I have to hand it to Trader Joe's for the generally very high quality to price ratio in their wine section.  I recently reviewed several cheap or reasonably priced wines from TJ's, and here are a couple more.

The 2010 La Finca Malbec, Oak Aged, from Mendoza, Argentina, is another recommended bargain from TJ's at $3.99.  It has that typical Malbec fruitiness, reminiscent of blackberries and also of some of the old-time Italian-American wines from California, but it is not syrupy or overripe, or overconcentrated, and it has a nice bit of tannin to add backbone to the fruit.  Very quaffable with pizza and such.  On a par in quality  with the 2010 La Finca Cabernet I reviewed earlier.

The 2009 Panilonco Carmenère, D.O. Colchagua Valley, Chile, is also a typical expression of the grape, and another fantastic bargain at TJ's for $4.99.  It has the ripe, somewhat sappy, open mouthfeel of the Panilonco Cabernet-Malbec I reviewed earlier, but plummy flavors with a hint of spice (cloves or allspice?), and some dark complexity, perhaps leafiness.  It definitely resembles some Italian Carmenères I've had from Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, but is a bit less tightly structured and softer, though not excessively alcoholic or syrupy.  It also bears some resemblance to a good, softer-styled Bordeaux, even though the latter are made from different grapes.

These are both just plain well-made, tasty wines, not spoiled by overreaching.  Each of them is a clear expression of typical flavors of their respective grapes.  If you've never tried these grapes, this is a good chance to find out what kind of wine they make for very little money.  The Carmenère is perhaps a bit more complex, but they're both interesting and enjoyable wines---and fabulous deals at TJ's price.   You'd be hard pressed to find a better red than either of these for under $10, and even spending more is certainly no guarantee of something you'll enjoy drinking more than these bottles.

Many of you have probably discovered that Trader Joe's is a great place to get wine.  I wasn't impressed the few times I sampled their famed "two-buck Chuck" wines  under their Charles Shaw label (now three or four bucks), and that probably slowed my adoption of TJ's as a wine source, but about a year ago I gave their other wines a try and discovered that they are a great source of quality, excellent-value-for-money wines.  You won't find the most high-end, handcrafted, and often expensive wines here, but if you're planning on spending $4 to $20 for a wine, you'll probably do better at TJ's than most places.  I believe that they can use their volume buying capability, and long-term contracting capability, to grab large lots of wine or grapes that are pretty good but not quite what some pretty good winery wants in its expensive blend; or to buy the excess production of a good winery that can't sell all its production at premium prices, or perhaps even to work directly with both winemakers who don't grow, and growers, to get what they want made for them.  They are privately held by a German family business, which I speculate (quite baselessly) may give them some special connections with or insight into medium and low priced Bordeaux of quality, since Germany seems to traditionally have good reasonably priced Bordeaux available, that you don't see in the states.  (More on TJ's Bordeaux in a later post.)

Some recent finds in the super-value department:

2009 Trader Joe's Petit Reserve Tempranillo, California.   Don't precisely recall the price, probably in the $4-6 range.  Rather velvety mouthfeel, with some nice but not overbearing mouthcoating tannins, a little bit of hotness or roughness but not too much.  Good strong berry fruit flavors, not overdone, though not an especially dry wine.  Veering a little toward candy but not too much.  And, late in the meal, some dark, toasty, minerally, really surprising complex tastes emerging that remind me of nothing so much as the excellent (and far more expensive) Syrahs and Grenaches made by Jaffurs in the Santa Barbara area.  Definitely has California forwardness compared to most Spanish Tempranillos, but a really good wine for the money.  If the dark complexity holds up or develops upon finishing the bottle over the next few days, this could be not just a very good, but a stunning, value.  I plan to buy more if it's still available (this may have been purchased several months, perhaps even six months, back).

