I enlisted 3 fellow tasters and embarked on an ambitious project: to more or less enter the LCBO and buy 20 commonly available (on the general list) wines from various parts of the world that cost little enough that you wouldn't think twice about opening a bottle anytime. In other words, the kind of everyday wines that the world drinks. A Reality check. Now, there weren't any superstars ("wow" wines) in this bunch, heavens knows, I didn't expect any, but apart from a few dogs, there is a lot of well made plonk out there.
I'll start with a local dog, the
Pelee Island Baco Noir, 2005, from ontario. This is a hybrid grape, can make a good wine with the right care, but if it was all like this, I can see why they are pulling the vines out. This was tart, acidic fruit, no body. Not very pleasant. This is so bad it barks at you..."CRAP. ZERO value" even at $8.95.
The
Trapiche, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 from the Argentine, was much better, but in the long run not very exciting. Medium bodied, easy drinking. "OK. OK value" at $15.40 for a magnum. The
Trapiche, Malbec, 2005 was a step up from their cabernet. Black in the glass, initially thick and rich on the palate it disappointed with a short finish. A one-dimensional wine, still rates only an "OK." Value is also OK, but definitely would take this over the cab. $8.55.
Also in the Argentine is the
La Chamiza, Cab/Merlot 2005. This is the lightweight of the three argentine wines, punches below the belt. Light to medium bodied, even haddock wan't overwhelmed by it. OK for what it is, it's not a bad wine so I can't call it crap, it's just not my style. Value is OK at $7.55, but buy the Trapiche malbec for a buck more.
The
Gato Negro, Vina San Pedro, Merlot, 2005 from Chile is light and disappointing compared with previous skirmishes I have had with this wine in the past. OK verging on CRAP. Not worth buying even at $15.15/magnum. Much better was their
Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005. This is very pleasant to drink, medium bodied but interesting enough to keep filling the glass. This one borders on being GOOD. Good value at $15.15/magnum.
Staying with Chile, the
Frontera, Concha y Toro, Cabernet/Merlot is an easy drinker, nice fruit, just a hint of complexity. This one was actually better the next day. Almost GOOD. Good value at $15.65/magnum.
Flying across to Europe, the Portuguese used to be known for value wines. Ooops, they goofed on this one. The
Alianca Foral, Douro, Reserve 2005 checks in with a stated 13.5% alchohol, but where's it hiding? where's the body? (Show me the meat!!! I could thunder). It tastes like a depanneur wine (the lowest quality wine you can buy here - they ship it over in tankers, bottle it here and sell it in the local grocery shops for an absurd price given what it is).
This is CRAP and a waste of money at $8.05. How do they have the balls to call this a "reserve wine???"
Next door in the Douro valley they make the
Vila Regia, Douro Reserve, 2001. This one saves the Portuguese reputation a little. It is much better that the Alianca Foral, has both complexity and tannins together with a medium "oakiness" from some time in wood, no doubt. A GOOD wine and worth the 12 bucks.
Lets cross the mountains and go into Spain. Spanish wines are one of my favourites, and I just love visiting Spain. The
Candidato, Tempranillo Barrica 6, 2003 is aged in barrels for 6 months. Now, this wine used to be an incredible bargain, year after year they made the wine in a very similar style, it was almost too good to be true for the price. I am wondering if they are cheating a little, lowering their quality because this wine was just OK. A medium hit of oak, certainly drinkable but I was still a little disappointed. Value remains hard to beat at a whopping $8.05 a bottle.
The Romans made lotsa wine so lets see what the modern day inhabitants of Italy make for a couple of bucks. I've always liked the
Citra, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, how can you not like a wine from a place with such a name? Their
2005 effort is a meaty, iodine like effort, tastes almost like a lower end chianti. This is OK, verging on good. Not everybody's cup of tea, though. Very good value at $6.35 - you can't buy much wine at this price in this country, and I think this is
very drinkable. Next vineyard over is the
Farnese, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, I think it was a 2005 also, but forgive me, I don't remember. What I do remember is looking over at Koko and saying - "hey, this really isn't bad", and she was thinking exactly the same thing. It is bright and lively, spicy and a very pleasant wine. Those who don't like the Citra will probably like this. We thought it close to being a GOOD wine, cannot beat the value at $12.55/magnum. Hey, we're on a roll in the land of pasta, so lets keep going. The
Mezzomondo, Negroamaro Rosso Salento, 2005 is from the south and uses a grape most North Americans haven't heard of, even though it is the 6th most commonly planted grape in Italy. "Negroamaro" translates to "black and bitter", but this wine certainly wasn't bitter. It clocks in at 13.5% alchohol, though. It is fruity, medium bodied, an OK-GOOD wine. Buy a dozen at $8.05 a bottle.
One of the most memorable wine tastings I have ever had was in Hungary. How I got home alive that night I have no idea. The wine was good, the company good, and the vineyard owner and his wife were very patient (serving 5 drunk canadians in his cellar for 4 hours, I think it was 5 bucks all you can drink .... I still have one of his barrel aged Chardonnays left, will have to drink it soon). Anyway, I digress. The
Szekszardi Voros Kekfrankos, 2005 is plain and simple a CRAP wine. Too bad, Hungary is capable of producing good wine, this just isn't one of them. Tart, sour and a waste of money at $9.45/litre. Made a good drain cleaner.
The label of a South African wine caught my eye so what the hell, I bought it. The
Obikwa, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 gave a decent impression of a cherry but was a little tart. It is a light, OKAY wine. Absolutely no reason to buy it when it costs $9.05 a bottle.
To finish all this off, we have the
Newman's Celebrated Port, NV. A very sweet blend, it is now made and bottled in Portugal so why they keep the map of Newfoundland on the label is a mystery to me. The story goes that a Portuguese ship carrying wine was chased across the atlantic to Newfoundland, by the time they got back to Europe the wine had "changed" for the better; so they started sending Port to be aged in Newfoundland, but recently EEC rules have put an end to this practice. Anyway, the port is just OK, certainly not complex. You just about get what you pay for at $14.95 a bottle (you can't buy real port cheaper than this in Canada).
Whew.
CHEERS!!!
