If you like Italian wine and you like great deals, then Nero d’Avola is a varietal you should get to know.  It typically offers the characteristics you’d expect from a good Italian red wine, such as vibrant acidity and rich tannins.  But it’s also typically much more affordable than some of the better known Italian wines, like Chianti, Barolo, etc.

Most Nero d’Avola, including this one, comes from Sicily, where it is the most planted red wine grape.  This one, more specifically, comes from the district of Butera in the Province of Caltanissetta, which is within the Riesi DOC.

There is so much vanilla on the nose of this wine that it almost smells like a vanilla concentrate.  It also shows some cherry aromas, tucked underneath the vanilla.  The palate is nice and filled with ripe cherry flavors, a little coffee, and red plum.  The acidity is sufficient and it has soft tannins, adding some texture to the mouth feel.  It finishes with a little bit of spice.  Overall, it’s a nice, well-balanced wine at a good price.

Wine: Feudo Principi di Butera
Variety: Nero d’Avola
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 86
Price: $13.00

Find Feudo Principi di Butera Nero d’Avola with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Over the last year or so I’ve done some ranting about zinfandel blends and how I see a growing demand for these wines.  Apothic Red is one incredibly popular example of this style of wine appealing to consumers and now Gnarly Head has come out with their own answer to the zinfandel blend with Authentic Red.

Gnarly Head Authentic Red hails from Lodi, California, which I consider to be the zinfandel capital of the world.  There’s something about Lodi that just makes it an ideal location for zinfandel.  It could be the climate, it could be the soil, it could be the people… but it’s probably a combination of those.  And, what’s more, 2010 was a great year for Lodi zinfandel.

OK… so, I’m going on about the zinfandel part of this, but that’s not all that’s in this wine.  The blend here is 50% zinfandel, 20% merlot, 17% cabernet sauvignon, 10% petite sirah and 3% syrah.

The nose on this wine is intense and beautiful, with cherry cola, blackberry and spice aromas.  The palate is fruit-forward—very fruit-forward—with rich, juicy blackberry, black cherry and blueberry flavors.  In a way, it’s almost like a slice of blueberry pie.  While I wouldn’t call this a sweet wine, there is a definite sweetness to the fruit flavors.  On the mid-palate, dark chocolate flavors show up to the party.  The acidity is good and the mouthfeel is nice.  It finishes long with lingering chocolate and black cherry flavors.

This isn’t a wine that’s going to appeal to snobs looking for a refined and elegant wine.  This is a casual, fun wine with bold flavors that are intense enough to stand up to rich foods like barbecue or burgers.  Those looking for a rich, juicy, fruit-forward wine will love this one.

Wine: Gnarly Head Authentic Red
Variety: Zinfandel blend
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 88
Price: $11.99

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

When I first started this website a lot of people commented that I must love Trader Joe’s because of all the bargains they have on wine.  And as much as I wanted to love Trader Joe’s, I just never became a big fan.  Most of the wines I tasted from them were nothing special, albeit they were dirt cheap — which is something I always love.  Plus there’s something about the folks working there that just seems inauthentic to me… they’re way too happy and remind me of flair-clad servers at TGI Fridays.

Anyway, while it seems like everyone I meet associates Trader Joe’s with dirt cheap wine, they are not the only one in that game.  The folks from Aldi sent a few of their wines our way to taste and I’d say they’re giving TJ’s some competition.  I’ve never been an Aldi shopper, so I had no idea they were carrying wines and I was a little surprised when they showed up.

I’ll admit that I was a little bit skeptical at first.  But as I looked them over, I saw a few things that were both intriguing and reassuring.  First, I was surprised to see the regions on the wines, Chianti, Napa Valley and Mosel.  Then I was reassured when I checked the alcohol levels and found them to be appropriate for the styles.  Sometimes I’ve found that really cheap wine will have an alcohol level that’s lower than normal, resulting in thin, bland wine, but that wasn’t the case here.  I also liked the backside of the labels, which has helpful graphics for folks who don’t know their wine well yet.

Now I will say that none of these wines absolutely blew me away, but none of them were bad either.  And for the dirt cheap prices, they are some bargains!

