Recommended wines at the P1,000 per bottle range

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L-R: ALTANZA Crianza 2019, Delas Saint-Esprit 2021, and Apaltagua Envero Carmenere 2019

THE ALTANZA Crianza paired extremely well with gyudon.

CHOOSING the right wine to buy and drink can be a daunting task, with literally thousands of choices ranging from the cheapest, the most mundane, to the very expensive, and the more surreal ones. But wine choices must start with a budget, and to me, the best valued ones are the wines in the PhP1,000/bottle range.

In my column today I would like to share my first batch of wine recommendations. Note that these wines I am reviewing are all present vintages and available through your favorite online wine shops like manila-wine.com or winery.ph, though not readily available in retail stores. Please note that my tasting notes are unapologetically mine and based on my own tasting experience.

Here below are 3 very good choices that are worth your consideration and your hard-earned money, including details on winery and the wine appellation:

1. Delas Saint-Esprit Cotes du Rhone Blanc 2021 (White), Rhone, France

Brand owner La Maison Delas Frères was founded way back in 1835. The winery is one of the pioneers in Rhone Valley and known especially for their premium Northern Rhone wines of Cote-Rotie, Hermitage to Cornas. Delas produces wines in 29 of the 30+ AOCs (appellations), covering almost all of the Rhone region, including 8 AOCs in Northern Rhone and 21 AOCs in Southern Rhone.

Cote du Rhone Blanc wines are only 3% of total Rhone Valley wine production, while its red counterpart, the Cotes du Rhone Rouge is the largest AOC, contributing close to 50% of the region’s production. The Delas Saint-Esprit Cotes du Rhone Blanc is a multi-varietal blend made from Grenache Blanc (white version of Grenache), and relatively unheard varietals like Clairette Blanche, Bourboulenc, Viognier plus a few others.

Tasting and food pairing notes: “Light gold color, fragrant, sweet-scented, flavors of peach, some petrol nose, stoney, chrysanthemum, nice fresh acids on the palate, with white petal notes on a crisp finish. This wine will captivate you from the first whiff and quaff, and is a refreshing drink on its own, but could pair very well with salads with light dressing, steamed fish like a grouper, most types of shellfish and even BBQed pork and chicken. I had this before with asado siopao and it was a delightful combination.”

2. Bodegas Altanza Rioja Crianza 2019 (Red), Rioja, Spain

Bodegas Altanza was founded in 1998 and is celebrating its silver jubilee, 25th year anniversary this year. The winery is best known for making high-quality Rioja reds using only Spain’s proudest indigenous grape varietal, the Tempranillo. Bodegas Altanza also has one of the most extensive Rioja Reserva ranges in the market, having five in this category: Altanza Reserva, Altanza Club Reserva, Altanza Artista Serie, Altanza Familia Reserva, and Altanza Seleccion Reserva — of which the first three Reserva wines mentioned are fortunately available in the Philippines.

Rioja is easily Spain’s most important wine region and is primarily making red wines, easily 90% of production. The Tempranillo varietal is the obvious star of this region, even if by law, other red varietals like Garnacha (Grenache), Mazuelo and Graciano are allowed to be used either as solo or blended wine. Rioja also has a stricter rule on their oak-aging law, whereas in most of the Spanish wine DOs (appellations), a Crianza only needs to undergo six months of oak barrel-aging, and two years before commercial release, while Rioja requires their Crianza to undergo longer oak aging period of one full year or 12 full months. This Altanza Crianza underwent 14 months of oak aging, with the first 12 months in brand new standard French barrels, and an extra two months in the giant 2,200-liter oak vat from Allier.

Tasting and food-pairing notes: “Deep ruby color, alluring nose of maraschino cherries, hawthorn berries, silky with noticeable yet gentle tannins on the palate, dry with smokey and vanilla flavors, and a lingering vegetal finish. This wine can go well with several red meats, red-sauced pastas and even cold cuts. I actually had this wine with gyudon from Yoshinoya and it was a delicious pairing.”

3. Viña Apaltagua Gran Reserva Envero Carmenere 2019 (Red), Apalta Vineyard, Colchagua Valley, Chile

Viña Apaltagua was founded in 1995 by American businessman Edward Tutunjian when he went on vacation in Chile and fell in love with the country and its wines. He decided to acquire vineyards in top Chilean wine regions starting with the Curicó Valley, but later adding Maule, Colchagua, Maipo and San Antonio Valleys to his vineyard ownership. Tutunjian was once known as being the taxi king of Boston, Massachusetts with his controversial Boston Cab taxi operations.

Apalta vineyard is a sub-region within the Colchagua Valley which makes primarily red wines. Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère and Syrah are the most planted varietals in Apalta. This Gran Reserva Envero (Author’s note: Gran Reserva in Chile has no definite and legal meaning unlike their Spanish or Italian winery counterparts) Carmenere had 10% Cabernet Sauvignon in it and underwent majority in oak-aging but with some portion also in stainless still vats. All the juices from this wine came from estate owned vineyards.

Tasting and food-pairing notes: “Garnet color, earthy notes on first whiff, complex, cigar-like nose, herbaceous, black currant, raisin, meaty on the palate, good acid backbone, and a peppercorn-like finish. This wine is ideal with chimichurri-sauced pork or chicken dishes, should also survive lamb, and would be amazing with stronger cheeses like Raclette and Parmigiano Reggiano.”

There you have it …. the first 3 wines I recommended, none of which are your usual commercialized varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon (just 10% in the Envero Carmenere), Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Let me know your comments when you try these wines. Cheers!

The author is the first Filipino wine writer member of both Bordeaux based Federation Internationale des Journalists et Ecrivains du Vin et des Spiritueux (FIJEV) and the UK-based Circle of Wine Writers (CWW). For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage, wine consultancy and other wine related concerns, please e-mail the author at wineprotege@gmail.com, or check his wine training website https://thewinetrainingcamp.wordpress.com/services/