UFR "Crossings"

My first revisit post. Sort of: Crossings 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($10.99)

A few weeks ago, one of my first posts, I gave my 2 cents on the 09 Crossing. A New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Today, I cracked the 2010 bottle. Love screw tops!

The back of the bottle said a lot of what I was thinking:
 "Our Sauvignon Blanc is racy and bright." Check. Very racy. A lot going on. Bright? Didn't see too much bright, but what do I know?
"Pink grapefruit and passionfruit flavors layer with lemon-lime acidity and minerality signature of the Awatere Valley." Holy hell, yes grapefruit. That's the first thing I thought of. Check for me there. Passionfruit? Not sure what that is, but I tasted some green apple with my pink grapefruit. There was plenty of acidity and it was minerally.

Overall, very flavorful. I mean, tons going on. It went really well just prior to dinner and with dinner (grilled veggie salad with chicken). After dinner though, I found it to be too much. On a night where I wouldn't mind finishing the bottle, I switched to a Cab to end the evening.

So, not as smooth as the 09 for me, but still worth $11. For me though, it's a must pair with food. Not the everyday summer drinker that I found the Crios to be, which I'll revisit soon.

Grade: B+ (Beth gave it an A-, FWIW)

Meh, not Blah

Gordon Brothers 2008 Sauvignon Blanc ($9.99)


This was one of those, "Hum, they make a good Cab, maybe they make a good Blanc too" purchases. This is why I don't join many wine clubs. I'm always under the assumption that if I were to join, my shipment would be full of bottles like this and short on the bottles that I really wanted. I have no clue how Gordon Bros. wine club works, just trying to make a point.

On to the wine. I've had worse. It did seem to get a little better the more I drank, but overall, not a whole lot of flavor. I did seem to taste some pineapple, but I didn't get that crispness or grapefruit flavor that I want. There's definitely better Sauvignon Blanc's in this price range, and those seem to usually be from New Zealand.

Grade: C-

Say it ain't so, Argentina!

Achaval Ferrer 2009 Malbec ($18.99)


You can't get mad when the once hot-handed roller craps out if they helped stuff your pockets with green or black chips. It's bound to happen. Nothing lasts forever, not even my super successful run on Malbecs from Mendoza, Argentina.

This Total Wine purchase had a 91 rating tag hanging, so I grabbed it, hoping to find something special. It wasn't so. There were 4 of us trying this bottle Saturday night and nobody was impressed. It had a jammy, fruity, nose that got our hopes up. But, it had a tart, sour finish. I'm no farmer, and Tom isn't either, but he said it seemed like the grapes weren't ready to be picked. I agree.

Factoring in the hype and price, this bottle doesn't grade out well. I mean, 4 wine drinkers chose not to finish the bottle.

Grade: D

Home Run

Our second take of Father's Day dinner, this time with my dad was as good, if not better than the first. Food, filets from El Toro, was a toss up compared to the Ahi. The wine, however, was outstanding. If you're ever wanting/needing a phenomenal, big-time wine for a special occasion, this will not disappoint.

Rombaur 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon ($39.99)


This Cab makes the list of "Best Cab's I've Ever Had." It's that good. The other wines on that list seem to cost a lot more than this, making it even better. This was also the 2nd time I've had it (first time buying it) and both times I've felt like I was drinking something special.

Everything you'd want in a delicious Cab, tons of flavor, super smooth. Pure perfection!

Grade: A

Happy Father's Day!

balance, 2007, Red Field Blend ($17.99)


This was a great wine that accompanied an amazing meal.

For Father's Day dinner, we hit up El Toro Meats. We came home, cracked this bottle, then got to cookin'. Let me start with the food. I fired up the grill and did up a little Carne Asada, sliced it up for our appetizer. SO good. Then for the main course, and I can't take much credit here, the quality of the food made it too easy, but we seared shashimi-grade Ahi steaks (50 seconds a side), stuffed mushrooms, and an arugula salad with heirloom tomatoes & feta cheese. Wow, felt like I was living on the set of the Food Network!

The great thing about the wine, is that it went with everything we threw at it Sunday night.  It was great on its own. Went really well with the Carne, and then hung with Ahi. Very impressive. I will definitely get this again.

