Since most of us still can’t travel to any of the destinations we would like. I’ve decided to craft a world tour wine values as a temporary replacement.
Let’s start our tour with stops in South America’s two best known wine countries – a red wine from Argentina and a white wine from Chile.
Argentina’s Mendoza is its signature wine region. The dramatic high-altitude landscape at the foot of the Andes Mountains births many world class Malbecs and even more fine everyday Malbecs and some that combine both qualities into one bottle. Imagine this backdrop as you enjoy the half malbec with syrah and cabernet sauvignon 2018 Domaine Bousquet “Gaia” Red Blend ($20). A pioneer in Tupungato, the highest district in the Uco Valley sub-region of Mendoza, Bousquet also is notable for its commitment to organic production.
Next, we pass over the Andes to Chile whose wine growing regions are surrounded by the Andes to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Atacama Desert to the north and ancient glaciers to the south. Visualize this as you sip the 2017 Cono Sur “Bicicleta” Viognier Reserva ($12), a surprisingly tasty wine from an unexpected grape grown in unexpected soil.
Then, we fly over the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand and on to South Africa.
Geographically, New Zealand’s wine regions, like the country, are divided between the functionally named North Island and South Island. Our tour takes us to the South Island. Here, Sauvignon Blanc, especially from the Marlborough district at the north end of the island, has become New Zealand’s most popular wine. The distinctive heady profile of wines from here is dominated by things green – namely gooseberry, lime, herbs, even fresh grass – and sometimes a hint of pepper. Picture yourself cruising the Marlborough Sounds viewing winding coastline while quaffing the 2018 Spy Valley ($20) makes quite an impression with bracing acidity and bright fruit flavors lemongrass, intense or the 2019 White Cliff Winemakers Selection ($16) decent intensity and length.
Pinot Noir, especially from the Central Otago district at the south end of the South Island, has emerged as New Zealand’s signature red wine. Conjure the district’s mountains near Queenstown or the ocean from Dunedin as you savor the 2018 Loveblock Pinot Noir ($30). It’s bright red fruit, baking spice accents and good concentration, is a good example of why this area has become a benchmark. Industry veterans Kim and Erica Crawford established this artisan winery following the sale of their Kim Crawford brand.
Now, it is on to South Africa where the wine industry is poised to take its place on the world stage.
Most South African wine is produced in the Western Cape region, with Cape Town, South Africa’s oldest settlement as its main city. Bordered by the Atlantic and Indian oceans, the region features incredible views of water to the south and mountains to the north. First up is the organic 2019 Aslina Sauvignon Blanc ($19). Made by owner Ntsiki Biyela, the first black woman winemaker in South Africa, this is a wine – herbal, succulent, vibrant – that can rival the best from New Zealand.
Right now, though, Chenin Blanc arguably is the country’s most successful white wine. South Africa has more plantings of Chenin Blanc than any other wine-producing region (including its home in France’s Loire Valley) – in fact, more than the rest of the world combined! It is my choice for most the distinctive South African white wine. From the Paarl district north of Cape Town, conjure the nearby slopes of the Simonsberg Mountains as you relish the fresh citrus, nectarine and stone fruit of the 2019 Bosman “Generation 8” ($25) or the melon and citrus of the 2019 Backsberg Estate ($14).
Heading north, we journey to the Iberian Peninsula where we will enjoy wines from Portugal and Spain.
For our tour of Portugal we will enjoy wines from Symington Family Estates, one of the most prestigious wine companies in the country. Their home base is in the striking Douro River Valley, home to the famous Port wines. Evoke the winding river lined with steep terraced vineyards as you imbibe the 2015 Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port ($24). Think of it as Vintage Port in style, but not in price. Ready to drink upon release, it can give you a taste of Vintage Port character at a much more affordable price. I especially enjoyed its heady aromas and flavors of sweet berries, cassis, and oak, and a touch of licorice in a full-bodied, lush wine balanced with modest tannins.
