Groovallegiance

OK, my cards are on the table.

I love the Rhone Valley. The wines, the flavours, the jewel in it's crown; Chateauneuf du Pape. It's been a long time favourite. So it should come to no surprise that I found the Chateau de Valcombe 2007 Shiraz Grenache agreeable. Regardless of it's sub $15 price tag, it was always going to be a winner for me.

2007 Chateau de Valcombe Syrah Grenache, Rhone Valley, France

Allegiances pledged, lets get down to it. It's a lot of wine for a little bit of money. Dark burgundy in the glass with aromas of pepper, forest berries, chocolate and spice. Textbook, and I was in heaven.

Chocolate berry/cherry, earthy, liquorice, good integrated tannins; a few mouthfuls in and I was still on a roll. A lighter style wine, but what it lacks in weight it more than makes up for in complexity & interest. The only low point was it was a little hot on the finish, but with food this wouldn't be noticeable.

The Rhone did it again for me, and you'd see me digging into my pocket to the tune of an extra fiver for this one. Perhaps cheap isn't all that bad.

Fairytale of New York

Merry Christmas.

I could call it a Christmas Hiatus, but I'd be lying. I haven't posted for two weeks and I have no reason. But I've still been drinking, surprise surprise. I have many notes to transform into posts and put a lot more effort into the photos, so hopefully wine and words will come thick and fast over the next few weeks.

Cheers!

I Turn My Camera On

My wife has bought to my attention that the photos I've supplied with the last few posts have been somewhat... uninspired.
And I have to admit, they are. While it's not really essential to describe a wine, I love my photography, and it's disappointing to show you sub-par pics of the product I've been imbibing. So thanks for reminding me Teesha, no more!

Naked in the Rain

Unoaked Sauvignon Blanc is not unusual by any means. So it seems odd to use this angle as a selling point. Oaked Sauvignon Blanc would turn heads more these days in most quarters (Sancerre being the obvious exception). That's what the guys at Naked Grape Wines have done though, with their Unoaked Sauvignon Blanc. And it's an OK drop. I mean, it's a Canadian wine made from local and imported juice, and comes in at $11 a bottle. So it doesn't have the weight of the world's expectations on it's shoulders as, say, a bottle from Martinborough may have.
So how does it shape up?


NV Naked Grape Sauvignon Blanc, Canada.

Pale straw in the glass with upfront grassy characters, so far so good.
A hint of a creamy palate at first, before the acidity regains control and brings it back in line with some melon and citrus flavours.
The after-taste has a slight sulphur taint, which probably means that part of this batch has been around for a while and freshened up a few too many times.
What does all that mean? Well it's a quaffable drop that would slide along nicely with Japanese takeaway, which is exactly what we did.
And as an $11 wine and I'd say that's pretty much on the money.

Can I kick it?

On the back of the last successful Pinot Grigio purchase I thought I'd try my luck again. Kind of like tempting fate I guess, but this time I thought I'd go to the source, or at least close to it; Sicily. That island at the end of Italy that looks like the boot has just kicked a ball.
The Montalto 2007 Pinot Grigio set us back a mere $15, but would it be a set back in my quest for good cheap wine? Let's see...


2007 Montalto Pinot Grigio, Sicily, Italy.

Lovely and light colour with an austere, minerally, steely lemon nose. Right up my alley.
On the first sip I detected a little spritzy tang, but that lemon steelyness was still there along with some lovely earthy mineral tones. Classic.
With a reasonable length this was could become a bit of a favourite. There was a slightly extracted flavour at the end, but if you weren't looking for it you wouldn't taste it, so it wouldn't detract from your enjoyment in any way.
I have to admit that being an Italian Pinot Grigio the bar was set higher than for the cheaper Californian Barefoot that flew in right under the radar, but I think it held it's head high at the price point. While I think it's a good price, I probably wouldn't be too disappointed if I spent another $5 on this.
And bonus points for being in a screwcap bottle as well. I miss the Australian screwcap movement!

