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The magical world of wines from Grocery Outlet 
A slew of new white wines at the Pullman store for graduation week at 2 local universities:
– 64%SB/22%Sem/2%Muscadelle
– v2017 87 WE, v2019 86 WE- Vivino 3.5- No pro ratings for 2021
– v2017 88 WE – Vivino 3.8
– 70%SB/30%Sem
– v2019 90 Decanter, v2022 87 WE – Vivino 3.7
– Vivino 4.0
“Oak, butter, apricot, lemon, pineapple, creme bruleé, pear”
-100% CH, 80% San Bernabe Valley, 20% San Lucia Highlands
– Aged 14 mo in 45% new French oak barrels, 55% neutral
-Diora is a label under Transcendental (higher end) side branch of Delicato
– Hãhã Wine Co, Hawkes Bay NZ
-Secret second label not listed on Hãhã Wine website
-Vivino 3.6 across vintages from 2018 to 2023, 88 ratings total, very few
– possibly excess bulk SB bottled by Hãhã Wine Co?Hãhã whites retail at $15
– $5- imported by Plume Ridge
– no Vivino ratings (points to new label?), no pro ratings
– can’t find any other info on this wine
– 100% PG, Riva Vineyard, Venezia DOC, Italy
– Evaki Imports No pro rates, Vivino 3.7
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Might pick up both the Mouton Cadet, Diora, ChD EdM and PG when I’m there next.
Apologies if the above is hard to read, editing on this blog on phone is difficult.
I keep getting bounced back to the end.
Diora 2020 Splendeur du Soleil Chardonnay, production details listed above, rated 90 pts 12/1/2022 by Wine Enthusiast’s Matt Kettman
– “Baked apple, toasted nuts, oak aroma” “Palate creamy in texture, loaded with butter and sea salt richness” “lemony apple fruit character holds the midpalate”
If this style of Chardonnay appeals to you or your friends (ie Lim’s Chardonnay loving pal) $6 at GO is an incredible bargain ($20 MSRP, Total Wine $13.49 is lowest price online).
Mouton Cadet’s lineup is solid for a huge producer, but I don’t really sit much any more (at least at my retailers). Those are good prices. I would sort of liken them to the old Woodbridge lineup from Mondavi – negociant but with long term contracted growers, and a little better than peers at the same price point. I don’t think the American market really likes this concept though, but Brits do.
more new items seen recently
2018 Manadero ‘Garnacha’ Colecion de Parcelas [Carinena] $4 14.5% abv red wine. imported by Guarachi Wine Partners. This is an obscure Spanish DO. Looks pretty good actually. 92 pts from Suckling.
2022 Huentala Wines ‘Sombrero’ ‘Malbec’ [Valle de Uco] $10 14.4% abv This is from Gualtallary, a high altitude part of the Mendoza. Imported by VinaAmericas Inc. of Miami FL. Seems kind of high priced but maybe it’s a luxe bottling. I don’t really go after South American wines, but some of the malbec being made by the French consultants is pretty good. I just would not pay much more than $10 to $15 for it, and that’s only if it was super well known, and highly reviewed.
2020 Monte Ory [Navarra] $6 13.5% abv, a 50/50 blend of tempranillo and merlot. bottled by Monte Ory of Azagra, Espagna. Imported by Manzanos Wines of Miami FL. Probably pretty good. Manzanos is a reputable, traditional and underpenetrated bodega/group in the US. 90 pts Suckling, which is pretty low.
2018 Agramont ‘crianza’ [Navarra] $6 14% abv Embottelado Por Agronavarra, Murchante Espana. Imported by City Moonlight, NYC, NY. No disclosure/discussion of varietal beyond ‘red wine’ or Tinto. No sticker of any pro ratings either. Navarra as a DO has never really figured out what it wants to be – a source of local varietals, or of international ones, and that can mean a vague thing like ‘tinto’ could have the risk of it being a dumping ground for whatever vats were laying around that didn’t make the cut for better bottlings.
2020 Guarda Rios ‘Red Blend’ [Alentejano] $6 13.5% 97 pts Decanter fermented in steel, and partial aging in French oak. Imported by Tri Vin Imports Inc. New Rochelle NY. Not sure what this is but seems to have a good set of attributes and worth a shot if one drinks Portugese dry reds.
