Just for the sake of disclosure, the Fresh and Easy wine was free, and I used to work for them (They inadvertently sent me samples...I'm sure that it wasn't what they intended for their PR. Former employees might not be exactly objective). I tasted these wines blind, with my girlfiriend as the intermediary, just to be fair. Since Trader Joes is the closest competition to F&E (and I use that term loosely, since F&E doesn't really seem to be competing--just throwing away money), I picked the closest 2008 Malbec from Mendoza that Trader Joes carries.). The Gascon, at 10$, is the only one they carry right now from 08. (The next closest Malbec they have is a 2009 La Finca, which is 3$, and it is off the charts bad. Is it possible to give something an J or a K instead of an F?) Ambas retails for $5.99 according to Fresh and Easy's PR materials. So the price isn't the same (and that can be extremely important in wines that are less than a certain amount--call it 20ish dollars), but there's nothing I can do about that. It highlights, just like with the Small Wonders, that Tesco is trying to do something unique and offer a unique item. Anyways, no one really gives a shit about that. So which wine won?
Wine 1: Oaky. Dark fruits. Smoky meatiness, that blows off and leads to a little bit of chocolate character. Ripe, sweet fruit. Good structure.
Wine 2: Oaky, but less than #1. Oaky nose eventually blows off leading to a tutti-fruity nose--not appealing. Cherries. A little bit of spiciness; seems hollow and one-dimensional.
Wine 1 was the Gascon. It's actually quite good for a fruit bomb at 10$. This would give a lot of California wines an enormous run for their money. Not really so much my style, but at 10$, you can't lose. Fredric Koeppel, whom I respect enormously, thought the Gascon was a good value too. The Fresh and Easy wine sucks. You'd be just as well off buying the 3$ La Finca if you wanted a Malbec from Argentina, and it's cheaper. Gascon is a solid B. Ambas is a C-. Verdict: Gascon wins, hands down. (For the record, the girlfriend felt the same way.)
11 comments:
I had the 2007 Gascon and thought it was extremely average for a $10 Malbec. If there is one wine you should never buy at a supermarket (or Trader Joe's) Malbec must be it! Go to a wine store and ask for their picks. Much higher success rate!
Good to get another opinion. Maybe it was the competition? Something crappy makes something less crappy look better in comparison. This wine isn't really my style--maybe that's why you didn't like it as much as me because you've had something better? I remember you thinking the Layer Cake was expensive; I really liked that wine a lot. Anyways, if you've got a couple of suggestions for cheap Malbec, I'm all ears. I haven't had one yet on this site that really blew me away except for the Layer Cake.
I have three that I generally recommend to folks: Pascual Toso, Terrazas de los Andes and the Alamos (in that order). I find them all to be quality offerings at less than a $10 spot.
That F&E place is a shit hole. I would never feel comfortable buying wine there. Everything is out date code and I wouldn't trust anyone from the UK to recommend a wine either. There is a reason no one goes out to eat in the UK, because all their food sux
It's been a while, but I remember Gascon being decent... I was drinking it for free though :) I worked for the distributor. It's a Gallo brand now BTW.
Kinda scary. Gallo? Ouch. Like I said, I thought it was pretty good for a cheap fruit bomb.
Gallo just picked up distribution rights for Alamos as well... they actually have some decent labels in their portfolio both in imports and CA wines.
Gallo is big... ie I would imagine that they can probably have their pick of quite a few labels if they really want to be bringing them in. Do they influence the wine-making at all at these properties? Or are they just acting like a traditional importer/distributor and selling?
They tend to focus their premium properties on their strengths and can actually improve them.
For example, they bought Louis Martini in Napa a few years back, retained Michael Martini as winemaker, pulled the focus away from Chardonnay and solely onto Cabernet, and reinvested- generally to positive response from the wine media etc. By buying Louis Martini they now own the Monte Rosso vineyard on Sonoma Mtn which they also source for some of their other labels (Rancho Zabaco has a Monte Rosso Zin)
McMurray Ranch is another example of this approach, and generally decent wine for the money. Other labels that they have, such as Bridlewood, I don't like.
But overall I think they try to deliver a decent product in their premium segment. Some of their business practices are controversial, like trying to enlarge the Russian River AVA. Overall they've turned into more of a player in that category over the last 10 or 15 years.
Those are some interesting insights. You work in the "business" in some capacity...right? Or at least you used to? That's always seemed like it would be a fun job. You're a lucky bastard! (I'm vaguely jealous.)
Yes I am in the business. I used to be with a distributor, that was nice because we had some great some great wines that you got to taste on a regular basis at meetings etc. Now I'm with a supplier so I represent just a couple of things... but I do buy samples of my products along with other wines on my expense account... that's a nice perk!
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