La Ferme de Suzon Red Clay Cotes du Rhone 2012 (about $9)

About the Wine:  "How's the nine dollar Cotes du Rhone?" may be the most optimistic question of my wine career.  The salesman helpfully compared it to a ten dollar Cotes du Rhone in another display, which he said was fruitier.  I was pretty sure that they both tasted like shame, so I went for the cheaper one.


About THIS Wine: The Syrah really jumps out on the nose.  It provides a potent, jammy fruit smell.  As the wine opens up, more Grenache and Cinsault come through in earthy, vegetal notes.  It is those later elements that dominate the palate, which is dry, smooth, and good.  There is basically no finish.


Drinking This Wine:  I had it with turkey leg and it was good.  But wine at this price range is best drunk while contemplating your various mistakes in life, such as buying wine at this price range.


Overall Impression:  All kidding aside, the wine tasted good and did not give me a hangover.  You could easily sell it for fifteen dollars a bottle and I have definitely had worse at that price range.  This wine is a good value.

Pasquet Bordeaux 2010 (about $20)

About the Wine:  I first tasted this wine about a year ago and was thoroughly unimpressed.  My coworkers who tried it variously described it as "gross", "awful", and "Water the plants with it."  One of my coworkers recently re-tasted it and said "It's singing now."

About THIS Wine:  In the glass it is opaque with a purple rim.  The nose is very grapey with some charred oak notes.  The palate is bland with an oak bite toward the finish.

Drinking This Wine:  I had it with beef and noodles.  I guess we'll go with that.

Overall Impression:  If this wine is singing then it is still badly out of tune.  It is certainly better than it was a year ago and I may re-taste it in another year (I do not foresee selling out of it)  but nothing about it impresses me and at twenty dollars a bottle it is badly overpriced.

Grand Portail Bordeaux 2010 (about $13)

About the Wine:  2009 was one of the great vintages of Bordeaux, some say the best in the last ten years, others say the last twenty, and some even say the last thirty.  This is a 2010, which is also a good vintage but one that is largely ignored due to its proximity to the brilliant 2009 and the disastrous 2011.  I had the good fortune to attend a 2010 Bordeaux grand tasting in Manhattan earlier this year and after sampling the wine maker's products we all wished them a heartfelt congratulations on a job done.

About THIS Wine:  It is purple in the glass with a pink rim.  Cherry and pomegranate dominate a nose that is very atypical of a Bordeaux.  These flavors, along with some hints of mocha, define a fairly straightforward palate with a light finish.

Drinking This Wine:  There is very little tannin structure so it does not really need food.  It would be a good burger or sandwich wine.

Overall Impression:  This is not something to impress anyone but it is a very nice wine and could easily go for a few dollars more.  That makes it good for the price.

La Vigne en Veron Chinon 2011 (about $12)

About the Wine:  Chinon is a region within the Loire Valley that is known for its Cabernet Franc, which is what this is.  To find a Chinon for under twenty dollars is quite rare so this is potentially a great find.

About THIS Wine:  The wine is crimson in the glass with a scarlet rim.  The nose, well it smells like Cab Franc.  That is to say the nose is defined by vegetal notes with hints of ash.  The palate is dry and austere with some very pleasant cherry notes on the finish.

Drinking This Wine:  This is a little on the dry side for a sipping wine and it is not big enough to stand up to something like steak.  It would be good for buttered noodles, red beans and rice, or perhaps a roast duck.

Overall Impression:  This is a good Cab Franc and it really would not be overpriced at twenty dollars a bottle.  At twelve it is a good value.

Chateau de la Terriere Beaujolais-Villges 2009 (about $14)

About the Wine:  The Beaujolais region of France is best known for Gamay, a grape traditionally viewed as the inferior of Pinot Noir.  The area's reputation has not been helped by the popularity of Beaujolais Nouveau, an inexpensive version of Beaujolais wine that one wine critic labeled vin du merde (shit wine.)  Despite everything working against it, the wine and the region do have a devoted following and a rich history.  What remains to be seen is how merdey this particular wine is.  (I know that merdey is not a word.  Deal with it, France.)

About THIS Wine:  It is a very deep, dark purple with a violet rim in the glass.  After a little time to breath this wine presented notes of underbrush, cherry, with hints of oak on the nose.  Black cherry dominates a palate that really lingers.  There are vegetable notes in the background, but the cherry is the defining element, lingering after all else is gone.

Drinking This Wine:  This one is fine by itself but it would also go well with heavier white meats such as pork or roast duck.

Overall Impression:  Though not especially complex or otherwise mind blowing the wine is pleasant and it does not hurt the pocket book too much.  This one is good for the price.

Chateau Monestier La Tour Bergerac Rouge 2011 (about $10)

About the Wine:  The back of the bottle informs me that Bergerac is a wine growing region outside of Bordeaux that shares many of the climate and soil characteristics of the Bordeaux region.  The blend in this wine is dominated by Merlot, fairly typical of a Right Bank Bordeaux.  The implication here is that one can get Bordeaux quality without paying Bordeaux prices.  I am a little doubtful, but the price speaks to me on a very deep level. 

About THIS Wine:  The color is a deep, ruby red with a garnet rim.  The nose is thick and rustic, revealing the wine's youth.  I get notes wild berries and forest floor.  The palate is mellow and has a fairly meaty with notes of sour cherry.  Cinnamon and pomegranate are present in a finish that lingers a lot longer than I would have expected.

Drinking This Wine:  I could sip this by itself but it would also go well with burger or pizza.

Overall Impression:  It seems like the maker of this wine set out with a very specific goal: to make a perfect ten dollar wine, and I would say they succeeded.  You will not impress anyone with this but it is pleasant, complex, lingering, and versatile.  This wine is a good value.