December 2006
Wine
Values in reds & chardonnay
HIGH PERFORMERS, FAMILIAR AND LESS SO We found top-notch wines in big-selling varietals such as merlot and chardonnay as well as in two up-and-comers, pinot noir
and zinfandel.
Finding an excellent wine that’s also affordable--say, under $20--is difficult but not impossible. In this year’s Ratings, we’ve identified two excellent zinfandels and three chardonnays. In all, there are 15 CR Best Buys among our Quick Pick recommendations (available to subscribers), including some very good bottles that cost as little as $8.
But value is elusive with some varietals: cabernet sauvignon, for example. In U.S. sales of red varietals, cabernet is second only to merlot. But we couldn’t find a moderately priced, widely available “cab” that our two wine experts, with nearly 60 combined years of wine-tasting experience, judged to be excellent. We had to spend $85 to find a bottle that was good enough to serve as the gold-standard “reference” bottle in our blind taste tests.
There’s no definitive reason why modestly priced cabs in our batches didn’t earn top marks with our testers. One expert suggested that cabernet may need to be blended with high-quality grapes from other red varietals to achieve fine results--and that can be difficult to do at a moderate price. Up to 25 percent of the juice that makes an American wine can come from other varietals, but that may not be enough to create “the requisite complexity and intensity of fruit to merit an excellent Rating,” the expert said.
That’s not to say you can’t get a very good cab for a reasonable price; we’ve listed five among the 21 in our Ratings. But if you want a great wine at a great price, consider one of the other varietals. In these Ratings, we’ve included 14 zinfandels (available to subscribers) and 22 chardonnays (available to subscribers). We’ve also included the results from retesting new vintages of previously top-ranked merlots and pinots noir; all but one of the brands still rank as Quick Picks.
We concentrate on bottles that sell for $20 or less, though we include a few more-expensive ones. To increase the odds of finding high-quality wines, we consider those that have consistently garnered praise from others, including some wine publications. We leave out wines whose production is limited, choosing instead bottles that should be available in many stores. (For more on our wine tests, and how they differ from those of other publications, see Have You Heard.)
Here’s a lesson we’ve learned in our buying: Even as wine consumption is rising, wine prices aren’t, necessarily. Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve 2003 Zinfandel sells for $12; its 1997 vintage sold for $14 when we rated it in 2000. We called both very good. Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon sells for $16; its 1997 vintage sold for $17 in 2000. That wine also improved in quality; this year, our testers said it was very good; in 2000 they deemed it merely adequate.
Because holiday dishes (and winter fare, period) often call for hearty accompaniment, we’ve focused on reds in this report. But we’ve also included the best-selling white wine, chardonnay, for those who prefer a satisfying white with their Thanksgiving turkey.
How to choose
Consider the tastes you favor. Some varietals have several distinct styles. A chardonnay, for example, can be predominantly fruity (apple, pear, citrus, and tropical fruits are typical aromas) or more buttery or oaky, or it can have a mix of fruity and buttery and oaky notes. It can be dry or off-dry (slightly sweet). If you discover that you like a fruity, off-dry chardonnay, you might like others that match that profile.
A merlot may be dominated by fruit aromas or offer a mix of fruity and woody elements. It may have herbaceous aromas in addition to its typical dark-berry and spicy notes. Excellent cabernets share many aromas and flavors with merlot. Unlike merlots, however, cabs have a reputation for being more full-flavored and aggressive from the mouth-puckering tannins of the thick-skinned cabernet grape. (Especially tannic cabernets often benefit from at least a year of aging, which smooths out those tannins.)
Consider other tasting attributes. The astringency of tannins is among the qualities beyond taste that characterize the experience of a wine, and may affect your preferences. Texture, which is related to the intensity of tannin, is how the wine feels in your mouth, from sharp to soft and smooth. When wine experts speak of structure, they mean a combination of alcohol, sweetness, acid, tannins, and flavors--the wine’s basic sensory components--that create an almost three-dimensional sensation in your mouth. In general, better wines have a more detectable and pleasing structure.
Finish relates to how long the wine’s taste and texture linger after swallowing. While all wines have alcohol, some create an undesirable hot flavor on the tongue, specifically described as trace alcohol.
Don’t automatically equate high price with high quality. It’s true that many pricier wines are superb, and that the world’s best wines never cost $5 or $10. But in our tests, some of the best wines are often relatively inexpensive. Conversely, some $20 or even $30 wines have mediocre scores.
Don’t depend on consistency. Some producers, including many of the biggest California and Australian wineries, produce a wide range of varietals. While some such brands score well across their lineup, just as many have bottles that vary widely in quality among, say, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, and sauvignon blanc.
Wines in the price range of those we tested aim for, and often achieve, consistent quality from one vintage to another. If a wine we’ve rated highly isn’t available in the vintage we tested, try the newer one. But wines can falter from one year to the next. An example: Artesa Carneros Pinot Noir 2002, which we rated excellent in 2005 but did not earn top marks when we retested its 2005 vintage. Taste the new wine, then, before you order a case of it based on enthusiasm for an old vintage.
Consider the food being served. Full-bodied wines, including most cabernets, generally complement rich dishes. Classic pairings for cabernet include braised, roasted, or grilled lamb or roast beef, and chocolate desserts.
Zinfandels pair with foods similar to those served with cabernet; you can also pair zins with creamy pasta sauces, barbecue, and even pizza.
Fruity-style chardonnays work with lighter fare, such as grilled fish, Asian food, and lightly fried dishes; they also make good aperitifs. Chards with buttery or woody notes tend to call for richer fare, such as cheeses or seafood and pastas that have butter or cream sauces.
