Jason’s Wine Blog

Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Plume Ridge Wine Negotiants

What They Said:

Per FrenchWineGift.com, on the ‘06, “Château des Cléons is located in the Loire Valley, close to the city of Nantes and the Atlantic Ocean. It is a dry white wine made of 100% Melon de Bourgogne. As its name implies, this is a variety which was imported (expelled might be a better term) from the vineyard of Burgundy. Most Muscadet is sold as Muscadet de Sèvres et Maine. It is produced on the gently hilly banks of the Sèvres and Maine rivers, two tributaries of the Loire. Château des Cléons is a Muscadet sur Lie, meaning that the wine is matured on the lees, and bottled straight from the barrel.

Château des Cléons has a light yellow color with green nuances. It has a subtle and complex nose with citrus aromas. In the mouth it is aromatic and intense with a long finish. Enjoy it with fish, seafood or on its own. It should be drunk young.”

What I Think:

Always willing to give a new varietal a try I grabbed this one off the shelf. Half the fun of these bottles is learning more about the grape. Melon de Bourgogne is so associated with this popular appellation of the western Loire that the grape itself is often known as Muscadet. As mentioned above this grape originated in Burgundy where it was found to be a nuisance and thus ordered destroyed. This led to its reappearance in the Muscadet. Other items of interest include this wine being made by the Lacheteau family. This is of note because I have seen bottlings at Trader Joe’s bearing this name. Also “Sur Lie” means aged on the skins.

Now as for the wine itself, I think we have a winner. A week or so before having this one I had a similar offering from K&L Wines. This one compared very well. To describe it in a nutshell it was light, surprisingly crisp and refreshing. A nice dry, tart beginning gives way to a nice long lemon, citrusy finish. This is a perfect bottle for a summer picnic or barbecue. Another great Trader Joe’s wine find!

Rating: Buy It

Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Americal Beverage Group

What They Said:

Per Wine Enthusiast “An enjoyable bubbly with good creamy froth, white peach, mineral and hard candy tones that are nicely balanced and spread throughout. It has a thick consistency and a snappy, crisp close.”

What I Think:

My second endeavor into the bubbly section at Trader Joe’s. The first time I grabbed a Sekt, now a Prosecco and I also have a Cava in the fridge now. Guess I should grab one from France next time! As for Prosecco, raise your hand if you knew that was a grape… That is only one of the interesting things I learned in this brief Wikipedia article. I also learned that this grape is grown in northern Italy and often used to make Asti. That give anyone else flashbacks to high school or just me?

Could this wine be any smoother? Wilder on Wine calls it easy-going. I couldn’t agree more. The wine is frothy in the glass and shows floral aromas with hints of citrus on the nose. On the palate you are greeted by what other than bubbles, not much fruit to be found as this one is dry throughout. Towards the end it shows traces of mineral that disappear as fast as they arrive. The finish is very clean, nothing lingers on.

As much as I would like to compare this to the Sekt I cannot. They don’t share much in common beyond the bubbles. Oh yeah, that and the fact that I will be buying more of both of them!

Rating: Buy It

Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per uncork29.com “A couple weeks back while out doing some shopping, we happened upon a relatively new offering from the The Hess Group, which operates one of our favorite wineries here in the valley–The Hess Collection up on beautiful Mount Veeder. It seems as though the 2005 vintage produced a lot of Cabernet Sauvignon, some excess as it were, which Hess has turned into its $6 XS Red 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon. Never one to pass up trying something new, we bought a bottle and gave it a shot with our homemade pizza. At 13.5% alcohol, the wine was soft on the nose and very fruit forward on the palate. We got hints of plum, blackberry and bell pepper and found it to have a somewhat disappointing finish. All told though, for six bucks you can’t really go wrong with the XS Red for any everyday table wine type-deal”

What I Think:

As mentioned I got the inside scoop on this one from the good people over at letsgokings.com and headed out to track it down. Nearby we have a Trader Joe’s and Cost Plus next door to each either. Upon arrival I ran into Cost Plus to check some things out and as always ended up taking a look at the wine. Low and behold saw this bottle for $5.99. I was on my way to Trader Joe’s next but given that I had my 2 year old son with me I wasn’t coming back to get this one if they didn’t have it next door. So I forked over the $6 just in case. Get next door, they have it, $3.99. I don’t know about you but if I am working at Cost Plus I am taking this bottle out of peoples’ hands and sending them next door. I couldn’t live with that on my conscience. Again I ask, Trader Joe’s how do you do it!

