Posts Tagged ‘white pepper’
Varietal: Merlot (89% Merlot; 11% Cabernet Sauvignon)
Region: California – Napa Valley – USA
Cost: $21
Deep ruby red in color with aromas of blueberry, cassis, and cocoa. Berry fruit, tobacco, dark chocolate, and refined new oak all mix in the mouth. Pairs well with beef, lamb, BBQ, roasted chicken, pasta, and grilled vegetables.
Recommendations: I’ve never tried to hide my apprehension about Merlot. I’ve had bad ones in the past that had put a bad taste in my mouth (no pun intended), but had recently decided to give it a second go, partly due to some impressive Merlots coming out of Virginia. With that in mind, I opened the Folie a Deux for a dinner of pasta and red sauce.
I was instantly impressed with the deep ruby/garnet coloring of the wine, and I managed to pick up some white pepper and berry on the nose. Dark chocolate and oak were most prevalent for me in the mouth, which was a fine pairing with the dinner I’d prepared. Tannins on the finish can certainly be attributed to the big of Cabernet Sauvignon added to the wine, but it was a fairly lush, full-bodied wine – what I’d been reading about Merlot but had yet to really experienced from a California bottle.
Now, all that being said, I have a big complaint with this wine – 14.5%/vol alcohol is just too much for any wine. I know that I’ve complained before about the seeming race to see which vineyard can create the wine with the highest alcohol content that people will still drink, but it has to stop. I was barely able to get any aromas or flavors, and only those that were bold because of the aroma and flavor of alcohol that permeated this wine.
While the wine was fine with my meal, the sauce helped to cut the alcohol, by itself I found it less pleasurable. I did appreciate the full-bodied nature of the wine, and I think that with a bit less alcohol it would be a truly spectacular wine. That being said, unless you really like the taste of alcohol I have a hard time recommending this wine.
Special thanks to the International Wine of the Month Club for supplying the wine for this review.
Varietal: Garnacha
Region: Spain
Cost: $10
Garnet colored with aromas and flavors of blackberry and cherry and pepper on the finish. Pairs well with pork tenderloin, rib-eye, and roast chicken.
Recommendations: My wife picked this up at the store as we’re both fans of Spanish wines. Very dark in color, just barely what I would call garnet really, I picked up good aromas and flavors of cherry. Paired with a meal of manwhich (or sloppy joe’s if you prefer), the pepper finish was very welcome. Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Grenache/Syrah
Region: France
Cost: $19.50
Aromas of ripe berries, black fruits, and white pepper with hints of herbs and spice. Smooth on the palate with a tannic finish that pairs well with steak, fried chicken, pork, bbq, hamburgers, and pizza. Easy to enjoy now or in another year or two.
Recommendations: I was excited when I got this bottle as I’m a fan of both of these varietals, and seeing them blended made me want to open up the bottle as soon as it was delivered to me. I found the aromas to be subtle, but certainly caught the pepper and herbs.
The wine itself was very smooth, and for as dark as it was in the glass, I found it to be much lighter on the palate than I was expecting, while still giving off the earthiness that I find is typical of French wine. The one thing that surprised me is that the finish of the wine had a bit of alcohol to it, which is surprising considering the wine is only 12.5% by volume – certainly not high.
Paired with a New York Strip and baked potato, the alcohol finish was easy masked and the earthiness of the wine was a great match to the juiciness of the red meat. While I certainly don’t drink a lot of French wine, I really enjoyed this one and would certainly recommend it – especially if you’re a fan of Grenache of Syrah.
Special thanks to the International Wine of the Month Club for supplying the wine.
