Just to prove you don't have to spend $125 on a bottle of champagne in order to enjoy good wine, this time we did the stuff that's affordable. There were lots of great choices from Spain, Australia, New Zealand. Confirmed my strong love of NZ Sauvignon Blanc (passionfruit on the nose, grapefruit in the glass), and the great red wine values in Spain.
Almost all the wines came from K&L, which still has stock of most of them. Favorites in bold.
- Sangue di Giuda ($16.99) - a foamy (!) red from northern Italy, 7.5% alcohol, reminiscent of a grapey cider. Good with blue cheese!
- 2005 Xarmant Txakoli (Basque)($14.99) - lovely, straightforward Basque white, made from the local grape Hondarribi Zuri and fermented in steel.
- 2006 Montes Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley Leyda Vineyard (Chile)($11.99) - nice, but not the measure of the NZ, but some liked its more reserved approach
- 2007 Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($13.99) - great example of why I live NZ SauvBlanc, huge passionfruit nose, grapefruit and lime on the palate, awesome
- 2006 d'Arenberg Hermit Crab Viognier-Marsanne ($13.99) - much softer, rounder style that the prior wines, reminded many of seafood, sea water, even imitation krab!
- 2006 Fillaboa Albariño Rias Baixas, Spain ($15.99) - complex, yet still crisp, with hints of smoke around the citrus
- 2004 Domaine de Nerleux Saumer-Champigny (Cabernet Franc) ($16.99) - a little too astringent, not much fruit, my least favorite of the reds
- 2004 Bodegas Hijos de Juan Gil, Juan Gil, Jumilla ($11.99) - fashioned from 45-year-old Mourvedre vines and is aged for 12 months in American and French oak, complex, with a slug of charred wood, blueberries, hefty for a Mourvedre
- 2001 Vina Santurnia Reserva, Rioja ($13.99) - a consensus favorite, far more complex than its price suggests
- 2005 Cicchitti Mendoza Malbec-Cabernet Sauvignon Blend ($15.97) - nice, but overshadowed by 9 and 11
- 2006 Thorn-Clarke "Shotfire" Shiraz Barossa Valley South Australia ($13.99) - I really liked this, #57 in the Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2007, lots of fruit, but well balanced, another great buy
- 2005 Quivira Dry Creek Zinfandel ($15.99) - a regular favorite of mine, this vintage comes across a bit thin
- 2006 Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel ($16.99) - always a solid default Zin choice, this year is very nice.
- 2004 Peter Lehmann Clancy's Red Blend ($13.99) - OK, so I was too far gone to have anything to say about these last couple
- 2004 Finca Sobreño, Toro ($11.99)
- 1999 Hétszölö Tokaji Aszu 3 Puttonyos 500ml ($17.99)- spectacular bargain in Tokay, with that great sweet/sour balance that makes these among the best of the dessert wines
- R.L. Buller Tokay (Australia) 375ml ($13.99) - molasses!! unguent, probably awesome with chocolate cake
