After the jump, Collin Flatt — ever the optimist — tells you about how to milk PA state stores dry of great wine all this week as the Chairman clears 20% off of his, um, board.
The PLCB is doing its annual Chairman’s dump as the new stuff starts rolling in, and all of the originally discounted prices for these wines have been slashed another 20%! This will be over on Saturday, so stock up now.
One wine in particular I am pushing is in limited supply, but is normally $25.99, cut to $11, and now is $9.59! The 2005 Montes Alpha Chardonnay from Chile. Please note: This is not widely available because of the limited supply, but the Liquor store at 724 South St. has 54 bottles left! You will find them scattered about in other places, but it seems that the lion’s share is sitting there. Generally, that store is not my favorite, but this is a wine I would buy multiple bottles of because it is a great every day wine at an absurd price. Put a bunch on ice, and you can serve a top-flight wine when you have people over. I like to use this as a secret weapon when I have wine nerds over, because of the high quality/price ratio.
I love this wine. I hate big oaky, buttery Chardonnay beasts that you usually find made by U.S winemakers, and in a lot of new world regions. Most of America likes oaky, buttery, fat wines, too, only because they haven’t been offered an affordable well-made Chardonnay. Chilean wines are still on the cheap, as the region is up and coming, but the Montes family knows what they are doing. Give this a try for a more austere and complex white. It is fruity with melon and pear to start, but there is the perfect string of acidity on the mid palate and into the finish that ties it together and kills the buttery weight that the oak barriques tried so desperately to add.
It’s that little bit of acidity that will balance all of your Chardonnays, and pretty much all of your whites in general. Instead of a heavyweight, it’s only a cruiser at best, which makes this wine able to be paired with food, unlike most new world mass produced nightmares. Hell of a bottle of Chard for under $10. I promise to continue to review more available wines throughout the city, but a $26 wine at this price needed to be promoted.
When looking for this wine, do not confuse it with the Montes Alpha M wines (around $50), as both will be individually wrapped in a light tissue paper in some cases. Rip that sh*t off and make sure you have the Chardonnay. They both come from the same Alpha vineyard, but one is a red blend and the other is the white. Also, if you do head to the 7th street store, look for it in one of the Chairman’s displays, or ask them to check in the back for the cases. Many times, when you see a high number of bottles like that, it’s because they are either too lazy to put them out, or don’t know they are back there. (The PLCB code for this one is 28810.LCB.)
Collin Flatt is a former Beer Pong champ turned oenophile. Collin Flatt spends his tax refunds on wine. Collin Flatt has his Bachelor’s Degree in drinking and is getting his Master’s Degree in winemaking. Collin Flatt is working on an Arctice Splash Cuvee. Collin Flatt writes about wine for Phoodie.info.
Previously: It’s Vintastic! Pio Cesare Barbera D’Alba 2004
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