Archive for April, 2010
Varietal: Mencia
Region: Spain
Cost: $21
Deep ruby color with aromas of blueberry, violet, and woods. Flavors of cherry and cassis pair with chicken, pork, salmon, and other meats. Pairs well with Spanish flavors and foods.
Recommendations: I had never heard of the Mencia varietal until the International Wine of the Month Club sent me this one to try, but as with most wine, I was open minded and reminded myself that I do in fact like Spanish wines. I loved the deep red color of the wine in the glass, but I didn’t get any blueberry on the nose myself, with the alcohol overpowering the aromas even after allowing it to open up a bit.
Pairing the wine with a steak dinner helped to cut the flavor of alcohol as well (it was 14%/vol), but after dinner with nothing to balance it, the alcohol flavor and aroma was rather overwhelming. It wasn’t until much later as I was finishing off my final glass of the wine that I started to get some of the cherry flavors coming through.
I’m having a hard time recommending this wine because it took so long for the wine to open up enough for the actual flavors to come through. If you do have this wine, decanting and letting it open for at least 20 to 30 minutes is the best advice I can give. Drinking this wine with anything other than boldly flavored food is probably going to result in the wine overpowering the meal.
Hopefully this wine isn’t indicative of the Mencia varietal, and I would certainly give another bottle of Mencia a try as the description of it sounds good, but the Pazo de Arribi Bierzo just fell short for me.
Varietal: Carmenere
Region: Chile
Cost: $19.50
Deep purple in color with aromas of fresh raspberries, mulberries, cherry, herb, and roasted coffee beans. Fruit, spice, and dark chocolate on the palate. Pairs well with steak, chicken, veal, duck, lamb, lighter food, or by itself.
Recommendations: I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been on a bit of Carmenere kick ever since I participated in a blogger tasting for Wines of Chile back in November that featured a lot of Carmenere, so I was rather happy when the International Wine of the Month Club sent me a bottle of Carmenere that I had yet to try. It’s all about expanding horizons.
I picked up some notes of raspberry and cherry on the nose, and I certainly got some spice in the mouth, but I was surprised by how much more mellow this wine was than what I was expecting. Carmenere I’ve had in the past had a distinct bell pepper finish that I found quite enjoyable, and while it started to come through a bit more towards the end of the bottle, after it’d had even more time to open up than I initially gave it, this Carmenere doesn’t feature that in your face flavor that I was expecting.
Now, just because the wine wasn’t what I was expecting, doesn’t mean it wasn’t good – the more subtle, medium-bodied flavors made this wine ideal for just sipping by itself without the need to pair it with something as I’ve felt compelled with other Carmenere.
If you’re new to Carmenere, or you’re not a big fan of the bell pepper flavor, this is probably the Carmenere for you. It’s great by itself, and the subtle flavors will allow it to pair with a range of foods. Definitely a good value buy and one I would certainly recommend for any fan of Chilean wines.
Last night I had the good fortune to participate in a tasting of 4 Finger Lakes Gewurztraminers that was being hosted by The New York Cork Report and Finger Lakes Wine Country. Held at The Wine Cellar, where fellow blogger and tweeter John Witherspoon (@vcuspoon – you should follow him) hosted myself, my wife, and others for a tasting where we swirled, sipped, and posted our comments online to share with others doing the same. It was a lot of fun. But you’re probably wondering A) what we drank, and B) what I thought of it. Alright…here we go.
Our first wine was a 2007 Lakewood Vineyards Gewurztraminer. A good value at $17, it sports .9% residual sugar. Golden in color with floral, rose aromas (rose water was the overall consensus I think), it was light with just a hint of honey sweetness and apricot.
Next up was a 2008 Keuka Springs Vineyards Gewurztraminer. Also $17 with 1.2% residual sugar, though it honestly didn’t taste any sweeter than the Lakewood. Much lighter colored in the glass than the Lakewood (or any of them to be honest), it also had the honey and rose aromas with some light citrus on the palate. Very refreshing and a good deck wine.
Third on our list was a 2008 Sheldrake Point Vineyards Gewurztraminer. At $15 this one sported .5% residual sugar and was closer to the Lakewood in color. Sporting a more subtle nose than I expected, though still with the rose and honey, I found a combination of peach and pear on the palate.