Merlot complements duck, grilled meats, and many other foods. Fruity merlots partner well with dishes that feature fruit-based sauces, while those that mix fruity and woody notes are good with savory side dishes, including yams.
Oily and fatty fish such as salmon is a classic pairing for pinot noir. But this light-bodied red also goes well with many rich, savory foods and with broiled, roasted, or grilled meat or chicken.
But value is elusive with some varietals: cabernet sauvignon, for example. In U.S. sales of red varietals, cabernet is second only to merlot. But we couldn’t find a moderately priced, widely available “cab” that our two wine experts, with nearly 60 combined years of wine-tasting experience, judged to be excellent. We had to spend $85 to find a bottle that was good enough to serve as the gold-standard “reference” bottle in our blind taste tests.
There’s no definitive reason why modestly priced cabs in our batches didn’t earn top marks with our testers. One expert suggested that cabernet may need to be blended with high-quality grapes from other red varietals to achieve fine results--and that can be difficult to do at a moderate price. Up to 25 percent of the juice that makes an American wine can come from other varietals, but that may not be enough to create “the requisite complexity and intensity of fruit to merit an excellent Rating,” the expert said.
That’s not to say you can’t get a very good cab for a reasonable price; we’ve listed five among the 21 in our Ratings. But if you want a great wine at a great price, consider one of the other varietals. In these Ratings, we’ve included 14 zinfandels (available to subscribers) and 22 chardonnays (available to subscribers). We’ve also included the results from retesting new vintages of previously top-ranked merlots and pinots noir; all but one of the brands still rank as Quick Picks.
We concentrate on bottles that sell for $20 or less, though we include a few more-expensive ones. To increase the odds of finding high-quality wines, we consider those that have consistently garnered praise from others, including some wine publications. We leave out wines whose production is limited, choosing instead bottles that should be available in many stores. (For more on our wine tests, and how they differ from those of other publications, see Have You Heard.)
Here’s a lesson we’ve learned in our buying: Even as wine consumption is rising, wine prices aren’t, necessarily. Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve 2003 Zinfandel sells for $12; its 1997 vintage sold for $14 when we rated it in 2000. We called both very good. Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon sells for $16; its 1997 vintage sold for $17 in 2000. That wine also improved in quality; this year, our testers said it was very good; in 2000 they deemed it merely adequate.
Because holiday dishes (and winter fare, period) often call for hearty accompaniment, we’ve focused on reds in this report. But we’ve also included the best-selling white wine, chardonnay, for those who prefer a satisfying white with their Thanksgiving turkey.
How to choose
Consider the tastes you favor. Some varietals have several distinct styles. A chardonnay, for example, can be predominantly fruity (apple, pear, citrus, and tropical fruits are typical aromas) or more buttery or oaky, or it can have a mix of fruity and buttery and oaky notes. It can be dry or off-dry (slightly sweet). If you discover that you like a fruity, off-dry chardonnay, you might like others that match that profile.
A merlot may be dominated by fruit aromas or offer a mix of fruity and woody elements. It may have herbaceous aromas in addition to its typical dark-berry and spicy notes. Excellent cabernets share many aromas and flavors with merlot. Unlike merlots, however, cabs have a reputation for being more full-flavored and aggressive from the mouth-puckering tannins of the thick-skinned cabernet grape. (Especially tannic cabernets often benefit from at least a year of aging, which smooths out those tannins.)
Consider other tasting attributes. The astringency of tannins is among the qualities beyond taste that characterize the experience of a wine, and may affect your preferences. Texture, which is related to the intensity of tannin, is how the wine feels in your mouth, from sharp to soft and smooth. When wine experts speak of structure, they mean a combination of alcohol, sweetness, acid, tannins, and flavors--the wine’s basic sensory components--that create an almost three-dimensional sensation in your mouth. In general, better wines have a more detectable and pleasing structure.
Finish relates to how long the wine’s taste and texture linger after swallowing. While all wines have alcohol, some create an undesirable hot flavor on the tongue, specifically described as trace alcohol.
Don’t automatically equate high price with high quality. It’s true that many pricier wines are superb, and that the world’s best wines never cost $5 or $10. But in our tests, some of the best wines are often relatively inexpensive. Conversely, some $20 or even $30 wines have mediocre scores.
Don’t depend on consistency. Some producers, including many of the biggest California and Australian wineries, produce a wide range of varietals. While some such brands score well across their lineup, just as many have bottles that vary widely in quality among, say, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, and sauvignon blanc.
Wines in the price range of those we tested aim for, and often achieve, consistent quality from one vintage to another. If a wine we’ve rated highly isn’t available in the vintage we tested, try the newer one. But wines can falter from one year to the next. An example: Artesa Carneros Pinot Noir 2002, which we rated excellent in 2005 but did not earn top marks when we retested its 2005 vintage. Taste the new wine, then, before you order a case of it based on enthusiasm for an old vintage.
Consider the food being served. Full-bodied wines, including most cabernets, generally complement rich dishes. Classic pairings for cabernet include braised, roasted, or grilled lamb or roast beef, and chocolate desserts.
Zinfandels pair with foods similar to those served with cabernet; you can also pair zins with creamy pasta sauces, barbecue, and even pizza.
Fruity-style chardonnays work with lighter fare, such as grilled fish, Asian food, and lightly fried dishes; they also make good aperitifs. Chards with buttery or woody notes tend to call for richer fare, such as cheeses or seafood and pastas that have butter or cream sauces.
Merlot complements duck, grilled meats, and many other foods. Fruity merlots partner well with dishes that feature fruit-based sauces, while those that mix fruity and woody notes are good with savory side dishes, including yams.
Oily and fatty fish such as salmon is a classic pairing for pinot noir. But this light-bodied red also goes well with many rich, savory foods and with broiled, roasted, or grilled meat or chicken.
