Hot tip: bargain Macon at Trader Joe's

[Jenise]

2015 Blason Macon-Villages, and it was either $6 or $7. Purchased yesterday, so currently in stock. Excellent flavor and balance, very French, no obvious oak. Shockingly good for the price.

2015 Blason Macon-Villages, and it was either $6 or $7. Purchased yesterday, so currently in stock. Excellent flavor and balance, very French, no obvious oak. Shockingly good for the price.

Thanks, Jenise. As an inveterate TJ's bottom-feeder..I'll give it a shot & report back here.
Tom

[Jenise]

Tom, might be some bottle/case/lot variation. Read two notes on CT after posting here--one called it overtly ripe and California-like, which I obviously didn't find in my bottle, and another thought it was very metallic. Obviously, that wasn't in my bottle either.

[Robin Garr]

I wonder how much Trader Joe's selections vary from state to state. Like Costco, they'd love to change these laws, but they're bound by the approved labels in every state where they do business.

[Jenise]

I don't know, Robin. Once upon a time when the chain was smaller and confined to Southern California, they picked up close-outs from recently sold or closing wineries and very randomly divided whatever they got between a few, but not all, stores. The only wines available for re-order, typically, were the house brands. If you liked something you better buy all you'd want because if it was good it would sell out in a week or two and you wouldn't see it again. (I have fond memories of multiple case purchases of Pat Paulson Sauvignon Blanc and Jekyl Pinot Noir).

Now that they're a bona-fide chain, things have changed. It's clear that certain things sell well at some stores but not others, and they seem to keep track of it. Individual stores have the ability to re-order. Friends of mine in So Cal asked after the Cab Franc Tom recently recommended (and I seconded) and were told their store wasn't getting any; meanwhile up here it's still a strong seller. On that note, that So Cal store always has an available cashier, and they usually only have two lanes open. Meanwhile, our store has 8 cashier lanes which are open all the time and you always have several customers in line ahead of you. Our store has been in the top 20 nationwide since the day it opened its doors.

Our proximity to Canada means that Bordeauxs sell well here, and we get a good variety. Ditto stuff like name-brand ports etc that other stores don't even carry.

[Robin Garr]

Our proximity to Canada means that Bordeauxs sell well here, and we get a good variety. Ditto stuff like name-brand ports etc that other stores don't even carry.

Interesting! Not a thing to complain about.

We've had TJs here for only a few years, and while I like to peek in to the wine shop every now and then to see what's cheap and interesting, but I haven't really become a regular.

[Jenise]

Robin, I don't usually buy wine there. There are so many wines I want to taste and I don't need the bargain stuff for myself--but sometimes they're perfect for my wine group. Which is how I found this one: I picked up 6 or 8 bottles for a planning meeting I'm hosting tomorrow night. Whatever I put out will get slurped so might as well not make a big investment, and if we find a bargain in the process, that's even better.

But there are certain things on the food side that I can't live without. Like their fresh tamales, the frozen red Argentinian shrimp, and fresh tangerine juice.

This sounds like a wine worth looking for. I guess it is Blason de Bourgogne but I get no hits for France on Wine Searcher FWIW. There is one web seller offering it at c.€13 .

[Jenise]

Yes, Blason de Bourgogne. I presume it's made (or bottled) for the export market since underneath 'Macon Villages' is the word 'CHARDONNAY'. At the price, it's likely that Trader Joe's has an exclusive, too, and it's not available as described elsewhere.

another thought it was very metallic.

Maybe they confused it with this

https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2017/ ... ader-joes/

[Jenise]

Egads! Haven't seen that (but then I don't look at cans of anything, except tuna.)

Egads! Haven't seen that (but then I don't look at cans of anything, except tuna.)

Jeez/Jenise...canned tuna?? Have you no pride??? Does it say Starkist or Chicken of the Sea on it??

Actually, the Portugese and Spanish canned (and jarred) tuna is very good. Often times better
than the fresh tuna we get here in NM.

One time, a number of yrs ago, when I was in Sacramento, I was invited to dinner at his home by
DarrellCorti. His dinners have always been a special treat for me. The wines are invariably exceptional.
As we sat down at table, Darrell started ripping open... cans of tuna and plating it, then passed out sheets for
us to take TN's. I gave Darrell this puzzled look.."canned tuna"?? He responded/ordered/scolded...."Try it".
It was, of course, very good. Darrell had just returned from a trip to Portugal and was wanting our opinion on
this canned tuna that he liked so much over there. He was the first to import into the US the various
As Do Mar canned tuna. I'm still a frequent buyer of them.
Tom

[Jenise]

Tom, I hear you! Experiencing tuna--in jars--in Spain changed my attitude toward canned fish. Trader Joe's canned albacore in olive oil has similar flavor and is excellent--it's the only canned tuna I'll buy. It's the green can--try it.

Tom, I hear you! Experiencing tuna--in jars--in Spain changed my attitude toward canned fish. Trader Joe's canned albacore in olive oil has similar flavor and is excellent--it's the only canned tuna I'll buy. It's the green can--try it.

OK, Jenise...I'll give it a try this weekend. You've talked me into a cheap wine and now tuna.
You gettin' a comission from TJ's??
I should.....I've talked people into buying over 2 cases of that LazyBones CabFranc here in SantaFe.
Tom

[Robin Garr]

Egads! Haven't seen that (but then I don't look at cans of anything, except tuna.)

Funny you mention this. I just brought home a couple of cans of wine - a GV and a Central Coast Chardonnay - from a very good local wine shop, where the wine-geek owner insists that they are "solid." Apparently there's a new canning technology that gets the wine into cans without heating or otherwise compromising the fluid.

We'll see ... I'll try them tonight or tomorrow.

Egads! Haven't seen that (but then I don't look at cans of anything, except tuna.)

Funny you mention this. I just brought home a couple of cans of wine - a GV and a Central Coast Chardonnay - from a very good local wine shop, where the wine-geek owner insists that they are "solid." Apparently there's a new canning technology that gets the wine into cans without heating or otherwise compromising the fluid.

We'll see ... I'll try them tonight or tomorrow.

Just a word of warning, Jenise.....don't try to use your Coravin on them!!
Tom

[Jenise]

OK, Jenise...I'll give it a try this weekend. You've talked me into a cheap wine and now tuna.
You gettin' a comission from TJ's??
I should.....I've talked people into buying over 2 cases of that LazyBones CabFranc here in SantaFe.
Tom

Tip on the canned tuna: reserve the olive oil for a Caeseresque vinaigrette dressing base--just add lemon juice, garlic, parmesan and romaine, and you're there.

I kept reading this post as a tip on bargain bacon. So I didn't look further.

Although a more-than-drinkable $6 Burgundy does sound like something to post about!

I kept reading this post as a tip on bargain bacon. So I didn't look further.

Although a more-than-drinkable $6 Burgundy does sound like something to post about!

Well, Rahsaan...we've talked WhiteBurg and canned tuna in this thread. We can up our game here
by playing the bacon card as well!!! I would love to try some Mangalitsa bacon sometime. Jenise??
Tom

I need to visit the Baconnais.

[Jenise]

I would love to try some Mangalitsa bacon sometime. Jenise??
Tom

Not easy to find! You might have to settle for Bacon-Villages in the near-term.

Pat Paulson Sauvignon Blanc

That must have been a very dry wine!

[Jenise]

Pat Paulson Sauvignon Blanc

That must have been a very dry wine!

Like his humor! But he really did own a winery up there, like his friends the Smothers Brothers.