Winers get together, Spanish wines

Hello everyone!!

Al and I had a wonderful time with our Winer friends! I hope everyone was comfortable at our little place. We just loved having ya'll over!! I promised everyone a rundown on the wines so here goes:

Moscato Dasti 2009 Villa Lanata (Italy): This was our greeter. It had a 5.5% alcohol content, so nice and refreshing but with very little alcohol. It was sweet, but nicely balanced with a creamy mouth-feel and soft acidity. The flavors were very peach, a little citrus and lots of vanilla wafer. Yummy.

Next was the Burgans Albarino 2009. This wine was very nicely balanced with melon, citrus and a full body I usually get with a white bordeaux. It paired extremely well with the goat cheese torte. The caramelized onions and bits of smokey bacon really complemented the wine. And the rich mouth-feel of the wine went well with the creaminess of the cheese.

Next was the 2008 El Coto Rioja. This was a bright crisp wine with nice acidity and lemon/citric flavors. It had a weight similar to a Savingnon Blanc, but the taste profile was less herbal (and none of that overdone grapefruit thing you sometimes find in Savingnon Blancs). It was refreshing and nicely balanced and was very tasty with the salad. The salad was greens with shrimp and a mixture of eggs, lemon and olive. The citric notes of the wine paired perfectly with the lemon of the salad.

Next was another Albarino, the 2008 Martin Codax. This was similar to the other albarino, but lighter, crisper and with a little spiciness that I didn't detect in the Burgans. It was interesting in that they were similar but different, and both were nicely balanced and very good. It was a good match with the pealla, which was a complex bland of flavors. Albarino is a traditional pairing for paella, which wants a white wine of some substance (like an albarino) to stand up to the mix of meats, seafoods and spices.

Next was the Allende 2004 Rioja (estate bottled). It was a very smooth wine that showed its age in a good way. It had aromas of licorice and dark fruit and a few people noted coconut. It had bright acids and firm tannins with a lingering finish. Overall, it was balanced and complex, a very nice wine. It paired very nicely with the sausage and pepper dish.

Next was a group of two wines and two kabobs with polenta. The wines were both Riojas. One was Ibericos 2006 tempranillo. This wine had firm tannins and dark fruit with a spicy finish. It was very good with the spicey pork kabobs in particular. The other Rioja was a Vina Zaco 2006 tempranillo. This wine was very pleasant. It was more fruit forward with bright cherry flavors and soft tannins. It paired especially well with the beef kabobs. The polenta certainly bears mentioning. It was very tasty and flavored with cheese and rosemary.

Hope everyone had a good time!!

over-oaked white wines

Hello all!!

Well, I've had quite an education this past week. We drank three wines in a row that were not pleasant at all. The first was a rose from Italy. It tasted very "off" as in oxidized. Although I had not purchased this wine very long ago, it was definitely past it's prime. It had probably been stored improperly (too hot) at some point. Too bad, because I keep trying to find a rose that I'll like, but so far it hasn't happened. I'll not give any details about that particular wine, because it would be unfair to comment further. I really don't know what it would have tasted like.

The second wine was one of the wines from Total Wine in Atlanta. It was a 2006 Kings River Chardonnay from South Africa. It is described as having rich open aromas of fresh citrus and lime with hints of oatmeal and butterscotch. I was hoping for a nice buttery chardonnay. Instead the aromas were of wood chips, and the flavor was similar with hints of ... well, I can't remember anything except the woodiness. It was also unbalanced, with an unpleasant acidity that clashed with the oakiness. Perhaps a younger vintage would be better?

The third wine was marginally better. It was a 2007 Anselmi San Vincenzo from Italy. You know I have a weakness for all things Italian (starting with my husband). It was better balanced than the previous wine, but the oak overpowered what should have been a rather delicate white wine. Again, perhaps a younger vintage?

To be fair these wines were not the typical 2008 and 2009 vintages generally seen. Perhaps the age on these wines made them seem over-oaked when they were actually starting to oxidize. Anyway, although they were $8 and $9, I won't be trying them again.

2006 Cesari Mara Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso

Hello! Wow, did we have a great meal last night! We had black and blue steaks, baked potato, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and side salads. It was all great with the Mara Ripasso! The steaks were easy to fix. I took two filet mignon from Kroger's and cut a pocket into the width of the steak. Then I put a little salt in the pocket and stuffed it with blue cheese. I then wrapped the steak with a strip of bacon, and then lightly salted the steaks. Then I pressed cracked pepper into the steaks. Then I sauteed the steaks in olive oil. Once the steaks were done, I removed the excess fat from the pan and sauteed a shallot, then deglazed the pan with some beef broth. I reduced the broth and spooned it over the steaks. Delicious! The wine was such a nice compliment. It started out with a lot of black licorice on the nose along with dark cherry and a nice undercurrent of earthiness like dry leaves. On the palate there was cherry, plum, and raisin. The tannins were firm, but smooth, leaving a feeling of silkiness. As it opened the flavors became more integrated and mellow. $27 at McScrooges.

