Greetings and salutations! I know what you are thinking as you read this month’s Chapter. You’re thinking, “How in the wide world of sports can it already be the week of Thanksgiving? Wasn’t I just handing out sweet treats to cutely costumed ankle biters a couple of days ago?” And you’re also thinking, “Ruh, Roh, I haven’t done my heroic wine acquisitions for the traditional Thanksgiving feast—I have to get on that—and now!” Well, wine sleuths, if my powers of clairvoyance are properly aligned to your complex brain waves, then fear not! Your friendly Wine Bargain Sleuth has you covered with this month’s recommendations. And whether you have prudently established a wine budget or cavalierly prefer to live large this holiday, this month’s Chapter will break down our recommendations in the $20 and under Value Wines and the over $20 Worth a Splurge Wines for your shopping convenience. Both categories will be divided into Whites, Reds and Sparklers so you can play to your own personal favorites. If I may have a drum roll, please, here are our 2013 Thanksgiving recommendations:
Thanksgiving Value Wines
Amazing Whites:
Classic California Chardonnay If an All-American Chardonnay from the Left Coast is your style, then look no further than the 2010 Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay from the Central Coast of California. The 2010 K-J Grand Reserve is widely available and should be able to be purchased for $17 or so with careful shopping. This Chard is the definition of smooth, with hints of peach and tangerine, and just a touch of oak on the finish without straying into the unpleasant area code of over-oaked, buttery domestic Chardonnays. The K-J Chard pairs wonderfully with your roast bird while having enough crispness and acidity to take on dressing and gravy and the candied sweet potatoes. What do the experts think? Wine Enthusiast laid a salty 92 on the 2010 Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay, naming it as an Editor’s Choice and noting that the 2010 K-J Chard is “a great price for a wine of this distinction.”
A Superior Italian White. If your taste buds crave a less oaky white and your concept of Thanksgiving happens to be broad enough to include wine from the homeland of Mr. Columbus, then you should strongly consider the delicious 2011 Scarbolo Pinot Grigio from the Friuli region of northeastern Italy. The Scarbolo is a light-to-medium-bodied wine that manages to still have more substance than most Pinot Grigios that I have sampled over the years. The Scarbolo was recently determined by Food and Wine to be one of the top twelve Italian value wines, with the comment that it has “far more depth and complexity than most Pinot Grigios.” Best of all, the 2011 Scarbolo Pinot Grigio can be had in wide distribution for the bargain price of $15 or so.
Impressive Reds:
Surprising Value from the South of France. Experience teaches us that old lessons sometimes need to be overcome. Your humble Wine Bargain Sleuth loves surprises, and I found a delightful one in the Cameron Hughes Lot 343 2011 IGP Pays d’Oc Meritage. I say that lessons sometimes need to be overcome because I rarely think of quality French wines as values when sampling the candidates for our monthly recommendations. In the case of the Cameron Hughes Lot 343, that would be a huge mistake! A complex and balanced blend of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon with healthy portions of Merlot and Malbec, the CH Lot 343 manages to give hints of blue and black fruit while finishing with a textbook oaky and earthy Languedoc finish. My significant other recently sampled a glass with me, and her immediate comment was “Now, I LIKE that!” This Cameron Hughes wine is immediately approachable and is drinking beautifully right now. It can be consumed alone as a cocktail or would pair beautifully with deep fried turkey, honeybaked ham or even a hearty pasta or risotto dish. This surprising French offering was awarded a Gold Medal at the always impressive San Francisco International Wine Competition, so the experts on the Left Coast were equally impressed. And did I mention the best part of all? The Cameron Hughes Lot 343 retails for a mere $10 per bottle! You can check it out yourself at the Cameron Hughes website: www.chwine.com. Perhaps the website’s comment on Lot 343 is the most succinct of all: “Just a ridiculously good value.” Do NOT miss this one. Huge bang for your buck, wine sleuths.
