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Peter Wagner |
At the request of APS leadership, I have
been asked to provide expert guidance for those of you who, like me, are
cheap and are looking for great, under-priced wines to imbibe. What
follows is certainly not expert, and probably does not even qualify as
guidance. But when has that stopped me from speaking out?
I will be suggesting wines that I think are good and also good value. Any
dumb physiologist can recommend Chateau Petrus, or Ch. d’Yquem even if
they cannot afford them. It takes much more effort to locate the bargains.
Moreover, I need to find wines that you have some small chance of locating
in your town. That means, wines that are made in decent quantity and
widely distributed. Unfortunately, I have no control over the latter, but
searchable internet sites abound, only too happy to ship you wines if
state law allows. Some wine shops will order specific wine in if you bribe
them enough. Will you be happy if I tell you about a great cheap wine you
cannot get? Didn’t think so. So here goes for starters:
White: two great Sauvignon Blancs from California: Geyser Peak ($7-12) and
St. Supery ($10-15). Both are wonderfully herbal-grassy, clean, bright (=
good acid, but not raw lemon juice) with excellent balance (=good fruit
intensity to match the acid) and have NO OAK (thank goodness). They are
NOT the dull, melony, generic, typical SB’s we see so much of. Current
vintage likely to be 2004, but each year these are well-priced winners.
Tip: DO NOT AGE these wines, they will not likely do well. Drink them
within six months of buying them, and try to avoid past year’s vintages
for that reason. Drink them at below room temperature, but warmer than
Frig temp.
Red: I kid you not, try Yellowtail Shiraz ($5-8). Or any of these
Zinfandels: Castle Rock ($9-12); Seven Deadly Zins ($8-12) or Seghesio
Sonoma Zinfandel ($13-16). Yellowtail is everywhere and for the price is
very tasty. Not complex and not to be aged, great party wine with simple
hearty food. Nice vanilla oak and spice, but the black berry fruit is
intense. The three Zins are all very tasty with forward red and dark berry
fruit, all have spice, briary/stemmy edges typical of the wine, and medium
light tannin. All have bright acid and are dry (no residual sugar) with
decent length. Don’t age them either— Zins are meant to be drunk young.
Happy Tasting! |
