Buying Wine in Mexico

Mexico is a difficult place to find a good bottle of wine. We recently returned from Puerta Vallarta on a family vacation, and while it feels like we've left paradise -- I could get used to waking up to watch the butterflies dance while in the distance the sun rises over the mountains across the bay -- for a wintry NYC autumn, I'm lucky I brought down a couple bottles of good wine to get us through the first two nights. Those were a Seavey cabernet and a Hansell chardonnay I purchased at Scotto's Wine Cellar nearby before we left. Fortunately, our friend also brought a bottle of Cantina Zuccagnini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva, which we drank our last night. Unfortunately, there weren't any places to go wine shopping except the Mega store, pictured below, which mostly stocked non-vintage (NV) Chilean blends and big fruity wines, and some generally un-noteworthy French and Spanish table wines. I've listed what we tasted, below, in no particular order.

My advice on traveling to Mexico: Do what we did ... drink beer. 2004 Mouton Cadet Bordeaux. Ultra dry table wine without any herbaceous notes, with decent structure to match the fruit, but this is ultimately disappointing. 2006 Marques de Casa Concha Chardonnay (by Concha y Toro) D.O. Pirque, Chile. A flabby wine with little structure to hold it together. But in Mexico, this was a real find. 2004 Cantina Zuccagnini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva * (Previously reviewed) Nice bright fruit this tasting, with good acidity and a lightly silty texture. Good value and highly recommended. NV Concha y Toro Reservado Merlot C.O. Valle Central, Chile. Exemplifies why you should bring your wine to Mexico. 2002 Seavey Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ** A big Napa cabernet of dried cherries with smokey and chewey tannins. Needs another year to fully develop, but drinking nicely now. 2006 Walter Hansell Russian River Valley Chardonnay ** Another big wine, this one from the RRV, with golden fruits. A little flabby, but balanced well enough to hold up to Mahi Mahi. 2006 M. Chapoutier "Belleruche" Cotes-du-Rhone * Tasted last at the City Winery. Deep and chalky, with spicy purple fruits and bright acidity. A great find ... I don't know how it got in there but I think this was found behind the counter in the back room of the closet in the Mega store. NV Barefoot Pinot Grigio California * Bright and light acidity, with nice grapefruit and orange notes.