Posts Tagged ‘tannins’
Varietal: 50% Cabernet Franc; 50% Merlot
Region: Virginia – USA
Cost: $14
Bright violet color with aromas of fresh red fruit with sweet tannins and a hint of oak. Pairs well with pizza, grilled meat, roasted chicken, pasta, or by itself.
Recommendations: It’s Virginia Wine Month, and I would be remiss if I didn’t review at least one wine from my state, though let’s be honest, there will be others. I had never been to Pollak Vineyards before my trip with my wife back in March, and I was very impressed by their tasting room, a fairly new building with a lovely patio for enjoying a glass (or bottle) of wine on.
The 2008 Durant Red had been a stand out for us when we visited, taking what we liked from the Cabernet Franc and the Merlot and blending them nicely into a single wine. The pepper notes of the Franc tempered by the smooth fruit flavors of the Merlot. The flavors are bright and, with the flavors of fruit and berry popping in your both.
The finish is smooth, the peppery finish that I’m used to from a Virginia Cabernet Franc tempered by the Merlot. Smooth tannins paired with the bright flavors make this wine great for pairing with just about anything, and in fact my wife and I paired it with a Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Blended Red Wine (33% Syrah; 33% Barbera; 33%Petite Sirah)
Region: California – USA
Cost: $19.50
Deep purple in the glass with aromas and flavors of blueberry, black cherry, cedar, and mulberry with a tannic zip on the finish. Pairs well with Italian, Tex/Mex, spare ribs, burgers, steaks, pizza, meatloaf.
Recommendations: It was interesting for me to look over the tasting notes from this California wine and not see Cabernet Sauvignon thrown into the mix. Now before I get a bunch of hate mail/comments, I know that California makes more than just Cabernet, just feels like every time I get a blended wine from there, some Cab manages to find its way in, so it was nice to see one without.
When I poured the wine into the glass I almost feel in love right there. The deep purple color of the wine assured me that this would not be a light wine that would be overpowered by my meal. Not that I was worried a quick dinner of pizza would overpower most any red, but I was sure that it would hold up to even the thickest, juiciest, most seasoned steak I could come up with. I was right.
It took a while for the aromas to come out for me as the smell of alcohol was fairly prevalent at first, but after allowing the wine to open up I did start to get some of the black cherry on the nose. I can’t speak to the mulberry on the palate (as I don’t know what a mulberry tastes like to be honest), but the same cherry that I was getting on the nose came through in the mouth.
My favorite part of this wine was the nice tannic finish. I’ve always been a fan of a red that sort of kicks you at the end, and this wine did just that for me. That’s not to say that the tannins were over the top, but they were there and present and there’s no missing them. The wine was good with my pizza dinner, but I could have easily paired this with a steak or some pasta and it would have been just as good if not better.
Fortunately, for being a more bold wine, even after the food was gone the wine was still quite enjoyable. Granted I enjoy fuller wines even just to sip on without food. All in all it’s definitely a wine I would give another go to, especially this time of year as I’m spending a lot of time either grilling steaks and burgers or making quick dinners of pizza or pasta.
Special thanks to the International Wine of the Month Club for supplying the sample for this review.
For those looking for the wine you can order it directly from Home Grown Farms.
Varietal: Chianti
Region: Italy
Cost: $8
Medium dark color with notes of cherry on the nose with berry on the palate. Soft tannins pair well with pastas and meats.
Recommendations: Given as how Chianti is my first love of red wine, I was excited to open up this bottle, and finally got the opportunity this past weekend. Paired with a meal of Giada’s Lasagna Rolls (which my wife adds sausage to and I recommend anybody making this meal do as well), the cherry, berry, and slight earthiness of the wine came out great.
Unlike several Chiantis I’ve had in the past, this one was really easy on the tannins which made it really enjoyable even after the meal was finished. While this certainly isn’t a life-altering Chianti, at $8 it’s easily one of the best values I’ve come across in quite a while, and definitely worth giving a try if you’re looking for a good red table wine to keep around the house.
Special thanks to Wine & Beer Westpark for supplying the wine for this review.
Varietal: Sangiovese (90% Sangiovese; 10% Merlot)
Region: Italy
Cost: $14
Ruby red with hints of purple color featuring aromas of ripe fruit with floral hints. Fruit on the palate with soft tannins on the finish. Pairs well with meat, roast beef, white meat, or medium-aged cheeses.
Recommendations: If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a fan of Sangiovese. While restocking my wine cellar, I picked up this wine with the pizza in my freezer in mind. Paired with a dinner of pepperoni pizza, the tannins managed to come out more than the alcohol (13%), though once the meal was gone that was less the case. Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Chile
Cost: $10
Garnet color with flavors of cherry and bold tannins. Pair this wine with red meat or a boldly flavored meal.
Recommendations: For a dinner alone, I swung by my local Fresh Market (which if you have one you should visit often) and picked up a steak and this bottle of wine, partially for the price, and partly because the card with the wine recommended it for steaks.
I opened up the wine while my steak cooked on the grill and let it breathe a bit, finally pouring some as my steak came off the grill. Paired with the steak, the wine was excellent. Bold tannins and some flavors of red fruit came through, and the high alcohol content (14%) was balanced well by the juiciness of the steak. Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Sangiovese
Region: California – Sonoma Valley – USA
Cost: $22
Bright raspberry, cherry, and pepper flavors with a deep red color. Light and smooth on the palate, pairs well with grilled chicken, red meat, seasoned pork.
Recommendations: Sangiovese will always hold a special place in my heart as Chianti was the first red wine that I ever truly got in to. Because of that, when my wife and I were in California back in October, I immediately was drawn to the Sangiovese at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards.
Light on the palate and smooth throughout with just a hint of tannin on the finish, it was a great pairing with a dinner of chicken caesar salad. My only real complaint with this wine was that it wasn’t a bigger bottle. While I’ve yet to find this wine back home on the east coast, if you’re a fan of Sangiovese or Chianti and do come across this wine, or you’re at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards in Sonoma, I do recommend picking up a bottle of this wine. It’s well worth it.
