Rare reserva Chianti bargain

Ever want to drink a mature wine but didn't want to break the bank ? Now's your chance . Shoppers Corner in Santa Cruz scored some of this 2008 Belvedere Chianti Reserva and is selling it for only $ 14.95. The original price is supposedly over $ 30.00. Money, however does not guarantee for a great tasting wine but in this case I feel that at this price it is unusual to find something this specatcular. It is wonderful with food and really should be enjoyed a.s.a.p. as I don't think that it will last much longer. We gave it 9 swiggs and rated it in the top-5 of the year so far.

Dry Creek Zin

I found a new Zin at Trader Joes that shows some promise. This 2013 Painted Cave Dry Creek valley Zin is very good for $ 11.95 and a rare treat at this price from one of Sonoma's leading appellations. The wine is not overly jammy or sweet, just a nice balanced red that is better with food than a lot of Zins. I'll give it 7 1/2 swiggs and say that it will probably drink even better in a couple of years. It's no Ridge Geyserville but it is barely a third of the price.

Local red of note

A few days ago I was reading the local paper and found a review of this wine. I have been a fan of this winery since the early '90's when I knew the owner at that time and got to sample a lot of the reds from that vineyard. The quality was usually very good but every once in awhile they would make something really special. Many years later the winery now has a tasting room just a few blocks from where I work and the wine is more widely available.
I picked up this 2012 Pierce Ranch Petit Sirah yesterday and we had it with dinner last night. While it might not be the biggest wine from this grape it is still really robust and flavorful. It isn't overly sweet or alcoholic , it strikes a really nice balance between a dry and fruity version of this intense varietal. I'll give it 8 1/2 swiggs. You can generally find this for $ 19.95 at New Leaf markets or at the tasting room on the west side of Santa Cruz.

A taste of an oldie

I bought a bunch of this Sagelands Columbia valley cab a number of yeas a ago from the local Shopper's Corner market for $ 8.99. I was really happy with the '99 but when they ran out of it they got in a shipment of '02 which I was not as keen on. It was still a good value but I put a bottle away and pretty much forgot about it until a couple of nights ago. This bottle sat in my cellar for over 10 years-I had just watched a show about sommaliers that had a part about drinking older wines. Now this wine is not as old as the wines featured in the show but at nearly 14 years old it should have been well past its prime, not having a reputation for being an 'ager'. I was rewarded with a very nice wine with some pruny port-like tastes and richness that was not there when the wine was young.
So......if you run across this wine you might want to get a few bottles and try drinking it over a period of years rather than months to really see what time can do with it. I'll give it 8 1/2 swiggs and say that it is far better now than it was back when I bought it.

In this case , the reviewers are correct !

I used to buy wines from Bogle about 20 years ago . Looking at the grapes used in this blend I was curious to see if Bogle could pull off a nice wine for $ 8.99 , right in the range of a 'weekday' wine price for me. There's old vine Zin, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Sirah in this blend, not really a Bordeaux or Rhone style-more of a California "Hey.....let's try this and see what happens" style-or at least that's how I interpret it. About 8 years ago I bought a wine called River Park that possibly was a similar blend with grapes from central California and it was one of my top picks of the year. I can't say if this Bogle is that good but on first taste I will say that it is a very successful experiment and a wine that I will keep buying. This 'Essential Red' 2013 can be found at Trader Joes and scores a 7 1/2 swiggs-oustanding for a sub $ 9.00 red. The wine Enthusiast gave it 89 points and I think that they are right on the mark-almost an outstanding wine.

Napa Valley red with heart

That's a purple heart to be more precise. This wine is made by a Viet Nam war veteran and he annually donates to the Purple Heart foundation some of the proceeds from the sales of this wine. There are other reasons to buy this wine- for one , it is reasonable for a Napa red at $ 13.99. For two, it is very well made and a nice dry example of a red wine from this great region. I found this one at Shopper's Corner here in Santa Cruz but I'm sure that it exists elsewhere. We gave it 8 swiggs, a good score in this price range. There is no information on the label indicating what grapes are in the blend but it seems to be a Bordeaux style .

Napa Cab that is a bargain

Yes......sounds impossible but in this case it is true-there's a Napa Cabernet for just under $ 15.00 that is pretty darn good. Back in the early '90's I got a bunch of reserve wines from Sterling and cellared them for awhile. I would taste one very six months or so and conclude that the wine was too tannic. It remained that way until the last bottle was drank......so I decided that I really didn't care for the way Sterling Cabs were made.
Here it is, many years later and I found this bottle at Shopper's corner and decided to give it a try. This  2011 Sterling anniversary Napa valley cabernet is a very good wine for $ 14.95-in fact it would be a very good wine for $ 20. It isn't huge but it does the Napa style justice and really improved as we drank it. I would give it 7 1/2 swiggs, maybe 8. If you find it anywhere, pick up a bottle and see what I mean.