Posts Tagged ‘pork’
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: Pinot Noir
Region: France
Cost: $15 – $20
Deep garnet in color with spice on the nose that leads into flavors of raspberry and spice with balanced tannins on the finish. Pair with pork, seafood, or Thanksgiving dinner.
Recommendations: Originally bought for Thanksgiving dinner, this bottle didn’t get opened until the day after when the wife and I were unwinding from the whirlwind of family and food that was Turkey Day.
Paired with a dinner of munchy food, this Pinot Noir was more robust than the Kenwood Vineyards Pinot we had enjoyed the night before, with more spice and a bit more tannin on the finish, as well as a touch of effervescence that was quite refreshing.
While I can’t say that it was my favorite Pinot Noir, it was certainly enjoyable, and for the price it’s hard to beat that for a French Pinot. Definitely worth picking up if you’re in the market for a French red wine and enjoy Pinot Noir.
Varietal: Chardonnay
Region: South Australia
Cost: $11
An unwooded Chardonnay, offering crisp flavors of apple and citrus. Pairs with chicken, pork, seafood, or light appetizers.
Recommendations: My wife is not a fan of oaked Chardonnay, so when we saw this in the store, we thought we’d give it a try. The initial flavors of the wine are crisp with plenty of citrus and granny smith apple both on the nose and on the palate, which was perfect for the grilled chicken dinner we paired it with.
However, I found the finish of this wine to be a bit rough. It’s certainly not as rough as the Mirassou Chardonnay that I’ve already reviewed on here. That being said, the finish eventually began to bother me, especially after we had finished our food and were just sipping on the wine. Maybe with a juicy piece of pork it wouldn’t be as noticeable, but with the chicken (that I’ll admit I overcooked), it just wasn’t as enjoyable as I would have hoped.
If you liked the Mirassou Chardonnay you’ll like this, but if you’re looking for a crisp finish to your unoaked Chardonnay you’ll want to pass on this one.
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