Shortly after I get it home I twist off the screw cap and am greeted with green pepper aromas on the nose. This triggers warning bells for me. In my uneducated mind I attribute this two ways. To fresh wine that has been bottled recently and needs to settle. Or to wine that is just not good. Given the results that follow we know this is indeed a worthwhile effort so “fresh” must be the correct answer in this case. On the palate the wine is fruit forward, but not in an overpowering way which is so often typical in lower priced offerings to hide all of the other flaws. Flavors of plum and dark currant were laid over heavy barrel notes leading to a smoky, spicy finish with just a tinge of green pepper. On day 2, the green pepper was gone from both the nose and the finish making it even that much more pleasant. This wine is very straight forward, a perfect quaffer. Only one question remains, is this declassified juice from the Hess Collection better than the $2.99 Red Flyer offering from Hahn Estates. That is a question I will be happy to answer for you. In the meantime grab a bottle of each and let me know what you think!

Rating: Buy It

Price: $4.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Mutual Wholesale Liquor

What They Said:

Per Good Wine Under $20 “Bright and floral, this wine was almost as translucent and colorless as water. It had a modest apple aroma, and when the wine was poured in the glass there was an alarming amount of froth (ok, mousse for the geeks out there). Usually wines with lots of froth/mousse the bubbles are big and harsh, but the Schloss Biebrich bubbles were smooth and small. On the palate, there wasn’t a harsh or bitter note, just warm pears flavors and a lingering impression of flowers on the finish.”

What I Think:

On request I decided to give a sparkler a try. After finding it on Good Wine Under $20 I felt quite lucky after more or less randomly pulling this one off the shelves at Trader Joe’s. Reading the review there I learned a lot about Sekt. Never would have guessed Germany consumed the most sparkling wine of any country in the world. I tried to find out what grape this was made of to no avail. Dr. Debs is guessing Riesling so I will get on that bandwagon. Another interesting fact, per all of my friends at wikipedia, is that most Sekt is made partially of grapes from outside the country. As Sekt made exclusively from German grapes can be labeled as Deutscher Sekt I think it is safe to guess this bottling is among those containing foreign grapes.

Now on to the main event, the color on this one is very light…could I guess a color? Almost clear, I guess I would say platinum. Subdued at first on the nose, then crisp white fruit aromas appear, seems to be mostly pear with hints of apples and peaches. Doesn’t look to bubbly in the glass but seems to be popping in the mouth. The palate starts full and rich, towards the middle the bubbles kick in full force. I mean more bubbles than I have ever experienced.  The finish is light and crisp, a hint tart almost similar to a Sauvignon Blanc. This was not overly sweet, like some German Rieslings, which is what I was expecting. An excellent value! I usually only have sparklers as an aperitif. Next time I try this one I think I’ll do so with an Indian or Thai dish and see how that goes…

By the way, if you are like me and rarely drink sparkling wine there is more good news. After opening this one I put the original cork back in for a week and it held just fine. In fact today is day 9 and it is still drinking fine. Enjoy!

Anyone else have a request before I buy another bottle of sparkling?

