BUYING GUIDE - Wine Enthusiast Magazine

BUYING GUIDE
86
Espiritu de Chile
2009 Sauvignon
Blanc (Central Valley); $9.
Tropical and also citric, and
holding steady as the 2010s hit
the market. The palate here is
familiar, tangy and well constructed,
with sweet melon
and zesty citrus flavors offsetting
one another. The finish is
easy and overall this is a fresh,
clean, modest wine that
should be drunk right away.
Imported by Cecchetti Racke.
86
Vini 2008 Veni
Vidi Vici Cabernet
Sauvignon (Thracian
Valley); $8.
Herbaceous notes of dill
and green wood converge
with ripe, sweet plum and
spice aromas on this
medium-bodied, bargain
Bulgarian Cabernet Sauvignon.
Although initially soft
with notes of sweet blackberry,
it gains earthiness in the midpalate. Firm
tannins offer structure, but the vanilla finish
drops a bit abruptly. Imported by Bulgarian
Master Vintners.
85
BESTBUYS BESTBUYS
BEER
Veo 2009 Grande Cabernet Sauvignon
(Colchagua Valley); $7. Bargain
hunters should like this mildly medicinal
Cab because it’s got raspberry and black fruit
character and only minor faults, i.e. slight medicinality.
Otherwise it’s fruity, steady and
respectable, with good body and mouthfeel.
Imported by Prestige Wine Group.
85
Healdsburg Ranches 2008 Cabernet
Sauvignon (Sonoma County);
$10. Good price for a nice, dry Cabernet with so
much fruit. It’s forward in ripe blackberry, blueberry
and cherry jam flavors, with a rich coat of
smoky oak.
85
Healdsburg Ranches 2009 Zinfandel
(Sonoma County); $10. Here’s
a good, fruity Zinfandel to drink with your barbecue,
and the everyday price is right. It’s dry and
tart in berries, cherries and spices, with Zin’s
wild, briary personality.
84
Delicato 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon
(California); $7. A good buy for
its dryness and overall balance. You won’t mistake
it for a cult Cabernet, but the blackberry
and currant flavors work.
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95
Allagash Curieux Ale
Aged in Oak Bourbon
Barrels (Tripel; Allagash Brewing,
ME); 11% abv, $15/750
ml. Curieux (French for curious) is
a Belgian Tripel Ale aged in Jim
Beam barrels for eight weeks.
Introduced in 2004, this is the
June 2010 bottling, for which 825
cases were produced. The nose is
loaded with spice, citrus, banana
and sour stone fruit with vanilla
accents. Big and weighty in the
mouth with a lush roundness provided
by the elevated abv. While
the alcohol is noticeable it’s balanced
by peppery spice and Bourbon notes
migling with stone fruit flavors. The moderate
effervescence lightens the intense profile, leading
through to a clean but lingering finish.
92
Uinta Crooked Line
Series Labyrinth Black
Ale (American Double/Imperial
Stout; Uinta Brewing Co.,
UT); 13.2% abv, $12/750 ml.
At a whopping 13.2%, you’d think
you’re in for a brute of a beer, but
this imperial stout brewed with
licorice sticks and aged in oak
barrels is one beautifully balanced
and ageworthy selection.
Black as night with an attractive
nose of dark stone fruit, chocolate,
roasted espresso beans,
licorice, charred grain and
vanilla. The aromas carry
through to the mouth, where the toasted malt
and nutty oak dominate the sweeter attributes of
caramel sauce and burnt toffee. Creamy and
robust with a slightly viscous feel, low carbonation
and a lingering tannic bitterness on
the close.