Jason’s Wine Blog

Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “The aromatics of this wine are tropical with mango, passion fruit and apricot fruit notes. The palate is concentrated with stone fruit, ripe Fuji apple and Bartlett pear notes intermingled with honeycomb, petrol, wet stone and mineral flavors. These old vine Rieslings have great capacity to age attractively, in this case into 2010 and possibly beyond.

This Riesling is an excellent food wine. Try it with a John Dory filet in parchment with truffled mashed potatoes and haricot vert. The bright acidity of the wine with spicey bouillabaisse seafood stew, Kumamoto oysters on the half shell with a Champagne mignonette, or refreshing grapefruit and mint salad, is a perfect midsummer, poolside combination.

Most of Australia’s wine is produced in the south-eastern region of the country, an area which, like California, boasts considerable geographic and climatic diversity. It is well known that the Central Goulburn of Victoria area produces an excellent Riesling. Flavors born in the high altitude vineyards of the Adelaide hills, the cool coastal climate of Tasmania, and the deep granitic soils of the Strathbogie Ranges contribute to the distinct characters that gives these wines an international appeal.”

What I Think:

This wine was made for blogging, check out the link above and you’ll see what I mean. Tasting notes, bottle shots and the podcast all linked directly to the wine. That is usability I had never before come across on a winery website. I’m already ready to buy another bottle. The interest continued when I found on the site that Don Sebastiani & Son’s are responsible for this wine under their Three Loose Screws label. This was surprising given that this is an Australian offering.

Unfortunately much of my interest in this bottle ended about here. While the wine was quaffable it certainly didn’t distinguish itself. At times it tasted like Sauvignon Blanc and others just any generic white, I struggled to constantly remind myself that this was suppose to be a Riesling. I’ll be sticking to my favorite German offering but perhaps I’ll give another one of the Kono Baru offerings a try at some point.

Rating: Skip It

Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by L. Watson Inc.

What They Said:

Per Purple Liquid on the 2003: “The wine is produced by Damianitza, a winery established in 1940 and located in the Struma river valley in Southwest Bulgaria. The Struma river valley is a warm and dry region with hilly terrains of volcanic origin, maybe one of the best wine regions in the country. The 2003 No Man’s Land Silver Label is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. It had a dark color and a mix of herbal and dark fruit scents on the nose. On the palate, it was medium-bodied and bone dry (we were afraid it would be sweet). The wine worked nicely with our grilled lamb chops and tasted better served slightly chilled.”

What I Think:

This is my second experience with wine from Bulgaria. The first one was interesting but not worth repeating. But when I saw this Bordeaux type blend (69% Merlot, 31% Cab) I decided to grab it. While this was again interesting I am now convinced that in Bulgaria when they say dry they mean dry! This wine showed some nice fruit and some cloves on the nose but they quickly disappeared on the palate and left me smacking my tongue… 0-2. Wonder what will happen next time I see one!

Rating: Skip It

Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Santini Fine Wines

What They Said:

Per corkd.com, via my fellow amateurs as no professional input is available: “Aficionados of dry Chianti may stop reading now, assuming any actually are. Which I doubt. Anyway, this inexpensive Trader Joe’s offering most likely won’t win any awards, but it certainly is a pleasant, easily-drinkable wine. I served it with a pleasant, easily-eatable meal, which was a pleasant and easily-enjoyable experience for my family. The nose has some blackberry and pepper, maybe a little anise, which went well with the fennel in the meal. The taste is at first grapey and slightly fruity-sweet; the finish more tannic and peppery. I like it a lot, but if you read my other reviews, you’ll find that I tend to like nearly EVERYTHING.”

What I Think:

After enjoying a few bottles of the Toscana I thought I would give this Chianti a go to see if it could match the performance. Alas, no was the answer. It wasn’t all that far off. At the end of the day this wine ending up coming off as thin or better said short on fruit. Not bad, but not worth trying unless you love Chianti. Otherwise grab the Toscana or try one of these Epicuro offerings.

Rating: Skip It

Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Cumulus Wines

What They Said:

Per Wine Warehouse’s Wine Blog “2005 was an ideal growing season for the Block 50 Shiraz as it was characterized by low crops in a warm, dry year. The fruit for this wine was sourced from two prime blocks, one with limestone soil and the other an elevated section with stony, red soil. The grape crop was kept low at around 2.5 tons per acre, which tends to intensify the grape’s flavor. Harvest was in the middle of March. At that time, the grapes showed ample acidity and balance, capturing plum like flavors and avoiding any overripe characteristics. This Shiraz macerated on its skins for 5 -10 days to gently extract fine grape tannins. A small portion was taken off skins and transferred to American oak barrels for 12 months for maturation.

The Block 50 Shiraz displays aromas of attractive dark berry fruit with a hint of white pepper. On the palate one can find deep and rich plum and blueberry characters that combine to exhibit a rich and vibrant fruit core with a solid vanilla compote component at the finish.”

What I Think:

Obviously we all know TJ’s delivers tremendous value but I continue to be amazed whenever I see the details. Per the post above this wine is suppose to retail at $14 and at warehouse pricing you get it for $9. TJ’s $6… Interestingly I have heard much about Stelvin’s (also mentioned above) as a seal enclosure but never knew it was just a plain old screw top. That reminded me of the great debate in the wind field regarding corks and screw tops. A conversation for another day…

When searching for this one I used the tools mentioned in my Wine Search Engine post. Google was the clear winner here tracking down the above, the rest really had nothing to offer. Great find as when I was doing the research for the Chasing Clouds I had considerable difficulty. The winery website mentions neither this Block 50 label or the Chasing Clouds. Nor does the post referred to above. That leads me to believe that perhaps these vineyards are too young to make the wines described on the winery website in mass. Perhaps these are dumped but not relabeled to another winery… Now onto the wine…

To make it quick the Chasing Clouds was better at half the cost. This had much more acid on the forefront of that palate. This overshadowed the fruit that tried to make its way through and resulted in something that almost ended up tasting carbonated. Perhaps I’ll like that sparkling shiraz I have waiting in the rack but for now I’ll stick to the Chasing Clouds…

Price: $2.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Classic Wines of California

What They Said:

Per Tom & Melody “This Barrio La Boca Malbec 2006 is a pearly, opalescent purple in the glass and a fresh and spicy nose reminiscent of cherries and cured meats. It is a dry and tannic, yet quite fruity. The wine has a sharp mouth feel with a smooth finish on the palate. The taste is plums, vanilla, and cherries. The finish is chocolate-covered cherries.”