Rating: Buy It

Price: $6.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

nothing here for you other than the tasting notes for the 2002, this ‘01 appears to be non-existent or disowned by the winery…

What I Think:

You are probably saying the same thing that I was, a Nebbiolo at Trader Joe’s? From California? For $7? Aren’t those supposed to be from Italy and cost a fortune? What in the world? Aw heck! I might as well give it a try. If for nothing else for novelties sake. That is a glance at what went on in my head for about 10 seconds before this bottle ended up in my cart. Some initial research showed that the winery was selling the 2000 on their site for $15 and the 2002 for $22 (but $99 a case) so my guess was that they were having a hard time moving these wines. A few days later a York Mountain Viognier showed up as well as a Matador Rose from this same winery so guessing that was the case.

Now onto the main event! This is a nice effort and enjoyable for its uniqueness above all else. That said I would guess this is strikingly new world in style. Given my lack of experience with Nebbiolo I don’t have much to base that on other than that I was expecting a more complex, tannic offering rather than a straight forward drinker that went down without even tickling the throat. I found an interesting post comparing drinking the ‘03 vintage of this one side by side with an Italian version here. Sadly this has disappeared since I grabbed this bottle as I would surely do so again. It would be fun to give to my friend who enjoys high-priced Nebbiolo as a blind gift to see what he thinks. Alas, doesn’t look like that is going to happen as this already appears to be gone.  Should it reappear I surely would give it a spot it in my Top 10 list. If you see this first grab a bottle for yourself, then let me know!

Rating: Buy It

Price: $4.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “Take a sip, and the velvety-smooth body caresses your palate as flavors tumble over one another in succession – strawberry, black cherry, plum, blueberries, licorice, white pepper, leather – continuing on to an extra-long finish. Down, boy! Base Camp Syrah goes out of its way to make friends with all kinds of food. With its mineral-fresh, lively acidity, it plays well with creamy cheese, pasta, roasted chicken, red meat and exotic, spicy dishes, like a Moroccan lamb stew.”

What I Think:

As mentioned with the Zinfandel it again appears Trader Joe’s is selling at $15 bottle of wine for $5. Unlike the Zin, this one seems to be worth the price of admission!

The start was a bit rocky as the nose was muted to non-existent on night one. From there it was all upside. Nice dark fruit as it enters the mouth intermingled with earthy notes. As a bonus, I was even able to find varietal characteristics as it showed some mint mid-palate. That gives way to spice that lingers on through a velvety finish. A pleasant surprise, as the Zin drastically lowered my expectations. I’ll be grabbing another bottle or two of this one.

Rating: Buy It

Price: $2.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “This secret blend of Syrah, Mouvedre, Grenache, Carignan, and Clone X is blended in the tradition of the French Rhone wines. Clone X, the secret ingredient, was smuggled from outer space in the hyperbolic chamber of one of the forward thinking grays.”

Also from TJ’s Fearless Flyer, “It’s a Rhone Style Red that’s made for us by Hahn Winery. It features vibrant pepper and spice with bright red fruit and well balanced acidity.”

What I Think:

A ton of intrigue here starting with one of the most curious web sites I have ever seen for a wine. Take a look for yourself! The Rhone blend is certainly interesting, never seen anything like it, it even includes some Durif which I had to look up to determine was equal to Petite Sirah. Certain this was a Trader Joe’s exclusive given the Fearless Flyer selection (why isn’t this on the web so I can link to it!) I was surprised to learn this was not a TJ’s only bottling. A quick web search showed this pricing out in the $8-$9 range here and here. How can TJ’s possibly sell this at $3…and how could anyone pay triple that… Mysteries upon mysteries!

With the wine open would they continue? They certainly would as this wine was concocted in the lab. Not an ounce of vineyard or terroir here, this wine tastes manufactured. That said, as much as I want to hold that against it, I can’t bring myself to do so. This is a big, overtop the wine. Guessing that even those that don’t care for wine might like something like this. It showed loads of fruit up front with pepper and spice intermingling towards the mid-palate leading to a pleasant finish. While not great, this is a magnificent one to have around the house to open after everyone has had a glass or two! At $3 it is hard to go wrong…

Also some more coverage in the blogsphere from justagrape.com, Wine Tastings and World Wine Weblog.

