More Bargains 2025
Continuing this post into the new year, we start with a couple of go to inexpensive South American Wines bought at Trader Joe’s. This blog will continue well into 2025 with entries which exemplify “bargains” no matter where they might have been purchased. Most of the time, I will include wines that are particularly good but, at the same time, include some average or mediocre wines for context. Most of these wines will be under $10 but sometimes even a wine costing twice that is a bargain if the quality is stratospheric and the prestige and rarity would have expectations at a much higher cost.
TASTED 1/23/2025 through ?
Costco was quite a bonanza today with lots of really interesting looking wines with bargain prices. One old friend that we purchased is 2023 Doña Paula Single Vineyard Estate Grown EL ALTO Malbec Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, ARG (14% abv) $11.99 at Costco. We finally finished the last the Doña Paula that I had purchased back when I was strongly incentivized to sell this wine, so it was time to revisit it. It is clearly a superior product to the one I sold ten years ago. The ‘23 has much more peppery black spice, depth, complexity and finesse than the older vintages and adjusted for inflation, it doesn’t cost any more.
We’ve enjoyed Costco Bordeaux selections for some time that typically out perform those of similar price at Trader Joe’s. 2020 Chateau Bellevue-Favereau Bordeaux Supérieur (60% Merlot / 30% Cabernet Sauvignon / 10% Cabernet Franc) Bordeaux FR (14% abv) $6.99 at Costco is certainly a bargain. It is clearly Bordeaux in character and offers fine red fruit purity, good texture and a really nice refreshing berry-like finish. Next up by direct comparison, is long time Kirkland standby 2022 (Chateau Petit Freylon) Kirkland Bordeaux Supérieur (70% Cabernet Sauvignon / 30% Merlot) Bordeaux FR (14% abv) $6.89 at Costco which we’ve been buying pretty continuously for several years. Even though this is a two year younger wine, the color looks to have evolved further toward a rich black red than the ‘20 Bellevue-Favereau. No surprise that the nose is also more robust with real fruit power as well as fine tell tale scents of cedar and stones. This package continues throughout the firm mouth feel and long lasting dry appetizing finish. We’re way too old to be buying any of the great Bordeaux 2022 futures, but a case of this wine would make sense; wonderful now and I can’t imagine that it won’t just keep getting better as long as Alice an I are alive.
JACKPOT! Yes, that is how I feel after opening (screwcap) a bottle of 2021 esteban martín Grenache-Syrah Vino Varietal de España SPAIN (13.5% abv) $4.99 at Costco. Looking up this bottle on line, the winery’s website states that it is Cariñena DOP and hails from their 20-65 year old vineyard located in stony mountainous soils. None of that is on the label which makes me wonder why, if true and legit, it is not. It does state on the label that it is Vegan and Cerviva Certified. As a former winemaker who put as little as legally possible on my own labels, I’ll have to accept that there is probably a good reason to keep the consumer in the dark. It is a 92 point James Suckling award winner for good reason. This wine is absolutely delicious!! The aroma and first impression is so fresh, light and vivid that it is like biting into bracingly bitter-sweet fruit. It still smells of fermented grapes in a good way, like the smell of a winery during crush. The palate initially seems a tad sweet but is quickly doused with a firm bitter thistle-like texture. This is a palate sensation I just cannot get enough of though I am guessing it won’t necessarily taste the same a year from now. It is just a bit too vividly raw for Alice so I guess I’ll just have to suffer alone on this one. YUM!!
When I spotted this on the shelf, in my brain, reserva + under $6, I assumed it was from South America. But, this is a Spanish Reserva awarded 90 points by James Suckling so the price is remarkable. 2019 Faustino Rivero Ulecia Reserva (75% Bobal / 25% Tempranillo) Utiel-Requena DOC, SP (13% abv) $5.79 at Costoc possesses maturing reserva mouth feel as well as oak evidence. I have not experienced a lot of wine from this high gravely plateau west of Valencia but if this is indicative of the typical quality : price ratio, I’ll certainly be looking for this appellation in the future. Besides a nice warm rich fruit and earth bouquet, it is silky smooth on the palate. It certainly does not have the depth, complexity or grip of Rioja Reserva but for this kind of money, it serves as a very pleasant companion to simple meals.
Another old friend from Costco is the Kirkland Rioja Reserva which varies quite a bit from vintage to vintage ranging from “modern / international” style which tastes pretty much like any wine made anywhere to the old traditional Rioja style which probably exhibits the most demonstratively identifiable terroir on the planet. Fortunately for me, old fart that I am, the 2019 Kirkland Signature Rioja DOC Reserva SP (14% abv) $7.99 at Costco harkens back to wine I fondly remember as long ago as I’ve been drinking wine. The label says it is 100% Tempranillo, aged oak barrels for 30 months and was bottled by Bodega Eguia loacated in Elciego, Álava. I make note of this so that I’ll pay attention to this back label information when the 2020 comes out to see if it was bottled by the same winery located in the same prestigious locale though, nothing on the label suggests that the wine actually was gown or vinified there. After all, it is still a generic supermarket brand of unknown origin. Their customer base is not just Costco, but this winery produces private labels for supermarkets throughout Europe too. This wine is, however, emphatically traditional style which I’ve often described as “drinking blackberry brandy from a terra cotta cup in a room full of oiled mahogany furniture”. Yes, the nose is all about black berry, dust, char, and sweet aromatic oak which reinforces itself as soon as it touches the palate melting into a soft silky texture finishing with reminders of the smoke and earth from the bouquet. My kind of wine!
