Wine

Jun 20 2013

Monte Velho 2011 Red Wine

“I want to go to there.” – Liz Lemon, “30 Rock.”

First thing’s first – Liz was talking about a place, not a bottle of wine. But work with us here…you can use this wine to take a virtual trip to an outstanding part of the world. Right? RIGHT?

Obrigado, Portugal. And thanks for this rather outstanding trip to your country, through one out-flippin-standing bottle of red.

To the review!

Monte Velho 2011 Red Wine Review

You know you’re in for an adventure when the highly knowledgeable wine steward at the highly reputable store tells you, point blank, that this wine contains “three grapes I’ve never heard of.”

Those grapes are Trincadera, Aragonez, and Castelao. Don’t worry, I hadn’t heard of them, either.

What do we call this blend? Don’t know. Not sure I care. Wine was awesome, just outstanding. Probably justifying an A-…but first, a little more.

Taste

“Soft tannins.” Yeah, that’s probably the winner. Really smooth. Nose isn’t over-powering. And the fruit? There’s fruit – berries, cherries – but it’s not a fruit bomb like a Malbec. Extremely mellow.

Profile

Trincadera 40%, Aragonez 40%, Castelao 20%. 14% ABV.

Vinho Regional Alentejano. I didn’t know there are 14 different wine regions in Portugal.

(BTW, need more info on the Wines of Portugal? Well, there’s a website for that – Wines of Portugal.)

Value

TEN BUCKS. Drinks like 20 or 25. You MAY want to let it open up for awhile – I’d recommend a good long decant – or cellar this if you want. But it’s drinkable today.

Did I mention it was TEN BUCKS?

Metasip Grade: A-

Yes, it earned an A-. That means like a 90 or 91 on the traditional 100-point scales. At $10 a bottle (wait, you didn’t say it was TEN BUCKS!) it is well worth your time.

As for the folks from Portugal: call me. I want to go to there. Or drink the wines from there. (Or…both.)

May 21 2013

Simi 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

I think, for this Cab, we need to play the “How Much?” game.

I mean, there is no doubt – NONE WHATSOEVER – on the first sip that this Cabernet Sauvignon is not an everyday Cab.

In fact, it’s been awhile since I’ve taken a sip, then another, and another, and found that the wine keeps tasting more expensive.

So…Let’s try it this way: we sip, we start the review, we sip again, we find out how much it might be, and then we sip again.

And so on, and so forth.

Here goes.

Simi 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Review

Taste:

Nose is strong, and, at first blush, this is the sort of Cab you have come to expect from Alexander Valley. 2009 is an exceptionally strong year, and this one is every bit as yummy as the other ’09 Cabs we’ve tried. Insert all that typical red-wine speak here – “buttery Cab, spice and pepper on the nose, berries but not too fruit forward” – who cares? This is damn good. Insert stuff about color being dark, almost black cherry in color. Deep red. Blah blah blah. Again, who cares what color it is – a really solid gulp of cabernet.

Right now, since we’re having it with a huge filet, let’s guess it’s $30 a bottle.

Profile:

13.5% ABV. Note that the winery says it’s 94% Cab, 3% Malbec (?), and 3% Petit Verdot (?!).

A Google search tells us that you can find this SOME places at around $25 a bottle. It drinks at least that expensively.

Value:

Boom! Found it at Sam’s Club for $18 a bottle. (Note: this was in Central Illinois, so your experience may vary.)

Metasip Grade: A-

Just an inch short of an “A” rating. Really outstanding Cabernet, and a tremendous value if you can find it under $20.

May 11 2013

Vina Decana 2009 Tempranillo

It’s getting harder and harder to hide my love for Aldi wines. So I tried another one – and, Aldi Corporate People, I’ll keep reviewing them if you want to send them to me. Please.

I heart the Tempranillo grape. But, if you didn’t know, I tend to be more partial to the off-the-beaten-path grapes like Temp, Montepulciano, Carmenere, and Malbec (which isn’t so out there anymore).

It’s very Spanish – in fact, it might be the quintessence of Spanish wine. (Moreso, IMHO, than Garnacha.) So much so that the last time we all went out for tapas, that was the grape. And the time before that, and the time before that.

I know people for whom the Vina Deana 2009 Tempranillo is indeed the house red. Should it be for you? Read the review and rock on!

Vina Decana 2009 Tempranillo Review

This is from Aldi.

I have to get that out there – and you can read all about quite a few other Aldi wines here on the Metasip site.

But one reason I have to say that up front is because some people will never try a wine because it’s from Aldi, and others will never try a wine because it’s under $5.