Gonfalone Chianti 2009

I’m a big fan of Chianti, but if I have a choice I’m usually going to select a Chianti Classico versus a Chianti.  I expect that a lot of wine consumers aren’t clear on the differences between Chianti and Chianti Classico and that’s an unfortunate circumstance of the names being so similar.  And I could confuse you even more by going into the other sub-types of Chianti.  But basic difference between Chianti and Chianti Classico is the region of production.  While Chianti comes from a rather broad region in Tuscany, Chianti Classico comes from a more limited region, selected for the quality of its grapes.  There are some other differences too, but I’ll leave it at that for now.  And while I tend to prefer Chianti Classico, I was pleasantly surprised by this Chianti from Gonfalone.

The nose on this wine is nice.  It shows well balanced raspberry, nutmeg, strawberry and perfume aromas with moderate intensity.  The palate is dry and offers plenty of ripe fruit flavors, like raspberry, plum and sour cherry, plus a little bit of spice.  Where it misses is on the acidity, which is more restrained than I would expect for a Chianti, although it’s not terribly off the mark.  The finish is decent, with lingering raspberry tea flavors.  Overall, it smells and tastes nice, but lacks some vibrancy due to the restrained acidity.

For the price, this is an extreme value.

Wine: Gonfalone Chianti 
Variety: Chianti
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $5.99

Walker Napa Valley Red Wine 2007

The color is a brownish, brick red.  It doesn’t have the bright red color of most young red blends, but then as a 2007, it ‘s not so young anymore.  I was actually a touch surprised to see them carrying a 2007.  Although it doesn’t say this anywhere on the bottle, this wine is a blend of merlot, syrah and cabernet sauvignon.

The nose on this wine shows cherry and plum aromas, as well as quite a bit of oak, which takes on nutmeg and cedar characteristics in this one.  The oak is a little heavy, but not offensively so.  The palate is medium bodied, which is exactly what the label says.  It does have some nice fruit flavors on the palate that give a touch of sweetness and touch of tart, such as raspberry, plum and strawberry.  There are some subtle tannins too.  The finish is a continuation of the fruit flavors with a bit of residual sugar leaving a slightly sweet flavor on your tongue.  This isn’t a wine that I’m going to rant and rave about, but it’s OK for what it is and still quite a value.

Wine: Walker
Variety: Red blend
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 83
Price: $7.99

Landshut Riesling

When I saw this wine I cringed a bit because I’ve tasted far too many bad, sweet rieslings in the past and I was skeptical.  But then I saw that it was from Mosel, which gave me some reassurance.  But the proof is ultimately with what’s in the bottle and I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

The nose is a little tight, but shows expecable aromas for a riesling, like honeysuckle, apple and lime.  The palate is sweet, with peach, apple and lime flavors.  It has enough acidity to bring it to life on your tongue, although a little more acidity would help the overall balance with the sweetness.  It finishes long, with lingering sweet apple flavors.

Wine: Landshut
Variety: Riesling
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 9.5%
Rating: 83
Price: $4.99

Disclosure: These wines were received as a media sample.

Every now and then we come across something we weren’t expecting and that gets us intrigued.  This is one of those cases.  It’s a carignan from Chile.

I wouldn’t be surprised to find a carignan from Southern France, or even from a Paso Robles Rhone Ranger.  But I wasn’t expecting to see one from Chile.  And my first hunch when I saw it was that someone was experimenting in Chile, but this is more than an experiment, it comes from 60 year old vines!  Yes, this wine has been in Chile for a while.  And that’s a good thing because carignan from young vines can actually be a bit too astringent.  And while this one has a little bit of astringency, it’s not unapproachable.

This wine has the kind of aromas on the nose that make me fall in love with a wine.  It’s a beautifully balanced blend of fruit and spices.  It opens up with cedar and nutmeg aromas, supported by cherry and black currant.  There’s no subtlety to this wine.  It’s in your face in a bold and confident way.  The palate has a slight astringency, which as I said, is typical for carignan, but the flavors are quite nice.  It has a deep, spiced black currant, blackberry and beet flavor, which evolves into cocoa on the mid-palate.  The finish lingers for an extended time, showcasing the cocoa and currant flavors, along with some black tea notes.  This wine will definitely show you something different from the everyday, in a good way.

If you’re an adventurer with your wine, I’d say this is definitely one to check out.

Wine: Meli
Variety: Carignan
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 86
Price: $15.00

Find Meli Carignan with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

I imagine that for many American wine consumers, particularly those who are relatively new to wine, the question, “What is a Claret?” is the thought that crosses your mind as you see this bottle on the shelves.  ”Is it a varietal?  Is it a location?  I know I’ve heard James Bond refer to a wine as a Claret.”  These are all legitimate questions and thoughts to have.  I too once thought, “What’s the difference between a Claret and a Bordeaux?”

