Art of Earth Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay

This isn't my first run-in with Art of the Earth by Mack & Schühle. I reviewed their Montepulciano d'Abruzzo while I was cooking up some burgers and they paired deliciously. These wines here, however, are from Mendoza, Argentina. Like the Montepulciano, they are 100% organic. I'm sure you've guessed that's kind of the point of the brand. 

The Chardonnay is 100% unoaked and it's basically a refreshing and citrusy white wine. It could have spent more time aging with the lees to bring out more tropical fruit and Chardonnay character, but honestly I really didn't care. I'm kind of over that analytical stuff when it comes to my own pleasure, and I liked it for what it is. For a $12 unoaked Chard, it gets the job done.

The Cabernet Sauvignon is also unoaked and it's totally solid. This is straight up what you should demand to expect in a Cab at that price range instead of what we're now given. It's got good quality, good structure, current and cherries, and a nice addition of savoriness.

It just looks like these guys are bringing you $12 wines (the hot spot for the average US wine consumer) with some good stuff for the price, while bringing 100% organic in as a bonus. It hits just right: just what you want, right where you want it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

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Natural Origins Boxed Wine ~ Malbec & Cabernet Sauvignon

I know what you're thinking: BOX WINE??? Has Joey lost his mind??? First of all, if you've been a long time follower then you know I'm missing a few screws. Secondly, this is boxed wine made by Domain Bousquet! This winery makes some pretty damn good affordable organic wine from Argentina, and both of these selections are from Mendoza. Not only are they organic but they're also vegan. The Cabernet is a pretty good one for what you expect from boxed Cabernet! It's got some great Cabernet qualities such as cherries, cassis, and chocolate but it's also rich while having soft tannin. Much like Bousquet's regular bottled Malbecs are impressive, so is this boxed one. It's got a great pluminess, juicy blackcurrants, minerality, and a lighter body but stronger tannin than the Cabernet. Both of these are a great deal, but that Malbec is a steal.

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Colomé Auténtico Malbec 2018 for Malbec World Day

It's #MalbecWorldDay and tonight I'm enjoying this killer Auténtico Malbec 2018 from Colomé. It's a deeply pigmented violet purple in color with aromas of medicinal cherries, cranberry juice, figs, sweet tobacco, a little bit of licorice, and I swear a little bit of cumin or another spice that I can't quite place. It's medium bodied with moderate acidity, and the chalky tannin give its mouthfeel a bit of a harshness (not in a bad way, but in a rustic way). There's flavors of black cherries, raspberries, espresso, vanilla, and concrete. And it finishes with black cherries, espresso, and those chalky tannins. This is an awesome, awesome, Malbec! Cheers everybody, and happy Malbec World Day!

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Ferllen Gran Reserva Malbec 2014

The color of the 2014 Ferllen Gran Reserva from Mendoza, Argentina is a dark cherry red. The nose is just amazing! There's aromas of plums, cranberries, roses, vanilla, dark chocolate, sea salt, and sweet tobacco. This is another one of those wines that you could smell all night without drinking and be happy. On the palate it's medium bodied with a silky smooth mouthfeel and moderate tannin. There's flavors of plums, cranberries, table grapes, dark chocolate, black table pepper, and mustard seed. Then it finishes with plums and leather and tobacco.

Oh hell yeah! From my first sniff to my last sip I loved every aspect of this wine. Seriously, I fell in love. It's just sooooo gooooood! I expected it to be double the price that it is when I took a look at what it would cost your wallet, and for $30 this is A GODDAMN STEAL. Dude... amazing.

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $30

Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

The bottle used was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.

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Ferllen Reserve Malbec 2017

The 2017 Reserve Malbec from Ferllen is from a Single Vineyard located in Los Chacayes, Uco Valley, Mendoza. Fermentation took place with 100% indigenous yeasts, then 100% of it spends 18 months in used French barrels. The color of the wine is a beautiful cherry red. There's granite minerality over aromas of blackberries, plums, vanilla, a bit of sour milk (in not a bad way), and sweet spices. On the palate it's got a smooth mouthfeel with low moderate acidity and sweet but tightly grained tannin. There's flavors of blackberries, plums, dark chocolate, green peppers, and vanilla. Then it finishes hot with ethanol heat and tannin, with flavors of blackberries and vanilla.

This is darn good Malbec for the price! And it paired excellently well with Filet Mignon!

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $19

Rating: 4/5 = Recommended (what does that mean?)

The bottle used was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.

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It's time to give in to canned wine! (featuring Santa Julia Chardonnay, Malbec Rosé, and Tintillo)

Canned wine is becoming a big thing and it completely makes sense. It's undeniably the enclosure that keeps wine that you want to drink fresh the freshest. That's how you want your rosé, right?  That's how you want your Pinot Grigio, right? Fresh? And it keeps it pretty refreshingly cold in a cooler when you want to do some illegal drinking on the beach. I live on Cape Cod so this is a very important benefit to the product.

But what about red wine that you don't want to chill and chug? Well, first of all, remember that you don't have to drink it from the can. You can pour it into a glass like you do from the bottle.

Furthermore, the key word to the phrase "ages like a fine wine" is fine. The vast majority of wine produced in the world is meant to be consumed within the first 3 to 5 years and then it starts to decline. Canned wine is definitely intended to be consumed young and the container keeps the fruit characteristics fresher and more lively than bottles do.

So the can is perfect for New World reds in the average consumer's price range because those are generally all about the fruit. Pinot Noir specifically has shown great results from being contained in a can, but also Merlot blends seem to work well too. I'm about to try a Malbec Bonarda blend that was actually made with the intention to be chilled, so that works out perfectly for the can as well!

It's always the young people who start new innovating trends like this, and in this case the young people are very concerned about the current state and future of the environment. Whelp, aluminum is one of the most, if not the most, recyclable materials on the planet with 100% recyclability. Aluminum is also lighter than glass, and that cuts down on carbon emissions during transport. Yes, the environment is absolutely a factor in the canning trend for both wine and craft beer, both in consumer concern and producer concern.

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