Finally we tried a 2007 Red Newt Cellars Sawmill Creek Vineyards Gewurztraminer. At $36 it was far and away the most expensive of the wines, and at .4% residual sugar it sported the least sweetness. I got more floral notes on the nose the second time I looked for the aromas, and I got a nutty, almost oaked flavor at the finish. This was by far the most versatile of the wines, and could easily go with a range of grilled foods or light cheeses.
Overall I had a great time, and each of the wines we tasted was great. This is the second Finger Lakes tasting I’ve done, and it’s making me want to drive up to New York and visit some of these vineyards. Thanks again to John for hosting us and thanks to Finger Lakes Wine Country and The New York Cork Report for hosting the event.
Varietal: Rioja (90% Tempranillo; 10% Graciano)
Region: Spain
Cost: $11
Ruby red color with notes of violet. Flavors of black fruit, vanilla, and coconut. Pairs well with cheese and red meat.
Recommendations: This wine is a perfect example of wine you listen to your wine guy. While attending the Friday tasting held by The Wine Cellar, the manager recommended the Burgo Viejo, knowing that my wife and I are fans of Spanish wine. Let your wine store know your palate and they will find great wines for you.
It didn’t take us long to get the bottle open once we got home, deciding to pair it with the pork tenderloins we had been marinading for two days in bourbon (ask me for that marinade some time – it’s awesome). Great jammy flavors of black fruit were readily evident on the palate, with a nice smooth finish that belied the 13.5% alcohol. Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: New Zealand
Cost: $8
Light in color with a bright, acidic nose and flavors of Meyer lemons and Key limes in the mouth. Pairs well with seafood and creamy soups.
Recommendations: Ok, full disclosure, I picked up this wine at my local Costco while doing some shopping because the name of the vineyard caught my eye and I just couldn’t resist. I figured it would be funny, and would give me the opportunity to write about a bad Sauvignon Blanc. I was half right.
I’m not going to say that this is my favorite Sauvignon Blanc by any stretch of the imagination, but for an $8 wine that I can enjoy on the deck during the warm days of Spring and Summer while munching on some light food, it’s hard to beat the Cupcake Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc. Read the rest of this entry »
Through a series of recent events, which if you’re a good reader of this blog you already know about, my wife and I have come to have more wine in our house than our current selection of wine storage can support (for those wondering, we have a wine fridge that supports 8 bottles, a buffet in our dining room that supports about 10, and a small glass topped wine rack that supports another 8 bottles).
The two cases of wine sitting in boxes in a hall closet has lead us to begin considering purchasing another cabinet that could store some of, if not all, of this wine for us. While doing some looking, I came across the Vintage Series Impression wine cabinets carried by Vintage Cellars. I instantly fell in love.
Now, I should begin by saying that I’d lying if I said I was absolutely going to buy one of these, mostly because the starting price for the smallest of these is $3200…and that’s without shipping. That being said, if you’ve got the money to spend and are looking for a high-end wine cabinet, these are definitely ones to consider.
The smallest cabinet stores roughly 186 bottles (admittedly more than I need at the moment), with the biggest storing roughly 590 bottles for those that really know how to buy and save wine. Built from cherry hardwood with California redwood racking, there’s no denying that these are solid cabinets, and with the range of finishes they come in (natural, light, medium, dark, light cherry, and dark cherry), you’ll be able to match them to the look and feel of whatever room they’re going to be in.
Most importantly for any wine lover, these wine cabinets come with a Breezaire Cooling system with Digital Sentry III Control System to ensure that you keep your wine at the optimum temperature for storage and aging.
Now as I stated at the beginning of this post, as much as I fell in love with these cabinets when I saw them, I’d be lying if I said I was going to run out and buy them because, quite frankly, I don’t have three grand to drop on wine cabinets at the moment. So, with that in mind, I’m proud to announce the Wine Blogger Support Fund.
The WBSF is here to help those of us in the wine blogging industry indulge in all the great wine and wine accessories that we read and write about, but don’t have the funds to actually own. Before anybody sends in a check…I’m only joking.
