Trader Joe's always have some budget priced wine that's surprisingly good. Any current favorite?

As of two weeks ago, mine is:

LAGRANJA Tempranillo Garnacha 2009 -

A big, slightly sweet in the beginning, juicy red with great tempranillo character, a medium body, light tannins and a smooth finish.

Best of all: $5.

My lady opened a bottle one night without showing me, and I liked it immediately; told her I would pay $12-15 for it. Then she broke it to me. The next day I bought a case. Great for meat, tomato-based pasta sauce or spicy food (we had it with a kimchi vegetarian hotpot she made that night).

Any discovery from you?

lll0228 wrote:Trader Joe's always have some budget priced wine that's surprisingly good. Any current favorite?

As of two weeks ago, mine is:

LAGRANJA Tempranillo Garnacha 2009 -

A big, slightly sweet in the beginning, juicy red with great tempranillo character, a medium body, light tannins and a smooth finish.

Best of all: $5.

My lady opened a bottle one night without showing me, and I liked it immediately; told her I would pay $12-15 for it. Then she broke it to me. The next day I bought a case. Great for meat, tomato-based pasta sauce or spicy food (we had it with a kimchi vegetarian hotpot she made that night).

Any discovery from you?

I have had a tough time liking any of their red wines in that $5-8 range. Most are too sweet or have some serious flaws.
With that said, some of their cheaper whites have been descent enough to make a regular purchase.

cortot20 wrote:I have had a tough time liking any of their red wines in that $5-8 range. Most are too sweet or have some serious flaws.
With that said, some of their cheaper whites have been descent enough to make a regular purchase.

That's why I was surprised by the LaGranja. Not only was there no flaws, it has a great body and mouth feel. Like I said, I thought it was worth $10-15.

If you are looking at "flaws", you may want to try a bottle of the Rabbit Ridge's Allure de Robles. It doesn't have a lot of specific character, BUT, it really has nothing wrong with it. It's a red.

I also agree that they have a better white low-cost wine collection than reds. A nice easily drinkable one is the Green Fin White. The Green Fin Red isn't bad either.

lll0228 wrote:That's why I was surprised by the LaGranja. Not only was there no flaws, it has a great body and mouth feel. Like I said, I thought it was worth $10-15.

If you are looking at "flaws", you may want to try a bottle of the Rabbit Ridge's Allure de Robles. It doesn't have a lot of specific character, BUT, it really has nothing wrong with it. It's a red.

I also agree that they have a better white low-cost wine collection than reds. A nice easily drinkable one is the Green Fin White. The Green Fin Red isn't bad either.

Rabbit Ridge @ $5 was SOLID. My TJs has been out for a while. They have a Cava @ $5 that is pretty good QPR. Black label, gold lettering. I've also enjoyed the Italian red "33" @ $8.

Interesting thread.

For the price (under $10), the VintJS Pinot Noir is excellent for the price, as is the Trader Joe's own Pinot Noir (I had the Edna Valley)... Of the two I slightly prefer the VintJS but they are both worth trying imho

If they still have it, for $3 there was J.W. Morris wine that was perfectly sound and without flaw, but completely and utterly uninteresting. The reds were my house wine for a while during grad school.

I've found the TJ's labeled wines to be hit and miss. Their $5 Late Harvest Moscato is seriously good for the money, and I recently had a $7 Cab Franc that was nice enough.

They have Brancott Sauvignon Blanc for $8 or so, which is solid enough. It's not a TJ's exclusive, though. I used to be a fan of their King Shag SB, but I haven't seen it there for some time. Their Cellar 8 Cab is OK as well, nothing wrong with it, though not exceptional by any means - $8 again.

Interesting to see the Rabbit Ridge brought up here - I tried a bottle and was pretty unimpressed.

jawlz wrote:They have Brancott Sauvignon Blanc for $8 or so, which is solid enough. It's not a TJ's exclusive, though. I used to be a fan of their King Shag SB, but I haven't seen it there for some time. Their Cellar 8 Cab is OK as well, nothing wrong with it, though not exceptional by any means - $8 again.

Interesting to see the Rabbit Ridge brought up here - I tried a bottle and was pretty unimpressed.

The RR wasn't impressive by any stretch, but @ $5, very serviceable.

kylemittskus wrote:The RR wasn't impressive by any stretch, but @ $5, very serviceable.

