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Inexpensive Wine Reviews, Ratings and Rants. Use the right column to select your wine interests.
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Edna Valley Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
Surprisingly strong and flavorful for a $9.99 bottle. Very dry as well - overall a strong 8/10. I found this being promoted on an end cap at the local grocery, Harris Teeter.
This wine hails from the central coast of California, where the warmer climates let Cabernet grapes florish. Blackberries, black cherries, hints of cocoa, with a lightly spiced oaky finish. Slight vanilla in the nose. Tannins are strong and compliment the dry finish nicely. No complaints here - the Edna Valley Cabernet makes the A Wine A Week top inexpensive wine list.
2008 Anakena Sauvignon Blanc
Now this pretty picture just makes me mad because I spent all day raking up those damn leaves in my back yard. At least it was hot enough to wear shorts. Happy Fall, I suppose.
The Anakena is more of a spring/summer wine, as are most Sauvignon Blancs, but this one is worth breaking the rules. Coming in at the $8 mark at Total Wine, it's a heck of a value. Sweeter notes of gooseberry, grassy tones, and light citrus. The Anakena is a bit thicker than expected as well. When it warms up, there is a slight "tinge" in the finish that is the only reminder that this is an inexpensive wine.
Great value, 7.5 out of 10 rating. Grab it if you see it.
Trivento Torrontes White Wine 2008
Tart. Citrus. Lemon. Limestone. Heartburn.
A bit "alcoholly" with a big sip and was not very good when it lost it's chill. This may be the first white I've had from the Mendoza region of Argentina which is typically known for it's Malbecs. This wine hails from the Trivento Bodegas Y Vinedos vineyard. I'm sticking with the Argentinian reds as this was a bit acidy for me. 3.5/10 rating. $11 at Total Wine.
Francis Coppola 2007 Diamond Claret Wine
For those who know the four P's of Marketing, this wine covers 3 of the 4 well: - Price: $13, not too steep
- Promotion: With the black and gold, the design is top-notch. Plus, the gold thread is unique and certainly makes it stand out.
- Place: Costco, known to have great value on quality wines
- Product: yeah...the wine could have been better
3 out of 4 ain't half bad ;). I'll give it 5.5/10. "Claret" isn't some new grape, it's just a fancy way of saying it's made in the traditional Bordeaux style. A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 4% Merlot, 4% Malbec and 3% Cabernet Franc. Once I opened the bottle, the aromas filled the room - very strong, especially with the oak/vanilla scents. The dryness came out on the second night, which helped it along. Coppola's Director's Cut Zinfandel blows this out of the water, spend a few extra bucks (stocked at Trader Joe's).
Step Rd Beacon Hill 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
The Step Rd Cabernet was a surprisingly good pick up from Total Wine for $10. I'll give it a strong 6.5 out of 10. Definitely drinks like ~$14 wine...not blowing my socks off, but beats out the normal $10 bottle of vino.
Dark berries with tannins biting nicely on the finish. Cola flavors as well with oak. Could be a bit dryer, but not complaining. A great weeknight wine.
Mark West Pinot Noir 2007 Wine
Save $7 and have a Luden's Wild Cherry cough drop instead. Excuse me Mr. West, let me be serious and just say this Pinot Noir is VERY cherry and sweet. Vanilla on the finish. It mellowed out after a few hours of being open and is much improved on the second night.
On a more positive note, I would like to thank Mr. West and this bottle for giving me the liquid patience to get through an Ikea dresser assembly that is currently going on its second night. Definitely the most intense Ikea product I've put together, I'm thankful for having booze by my side.
$7 from Costco and I would not purchase this again. 3/10 rating. Like the price but it's simply cherry sugar water.
Castano 2007 Monastrell Yecla
This Spanish red wine is light and sweet with a rocky, twang of a finish. It's $8-9 online, but I picked it up for $11 at Total Wine (apparently overpriced there). Very juicy, very plum, very sweet.
I can't say I've ever tasted the Monastrell grape, it's certainly interesting and unlike any wine I've had. Worth the novelty just to try something new (for under $10). Spain, keepin' it real cheap. 6/10 rating, avoid if you are into the dry wines.
Dona Paula Estate 2008 Malbec
About 60 minutes after opening this bottle of wine, I was blindsided by a cold that knocked me out of commission for 2 nights. On night three, I'm trying to sniffle through this slightly turned bottle of wine, but am not having much luck activating my overly Day-Quilled tastebuds.
I should have reviewed this Malbec the first night rather than stumble through this post, but c'est la vie. Although I don't remeber the tasting details, it was average at best. I'll give it a 4/10, but don't take this review as gospel due to the circumstances. $11 at Costco.
Earth Wise 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
With the recycled looking label and a name like "Earth Wise", this one caters to the ex-hippie baby boomers while meeting the price standards of the green college students. It's a bit of a shocker to see the Harris Teeter logo on the back of the label though. This was priced at $6.99 and found at the grocery store who's logo it bears.