Value Oregon Pinot Noir. Some wine enthusiasts have the fundamental belief that only a great Pinot Noir will perfectly pair with the Thanksgiving feast. If you subscribe to that theory, then the 2011 A to Z Oregon Pinot Noir is for you! The cleverly named Oregon beauty can be had with careful shopping at less than its $19.00 suggested retail, and this wine will definitely confirm what the buzz about Oregon Pinot Noirs is all about. The 2011 A to Z has beautiful aromas of cherries, strawberries and even cranberries, as well as a hint of earthy spices and mineral undertones on the persistent finish that will remind its drinker of a quality French Burgundy. Remarkably balanced and nuanced for the price, the 2011 A to Z Oregon Pinot Noir was recently awarded a solid 90 rating by Wine Spectator. This Pinot Noir is medium bodied and will stand up to your feast and all the side dishes!
Sparkling Wine:
A Worthy Sparkler from…New Mexico? If you hankering for bubbles at festive occasions includes Thanksgiving, then what could be more All-American than a great sparkling wine from New Mexico? For you sparkling wine fans (and those that should be) I recommend domestic bubbles from the great state of New Mexico from a family of French immigrants who know Champagne, the Gruet Brut NV. Available for a bit over $15 per bottle, the Greut Brut comes from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes grown exclusively in vineyards near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico at the surprising altitude of 4,300 feet above sea level. The Gruet family has legitimate Champagne roots, as its Champagne house in Belthon, France, Gruet et Fils, has long produced quality sparkling wine using the traditional Methode Champenoise. Gruet has used that same technique since 1987 on its fruit from the cool, elevated vineyards in New Mexico. Chock full of fine bubbles, the Gruet Brut has overtones of tropical citrus and baked apples to delight your tongue. Not only is the Gruet Brut a significant bargain, but Wine Spectator awarded the sparkler a stellar 89 rating and a Best Buy designation. My suggestion is to rush out and pick up a few bottles of this delicious bubbly, pop the cork and then amaze your friends, family and significant others by revealing its very surprising origin only after they remark on the tasty libation!
Thanksgiving Worth a Splurge Wines
Transcendent Whites:
Central Coast Beauty: If your budget doesn’t allow a classic White Burgundy but you want to step up your game a bit for friends and family, then look no further that the 2011 Failla Chardonnay Sonoma Coast. This domestic Chard from the next valley west of Napa makes an excellent pairing with your Thanksgiving meal. Its flavor profile is one of crisp apples and pears, with just a hint of citrus. Not an overly buttery Chard, the Failla Chardonnay has a hint of oak on the lingering finish, but is amazingly balanced from sip to finish. Wine Spectator thinks enough of the Failla offering to name the Chard an impressive number 49 on its recent annual Top 100 Wines list, and the tough grading magazine awarded a stellar 92 rating to this one. Best of all, its list price is a reasonable $34, decidedly on the lower end of the Top 100 list. Your guests will be suitably enthralled!
The Original Fume Blanc: Do you and your guests prefer a crisper yet still nuanced white wine? Try a California original: the 2011 Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc (Oakville). Years ago Mondavi opted to call its Sauvignon Blanc wines “Fume Blanc”, and this 2011 Oakville offering is their best of the year sourced from classic Napa Valley vines, and in the view of Wine Enthusiast, “one of their best ever.” The 2011 Fume Blanc is quite dry, has plenty of cleansing acidity to pair with rich holiday side dishes and contains a touch of oak for complexity. The nose shows classic Sauvignon notes of lemon, pink grapefruit and tropical fruits, and the velvet finish seems to just linger for minutes. A remarkable effort by Robert Mondavi, this white wine is widely available for $32. Wine Enthusiast thinks so highly of the 2011 Oakville Fume Blanc that it named the wine an Editor’s Choice and awarded it a classic 95 rating. Not many $30 wines are awarded that rarefied air, wine sleuths!