Grade: A-

Nothin' Wrong With a Third Wheel

Third Wheel, Red Table Wine ($5.99)
Blend of Zin, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah


That's a damn fine buy at $5.99. Beth said, "It reminds me of Red Diamond. But better." Well said, wife. If Red Diamond came out with a Reserve for $2 less, this would be the result.

Very cherry. Not so much black cherry that makes a $40 Cab. More like a red cherry that's almost ready to get dark. A bit of tart, not much though. It was a little jammy, tasted some tobacco, and Beth said, "leathery." I asked her to describe "leathery," and she said, "it tasted like the smell of leather." She meant that to be a good thing.

Great call Tom. A really good bottle to have handy when you want a glass or 3 on a Monday night.

Grade: B- (price point almost makes this a B though). 

Spain - The New Frontier

After the home run of Spanish, Papa Luna, Uncle Tom and I made a conscious effort to explore the Spain section of Total Wine in search of other gems.

Valserrano Rioja Crianza 2007 ($9.99) 
90% Tempranillo and 10% Mazuelo


Ever go to a brewery for a meal and order one of their beers just to feel a little more adventurous than the guy at the next table drinking an Amstel Light? You like your micro-brew, glad you tried something new, also glad you didn't commit to a 12 pack, and perhaps, maybe, you'd order it again. That was this.

The nose reminded me of a Paso Cab. Paso's not known for Cabs, so that's not necessarily a great thing. But I smelled an Earthy, cherry, tobacco smell. Took me right there.

This wine had a lot going on. Very zingy, spicy and flavorful. It was dry on the finish. Not dull, flat-black, but felt some dryness there. Beth and I enjoyed its uniqueness as we paired it with BBQ'd chicken and some asparagus.

Here's where things got interesting. Some wine expert would either offer a simple explanation, or be disgusted with my actions, but as dessert rolled around for Max, I too grabbed a Skinny Cow. Expecting the worst when I followed up a bite of ice cream sandwich with wine. I found to go really well. The wine had less of an edgyness, wasn't so dry and finished well. I actually liked it a bit better this way.

Overall, I'm glad I branched out. It was different from what I've been buying/drinking. I wouldn't rush back to this bottle, but wouldn't shy away from trying other Spanish wines because of this.

Grade: B 

Argentinian Deliciousness

Crios 2010 Torrontes ($9.99)


This bottle had 3 things in its favor that led to my selection at Total Wine: Price, Rating Tag (91 Points, though I don't recall who's rating it was), and being from Argentina. For me, Mendoza, Argentina is as reliable as a Stags Leap Cab, but at a 1/4 of the price.

The back of the bottle said, "an intensely floral, citrusy aroma similar to Viognier with the dry, crisp taste of Sauvignon Blanc." I don't put a whole lot of stock into a wine-maker's description; I've never read one that admitted that their bottle sucked. But this hit the nail on the head. When I poured it, I thought it was going to be too sweet, but sure enough, tasted like an awesome Sauvignon Blanc.

Grade time. Like a hard working, determined student that completes every assignment on time and does everything asked of them, yet deep down you know they're not bound for Stanford, they can still make the Honor Roll. Considering the price, the fact that "Crios" refers to the wine maker, Susana Balbo's children, and the cool label, this bottle gets an A.

Grade: A

Booo-Hess!

Hess Select 2009 Sauvignon Blanc ($13.99 on sale)


I grabbed this in a pinch at the grocery store. We were having some friends over for dinner, knew we'd be in the backyard, and thought I'd better have a solid, refreshing white for our guests, who happen to drink their share of quality wine. I see this Hess on sale, regularly $15.99. I've heard of Hess, it's normally a $16 bottle, I save a few bucks, score for me, right? Hell no. The only reason this wine gets a passing grade is because I still ended up drinking it. Something about dumping a $16 bottle didn't sit well with me.

It did have a lot of flavor, I'll give it that. But when I drink a Sauvignon Blanc, one flavor I'd rather not taste is pineapple juice. Not really pineapple, but pineapple juice, like when you pull the rings or chunks out of a can then drink the puddle of syrup. That's what I tasted. Very confident of that.

