Fess Parker Frontier Red Lot 61 '05
The Nitty Gritty:
- Vintage: 2005
- Varietal: Blend
- Winery: Fess Parker
- Region: Santa Barbara
- Country: United States
- Price: About $10
- Rating: 91/100
- Tags: best value Blends
Fess Parker’s red table wine was an accidental find. I’d been perusing the otherwise unimpressive wine list at Old Ebbitt Grill in downtown Washington when my eye fell upon it. Aside from the catchy name, Frontier intrigued me as the most unique-looking wine on the list — a blend of grenache, syrah, petite sirah, cinsault, mouvedre, and carignane. I ordered it and was instantly impressed — it was everything I love in a red, smooth, rich, spicy, but not overwhelmingly alcoholic. At $8 a glass, it had better be good.
Needless to say, I was surprised, if not shocked, to find my beloved Frontier Red at a wine store in Maine, six months later, for about $9. Could this be true? Granted, I shouldn’t have been terribly shocked at being price-gouged at Old Ebbitt, but, considering how good the wine had been, I couldn’t believe it was only 9 bucks a bottle. I convinced my “mah” (that’s “mother” for you non-Mainers) to buy one. We both loved it.
I since have had two more bottles and am absolutely convinced of its quality. This is truly a best-value wine. It may not be the easiest to find (you won’t find it at Tiger Mart, but stop shopping there anyway!) but I’ve found it in a few places, including World Market.
You owe it to yourself to try this, no matter your level of wine appreciation. If you like red, you’ll love this.
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By Lauren McNally
Lauren B. McNally is a New York City-based writer who spends her days on Madison Avenue and her evenings in Spain, France, Italy, South America, and beyond. She originally hails from Maine and graduated from Bowdoin College, spending time abroad at the University of Cambridge in the UK. Lauren passed The Court of Master Sommeliers’ Level I exam in August and will sit for her Certified Sommelier Exam in early 2010.
About The Humble Gourmand
The Humble Gourmand is published the first Friday of each month, edited by Alison L. McConnell, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and writer. It is designed to offer straightforward lessons and advice to aspiring cooks, oenophiles, and all other eaters and drinkers.
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