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March 20-26, 2003
food
In the last installment of Drink Tank, it was declared that decent wines under $10 per bottle are a dying breed. There’s a dare if ever there was one.
So we tested three whites and five reds from around the world, from vintners big and small. All wines were purchased at the state store on Fifth near Pine, including some special purchases. (Pricing is before sales tax.) Is there life under $10 per bottle? A panel of 12 tasters found no revelations, but generally inoffensive drinkability. We all agreed that these are acceptable quickie BYOB wines, if not much else. We ranked our collection in this descending order:
Martine Syrah 2001, $4.99 (France): Amazing complexity for the money. First place by a mile. "Tasty, tannic and toothsome, and a little tart," sums it up nicely. The few detractors complained about overly dominant tannins and elusive fruit.
Santa Alicia Malbec Reserve 2000, $9.99 (Chile): "Smoky, chocolatey, moldy in a good way." No major reservations, though two tasters were numbed by a pervasive blandness.
Graff Riesling Spätlese 2000, $8.99 (Germany): The golden-hued sweet one of the bunch, but the sugar is nicely balanced with acidity. "Happily sweet, honey, McIntosh apple and a bit of Granny Smith." Suitable as dessert wine.
Equus Viognier 2000, $9.99 (California): Citrus tones, lots of aroma, light and clean in the mouth. Not a wine to dream about, but everyone found this refreshing.
Domaine des Olivettes Faugères 1998, $4.99 (France): "Licorice and burnt rubber on the nose, so sharp it has corners." An austere quaff, but some tasters thought this wine would work well with rich food.
Premiat Merlot 2000, $5.99 (Romania): "Grapes, supposedly, but no real fruit, except a hint of soft berries." Surprisingly smooth finish. But several detractors complained that it was thin and uninteresting with no structure.
Woodbridge Merlot 2000, $5.99 (California): No one had anything bad to say about this generic, mass-produced red. Nice berry flavors, a bit tannic, very average, no special adjectives, blah blah blah.
Cavit Pinot Grigio 2002, $6.99 (Italy): Acidic and medicinal for several tasters, with a chlorine tap water finish. A minority found this happy-hour favorite to be smooth and pleasant.
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