Brutocao Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

I am not a huge fan of California Cabernet Sauvignon, I tend to think that they have a tendency to be a bit unbalanced and a bit overpriced at times (*cough* Caymus *cough*). At the same time I can't fault California, especially Napa Valley, for making Cabernet their own and every now and then I come across a bottle that I really enjoy and adore, like Heitz (one of the best producers out there as far as quality and price are concerned) or, more recently, Brutocao Cabernet Sauvignon from Mendocino County.

Cabernet Sauvignon came into being due to a crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. It is one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world and though California has embraced it, it was originally well known for being one of the six red grapes allowed in France's Bordeaux wines. It's also fascinating how differently this varietal can taste depending on where it was grown and produced. In France (usually blended with other varietals, like Merlot and Cabernet Franc) it exhibits more earth and tobacco notes, Australia and Chile tend to highlight it's herbal (especially eucalyptus) flavors and California focuses on the jammy fruit notes (and high alcohol) it can display.

Brutocao Cabernet was different from what I'd come to expect from Cali Cabernet. While it still accentuated the fruitiness, it didn't overdo it, like other wines of its ilk. It was medium-plus bodied with notes jammy fruit on the nose accompanied by a hint of clove. Black cherry, cranberry and raspberry came through first on the palate but were quickly followed by dusty, herbal earthiness. This single vineyard Cabernet finished with pleasantly smooth tannins and a touch of acidity.

This wine went a long way in changing my mind about buying California Cabernet and it definitely helped that it was under $20.

Gryphus Carménère 2016

At my first liquor store job, I had a sales rep (from some random company I can’t remember now) who seemed to always have very interesting descriptors for the wines he was peddling. The most memorable of those was his selling point for Carménère (all his wines were Chilean), a varietal he’d always claim was a “panty-dropper”. To this day I have yet to have proof of this and I mostly suspect he was an idiot who probably hadn’t even tasted the wines he was selling, but it’s always stuck with me, mainly because it is hilarious.

Carménère has a very interesting background: it started as one of the six grapes allowed for France’s Boredeaux AOP, but these days it is virtually extinct in the region. After phylloxera devastated much of France’s vineyards in the mid-1800s, it wasn’t really replanted due to its unpopularity and thus it became the “lost” grape of Bordeaux. Luckily, cuttings of this varietal wound up in Chile, where for years it was mistaken for Merlot. It wasn’t until DNA research in 1994 proved that much of what Chilean wine-makers thought was Merlot was actually Carménère and since 1998 the country has embraced the varietal that is now considered the national grape of Chile.

I’ve found that wines made with Carménère are usually very interesting (though not quite “panty-dropping”). They tend to be medium-bodied with distinct green pepper and spicy notes that pair very well with heavy meat dishes. For quite a while I was under the impression that it was a varietal that needed to be paired with food (mostly because that's what everyone always told me), but since then I’ve started to enjoy it all on its own. I’ve had Montes’ Purple Angel (a beautiful expression of this grape from the Colchagua Valley), but since I can’t afford $70-ish wine all the time (or ever, really), I’ve sought out other, more affordable Chilean Carménères.

The one I’ve been most impressed with recently was the Gryphus Carménère, a very affordable wine from the Maule Valley in (it probably goes without saying, but heck, I’ll say it anyway) Chile. It is 100% Carménère with 40% aged in used French oak barrels. This wine starts off bursting with flavors of black cherry, blackberry and plum which are then quickly followed by notes green and black pepper. It has a medium finish with smooth tannins and a slight acidity. It had surprising complexity and elegance that I don’t usually expect in wines that are so inexpensive (under $10). This wine is more than enough proof that Carménère has found a very good home in Chile… and maybe it really could be a panty-dropper (though I’m still waiting on more concrete evidence of that before I start using it as a descriptor).

Jean-Lous Trocard Crémant de Bordeaux NV

Apparently talking about my best friend, Kye, never gets old for me (because, and I can’t stress this enough, he is awesome and has always been there for me when I needed him, even when we weren’t exactly on speaking terms). Thanks to him, when I was first really starting to get into wine, we were invited into a study group that really did me a lot of good. The first meeting had me a bit skeptical based on the number of people who showed up, but as time went on it dwindled down to just six or so of us who were really focused on furthering our knowledge rather than just showing up for the free-ish booze. I still miss it sometimes, mostly because it forced me to study (mainly so I didn’t come across as a complete idiot to these people who were way more knowledgeable than me) and with my Certified Specialist of Wine exam coming up on the 30^th of this month, I could use a little coercion as far as studying goes.

I hadn’t really thought about the group too much since we all got too busy to keep up with it over a year ago until I realized my store had a Crémant de Bordeaux randomly hidden among its selection of sparkling wine, Jean-Louis Trocard to be exact. I remembered, during an evening spent studying Bordeaux, Laura, the fantastic Advanced Sommelier of the group (and one of the people I credit the most with helping me pass my certified), telling us that Crémants are made in Bordeaux, but hard to find (at least in San Antonio). She told us if we ever found one to definitely pick it up for the group, and seeing this on the shelf made me nostalgic for nights spent blind tasting and studying. For those who don’t know the term Crémant is used to refer to French sparkling wine made using the méthode champenoise and not from the Champagne region.

Since I don’t drink bubbly super often it took me a little while to pick up a bottle for Kye and me to share, but we were both very glad when I finally did. The blend is mostly Semillon with some Sauvignon Blanc, pale gold in color with notes of green apple, lime zest and wet rocks on the nose. The palate is dry and crisp with flavors of golden pear, citrus and a hint of lemongrass. There’s a little bit of funk halfway through (which I personally enjoy), but the bright acidity at the end leaves a refreshing, lingering mouthfeel. It’s very affordable and incredibly enjoyable.