WBW 76: Barossa Boomerang

Not too long ago I drank quite a bit of Australian wine, particularly Shiraz. Given that this grape, also known as Syrah, expresses greatness in the Barossa Valley I could not pass an opportunity to revisit this region for this months’ Wine Blogging Wednesday. Our host, Adam from Wine Zag, proposed we look for any [...]

WBW 76: Barossa Boomerang originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

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Follow My Wine Reviews on Pinterest

When I first got started on Twitter I had high hopes of posting frequent reviews there but it never really worked out. It was partially due to the 140 character limit but the transient nature of the medium ultimately kept me only reviewing wines there as part of an organized Twitter live tasting. But with [...]

Follow My Wine Reviews on Pinterest originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

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Top Values in 2010 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (and where to buy them)

Photo by wburris

With all the excitement surround 2010 Rhone as it relates to Scoop the Spectator 2012 I thought it would be interesting to pause for a moment and focus on the best actionable values in 2010 Chateauneuf-du-Pape. When I say actionable I mean wines that can still be had at retail for at or below release price.

But determining value is a little more complicated. Sometimes when people talk about value wines they really mean wines under some arbitrary price. But the deal hound knows that value can be had at all price points - it depends on what you get for your dollar.

When scanning through the ratings and prices in Wine Spectator's recent 2010 Rhone issue I noticed they didn't have a Top Values section for 2010 Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Although they did have a Top Southern Rhone Values section (CdP is part of the Southern Rhone) it was capped at $20. That being the case there were no CdPs in the value rankings.

We can scan the Top CdPs for good Quality-to-Price Ratio (QPR) wines but I thought I might be missing some good wines because the lowest rated wine in that list is 94 points.

To determine value within a category I use the wwpQPR equation (Wellesley Wine Press Quality-Price-Ratio). There's a JavaScript implementation of this calculator on the right side of my site. Give it a try if you're interested, but I've pulled Spectator's ratings for 2010 CdP and put them through the equation:

More on the WWP QPR here if you're interested, but here's what the wwpQPR scale looks like:

Interpreting the wwpQPR's Normalized Scale:

  • >8.0 Incredible value
  • 4.0-7.99 Outstanding value
  • 2.0-3.99 Very good value
  • 1.5-1.99 Good value
  • 1.01-1.49 Above average value
  • 0.5-0.99 Below average value
  • 0-0.49 Poor value
Normally I try to obtain these wines and taste them to offer an additional opinion to consider. But these 2010s, from what I've tasted, really need time to be enjoyable. Compared to the gregarious 2007s, these 2010s are more classically styled. That being the case, I doubt I'm going to pop a lot of these in the near term, least of all before the best values have disappeared from retailers.

All of these are 2010 Chateauneuf-du-Papes, sorted by value according to the wwpQPR Calculator:

  1. Domaine St. Prefert Charles Giraud 99WS/$75/3.20 wwpQPR (Very Good Value)
  2. Domaine St. Prefert Auguste Favier 97WS/$58/2.16 wwpQPR (Very Good Value)
  3. Domaine de Beaurenard Boisrenard 97WS/$70/2.16 wwpQPR (Very Good Value)
  4. Chateau Fortia Tradition 93WS/$31/1.94 wwpQPR (Good Value)
  5. Kirkland (Costco) Signature Cuvee de Nalys 91WS/$20/1.89 wwpQPR (Good Value)
  6. Le Vieux Donjon 96WS/$66/1.82 wwpQPR (Good Value)
  7. Domaine Giraud Les Grenaches de Pierre 98WS/$105/1.81 wwpQPR (Good Value)
  8. Domaine Giraud Tradition 95WS/$54/1.76 wwpQPR (Good Value)
  9. Domaine Giraud Les Gallimardes 97WS/$88/1.72 wwpQPR (Good Value)
  10. Domaine Ferrando Colombis 95WS/$58/1.64 wwpQRP (Good Value)

    How about that Costco wine sneaking in there? Don't think I would have caught that if I hadn't done this exercise. (PS I've tried had the wine, didn't much like it. 86 points WWP)

    Some of these we've talked about before -- Four 2010 Chateauneufs that have a very real chance of slipping away -- but those four wines were more through the lens of which CdPs have a shot at winning WS Wine of the Year.

    I wanted to push a little further to find the 5 best CdP values you can still actually buy.

    So I had to press on to the next 10 wines. I started catching white CdPs - had to filter those out of course ;)

  11. Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe La Crau 96WS/$75/1.60 wwpQPR (Good Value)
  12. Domaine de la Cote de L'Ange 93WS/$39/1.54 wwpQRP (Good Value)
  13. Clos des Papes 98WS/$128/1.49 wwpQPR (Good Value)
  14. Domaine Tour St.-Michel Feminessance 95WS/$66/1.44 wwpQPR (Good Value)
  15. Tardieu-Laurent Vieilles Vignes 96WS/$85/1.41 wwpQPR (Good Value)
  16. Chateau Fortia Cuvee du Baron 92WS/$55/1.37 wwpQPR (Good Value)
  17. Domaine de Cristia Renaissance 96WS/$88/1.36 wwpQPR (Good Value)
Of these 17 wines, here are the 5 best 2010 Chateauneuf values you can still buy along with some commentary:

Domaine de Beaurenard Boisrenard CdP
97WS/$70/750 Cases Produced
2.16 wwpQPR: Very Good Value

Still available between $60 and $70 but only from a few retailers: Wine-Searcher

Best East Coast play: Empire Wine at $70
Best West Coast play: K&L at $60

Note: Beaurenard also makes a regular CdP bottling that's also a nice value (93WS/$44). RP only went 91 points on this one so this should temper enthusiasm a bit.