What I Think:

Enjoying the Pascual Toso a little too much I decided to save the rest for another day and pop this one. Expectations were low as I grabbed the Cabernet Sauvignon from the same label a few weeks back.  I grabbed this one just to ensure I was doing my due diligence for my readers.  After all Argentina is known for value Malbec’s.  Maybe this could be the super value.

And survey says….No! Not much to like here. Nothing but acid on the nose and the same follows on the palate. The next night I tried it with some food and it was a bit better. Oddly on night three it started to show something, not much…but something. Certainly not enough to buy another bottle but just enough to miss the dreaded “Avoid It” label.

Rating: Skip It

Price: $8.99 @ K&L Wines imported by Trilussa Wine Company

What They Said:

Per K&L Wines “With a super fragrant nose exploding with fresh nectarine, grassy notes, sage, rosemary and lime, this 100% Vermentino aged in stainless steel is crisp and refreshing, loaded with citrus and hints of peach. This is an outstanding effort at an incredibly affordable price.”

What I Think:

A white from Tuscany the Vermentino grape is suppose to be a late ripening grape which would lead you to believe it may be a sweeter bottling. Not the case, it was much more towards the lighter, crisper side. The nose was fragrant with melons and lemon showing predominately. On the palate cantaloupe came to the fore. Though worth the try if you have the inclination if you’re going to grab an unheard of white I would strongly recommend you grab this Mesache Blanco instead.

Rating: Skip It

Price: $2.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Classic Wines of California

What They Said:

Not a word, guess I’ll be the authority on this one…

What I Think:

The first 2007 of the year! I couldn’t help but take a flier. Before everyone gets to excited yes I know Beaujolais was out last November, not a fan, sorry! Named after the home of the Tango you may think this is from Buenos Aries but it is indeed from Mendoza. After my favorable experience with the Bonarda I was open to trying another little known bottle from Mendoza. Unfortunately, this one disappointed. I could taste them trying to get the stems and greenness out of the bottle. Alas, it didn’t help. I know it was only $3 and perhaps the Malbec was better but at this price point I’ll spend the extra $2 for this Chalk Creek. If you want to stay at the same price point perhaps this JW Morris makes sense. I enjoyed their Gewurzt.

Rating: Skip It

Price: $7.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per wine.com on the 2006 Cline Zinfandel: “As always, the California Zinfandel is a challenging and rewarding wine to produce. Severe selection criteria and master blending show in the final product, which showcases a wide array of dark berry fruit including black cherry and raspberry. Additionally, spice notes and a lasting finish of vanilla from oak aging and firm, supple tannins add complexity to this wine. This wine is ready to drink now and will continue to develop complexity over the next three to four years.”

What I Think:

Oh the history with this wine. I’ve only been at this for ten years or so but I remember the first wine I fell for was a Blackstone Cab. Around 2001 when I moved past that one this Cline Zinfandel was my next love. I had a roommate at the time and if I recall correctly we went through 3 to 4 cases in the year we lived together. Within that kind of nostalgia you can understand that I may have a predisposition to give this one the benefit of the doubt. This one was minty with dark fruit running on overtones of oakish barrel flavors. Nice and flavorful but not what I was hoping for.

Back in the good old days when I started shopping TJ’s wine, Zin was the way to go. My all time favorite was a Pepperwood Grove Zin that could be had for $4 ($1.25 on closeout, bought 6 cases). At the time, the pickings were plentiful. No longer as Zin at favorable prices have been hard to come by. Given the current offerings I’ll take my chances with the current vintage of the Rocking Horse over this as I enjoyed the ’02. This one had 12th bottle potential and you could give a go. Personally at this price point I’ll spend my money elsewhere.

Rating: Skip It

Price: $6.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “Rich and Velvety with incredibly deep cherry and blackberry fruit. Substantial concentration long and turning spicy on the finish. Not to heavy; smooth and appealing now. But will only get better with age.”

What I Think:

This one appealed to me as it was from an unheard of, at least for me, region of Oregon and I am always anxious to try something new. After the first sip I find it a study in contrast; both fruity and dry at the same time. The wine has some staying power and lingers on nicely. Still can’t put my finger on this one after two bottles. Perhaps I’ll try a third. If you’re up for something new give it a go. Otherwise stick to TJ’s Top 10 Wines of January 2008 which this did not make.

Rating: 12th Bottle

Price: $6.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “Fragrances of crème brulee, pears and iris blossom tantalize your nose while rich creamy butterscotch coats the palate. This crisp Chardonnay finishes with spice, vanilla bean and hints of chamomile.”

What I Think:

Not sure why I bought this one. I am on the record as not liking Chardonnay. That said I’ve had some red wines from this label that I did enjoy so thought I would give it a try. Mistake! California Chardonnay, 99% of the time, is exactly what I expect it or be. Either too buttery or barrelly. This one on the side of oak. Not for me but if you are a Chard fan feel free to give it a go!

Rating: Skip It