2009 "The Wingman" California Shiraz (90%) / Viognier (10%), County Fair Wines (Sebastopol, CA).  $6.99.  On first opening, this has a classic Cotes-du-Rhone-like nose and mouth, with some autumn-leaf and slightly spicy components, dark berry fruits and very slight hints of mineral or tar.  The mouthfeel is smoother and fuller than a generic Cotes-du-Rhone, and slightly glyceriny, probably due in part to the Viognier, which may be responsible for a bit of a floral, aromatic note (the label mentions tropical fruits).  There's also more blueberry, a typical feature in some Syrahs (notably some Aussies, and Cornas).    Reasonably well balanced, perhaps a little bit elegant though not velvety, with some relatively coarse tannin that feels loosely held in a fairly "watery" (not a criticism, and doesn't imply lightness) wine.  Holds up well over a few days, too...mostly losing the leafy and floral elements, though, and some of the fresher berry elements.    My son thought the label was "awesome"...it features a male harpy with a turn-of-the-century (1900ish) moustachioed face, cutaway revealing skeletal and visceral components, armor or stocking-clad human legs, wings of course...and various diagrams and quill-pen writing in a 19th century European calligraphic style.  Quite weird and slightly pretentious...I would probably not normally buy a wine with this label, but a TJ's staffer recommended it, and rightly so.  I bought two more bottles on a return visit.  This wine is an excellent value, and a fairly unusual wine.  Closest comparison is probably certain mid-range ($20ish) Australian Shirazes, but this is a bit less alcoholic and tannic, which may be good thing for current drinking.

2010 "Panilonco" Merlot-Malbec, Colchagua Valley, Chile. $4.99.  Produced by Vinedos Errazuriz Ovalle.  This is a great deal on a hearty but very drinkable red.  It seems to me to have delicious ripe-tomato flavors in addition to a decent amount of berry fruit and somewhat chewy tannins, along with a teeny bit of darker, more complex flavor.  I like it much better than the "Trader Joe's Coastal" Cabernets and Zins I've tried at the same price which have a similar overall profile, but are less balanced and have some foxy (Concord-grape-like) flavors and sometimes a slighlty offputting amount of vegetality.  Again, I could use another bottle or two.

2010 La Finca Cabernet, Argentina. $3.99.  This was great with burgers,  both veggie and beef, at a Democratic Party barbeque.  (It would probably be just as good at a Republican party barbeque.)   I seriously doubt you will find a better red for $3.99 anywhere, although TJ's Epicuro Salice Salentino is in the same price range, and as good (but different).  Very drinkable, combines some blackberry and other dark fruit flavors with little tea and tarriness, medium body supported by a  modicum of somewhat chewy tannin, a relatively loose structure but reasonably good balance.  Most importantly, a wine you just want to drink more of, not a tiring overalcoholic or overbearing-with-fruit wine, but not wimpy either.  Kind of like a good example of a less vegetal Bordeaux Superieur, but more enjoyable to drink than most Bordeaux superieurs I've ruin across even in the $10-18 range, as the latter often have the flaw (possibly due in part to poor conditions during transport from Europe to the US) of being relatively full-bodied, strongly flavored, and decently tannic, but with something a bit bitter and austere, a slightly excessive hit of vegetality and olives on occasion, and more importantly, somewhat closed or unexpressive.  I went back to get more and the labels were still on the shelves but all the La Finca wines, save five or six bottles of Chardonnay, were gone from the shelves.  (They also make a Merlot and a Malbec, and I think also another white, like a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon blanc.)  That tends to happen at TJ's---people identify the best bargains, and load up.