2017 Altitudes [Cotes du Roussillon] $7 Labeled as French Red Wine, but back label notes 50% grenach, 25% syrah, 25% carignan. Bottled by F66N103 for Henriques, France. A cursory Google search comes up with little for that, so I’m assuming that is a regulatory license for some kind of bulk facility, as other wines with maker all seem of the nature. Too bad, I love French country reds.
2019 Simi chardonnay [Sonoma Coast] $4 half bottle, screwcapped. Don’t see halves much at all at GO.
Motu Rum $7 which has nice packaging, and appears to be from Fiji/Polynesia. And curiously, next to it, some kind of alcohol infused Ritter Sport bars, which were being sold in the wine/spirits/beer section. We probably should use more rum for cooking and other purposes, but we have enough of all that ilk and go through it very slowly.
Further digging, I think the ‘Altitudes’ wine is a real product from the Henriques vintner, and the code might be a mobile bottling line or something. They also sell the wine in kegs, so clearly its meant to be the house red in hospitality. The importer who brings that over also brings over a few K&L Rhones I recognize. It’s probably better than I gave it credit for. There is lots of character and interest in the whole swath of southern French reds that is generally not recognized (at least in terms of dollars) by Americans.
Seen recently
2021 Headturner ‘Chardonnay’ [Horse Heaven Hills] $8 winemaker Holly Turner, Walla Walla WA. 14.9% abv
2016 Gliss Cellars ‘Syrah’ [Mendocino] $7 14.5% abv. DNA Vineyards Syrah. Bottled by DNA, Ukiah CA
2022 Smerlino Sauvignon Blanc [Lodi] $6
Caffo Vecchio Amaro del Capo $13 a liqueur of Calabrian herbs.
Busker Triple Cask Triple Smooth Irish Whiskey $16
2017 Windvane Chardonnay [Carneros] $7
2021 Photograph Chardonnay [Central Coast] $5 13.5% bottled in Hopland
2021 Maison Montagne ‘Red Wine’ [Paso Robles] $8 bottled by West Coast Wine group in Napa. 13.5% abv. This, and the one above, have a bulk vibe.
2019 Borreo Single Vyd Zinfandel [Napa Valley] $15 15.9% abv. estate grown, produced, bottled by Silverado Vyd, Napa. Nice label and story, but price seems a bit aggressive.
2021 Cave de Gortona Pinot Noir [Vine de France] $7 13% abv a NBI import, and described by others here.
2022 Fighting Chance Pinot Noir [Monterey Cty] $8 14.4% abv vintned and bottled by Wine Tiger of Sonoma. Label has an MC Escher look.
2019 Rural pinot noir ‘Eagle Peak’ [Mendocino] $10 Bottled in Healdsburg. Not much info on the label but the attributes seem good. Probably bright/acidic.
Lots of new wines at one of the crummier locations, strangely.
Here’s some info on the Headturner Chardonnay and winemaker…
https://www.wineenthusiast.com/buying-guide/headturner-2021-flyaway-chardonnay-horse-heaven-hills/
https://www.threeriverswinery.com/our-team/holly-turner/
https://foleyfamilywines.com/wineries/pacific-northwest/headturner-wine-co/
Turner appears to be winemaker at Three Rivers, who have sold some of their wines (specifically rose’) at GO. And the Headturner wines appear to be part of the Foley Family Wine catalog. It’s all a bit confusing to me. Maybe the blog “research dept.” aka. WORN can shed some light?
Hi Lim, the Headturner brand was short-lived, 2 label approvals 5/11/2020 for Chardonnay and Cab Sauv Winemaker Holly Turner, Foley Family brand bottled at their Three Rivers facility in WallaWalla. The Headturner 2021 “Flyaway” Horse Heaven Hills Chardonnay arrived at our store prior to the fall 2023 sale, price was $8. Wine Enthusiast 89 pts, $25 MSRP, 3/2/2023. Headturner website mentions buttered brioche, butterscotch so presumably oaked but no tech detail sheet available. There was a big release party to introduce Headturner. Looks like the brand underperformed as it’s no longer listed on Foley Family website that Headturner links to, so a discontinued brand.Perhaps BW can post my previous comment on Headturner, I’m pretty sure I mentioned this wine last fall. I recall someone on this blog did give it a try.I decided to pass on Headturner as Talbott Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Chard 2018 was available for just $6 at the same time.