Well, it’s really quite simple.  ”Claret” is a British term that has been used for centuries as a generic name for Bordeaux.  It’s not indicative of a particular part of Bordeaux or a specific varietal, it’s just another name for Bordeaux.  The French historically haven’t used the term themselves, although I’ve read that they are reclaiming the word in 2012 to describe wines that are “light and fruity, easy to drink, in the same style as the original claret when it was prized by the English in former centuries.”

So, the next question you may be pondering is, “Is this wine from Bordeaux?”  The answer to that question is, “no.”  In the case of Francis Coppola Winery they are using Claret to indicate this wine is the style of a Bordeaux.  It’s a Bordeaux style blend from California with 81% cabernet sauvignon, 9% petite verdot, 5% malbec, 3% merlot and 2% cabernet franc.  You may notice that the wine is also labeled as a Cabernet Sauvignon and although it’s a blend, American wines can technically be labeled as a varietal if they are made from 75% or more of a single variety.

In addition to the blend, another touch that adds to the Bordeaux-like nature of this wine is the fact that it was aged for 15 months in French oak.

Harmonious is the first word that comes to mind when smelling this wine.  Complex is the second word, as there’s a lot going on here with black cherry, blueberry, plum, vanilla and toasted oak aromas.  The palate is elegant, with a silky mouth feel serving up plum, blackberry and black currant flavors.  The finish offers a touch of spice and black tea, with the fruit flavors sustaining and balancing the bitterness of the tannins.  This is a very approachable and pleasant-drinking claret, or cabernet sauvignon… whatever you want to call it.

While the suggested retail price of this is $20, a quick online search turned up prices as low as $14.

Have you tried it?  Let us know what you think.

Wine: Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Claret
Variety: Bordeaux-style blend
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 90
Price: $20.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

One of the exciting things about wine is the almost endless variety you can find in types of wine.  I think too often we gravitate toward something we know well, like a cabernet sauvignon or merlot and don’t explore enough.  If you’re looking to branch out from the everyday wines and taste something unique, you may want to try a Ripasso, like this one from Zonin.

Ripasso is a wine made using a technique where the dried grape skins leftover from a batch of Amarone are added to a new batch of juice to go through a second fermentation.  In case you’re not familiar with Amarone, it’s a really rich Italian wine made using exceptionally ripe grapes that are partially dried out prior to winemaking.  This results in a wine that is extremely concentrated, high in alcohol and has flavors of dried fruits (e.g. raisins) and chocolate.  It’s a really tasty wine, but it also tends to be a rather pricey wine.  You can think of Ripasso as a “baby Amarone.”  It has some of the same flavor characteristics, but it’s lower in alcohol, a little bit lighter-bodied and more affordable.

The Zonin Ripasso is made with 70% Corvina, 20% Rondinella and 10% Molinara grapes.  So, in addition to the style of winemaking being unique, these may also be some new types of grapes for you.  The wine is aged in Slavonian oak barrels for 1 year and in the bottle for another 6 months before distribution.

The nose is really enjoyable on this wine, with aromas like raisins, spicecake, black cherry and black pepper.  The palate is nicely balanced with flavors like plum and black cherry up front and a touch of chocolate coming in on the mid palate.  The acidity is sufficient, although a touch more wouldn’t hurt.  I’d say the same thing about the tannins.  The finish is decent, although a tad bit short.  I like just a slight chill on this wine, serving it just below room temperature.

Those comparing this wine to an Amarone may find it a bit thin.  Although there’s plenty enough structure to the body to make this an enjoyable wine, it’s just not as big as it’s bigger brother.

Wine: Zonin Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso
Variety: Ripasso
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 86
Price: $18.00

Find Zonin Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Today we’re taking a look at another Californian red blend.  This one is a blend of 46% syrah, 31% malbec and 23% petit verdot from Ancient Peaks Winery in Paso Robles.

This wine is a deep, dark purplish-red color with incredible density.  It’s almost inky in appearance.  The nose is just as powerful as the wine is dark, with intense aromas of nutmeg, cedar, plum and chocolate covered cherry.  The palate continues the bold theme of this wine, with jammy fruit flavors, like cherry and plum.  And I do mean jammy.  Wowee, this wine is so dense it’s almost chewy.  There’s plenty of spice on the palate to make this interesting too.  The acidity and tannins are good, and the wine finishes with intense cherry flavors, almost like a cherry cough drop.  It’s a very big wine, which won’t be everyone’s thing.  But if you’re into bold, rich wines, this one is a winner.

