Wine of the Week

 

Twenty Buck Carlo?

Wandering down the aisles of Trader Joe's isn't usually terribly exciting. Occasionally the store introduces a new product and promotes it heavily in their 'Fearless Flyer', such as the wondrous garlic fries that suddenly appeared in the freezer case last year. But mostly it tends to offer the same items over and over, from soup to nuts (to wine).

So imagine my surprise when I encountered a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino prominently displayed by the same purveyor who popularized Charles Shaw wines just a few years back. Ten times the price of 'Two Buck Chuck', twenty dollars is still more than reasonable for a Brunello (unless there is something horribly wrong with it), and even better for the 1999 vintage.

The winery is Casisano Colombaio. Stephen Tanzer gives this vintage and bottling only 87 points and a mixed review, calling it "a bit clenched and medicinal in the mid-palate despite possessing good concentration". But considering the pricepoint, I'm willing to taste it myself and see if it's worth $19.99. I'll let you know what I think soon.

FYI, if the Trader Joe's in your state doesn't carry alcohol, the wine retails for an inflated but still modest $26.99 elsewhere.