Set the stage for springtime with these 5 wines
This week’s recommendations include two Bordeaux-style red wines: an elegant cabernet sauvignon from Paso Robles and an intriguing blend from one of Virginia’s top producers. Then, explore a high- end sparkling wine and a juicy cava rosada from Spain, plus a tasty Portuguese rosé that fifits our budget for relaxed patio sipping. Think spring!
Raventos i Blanc Textures de Pedra Blanc de Noirs 2012 3 Stars Spain, $45 Raventos i Blanc is trying to elevate Spanish bubbly to the level of champagne - an ambitious project - so this wine is not labeled as a cava. Some will be turned offff by the price, which reaches champagne levels. But the quality is there. Textures de Pedra is sophisticated, complex and enticing, blended from grapes that don’t exactly trip offff the tongue: xarel-lo vermell, bastard negre and sumoll. Look for this mostly in restaurants and a few retail stores, but don’t pass it by simply because it’s unfamiliar and pricey. Alcohol by volume: 12 percent.
Niner Wine Estates, Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 3 Stars Paso Robles, Calif., $40
Niner impressed me with this sleek combination of depth and elegance. It has all the blackberry and cassis flflavors we expect in a cabernet without the heaviness and bulk that too often afflfflicts the grape in California. Like a good conversationalist, it kept me interested. Sustainably farmed. Because Paso Robles cabernet is still a sleeper for its value, this might be hard to fifind. The distributor still has some, so retailers can order it. Alcohol by volume: 14.3 percent.
RdV Vineyards Friends and Family 2014 2.5 stars Middleburg, Va., $35 Friends and Family is RdV Vineyards’ third wine, after Lost Mountain and Rendezvous. That means it actually gets into distribution beyond the winery’s direct sales and restaurant placements. This is your chance to taste what the fuss is all about. Friends and Family is a bit angular and edgy, but it shares the lovely blackberry and plum core that characterizes the winery’s two more expensive wines. Good winemaking shows, even in wines that don’t make it into the top bottlings. ABV: 14.5 percent.
Canals Canals Rosat Reserva Cava Brut Nature 2013 2 Stars Penedes, Spain, $18 This vintage cava rosé is a delightful sparkler, with bright strawberry and currant flflavors and fresh bubbles to turn any day into a celebration. ABV: 11.5 percent.
Bacalhoa, JP Azeitao Syrah Rosé 2016 2 Stars Peninsula de Setubal, Portugal, $ 10
What a delightful rosé. It’s juicy with strawberry and raspberry flflavors and an appealing hint of sweetness on the fifinish that gives it a little extra body. Fine patio sipping, by itself or with pre-dinner nibbles. ABV: 12 percent.
Three stars is exceptional, two stars is excellent, one star is very good.