Likely this is the post you’re describing.
BW,
Thanks for providing the link to my Oct 20, 2023 post on Headturner 2021 Chardonnay.
Lots more information on that post, the tech sheet I located back then is now unavailable.
The first vintage was 2018, according to Vivino posts.
So Foley applied in 2020 for Headturner label to bottle up excess wine from 2018.
Label underperformed, brand discontinued, unsold wine ends up on GO shelves
Thanks for the research and info, WORN. Nice work…as usual!
Bondar 2020 “Junto GSM,” McLaren Vale, South Australia, 68% Grenache, 10% Shiraz, 9% Mataro (Mourvèdre), 7% Carignan, 5% Cinsault, 1% Counoise, 13.7% ABV, $10. Recently arrived, I let it rest on its side for a few days, then decanted it off some fine sediment. First night, decanted 4 hours, was soft, jammy, fuzzy, and I didn’t like it very much, although subtle complexity and unresolved structure seems promising. Second night, still needed to be opened 3 – 3.5 hours to settle down and darken some. Shows Grenache’s black raspberry / cherry, strawberry / grape jam, faintly getting Syrah’s blueberry, and the finish is nicely complex but hard for me to put into words. It’s a nice wine for $10 and should be popular with people who like fruity CA wines. For me, it’s still too soft, fuzzy, jammy.
Tasted a few wines yesterday:
Petroni was the owner of North Beach Restaurant in North Beach, he has recently passed, and his family is selling off some wine. The Oakland store has multiple vintages of the Petroni Syrah in Magnum in the back room for $18 apiece; tell Mark or Robert that Seedboy sent you.
The 2015 in .750 that BW tasted has a lot of tartrate caked under the cork, clinging to the inside of the neck; when you open it you should clear that stuff out before you pour it.
I bought a bottle of the Reichwage “Twin Hills” Pinot Noir ($7 or 8) and opened it. It has light body and tastes honest, I wonder if it doesn’t have bottle shock and will be better in a month.
I found a shelf full of the 2006 Petroni Cab mags in Rohnert Park for $26 a pop…solid 90+ pts on CT. I picked up a bottle and we opened with burgers. Still in good condition for an ‘06, tannins fully resolved, some decent fruit, I’d rate 88-89. Second day was a tad more pruney…wifie less thrilled. Day three still drinking decently.
So – I’d say to pick up a bottle if you’ve got a party soon – drink nearterm, among best values on the GO shelf for decent cab.
I have had a .750 of the 2015 Syrah open for days, the last glass last night was super tasty. I would love the see the Cab near nere.
Tasted a few over the weekend. We opened up the Petroni 2015 Syrah at dinner Saturday, found it pleasant and rich but kind of soft and one-dimensional. I liked their rosé better, but I have lots of 2021/2s and don’t need more 2019s.
The Reichwage 2021 Twin Hills pinot noir rosé was very good, following the theme of the Twin Hills red pinot noir with a strong savory umami component on top of the fruit, and mirroring their Mancini Ranch white with a bracing, almost saline minerality. Again, too bad I’m out of room for rosé.
Room or not, I liked the MR white enough to get a few more bottles. One reason it may have ended up at GO is they have no neck capsules, and having been stored cork-down, the MR white had a good deposit of tartrate crystals on the corks, likely scaring off consumers.
The Reichwage red Twin Hills PN I said below felt a tad harsh; by day 3 open it had softened nicely, and the savory component took on a slightly leathery quality. Seemed like an older wine than others at this age. Very well made and interesting wine, but not my favorite style of pinot noir.
Last night, I tried the Manadero 2018 Garnacha, a “Manager Pick” at $4, 92 JS sticker. It’s very ripe, almost over-ripe (14.5% abv), bit of a fruit bomb, rich but again monolithic, and too soft and flabby for me.
Sorry to hear that about the Manadero Garnacha, but thanks for the note. I picked one up a week ago but haven’t tried it yet.
If anyone spots the Reichwage white up in WA please give a shout out.
Olympia doesn’t have it, but would love to try it 😀
Continuing on…
2017 The Wolftrap Rose [South Africa] no price, I don’t think people should buy this anyways. 7 year old rose is a pass
2015? Fog Mountain Rose [Pay d’Oc] no price either, and not totally sure of the vintage but it was old. Again, nuts that they sell this stuff.