Besides a chuckle at the grocery store logo, the back label also describes the wine with probably every wine descriptor possible:
Soft & fruity, this Cabernet Sauvignon has aromas of blackberries and
cherries. Deep garnet in color, this wine has flavors of black cherries,
raspberries, and vanilla accented with lightly tosasted oak.
Can't miss there. It was the vanilla and oak that stood out nicely for me. Pretty happy with this green red wine for the price. 4.5/10 rating (+5 for being green - it ain't easy). Basically, you get what you pay for.
Mud House 2008 Sauvignon Blanc
$17 at Sam's Wine. I believe this one was on their Top 100 Wines of 2008 list as it's a good one. I haven't met many Sauvignon Blancs from Marlborough, NZ that I haven't enjoyed. In fact, I need to stop wasting my time with Sauvignon Blancs from the US. If you do some price shopping online, it can be found for around $10-14, which would put this in the best inexpensive wines group. I'm convinced Sam's is overpriced, especially on their Top 100 wines.
I'd like to say thanks to Mud House for the handy guide on the back which has three sections: Nose, Palate, & Food Match. That's right, a cheat sheet on the label - brilliant! Zippy and tart lime flavors stand out, but it starts out very smooth. Worked out well with the Fresh Market crab cakes.
Markham Vineyards 2005 Merlot
Very dark berries and quite spicy for a Merlot. Definitely a nice surprise in both. Great with red meat but I don't recommend it with seafood - the crab cakes we had on night one didn't bring out the full potential of this wine. The smoky-ness rivaled that of the cabernet we also had open. the cola flavors in the finish are also notable, but it leaves your mouth a bit gummy.
Good but not great. 5.5/10 rating for this mid-$20's bottle of wine.
Oak Leaf Vineyards Shiraz
This wine is worth triple it's price! (...which would be $9.) My expectations were quite low when I picked up this cheap bottle of wine at Wal-Mart for $2.95. After letting it breathe for about 30 minutes, this turns into an excellent weekday pizza wine. It's day two and the wine is still surprisingly fine (unlike three-buck-chuck, the one-day wonder).
It's a bit tart in the finish, but has nice flavors throughout and the plum stands out. I wouldn't try to pass this off as a more expensive wine - at best, it drinks like a $9 wine, as I mentioned. Heck of a value and great to have on hand when you just need a drink on a Tuesday. Primarily a strong rating for value, this exceeded my expectations and gets a 6/10 rating. I'll be picking up a few bottles next time I visit for those rough weeknights.
Jip Jip Rocks 2007 Shiraz
Fitting this picture was taken on our back deck as it suited our Fajita-Que nicely. For the layperson, a Fajita-Que is a spicy alternative to burgers and brats on the grill. Tonight I finished the bottle and it worked well with blackened salmon. In other words, a great cheap wine for spicy food. I highly recomend this for pleasing the masses at your next BBQ (fajita or burger!)
I found this shiraz on the "Highly Rated Wines for Under $15" table at Total wines coming in just under the max at $14.99. The Jip Jip Rocks are a real location in remote southern Australia on the Limestone Coast. Lifted spice and ripe mulberry/blackberry aromas are complimented with chocolate, cedar and cinnamon on the nose. Well integrated oak tannin provides flavors of clove and supple texture which supports the rich plum, blackberry and mocha. The overall structure is supple and generous with fine-grained tannin on the finish enveloped with ripe fruit overtones. 90 pts - Wine Advocate (Feb. 09)
They said it best. I'll only add that the Jip Jip Shiraz has a nice sweet jammy finish. 8/10 rating. 
Courtney Benham 2006 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon
I was quite excited when I received this bottle as a gift and saw the relationship to Stag's Leap. With Stag grapes and a name this long, it must be great, right? Unfortunately my expectations were too high as this turned out to be a very average wine. It wasn't bad, I just think you can do better. It's also great to note that my wife was finally able to enjoy a small glass now that she's in the 2nd trimester of her pregnancy (boy due around xmas).
The dark purple color was the first thing I noticed as I poured two glasses Floral on the nose and a bit tart on the tounge. The licorice flavor really stood out to me (as I'm not a fan of black licorice and question the sanity of those who are). Dark cherries and blackberries also chimed in for a nice rounded mouthful of flavors. Pepper, tannins, and mild-dryness on the finish.
If I was to guess the price based on flavor, I'd put it around $14...and would have been pretty satisfied. Upon a bit of Internet research, it actually price out closer to $30...which leaves us with an unimpressed 4/10 rating for this overpriced wine.
Oak Ridge 2005 Gnarled Vines Zinfandel
Hailing from Lodi, California, this wine of the week was found at Total Wine on their "High Rated Wines for Under $15" table. At $7.99, this is one of the least expensive zinfandels I've reviewed.
It's too sweet and sugary for my zin-loving palate. Also, it's doesn't have the big, bold flavors I expect in a good zinfandel. Total Wine: take this off the table, as it's no longer high rated: 3.5/10 rating. Good news in the price, bad news in the taste. We'll see if it opens up more on night two.
Fetzer Pinot Noir - 2007
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