“A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault, this has good intensity,
making it a food friendly, worthy contender in the $15-20 range.”

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I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting wines, and these two caught my attention during my travels over the last few weeks. Both are connected to others recently reviewed here and measure up favorably to those previous selections.

Trader Joe’s sells a lot of discounted wine, much of which is perfectly acceptable for the casual non-geeky wine drinker. They also carry some higher quality items that cost a little more, but are still priced less than most other retailers charge around here. One of these is a very good dry rosé from Gérard Bertrand, whose Saint-Chinian is my current Best Buy in reds.

2021 Gérard Bertrand ‘Cote des Roses’ Rosé Languedoc, 13% alc., $17.99: Pale pink in color, and classic dry rosé in character, with watermelon, strawberry and mineral flavors and aromas. Brisk acidity keeps this medium-bodied puppy moving right along through the decent finish. A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault, this has good intensity, making it a food friendly, worthy contender in the $15-20 range. What’s more, Kim loves the distinctive bottle this comes in (the 2021 Chateau Gigery Cotes de Provence Rosé has a similar style) and appropriated it as soon as it was emptied to hold some of her artisanal wine vinegar. Find this wine

Imported by Gérard Bertrand USA, Sausalito, CA

I’m especially interested in exploring more of the wines imported by Mary Taylor, after finding so much to like about those first three we tried a few weeks ago. So far, the only one I’ve been able to locate is available at Holiday Market in Royal Oak.

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2020 Mary Taylor Pierre Vidal Costières de Nimes, 60% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 20% Syrah, 14% alc., $15.99: Deep and dark in color, flavor and aroma, all coffee, toast and leather over earthy black plum and black currant. Big and chewy, and structured for five years in the cellar, anyway, but give it some air, and it’s approachable now, especially with food. If I were to open another soon, I’d want to pair with either homemade pizza topped with baby bella mushrooms, black olives and a spicy Italian sausage or medium rare lamb burgers impregnated with garlic slivers and topped with a sharp cheddar, a little horseradish and some Dijon mustard.

My first choice would be to give this one a few more years to age and develop. This has the goods to evolve into something even better, so why not let it go for a while? Either way, this offers good QPR (quality-price-ratio) for the price. Find this wine

Imported by Nashawtuc LLC, Sandy Hook, CT

Reporting from Day-twah,
Bastardo

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