EAST COAST PALATE

A tasty inexpensive blend from Spain's Jumilla region... It's earthy with deep fruit and leather aromas.  It has a strong finish and would go perfectly with Mediterranean cuisine, and a YouTube journey through the history of flamenco.  My friend Kristen shared this with me, and I saw it later at Metro Liquor near Adam's Morgan for about $10.  The MCS stands for Monastrell, Cabernet, and Syrah - the three varietals that make up this wine's composition.  I am finding more and more value  out of the south of Spain, and it's nice to have discovered this José Pastor selection wine.  Solid B score: 86-87 points.

Well, here is a wine to avoid on this day for lovers.  I admit, the label has some appeal, the name is corny, but it is one of those wines that you see around stores and they just pique your curiosity enough to make to spend the 9 bucks to find out what's on the inside of the bottle.
The look:  The wine has lightness and a pretty red hue, but with a Cabernet I want deep color; I want to be pulled in by dark mysterious shades of crimson.
The smell:  Some dark cherry and cola aromas with a weird rubbery odor that, even though subtle, distracted me from the soft fruity smells.
The taste: "meh"... Really poorly integrated oak, jammy flavors at first that give way to oak and more mediocrity.  This is a C wine and there are so many other bottles  out there that offer better quality at the same cost.
On a good note, I have tried the Malbec by Cupcake Vineyards and found it much more palatable.
Lovers of wine... winos in love... whoever you are, whomever you are with on this sunny Sunday, uncork some good times. 

So my dad now is a member of the WSJWine Discovery Club, which has great deals on wines and provides some interesting, educational literature about wine and everything that comes with the territory.  The best part about this club is the price for a case.  The one my dad just ordered cost $70, which, sans shipping, comes to just under six bucks a bottle.  Fantastic value that provides quality wines and a lot of info to back them up.  Check this out further at www.wsjwine.com.

This 2009 Sauvignon Blanc from Esk Valley is herbacious and delicious.  There are aromas ranging from lemon peel and starfruit to grassy fields and green peas.  The nose is fresh and vibrant, then that first sip goes down clean like water for a second before the tart zest emerges, bringing a nice structure to this wine.  I enjoy the unique, but not overly vegetative smell, as well.  This is a crisp, refreshing B+ bottle.  I'm wondering if there are other places around D.C. and MD to find it.  Google, here I come.
For all those that take time to enjoy white wines, what are your thoughts on wines that smell slightly like canned green peas?  Is that something immediately off-putting, or does the stink intrigue you like it does me?  Share your thoughts.

Last night I went down to YES! on Georgia Avenue to open a couple bottles of good wine out of Argentina's Mendoza region.  I always have fun doing this kind of thing because I can talk to a lot of people about wine, and often I'm able to try something new. 

The 2009 San Telmo Esencia Torrontes:  this grape varietal is indiginous to Argentina, and can produce a wine that often has tropical fruit, citrus, or floral aromas.  This particular bottle fit exactly that profile for me.  Smelling it, there's an orange blossom component that jumps out.  There's also some heat on the nose coming from the 13.5% alcohol content.  The wine has a zing to it, a bite that is slightly bitter, as if I were biting into a flower petal.  Simultaneously there is a lush feel that it creates in the mouth and the finish allows the flavors to linger quite a while.  This wine gets 87 points from me, and it costs $9... I will be drinking more of this wine in the future.
The 2008 Terrazas de los Andes Malbec ($10) has a very floral aroma, as if there were a bouquet of lilies near me while my nose was in the glass.  The wine has a beautiful deep purple color, and with the flowery smells, there are prune and cherry notes that lend to this wine's alomst sangria-like fruity aroma.  The body of the wine is light.  It's not very tannic, and the fruit and berry flavors come through immediately, leading into a floral finish.  I'd prefer a Malbec with more structure, a little more "umph" to it, but for ten bucks it's not a bad bottle to pick up to take to a party.  I'll rate this wine an 84.  It's tasty, but I think people who prefer bigger bolder wine will be bore by this one.

This Sangiovese brings an array of aromas: wood, dark fruit, and earthy mushrooms to name a few.  It has a fresh pop to it, as well, given the bright acidity.  That acidic tartness is typical of Sangiovese, which is the grape used to make Chianti.  This wine comes from a region outside of the Chianti appelation so it is just called Sangiovese.  The Chieti is a hilly, arid part of the country situated in the Abruzzo.  
This wine isn't as oaky as Chianti typically is, and I enjoy that.  Also the alcohol content is only 12%, so there isn't that nostril-stinging sensation as you smell the wine.  Its fruity and funky bouquet is balanced by that crisp acidity, and there's a pleasant finish.  Overall this bottle gets a high B (87 points).  As you can see, it's an $8 bottle, with a screwtop and all; but ultimately it's what's inside that counts.

