Budget Wine Review 3

Vindicated 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley-$9.99 at Trader Joe's.  Dark purple in color with a good aroma of cherry.  Entry is smooth but it has rather thin mouthfeel despite decent tannins.  Cherry, chocolate on the palate, with a touch of herbaceousness.  Balance is not very good and finish is a bit short. This one just didn’t come together for me even after I let it breathe and even used a Vinturi aerator.  I tried it the next day and it was much better balanced but still rather thin bodied and lacking in fruit. (And I’m not fond fruit bombs or even Parker type very ripe fruit Cabs.)  If you do try this one, be sure to give it plenty of air. It is not a very drinkable wine straight out of the bottle. Although this is very inexpensive for a Napa Valley Cab, I can’t really recommend it, even though others I respect seem to like it.

 

Hillgate 2010 Zinfandel Lake County-$6.99 at Trader Joe's.  Drinkable when first opened but improves with some air.  Simple fruit forward presentation with little complexity or spice.  Not bad for the price.  Would prefer a drier presentation and more tannin.  I won’t be buying more, but it isn’t bad for the money and you could do a lot worse at this price. Pass.

Epicuro 2010 Vermentino Lazio white-$4.99 at Trader Joe's.  An Italian white wine by a winery that produces some incredible bargains in red wines.  Unfortunately this white wine is merely okay for the price.  It is decent enough with some citrus and spice on the palate but had a somewhat musty, unpleasant finish.  Even my wife (without my prompting) commented, “It doesn’t have a very good after taste.” It is popular at Trader Joes, so others must like it better than I do.  Not bad for the price, but I will pass on buying any more.  Pass.

Epicuro 2008 Primitivo Di Manduria-$4.99 at Trader Joe's. An Italian red wine by the same winery that makes the fantastic bargain, the 2009 Epicuro Aglianico Beneventano IGT, also at $4.99.  I was told that these two wines are the best of the four red wines by Epicuro that are carried by Trader Joes, so I decided to compare the two side by side, first straight out of the bottle, then with a Vinturi aerator and then the following day after pumping the air out of each bottle. The Epicuro 2008 Primitivo is very drinkable but not as good a buy as the Aglianico. The Primitivo is more fruit forward, a bit fat.  I like the long finish.  It is certainly a bargain at $4.99, but I find it a bit one-dimensional. I would not call it rustic, but it is rather simple, easy and fruity, an inexpensive Zin like wine without the tannin or spice. But the 2009 Epicuro Aglianico is more interesting.  Either one of these wines would be okay when a $5 wine is called for.  They are both easy to drink. Mildly recommended at this price.

Out of curiosity, I looked up the Primitivo varietal and it is genetically very similar to Zinfandel, probably a clone. European laws actually allow Primitivo wines to be called Zinfandels, but U.S. laws do not allow American Zins to be called Primitivo. That it is genetically similar to Zins certainly makes sense because the Primitivo is very much like a simple, fruity but very drinkable Zin without much tannin or spice. If you want to taste a good one, try the Hendry Primitivo from Napa Valley. I'm sure there are many decent Italian ones, but I don't know of them.

 

Addendum 10/20/12: I have tried the 2009 and 2010 Epicuro Primitivo and could not tell them apart from the 2008. It continues to be a simple, but honest red wine, with some forward fruit. It is soft, but not sweet, with some residual sugar but not more so than many fruity Zins.  It has some body, is fairly well balanced, and has very soft tannins. It is one of the few wines at under $5 that I don't mind drinking, and that is saying a lot.  If you want to taste a good Primitivo, try Hendry's.

 

The Primitivo is recommended, but don't miss the Epicuro 2009Aglianico by the same wine maker, a more interesting wine at the same price.  Please see Budget Review 1

Addendum 9/18/2012: I just had a bottle of the 2010 Epicuro Aglianico Beneventano IGT and it was more fruit forward than the 2009, had less tannin and was not as interesting. As noted, I did not like the 2008 as well as the 2009 either. The Epicuro Aglianico is still recommended as a drinkable wine for under $5, but seems vary from year to year.