2019 Nine Points Reserve Chardonnay [Napa] $10 14.5% abv Vinted and Bottled by Wine Tiger of Sonoma. Never heard of this.
2017 Killer Red ‘Syrah’ [Columbia Valley] $8 14.5% abv produced and bottled by Killer Red of Benton City WA
NV Beaver Creek Vyd. ‘Symphony’ [Lake Cty] $10 (I think) A red wine blend, with no obvious vintage anywhere, nor varietal disclosure. Produced and bottled by Beaver Creek Vyd of Middletown CA, which appears to be a real place well north of Calistoga. Sounds like all a leftover vats ‘sausage’ blend.
2021 Mountain Head Vineyards ‘Big Bold Red’ [Paso Robles] $8 13.6% abv, which seems low for Paso actually. 12 mos of American oak. Vinted and bottled by West Coast Wine Group of Napa.
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I’d try stuff from the South Afrikan Wolftrap winery, if it was ‘fresh’ and low priced. That’s kind of a $9 supermarket wine if available in mass market, so maybe $3-4 is a reasonable GO tariff. But not vinegary rose and golden/oxidized blanc.
Aubergine, Killer Red 2017 Syrah popped up at our GO in Pullman 2 months ago. This label is one of several “secret” labels by Terra Blanca Winery in Benton City, WA. Other unacknowledged wine labels by Terra Blanca are Titan, Impuls and Impuls 71, all spotted at GO over the 3 years since the store opened here (Impuls Rosé, Titan Cab Sauv, Titan Cab Franc, Killer Red Merlot, Killer Red Cab Sauv, Killer Red Syrah)
Yikes. At that price point might as well just stick to Costco. Had a decent $7 Cahors from them last month.
Some of the new items I have seen recently
2022 Michael Pozzan Sauvignon Blanc [Alexander Valley] $6 I know nothing about it and my picture of the back label is too blurry to read.
2018 Cippini [Chianti] $6 12.5% abv Imported by B.Vini Inc. apparently out of San Leandro. Back label instructs to pair with venison. Probably harmless but not a strong vintage, and I’m generally a bit picky when straying out of Chianti Classico proper. That’s kind of a low abv for our era, although maybe not super low by regional standards. I remember the tart versions of a lifetime ago, and remain cautious.
2019 Il Cuore ‘The Heart’ Chardonnay [Mendocino] $4 14.1% abv. Back label promises low oak, high fruit from a cool climate, along with crisp apple flavors (presumably non malo?). Sounds differentiated, but at the moment I have a ton of good Sonoma chard so not looking for 5 year old versions of this varietal. 2022 is generally the current vintage of this kind of wine on sale just for a reference point. Still props to the GO buyers for scrounging this up.
2020 “100 Nails Ranch” Chardonnay [Sonoma Cty] $6 back label promises these were hand harvested, whole cluster, 9 mos of French oak and then crisp apple, brioche, acidity and toast. From 1821 Wine Co. A Zonin Family Co. and produced in American Canyon, which tends to be the homebase for industrial blends.
There are more but I will have comment on them later.
I doubt this is still available, but if one sees the 2019 Ch. St. Jean Pinot Noir [Sonoma Cty] it’s pretty solid, and seems to have been sold at the same price as their bulk California blend ($7). 14.5% abv and 2019 was a very solid vintage for Sonoma PN generally. It’s a straight up commercial pinot – lots of fruit and the label promises (accurately) raspberry and baking spices – but it’s pretty good. I’d give it a solid B grade for a varietal that one normally cannot find drinkable versions for less than $12 or so, but this is nice for the fiver it cost (during the semi annual sale)
Many many years ago I had a lovely visit to their winery, but at this point that site is just a tasting room / picnic area, and it’s not anything ‘real’ any more. Dick Arrowood made some great wines here a generation ago, and I’ve had the luck to taste some of his oily dessert wines of that era, which are thick treats.
By day 3 this had lost some / most of its pinot like character. At one point this was pure pinot but I wonder if this had been amped up with some other varietals (within labeling limits). A bunch of the California flagged PN have syrah infused to give color/body.
So, it was ok, a fair value for the low price, but I don’t think I’d repurchase even if it was offered at the same sale.