Five Value Red Finds

No fancy intros to this post. Here are some red wines for around $10 that we've been enjoying here in recent months, keep your eyes out for any of these for some good values.

2006 Castillo de Fuendejalon Crianza Appx. $10 75% Old Vine Grenache & 25% Old Vine Tempranillo. Fruity with a touch of oak, good value.

2008 Encontro Bairrad Enjoyed this Portuguese Red with our Ballpark Pasta--this #wine is a great buy @ $10! Full bodied, well-balanced, touch of pepper makes it a nice combination with sausage.

2009 Bouchard Aine & Fils Pinot Noir It's rare to find a Pinot for $10 (or even close) with the refinement of this one--it's a great food wine and a regular on our table. A Burgundy producer took his technique to some cheaper land in Southern France to the benefit of all!

2007 Monte Da Cal Portuguese Red Blend Lush, full-bodied, fruit forward. Another good value from Portugal. Grapes Aragones, Alfrocheiro and Alicante Bouschet.

2008 Veedha Duoro Red This blend of Portuguese red varietals--Cabriz, Alfrocheiro, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional--makes for a flavorful, medium-bodied wine. Food friendly with just 13% alcohol, a bargain at $11.

Rojo Mojo Shiraz from Spain. Under $10, fruit forward with bit of spice. Served with Farfalle with Feta and Chipotle dish. I had 2011 down but that can't be right for vintage!

Memorable Wines of 2010

I believe that if one has a year to get someone a wedding present, 1 month is a reasonable window of time for posting one's recap/"best of" article for the previous year. And by posting this list now is you've probably had enough of a break from such lists to be ready to read one again.

I wasn't quite as consistent in 2010 as I have been some years about recording all of the top wines that I sampled. Thus, I'm labeling this "memorable wines" as opposed to "best wines" as I'm quite sure I had a few more that warrant a place on the list. That said, these are the wines that rise to the top for me looking back at the year. They are not necessarily in order, but the 1st two I'd say were the one's I'd give my "gold medals" to if I had them to offer.

1971 Dosio Barolo The star of the Barolo vertical tasting at Pairings that I wrote about here. Its cherry fruit came through nicely, but in a nuanced way along with earthy made it a great match for mushroom risotto.

2007 WillaKenzie Estate Willamette Valley Gamay Noir Made with the grape featured in Beaujolais, but with a style more like pinot noir, the wine is delicate but complex, cherry fruit and interesting spice.

2007 Delas Chateauneuf-du-Pape Haute Pierre Very approachable 70% Grenache/30% Syrah. Fruit forward, some good complexity, nice long finish. A nice treat at fellow wine enthusiast's 40th birthday party!

2007 Mount Vedeer Winery Cabernet Sauvignon This Napa Cab features deep Blackish Purple, floral bouquet. Taste of chocolate, figs and current along with berry well-structured and nice finish.

2007 Willaimette Valley Vineyards Tualin Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir I enjoyed the entire sampler I got from WVV--their more entry level pinot is good too, as is their Riesling--but this one really shines.

2006 Bell Clone 6 Cabernet Sauvignon This big Napa Cab was a highlight of our "Gourmet Potluck"

Domaine Tempier Bandol (oops, didn't get the vintage down, this was an "extra" bottle opened after our Barolo vertical tasting).

05 DeLille Cellar "Doyenne" Syrah The Yakima Valley (Washington State) had cherry fruit and nice pepperiness. Sampled at a L'Espalier Wine Monday.