The $12 Wine Challenge - Episode #185

February 19, 2007

Wines tasted in this episode:

• 2003 Di Majo Norante Contado Aglianico
• 2001 Aries Los Carneros Merlot
• Sterling Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner’s Collection
• 2005 Winner’s Tank Shiraz

Links mentioned in todays episode.

• The Introduce Yourself Forum (Remember you have to register before you can post)

Gary Vaynerchuk today looks at $12 wines and sees how much of a value these wines are. Is 12 the new 10? Watch and find out.

120 Responses

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1. about 16 months ago

   Frances

   I tasted a sip of my roommate’s glass of the Sterling and liked it a lot. The experience was probably very different than Gary’s because my roommate does not decant or let the wine sit after opening it. We both really like wines with chocolate flavors, and this one tasted like that to me.

2. about 16 months ago

   Kelly

   I recently bought the Winner’s Tank Shiraz and was very pleased with it, I didn’t find it to be as over-the-top as you did but it still had very strong characteristics.

   The best under 12 dollar wine I had recently was the 2006 Oyster Bay Sauvingnon Blanc which rocked my world.

3. about 19 months ago

   SacramentoCharlie

   Another month+ lurker has jumped in.

   QOTD: I found the Rodney Strong 2003 Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon on sale for $11.99 and have went back for more. 90 WE and It’s an absolute steal at this price.

4. about 19 months ago

   Wendy Elam

   i’m a newbie (lurker, i guess?) best $12 bottle…2001 Kunde Estate Zinfandel.

5. about 19 months ago

   ChrisR

   Palo Alto Reserve from Chile is the best $12 wine I’ve ever had in my life. I give 93+ and I think that’s being conservative. This is an undiscovered masterpiece.

6. about 19 months ago

   Bexter

   QOTD:
   2004 Marchesi di Gresy La Serra Moscato d’Asti
   2003 Escudo Rojo
   2004 Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina
   2004 Fattoria di Petroio Chianti Classico
   2004 Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc
   2003 Genesis Merlot
   2004 Bogle Petite Sirah
   2004 Shoofly Shiraz
   2004 Aquinas Cabernet Sauvignon
   2004 Las Rocas Vinas Viejas Garnacha
   2005 A to Z Pinot Gris
   2005 Agricola de Borja Borsao
   NV Sumarroca Cava (Brut)

7. about 19 months ago

   elron

   Once again, enjoyed the show. Nice wines that were enjoyed in last month or so.

   Mcwilliams 2003 Shiraz($8)The 2004 was horible
   Sharpshooter 2003 Cabernet($15)
   Snoqualmie 2000 Reserve Merlot($??)
   Columbia Crest 2001 Syrah($9)

8. about 19 months ago

   Beth

   Just had a glass of Katharine Kennedy for $12…….

9. about 19 months ago

   AlanV

   QOTD - 2005 Lindemans Bin 50 Cab - $5.99 on the rack, with a $2 rebate down to $3.99 - this may be the best wine value I have ever had.

10. about 19 months ago

    Corrado

    QOTD:
    White (and overall) is a 100% home-run for 2004 Brancott Sauvignon Blanc. Wonderful $12 wine.
    Red: 2004 Concannon Petit Sirah, tasted (and over-rated by a point ) by Gary a bunch of episodes ago. Still an awesome $12 wine. You could DEFINITELY kill someone with the bottle. VERY thick glass.

11. about 19 months ago

    Dave-from-Katonah

    No avatar?

12. about 19 months ago

    Dave-from-Katonah

    Great show, Gary.

    No line in the sand for me.

    QOTD - Two Up Shiraz, thanks to Gary’s WLTV tip!!

13. about 19 months ago

    Badger Ann

    QOTD: Quattro Mani Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. A beauty for $8! It really did evolve in the glass, unlike some of the extraction bombs in this price range I’ve had recently.

