!

I recently picked up a bottle of The Watusi Zinfandel from Cost Plus. This was a nicely packaged California Zin for under $6. Very decent! I’ll be sure to pick up a few more bottles at this price and hope for more in years to come from this vinyard.

I love wine, but like many people, can’t afford to drink a $20 + or $50 or $100 + bottle on a regular basis. I like to drink wine every night! Studies show that a moderate drinker (4 drinks or less) actually enjoys an 18% LESS chance of dying of any given cause if they have strong social support for their moderate habit. Please note, anything more than 4 is considered heavy drinking and those folks sport an 18% GREATER chance of dying of any given cause, so, be moderate!

Up to 4 five ounce glasses of wine per evening is good for your health, but in this economy, is tough on the pocket book. To this end, I’ve decided to search out the best wines under $6. Some will only be available on sale at this price or special deals in bulk. For example, Safeway almost always has a 10% off deal on 6 bottles of wine or spirits, mix and match and occasionally, Cost Plus will have a special price on 12 or more bottles.

I really wanted to make the list Best Wines under $5, but it’s really tough! Whenever possible, I will include wines under $5 on this list.

The Wines:

Columbia Crest Two Vines

Recently, my wife heard a nice piece on NPR regarding inexpensive wines and the Columbia Crest Two Vines line was mentioned as a definite winner in the best wines under $10 category. I like the Cabernet Savignon very much and was able to procure that and the whole line for $4.40 a bottle at Safeway on a 6 pack price. Great wine for under $4.50!! I’ve tried the Merlot as well and it’s pretty good.

The Watusi Zinfandel

I recently shopped Cost Plus for under $5 and didn’t really find more than 1 or 2 that didn’t require a special membership. The membership is worth it and doesn’t cost anything by the way. Anyhow, nothing I was willing to gamble on, based on intuition but they had plenty of good wines under $6. I settled on The Watusi Zinfandel by The Watusi Vinyards in Sonoma county California. Wow, I was surprised. This vinyard has no presence at all and yet, here they are in Cost Plus for about $5.70 or so. I think I’ll pick up a few bottles before they run out and this one disappears. With the lack of presence, I doubt I’ll see them again anywhere. Too bad, what a GREAT Zin!!! It’s different than, but rivals Ravenswood Zin. So there!

I’ll keep adding to the list here as I go along trying both the good and bad in the under $6 range.

I recently got to enjoy two or three of these nice bottles of Chateau Vielle tour La Roche 2007, a Bordeaux I picked up from Trader Joes. Very reasonable at under $6. I’ve heard it said that, particularly with French Wines it’s either under $6 or over $20 for a good one. Well, The Chateau Vielle tour La Roche is a winner!  It’s really rich and an excellent value.

Unfortunatly, all good things come to an end with such limited releases. I returned to Trader Joe’s for more of the same and found that it was all over. I really hope next year (2008) will bring another good year of this beautiful bargain Bordeaux.