Grouping 1) Best Value/Lowest Chance of Getting Ripped off: Argentina and South Africa. I have spent about 6 months in each of these countries and their wines are simply fantastic. While I make no guaranties about a US$5 bottle, any bottle in the US$12 range is going to be a nice wine, and anything over US$25 should knock your socks off. You can read my Argentinean selections on the right, look up Simonsig, Kleine Zelze and Raka as some great producers from South Africa (I know for certain the Simonsig Pinotage is available in the States and is a fantastic bottle).
Grouping 2) Great Expensive Wines/Lots of Garbage: Spain and the U.S.A. Both of these countries dedicate massive amounts of grapes into largely undrinkable table wines that are best ignored, or in the worst-case scenario, used in sangria (where the 7-up and fruit mask the horrible taste of the wine itself). At the US$12-25 level there are not many steals of a great bottle. However, both countries (I've spent almost 2 years in Spain, and am from the US) produce some really outstanding wines, but immediately price them through the roof to avoid any confusion with the $3.99 jug wines that 99% of the market drinks. A Rioja like El Puntido, which we had at Arzak in San Sebastian after I asked my wife to marry me, is an example of a great wine that would be a steal and a half at $30-35, but is never to be found for under $50.
Clos Pegase 2003 Cab Sauv: is another example of a fine, fine bottle of red that is priced at the $50 level, and is worth it, but just enough that you wish it was a bit cheaper and thus available for enjoying on a more frequent basis. I have been to the Clos Pegase winery in Napa Valley twice, and it (along with Joseph Phelps) is one of the most beautiful places to visit in the valley.
I bought this bottle when I was in the States last June and it has been quietly relaxing in my wine fridge waiting for a moment worthy of cracking it open. Since yesterday was my 18-month wedding anniversary, and I was making some steaks for me and the Mrs., I decided it was time.
I opened the bottle and immediately decanted so as to allow a fair amount of oxidation/breathing before drinking. I knew the wine was going to be big, bold and full of complexity so a minimum of 15 minutes of breathing is essential to allow the wine to open up and reveal all it has to offer. Diving in too fast for any wine at this level (and really any wine over $15) mean missing out on all the good stuff. The biggest surprise was that the nose was huge in Terrior, exactly like the dusty, farm smell you get after walking through the vines in Napa for an hour or two. The legs on the wine went straight up to the top of the glass and stayed there. It was indeed an impressive display of American audacity.
As you can see in the photos, there was a decent amount of sediment in the bottle after I decanted. I was quite pleased to see this, if for no other reason than it makes me think the bottle has been sitting around for an extended period of time waiting to be appreciated, and that is calls back to the old French wines long before the days of excessive filtering.
Interestingly, Clos Pegase dedicates a page on their website to explaining the how/why of sediments in their wines and is quite an interesting read.
Group 3) France: I have been to France 3-4 times but almost always for work and usually for less than 48 hours. While I always buy wines when I am there, using every word of French I know to either talk cabbies into taking me to a wine shop, or to get good recommendations from the wine shop owner, I can't say I know enough about specific vineyards. Generally, the French have their shit together when it comes to making wines, so as long as you follow my rules about never buying a bottle with pastel colors on the label, or where the words Reserve are in bigger letters than anything else, you can trust that the wines are priced correctly and that the more you spend, the better wine you are getting.
NOTE: If the word Table Wine (Vin de table) is on the label, don't expect much and don't pay more than $7. France's system of Appellation Controlle, Cru, Gran Cru, is a good guide to quality.
Group 4) Wines from Countries I have never been to: Italy, Australia, New Zealand. Sorry, I've never been there and have not gotten around to drinking any of your stuff. Now that I am in Brazil there is next to no wines from these places available anyway, and with the 100% import duty, for sure the price/value equation is shot. Technically I can add Chile to this list since I have never been there. I do drink the occasional Chilean but as noted in my rules, Argentina kicks their ass everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.
Upcoming South American Wines: I have about 400 new Argentinean and Chilean wines whose photos and reviews I need to upload, and then add to the ranking on the right. Maybe sometime this week. The gist of the reviews will be that there is further confirmation that any Argentinean red with the work ALTO/ALTA/ALTOS/ALTAS is a rock solid selection. We also got two bottles of Carménère wines from Chile (one expensive, one not) that I'll pair up with a mean shortly and give a full review.
Runs: Quick recap, today is Saturday and I have gotten in 3 runs this week as part of bast training. Nothing special but a 10km, 12km and 5.5km. I'll get in some today and a 10 miler tomorrow. I feel like garbage for the most part out there, but the legs should come back shortly.
Okay - We are doing some serious BBQ-ing here today so I gotta run and make some BBQ sauce. I have a rack of pork ribs in the fridge that I slow-baked for 2.5 hours last night covered in a home-made dry rub and are looking awesome
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