14. about 19 months ago

    ThomasS

    Nice ep. Good to taste everyday wines some time.
    QOTD: mmm, so that’s 8-9 EUR for me. Maybe the Deetlef’s Pinotage then. 8,99, so, nice QPR. Not overwhelming, but ok. I would have bought some extrra case when I’d had the opp. still. The Bourgeui I’m sipping a know is a zilch in the glass though … pity.
    C ya.

15. about 19 months ago

    Dionysus

    Offended rather. I wish this comment section allowed editing of ones posts.

16. about 19 months ago

    Dionysus

    Eatapc: I was unsure how to pronounced Carmenere so I looked it up and found this:

    “Carmenair-uh”

    Though on further inspection I now find this:

    “Car-me-NEAR”

    And this:

    “Kar-men-YAIR”

    I guess its a case of po-tay-toe/po-tat-oh. However, “Carmenair-uh” sounds more Spanish to me.

    Being a Canuck: I’m more familiar with French pronunciations than Spanish. It was from the Vay-ner-chuk himself, that I learned how to pronounce [b]Rioja (Reo-ha)[/b] and Tempranillo (Tempra-neo).

    In the multinational world of wine, we all need help with our pronunciations from time to time. Certainly nothing to get offend over, right TommyBoBo?

    Cheers!

17. about 19 months ago

    Joyce

    Gary Kiiiiiiiiiiiidd!! I like it!

18. about 19 months ago

    Neal Schmidt

    I tasted the Aglianico over two evenings last weekend. I was really looking forward to it. However,I couldn’t get any smell or taste other than dirt, try as I might. There was no cherry, chocolate covered or otherwise. I generally like dry wines with earthy, tobacco like characteristics but this was over the top. How Gary can say this would keep a New World drinker interested is beyond me. I was very disappointed.

19. about 19 months ago

    Lawrence Leichtman

    Dr. Loosen from 1982 that was originally purchased for $8.99, second the Gruet Blanc de blancs and the Blanc de Noir both under $12. Have not found the Garnacha here in VA but did find it in Houston at Central Market and it was a good buy. Isn’t Sterling ownde by Coca Cola. The only thing I’ve ever found impressive about the place is the tram ride.

    I was recently corrected on Meritage pronunciation in Paso Robles by several of the wine pourers.

20. about 19 months ago

    SS Chris

    Comment 51: By Wil Neverspit wrote,

    “Lastly, CHRIS S, I think the Sterling was a 2004. I saw it on the bottle when Erik zoomed in. Add that to the extremely excellent spreadsheet.”

    Wil, thanks for the good words and for the heads up on the vintage (I saw the 2004 on the close-up as well). The WL code is the first item to be entered (actually by WL’s Chris Mott, aka Anti-Chris). At that point the other info (Vintage, Wine Name, Wine Price) auto-populates per the data in Wine Library’s database. Hence, the WL info in the WL database needs to be changed….I will let Chris Mott know so he can fix it.

    I then manually enter Gary’s Tasting Notes and rating. Thanks again!!

21. about 19 months ago

    Len C

    Top 100 is so lame! Even 100 is too

22. about 19 months ago

    eatapc

    BTW, I think Dionysus is wrong about the CARMENERE pronunciation. It’s car-men-YEHR. I was in Chile a few months ago and I didn’t hear anyone — including tour guides at some wineries — pronounce it “Carmenair-uh.”

23. about 19 months ago

    eatapc

    Ya know, $10 was the low budget “line in the sand” over 25 years ago. That it’s now up only $2 in 25 years is a testament to the almost total lack of inflation in decent wines. (”Collector” wines don’t count.)

    I used to have a $30 line in the sand — the line above which I thought of as splurging. Then I lowered it to $25. Now it’s $20.

    Overall, I now expect a $20 wine to taste as good as a $30 wine did ten years ago, and $12 wines are certainly the equal of what used to cost $20-25. That’s progress! — Mark B

24. about 19 months ago

    Sakas

    QOTD - 2002 Voss Syrah Rutherford. The best wine that i have had recently under 12 dollars. tasty

25. about 19 months ago

    TommyBoBo of WI

    http://www.wineloverspage.com/lexicon

    sry

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