So after my first sabrage I still needed to evaluate the wine.  I'm not sure if the manner in which I opened the bottle affected the wine's effervescence, but this bubbly has very sparse sparkling action.  It could almost pass for a still white wine.
This Cava has some nice aromas of apple, lemon and pear.  But there is an off burnt smell lurking beneath the yeasty aromas.  This comes through in the taste as a slightly bitter flavor.  It still has some toasty components, and a little lemon zest and peach fuzz flavors that I enjoy.  For me it is an 84 point, B Cava, but it will always be a good inexpensive bubbly... perfect for making mimosas or bellinis.  This is a good bottle to start a meal during the middle of the week, or to start brunch on the weekend.

My second stop of the evening was Barrel House liquors down on 14th st. NW.  I opened up three wines from one of Washington state's biggest producers, Columbia Crest. 
The 06 Chardonnay, 06 Cabernet Sauvignon, and 05 Shiraz were the samples being poured, offering a diverse range of flavors.  The Chardonnay was oaky, buttery, and for me a little bitter.  I really don't like it, even for $9.  The Shiraz and the Cabernet were both low B wines for me.  The Shiraz has that peppery spice with some jammy fruit leading the way in the flavor profile, but there isn't much structure or finish.  I liked the Cab a bit better.  It's a cherry dominated wine with some oaky aspects, but for me it was the smoothest and most balanced of the trio.  These two reds were also priced at $9. 
Having just returned from living in Walla Walla, WA, I'm familiar with the Columbia Crest label.  I'm also familiar with some of the higher quality wines that come out of the Pacific Northwest.  These are bottles to buy as alternatives to Yellowtail or Kendall Jackson, but they don't really represent the true depth and quality of many of the wines coming out of Washington's Columbia Valley.

This is not a white wine that many people know about yet.  If you like Sauvignon Blanc or Gruner Veltliner, give this wine a try.  If you haven't tried Gruner Veltliner yet, give THAT a try. 
This wine only boasts %9 alcohol, so the good part is you can drink even more!  It is light, almost watery in appearance.  The nose is mostly floral, with hints of oily petroleum coming through, as well.  There is a bit of a bitter, grassy/herbal bite when you taste it, but the tart acids cut so cleanly through to the palate that your tongue and cheeks are left with a tangy wow feeling, a crisp finish that goes a long way.
I picked this wine up at the YES Organic Market, because I had recommend this wine to Nick and Allison, whom I met while pouring wine down there.  It dawned on me that I should try the wine, too, if I were going to start telling other people about it.  I happy I brought one back to try.  For $8, it is a wine that is definitely worth its cost for my palate.  I love the acidity and minerality on this wine.  Ideally I would be in Annapolis drinking this wine with raw oysters or steamed clams, but it serves as a good sipping wine, too.  Like the last wine reviewed, this gets 88 points from me.  That Iberian peninsula is showing some serious under-$10 talent this week.
As for whatever readers are here with me in my formative blogging/reviewing phase, share some stories, post some reviews, send ideas.  It's all about One Wine Love.  I want to see this site evolve into a forum for anyone with a taste for fun, food, and a good glass of wine.  Cheers to all.

 

$7.50 is an amazing price to pay for the quality wine that you get from this bottle.  This blend comes from the southeast of Spain, in a region called Almansa, where in 2005 the heat was strong and the grapes ripened extremely well.  This wine consists of about 2/3 Garnacha and 1/3 Syrah.  There are some resinous dark cherry and leather components coming from the Grenache in it, while the Syrah adds some ripe plum and a peppery kick to the final product.  You can tell the wine spent some time in oak barrels, but those tannins are very well integrated with the fruit and acid it the wine, bringing a toasty cedar note into the mix.  The acidity here will put a pucker on your face, like a big swig of cran-grapefruit juice would, if you can imagine the sensation.  Early on I detected a bit of that nail-polish-remover, chemical odor (ethyl acetate) that can really screw up a wine.  But if it was a bit flawed, it wasn't to a strong enough extent to mask the great aromas, flavors, and overall balance of this red blend.  In any case, I'll be buying more of this wine, so I'll be able to compare the bottles I open in the future with the first one.  Overall I'll give this wine a solid B rating at 88 points.  I love that it matches or surpasses many of the wines in the $20-$30 range.  It is a drink-now kind of wine that bring with it many old world characteristics, and I recommend it to everyone.
I have to say thank you to Nick Henning for pointing this wine out to me at YES Organic Market in D.C.  Otherwise it could've passed under my wine radar and I would've never known what I do now.  Currently it is the wine of the month at YES, so there will be plenty in stock throughout the holiday season.  I am pumped up to know about this wine.  Tell your friends.  Share this wine at parties.  It's only 7 bucks and worth every sip.