Trader J0e’s - Overlooked Wines

I went to Trader Joe's in search of the top wine values priced at around $10 per bottle. My plan was to look for wines that are a bit off the beaten path. No California Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon, no Pinot Noir, no Sauvignon Blanc or Merlot. Five wines caught my attention. They happened to be from five different countries. The total price came in at just under $50. It's also worth noting that prior to making this video, I had not tasted any of these specific wines. The first wine up is the 2023 J.L. Kinson Mekon Volage from the Burgundy region of France. This is a new arrival for summer. The wine is made entirely from Chardonnay. It is sold in other markets outside of the US, but the label design will be different. The price comes in at $8.99. So this is a wine that immediately caught my attention. I've been a fan of Mekon Volage for many years and this has long been a value. Now this is a region that's primarily dedicated to white wine production. There is some rosé, there's some red, but it's primarily white wine. The wines tend to have little or no oak influence. They're also relatively short-lived. They're usually wines you want to drink within, oh, three, maybe four years at the most from the vintage. And the color of this, very pale, just as expected. Keep in mind this wine spends no time in oak, so that fresh, bright color is exactly what's expected. And the aroma, really crisp and fresh. There's this citrusy note to it, really clean, good purity, smells wonderful, really vibrant and fresh. On the palate, it's only medium-bodied, but again, that freshness, that vitality carries through. The acidity is quite high and it's very typical for wines like this. It's really refreshing, clean, bright, just moderate length on the finish. Of course, it's fermented completely dry. The wine's really enjoyable from start to finish and this is just ideal for summertime. Get it well chilled, goes great with any type of salads, seafood dishes, poultry dishes, just on its own. For the money, this is really solid. Now, I have to say, finding a Mécon Volage under $10, it's possible in today's market, but it's becoming increasingly more difficult. This one coming in at $9, this is a screaming good value. Next up is the 2023 Lazy Bones Cabernet Franc from Paso Robles, California. This region is located about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. It's mostly planted to red grape varieties. There's a strong reputation for value. This is the least expensive wine in today's video, priced at $7.99. So the story is, apparently this wine has been offered in previous vintages. I don't ever recall seeing it, maybe I'm just having a senior moment. For me, this was absolutely brand new. Now, I'm a big fan of Cabernet Franc. I think Paso is a fantastic place for value for the money. I think it's one of the more interesting wine regions in California today, so I thought I really do need to give this a go. Now, in terms of what's planted in Paso, it is a good deal of Rhone varieties. Zinfandel is very popular. Bordeaux varieties is really what is the most commonly planted there, and Cabernet Sauvignon being number one. About 17,000 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, only about 1,200 acres of Cabernet Franc. So let's give this a go. It's just medium deep in color. Really not all that unusual. It does have a bit of a purplish color. There's just a touch of fade out at the edge of the glass, but it looks like a very youthful wine. And the aroma is a red cherry character. It's a little bit of a dried herbal note as well, just moderate intensity. Really smells very nice, fresh, bright. If I was comparing it to Cabernet Franc from another region, it's a little bit reminiscent of what you'll find in the Loire. It has a bit of that bright fruit character. I'm curious to see if the acidity follows through. On the palate, really soft, very smooth, good weight. The wine checks in at 14.4% alcohol, and wines from Paso oftentimes will have alcohol levels that are a bit elevated. This has good ripeness, but there's nothing about it that's stewy, cooked, pruney. It has none of that character to it. Sometimes you can find that in very warm regions. I don't think this has any oak to it, or if it does, it's very minimal. And on the back palate, tannins are extremely soft. This wine is actually really vibrant, fresh. There's good purity to it, and it's a wine that you would not want to keep long. It's really all built on that primary fruit character. It's really quite nice, and for the money, I think this is really very good. It's a solid wine from start to finish. If you're enjoying my videos and you've not yet subscribed, please consider doing so right now. Hit the like button, and definitely hit that notification bell. All of these things help to get my videos out to a broader audience. It's much appreciated. The next wine up is the 2021 Rosa d'Olmo Langa Nebbiolo from the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. This wine is priced at $8.99. So this is a wine that I've seen on the shelf for years, even picked it up a few times, never actually bought a bottle. So this is a first. This is a wine that's actually been available through Trader Joe's for a good number of years. Now the appearance on this, this is exactly what's expected with Nebbiolo. It's a bit pale in color. There's some fade out at the edge of the glass, but it looks exactly as it should. The aroma has a bit of a