To Market, To Market

By Warren Rojas

Courtesy of Mark West (California Pinot Noir); Courtesy of Arcus Estate (Pinot Noir); Courtesy of Vietti (Barbera D’Alba)

We realize that it’s probably too early to start popping magnums of champagne, but several economic indicators suggest we might sidestep complete financial ruin yet.

And with the holidays upon us, now could be a good time to reward yourselves—or perhaps a loved one/colleague/cherished wine journo—with a bottle of something special.

Lucky for you, we tasked our Wine Pros with ferreting out terrific values and splurges worthy of the season.

Walter Martley fears not sticker shock, even when trolling through France, for he is well versed in the secrets of the Cotes du Rhone region. He singles out the 2005 Phillipe Plantevin Cotes Du Rhone Villages “La Daurelle” ($18) for its “myriad of black-fruit flavors” and “echoes of herbs and flowers,” praising the standout grenache-syrah-mourvedre-carignan blend.

Kelly Magyarics looks west for her value pick, heralding the “soft and silky” tannins of the 2007 Mark West California Pinot Noir ($12) (no pun intended) a utility buy that “makes a thoughtful host gift, even if you’re not exactly sure what kind of wine the host prefers.”

Loosened purse strings don’t release the Pacific Northwest’s hold on Magyarics, who taps the 2006 Arcus Estate Pinot Noir ($100) as her big-ticket purchase. She thinks a bouquet of “violets, currants and black cherries” and splashes of “raspberries, black cherries and baking spices” across the palate are cause for celebration enough, but only gains appreciation for the complex red as it continues to breathe. “The wine continues to evolve in the glass after you pour it,” Magyarics notes. Martley suggests opening up the wallet for the 2006 Vietti Barbera D’Alba Scarrone Vigna Vecchia ($90), a pulse-racing red—he dubs it the “Lamborghini of Barbera”—bolstered by “herb, spice and oak” and brought to bear through malolactic fermentation.

(December 2009)