JANUARY 2001 12-UNDER-$12
Sometimes you don't need a "great" bottle of wine.
Sometimes you just want a cheap bottle and it wouldn't bother you at all if it
were to taste really good. We're in the same boat. We're always looking for wine
that tastes like it costs more than it does, preferably wine priced under
$12.00. So here are twelve of our favorites, all priced under $12.00.
ALAURA Chianti DOCG, 1998 (12x750ml $7.80 $86.58)
Here's a fresh, nicely focused "spaghetti red" of a Chianti
featuring lots of juicy cherry fruit, good ripeness, and hints of earth and
exotic wood (cedar, sandlewood). Fresh, balanced, and satisfying. Best served
cool (55-60°). Very Good. SPEC's Score: 86 points.
DOMAINE GALANTINE Bandol Rouge, 1998 (12x750ml $11.90
$130.56) Spicy, exoticly perfumed nose. Dense and dark, this mostly
Mourvedre-chunk of a wine is big and ripe and packed with dark grape-and-berry
fruit. The full-bodied palate hints at pepper and subtle Provencal herbs. Good
length; finishes dusty dry. Another winning 1998 from the south of France. Fine.
SPEC's Score: 89 points.
Ch. PARENCHERE Bordeaux Superieur 1998 (12x750ml
$10.81 $118.58) This classy, classic Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated
Bordeaux has long been a favorite of Spec's customers. The 1998 continues that
roll with a medium-weight, balanced style that shows fine Cabernet fruit married
with supple oak and Parenchere's unique terroir. It is smooth and elegant in the
mouth with some chewiness in the texture. Very Good now but it will improve over
at least the next three years. SPEC's Score: 87 points.
CRICKLEWOOD Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley (Oregon), 1999
(12x750ml $9.39 $103.07) Fresh, refreshing, crisply balanced
Pinot Gris showing plenty of crisp apple fruit with citrus highlights and a hint
of a Sauvignon Blanc-like herbal note. Long and lively with a
light-to-medium-weight texture and a clean, dry finish. Very Good. SPEC's Score:
85 points.
Ch. de MONTFAUCON "Baron Louis" Cotes du Rhone,
1997 (12x750ml $9.34 $102.45) Blended of 60% Grenache,
20% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre, and 10% Carignan grown just across the Rhone from
Chateauneuf du Pape, this consistent winner of a Cotes du Rhone starts with
notes of dusty oak and dark grapy-berry fruit on the nose followed by a rich
palate featuring grapy, spicy fruit and evident (but welcome) oak. Not at all
flashy but really satisfying; this is classic Cotes du Rhone. Really Very Good.
SPEC's Score: 87 points.
GLASS MOUNTAIN Cabernet Sauvignon, California, 1997 (12x750ml
$7.39 $82.65) Ripe super juicy medium-weight Cabernet Sauvignon
featuring lots of ripe berry and black cherry fruit with plenty of Cabernet
character in a very accessible, softly balanced, easy drinking style. It goes
down smoothly with a surprisingly long finish. Fine. SPEC's Score: 88 points.
La COMBE BLANCHE Minervois, 1996 (12x750ml $9.89
$109.58) This ripe but balanced, well-developed, mountain-grown Minervois
is rich and juicy in the mouth with ample dark, grapy, spicy fruit, good terroir
notes, and a hint of the cask. Quite supple in trhe mouth but still has a bit of
chewiness with a fine weight and feel. Really satisfying and perfectly ready to
drink. Fine. SPEC's Score: 88 points.
MONTHAVEN Zinfandel California 1998 (12x750ml $8.99
$102.48) Medium-weight, juicy Zinfandel featuring lots of ripe berry and
plum fruit, hints of briar and pepper, and a soft, open, easy-drinking
structure. Almost lush in the mouth with a rich feel. Has good length to its
rich, dry finish. Perfect everyday Zin - Very Good. SPEC's Score: 86 points.
BEAULIEU VINEYARDS (BV) Coastal Chardonnay, California, 1999
(12x750ml $8.57 $95.79) This lively tropical fruit scented
Chardonnay shows plenty of fresh fruit flavor and a fine balance from its
tropical lime acidity and elegant mineral notes. Not one one of those over-ripe,
over-oaked cookie-cutter, "same old" Chardonnays; instead it is alive
in the mouth and refeshing with a lingering, lively finish and great focus.
Fine. SPEC's Score: 88 points.
BEAULIEU VINEYARDS (BV) Coastal Merlot, California, 1998
(12x750ml $8.57 $95.79) Big, rich Merlot with lots of dark
plum and cherry fruit. Despite its weight, it stays fresh and even somewhat
juicy in the mouth. It has good length and nice dry tannins but is not overly
chewy. Nice weight, feel, and balance. Very Good. SPEC's Score: 86 points.
CAPEZZANO Barco Reale de Carmignano, Tuscany, 1998 (12x750ml
$11.38 $126.27) Showing dusty, grapy aromas up front, this is a
fuller-bodied, juicy, ripe, grapy chunk of a Tuscan red featuring great fruit
and notes of dusty dry oak, subtle cedar and a hint of black pepper.
Well-focused and pure but also well-integrated and complete. Quite rich for a
Sangiovese-based wine and really satisfying. Fine. SPEC's Score: 89 points.
DOMAINE du MAGES Vin de Pays - Cotes de Gascogne, 1998
(12x750ml $7.94 $87.09) A blend of Merlot and Tannat (a
recently resurrected variety native to Gascony most commonly seen in the blend
for Madiran), this tastes and feels like a theoretical blending of ripe,
California-style Merlot and right-bank Bordeaux with a little
Zinfandel-Rhone-style spice and pepper thrown in. It features good dark cherry
and plum fruit and a nicely chewy texture. Really Very Good. SPEC's Score: 87
points.
SPECIAL for SPEC's KEY Holders: Buy a mixed case consisting of one 750ml bottle
of each of our January 2001 12-UNDER-$12 selections for only $103.41 a savings
of $8.56 over SPEC's already low cash bottle price.
UPC: 00000617688 - Special price effective 1/4/00 thru 2/3/00.
The "12x750ml" means the wine comes in 750ml bottles
packed 12 to the case. The first price listed for each selection is the cash
discounted bottle price. The second price listed is the cash discounted case
price.
"Spec's" is a service mark of the Spec's Family
Partners, Ltd. and is registered with the State of Texas. Prices are subject to
change without notice. Prices listed include a 5% discount for cash.
"Cash" includes checks and debit cards when you enter your PIN#.
Prices listed in 12-UNDER-$12 are good at all SPEC's locations.
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