UNDER THE GRAPE TREE Your Almost-Daily Dose of Drunken Neuroticisms

DEEP SIX’N THE UNDERDOG

Today we got back into the groove of meeting with sales reps and tasting new product (the we being my assistant Shannon and myself).  Granted, January is not usually the time to buy new product – it is usually a time of inventory reductions after paying at yearly taxes, employee bonuses, catching up on bills, etc.  It is the tightening of the proverbial belt so to speak.

Will, with the deluge of new products with which are reps are being inundated, it was at least the decent thing to meet with them and begin tasting all these new wines.  (It’s such a tough job, I know).  Today, one of our Southern Wine & Spirits reps – Ray – who is also a former D.E.P.’s alum, dropped in to show us some new products from Underdog Wine Merchants:  a new line of Tempranillo-based blends from Bodegas Osborne called “Tempra Tantrum” and two French sparklers from Cupcake Vineyards (honestly these two were about 6 weeks too late, but who am I?).

Tempra Tantrum Tempranillo/Grenache 2008.  Grade=Outstanding.  I was a bit surprised by this wine, because usually when you get kitschy packaging, you don’t get good wine.  However here, this was soft, fruity, and quite a bit of fun for the palate.  A blend of 60/40 Tempranillo to Grenache, there is a lot of red and black fruit here though the wine was cold due to the temperature outside.  Overall, I really like this wine.

Tempra Tantrum Tempranillo/Merlot 2008.  Grade=Average.  While I did like this wine, it was still hovering in the mediocre territory.  I have had other Temp/Merlot blends, and this really doesn’t stack up to those.  Has some nice cherry and blackberry notes to it, but still doesn’t resonate enough to bring it in.

Tempra Tantrum Tempranillo/Shiraz 2008.  Grade=Outstanding.  I think that this is the standout for me.  Nice notes of chocolate, pepper, cherry and dark fruit in the nose and on the palate, this 60/40 Temp/Shiraz blend has good mass appeal.  Soft tannins and a pleasing finish make this a strong candidate for our stores.

Tempra Tantrum Tempranillo/Cabernet 2008.  Grade=Average.  I actually didn’t like this wine.  Maybe it was just the cold temperature of the wine, but it showed very bitter, like biting into unripe fruit.  The plum, blackberry, cherry and currant flavors that I think were suppose to be there, were decidedly absent.  It demonstrated a harsh tone of green fruit, bitter tannins and too much acidity.  Maybe I’ll give this one another go down the road.

Cupcake Vineyard Chardonnay Brut Blanc de Blancs NV.  Grade=Outstanding.  This is textbook Blanc de Blancs from outside Champagne.  French in origin, though not quite sure where (no tech info available online yet), this is a good, solid value in sparkling wine.  Shows off slightly sweet stone fruit, hints of yeast and buttered toast, and a bit of mineral.  Pretty good.

Cupcake Vineyard Pinot Noir Brut Rose NV.  Grade=Outstanding.  I really like this; it shows off a lot more character than its Chardonnay counterpart.  Bright cherry, a bit of pomegranate, strawberry and a good balance of acidity make this a wonderful value in sparkling wine.  But us wine geeks always love a good dry blush sparkler.

The ones we liked probably won’t show up in the stores until mid-February, but definitely look for them in the meantime, at your 2^nd favorite wine store of course.