Looking back at my note, I said "On the whole I can't say it's bad, and it will certainly appeal to a certain kind of drinker," so I imagine it is serviceable at $5! Unlike the Trader Joes 'cult' wine Chariot, which I found to be horrible.

Best deal I think I found was a Howell Mountain Vineyards Zinfandel for $15 - the wine was really very, very good. I think it was a close-out deal though, as it was there for a week or so and then gone and hasn't been back since.

jawlz wrote:Looking back at my note, I said "On the whole I can't say it's bad, and it will certainly appeal to a certain kind of drinker," so I imagine it is serviceable at $5! Unlike the Trader Joes 'cult' wine Chariot, which I found to be horrible.

Best deal I think I found was a Howell Mountain Vineyards Zinfandel for $15 - the wine was really very, very good. I think it was a close-out deal though, as it was there for a week or so and then gone and hasn't been back since.

Chariot was a fail for me too.

jawlz wrote:They have Brancott Sauvignon Blanc for $8 or so, which is solid enough. It's not a TJ's exclusive, though. I used to be a fan of their King Shag SB, but I haven't seen it there for some time. Their Cellar 8 Cab is OK as well, nothing wrong with it, though not exceptional by any means - $8 again.

Interesting to see the Rabbit Ridge brought up here - I tried a bottle and was pretty unimpressed.

I agree about Rabbit Ridge. It's not an "open to impress" kind of wine. BUT, at $5, there is really nothing wrong about it. And at that price, that's quite an achievement.

A nice low-cost everyday table wine is how I treat it.

Another favorite crowd pleaser from my lovely State (Washington) is the Red Diamond Merlot (not a TJ exclusive but always available there), around $8. I find it to be a well-balanced, smooth and immensely drinkable red, with medium dryness and a great balance between fruits and texture. I have always surprised people (blind tasting it), by how incredibly low cost it is.

They've got Husch Chardonnay at my local TJ's for $10. We go through a fair amount of that at our house.

lll0228 wrote:That's why I was surprised by the LaGranja. Not only was there no flaws, it has a great body and mouth feel. Like I said, I thought it was worth $10-15.

If you are looking at "flaws", you may want to try a bottle of the Rabbit Ridge's Allure de Robles. It doesn't have a lot of specific character, BUT, it really has nothing wrong with it. It's a red.

I also agree that they have a better white low-cost wine collection than reds. A nice easily drinkable one is the Green Fin White. The Green Fin Red isn't bad either.

The green fin is descent enough, I thought the Rabbit Ridge was pretty bland, I am the type that when I do open a bottle I want it to be great not mediocre, price is not really a factor in this regard.

Here is mt CT note for the RR
"4/10/2011: As others have noted this is a $5 dollar bottle of wine, however, I would argue that it is not nor does it taste or smell like anything other than a $5 dollar of wine.
It is far too light in color to be a typical GSM and the noticeable RS really detracts from anything else I might have noticed about this wine.

Fair at $5 not recommended at anything more. Could almost be mistaken for a cheap Pinot. "

I did really enjoy the 07' Beringer Alluvium I picked up there for $10. I would definitely seek it out again.

Today a wine friend called me and told me he picked up some Charles Shaw Nouveau, and that he was drinking it. Seems like TJ's is copying the French (according to CT which it typically scores low, they've been doing it for a few years, I just never noticed it).

I guess this is my new TJ's wonder wine.....as I'm wondering why my friend who usually has pretty good taste in NV Cabs and such is drinking this stuff?

bsevern wrote:Today a wine friend called me and told me he picked up some Charles Shaw Nouveau, and that he was drinking it. Seems like TJ's is copying the French (according to CT which it typically scores low, they've been doing it for a few years, I just never noticed it).

I guess this is my new TJ's wonder wine.....as I'm wondering why my friend who usually has pretty good taste in NV Cabs and such is drinking this stuff?

I haven't had any Charles Shaw in probably 7-8 years or so, but when it first came out, some of the varietals (can't remember which, to be honest) were $2 bottles that tasted like $6-8 bottles. Later vintages were $2 bottles that tasted like.... $2 bottles. Maybe their 'nouveau' is one of the better ones?

Bump.

