South Carolina Wine Joe

Lidl has brought some of it's most popular wines sold in Europe to the US.  Cepa Lebrel Rioja Reserva is one such wine.  You can find numerous articles and blogs online that mention this wine.  One newspaper article from London names Cepa Lebrel Rioja Reserva as one of the 10 "must buys" at Lidl. With a price of $6.99 for a 5 year old Rioja Reserva, the attraction to this wine is obvious.  Some of the European reviewers describe the taste as strawberry and vanilla oak.  I had to swirl the wine in my mouth for quite a while to detect anything that could be strawberry, but there is ample oak leaving my mouth feeling dry at the finish.  Prior to dinner, I would have preferred more fruit and less oak.   With dinner, I appreciated the wine more than earlier. I think this wine is a very good value but not the best Rioja you can buy. SC Wine Joe rating = 87 points

Costco has had Slow Press Cabernet Sauvignon in the store for several weeks and I have had it in my wine fridge for almost as long.  I have been trying new whites to accompany a lot of seafood, as well as exploring some wines from Lidl and I just never got around to opening this wine.  While I was neglecting red wines from Costco, I knew that there were other blogs reviewing those wines and I did not want to repeat what was being said elsewhere. I was not enthusiastic about this wine when I bought it since it was a California wine rather than one from a more narrowly defined AVA renowned for Cabernet Sauvignon, such as Napa Valley.   I later learned that the grapes are from Paso Robles, San Lucas (Monterrey) and Lodi aged for 9 months in American Oak.   When I finally opened the bottle, I found this wine to have intense bold flavors of dark berries, plum and cola and I was pleasantly surprised about the quality.  Wine Enthusiast rates the wine at 91 points and I have no reason to d

White Bordeaux is made from 3 classic grapes:  Sauvignon Blanc which provides a grassy flavor, Semillon which provides complexity and a bit of  honey flavor and Muscadelle which adds aromatic Vibrancy.  Entre-Deux-Mers is a sub region of Bordeaux in southwest France and it's white wines feature those three grapes. I found the Chateau Tour de Bennet Entre-Deux-Mers at Total Wines and it was exactly what I was looking for.  It was a lively fresh, crisp, fruit flavored white Bordeaux with the expected grassy flavors of Sauvignon Blanc mellowed by the softer Semillon,  The wine is 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon and 10% Muscadelle with an alcohol content of 12.5%. I found the wine to exhibit a range of flavors that kept it interesting to the end of the glass.  Total Wines sells this for $14.99, but with my coupon I paid $12.74.  This price is not the lowest in the store for white Bordeaux but far from the most expensive.  I think this is a great choice for beginning an exploratio

Trader Joe's August 2017 Fearless Flyer describes this Grand Reserve Chardonnay as crisp and elegant, with fruit forward bouquet, citrus notes up front and a bit of butter and oak on the finish.  I have to disagree with that description.  This is not a crisp, fruit forward wine but instead it is mildly creamy with notes of oak and butterscotch and a nut flavored finish.  This does not imply that it is not a serious Chardonnay.  I think it is, but just not the wine described in the Flyer. This Chardonnay comes from the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA which is part of the larger Monterrey AVA.  50% of the grapes are aged 6 months in American oak and the rest are aged 6 months in French oak.  The wine contains 14.5% alcohol and costs $12.99. If you are a fan of creamy, soft butterscotch Chardonnay, this is definitely a keeper.  However, it is not my favorite style of Chardonnay and I will look elsewhere. SC Wine Joe does not assign numerical ratings to white wines.

Lidl is selling Duca di Sasseta Ser Passo Toscano 2015 for $5.99.  There is minimal information on the bottle or online about the blend of grapes in this wine but Sangiovese is obviously the primary grape.  I tasted a semi-dry, full bodied Tuscan style wine with flavors of blackberry, dark cherry, plum and cocoa.  There are medium tannins and a long finish.  The wine has 14% alcohol.  There is a lot of flavor here which would pair nicely with red pasta. This wine exceeds expectations for a $5.99 bottle and if you are in the Lidl marketing  area of the Carolinas or Virginia you should try it.  I hope that Lidl continues to deliver this quality for such a low price. SC Wine Joe rating = 88 points

You may have noticed that I have been mostly writing about white wine lately.  Summer is white wine season for me, but I also have been trying a lot of new white wines in preparation for a talk and tasting on white wines that I will be presenting in October.  My plan is that the tasting will expose the audience members to wines that they are not familiar with.  I hope you red wine fans will hang in there and I will write about some red wines in the coming days. Bonterra is one of my favorite wine brands in the value price range.  The wines are made with organic grapes grown using sustainable farming methods.  I believe this results in better tasting wine selling for reasonable prices. I prefer Sauvignon Blanc from California above similar wines from New Zealand and South Africa.  California Sauvignon Blanc is far less grassy flavored and easier to drink.  Bonterra Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best examples of my preferred style.  There are flavors of apple, pear, citrus and minera

When I think of Cotes du Rhone, I imagine red wine -but the region also is known for it's white wine.  White wine from the Cotes du Rhone region of France is a blend of grapes that must be at least 80% Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Marsanne, Roussanne, Barboulenc and Viognier.  I found Famille Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve Blanc at Trader Joe's for $12.99.  It is not a Trader Joes exclusive, so you may find it for slightly less elsewhere.  This wine is Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier in unspecified amounts.  The resulting wine definitely reflects the Viognier.  It is pale in color with floral aromas, followed by fresh, bright flavors of pear and citrus with minerality on the finish.  The wine has 13% alcohol and would pair with fish and even crabcakes.  This is a terrific summertime wine which I really enjoyed. SC Wine Joe does not assign numerical ratings to white wines.

Bordeaux Superior wines can be made from grapes grown anywhere in the Bordeaux region of France, but they are considered "superior" due to planting and aging requirements.  One fourth of the vineyards in Bordeaux are superior.  In these vineyards, plantings must be more dense and the vines that survive are healthier vines but the yield is lower.  Bordeaux Superior wines are primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc with small quantities of Malbec and Petit Verdot. Fleur Sainte-Antoine is 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc and is aged 18 months in French Oak.  The wine has 13% alcohol.  There is additional information on the winery website but it is in French and I do not know what it says. I found the wine to be medium bodied with flavors of tart cherry, blackberry, blueberry and spice.  There is no sweetness in the wine but I really liked the wine and found it easy to drink.  The wine is $5.99 at Lidl and that is a steal! SC Wine Joe rating = 89 points

I found this Montepulciano D'Abruzzo at Lidl.  There is no name of a winery on the bottle to distinguish it from another Montepulciano D' Abruzzo. Recently, when writing about a wine from the Montepulciano region of Italy, I noted that Montepulciano was also a grape grown in the Abruzzo region of Italy, which creates some confusion.  Abruzzo is in central Italy along the Adriatic sea and the most notable red wines are made with the Montepulciano grape. I found this wine to be medium bodied with flavors of tart cherry, pomegranate and blackberry.  At first, this was not my favorite style of wine, but it really grew on me and by the end I was wanting more.  I did not drink this with food, but I think it would pair with red pasta or pizza if the sauce was not too sweet.  The wine has 13% alcohol and cost only $4.99 at Lidl. SC Wine Joe rating = 88 points