MARCH 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.
KIM CRAWFORD Unoaked Chardonnay, Marlborough (New Zealand), 1999
6x750ml $11.99 $66.87 Fresh and crisp but
juicy Chardonnay with
ovely pure fruit flavor. Lots of tree-fruit and a hint of green banana with
a lime-acid back-bone. Bright and lively in the mouth. Grows and develops
as you drink it. Has good malolactic richness but the well-focused,
unoaked Chardonnay fruit keeps it alive. Delicious and refreshing and
super versatile with food (unlike most wood-influenced Chardonnay).
Fine+. SPEC's Score: 90 points.
HERMITAGE ROAD Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Limestone Coast (South
Australia), 1998 12x750ml $11.87 $135.32
Fine Cabernet fruit
but with plenty of ripeness and a good balance. Long and lively in the mouth
with plenty of crushed black-and-red-berry fruit and notes of black pepper
and sweet wood. Nice bit of chewiness and good texture but maintains a
lively feel. Rich and satisfying but not too heavy. Fine+. SPEC's Score: 90
points.
GEORGES DuBOEUF, Macon-Villages, 1999 12x750ml $7.67
$85.11
Fresh, flavorful, crisply balanced no-oak Chardonnay featuring fine pure
green-banana-and-mineral Chardonnay fruit flavors and a surprising level
of richness. The fruit is kept in focus by both the refreshing tropical
lime acidity and the terroir supplied mineral note. This is another super
versatile Chardonnay that can be paired with anything from oysters on
the half-shell to grilled pork loin. Very Good. SPEC's Score: 87 points.
ECHELON Viognier, California, 1999 12x750ml $11.45
$125.44
(Made from fruit grown mostly near Clarksburg.) Super fresh, well-
perfumed, nicely-balanced classic Viognier that offers tingly honeysuckle
and mixed fruit with hints of pear, peach, and apricot emerging from the
swirl. The perfume hints at the exotic. The wine is quite refreshing with
fine length, focus, and purity. This is a great bang for your Viognier
buying buck. Fine. SPEC's Score: 88+ points.
HUNTINGTON Earthquake Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, 2000 12x750ml
$9.99 $110.96 Fresh, focused, crisply
balanced Sauvignon Blanc
featuring juicy ripe fruit in the white peach, green pear, and gooseberry
range over notes of just cut grass and grated citrus peel. Fresh and
ively in the mouth with a refreshing feel. The crisp acidity keeps it
balanced and alive making it lovely as an aperitif wine and really versatile
as a match with food. Fine. SPEC's Score: 88 points.
CUVEE DE PENA, Vin de Pays des Pyrenees Orientales, 1998 12x750ml
$4.99 $56.88 A typical blend of 50% old-vine Carignan,
blended with
Grenache, Mourvedre, and Syrah, all grown about 25 miles north of the
Spanish border and 25 miles inland from the Mediterranean, this
medium-weight, well-balanced, unfiltered cuvee shows good richness and
a nice mix of dark grapy-juicy fruit and subtle spice, black pepper,
and earth notes. It finishes clean and dry with a final note of chewy
tannin. Very Good and a consistent BEST BUY. SPEC's Score:
86 points.
ECHELON Merlot, California, 1999 12x750ml $8.39
$93.11
(A blend of 76% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Syrah, and
3% Petite Sirah grown in Arroyo Secco and Lake County) Herešs a
delicious balanced but juicy Merlot featuring lots of dark cherry flavor
with hints of cherry jam and cassis liqueur, plenty of richness, and
good sweetness of fruit. Medium long and just a bit chewy, it shows
a fine mix of fruit and weight. Very Good+. SPEC's Score: 87+ points.
FOREST GLEN Shiraz, California, 1998 12x750ml $7.71
$86.20
With all of its ripe black raspberry fruit on both the nose and the palate
and notes of white and black pepper and a cassis perfume, this medium-
weight, fairly rich Aussie-style California Syrah shows a fresh, lively
texture and good length in a refreshing, well made package. Very Good.
SPEC's Score: 86 points.
CARTLIDGE AND BROWN Cabernet Sauvignon, California, 1999
12x750ml $10.56 $117.22 Medium-bodied
Cabernet Sauvignon
featuring lots of juicy cherry Cabernet fruit with hints of pepper,
spice, and candied cherries. Softly balanced and almost sweet with
fruit. Hard to pin down all the flavors but the wine is very tasty in
an easy drinking medium weight style; a fine everyday drinking
Cabernet. SPEC's Score: 88+ points.
COPPOLA Rosso, California Red Table Wine, 1999 12x750ml
$7.93 $86.80 A blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet
Sauvignon,
and Sangiovese, this is a juicy, but fresh tasting spaghetti-with-red
-sauce / pizza red wine for everyday drinking. It is full-bodied, quite
ripe, and wide open with plenty of dark grapy-cherry-berry fruit and
a soft, satisfying, low-acid, supple texture. Very Good. SPEC's
Score: 86+ points.
CRICKLEWOOD Pinot Noir, Oregon, 1998 12x750ml $9.39
$103.07
Here is a tasty but cheap Oregon Pinot Noir that overs fine cherry
fruit along with an elegant earth and mineral complexity in a light-
to-medium-bodied style featuring a touch of chewy tannin and a
refreshing balance. Finishes dry and clean. Serve cool (55°). Very
Good. SPEC's Score: 86 points.
R.H. PHILLIPS Merlot, Dunnigan Hills (California), 1998 12x750ml
$7.87 $87.38 The nose reveals plenty of cherry and plum
fruit
nicely accented with Pinot Noir-like cola and subtle woody notes; more
fruit in the mixed berry range kicks in on the palate. Medium-weight,
nicely balanced, and long in the mouth, this is a nicely balanced
flavorful Merlot that finishes clean. Serve cool (55°). 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 March 12-UNDER-$12 selections
for only $101.77, a savings of $8.04 over SPEC's already low cash
bottle price. UPC: 00000404186 - Special price effective 3/5/01
thru 4/4/01.
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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