2009 Trader Joe's Reserve Cabernet, Mendocino, California. $9.99.  Vinted and bottled by DNA Wines, Ukiah, CA.  Made from organic grapes.  This wine is softer and more elegant than any of the above.  On the other hand, at $10 it doesn't really qualify as "cheap".  I have had good luck with all the TJ's Reserve wines I've tried (besides this, two vintages of Dry Creek Reserve Cabernet (2008 and 2009) and a Dry Creek Reserve Zinfandel).   This one indeed has plummy flavors as claimed on the label... I think of the dark purple-black-skinned plums with reddish-orange to pale-orange flesh.  Add to that some clovish elements, dark berry fruit, hints of complexity, fine tannins in moderation, and you have a really nice wine, quite different from the Dry Creek cabernets, and I fancy showing some typically Mendocino characteristics and flavors.  Ready to drink now, or age a few years; perhaps slightly low in acid and loose in structure for long aging, but it might be worth a try.  Excellent value, distinctive, flavorful, and easy to drink Cabernet.  Again, I plan to get two or three more bottles.

Perrin & fils are establishing a brand, in the best way, and following a grand French tradition.  Proprietors of the great (well, it's expensive enough that I haven't tried it) Chateauneuf-du-Pape property, Château de Beaucastel, they also make several excellent Côtes-du-Rhône that are a clear cut above most plain Côtes.  I found their Tradition to be excellent, with a bit more tannin and substance than standard Cotes, but still with easy-to-drink berry flavors and a bit of autumn-leafy complexity.  Their organic "Nature" 2007 ($17/750ml, $10/375ml, Canadian at LCBO) was even better---or at any rate different.  Mostly Grenache, with some Syrah, like most Côtes.  My notes say "Great nose--hints of chocolatiness, sweetness--something like chocolate milk or cocoa powder in the nose and on the palate.  Some complexity---hard to describe---a bit chalky or mineral.  Really a remarkable wine.  Herbs?  Tastes alive.  Pretty long finish.  Closest thing might be "The Stump Jump" (an Aussie Grenache-Shiraz).  Definite chalkiness now.  Really great!"

Nice label, too: all of Perrin's labels feature various shades of off-white to cream paper, with classic French typographic design reminsicent of the 19th century.  The "Nature" features laid paper with visible chain-lines, groovy retro typography of the sort modeled on elegant fountain-pen script, with some of the lettering in green, and green butterflies on the cream background.  On the other wines, some lettering is black, some red.  Their wine is classic French tradition-based quality product; they know it and the labels send the message too:  the design isn't uniform, but it's clearly a family of designs, discreetly but unmistakeably radiating the glory that is France at its best.

At wine and cheese two weeks ago at PI, I bought a glass of the Henry of Pelham, VQA Niagara, Ontario, Cuvee Catharine Brut Rosé (non vintage).  At first, I was disappointed that it seemed a bit closed, though fruity and acidic.  Then it opened up, getting toastier (or was that just me) with scents of strawberry and other yummy stuff, but keeping that crisp acidity and clarity.  This apparently costs $30 CDN at the winery, so it's getting up into the range with Champagne, but it's made by the traditional Champenoise method, from the traditional Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, and I think it competes well with French bubbles, which moreover are going to set you back at least $38 at this quality level.  Bottom line, I'd buy more even at this price; I don't give numerical ratings, but take that as a rave review.

My free glass was the Bodegas Weinert Malbec from Argentina---the most Bordeaux-like of the Argentine Malbecs I've recently tried.  Darker, more restrained and tannic than these, it was nevertheless a bit elegant, and a nice wine that I order on occasion with dinner.  At $20 or so at LCBO, I'm perhaps not as wild about it as a few other Argentine Malbecs I've found there:  the Luigi Bosca single vineyard Lujan de Cuyo 2006 Malbec Reserva is fantastic, melding silkiness and Bordeaux-like caramelly oak notes with beautiful, not-too-jammy fruit ($18CDN);  the Argento reserve Malbec 2005 ($12) similar but perhaps a bit less complex, and with definite emphasis on blueberry fruitiness slightly reminscent of some Aussie Shirazes.  Again, the relevant "rating" is that I bought more of both of these after tasting them.  Fittingly for wines from Argentina, they are both great with steak.