I was just at TJ's and saw a 2010 CdP for $12.99. I didn't grab any because I wanted to see if any one has had it. It's called J.L. Querin or something along those lines... can't remember because I'm an starving pilgrim and forgot to write it down. $13 CdP is intriguing because it is SO damn cheap, but it could totally suck and be worse than a $5 wine because it's a cheap CdP.

kylemittskus wrote:Bump.

I was just at TJ's and saw a 2010 CdP for $12.99. I didn't grab any because I wanted to see if any one has had it. It's called J.L. Querin or something along those lines... can't remember because I'm an starving pilgrim and forgot to write it down. $13 CdP is intriguing because it is SO damn cheap, but it could totally suck and be worse than a $5 wine because it's a cheap CdP.

I've seen it there as well. Along with $19 Brunello and other such oddities. I would hazard a guess that these will be decent for the money, and if you're lucky, even representative of the style/region. I don't think I've had that bottle of CdP, but I'd be curious what you think of it

klezman wrote:I've seen it there as well. Along with $19 Brunello and other such oddities. I would hazard a guess that these will be decent for the money, and if you're lucky, even representative of the style/region. I don't think I've had that bottle of CdP, but I'd be curious what you think of it

Well, I may have to swing by tomorrow and grab a couple bottles. At $13, I can't really be doing myself that much damage. I'll report back.

SWMBO picked up a bottle of 2010 J.L. Quinson CdP ($13) on her way home.

PNP: Nice, CdP color. Nose of kirsh liquor and not much else. It almost smelled sweet. No dirt, earth, meat, vegetal, alc.

3 hour decant: nose of berries, the liquor component was gone (which sucks because it was rather nice) and not much else. It lacks the meaty, garrigue bouquet I associate with CdP. Palate is ba-sic. It's nothing close to offensive. The 14.5% alc is handled well. There is no acidic bite (as some CT notes described for the 09 vintage). It tastes like a nice, $10, grocery store wine. It doesn't taste like a CdP, although it does have some of the Grenache characteristics. It lacks the pepper, meaty, blood, earthy, vegetal component. It's pretty much just smooth, red fruits. Tannins are hardly noticeable.

Conclusion: tough to say whether this is a value or not. For a CdP, it is, but only because of the money that CdP commands in the market. I think that there are $13 Southern Rhone wines that would destroy this wine. I think there is a LOT of value in the Southern Rhone in general. Blind, I would put this wine somewhere in the 85 point range. Knowing that it's a CdP, comparing it to what I think of when I smell and taste CdP, I'd put if in the 80-82. It's not bad, but I think that you can spend $13 and get way more bang for your buck, as long as you don't care about the AOC designation that is CdP.

kylemittskus wrote:SWMBO picked up a bottle of 2010 J.L. Quinson CdP ($13) on her way home.

PNP: Nice, CdP color. Nose of kirsh liquor and not much else. It almost smelled sweet. No dirt, earth, meat, vegetal, alc.

3 hour decant: nose of berries, the liquor component was gone (which sucks because it was rather nice) and not much else. It lacks the meaty, garrigue bouquet I associate with CdP. Palate is ba-sic. It's nothing close to offensive. The 14.5% alc is handled well. There is no acidic bite (as some CT notes described for the 09 vintage). It tastes like a nice, $10, grocery store wine. It doesn't taste like a CdP, although it does have some of the Grenache characteristics. It lacks the pepper, meaty, blood, earthy, vegetal component. It's pretty much just smooth, red fruits. Tannins are hardly noticeable.

Conclusion: tough to say whether this is a value or not. For a CdP, it is, but only because of the money that CdP commands in the market. I think that there are $13 Southern Rhone wines that would destroy this wine. I think there is a LOT of value in the Southern Rhone in general. Blind, I would put this wine somewhere in the 85 point range. Knowing that it's a CdP, comparing it to what I think of when I smell and taste CdP, I'd put if in the 80-82. It's not bad, but I think that you can spend $13 and get way more bang for your buck, as long as you don't care about the AOC designation that is CdP.

Your review is as I expected - because I saw it was a 2010!
I can think of very few reds, apart from Beaujolais Nouveau, which are worth even sniffing under two years old. IMO CdP minimum age is 4 years, and even that's infanticide for a good year. Anything you see in a store that's red and has last year, or 2009 on the label, you can be sure is cheap stuff made for short-term drinking to be bought by people who know nothing about wine!

jawlz wrote:I haven't had any Charles Shaw in probably 7-8 years or so, but when it first came out, some of the varietals (can't remember which, to be honest) were $2 bottles that tasted like $6-8 bottles. Later vintages were $2 bottles that tasted like.... $2 bottles. Maybe their 'nouveau' is one of the better ones?