tart cherry characteristic to it, but it's actually rather muted, quite a tap down aroma. It might be just a matter of this wine needing a little bit of air. Yeah, it doesn't smell bad. There's just not a whole lot of aroma to it at this point. On the palate, it's a little softer than expected. Oftentimes with Nebbiolo, you'll find a little more acidity. This is just moderate acidity. There's some decent weight here. I mean, the wine's certainly not full. It's not layered or complex, but there's some decent weight here. It checks in at 13.5% alcohol. It's relatively soft on the back palate. It's a simple wine. There's nothing about it that's off-putting. There's nothing about this that's flawed. It's just really a simple, stripped down, basic sort of red. I don't think there's a whole lot more to say on this wine. I don't think this is going to benefit from some additional aging. I mean, the wine is decent, but nothing overly exciting. The next wine is the 2022 Trader Joe's Reserva from the Douro Valley of Portugal. This wine has just recently arrived at TJ's, but it's a limited time offer. It's priced at $9.99. So when I spotted this wine, I was super excited. I'm a big fan of Portugal, and in recent years, the offerings have just been sensational. Douro is certainly right at the top of the list in terms of interesting wines from that country. Now, blends are very common. This is actually a blend of seven different grape varieties, with Tariga Nacional being the primary grape here. That is really the benchmark grape from Portugal. So I'm curious to see this. I don't believe this wine has been sold at Trader Joe's before, or if it has, I've missed it. So I'm really curious and excited to try this. Now, the color on this, very good, very deep in color, more of a purple color versus red. The color has good saturation at the core, and it extends to the rim quite well. The color is outstanding, and the aroma has a dark fruit character. There's a little bit of a savory note to it, some dried herb characteristic, but that dark fruit is really what shows through. Smells very nice. On the palate, quite weighty and full. There's some nice density here, good volume. The alcohol in this checks in at 13.5, but there's some heft here. It's very well structured. The acidity is just at moderate level. The fruit is very ripe. There's nothing lean or green about this wine whatsoever. The back palate has some very good length. There's a bit of tannins there. I think this wine actually probably could age a year or two with no problem whatsoever, but very good at the present time. I've got to say, I think this is very nice, and of the wines tasted so far, this one is the one I give the big thumbs up to. I think this wine is really nice. Again, this is not going to be available for a long period of time, maybe over the next few months. The value for the money on this is really outstanding. This is one you should check out. Next up is the 2022 Flor de Zalín Red Blend from the Monsanto region of Spain. This wine is made from 40% carragean, 40% Syrah, and 20% Grenache. This is the splurge in today's video. Priced at $11.99. This last wine is from the northeast part of Spain, and probably the best known area in that part of Spain is called Priorat. Monsanto is actually an area that surrounds Priorat, so Monsanto does not get the attention that it deserves. The wines can actually be quite similar. The blend is also oftentimes very much the same as well. Now, I have not tried this wine before, so this is a first for me. And the color on this has some good density, just moderately deep. The core is actually quite deep. There's a bit of fade as you get out to the edge of the glass. And the aroma, there's a smoky, spicy character here. There's some dark fruit notes as well. Really quite expressive, very interesting aroma. There's also just a bit of alcoholic heat. This wine comes in at 14.5% alcohol. This part of Spain generally has some elevated alcohol, so this is very much the norm. Yeah, a little bit like dried herbs, a bit of a clove note. On the palate, some nice weight. There's some volume here, good structure, nice density. The fruit is ripe. Again, it doesn't have any of that green astringent character to it. It also doesn't show any of that jammy, stewed, cooked character either. The fruit has nice ripeness through, and that just follows right through to the back palate. Very nice. I've got to say, this is really interesting. I think the wine actually will benefit with a little bit of air, but it's drinking very well. I like this wine a lot. The structure's there, it's nuanced. There's some interesting characteristics here that are really quite compelling. I think this wine for the money is just outstanding. I would pick this up soon. Again, I don't know how long this one's going to be around. This is really a nice bottle. If I were to rank the wines in today's tasting, there were two standouts. The Douro from Portugal and the Monsant from Spain. They both have a true sense of place. The value for money is outstanding. I would pick those up in a hurry. Now, the Mekong Valage from Burgundy, very good. It's exactly what it should be. The Paso Cabernet Franc, nice wine, very simple style. It's also the least expensive in today's tasting. Nebbiolo just didn't do it for me. Now, I have a bit of the Monsant. I hope you're drinking something interesting as well. As always, thank you very much for supporting my channel, and please stop back again before too long. Cheers!