Segura Viudas Brut Reserva

The sparkling wines of Spain are known as cava.

This cava, the Brut Reserva from Segura Viudas, is made from traditional Spanish grape varieties: Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo. This particular wine, designated brut should be nice and dry.

Cavas must be made with a secondary fermentation in the bottle. This is what makes the wine bubbly. The inexpensive method of simply injecting CO2 into a still wine is not allowed if the winemaker wants to call their product a cava.

Despite being made like traditional Champagnes, cavas remain relatively inexpensive. This can't be because of the taste. Cavas are generally crispy and delicious. Must be a failure of marketing.

Presentation/Appearance - 7/10 Simple, classic label, vigorous pop from the cork, and lots of gunsmoke emanating from the bottle. Violent medium-sized bubbling on the pour that builds a huge white head and then falls flat quickly. The wine stays active though, settling into a fountain of tiny bubbles rising from the center of the flute. You can see this in the photo.

Nose/Aroma - 6/10 Cut flowers, without the perfume. Nothing substantial.

Taste/Flavor - 7/10 This is, indeed, dry. Crispy, very active bubbling on the tongue. This is the way a cava should taste. Light bodied, good acidity, very refreshing.

Finish/Satisfaction - 7/10 This definitely lingers on the tongue. The bubbles seem to push the wine around the palatee. Long finish, somewhat acidic, but not tart.

Overall - 6.85/10 Satisfying and above average. If this had smaller bubbles and a creamier mouthfeel it would have scored much higher.

I like cavas, but I also enjoy sparkling wines from Italy and the United States. Of course, I love champagnes, too, but the price point for those always seems a little crazy to me. This wine sold for about $10 to $12. Quite reasonable. I'd love to hear any sparkling wine recommendations you might have.

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon - Rutherford, California

A couple of years ago, Costco, the big discount store that competes with Wal-Mart's Sam's Club, started selling wine and spirits under their Kirkland label. Where I live, only the wine is available at the local stores. We have yet to buy a wine that has disappointed us.

To be sure, Costco doesn't own a vineyard or a winery. They contract with winemakers all over the world, they aren't just limited to California and their home turf in the Pacific Northwest.

This wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley Rutherford, was purchased earlier this summer. The price points on these wines are quite reasonable. This was less than $15. According to the label, you can cellar this and enjoy to 2012. (This link might be short-lived. Go to costco.com for more info.)

The maker of this wine is the Adler Fels Winery, owned by the Adams Wine Group.

Presentation/Appearance - 7/10 Kirkland has a consistent label appearance, making their private label easy to spot in stores. The wine itself is a gorgeous dark garnet, not opaque, but with a purple sunset translucence on the edges of the liquid. Very appealing.

Smell/Odor/Aroma - 6/10 The nose is alcohol soaked raisins, a little burn on the nose hairs. Makes you think that this will be young and harsh. Fruit scents can't seem to top the boozy viny nature of the nose.

Taste/Flavor - 7/10 Spicy, light plums start it all but they quickly give way to some mild tannic flavors. There is the alcohol presence to the fore again, but it complements the tannic acids. The finish is lengthy.

Finish/Satisfaction - 7/10 I already said the finish was lengthy. The mouthfeel is full, hot spiciness lingers on the tongue. This is a comfortable, as in plush, cabernet, that is easy to drink, but never simple.

Overall - 6.85/10 A solid wine that is great value if you can find it at Costco. Drink some now and store some for later. We paired this with sirloin from Polyface Farms and were not disappointed.

Has anyone had the other Kirkland wines? We like the Australian Shiraz. I also enjoyed the Port. We have a Chateauneuf-du-Pape waiting in the wings.

I'm also curious about the scotches they've offered in partnership with Macallan.