Always worth a try of their new ones now and then, as the sources and blends vary from year to year! Syrah is always a good bet, of course, as it's by far the hardest grape to screw up. Even winelibrary.tv gave it an 84 while excoriating the rest.

If the nouveau is a Gamay, it may well be worth a punt, given the Central Valley's climate might work for that.

mberke wrote:For the price (under $10), the VintJS Pinot Noir is excellent for the price, as is the Trader Joe's own Pinot Noir (I had the Edna Valley)... Of the two I slightly prefer the VintJS but they are both worth trying imho

The Scloss Biebrich Sekt was a great sparkler for $5. I think they still stock it. Well worth it, and I hate most cheap sparklers.

cortot20 wrote:The green fin is descent enough, I thought the Rabbit Ridge was pretty bland, I am the type that when I do open a bottle I want it to be great not mediocre, price is not really a factor in this regard.

Here is mt CT note for the RR
"4/10/2011: As others have noted this is a $5 dollar bottle of wine, however, I would argue that it is not nor does it taste or smell like anything other than a $5 dollar of wine.
It is far too light in color to be a typical GSM and the noticeable RS really detracts from anything else I might have noticed about this wine.

Fair at $5 not recommended at anything more. Could almost be mistaken for a cheap Pinot. "

I did really enjoy the 07' Beringer Alluvium I picked up there for $10. I would definitely seek it out again.

I agree on the Rabbit Ridge. Almost tasty on first drinking, it subsides into anonymity and dull ambivalence after that. Not worth it except in an emergency (which is much better than most wines at that price).

SmilingBoognish wrote:They've got Husch Chardonnay at my local TJ's for $10. We go through a fair amount of that at our house.

Does that go with a Starschy dinner perhaps?

richardhod wrote:The Scloss Biebrich Sekt was a great sparkler for $5. I think they still stock it. Well worth it, and I hate most cheap sparklers.

That has become my house sparkler. Definitely still in stock; they've been carrying it consistently for the last two years or so.

richardhod wrote:The Scloss Biebrich Sekt was a great sparkler for $5. I think they still stock it. Well worth it, and I hate most cheap sparklers.

jawlz wrote:That has become my house sparkler. Definitely still in stock; they've been carrying it consistently for the last two years or so.

I'll have to pick this up and give it a go with a recommendation like that! Thanks for the tip!

richardhod wrote:Your review is as I expected - because I saw it was a 2010!
I can think of very few reds, apart from Beaujolais Nouveau, which are worth even sniffing under two years old. IMO CdP minimum age is 4 years, and even that's infanticide for a good year. Anything you see in a store that's red and has last year, or 2009 on the label, you can be sure is cheap stuff made for short-term drinking to be bought by people who know nothing about wine!

Sadly this is my default opinion as well, except for some of the Beaujolais Crus. I'm barely willing to try 2009 wine yet, let alone 2010. I didn't realize the TJ's CdP was 2010 already.

klezman wrote:Sadly this is my default opinion as well, except for some of the Beaujolais Crus. I'm barely willing to try 2009 wine yet, let alone 2010. I didn't realize the TJ's CdP was 2010 already.

Yeah, it was a 2010. And, of course, opening it yesterday was the farthest thing from ideal. But, they only have about 5 cases of it. I had to at least get an idea of where it's at. And honestly, I don't think it's going to go anywhere far. It wasn't disjointed. It wasn't tannic. It didn't taste young. It was just mediocre. And I don't think age will change that.

kylemittskus wrote:Yeah, it was a 2010. And, of course, opening it yesterday was the farthest thing from ideal. But, they only have about 5 cases of it. I had to at least get an idea of where it's at. And honestly, I don't think it's going to go anywhere far. It wasn't disjointed. It wasn't tannic. It didn't taste young. It was just mediocre. And I don't think age will change that.

Thank you for guinea-pigging though!
they do have nice wines there too, like the green label St Supery for $22, which some people like.

richardhod wrote:Thank you for guinea-pigging though!
they do have nice wines there too, like the green label St Supery for $22, which some people like.

