Long gone are the days when I could get awesome wine for $30 dollars. Now, sadly, it costs me quite a bit more. But I did have one holdover from the good old days – a bottle recommended by my old local wine guy: a Calistoga Cellars 2006 Napa Cab. $30 Napa cabs are generally above my typical price point for a bottle of wine, but it was a special treat, and the first cool day of fall seemed to be occasion enough.

Lisa summed up the bouquet quite well: “If you really stick your nose in it, you feel like you might get drunk from smelling it.”  This isn’t to say it has a heavy alcohol hint, but rather that the flavor of the wine comes across in its aroma as much as its taste. At first the Calistoga seems rather normal, perhaps masquerading as a simple wine that is exceptionally well controlled, but the longer you hold it in your mouth the more you begin to appreciate the complexities in the palate. The simple fruit of the first stage progresses to a slightly sweet but intense berry middle, with hints of tobacco, chocolate and faint spice at the end. It isn’t a heavy, gentleman’s wine, but rather has a bit of lightness to it, while still managing to be coy and somewhat distant.

We’ve said this before about some of the more expensive wines we’ve reviewed, but the bottom line of the Calistoga is this: there’s nothing particularly remarkable about the bottle, but it is, simply put, extremely well executed. For $30, it is a very solid wine, and certainly a clear improvement over the $20-25 range. For $50, I might want more, but at this price point, the value is definitely there.

Score: 93

I’m trying to branch out and get new things. It’s easier to do this, of course, because many of the wines I would purchase at home are no longer available to me, thanks to the state-instituted lack of availability. No matter. Maybe we can find something decent.

Don David is an Argentinian label that doesn’t come from Mendoza, interestingly enough. It’s part of the rather large and rather international Michel Torino estate of wineries, which means that at least somewhere up the food chain someone knows how to make a decent bottle of wine. This particular version was about $17 at my local wine store, which means those of you who live in normal jurisdictions can probably pick it up for about $3.50.

I’ll just start by saying this: I like the Don David.  I really do.  It isn’t really what I expected, by which I mean it isn’t a typical South American Cab, or really even a typical Cab. If anything, it feels more like a Cabernet Sauvignon / Cabernet Franc blend, with powerful, tart flavors instead of the typical subdued, controlled feel you get from Chilean or Mendoza wines. That isn’t to say that it’s not controlled – it is – but it has more of a cranberry feel to it than any wine I’ve ever had. Its beautiful dark color and silky feel make it rather difficult to compare to any other Cab from the region – indeed it might be mistaken for a slightly less bold Malbec than a Cabernet if you were having a bad day.

Unfortunately, the Don David’s novelty is also where it falls short. There are certain expectations of what a South American Cab should be, and this just doesn’t fit. It isn’t that it’s a bad bottle of wine – in fact I will probably buy another. But when you buy one thing on the label and get another in the bottle, it somehow changes the whole experience. Good bottle? Yes.  Good Cab? Not really. Good purchase? As long as you know what you’re getting.

Score: 88

Catena first came on our radar because of their collaboration with the Rothschilds on their CARO line. They’re also the winery responsible for Alamos – a very respectable value label that we’ve previously enjoyed quite a lot. So it’s with quite a bit of anticipation that I’ve been looking forward to their mid-range Catena line. Since it was one of the few bottles of wine I had left after the move, I decided to open the bottle and give it a try.

The Catena has all the marks you would expect from a South American wine in this price range.  Refined, controlled, with full dark fruit flavors, and a medium tannin profile, the Catena is a pleasure to drink. This is a bright cab, but it still maintains the cool character that seems to characterize so many Argentine wines we sample. If there is anything to complain about, the Catena does seem to suffer a bit from a slight tartness that you don’t expect to find in a middle range South American wine. Whether I just got a bad bottle or it’s a wider problem I can’t say, but even with a bit of pucker, this is still a wine I enjoyed.

At $23 a bottle, the Catena cab is not an inexpensive wine. While the Catena is certainly good, it just isn’t up to par with other $23 wines, and really isn’t on par with less expensive labels from Chile.  I would easily pick a Santa Rita Medalla Real, or Los Vascos Reserve over this wine, and would without hesitation select the less expensive 50/50 Cab/Malbec blend from CARO instead. The Catena Cab is good – just not quite as good as it should be.

Score: 86

Lapostolle may be a familiar name for those of you who drink Grand Marnier – the founder of the winery is the great-granddaughter of the inventor of the famous liqueur. There isn’t a shortage, though, of famous French names who have set up shop in South America, so how does the Casa stack up against other bottles?

Lapostolle’s Casa offering slides in at around $11 – in other words right in the middle of the scale on inexpensive Chilean Cabs.  What it needs to do, then, is either be significantly better than Los Vascos and Santa Rita’s $8 bottles, or a better value than their $15 bottles in order to be a real player in this market.  That’s a somewhat tall order, though, given the quality of the other wines.

