When friends ask me where to find good, reasonably priced wines, I often tell them to go east — to Italy, Spain or France. True, California produces a lot of inexpensive wines, but I generally find them to be disappointingly generic.
Every once in a while, though, there’s a surprise, like the one I found one the other night.
The story begins late in the evening after a long day. I get home to find a few slices of steak left on the cutting board. The meat is cool — perfect on a sticky night. There’s a rosé in the fridge, but I’ve been there and done that this summer. Yes, it’s hot out, but I am craving a red wine.
But which wine? Well, nothing too fancy or expensive for this quick fix of a meal. How about that 2002 Louis M. Martini Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon that’s been lying around for a while? For $15, why not?
Pop! The first splash and a few swirls in the glass reveal bright, attractive red berry fruit on the nose — cranberry comes to mind — as well as earthy and sweet aromas that I like to call “fruit orchard.” In the mouth, raspberry, cherry, vanilla and a hint of tobacco emerge. The fruit, sourced from various Sonoma vineyards, is ripe and delicious and the wine has unusually firm tannic structure for its price. (Interestingly, it continued to open up over a 24-hour period; the flavors were even deeper by the next evening.)
The wine is 90 percent cabernet sauvignon, with small amounts of merlot, cabernet franc and malbec blended in, giving it roundness and complexity. As I often do, I chilled it just a bit to make it more refreshing on a hot evening. This is a perfect cab for dining on the porch or patio or to bring to an outdoor summer concert. It has to be one of the best California cabernets at this price.
Louis M. Martini is an old California brand started in the Napa Valley in 1933 by an Italian immigrant. It is still run by the Martini family, although wine giant Gallo purchased it a few years ago. These days, Martini is all about cabernet, with a range of wines from the Napa, Sonoma and Alexander Valley appellations, including a $50 estate-grown cab from Martini’s Monte Rosso vineyard in Sonoma’s Mayacamas Mountains.
While just a few thousand cases of that wine are made each year, some 50,000 cases of the $15 Sonoma County cab are produced, so it should be available just about everywhere (and I’ve actually seen it listed for a couple of dollars less). So pick up a bottle tonight, put it in the fridge for 20 minutes, and then enjoy it with everything from steak and lamb to burgers, chicken and vegetables on the grill.
Edward Deitch's wine column appears Wednesdays. He welcomes comments from readers. Write to him at EdwardDeitch