Dr Vino's wine blog

Spain
Spain once harbored the ambitions to become “the world’s wine cellar” in the late 19th century but the phylloxera aphid laid waste to those hopes as it had to the French vineyards slightly earlier. While never really emerging from the long French shadow, Spain does have the most acres under vine of any country and is the world’s third largest wine producer. A transition to quality has been underway over the past two decades and several dynamic new growing areas and winemakers have been emerging. Finding great price-to-quality wines from Spain is easy: here are but a few suggestions.

Castaño, Solanera, Monastrell, 2000, $9.
An old joke compares politics to sausage: you just want to enjoy the end result, not what went into it. This wine comes from Murcia, a region better known for its sausage than for its wine. But one thing you will want to know about this wine is what went into it (politics included!). Located just west of Alicante in the small and unknown growing area of Yecla (which only has four producers), Bodegas Castaño is making some top-flight wines. This one is smooth as silk from beginning to end. Imported by Eric Solomon, who has a large portfolio of excellent French and Spanish wines, the Solanera is a blend of old-vine monastrell grapes, more commonly known as mourvèdre in the Rhône, and cabernet sauvignon. Wonderful scents, beautiful complexity and an excellent finish will make people fortunate enough to find this wine savor each and every glass.

Dehesa Gago, g, 2001. $9.
Gago does it again! Telmo Rodriguez, the prolific and diverse winemaker from Spain, has produced another great vintage of this well-packaged wine. (Has it really been that long since the first 10 for 10 list?) The elegant black label with a prominent white g adorns this bottle. But it’s not just the container that’s important here since the local grapes (100% Tinta de Toro, the local name for the red-wine grape Tempranillo) are made in a jammy, New World style. With only limited imports to the US, it is best to buy this wine with both hands.

Osborne, Solaz, 2000, $5.50.
This is another easy-to-find, easy-to-drink wine from Spain. Viva España! A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon/20% Tempranillo is from the sherry makers, Osborne (not the Osbournes of MTV fame!). Although the label states that the house was founded in 1772, that date refers to Osborne, not the new winery into which the company has recently poured $47 million. Thus far the capital that has rained over the arid Castilian plain near Toledo has produced a wine that may lack complexity but is very drinkable and an excellent value.

France
France produces many of the world’s top wines so the challenge in French wines is to find a good price to quality ratio. I find the far-flung growing regions of Bordeaux to be quite alive with innovation and great winemaking, yet quite well priced.

Château Cheval-Blanc Signé, white, AOC Bordeaux, 2000. $5.
Members of the ABC (anything but Chardonnay) club will enjoy this crisp, dry white from the outer reaches of Bordeaux. While made of mostly Sauvignon Blanc, it lacks the cloying sweetness and citrus of many other Sauvignon Blancs. Fans of granny smith apples will love this wine since green apples predominate. Riesling is often suggested as a good wine for spicy Asian foods but this one also fits the bill without the sweetness that many people dislike in Rieslings. This wine is a win-win to bring to a party: not only do you impress your host with a Bordeaux and enjoy it if it is opened, but if it is not opened the low price makes it easy enough to replace and have another at home.

SCV Castelmaure, Col des Vents, AOC Corbières, 2001. $6.50
Mrs. Vino and I sought out this winery during our April 2002 trip to Languedoc. The sommelier at a nearby restaurant recommended another of their wines, the excellent La Pompadour 1999 (not available in the US), and that made us take the winding road up to this winery. Located in a high valley in the Corbières growing area of Fitou, just a stone’s throw from the Mediterranean coast, this winery is a cooperative, which means that some 70 local growers collectively own the winemaking facility. The totally unpretentious facility cranks out wine that is much more complex than other wines from the area. A nice purple color gives way to an appealing nose followed by a palate of black currant and other dark fruits. When we were there, a Danish customer was filling his car with cases of their wines. Since Americans can’t drive there and load up, Kysela Père et Fils imports it. This American bottling has a handsome label and an even more attractive price to quality ratio.

Grange de Rouquette, Marsanne Viognier, 2001. $9.
This vin de pays d’oc blends two local white wine varietals that aren’t very well-known in the US, the Marsanne and the Viognier. Viognier is unforgettable from the Rhône’s Condrieu area and starting to catch on in California where it is generally north of $30 a bottle. Hence this Viognier is a steal. This pleasant, unoaked wine was a great complement to some Italian sheep cheese (pecorino) covered in fig spread on a water cracker. Another great import from Robert Kacher.

Château Paul Mas, Vinus, 1999, $8.
Unlike Château de la Négly, which started at the top, Domaine Paul Mas has traditionally been a table wine producer who is now reaching for quality. The 1999 Vinus, a grenache-syrah blend aged in oak barrels, is an appellation wine from the Côteaux de Languedoc. My brothers came over for lunch one day and we cooked a meal and ate on the deck with a bottle of Vinus served slightly chilled and in short, Italian-style glasses. Most enjoyable.

Grande Cassagne, Costières de Nîmes, 2001. “GS” La Civette. $7.
Think blue jeans. As in denim, or “de Nîmes” as the material was originally known in French. This wine, also “de Nîmes,” is supple and smooth as a pair of old jeans. Since appellation wines are not allowed to display the grape varietals on the label, this producer coyly calls it “GS,” which could stand for “Great Stuff,” but instead Grenache-Syrah, the blend’s two grape varietals. This wine has a good red color, a complex nose, and surprising sophistication and complexity. The finish is slightly abrupt although not unpleasant. But hey, it’s only $7 and for that, it’s a steal.

Domaine de Pouy, vin de pays Gascogne, 2001, $5.
Tired of Chardonnay? Try this unctuous white from Gascony in southwest France. Unbelievable value, the crisp flavors of peaches and apricots, devoid of citrus, butter or oak, make this a perfect wine to keep close to the deck (great with insalata caprese). Don’t buy more than you intend to drink for the next few months since it is best while young and fresh.

Austria
Austrian winemakers have had to overcome a lot of adversity. Not only are they high-cost producers in a global marketplace but difficult and unfamiliar names can be off-putting. Further, the winemakers hurt themselves through scandal. In 1985, sales of Austrian wines fell off a cliff when several producers were caught adding diethylene glycol to their wines to add sweetness. This led to a worldwide recall of almost all Austrian wines and tainted the local industry’s reputation. Real wine journalists now say that Austrian producers have thoroughly escaped this shadow and now are producing some strong wines, thanks to a new quality policy. Jancis Robinson recently reported that Austrian white wines decisively beat white Burgundies in a blind tasting. I was eager to find out for myself.

Loimer, Grüner Veltliner, Langenlois, 2000. $9.99.
“Gru-V,” baby. No this is not the wine commentary of Austin Powers. In fact, this is how sommeliers in fine restaurants are pitching this Austrian white wine varietal. The grüner veltliner is a crisp, dry alternative to the well-known Teutonic white wine, Riesling. Using no oak, this medium-bodied wine is very approachable with notes of citrus and a slight effervescence. As with many Gru Vees, this wine is fast friends with vegetables and shellfish. Loimer also makes a very good Spiegel wine that is more complex with a longer finish for $18. Surprise your friends by showing them this good wine from Austria.