TASTED 1/10/2025
Most of the wines we picked up at Trader Joe’s on our last trip were okay but not worthy of praise or special notice. One, however, that while not spectacular does offer excellent value is the 2023 Motif Lake County Red Hills Cabernet Sauvignon CA (14.5% abv) $4.99. Even at Trader Joe’s it is unusual to see a single appellation, or should I say sub-appellation Cab at this price. The bouquet is rich and full of black fruit with a subtle herbal nuance that reminds me of some of the Cabs from Monterey County further south. It is much the same on the palate with the herbal element building as well as just enough tannin to make it interesting. It is not a big wine by any means but I wouldn’t exactly call it a lightweight either. This is a very pleasant wine to enjoy with pork chops with a pan reduction butter sauce. A good deal for sure.
TASTED 12/10/2024
Although I’m not much of a fan of “natural” wine, organic, biodynamic and sustainable all make sense to me especially in the context of wines that exemplify terroir. Seeing 2022 Green Fin California Red Table Wine made from organically grown grapes CA (12% abv) $4.99 at Trader Joe’s I figured what the heck? WHAT A SURPRISE!! I haven’t tasted a wine like this in thirty years. This is a real throw back to the California wines of the 1970’s and the Australian Shiraz’ of the 1980’s. The instant that it hits one’s nose a flood of spicy, smoky, toasty, sweet oak demands attention. This is the sort of wine our old friend Bob Burns used to refer to as “plank juice”. Although the oak dominates all aspects of bouquet, flavor and finish, after a few sips a very pleasant citrus peel, berry jam and simple grapiness takes over. This is not a wine fore everyone. But, I thoroughly enjoy throwing back a gulp or two with gusto while savoring casual meals or by itself with Monday Night Football.
TASTED 12/7/2024
Perhaps I jumped the gun transitioning to 2025 when it is still 2024, but, the thread I’m on now will probably linger into the new year. With our favorite meal (shown above with Tre Donaldson flying over Iowa defenders), we opened a couple of wines from Trader Joe’s. One we’ve enjoyed many times in many vintages and another that we had not seen before. Malbec is typically Alice’s favorite cheap red so when she spotted a 3+ year old, single vineyard rendition from the prestigious Uco Valley of Mendoza signed by the winemaker, she was intrigued. So was I when I was unloading the wines and felt the weight and heft of the bottle. It has the look of an expensive wine. 2021 Belhara Estate Malbec Valle de Uco Mendoza ARGENTINA (13.5% abv) $8.99 looks much more promising sitting on the shelf than open and poured into one’s glass. It is without flaws but also without much character. Nice deep color, good varietal aroma, a pleasant spice on the tip of the tongue and a clean dry finish make it pleasant enough. Yet, the ones sold at Aldi, Trader Joe and Costco for under $6 are just as good and many in the $6-$8 are vastly more interesting and memorable. So, I won’t be buying more of this one until the new vintage comes out. Secondly, we opened the new vintage of one my absolute favorites and it did not disappoint. 2023 Panilonco Cheif of Lions Carménère Reserva Viña Marchigüe Valle de Colchagua CHILE (13.5% abv) $4.99 always commands attention no matter the context or pairing. After tasting the Malbec, I feared that my taste buds might be sleeping but, I assure you, this Carménère woke them up. Barely over a year old, this richly colored deep dark wine explodes with precise varietal aromatics, bright cherry-like nuances with a complex composty finish. Though maybe not quite as big as some previous vintages, this is still a knockout rendition of Carménère, especially for five bucks! I’ve probably answered this question before, but I’ll do so again here because this is a frequently asked question. How is it that a wine can be labeled “Reserva” when it is barely over a year old? Unlike Spain, where the word Reserva on a wine label delcares that the wine not only harvest from a very good vintage and the grapes were fully ripe at harvest but also dictates an aging regime. Throughout South American, Reserva on the label simply indicates fully mature ripe fruit with no stipulation regarding the broader vintage comparison nor any aging requirement. Yet, this is hardly meaningless. Anyone who has tried to make wine from grapes at 20 brix versus grapes at 22 brix (approximately 1% difference in natural alcohol) will attest that the extra week or two the grapes hang on the vine make a monumental difference in wine quality. I wish we had some sort of nomenclature addressing this in Michigan vinicultural regulations.
Enjoy in Good Health,
A Brian Cain, the Michigan Vintner
