Red - It's the Colour of Wine and Roses

Just how fixated on red wine have consumers become? You see people drinking it all the time, with all manner of food, at every occasion. Given that the customer is always right, far be it from me to push anyone off their chosen track -- all I can do is keep searching for new and better versions of reds, and one hopes at better prices.

Recent international reports of price slashing among the big brands mean little in B.C., where discounting any wine is a foreign concept at the retailing monopoly.

It's true that the government stores clear out a few wines from time to time. They did so earlier this month, but in typical bureaucratic fashion, the sale wasn't announced to the public, and to add further insult, it began on a Monday morning, when most of the monopoly's regular customers are at work.

It's only fair to note that there was still a small stampede of customers waiting for the doors to open, so the sales aren't a complete mystery -- if you have insider information.

Fortunately you don't have to be an insider to find today's picks, all of which provide more value and more flavour than most of the wines put on sale in government stores earlier this month.

We begin with two wines from the south of France. Château du Seigneur d'Arses Fitou 1999 is made by the Famille Jeanjean group. The blend is a mix of brightly coloured carignan, grenache and syrah, and it has a gamy black cherry and licorice nose with a touch of carbonic, high-toned fruit aromas. The textures are soft and round, but the fruity nose fades into a dry earthy finish. This is an affordable bistro-style red.

The Château de Combebelle Saint Chinian 2000 is grown in the Coteaux du Languedoc, at a property completely restructured more than a decade ago. Look for a classic spicy sausage/meaty nose with lots of black raspberry aromas and flavours. This generous, warm southern Rhone wine is well worth a taste at this price.

Now, on to Italy, and the relatively unknown region (at least in North American markets) of Molise, and the Di Majo Norante Sangiovese del Molise 2001.

Major improvements in this region's winemaking can be seen in this sangiovese, with its tight spicy-cherry fruit nose that has just a whiff of gamy meat in the background. It's fairly rich on the palate, with a smooth, warm, long finish; it represents good value in sangiovese at this price (expect it to improve in the bottle over the next year).

Two weeks ago in this space I reviewed a number of Italian primitivos, but wasn't unable to obtain the Conti Zecca Primitivo Donna Marzia 2001 in time for the column. It's now available in a number of stores, and it's delicious. Soft, ripe, spicy fruit slips across the palate without the heat of too much alcohol, and there's just enough earthy flavour to give it real interest. This is serious, well-made primitivo, and more than any other in the market, it reminds me of zinfandel. It's a nice step out of the ordinary and would be a welcome addition to many restaurant lists.

Australia's Wolf Blass has been cleaning up in this market for years with its Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon, but in my opinion a better wine at a better price is the Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon Red Label 2001. Big, fruity blackberry, cassis and cherry aromas jump out of the glass, with hints of spice and pepper. There's more bright fruit throughout, with just a hint of adjusted (raised) acidity in its cherry cola, peppery/vanilla finish.

Last but not least this week is the new and improved Luigi Bosca Malbec 2000 from Argentina's Mendoza region. This top-flight malbec has a smoky toasted-leather nose streaked with cassis and black plum fruit. This one is super-intense and clean, and its sweet vanilla and ripe black cherry fruit is flecked with coffee, cola, tobacco and leather. The finish is rich and smooth -- a nice departure from the old-style dried-earth flavours. Steak houses should be selling this by the boatload.

INTERNATIONAL VARIETIES FEATURE IN THIS SELECTION OF AFFORDABLE REDS

Producer: Château de Seigneur d'Arses Fitos 1999 Languedoc, France

Price: $14.95

Stock Number: 3597964100916

Score: 14/20

Comments: Cherries and licorice

Producer: Château de Combebelle Saint Chinian 2000 Coteaux du Languedoc

Price: $17.99

Stock Number: 626990007982.

Score: 15/20.

Comments: Spicy and meaty, with black raspberry fruit flavours.

Producer: Di Majo Norante Sangiovese del Molise 2001 Italy

Price: $13.99

Stock Number: 8011315000151

Score: 14.5/20

Comments: Easy drinking; spicy cherry fruit

Producer: Conti Zecca Primitivo Donna Marzia 2001 Apulla, Italy

Price: $17.99

Stock Number: 8001387107100

Score: 15.5/20

Comments: New, hip; for the adventurous

Producer: Wolf Blass Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon Red Label 2001 South Australia

Price: $15.99

Stock Number: 23859000229

Score: 15/20

Comments: More for less from Wolf Blass

Producer: Luigi Bosca Malbec 2000 Mendoza, Argentina

Price: $21.95

Stock Number: 7791203000340

Score: 16/20

Comments: Perfect steak wine