Overall, not impressed. In fact, I'm a little angry. I could Google the size of Hess's vineyard, but I don't want to. They seem like a big wine maker that can throw their label around at the grocery store, and I'm mad I fell for it. Lessons learned: don't over pay for wines at a grocery store, and don't be a sucker for a "bonus buy" tag.

Grade: D-

BBQ Pairing Deliciousness

Escoces Volante 2007 Papa Luna Calatayud ($16.99 @ Hi-times)

I went into Hi-Times needing a bottle to compliment a rack of ribs from Blue Beet. I asked the girl for a suggestion and without a second's hesitation, she asked, "Have you had Papa Luna?" She leads me to the Spanish section and says, "This is easily my favorite wine right now under $20." Done. Gimme 2.

This was a hit. Scratch that, this was a home run. I ended up having it two nights in a row. Once with turkey burgers, then at the Blue Beet. Incredible wine. So flavorful, spicy but still super smooth. Without food, it was a slight, very slight, bit dry. But once I had it with food, it was off the charts. At $16.95, it's a great, great pick-up.

Grade: A

Summer Time, Let's Crack Some White!

We had a break from "June Gloom," and got a beautiful Southern California Saturday afternoon. Time for some refreshing whites! With a friend over, chatting under the umbrella in the back yard, I end up opening these 3 bottles. Let's discuss (or, allow me to discuss)...

My sister said she'd found her summertime wine, so following her recommendation, I grabbed the bottle on the right, Vine Yard 2009 Pinot Gris from Fresh & Easy ($8.99). 

Ever been to a fancy spa that's got a fancy glass water jar filled with ice water and fancy lemons or cucumbers or some other fancy addition floating at the top? This wine reminded me of sitting in my loaner robe and filling up my plastic cup with that flavored water. The first sip I think, "Yum, why don't I ever think of marinating my water with fancy fruit." Then sip 2 realize that I like my water to taste like water, that's why! This wine tasted like wine flavored water. That's not good. 

It was cold. It was refreshing. It was smooth. But taste? Nah, not my thing. I haven't come up with a ranking system yet, so I stick to a report card style grading.

Grade: D

The bottle on the left, OFV 2009 Pinot Gris ($16.99) from Willamette Valley is the 2nd time I've grabbed it from Total Wine. I first found it looking for a bottle to pair with Sea Bass. It was phenomenal. So the second visit, without food, I still really liked it. I tasted a bit more mineral flavor, which is fine with me. But also had a lot citrus flavor, very smooth. Not to sound too snooty, but definitely pear and grapefruit going on. I would recommend it with food, but it stood up just fine flying solo. Considering Pinot Gris is far from my favorite white, and I still loved it...

Grade: A-

Finally, The Crossings 2009 Sauvignon Blanc (around $10?). This was still in the refrigerator from Thanksgiving. My in-laws are into New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc's and I'm really glad they bought it and I found it. This bottle was the perfect compliment to a beautiful Saturday afternoon. It was light, zesty, citrusy, but definitely not too sweet. Great stuff.

Grade: B+

Melbec - Norton Reserva '07

Wow! What a way to start. I tried to make a point of not starting my first review with some stellar bottle I've had before. I'm glad too. This bottle was awesome, and at $12.99 from Total Wine, it's even awesomer!
Very deep color, solid nose. TONS of flavor, smooth... Had this been $10 more, I wouldn't have thought it outrageous, but again, at $12.99, it's a steal.
My wife put a bacon wrapped pork tenderloin in the oven for an hour (nothing more fancy than that), and the wine went really well with it.

Welcome!

Like many people, I love wine. And, like many people, I live on a budget. I wish I had the luxury of cracking $40+ bottles on a weeknight, and I could split hairs on whether I thought it deserved a 91 or 92 rating, but I don't. I've created Purple Tooth as a place where wine drinkers, perhaps on a budget like me, can share their opinions and experiences on the wide world of wine.

I can't be the only one who's opened a $12 bottle to find that it drinks like a $25 bottle, can I? Makes you feel like a million bucks. Picking out that bottle of wine; however,  can be a frustrating, sometimes overwhelming experience. I think we've all felt duped by a store's rating system and opened that $16 bottle only to feel that we wouldn't take a free bottle on our next trip to the store.

So, I'll tell you what I'm drinking or discuss what I drank. You give me your thoughts too, and we'll see what happens.

Cheers!