Holiday wine values from Austin experts, round 2

As the holidays approach, WineEnabler.com is making every effort to keep you up to date on the best wine values available in Austin. In a previous post, we listed wine suggestions from the Austin-area experts from The Austin Wine Merchant, Grapevine Market, and Central Market.

This week we have wine selections from Molly Sheehan at Twin Liquors on Balcones and Jen Powell from Whole Foods on Lamar. Molly offers three white and red wine suggestions, and Jen offers three red.

Value wine recommendations from Molly Sheehan at Twin Liquors

Molly recommends these white wines:

• 2006 Marques de Riscal Rueda – $9.49
  •(Molly’s review) Medium body, nice acidity ripe melon and pear flavors with a hint of anise. A nice lingering mouth feel with peaches on the finish.
• 2006 Louis Latour Ardeche Chardonnay – $8.99
  •(Molly’s review) Medium dry, crisp, nicely balanced acidity. A pretty, floral nose. Mineral and dried fruit notes on the palate. This is an unoaked chardonnay for those who don’t like splinters.
• 2007 Zonin Prosecco – $11.99
  •(Molly’s review) This is the perfect bottle of bubbles to celebrate the holidays. Medium dry with medium acidity this is a very aromatic wine with hints of wisteria and apples. Nice crisp apple and almond on the palate.

Molly’s red wine suggestions are:

• 2007 McMannis Petite Syrah – $11.99
  •(Molly’s review) Lots of dark, enticing fruit on the nose. This is a big, full bodied wine. Well structured tannins support jammy, blueberry fruit with hint of pepper. Nice, long, lingering dark berry finish.
• 2007 Almira los Dos – $9.99
  •(Molly’s review) This wine is a blend of 93% Grenache and7% syrah. Dark purple in color with aromas of cherry and fennel, this wine offers bright cherry flavors with some white pepper on the finish.
• 2005 Perrieres Costieres de Nimes – $13.99
  •(Molly’s review) This blend of 20% Syrah, 20% Grenache, and 60% Carignain shows hints of leather and soft berry fruit on the nose. Dried cherry, white pepper, and a bit of leather on the palate. Medium body with nice velvety tannins. This wine is a great value and was mentioned in the NY Times as a great wine for under $15.00.

Value wine recommendations from Jen Powell at Whole Foods

The new wine buyer at Whole Foods on Lamar is Jen Powell and she sent us her current, favorite values in red wine. Jen’s suggested reds are:

• 2006 Chateau du Pin – $10.99 on sale
  •(Jen’s review) This is a merlot driven Bordeaux (60%) followed by 30% Cabernet Sauvignon & 10% Cabernet Franc for good measure! The wine has a delicious youthful plumy flavor with the slightest hint of spice (thank you cab franc)! Yum! I believe this wine is still an excellent under $15 value and worth every penny of $11!
• 2005 Aveleda “Charamba” – $7.99 on sale
  •(Jen’s review) This wine is primarily Touriga Nacional. It is medium-bodied with a great spicy aroma (nice cinnamon) and some baked cherry pie fruit! I think Portugal is where it is at, I love their wines! Yum!
• 2006 Strong Arms Shiraz – $11.99 on sale
  •(Jen’s review) Dan Phillips (of Marquis Phillips) and Chris Ringland make this beauty! It is a 91 point Parker wine that explodes with raspberries and chocolate with amazing cedar on the back note! It is not flabby at all, complete restraint and beauty! OMG I love this wine.

Check out these related posts:

1. Great holiday wine values from Austin area experts
2. The high price of drinking wine in Austin, Texas restaurants
3. CostCo vs. HEB – Who has cheaper wine in Austin?
4. Holiday gift ideas for wine lovers
5. Mixing wine bars and the Austin City Limits (ACL) 2008 Music Festival