We are currently witnessing the arrival of the latest vintages of affordable wines to dealer’s shelves.
Many of them are adorned with labels bearing weird names or strange pictures to attract the casual buyer. A saving grace among this gaggle of weirdos is La Merika from Delicato Family Vineyards.
I’m sure you noticed the name La Merika morphs into America with a few minor changes. We Googled La Merika and came up with some astounding facts that appear as though they belong on the Syfy or History channels. The yet unproven La Merika theory suggests America was discovered centuries before Christopher Columbus, by Henry Sinclair, a Scottish nobleman, and that it was the star, called La Merika, that he followed in his quest. The name La Merika was probably derived from the symbol of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, and it was this star that guided Sinclair to the new world.
For Delicato, the name seems to fit their new series of low-priced wines, which they consider to be a star among a sea of mediocrity.
La Merika Monterey County 2013 Pinot Grigio ($13) If this was Sinclair’s beverage of choice, get us a time machine.
The La Merika Monterey County 2013 Pinot Grigio is a soft, straw-colored, dry wine with a rich, fruity bouquet and the lively aroma of apricots and pears. Its flavor is classic pinot grigio: crisp with a raisin-like quality, coupled with the acid bite of limes and ending in a long and clean finish that lingers in the mouth.
La Merika Central Coast 2013 Cabernet Savignon ($15) This wine is an easy-to-drink cabernet savignon that needs no time to age away any rough edges due to five months of oak aging, a process usually reserved for more expensive wines. It is also a wine that proudly displays its California full-fruit attributes and does not try to emulate its more austere French cousins.
This wine has an upfront berry-like aroma showcasing cherry and blackberry, with a hint of dark raisins in the background. Here is the ideal wine for those grilled steaks that have become popular among barbecue aficionados.
La Merika Central Coast 2013 Chardonnay ($13)There’s no searching to find the fruit in this chardonnay; it’s all there, up front and announcing itself boldly.
The most obvious aromas are apple and citrus, backed up by a host of summertime fruits. The flavor of this medium-bodied wine is almost indescribable and is a blending of several light-colored fruits.
La Merika Central Coast 2013 Pinot Noir ($15) Based on our known affection for pinot noir, presenting one to us is like trying to pet a Tasmanian devil; not a good move if the wine is not quality or worth its price. We can easily say this wine is a super buy and more than lives up to our expectations.
It is a well-made wine that exhibits the properties and charms the grape is capable of without the negative features often found in its less expensive cousins. Big in flavor and dark in color, this wine exhibits an open and obvious dark cherry flavor and aroma coupled with oak and spice that ends in a big finish.
To be totally honest, finding an affordable pinot noir that doesn’t taste like mouthwash is a rare treat.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.[[In-content Ad]]
