Whole Foods Tasting Highlights

Whole Foods puts on 20% off cases of wine sales a few times a year. While their pricing is a bit high, if you find a wine on sale, the price is usually pretty good and within a dollar or two of everyone else. The best bargains are always on that big bin you see on display, where the prices often end in a “7″, meaning no further discounts will apply.

Well, a few months ago we were tipped off to a tasting at the Whole Foods in Duluth, but arrived with only about 40 minutes to go and had to miss several offerings. This time, we got there right at 1PM as it started, paid our $15 for two glasses ($10 for one) and dove right in. You get to keep the glassware, so the $15 is pretty reasonable, especially when you read the lineup.

Just as I did when I tasted at trade shows, I didn’t really take any formal notes. I’ve listed all the offerings below, so you can see what they offer, but only wrote notes based on mental recollection. While it may not be as detailed (or long winded depending on what you think of my style) as most of my notes, it will give you an accurate record of what I thought of the wines. Again, keep in mind, if you see a DT next to it, I Didn’t Taste it.

These wines are listed in order as I got them from the pages we were provided, so don’t fuss at me for the order. I thought it was strange too. Prices are everyday, sale prices I’m not sure about. Keep in mind, if you bought 12 bottles, you got 20% off anything where the price ended in “9″.

Table 1

1. 2006 Darioush Caravan Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – $42.99 (sale $29.99): This is a solid bottle and I’ve long been a fan. For $30, its a good example of the style you expect, a young, juicy, packed with vibrant cassis and black fruit flavors, with mild spiciness to give it interest. Not overly complex, so more of a short termer than marriage material. Drink up now and over the next year or two.
2. 2005 Argyle Nuthouse Pinot Noir Reserve Willamette Valley, OR – $69.99: Walk into a damp forest, build yourself a campfire (remember folks, these are metaphors, so don’t blame me when something goes wrong when you attempt this for real, I’m no Boy Scout), get our your cast iron skillet and throw in some blueberries, blackberries, a couple chunks of cedar, a pine cone and toast it all together. Make sure to sprinkle in a vanilla bean or two at the end. This has fruit, but not in the California dive right in and drown style. It also isn’t as lean as many Burgundies I’ve had. It pretty much rocked, but for $70, it should.
3. 2006 Drohin LaForet Pinot Noir France – $20.99 (sale $14.99): Obviously not new world in style, it was a bit lean for my tastes, but had some nice red fruit flavors, mainly pomegranate and cranberry for me. Better than others I’ve had.
4. 2006 Guenoc Victorian Claret Lake County, CA – $20.99 (sale $14.99): DT
5. 2005 Domaine Du Gros Nore Bandol, France – $36.99 (sale $18.99): A Top 3 of the tasting, this was the ultimate in terroir wine. It tasted like a piece of meat that had been soaked in cherry and black berry juice, then cooked not just over the fire, but had actually touched some of the coals, then doused with some roast beef au jus and had a pepper grinder spit up all over it. Wine geekdom was in overdrive on this one. I don’t think anyone else really cared for it, but I could be wrong.
6. 2008 Chateau Graville LaCoste Graves, France – $21.99 (sale $14.99): DT
7. 2008 Yealands Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, New Zealand – $13.99 (sale $9.99): I think they forgot the white grapefruit? Nice plenty of citrus and green veggies, providing a well-balanced and food friendly drink. Crisp and fruity, this was a nice departure from the other big brands.

Table 2

1. 2008 McManis Pinot Grigio Central Coast, CA – $10.99 (sale $9.99): DT
2. 2006 Mason Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley, CA – $19.99: This has been a long time favorite of mine, but the price has steadily climbed to the point where I’m not sure it is worth it anymore. I love the lime and jalapeno flavors, but not enough to justify the price.
3. 2008 R Winery B!tch Grenache South Australia – $14.99: DT
4. 2007 Cycles Gladiator Cabernet Sauvignon Central Coast, CA – $11.99 (sale $8.99): DT
5. 2007 Oyster Bay Pinot Noir Marlborough, New Zealand – $22.99: My sheet says its was the 2006, but I thought I remember seeing 2007 on the label. Hmm. Oh well, it was a spot on tasty drink. Obviously from a cooler climate, but with enough sunshine to get plenty of tart and vibrant red fruits into the glass, with cool enough evenings to retain snappy acidity and moderate sugar levels. I thought it was drinking really well and fair priced. This is well balanced and very food friendly.
6. 2007 Four Graces Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, OR – $32.99 (sale $25.99): More earth in this than the Nuthouse from Argyle, with some floral notes and spices that provided some interest. Honestly, I wasn’t totally enamored with this one and found the Oyster Bay to be superior. For the region and the price, it was good, just not my cup of tea.
7. 2008 Mollydooker “The Boxer” Shiraz McLaren Vale, Australia – $29.99: “Obvious” to which my wife asked, what do you mean by that? It is straight forward, knock you down, take no prisoners assault on the palate. It was better balanced than you’d expect since the alcohol in these wines is usually in the 16% area code. It was lush, like a raspberry and black cherry milkshake. It wasn’t as heavy as previous editions, so I’m guessing the addition of estate fruit and grapes usually destined for “The Velvet Glove” (which wasn’t made in 2008) raised the bar on this. The price has also gone up and while it was very easy to drink, I think there are wines just as good and better for less money. This will please just about anyone, except for those who are old world fans. They should run far, far away.