Seconded! Also some good Italian bargains, but also some cheap Italian crap. Stores should have a way to say "the style of this wine is for people who (a) think wine just tastes like wine, (b) like big fancy names, (c) care what's in the bottle", etc.

OK it's not wine, BUT the 2011 Belgium TJ Holiday Ale is out!!

They claim you can age this stuff for a few years, but mine has never lasted that long. It's actually brewed by Unibroue, a Belgium champagne style ale that will surprise you for the price (and worse if you consume an entire bottle

For five bones a bottle, it's a great deal IMHO. I'm going to try my darnedest to hide, err, cellar a bottle to try when next years batch arrives to see how these age.

bsevern wrote:OK it's not wine, BUT the 2011 Belgium TJ Holiday Ale is out!!

They claim you can age this stuff for a few years, but mine has never lasted that long. It's actually brewed by Unibroue, a Belgium champagne style ale that will surprise you for the price (and worse if you consume an entire bottle

For five bones a bottle, it's a great deal IMHO. I'm going to try my darnedest to hide, err, cellar a bottle to try when next years batch arrives to see how these age.

I saw it. I was interested. Then I realized it was Belgian-styled. I hate Belgian-style beers. Bleck! And then I was sad.

I took a TJ's find to the most recent NoVA/DC get-together that I'm now wishing I had a case of....it was the 2005 Chateau Coucy (Montagne-Saint Emilion) and it was quite tasty and still just a bit young, so a few more bottles to keep for a few more years would have been awesome. Unfortunately, my sister bought it and by the time I went to buy more, there wasn't any left. But *really* good for the $15 it cost.

amreli wrote:I took a TJ's find to the most recent NoVA/DC get-together that I'm now wishing I had a case of....it was the 2005 Chateau Coucy (Montagne-Saint Emilion) and it was quite tasty and still just a bit young, so a few more bottles to keep for a few more years would have been awesome. Unfortunately, my sister bought it and by the time I went to buy more, there wasn't any left. But *really* good for the $15 it cost.

Cool! Any tasting notes? Ripe, dark fruits? Or red fruits? Heat? Anyone else tried this?

richardhod wrote:Cool! Any tasting notes? Ripe, dark fruits? Or red fruits? Heat? Anyone else tried this?

More dark fruits with some initial cinnamon and vanilla, after an hour or so, the cinnamon was mostly gone with more vanilla. Sorry I don't have better notes than that, there were 13 or so bottles of wine that night...

richardhod wrote:Does that go with a Starschy dinner perhaps?

I don't even know what that means. But the Husch Sauvignon Blanc at TJ's is pretty good, as well.

bsevern wrote:OK it's not wine, BUT the 2011 Belgium TJ Holiday Ale is out!!

They claim you can age this stuff for a few years, but mine has never lasted that long. It's actually brewed by Unibroue, a Belgium champagne style ale that will surprise you for the price (and worse if you consume an entire bottle

For five bones a bottle, it's a great deal IMHO. I'm going to try my darnedest to hide, err, cellar a bottle to try when next years batch arrives to see how these age.

I've been buying a case of these for years.
I usually drink about 3 a year, and "cellar" the rest. I stash them in one of the Styrofoam case containers that Wine David sends me from time to time...

The typical sweet spot for aging these bad boys is about 2 to 3 years. Last Xmas the 2008 was drinking very well and the 2006 was not as good as it was in Xmas 2009. It's fun to have some friends over and do a vertical. I've taken to doing a vertical on Super Bowl Sunday. Goes great with chili...and probably Starschy foods. But I have no idea what that even means.

SmilingBoognish wrote:I don't even know what that means.

A clever reference to Starsky and Hutch, a 70's TV show.

coynedj wrote:A clever reference to Starsky and Hutch, a 70's TV show.

On the nights when my mom was working at the hospital as a medical transcriptionist, my dad and I would watch MASH and sometimes Starsky & Hutch. My recollections of dinner were that they came in aluminum containers and were followed by root beer floats. Some of the best food I've ever had in my life, which just goes to show you that good company is better than a good chef.

FWIW, I figured he was referring to a starchy dinner...but nonetheless I like Husch wines and the whole of Anderson Valley for that matter. ;)

SmilingBoognish wrote:I don't even know what that means. But the Husch Sauvignon Blanc at TJ's is pretty good, as well.

British for Starchy?