As the 12-year-old in this house would say…”Pish posh to you, sir.”

We found this for under $5 and liked what it did. “Full bodied.” At least if you believe the label. Opened up after a few minutes, and the second glass was better than the first.

Taste

It’s got a great nose, but not one that will burn your nostrils. Powerful, but not overpowering. Peppery. Some fruit – black cherry mostly – and stands up to food. (Served with…uh…Sloppy Joes and oven-fried potatoes. Don’t judge.)

I wouldn’t call it crazy-tannic, but there were some tannins.

Profile

This is a 2009 Tempranillo. Utiel Requena, Crianza – it’s got the official Spanish wine seal on it, so Aldi doesn’t mess around. ABV of 12.5% – yes, that seems like a low number in comparison to some of the more powerful reds out there.

Value

Until I’m named the official wine critic of Aldi stores, I’m just going to keep banging the drum on the value you’ll get from just about everything in the store. We did not pay $5 for this, and it’s a great wine for the money.

It’s probably worth $10 or more a bottle.

Metasip Grade: B

Can’t go to B+ here, but that’s okay – the equivalent of an 85-point wine on other scales, but for less than $5? This could very well be your house wine for years to come.

Apr 16 2013

Lil Koala Shiraz

In the interest of (1) causing a stir, (2) going out on a limb and (3) getting mondo traffic to this site from the Aldi Shopper/Value Hunter/Inexpensive Imbiber crowd, I would like to make the following statement:

Lil Koala Shiraz is the best value in wine today. Better than Charles Shaw. Better than any other house brand. You should check it out. Seriously.

Hyperbole aside, this is darn good. I could ask for a couple things – like a year, and maybe a bottle that doesn’t look like – and remind me of – Yellow Tail.

Other than that, let’s break it down. To the review, mate!

Lil Koala Shiraz Review

Taste

Plum, blackberry, black cherry on the nose. Fruit forward. Maybe a little black pepper, too – so there’s a kick and it’s not overly fruity. (Bottle identifies it as “semi-dry” and that’s a fair assessment.)

We had it with Mediterranean Chicken, and it complemented the meal extremely well. I can’t get over it – it could be that my expectations were low because, again, I was reminded of Yellow Tail. Oh, and the price – see more on that below.

But this is a “can I have another glass?” wine.

Profile

100% Shiraz, though undated. 14.1% ABV. Semi-dry and “Full-bodied” (according to the bottle’s little slider meter thingy).

Value

By the beard of Zeus – we got this for $2.98!

Okay, so it’s not going to drink like it’s $20 a bottle – but, and I welcome your comments here – this wine stands up to $12-$15 Shirazes.

(Plus, with what seems like a dearth of Australian wine at places like Costco, as we didn’t find ANY on a recent trip, this is worth snatching up.)

Metasip Grade: B+

We just gave a $3 bottle of wine from Aldi a B+. Yes, yes we did.

Note that on a recent Aldi trip, this wine had gone up in price to $4.79. Still, people – at $5, if it drinks like $15, can you see why we think this is the best wine value out there now?

Apr 09 2013

Acronym 2011 Red Blend

I cannot tell a lie: this wine isn’t half-bad. The problem? I really was stumped when it comes to the grapes. What is IN this stuff?

Time to test my palate, then: let’s hazard a guess, THEN go to the Interwebs and find out exactly what’s in this.

My gut tells me it’s Cab, Merlot, Shiraz and Malbec, probably 2/3 of the first two grapes, and 1/3 of the last two. Now…let’s take a break from writing, open another tab, and find out.

PLEASE HOLD…

Okay, I’m not sure if I’m close. I missed the Pinot – and the web page tells me it’s “dominated by Pinot Noir and Syrah.” (Syrah, Shiraz, Tomato, To-mah-to.)

Here’s a link, actually, to their website. See if you can find out what’s really in there.

To the review!

Acronym 2011 Red Blend Review

Taste

Okay, so we missed the Pinot – but that’s okay, as we’re pretty sure that the multitude of grapes gives us a mellow, smooth flavor that is not as sharp as a straight Pinot anyway.

Profile

13.5% ABV. Beyond that, other than Pinot Noir and Syrah, we’re not sure what else is in here and we didn’t get much more info from the website.

Value

According to this press release we found, expect to pay $9 to $15 for a bottle. That’s an okay value, not a head-turning one.

Metasip Grade: B-

We give it that score entirely on value. I’d bump it up a notch or so…IF this were $6-$10, not $9 to $15.