Chateau Fortia Tradition CdP
93WS/$31/9,000 Cases Produced
1.94 wwpQPR: Good Value

Still available between $28 and $38 from numerous retailers: Wine-Searcher

Best East Coast play: $28 at Gary's
Best West Coast play: $28 at Vinopolis

Note: There is a 92WS/$34 "Cuvee de Baron" bottling as well (also a good value) and some retailers list a Rouge bottling which I don't see a rating for from Spectator.

Domaine Ferrando Colombis CdP

95WS/$58/400 Cases Produced

1.64 WWP QPR: Good Value

Some east coast availability between $60-$90: Wine-Searcher

Best East Coast Play: Grapes the Wine Co
Best West Coast Play: None

Note: A whopping 97 points from RP on this one so I'd expect it to go quickly.

Domaine de la Cote de L'Ange CdP
93WS/$39/6,000 Cases Produced

Better availability on the east coast south of release price: Wine-Searcher

Best East Coast Play: Gary's and Wine Library both at $32
Best West Coast Play: Vinopolis at $36

Note: They also produce a pricier Vieilles Vignes bottling (94WS/$62). 93 RP as well.

Clos des Papes CdP
98WS/$128/5,600 Cases Produced

Availability beginning to diminish at favorable price points but the ship hasn't sailed yet: Wine-Searcher

Best East Coast Play: Grapes the Wine Co
Best West Coast Play: Premier Cru
Best Massachusetts Play: Gordon's (though I doubt their pre-arrival offers are still actionable)

Note: Even when the 2005 won Wine of the Year it could still be found for just slightly over retail. I wouldn't go too nuts trying to track this one down. It's out there. 99 RP.

Hope this is useful. If you haven't already, don't forget to get your entries in for Scoop the Spectator 2012! Many of these wines haven't been guessed yet. Contest ends Friday and we're playing for a $200 Amazon Gift Card. Thanks for the entries so far! I've updated each of the entries with Wine-Searcher links to make it easier to find these wines.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/gHwGuU_otEQ/top-values-in-2010-chateauneuf-du-pape.html

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Details surface on buyer of Wine Advocate stake

Soo Hoo Khoon Peng is the newest owner of the Wine Advocate, report blogger Vincent Pousson and Decanter.com. They point to email received from sources close to the transaction saying that he led a syndicate of buyers to pay $15 million for an undisclosed stake in the company. Soo Hoo, listed as vice president at [...]

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Columbia Crest Winery: New Vintages of Old Favorites

Columbia Crest, located in Paterson, Washington, has been one of our favorite sources of value wines for many years. In 2011, Juan Munoz Oca took over as head winemaker from Ray Einberger. Einberger had been at the helm since 2002 when he took the reins from Doug Gore who had been the winemaker since Columbia [...]

Columbia Crest Winery: New Vintages of Old Favorites was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

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Costco Value Alert(s)!

Just back from a shopping trip to Costco in Waltham, MA and they had what I thought were some very good deals for wine enthusiasts.

First off was a nice price on Riedel stemware. $99.99 for 8 Vinum Bordeaux stems. Compared to around $25 per stem that you typically see these going for this is a fantastic deal. Riedel sells these for $177 (buy 6 get 2 free supposedly). Amazon sells them for around 2 for $50:

...so $99 for 8 Vinum stems at Costco ($12.50 per stem) is a great price. If you're not near a Costco that carries these -- or if you're looking for a dishwasher safe, lead-free option -- I continue to think these Schott Zwiesel Tritan Fortes are the best $10 stem you can buy:

Next up was a closeout on the Vinturi Wine Aerator:


Vinturis normally sell for closer to $30 on Amazon. The price ending in "7" at Costco is our cue that it's a closeout so buy now if you want one at this price. Full video review of the Vinturi wine aerator here.

So two nice deals and we haven't even hit the wine section yet.

For those unfamiliar with Massachusetts liquor laws, it's illegal to sell wine contingent on a club membership so alcohol needs to be sold separately from other goods. Non-Costco members are allowed to buy alcohol without a membership. So alcohol is sold past the register in a separate caged area. Crazy, right?

Anyway, they've usually got pretty good deals on wine but the inventory is rather static. When they do get something good in it goes quickly. If you had a mole inside Costco it would be handy.

They had a few wines I took note of that I hadn't seen before.

First was the 2010 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet for $14.99. With no tax on alcohol in MA this is a phenomenal price. The lowest I see nationwide on wine-searcher.com is $16.98. The 2009 rendition of this wine was rated 91 points by Wine Spectator. I popped a bottle tonight and it's a very nice bottle of $15 Cabernet. I'd say 87-89 points in my book.


They also had the 2009 Robert Mondavi Napa Cabernet for a little over $18. That's nothing new, but as we wander around the wine world seeking out obscure producers, Mondavi is one to come back to for palate calibration. I'll let you know if it's worth mentioning when I open it but I expect it to be what it always is: A solid Napa Cab for less than $20.

Finally, the Vieux Telegraphe CdP has clicked over to the 2009 vintage. At $58.99 it's on par with nationwide low pricing, but 2010 is a regarded as a better vintage. Maybe buy a bottle of the 2009 and stalk the bin to see if it ever clicks over to the 2010 vintage. Let us know if it does in the comments okay?


Don't forget - Scoop the Spectator 2012 runs through Friday. Get your entries in if you haven't already.

I've got a bunch of good stuff in the hopper for future posts including a write-up on the best California Pinot Noirs available at Warehouse clubs now. The suspense! Subscribe to the WWP to receive new posts via email.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/_ZvoG3c0pTI/costco-value-alerts.html

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