Best Foot Forward.

Well I bought this wine because of it's price. Really. It was cheap.
I love Pinot Grigio. I don't go for the whole Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris naming thing, but I do like the grape. Still, I've yet to come across a good, cheap Pinot Grigio.
So why risk disapointment again? It's non vintage and non regional, two important aspects to guide me to wines I think I'll like.
Vintage not for a specific vintage, but to see if the wine is fresh, or has a bit of age, it gives you an idea of the taste profile.
Region because that's the way the modern wine world is going. For premium regions anyway. Boutique areas suitable to a handful of particular grape varietals. The old world has been doing this for centuries, but then they've had a bit of a head start to work it out.
But this wine had neither. And still I bought it.
California was the appellation and non vintage, However $9.99 was the seductive price, and it succeded. Without a vintage on the label I'd assume it's a mega-blend bought on the free market or left over from superior labels, blended a couple of times a year.
However because I ignored my first instincts, I succeeded in picking up quite a nice little drop.

NV Barefoot Pinot Grigio, California, USA.

Mineral and lychee with a slight sweetness of honey and jasmine. Good structure, clean and crisp with a tight finish. Not complex or thought provoking, but neither was the price.
It's also not something you want to drink with lunch, as you'll probably find yourself in the same place many hours later telling some stranger why you want to marry the person over there, even though you've never met them. It's very easy to drink.
So while I'll probably shell out another $5 for this wine it will remain a bit of a party trick. Not something I'd share because of it's quality, but because it's so enjoyable and so cheap. It's already got a home in our fridge as a 'just another night' wine.

Fire it up.

OK, I have another admission. I got a bit of a tip off from a local rag on this one.
And thank (insert deity here), because I wouldn't have chosen this one. The label is a bit dodgy, a full wrap around with quite a few issues keeping it crinkle-free at the back. Not a professional outfit at first impression. But I must admit, the label has grown on me, what I first thought was cheese central I now think is kind of funky. What do you think?


2006 Garnacha de Fuego Old Vine Grenache form Calatayud, Spain.

Perhaps I've been enjoying the open fireplace at our new home too much.
Anyway, so now you know we're looking at a Spanish Grenache (and if you didn't, well you definitely do now). Not just an ordinary Grenache apparently, but a Grenache On Fire.
Anyway, enough of the preamble. What was it like?
Firstly, lets just say that I like this style. Spicy, earthy, cherry & wood berry flavours, all jumping out of the glass. But not at first, I'm always a bit disappointed straight after opening this wine, but it opens up quickly and excitingly.
Ticking all the boxes that us wine-types look for, it's got good length, grippy tannins, tight with a long finish. Unfortunately I found a bit of stewy fruit or overcooked characters mixed in there as well, but not enough to subtract from the overall enjoyment.
Where this wine comes into it's own, however, is with food. With a home-brew spag bol this evening, (quite a bit found it's way into the saucepan, but not enough to leave my glass empty of course) this wine kicked off it's heels and partied. No, hold on, this wine caught fire! Yeah, OK, now I'm trying too hard. But the fact remains: it lifted. No more overcooked characters, the body felt bigger in the mouth, those sexy spicy flavours were enhanced, it really came into it's own. It's definitely a wine built to be enjoyed with food.
So what was the damage? Picked up at the local BC Liquor store in Canada for $15.99.
How good was it?
Well, I'm not going to rate wines on this blog, or score them out of 20 or 100. But I will tell you how much, or little, I would have been happy to spend on the wine, seeing as this is really what the blog is all about.
So:
I wouldn't have been disappointed if I'd spent $5-10 more on this.
But don't tell BC Liquor that.

Start me up.

So I've got to get something off my chest first. I've had a bit of a head start here.
Of course.
We've been in Canada for over a month, so of course I've had a few bottles of wine. Of course I've got some favourites already. So in the first couple of weeks forgive me if my 'hit rate' is a little high, but it's only natural to revisit a few discovered gems to share with you.
So consider this my month-long disclaimer.