Yaima Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007 — Maule Valley, Chile This is a sturdy, easy-to-drink, value driven wine. Watch the sunset with a bottle of Yaima Cabernet and some nachos & salsa, or drink it with a casual meal of Tex-Mex and enjoy yourself. Absolutely worth the $9.99 we paid for it. 4 Stars — Recommended
Yaima Merlot 2007 — Maule Valley, Chile — This wine was a very pleasant surprise. We took it to dinner at a friend’s house where it got paired with grilled chicken breasts marinated in zesty Italian dressing. We were initially expecting red meat and were dubious of the pairing, but it worked out great with the marinade. The wine was bright with fruit and just the perfect bit of spiciness at the back of the palate, then finished with nice oak. 4 STARS — RECOMMENDED
Wrongo Dongo Monastrell, 2008 — Jumilla, Spain. 15% alcohol by volume. $9. Monastrell was a grape unfamiliar to us until we hit Wikipedia and found out that only the rather obscure wine making regions of Jumilla and Yecla in Spain call it Monastrell. The rest of the world calls this grape by its more familiar name, Mourvedre. The book said to look for black fruits, spices & leather. What we found was a deep violet colored wine with a slightly earthy nose, reminiscent of a pleasant barnyard memory. The fruits were muted at best and any spices we found could well be just the heat of the 15% alcohol in the wine. The finish lingered for a while with moderate tannins and a good firm structure overall. On the whole, we recognize that this is probably a reasonable representative of the varietal, and it is probably well constructed, but it did not give us the forward fruit that the American palate seems to enjoy these days and overall left us wanting to open a different bottle of wine. For price and technical merit, we give it 4 Stars — Recommended but we temper that rating with the admonition that you should try this wine on your own before you take it to a friend’s house for dinner.
J-K Estates Cabernet 2007 — Paso Robles, CA — This is a classic California Cabernet with a nose of black licorice, lavender and a hint of oak. The palate has cedar, boysenberry, coffee & chocolate with a bit of leather added in for good measure. This is a beautifully balanced example of a value driven California Cabernet under $10. 5 STARS — HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION
We were having grilled trout and were looking for something white to go with it. This wine was not the right choice. The nose on this wine is weak. It was hard to pick out any fruit and that carried through to the palate and the finish. It’s still better than Chardonnay that comes out of a box, but if it were a $7 wine, it would score much better. At the $9 price point where it sits, there are many other, better wines out there. 2-Stars — Better Wines Out There
This wine is less than a year in the US market. We found it in Detroit, MI just this summer. Made from very gnarly looking, 70-year old bush vines and aged 7 months in new American oak, this wine has surprising depth and complexity for such an inexpensive wine. It offers a deep cherry color with glints of violet. The nose has an intense aromas of wild blackberries wrapped around a tangerine flavor uniquely intrinsic to the Old Vine Garnacha of Carinena.
Not as dry as some Garnachas, this wine goes down well while watching the sunset. We drank this wine with roast duck and parsley potatoes. The combination was inspired! Neither the wine nor the duck overpowered the other and the flavors of both just exploded in our mouths. It was really sad to realize finally that the meal was over, the bottle was empty and we’d only bought one.
We’d be willing to pay $14 for this wine, and we’d buy it again. Since this wine over-delivers on both price and quality, we give it 5-Stars — Highest Recommendation
A wonderful blend of Merlot, Cabernet & Syrah. Merlot’s dark fruit scents, chocolate, vanilla and cherry. Cabernet’s coffee, cassis, plum, black licorice and dark chocolate. Syrah’s plum, black pepper, blackberry and black cherry. This is a lovely wine to have with a weekday grilled supper at home or with friends. 4 STARS — RECOMMENDED
We were drawn first to name and the quirky black label with the red dog on it. It’s cute, and from Paso Robles, how bad could it be? So we bought a bottle and tried it. For the price, this wine is just fine, and there is less than 2000 cases made. It’s got a fruity nose with cranberries & blueberries, a juicy palate with zippy Zinfandel spice in the back of our mouth, just the way it ought to be. We think it is priced fairly, makes for a nice weekday dinner with a friend wine, and give it 4 STARS — RECOMMENDED
Piuquenes Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 — Mendoza, Argentina — Under $10 — With a nose of rich blackberries and plums, this Cabernet is a pleasant surprise. The forward fruit follows all the way through the palate and into the finish, along with gentle tannins and oak. For the money, this is a great value wine, sure to please your palate if you are just watching the sunset or going to a friend’s house and bringing the wine for a casual dinner. 5 STARS — HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION
We had a yen to learn more about available Malbecs from Mendoza, (you remember, that great wine growing region in Argentina) so we went out and bought three bottles to taste and enjoy with a meal of Itallian spiced grilled chicken, mashed potatoes & salad. OK, so the Italian spice was that we basted the chicken with Zesty Italian dressing. So shoot us!
Diseno Malbec Mendoza, AR $9.99
Anyway, the first Malbec we’ll tell you about is Diseno — $9.99 at a major discount wine store. We were drawn to the American looking blue, black & orange label. The wine had a slightly spicy nose which confused several of us, and then led to a nicely rustic, medium bodied and oaky palate with hints of tobacco. The fruit was there, but muted, and if I closed my eyes, it was easy to imagine that I was in an old farm house, sitting in a wicker rocker on the large front porch looking out at the setting sun.
The pairing with the chicken wasn’t the greatest idea we ever had, even with the spice in the chicken. The wine simply over powered it, so that we either had chicken in our mouth, or wine, but never a combination of the two.
Overall, with the price at only $9.99, we give it our Recommendation and 4-Stars.
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