Posts Tagged ‘cedar’
Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir
Region: Willamette Valley – Oregon – USA
Cost: $22
Winemaker’s Notes: The medium garnet color introduces a bright aroma of raspberry, cherry, and cedar with hints of pie spice, sandalwood, and dried cherry. On the palate it opens to ripe cherry, red and black raspberry, and mocha accents supported by a medium plus body and full, fine grained tannins. Pairs well with grilled meats, flavorful sauces, and rich farmhouse cheeses.
My Review: This wasn’t the first time I’d had the 2009 Montinore Estate Reserve Pinot Noir, no that would have been some weeks ago at my local Fleming’s Steakhouse & Wine Bar where Mike, our favorite bartender there, convinced my wife and I to give it a try during a visit there for happy hour. We liked it so much I went online and ordered half a case of it.
Varietal: 100% Petite Sirah
Region: Livermore Valley – California – USA
Cost: $15 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: 2008 Petite Sirah, Conservancy has fantastic depth and character. It exhibits a rich nose of fresh berry fruit, and the flavorful palate shows blackberries, chocolate, mocha, and plums. Subtle notes of molasses, cedarwood, and rip mulberries are complemented by soft, creamy oak tones and a smooth, silky finish. Pairs well with barbecued chicken or your favorite lamb recipe.
My Review: It’s been a little less than a year since I tried the 2007 Concannon Conservancy Petite Sirah, so I was pleased to see the 2008 vintage show up at my office recently, as there’s something to be said for seeing how a wine changes from year to year. Unlike the previous vintage, the 2008 Concannon Conservancy Petite Sirah is 100% Petite Sirah, with none of the Petit Verdot that made its way into last year’s vintage.
Varietal: 79% Cabernet Sauvignon; 17% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc
Region: California – Napa Valley – USA
Cost: $26 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Aromas of cedary oak, currants, black cherries, and ripe plums are rich and concentrated on the palate. The firm tannins underlying the wine’s core provide balance, leading to a long, lingering finish.
My Review: After a few weekends of craziness involving visiting family and the Virginia Wine Expo, my wife and I were happy for a weekend to just relax at home. So, after a Saturday relaxing, I fired up the grill and threw on a steak for myself and some seasoned corn on the cob for the both of us (my wife cooked herself up some bacon wrapped scallops). To pair with said dinner, I opened up a bottle of 2006 Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon that I’d been eying for just such a meal. Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Merlot
Region: Virginia – Charlottesville – USA
Cost: $16
Rich and intense with gobs of concentrated currants. A touch of fresh earth and blackberry flavors. This tremendoulsy complex wine has big & round delicious firm tannins with an explosive finish. Pairs well with beef, lamb, steak, and pizza.
Recommendations: Back in March when my wife and I visited vineyards just up the road from us in Charlottesville, we stopped in at Blenheim Vineyards because I had fallen in love with their Cabernet Franc at the Virginia Wine Expo the month before and needed to buy more bottles of it. While there, we did their full tasting and picked up a bottle of their King Family Merlot.
This past weekend, on Labor Day, we finally opened it. Nice and dark in the glass, with aromas of cedar, earth, and berry and flavors of cedar, currants, and a hint of cigarbox on the finish (thanks to 18 months in French Oak) with a good tannic pop at the end, it was a perfect pairing with the grilled lamb and ground sirloin burgers we made. Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Bordeaux (60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc)
Region: France
Cost: $20.50
Ruby red in color with soft aromas with flavors to match. Crushed berries and cedar on the nose are a lead into a smooth, slightly fruity medium-bodied red. Pairs well with chicken, pork, and veal.
Recommendations: My first impression of this wine was that it wasn’t what I was expecting. When I first got the bottle, I was excited about a bit, bold Bordeaux to pair with a steak or some pasta (which is what I did pair it with). That is not the wine I drank.
Smooth and subtle is probably the best way to describe this wine, and whereas I had thought I was going to get large, full-bodied wine, instead I got a medium-bodied wine that wasn’t disappointing in and of itself, but certainly was a let-down compared to what I thought I would be drinking.
Now, that being said, this is still a very good wine. However, if you’re expecting a full-bodied wine, you may want to look elsewhere, as this certainly isn’t it.
Special thanks to the International Wine of the Month Club for supplying the wine for this review.
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon (1997)
Region: Chile
Cost: $ 21
Dark coloring, more brown than red, with aromas of fresh berries, cassis, dark chocolate, and cigar box cedar. Flavors of blackberry fruit, cassis, plum with hints of chocolate and roasted coffee. Pair with chicken, veal, beef tenderloin, lamb, and stews.
Recommendations: Having read the description of this wine, I was intrigued, especially since it had been a while since I’d had the chance to enjoy a wine this old. I did get hints of fresh fruit on the nose, but I also got tobacco and smoke, which isn’t a bad thing, along with a bit of pepper, which I also got on the finish of the wine.
Paired with a meal of home made chili, the smokiness of the wine was actually a great compliment, pairing well with the slow cooked meal. The heartiness of the meal helped to mask some of the tobacco and smoke, while letting the fruit flavors shine through.
My only real complaint with this wine is that they used a real cork to seal it, and there was some sediment in the bottle. That being said, it wasn’t a real problem until my wife and I got to the very end of the bottle, and would have been easy to fix had we decanted the wine instead of just letting it open up in our glasses. If you’re looking for a more full-bodied Cabernet and don’t want something fruit forward, this is definitely what you’re looking for and is worth it for the price.
Special thanks to the International Wine of the Month Club for providing the wine.
