This is what is on my wine list this fall. Some of these I have already reviewed and some I will be reviewing in the weeks to come. I hope you enjoy tasting these wines as much as I enjoy tasting and writing about them.
2007 Malbec - Crios de Susana Balbo. This wine normally goes for around $13.99 but I was able to get it on sale for $11.99 just over the weekend. I mentioned the Susana Balbo 2007 Dominio del Plata "Crios de Susana Balbo" Rosé of Malbec in an earlier Malbec article. If you would like to review that article check it out: A Malbec for Everyone . This 2007 Malbec is not a rosé wine. This is the real Malbec and I was quite impressed with it. At $12 - $14 it is a value and it is on my Fall Wine List.
There are two vineyards I like and they are worth mentioning again. One is Bogle and the other is Fetzer. A friend of mine used to tell me that she did not like dog wines. I had not heard wines referred to as dog wines so I asked her to explain. She told me that some wines are so woody tasting that it reminded her of a dog chewing on an old oak stick in the back yard. She did not like wines that had such a heavy oak flavor that it was like chewing on an oak stick - hence the name dog wine.
I really like the Petite Sirah or the Vintage 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon that Bogle is producing right now. I did a review on Bogle's Petite a while back; 2006 Bogle Petite Sirah . The Bogle Cabernet is equally as good as the Petite. The color is dark purple and the flavor is not woody. My friend would not call this is a dog wine.
The reason I like Bogle and Fetzer has to do with the consistent quality of the wines they produce. Fetzer produces the same wine quality year after year. And the price does not seem to ever go up. I am not sure how they do it but it was something I mentioned in my interview with Dennis Martin last spring; Dennis Martin Wine Maker Interview . If you are interested in downloading the pod cast audio interview, let me know by dropping a line to me at the box at the bottom of this page and I will send you the link. You could not go wrong with a Fetzer Cabernet or maybe the Merlot. So pick either the Bogle or the Fetzer and add them to your list.
You should consider a rosé or a blush if you are into college football games on Saturday afternoons. These wines make great wines to have when your friends come over for the game. The wines are light and easy going so you don't get weighed down with it. I really liked the Santa Fe Blush I wrote about recently. It is from New Mexico and would be a good one to serve as an aperitif for the football game crowd; Santa Fe Blush . Or you could try the Chakana 2006 Malbec Rosé; A Malbec for Everyone .
If you are looking for a white and something that is really off the chart from what you have tried in the past, check out the Unwooded Chardonnay from Promised Land; 2006 Promised Land Unwooded Chardonnay . The Promised Land Riesling is excellent too!! I thought it was better than the Unwooded Chardonnay if you can believe it.
This is a good time to start looking around at sparkling wines and I tend toward either Korbel Natural Sparkling (approx $14.00), which I serve at Thanksgiving or to a nice sparkling from Spain - Cristaline Method Tradicional. It is a Brut Cava and it is in the $7.00 price range. I liked it so much when I tried it, that I got a case just to have some sparkling on hand for the spur of the moment times when you want a little something to have on hand to celebrate an event (even if it is just making home through all THAT traffic!). If you get this one beware. It is not a sweet sparkling. If your tastes run to cold duck or Riunité don't get this one. It tends to be a little drier with a light sweet taste on the palate.
Say, How's your Italian?
Let me know how things are going with you, O.K.?
Jim Fortune, The BellaOnline Wine Guy
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