Greetings and salutations!  Those of you who have followed The Wine Bargain Sleuth for a month or more have probably noticed the frequent use the terms “value” or “bargain” in identifying our recommended wines.  We have carefully attempted to identify very good (and even great) wines that set themselves apart from the herd each month, but we don’t necessarily just try to identify the least expensive wines.  Heck, that would be cheating.  Besides, as you wine sleuths are well aware, Life is Too Damned Short to Drink Bad Wine!  Each month we identify both Value Wines and a Worth a Splurge Wine for that very reason.  Unless you were fortunate enough to have been born with a silver corkscrew in your back pocket or you happened to get in the way of the latest Powerball Lotto winning ticket, you likely don’t drink expensive wines on an everyday basis (and if you do, please message me privately so I can selflessly lend you a hand with this burden).

 

So that begs the question—what is a value wine?  Something found at the package store down the street for $5?  A California Cab that costs less than you expect?  A wine produced by a craft vintner that limits his/her marketing budget in favor of what goes in the bottle? An offering from a lesser-known wine producing country that is knocking certain varietals out of the park?  The answer, naturally, is that it depends!   A value wine could be all or none of these.  Well, OK, probably not the former.

 

Let’s start on the lower end of the spectrum, which we like to refer to as the Value Wines in this blog.  What distinguishes a wine at this end of the market from any other bottle of wine on the shelf?   Typically, it is one characteristic such as balance, smooth finish or extraordinary flavor in comparison with its large peer group of wines.  Since we are all big kids here, we can bluntly assess that wines in the $10-$15 bottle range are often mass-produced bottlings that rarely have the level of craftsmanship you might see at, for example, the $50 bottle range.   Instead, what your friendly Wine Bargain Sleuth seeks out is a Value Wine that has that one special trait that pleases his palate in the same way a more expensive wine would.   Perhaps a good way to set a goal at this price point is to drink and identify a very good bottle of wine from either a specific producer or even a region as a benchmark.  A simple example might be an impressive, 90+ point Merlot from the State of Washington.   The fact that Washington has not yet attained the status of California as a wine-producing state creates an opportunity for the wine consumer, as the reality is that Washington is making some dynamite juice and has been doing so for at least a decade.  You might be a fan of the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, or even a fan of a specific producer such as Columbia Crest, which has produced some great value wines from that region (see our Summary of Recommended Wines).  The net result is that there are some delicious, nuanced Merlots from Washington that can be had for $15 or less, a true bargain when compared to similarly rated Merlot-based offerings from Bordeaux or Napa Valley.

 

What about at the more expensive level?   Is it fair game to refer to a wine that costs $50 a value or bargain wine?   Your friendly Sleuth here would zealously argue that can be the case, but it is far from a given.  One must do his or her homework at this level in order to find a value.  The good news for you wine sleuths is that there is a wealth of information available to those who seek it.   We hope that this blog can be one of those sources for our readers, and we will continue to strive to strive to make sure it is.   Since we feature a Pinot Noir this month, if you are a Pinot lover you know that you can spend anywhere from $15 to $500 for a bottle (and possibly more with certain Grand Cru Burgundies).   So what constitutes a value for your tastes?  If a new producer introduces a Russian River Pinot without fanfare yet the fruit was sourced from a legendary vineyard, you might have the makings of a wine value.   If you enjoy the taste of old world Pinots, you might source an excellent bottle from New Zealand or Chile as an alternative, and you would likely save significant scratch over a red Burgundy in the process with much or all of the flavor you seek.

 

One thing that has become clear to your friendly Sleuth is that the price one pays does not always equal quality in a bottle of wine.   Is a bottle of a Left Bank Bordeaux from an excellent vintage such as 2000, 2005, 2009 or 2010 worth the price one is required to pay?  The legendary reputation of such prized Bordeaux vintages has been known to drive the price of an individual bottle in excess of $1,000.   Is that bottle necessarily “better” than a premium Napa Valley Cab?  If one deals in wine futures or intends to hold and auction off the wine in the future, the answer is “perhaps” if the market reacts favorably; on the contrary, it would not necessarily be a “better” wine in a taste testing (see the discussion of the “Judgment At Paris” in Chapter 4) or even in the ratings of the wine experts.  Accordingly, a premium Napa Cabernet Sauvignon reserve such as a Far Niente, Chateau Montelena, Hall or Peju can rightly be considered a bargain or a value by comparison with a Grand Cru Bordeaux such as Chateau La Tour. 