2007 Castillero del Diablo Gerwurztraminer from Concha Y Toro

Hello!! Here's another wine I've never tried before, this Gerwurztraminer from Chile. I have mixed feelings about this wine. it starts out with a bright grapefruit and has this really bright acidity on the mid-palate along with the nice nutmeg spiciness one generally finds in a Gerwurztraminer. On the finish there is a pleasant lingering minerality. What I don't like about this wine is that it's so unexpected. It's extremely dry for a Gerwurtztraminer. The greapefruit flavor is also a little unusual. In fact, this wine is more than a little reminiscent of a Savignon Blanc. A nice dry, complex Savignon Blanc. So, overall, a very nice crisp dry white wine with good acidity and a spiciness and minerality which adds a level of complexity. Still it's not a typical Gerwurtztraminer, and if that's what you're looking for, reach for a different label.

2009 Ropiteau Vin de Pays D'0c Pinot Noir (French)

This wine is from a winery established in 1848 in the South of France. It's one of the wines we picked up at Total Wine in Atlanta for $9 a bottle (I just wish I had bought more). We had it with a black and blue salad, but it would have been better paired with the classic duck. Pinot noir is very food friendly and is a good choice when you want a red, but not one that is too heavy for the food. When first opened it had this unique blend of cherry and strawberry with a bit of dry leaf aroma. As it opened over the course of an hour or more, this wonderful leafy, forrest aroma developed and the tannins emerge, giving the wine more structure. It has a very nice balance of acid and tannin and the fruit forward characteristic develops into something more subtle and complex as it opens. I really like this wine. It's one of my favorite pinot noirs ever. I can't believe I paid $9 a bottle for this. I don't know if it's available in Knoxville, but I think I'll look for it.

2007 Vesevo Sannio Falanghina

This is a delicious white wine that we picked up on our trip to Atlanta. It's from the area of Compangia in Italy. It has a light golden color, and a fairly complex nose of honeysuckle, citrus and minerals. It's pretty aromatic for a white wine. The taste is similar with good acidity, pleasant citrus notes that are more orange than lemon, and a little white peach. It has good minerality and has a nice weight to it. It's one of my favorite whites, dry but complex and full bodied. This wine is from Total Wines in Atlanta and cost $12 a bottle. 87 points from Wine Spectator. We had this with pasta with calamari, scallops, and clams in a light tomato based sauce. A very good pairing.

trip to Atlanta

We had a big time last weekend!! Al and I went to Alanta to visit our older son and to check out some Atlanta wine stores. We started out by stopping at Total Wines and More North of Atlanta. I had such a big time there!! It was like the Home Depot of wine. Loads and loads of wine at fabulous prices! We may have to visit Mike more often, or give him a list when he come to visit us. There were wines I couldn't find there that I've purchased in Knoxville, but overall, the selection was great! I also liked their catalog. it was a listing of all the wines in the store, so I really can give Mike a detailed list, and he should be able to get everything on it. The prices are so good because they buy in the kind of bulk that smaller stores just can't compete with. I bought a mixed case, including a 2004 Brunello. There will be many postings as I work my way through these wines.

Next event was a stop at "The Grape", an Atlanta wine bar. It was written up in Wine Spectator. I was pretty excited about going there. They did have an extensive wine list. We had a Spanish red from La Mancha, an '07 Borsao Campo de Borja ($8 at Total Wine, more at The Grape). We ordered a cheese board with the Borsao and also an appetizer with hummus and flatbread. The wine was very good, fairly fruit forward but with some cedar and spice especially on the finish. Very pleasant with fairly soft tannins. We shared this with Mike and Ken, a friend of Mike's from out of town. The Grape also features live jazz at the Atlantic Station location.

Later in the evening we stopped at Murphy's in Virginia Highlands. They have a wine shop, a bar, and a restaurant. We had dessert and wine. I had Creme Brulee and a sauternes. Al had plum cobbler with port. Both were classic pairings and both were delicious. I also picked up two bottles at their wine store. A great way to end our day in Atlanta.

We spent the night in a cosy little bed and breakfast called the Gaslight Inn, also in the Virginian Highlands area. our hosts were extremely gracious and everything was arranged to make us as comfortable as possible.

Sunday we visited the High Museum of fine art in Atlanta. We saw the Dali exhibit there, and also visited their collection of renaissance art.

We had a late lunch again at Murphy's. And In the late afternoon we had gelato at Paolo's in the Virginia Highlands neighborhood (no trip to Atlanta is complete without a trip to Paolo's).

Finally, we had dinner at La Tavola again in Virginia Highlands. They were celebrating their tomato feast with a special menu that utilized locally grown heirloom tomatoes. I had the handmade cheese ravioli with a light tomato sauce. Mike joined us for dinner and we shared a bottle of Nero d'Avela, a little young, but very nice with the food and it improved as it opened.

So, a big food and wine trip to Atlanta! A little bit of visiting and a whole lot of good food, wine and shopping. Loads of fun!! We left just as I ran out of money to spend, so it all worked out well.