But Portugal has long been a premier source of fine table wine values. For instance, the 2017 Vale do Bomfim ($13) is a “go to” value wine for me. Made with fruit – touriga nacional and touriga franca – from vineyards that supply Dow’s Ports, it suggests dark plum followed by peppery and stony notes and drinks rather firm and full. Under the Prats + Symington label, the 2017 Post Scriptum de Chryseia ($27), also mostly touriga nacional and touriga franca, is more expensive but a lot more wine. It reveals structured but animated fruit matched with fine tannins. It is an earlier drinking version of the flagship Chryseia wine.
The Alentejo in southern Portugal also is gaining popularity for improved quality and value and for the focus on local grape varieties. And the Symington’s new Quinta Fonte Souto estate in the Portalegre sub-region east of Lisbon has made a big splash with its inaugural releases. Since ‘souto’ refers to the large forested area including a chestnut grove on the property, consider that while you enjoy the aromatic, fruity, creamy yet crisp 2018 “Branco” ($25) – 75 percent arinto/25 percent Verdelho – and the 2017 “Tinto” ($25), mostly alicante bouschet and trincadeira, for its concentrated currants with a lush texture and savory notes.
Nearby Spain has one of the world’s most expansive wine cultures with notable vineyard areas and distinctive native grapes reflecting enormous wine diversity in every region of the country. Arguably the most famous region is Rioja located in the Ebro River Valley in north central Spain. In view of the Sierra de Cantabria Mountains, its vineyards are blanketed with tempranillo vines, Spain’s most planted red grape. The variety typically exhibits cherry fruit and savory notes of cherry, tobacco and spice. Rioja is a good value in all price categories. But the 2016 Vina Real “Crianza” ($17), part of the CVNE stable, is an even more fabulous value for its expressive fruit and fine tannins. Even less expensive, the 2018 Kirkland Reserva ($10) is supple, earthy and fresh.
And for a nice comparison, the next best-known region is the Ribera del Duero just southwest of Rioja. Here, tempranillo is known as tinto fino or tinta del país and produces several of Spain’s greatest, most expensive wines. The 2017 Bela Crianza ($19) is a good introduction to the area. It has a nice balance of fruit and oak, fresh cherry and plum, with notes of licorice, smoke and dark chocolate, light tannins and lively acidity support the supple texture.
Spain’s most respected white wine comes from the region of Rías Baixas in Galicia in northwestern Spain, known as “Green Spain”. The reason? Wines from albariño. If you like Sauvignon Blanc but not the herbaceousness so much, you’ll love the bracing citrus and savory qualities of albariño. Imagine the breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean as you savor the bracing, persistent 2019 Bodegas Muriel “Pazo Cilleiro” ($20).
We finish our tour in France enjoying value “Flower Label” wines from Burgundy by famous négociant Georges Duboeuf. France’s Burgundy region (located in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône River) is famous for red wines made from pinot noir and white wines made from chardonnay.
Its Mâconnais district takes its name from the town of Mâcon and is best known as a source of good value white wines usually labeled Mâcon-Villages. The unoaked 2018 ($23) offers a typical Mâcon character of taut citrus, peach and honeysuckle. The wines from Pouilly-Fuissé traditionally have been popular in the U.S., even though a bit more expensive. The 2018 ($40) is fuller with deeper citrus, apple, and tropical fruit.
Turn to Beaujolais, located just north of the city of Lyon, for red wine values. Though its main grape is gamay, not pinot noir. Famous for its fresh, fruity, amiable, it is generally best enjoyed slightly chilled. Made using a special whole bunch fermentation process (known as carbonic maceration), it is known for a flavor profile of mostly bright red fruits, floral, herbal and mineral notes, and lively acidity. There are generic Beaujolais wines that can be tasty and particularly affordable and there are Beaujolais-Villages wines like the 2018 ($14), which gives fruity, generous, medium-bodied wines. And then there are top-level wines from specific vineyards near 10 specially designated villages and that fall somewhere in between both in quality and price. The 2018 Morgon ($22) is more concentrated and rich, with fresh, silky tannins.