The Casa is a perfectly straightforward and drinkable wine.  Dry, tart, and a rather strong tannin profile make this wine one you might not consider bringing to a dinner party.  Certainly there are those who will appreciate its character, but it’s not a good all-rounder like many other Chilean cabs.  The flavor profile is rounded out slightly by a vague hint of sweetness, but nothing so specific that it grabs your attention. The real problem, however, is control. This wine is too loud, too brash, and too out of control to be something I can honestly recommend.  It’s fine to drink, but it’s not something you want to buy another bottle of.

The real killer, then, is the price.  At $6 a bottle, this would be a no brainer. At $8 a bottle, it would be something I might occasionally pick up, if I were in a particularly brooding mood.  But at over $10 a bottle, it just seems out of place – there are no shortage of better wines for less money, and wines that are significantly better for not much more.  What it is, then, is a C student among geniuses, priced too high, and leaving me wanting more.

Score: 80

If you’ve read much on this site, you’ll no doubt be aware that Los Vascos is one of our favorite vineyards. At the entry and reserve level, wines from Los Vascos are an excellent value, rivaling significantly more expensive Californian varieties. Le Dix de Los Vascos is the vineyard’s most expensive offering, at slightly over $50 a bottle. This is not an easy bottle of wine to find – even in a large city with high end wine dealers, you’ll be lucky to find a bottle. So if you have the fortune to find one, should you buy it? Absolutely.

Le Dix is one of the most fragrant wines I’ve ever encountered. Richly floral with tobacco and smoke overtones, my sister described the bouquet as, “smelling like something I would really want to eat.”  Produced in limited quantities and oak aged for 18 months, Le Dix certainly exhibits strongly oaked overtones with significant tannins and spice, though perfectly balanced. In short, it is a prototypical cab. Excellent mouth feel, dark fruit flavors, and wonderful body – there’s really nothing bad to say about this wine, but neither is there any one thing that stands out.

What this is really, is an excellently refined Cabernet that isn’t loud or flashy, but rather makes a name for itself in doing what it does well and letting other things take care of themselves. As an analogy, this wine is not a Lamborghini, but rather a Rolls Royce – truly what a great cab should be. It doesn’t shout or make a name for itself by being brash or flashy, but in trying to achieve perfection – and coming quite close in the process.

Score: 96

Wandering around the budget section of my local World Market, I spied a 2004 California Cab for the discounted (read: half off) price of $11 dollars. A limited release with only 3,485 cases produced, it’s unlikely you’re going to find this one, but if you do, grab it.

2004 was considered to be a good year for California Cabs, and while I wasn’t really into wine at the time, after sampling this particular bottle I’d believe it. One thing is obvious from the very moment the cork pops: this is not a wine for the faint of heart. If you like wimpy or sweet wine, stay away. Easily one of the boldest Cabs I’ve ever encountered, the 1221 is full of rich fruit flavors accented with a healthy spice and wonderful aroma. The Cabernet Sauvignon is accented with a “touch” of Cabernet Franc, which does give its characteristic sour note to the mix, but all in all it is very well controlled. With a beautiful rich ruby tone, this Cabernet Cuvee has all the bases covered. While some Cabernets have a rich, warm character, this one is decidedly cold and almost a little distant. It’s like the guy who walks in the room with a commanding presence who everyone is a little bit intimidated by, and therefore nobody wants to talk to. While it may have bold flavor and plenty of merit, it’s not an approachable wine, and in the end is probably not one to bring to a dinner party.

That said, this is a very solid bottle. I’ll be heading back to World Market tomorrow hoping they have some left. At $11 a bottle it’s a steal. At $20 it would be good value. At $30 I would probably hold. Overall, it is a novelty that I’d recommend trying if you can.

Score: 90

My recent review of Montes‘ regular line ended with the conclusion that I would be trying the next level up, the Montes Alpha. Scoring a bottle for $5 off, I decided to take the plunge.

Montes Alpha slots nicely into the third tier of Chilean wines with a normal price of around $20. In many ways the Montes Alpha really is the bigger brother of the regular Montes. Extremely well controlled with full fruit flavors, the Alpha is noticeably more tart than its cheaper cousin. The Alpha clearly has more tannins than the cheaper brother, but all in all it is well balanced, well controlled, with considerably more flavor. While it missing some of the caramel sweetness, what really stands out to me is the lack of increased complexity in the Alpha, which I think really says more about the cheaper Montes than the more expensive one.

The Alpha is a fantastic wine. In this price range I still like the Los Vascos Reserve, but none the less this is a great value, especially for $15.

Score: 90

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