Classic Reds:
A Delightful Spaniard. In this month’s quest to find great pairings for your Thanksgiving meal, I received a suggestion of the 2007 Ondalan Rioja Reserva by my good friends at Ronin Wines (www.roninwines.com) . Although I am very fond of red Rioja’s, the Spaniard was certainly not my initial choice for a pairing with a traditional Thanksgiving meal. However, the 2007 Ondalan is so remarkably balanced that it would be a welcome guest at your Thanksgiving celebration. Smooth enough to pair harmoniously with roast turkey, but rich enough to stand up to rich side dishes like dressing and candied sweet potatoes, the Rioja makes a terrific alternative to a Pinot Noir for red wine lovers! The Ondalan has a nose of cherries, followed by a plum mid-palate, ending with spices and a lingering fine tannin finish. Again, the key is a smooth harmonious mouthful that is somehow reminiscent of a Pinot Noir from Burgundy rather than a more typical earthy Rioja. If you wish to bring a winning alternative to the more typical Pinot Noir or buttery Chardonnay for your turkey and dressing dinner, look no further than the 2007 Ondalan Rioja Reserva. As far as the wine experts, Steven Tanzer awarded the Spaniard with an impressive 90 out of 100 points. Careful shopping can locate this elegant bottle for under $35. There is a better than zero chance that your humble Wine Bargain Sleuth will bring a bottle or two to this year’s family festival.
A Beauty of a Pinot Noir. Quite possibly the best Pinot Noir I have recently sampled when price is taken into account is the 2010 Belle Glos Santa Maria Valley Clark & Telephone Vineyard. Retailing for $44, this Belle Glos is everything the delicious 2011 Belle Glos Meomi (see January 2013 Chapter) is, but simply more so. The 2010 Clark & Telephone Pinot is a very satisfying single vineyard red wine which was aptly described by Wine Spectator “very dense and concentrated” and “an impressive mix of dense blackberry, raspberry and huckleberry, holding its focus and maintaining its supple texture. I shared a bottle with some dear friends recently, and all four of us were simply blown away at the red and dark fruit concentrated flavors and the overall near-perfect balance of the Belle Glos. Wine Spectator apparently agreed with our group, naming this Pinot Noir number 77 on its Top 100 list for 2012 and bestowing an impressive 93 rating on this wine. In short it is a lovely effort by the Wagner family (of Caymus fame) and a wine that is most definitely worthy of a splurge. This beauty should be welcomed at anyone’s Thanksgiving table!
Great Bubbly
The Real Thing. There are occasions when only the genuine item will do. If that is your approach this Thanksgiving, you should immediately seek the classic Champagne Piper-Heidsieck Brut Cuvee NV. This elegant, dry French Champagne is a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes from the Reims region of Champagne. The Piper-Heidsieck Brut NV features a satisfying toasty finish with the telltale tiny bubbles that give its drinker a smooth, balanced mouthful. Never harsh, yet retaining a touch of crisp acidity, the Piper-Heidsieck has been a house favorite for several years. Unlike many world class sparklers, this bubbly is widely distributed, meaning that a clever wine sleuth is quite likely to locate a bottle or three for a deep discount off its $50 retail price. The critics consistently award this wine high marks, with Wine Enthusiast awarding the most recent release a 92 rating and Wine Spectator following suit with a very solid 91. What better way to toast all your blessing with loved ones than to pour the Piper-Heidsieck Brut?
Thought for the Day: Don’t Forget to Give Thanks!
Despite the complex planet we mutually inhabit and its problems that can seem overwhelming, each of us truly has much to be thankful for. Our significant others, our families, our dear friends and even our jobs are blessings to each of us. I am extremely thankful for and humbled by those who choose to spend a few minutes a month of their valuable time with The Wine Bargain Sleuth while we explore the joy that is wine and at the same time have a little fun. I truly hope you enjoy our expanded list of Thanksgiving wines!
If I might have the latitude, I would like to repeat my Thanksgiving blessing to you from last year: May you share your Thanksgiving feast with those whom you love and those who love you, and may your plate be filled and your wine glass overflowing…until it’s time to watch the Cowboys game!
Until next month– Cheers!
© The Wine Bargain Sleuth 2013—All Rights Reserved
Maroc
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