 

One other comment for this month’s Chapter.   YOUR taste counts in determining both great wines and whether or not a wine constitutes a value or bargain.  You might love California Chardonnays, while my tastes might run more to French white Burgundies.   So what might be a bargain to you in finding that wonderful value in a Carneros or Russian River Chardonnay for less than the typical market price might not be a bargain for me, due simply to the difference in our palates.  My best advice is for you to decide what constitutes a benchmark very good to great wine and varietal for you, and then search for similar wines at a reasonable to substantial discount with the same pleasure when you drink the value wine.  In order to find these benchmark standard, a wine sleuth needs to occasionally splurge and taste greatness in the wine stem.  As a matter of fact, we highly encourage that occasional splurge!

 

That’s quite enough for this month’s riff, and without further ado here are this month’s delicious recommendations:

 

Value Wine No. 1:   Value Oregon Pinot Noir

During the recent heat wave in my neck of the woods (read, a few degrees shy of the surface of the sun last week!), I have been in search of value-priced Oregon Pinot Noir with which to chill out.   Sound like a needle in the old haystack?   Well, not so fast, wine sleuths!  This month’s Value Wine No. 1 is the 2011 A to Z Oregon Pinot Noir.  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 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, but the light tannins hint that it may well improve with a year or two of cellaring.  Grab an extra bottle while you are at it!   You’ll be glad you did.

 

Value Wine No. 2:  Pink from Washington

This month’s Value Wine No. 2 is a perfect summer sipper:  a lively, crisp blush wine from the State of Washington:  the 2012 Charles and Charles Rose.  A French Rhone-style blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Grenache, this blush wine is light, spicy and full of red fruit with a touch of clove.  The Charles and Charles Rose finishes bone dry, a delicious contrast to the fruit on the nose of this Rose.  It should be served chilled like a white wine. Widely available for $12 or so, the 2012 Charles and Charles Rose was recently named the “Best Buy of the Week” by Wine Spectator, which hung a very respectable 88 rating on the wine.  If you wish to sample a delicious blush wine but prefer to spend your hard-earned green on American rather than French or Italian products, this Charles and Charles offering is an outstanding choice!  I was introduced to this Rose recently by friends while on vacation as an appetizer wine, and the verdict of our group was that the Charles and Charles Rose was both unique and delicious, either alone or paired with light cheeses, seafood appetizers or even cheese pizza.  This blush wine provides a great excuse to Think Pink!

 

Worth a Splurge Wine of the Month: Argentine Splendor

An undeniable treat and this month’s Worth a Splurge Wine is the 2010 Catena Malbec from Argentina.  Retailing for a very reasonable $26, this may be the Malbec that hooks you if you still haven’t become a fan of this varietal.  The Catena Malbec has drawn a considerable amount of attention recently, with the 2009 vintage making the Wine Spectator Top 100 wines list. The 2010 vintage attracted the attention of Wine Advocate, which awarded this South American offering a stout 91 rating.   Folks, this is serious bang for your buck!  I shared a bottle with good friends earlier this week and it paired beautifully with a tender filet mignon topped with a demi glaze sauce.  All four present at the dinner raved about the balance, smoothness and layering of the Catena Malbec. This is definitely a food-friendly wine, like most Malbecs, and it is best served slightly chilled and given a good 30 minutes in the glass to open up and allow the O2 to do its chemistry thing!  Upon opening the bottle, the 2010 Malbec is tight, with strong oak flavors and tannins.  However, as it warms a bit and breathes, the balance of this wine shows through and you are rewarded with dark berries and vanilla, and even just a hint of cherry cola, with a gorgeous, silky finish.  Your humble Wine Bargain Sleuth believes that with careful shopping you might be able to find this sexy South American for closer to $20 than its list price, but this wine will strike you as though it cost 2 to 3 times more.  The 2010 Catena Malbec is an outstanding steakhouse wine, and it has the additional benefit of being a little exotic and about half the price of some mediocre Cab Savs.  Go get a few of these for yourself and your significant other!  The Catena Malbec can stand a few years of aging, but it is delicious now after allowing it to breathe a bit.

 

Thought for the Day:  Friendship is the Wine of Life

            I recently watched the hilarious wine-themed film “Sideways” once again.  Several things struck me on this viewing, including a chance to relive a memorable drive through the California Central Coast and its picturesque rolling hills and beautiful vineyards.   But what most resonated with yours truly was the line that Virginia Madsen’s character Maya issued to Paul Giamatti’s character Miles when he told her he was saving a classic bottle of Bordeaux for a special occasion:  “You know, the day you open a ’61 Cheval Blanc…that’s the special occasion.”  I can only add one thought to that classic line, and that is the day you open a special bottle of wine with a dear friend or significant other who also enjoys wine…that’s REALLY the special occasion.

Until next month– Cheers!

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