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Imported by International Cellars, Gonzales, CA |
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 2001
Palandri
Western Australia Shiraz, $10.99, 13.5% alc.: The vendor who brought
this sturdy little number to my attention was quite frank about the
pricing; it’s normally a $15-16 wine, but needs to move to make way for
a newer vintage. While that might indicate an inferior wine, such is not
the case here, as it has some real depth and maturity, and offers
excellent value for relatively few dollars. Dark garnet in color, with
dark plums and berries on the nose, shaded with subtle earth, tar and a
wee hint of chocolate; flavors echo more or less, with notes of leather
and root beer cola morphing out of the chocolate. With medium to medium
full body, good structure and length, this is no gobby Oz fruit and
oak bomb, but rather a balanced Shiraz that shows traits as much
reminiscent of its brethren from southern France as from Australia, and
in that regard, begs for something lamb-like on the grill, whether it be
a leg impregnated with garlic and rosemary or just some medium rare lamb
burgers, which, if you’ve never had them, are really good! Find this wine Imported by Marie Brizard USA, Bardstown, KY ~~~~~~  2004 Vina Antigua
Sangiovese – Bonarda Maipu, $5.49, 12.4% alc.: It seems like I’m
tasting another new batch of wines from Argentina every other week, and
many of them are pretty good. This dark garnet colored blend and the
following selection are good examples, and both are brought into the
country by QPR import specialist Dan Kravitz, of Hand Picked Selections,
who describes this producer thusly: “Viña Maipu is a profoundly
old-fashioned Argentine Bodega updating at a rapid pace. Carlos Aranda
Garcia’s winery is in Santa Blanca, 20 miles east of Mendoza, dusty
country far from the multinational modernity nearer the city. The winery
building is old but well equipped and well maintained. Several hundred
acres of vineyards stretch around it - mostly Sangiovese and Bonarda for
the entry level red, Viña Antigua - as close as we get to ‘Two Buck
Chuck’. Further west and higher up are several hundred more acres of
Cabernet, Malbec, Barbera and Chardonnay giving wines of nice quality at
lower than reasonable prices.” A no frills, bone dry, medium full to full bodied 50-50 blend of Sangiovese and Bonarda (a seemingly odd marriage of THE Tuscan red grape and a not-quite-obscure varietal from Piedmont that is actually the most widely planted red in Argentina), it features flavors and aromas reminiscent of black currant and blackberry shaded with notes of black olive and iodine. It has some structure to it, along with good concentration, giving more pleasure than one has any right to expect for five and a half bucks, and it’s a perfect match for Argentina’s national food, beef. Find this wine 2003 Vina Maipu Malbec, $7.49, 13.2% alc.: Bonarda may be the most widely planted red in Argentina, but perhaps no varietal is more widely associated with that country than Malbec, and this medium full bodied ruby garnet pays testimony to the fact that even the inexpensive ones can be quite tasty. Showing a judicious kiss of oak over black currant, blackberry and a hint of mahogany, it has good structure and length, is eminently drinkable right now, and, yes, it was made for beef. I can’t think of any red wines from anywhere in the world that we have access to hereabouts that show the kind of quality that both this and the Vina Antigua do for such modest prices. Find this wine Imported by Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, PA ~~~~~~ The wines of Mendocino County producer Girasole (pronounced Jeer-a-so-Lay), are not only organic, they’re Vegan, even the reds, with no egg-whites used in fining and sulfites under 100 parts per million. But their more universal selling point is that they’re tasty and they offer good value for the price tags. 2004 Girasole Mendocino Pinot Blanc, $11.99, 13.2% alc.: Pale straw color, with stingy aromatics; more generous in the mouth, with apple, melon and a little mineral on the finish. Nice fruit, but not really "fruit forward," with good cut and decent length, making a good match with a Michigan cherry salad and some chicken or seafood, served just about any way you like it. Find this wine 2004 Girasole Mendocino Chardonnay, $11.99, 13.5% alc.: This pale to medium straw colored Chardonnay saw stainless steel, rather than oak fermentation, and it shows in the clean apple, pear and hint o’ mineral personality; it has enough acidity to work, a decent finish and good varietal character. Pleasant and well made, from 45-year-old Wente clone vines. Find this wine
~~~~~~ A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to taste
through five wines from yet another producer from Argentina,
Valentin
Bianchi. To say that Bianchi’s Elsa line, named in honor of Valentin’s
wife, is value oriented is something of an understatement, since these
wines all over-deliver with regard to QPR (quality price ratio), and are
all good buys in the under $10 price range. 2004 Elsa Bianchi Barbera, $8.99, 13.7% alc.:
The color of India ink, with a kiss of sweet oak and a hint of dog
fur over ripe black fruit on the nose; the deep, dark earthy flavors
echo with good structure and a note of bittersweet chocolate as it
opens. My notes read “a heck of a lot of wine for the money,” and
that’s no lie. Find this wine
The reds all see the same general process, with the grapes being
hand-harvested and sorted twice; prior to maceration, 10%-20% of the
juice is bled off (saignee) the skins to increase the skin to juice
ratio. Following crushing and fermentation, the wine sees minimal oak
aging (French and American), followed by another month of bottle aging. In the meantime, don’t forget Rule # 1 of Bastardo’s Rules of Wine Acquisition: ALWAYS buy by the case! };^)> Reporting from Day-twah, Bastardo
Other Recent Wine Explorations Bastardo's Best Buys (Or Wines That Don't Suck) Wines of Domaine Berthet-Rayne
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2005
