The annual Best Bang for your Buck Tasting!

Local wine store downtown, most wines under or around $20 Cdn. I always enjoy helping out, pouring and bs-ing! 80 folks stand up, most ready to taste, discuss pick and choose some wines for the upcoming festive season.

We started off with the 2014 Koster Wolf Sauvignon Blanc from the Rheinhessen. There is a good selection of KW wines here in town including Kerner, Huxelrebe, Muller-Thurgau etc. This proved to be a winner for many at the tasting which was a surprise and this SB flew out of the store at the end of the tasting. Next up was a Chardonnay from the Languedoc....2015 Marrenon Les Grain. All I can say is that will suit the in-laws when they come over!
The 2013 Porca de Murca Tinto from the Douro was the first red served. Bright ruby red, pepper, raspberry, violets, smoke on the nose. Nice ripe fruit, earthy, good grip but not a big fave with the crowd. Fair price I`d say...$16. I was eagerly waiting for the next red from the Rhone, the 2015 Jaume Gelinottes Cotes-du-Rhone, Ventoux. . Easy drinking style for me, did not really meet my expectations. Pepper, cherry, brambleberry. Did have a very nice violet nose though. I would hand sell this one if customer wanted an easy drinker.
WOTN was next, the 2013 Torreon de Paredes Carmenere, Cachapoal, Chile. Very good length, smoke, blackberry, blueberry, good balance, I spoke about "old world style". A nice depth of fruit here, one to put away for say 2 years. $19 so great value up here in Alberta! Took some home, still alive after 2 days.
A 2013 Tempranillo from Entresuelos, Castilla y Leon was up next. Earthy nose, big mocha finish for many in the room. Cherry aromas, blueberry, so-so wine for me. Malbec up next, the 2013 Piatelli Premium Reserve, Mendoza. Nose had oak aromas, some blackberry fruit but not too distinguished. Slick looking label and package. Pass, $21.
I have not tasted much Shiraz of late and found the 2013 Saltram from Barossa pretty average. Tasters were keen though..."solid, smooth, plum, sweet berries, clove, can I have more?"

So pretty good tasting for those who paid $30. Space was rather crowded but tasters spent some good bucks before departing into the cold night air.

This past June I went into a bar/restaurant in Worms, mainly to watch a soccer game (Germany's first game in the Euro championships) and had a few glasses from some local Rheinhessen producers. The Sauvingnon Blanc was a standout, even though I'm not a big fan of that grape.

Ah, I can totally understand why the '13 Porca da Murca was not a hit with the crowd. I've been given a few glasses of this wine recently at one of the Portuguese restaurants I visit, and, while it isn't horrible, it is pretty dull wine. This is a very mass market brand in Portugal, produced by Real Companhia Velha (RCV, roughly the 'Old Royal Company'). This producer has huge holdings in the Douro, and up until recently, most of the wines have been under performers. A winemaker in the Douro described them as a 'sleeping giant', and they may be getting their act together recently. But I don't think that has filtered down to Porca da Murca yet.

Nice notes, Bob, which seem to me to capture the essence of the occasion and the wines served. Somehow the idea of good Riesling land being used to produce SB sticks in my gorge and I don't think that I have ever bought a SB from Germany. However, there are lots of good report. It's another prejudice to discard.

Thanks Tim. Wines under $20 do not often appear on my tasting horizon but I am always keen to try a new wine on the shelf if recommended by the Devines staff.
I did buy the Carmenere yesterday and will cellar for a year or so.