SAUCE MAGAZINE
Posted On: 12/01/2009
Here’s what sommelier Glenn Bardgett is drinking – and gifting – this month. Check your favorite wine shop or liquor store for availability.
Chateau Bonnet Blanc 2008 Entre-Deux-Mers, Bordeaux, France
This three-grape blend of Sauvignon Blanc (50 percent), Sémillon (40 percent) and Muscadelle (10 percent) really demonstrates how enjoyable and affordable French white wines still are, even with the euro beating up on the dollar. This dry white delivers enough character to pair well with company-worthy meals like grilled scallops, but don’t overlook it for simple weeknight sipping in front of the TV. About $12.
Kim Crawford Unoaked Chardonnay 2008, New Zealand
OK, if you just gotta have Chardonnay, then look past the overdone, overextracted, overoaked, overalcohol-ed plethora of typical Chardonnays and instead go back to the simpler, quieter days when oak was a container and not a flavor. This NZ beauty, at under $20, is totally focused on the flavor of the grape and offers friendly hints of stone fruits. Pair it with simple roasted chicken.
Seghesio Rockpile Zinfandel 2007, Sonoma, Calif.
If you want to give a gift to a hard-core Cabernet drinker, this may be your best bet. Even with its 15.6 percent alcohol content, you don’t even begin to notice the heat. I’ve tasted great Zins for decades, and this stands as one of the all-time greats. Do you remember those raspberry hard candies your grandma always had at Christmas? This is a bottle of that flavor intensity. And, at around $30, this blows the doors off of Cabs at two or three times the price.