The suggested retail price comes in just north of our typical $20 limit, but I’ve seen it for sale as low as $16.00.  And at that price, this wine is a steal!

Wine: Ancient Peaks Winery Renegade
Variety: Red blend
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 90
Price: $23.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Some of the most interesting wines I’ve been coming across lately are blends.  Pure varietal wines are fine, but putting together a blend allows winemakers to leverage the characteristics of different grapes to create balance and complexity.

The Concannon Conservancy Crimson & Clover is a new release from Concannon and is a petite sirah blend.  Concannon has quite a history with petite sirah as they were the first to produce it in America.  The blend here is 50% petite sirah, 25% cabernet sauvignon, 15% syrah and 10% zinfandel, which sounds to me like a uniquely Californian blend.

The “Crimson & Clover” name isn’t an homage to Tommy James & the Shondells or to Joan Jett.  Rather, it is meant to represent the Concannon family history with wine (Crimson) and their Irish heritage (Clover).  And if you didn’t know, the “Conservancy” name, which is part of a portfolio of wines at Concannon, comes from the fact that the land where the grapes are grown is part of a conservancy.  Specifically, the grapes come from the Livermore Valley in the Tri-Valley Conservancy, which is an area of over 3,100 acres protected from urban sprawl by a conservation trust.

The nose on this wine is absolutely beautiful, with licorice aromatics leading the experience.  It also shows some plum, candied fruits and cedar on the nose.  The palate is very nice too, with a perfect blend of abundant, ripe fruit flavors and spice.  The fruit shows expressions of plum and cherry, while the spice is a combo of nutmeg and black pepper.  The spices really come out on the finish, which also brings out the tart side of the fruit.  The mouth feel is slightly silky.  This is a very approachable and exciting wine.  Good stuff!

Wine: Concannon Conservancy Crimson & Clover
Variety: Petite sirah blend
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.7%
Rating: 90
Price: $18.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Oh, and just in case you have a certain song rolling around in your head after reading this, here you go…

I’ve commented in previous reviews that not all malbec comes from Argentina.  Today we have the opportunity to check out one from Chile, the Maule Valley region to be more specific.

This malbec is from Apaltagua, not an unfamiliar brand to us.  We’ve reviewed a few of their other wines and found them to be nice, so we were certainly curious to see what they would do with a malbec.

This malbec is definitely different from the Argentine ones we’ve tasted.  The nose has a pronounced vegetal/herbal characteristic that I would describe as a cross of green pepper and mint.  I often appreciate the complexity and character that an herbal or vegetal aroma will add to a wine, but in this case it’s a little out of balance, making it detract from rather than add to the wine.  On the positive side, it also shows some clove, plum and cherry aromas which are quite nice.

The palate offers up plum and cherry flavors with some black pepper toward the finish, which is a touch on the bitter side.  The fruit is nice, but I still find myself questioning the balance in this wine.  I’m starting to sound a little negative, so to be clear I don’t hate this wine.  But at the same time, I don’t love it.  It’s a drinkable malbec, but it just doesn’t have the balance and harmony needed to make it a great malbec.

Wine: Apaltagua Reserva
Variety: Malbec
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 82
Price: $12.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Ricardo Santos is one of those brands that doesn’t do a lot of marketing, and doesn’t do a lot of storytelling.  Which means it’s a brand that we just don’t know much about, other than what the wines tell us.

Last year, we reviewed the 2008 Ricardo Santos malbec and we weren’t blown away by it.  But the 2009 has opened our eyes as to what this producer really has to offer.

The nose of this malbec is lively and interesting, with aromas of black cherry, blueberry, mocha and tobacco.  It’s all very harmonious too, which is important.  The palate is delicious, with juicy plum and black cherry flavors up front, followed by a spicy mid-palate and long finish.  The mouthfeel is nice, and the acidity is just right.

Putting the fancy descriptors aside, the equation that matters here is lively+interesting+harmonious+delicious = a really nice malbec.

Wine: Ricardo Santos
Variety: Malbec
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.9%
Rating: 90
Price: $19.00

Find Ricardo Santos Malbec with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.