Table 3

1. 2008 Fairhills “Bus Stop” White & Red South Africa – $9.99: DT either one
2. 2007 Bridlewood Viognier Reserve Santa Ynez, California – $18.99 (sale $16.99): I like Viognier, though some of them can be a bit too floral for me. When they have apricot and peach aromas like this, I’m usually a fan. They fill the gap for a heavier white since I’m not much of a Chardonnay person. If you are looking for whites for Thanksgiving, these are usually solid choices to keep on hand. I thought this was quite tasty and a decent value, especially at the sale price and if you bought a mixed case to get the additional discount.
3. 2007 Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache Barossa Valley, Australia – $17.99 (sale $13.99): This was the best QPR of the day for me. It was juicy, with bright red fruits that had a nice peppery spice in them, making this a great selection for most anything red that has been cooked over open flames. A nice alternative from the land down under.
4. 2008 Gascon Malbec Mendoza, Argentina – $11.99 (sale $9.99): Smooth, easy to drink with loads of fruit forward flavors that lacked structure or interest. I’ve had better Malbec for the same price or a little more. Good party wine.
5. 2005 Rutherford Hill Merlot Napa Valley, California – $22.99 (sale $19.99): Smooth, easy to drink with plenty of toasty oak-derived dark chocolate and vanilla bean covered red cherry flavors. For $20 and Napa fruit, it delivered what I expected.
6. 2006 Murphy-Goode “Liars Dice” Zinfandel Sonoma, California – $21.99 (sale $19.99): Packed with fruit flavors and walking right up against the border to Jam-Town, this blackberry and pepper spiced beauty was another Top 3 selection. I didn’t buy it (I know where to get it cheaper), but have plans to get some later this week. It was really tasty and quite surprising since the last time I had a Murphy-Goode wine, I wasn’t impressed. Granted, that was about 3 years ago, but I think this is a winner. I’ll be sure to do a full review on this at a later date.

Table 4: Where the Big Boys roam

1. 2005 Fisher Unity Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, California – $49.99: Earthier than what you might expect, with the oak still maintaining a tight grip on the underlying fruit flavors, I’d pass on this for now and re-visit in another year or two.
2. 2005 Chateau Cantemerle Haut-Medoc, France – $54.99: This Fifth Growth Bordeaux (Cinquieme Grand Cru Classe) is still firmly in the grip of her tannins, with a lot of spice and earth tones. I’d stay away from this for at least another 4 to 5 years.
3. 2003 Duckhorn Estate Merlot Napa Valley, California – $79.99: Smooth and quite pleasant, with nice espresso and cocoa dust joining the black currant and cherry flavors. Solid bottle that is in peak performance mode right now, but $80? I don’t think so. Too rich for me.
4. 2006 Luigi Righetti Capitel De Roari Amarone della Valpolicella, Italy – $34.99: My second favorite at this table, it had nice stone fruit and floral components, with only the slightest hint of a raisined character to the fruit. This is one of (if not the only) Amarones you can find for under $50 and while it is never as raisiny as most of the others, it delivers the best value for the style of wine. I’d suggest sitting on this another 2 or 3 years, giving it time to really blossom and take on all those complexities which can make Amarone the perfect wine for the fall season.
5. 2005 Turnbull Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, California – $49.99 (sale $45.97): Always a top notch Cab from Napa, I love the Turnbull signature style. They use French oak (which I prefer) and it isn’t 100% new (which can overwhelm the wine instead of enhancing it). For $50, they aren’t cheap and while you can buy Napa Cab for a lot less (there are more of them than you might think for under $20, all using sourced fruit instead of estate-grown), I still think Turnbull is an undiscovered gem for the region. Even with consistent good scores from the trades, they fly under the radar. Well, that is a good thing since it probably helps keep the price at $50 (and lower). The core of black currants and black berry fruit is what makes me love Cabernet, with the oak adding structure, spice and a certain smoothness to the tannins. Drink now and over the next 5 years. My favorite of the table and of the tasting.
6. 2008 Cade Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley, California – $33.99 (sale $29.99): DT. I had it the previous time and it was a big hit. I think $30 is an awful lot to pay for Sauvignon blanc, but it has a very creamy and round style that I think appealed to the abundant Chardonnay lovers.

Whew. That was a lot of typing. Hope everyone enjoyed reading it and if you have comments, please share them and pass along the word (see below for easy sharing) to your friends. Thanks to Whole Foods Duluth for hosting such a great tasting event and all the distributors who participated.