Rating: Buy It

Price: $8.99 @ Cost Plus imported by Negociants Napa

What They Said:

Per the winery “This wine is deep purple red in colour with the nose showing initial aromas of violets and sweet berry fruits, messed with the subtle fragrance of apricot and musk. The palate is stylish and approachable, showing sweet berry mid palate fruits with a soft even texture and fine tannin finish.”

What I Think:

I know I promised to get to this one soon after drinking the ’04 but alas, eleven months later I am finally delivering. Back then freshly returned from my vacation in Australia I was somewhat let down on the price ($14) and the bottle itself. On a positive note I did learn some lessons on pairing Shiraz with that bottling that are detailed in the previous post.

Given I’ve had the ’04 and I have notes this offers an interesting opportunity to look at a vertical. The winemaker is the same and I have the statistics on hand. Before looking I would expect this version to be much more acidic. And survey says…

Not sure if the difference in Total Acid is significant or not. Also not sure how the Total Acid relates to pH which from my pre-med days I recall as a measure of acid as well. Time for some additional research so stay tuned! Anyhow, happily with the ’05, which is the vintage I was drinking when I was down under, the world has righted itself. At $9 this wine has a lot to offer!

Following my pairing rule we pulled the cork on this one with Filet on the table. This bottle is 94% Shiraz/6% Viognier. In the glass it looks light, ruby but almost effervescent. On the nose you get some floral aromas, from the Viognier which I had a hard time identifying in the ’04 bottling. A bit of dark fruit on the palate before the Viognier takes over leading to a bit of a racy finish with just a hint of sourness. All in all very enjoyable. With the ’06 out I’ll look to continue this experiment. I’ll have to find it…92% Shiraz/8% Viognier. Hopefully it will take me less than 11 months!

Rating: Buy It

Price: $6.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per wine.com “Jean Pierre and Francois Perrin have taken particular care that this Cotes du Rhone meets their stringent standards of excellence. As proprietors of Chateau de Beaucastel in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the Perrin family has demonstrated exceptionally high standards for nearly a century.

The Rouge originates from a significant portion of the Perrin’s own vineyards, including those at Château Grand Prebois. Produced from 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 20% Mourvèdre, some of which are flash-heated using the same methods as those at Château de Beaucastel, the fruit is rich and jammy with peppery spice, concentration and intensity.”

What I Think:

This one was also written up on quaffability which encouraged me to finally give it a go after looking at it luke-warmly for so long…We have a typical Rhone GSM blend here (60/20/20) with light fruit on the nose followed by loads of spice and pepper. On the palate you get some cherry and blackberry before the spice takes over midway and merges into woody/barrel flavors for a finish. The last Rhone I’ve had from TJ’s was this Les Moirets from the same vintage. Which do I prefer? Not sure but both are nice. Next time I hit the store I’ll grab them both for a side by side tasting. Then I can definitively select a winner! Anyone out there have an opinion on which is better?

Rating: Buy It

Price: $4.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “The aromas of this wine are reminiscent of baked apples. The smooth mouthfeel brings forward fruit flavors of apples, pineapple and lemon peel, which are highlighted by toasty oak and vanilla characteristics that lead to a silky finish. Our Coastal Chardonnay is a wonderful companion to a wide variety of foods. Try it with stuffed pork chops, lemon herb chicken, pasta Alfredo or sea scallops prepared in just about any fashion.”

What I Think:

I grabbed this one because I read positive coverage about it somewhere in the websphere but can’t find it now for the life of me. On the nose I could tell this one has some potential as I could actually smell something besides just barrel. On the palate the wine was nice and crisp with barely a hint of that buttery, barrel taste that is so typical of California Chardonnay. As for the fruit the majority seemed to be apples that settled nicely on top of a tangy, minerally backbone that lead to a toasty finish. As you may know I am not a huge Chard fan (but keep trying to be) so it is nice to be pleasantly surprised. A perfect companion for the crab cakes that were on the table and a bottle that will be sure to find its way to my house again!

Rating: Buy It