My Wine Tribe recently held an electrifying blind tasting of Mexican wines. As you know from last week’s post, the Mexican wine industry has had a long and dramatic history and is currently experiencing a resurgence. After learning the story we were eager to try it, especially as most of us had zero experience with wines from Mexico. Tequilla? Yes. Cerveza? Si. But not Mexican wine so we were super curious as to how the juice was. The short answer? Like wine from anywhere else, it varied, based on each taster’s palate preferences.
The Lineup
We tried three whites and two reds. Most were from the Guadalupe Valley, which is in Baja, California (that’s in Mexico, folks) and considered to be the jewel of Mexico’s wine country. And yes, I am planning a trip there, but I digress. Interestingly, a couple of local stores in my hometown of Seattle carried the reds but not one carried any of the whites. So I had them shipped in from California. And I am so glad I did as the whites performed really well in our blind tasting. Here’s what we tasted:
Santo Tomas 2014 Blanca Mexico: The Blanca Mexico is a white wine, made from Mission grapes, retailing for $20.
Monte Xanic 2014 Sauvignon Blanc: This Sauv Blanc retails for $16.
Casa Magoni 2015 Manaz: A white wine made with 100 percent Viogner and retailing for $15.
Jubielo 2009 Meritage: A red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, it sells for $19.
Villa Montefiori 2009 Cabernet Sangiovese: This Cabernet Sauvignon/Sangiovese blend is made by a prominent Italian winemaker living in Mexico and retails for $26.
Preferences by Tribe
Before the big reveal comes, do you know what tribe you are in? That is critical to understanding our rating system. We assume that people like different wines based on other tastes and smells they like, aka their palate preferences. Take this quick quiz to find your tribe and follow along with our recos.
The Accessible and Balanced Tribes preferred the Santo Tomas Blanca Mexico (even yours truly, a Developed Tribe member, dug this one). Tasters noted scents of mineral and citrus and the fresh, crisp tastes of grapefruit, grass and sweet lemon. The acids in this one mellowed when paired with food. It is an easy-drinking white that could pair well with fish, chicken or veggie dishes (and in our case it was spot on with chips and guacamole).
The Developed Tribe had a two-way tie between the white, Casa Magnoni Manaz, and the red, Villa Montefiori Cabernet Sangio blend. The Manaz, while good both with and without food, really smoothed out, toned down and sweetened up when paired with food. Without food, we noted citrus and tangy pineapple, but with food, we appreciated its smooth flavors of honey and lavender.
The Via Montefiori has a rich scent of wood, smoke and ripe plums and tastes of bacon, leather, caramel and warm berries with brown sugar. Yummm. This medium-bodied wine was a hit both on its own and with food and would pair well with meats and spicy dishes.
Finally, the Complex Tribe decided their favorite was the white, Casa Magnoni Manaz. They really liked the rich mouthfeel, the floral smells and the smooth, supple tastes of tropical fruit and peaches.
And what about the other wines? The Monte Xanic 2014 Sauvignon Blanc was good, not great. It was no one’s favorite, but no one found it offensive, either. The Jubileo wins for best label design. Seriously, I loved the art on this bottle and wanted it to be a big hit, but that didn’t happen. It was a powerful wine with arresting smells of mushrooms, blue cheese and burnt sugar. The wine without food was musty and tasted a bit like bug spray. With food it definitely mellowed and smoothed out with flavors of ripe plums and figs. But needless to say, it wasn’t anyone’s fave.
Bottom line? The Mexican wine industry is in the midst of a renaissance and you need to be part of it. Ask your local wine store to get a bottle or two for you try and let us know what you think. The reds are relatively easy to find, the whites, not so much. If you want to give them a try reach out to Tom Bracamontes (tom@tbanapa.com), at La Competencia Imports, and he can hook you up.
Gracias amigos!