3 'supermarket' 2013's

[AKR]

Some supermarket wines during the week, not all of which are even finished.

2013 Kendall Jackson 'Grand Reserve' Pinot Noir[California] It's been a while since I've had one of these, but they were on sale ($13, about half off) so I threw one in the basket at the market which actually has a half decent little wine section. Light ruby, 14% abv, tastes sweet to me. Strangely the SO thought it was tangy. But I was having it with a leftover openface turkey sandwich and she was having it with some noodles or something. Lots of berries. SO drank 2/3 of the bottle, she likes it, and its made in a pleasing friendly style. I think one of our family friends used a bunch of this (I think the 1997 vintage?) for his daughters wedding and he's a pinot enthusiast. It is supposedly estate grapes, but from a range of AVA's down by the middle parts of the coast. Wouldn't buy again, but its enjoyable. A B- or so.

2013 Ch. St Michelle Chardonnay [Columbia Valley] A big production quaffer. Bright gold, full bodied, lots of tropical fruit. Not as classy as the Canoe Ridges vineyard they also sell, but this is very inexpensive, and reliable. The kind of bottle you'd keep open in the fridge for a casual sip while getting dinner ready. I don't know why, but it didn't seem as good as prior years I've had. Through a very convoluted chain of holdings, I considered myself a part owner in their enterprise, and for years would mildly support them because of that. No longer involved, but that habit of grabbing CsM's whites hasn't gone away. It's a B too.

2013 Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon [Sonoma] This is another mass production Gallo effort and should be found all over. I popped it so see if this would be a Cali Cab worth buying in 2013 but I don't think I'll get more. I still have a half bottle remaining, and maybe its better tonight, but I found it to have less structure than other supermarket/ Costco 2013's I've tried (Clos du Val, BV Rutherford). It's a big ball of plump fruit, but a lot of wines can do that, and its seems fairly simple. I have drunk some old Martini's (60-70s) and they seem to hang on to their fruit but didn't develop any complexity/interest. Perhaps it will show better tonight. It's very dark btw. Generally I like the Gallo style for CS and look forward to their "Estate" level wines which they only make a couple thousand cases of normally, but inexplicably show up at my market. It's a B- for me too. EDIT: I had another glass a day or so later, that was cold. A smidge better. The wine will definitely keep and be a good crowd pleaser, but I think I'll pass. It's not really that differentiated from other things I have/consume, and to some extent, even more of the 'same' thing isn't so utility maximising for me.

Tonight will be a more serious 1990 CNDP since I have time to get all the stemware out and polish them etc.