Posts Tagged ‘lamb’
Varietal: Blended Red Wine (55% Cabernet Sauvignon; 14% Malbec; 8% Cabernet Franc; 8% Petit Verdot; 7% Tannat; 5% Merlot; 3% Petite Sirah)
Region: California – USA
Cost: $22 (SRP)
Deep red color with aromas of cherry, anise, dried herbs, and tobacco. Flavors of blackberry, caramel, and subtle notes of coffee with a lingering finish and firm tannins. Pairs well with lamb steaks, beef carpaccio, cheddar cheese potatoes gratin.
Recommendations: When I got this wine, I was instantly interested in it thanks to the blend. I’m a fan of most of the grapes in this wine as a single varietal, so I was hopeful that they would blend together well. As the tasting notes for this wine recommended pairing it with lamb, it took me a few weeks to finally open this, as I had never cooked lamb before and was slowly but surely psyching myself up to do just that. This weekend I did just that.
The wine was a beautiful deep red in the glass, and I got aromas of cherry and a hint of tobacco on the nose. Flavors of blackberry were most prevalent to me, but what really impressed me was the smoothness of the wine. At least in my opinion I cooked the lamb just right Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Petite Sirah (97% Petite Sirah; 3% Petit Verdot)
Region: California – Livermore Valley – USA
Cost: $15 (SRP)
Deep red in color with aromas of fresh berry fruit and flavors of blackberries, chocolate, mocha, and plums with notes of molasses, cedarwood, and ripe mulberries complementing creak oak tones on the smooth finish. Pairs well with barbecued chicken or lamb.
Recommendations: I don’t have a lot of experience with Petite Sirah by itself, seeing it more blended in with other wines as a small piece instead of the main attraction. I had been sitting on this wine for a while, looking forward to it as I enjoyed the 2008 Concannon Conservancy Chardonnay a couple of months earlier, but regularly putting it off to have this or that wine with this or that meal. Last night I finally stopped putting it off.
I specifically threw some chicken on the grill, basting it in barbecue sauce to pair with this wine, and it was a good pairing. The flavors of plum and molasses were most noticeable to me, though I suspect that the sauce brought those flavors out more on my palate than anything and pairing the wine with something like lamb would pull out more of the other notes.
I did appreciate the smooth finish, which I’m sure the small amount of Petit Verdot had a hand in, but Read the rest of this entry »
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.
Varietal: Chianti
Region: Tuscany – Italy
Cost: $9.99 – $12.99
Slightly fruity nose that has leads into spicy notes the more you inhale. This ruby red medium-bodied wine has a slightly fruity taste with just the right amount of tannins on the back end to fit perfectly with a traditional Italian dinner, but not so much as to make it hard to drink by itself.
Recommendation: If you’re not a big Chianti drinker and want to get into it, this is a good one to start with. Nice and smooth with a slightly more subtle finish than some other Chiantis, this will go great with pasta, steak, lamb, and pretty much anything that’s juicy or saucy. However, thanks to the smoother finish, this is also a great wine to enjoy by itself, something I find very appealing about the Ruffino. While it’s not my favorite Chianti (Gabbiano and Bell’agio hold my heart), it’s really hard to pass on for the price if you’re looking for something to mix in with your red sauce and then enjoy with a pasta dinner. Don’t pay more than $9.99 for this, but worth it at that price.
