2004 Podere La Vigna Brunello Di Montalcino

Hello!!! We had a fabulous wine last night! I prepared a beef stew with onions, garlic, tomato, and rice. The Brunello was a good match. It had a rich garnet color, with a nice brick red color at the rim. It had aromas of cherry with a little vanilla and a hint of smokiness. The flavor was very true to the nose. The tannins were firm but smooth. The acidity was soft. What really set this wine apart was the elegance of it. It was so smooth, so well balanced, and so elegant. The flavor profile was similar to many wines we've had (and enjoyed) in the past, but this wine had a beautiful silky texture. I will say that it was better with the food. The tannins became a little intense after dinner when we were sipping the wine by itself. All in all, this was one of the best wines I've ever had! This wine was ordered online from Wines Til Sold Out. This site offers deeply discounted wines listed one at a time, until they sell out. This wine was about $45, originally listed at about $90. I have one more bottle of this, and I wish I had more. I believe I have just become a Brunello fan.

2006 Mas Carlot Les Enfants Terribles Rhone valley red wine

Hello! Last night we had this wine with spaghetti and meatballs. Why a French wine with a classic Italian meal? Well, the sauce was improvised from the sauce leftover from braised veal chops we had the other day. It was a rich creamy sauce, more French than Italian in flavor. The wine was a good match to the meal, standing up to the richness and complexity of the meal. The color on this wine was a deep purple. The nose was full of blackberries, along with some smokey, oakey aromas. On the palate there was lots of blackberry, baking chocolate and a little licorice. It had soft, well integrated tannins and mild acidity. It was a little weak on the back palate and the finish was short. It was good but not great. It was a little too much oak for me. I got this at Bob's for $15.50. I'd drink it again, but I'd not go out of my way to pick up a bottle.

2009 Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) Selection Prestige White Bordeaux

Hello! Al and I had a nice white Bordeaux last night. I prepared chicken breasts with cream ala Julia Child. I served it with asparagus and rice. It was actually a quick and easy recipe if making a sauce with en entire cup of cream doesn't seem like a bit much. Julia recommended a white bordeaux, and I just happened to have this one. It was very nice with the chicken dish. The crisp acidity of the wine cut the creaminess of the sauce. But this wine was richer and more flavorful than many Sauvignon Blanc wines. White Bordeaux can be made from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle. They are typically predominantly Sauvignon Blanc, but blending in the other varietals gives the wine more body and richness. This wine is a bland of Sauvignon Blanc (40%) and Semillon (60%). It had a nice pale straw color. The nose was fruity and sweet with a bit of floral. i picked up lemon, pear and a bit of pineapple. The taste was not nearly as sweet as the nose. It started with the taste of lemon, then green apple on the mid-palate, then a bit of almond (and vanilla?) on the finish. It also picked up some grassiness as it opened. Overall, this was very nice. It was crisp but medium bodied and had a silky lingering finish. I'm going out today to see if I can find another bottle. I picked this up at Bob's a month or so ago. I'm not sure of the price, but I believe it was $15-$20.

Graham's 10 Year Tawny Port

Wow! This was a lot of fun! I ran across a recipe for an Italian dessert containing dried dates, apricots and cherries. It also called for wheat berries, hazelnuts, and chocolate. I thought it would be fun to try having this with a port. Since I know little to nothing about ports, it was a bit of an adventure. I went to Bob's and found everything from $6 (very scary) late vintage port, to 30 year ports that were well over $100. They also had something called tawny port for about $35. It looked promising, so I decided to give it a try. It was delicious! I'm really not a big fan of port, mainly because I find the high alcohol content a bit of an impediment. And it does have that spike of "heat", which many people enjoy. The color on this was just beautiful. It had a lovely tawny red current color, like brick red, but brighter. The nose was lush with dried fruit. There was date, fig and raisin, along with the scent of baking spices (cloves, and allspice). The taste was true to the nose, and it had this wonderful rich, viscous mouth-feel. It was very sweet, but well balanced, with a lingering finish of dried fruit and spices. It reminded me of those home-made holiday fruitcakes that are basted daily in rum. It was a great compliment to the dessert.

I went on line to find out just what is this "tawny port". Apparently there are basically three kinds of port: late vintage port, a ruby red port of recent vintage with minimal aging; classic aged port which is aged primarily in the bottle for up to and sometimes more than 30 years; and tawny port which is aged for shorter periods in oak barrels. All are, of course, fortified wines with alcohol levels of about 20%. Aged ports acquire the same characteristics of aged red wines. The 30 year ports are still deep red. The tannins have softened and the flavors are more blended and mellow. The tawny ports pick up flavors from the barrels which change the taste and character of the wine. The barrel aging is what gives this port both it's color and taste. It has less fruit and more oak than the other ports. I read that it is not advantageous to further age tawny port in the bottle. Also, once opened, it is best consumed within 4 days or so. The recommendation was to re-cork a partially consumed bottle and store it in the fridge. Classic old ports retain their character longer after opening, with partial bottles lasting for up to a few weeks.

So, while ports may not appear frequently in this blog, we will probably enjoy one from time to time, particularly around the holidays.

Nervi 2001 Gattinara (nebbiolo)

Well, I'm sorry to say that this wine was a bit of a disappointment. Wine Library has recently been reviewing nebbiolo and Gary was very enthusiastic about this varietal. I'm not sure if it's a difference in palates or if this wine just wasn't a good example. I was actually expecting something bigger and more full bodied, so maybe the mistake was my own expectations. I opened this wine to have with a spinach lasagna. The lasagna was also lighter than I expected, with a sauce that was very vegetal (lots of aromatic vegetables). It was very good, just less tomato and less hearty than I expected. so, while the pairing was a bit of an accident, the food and wine actually matched better than it might have. This wine was fairly delicate and reminded me of pinot noir more than anything. It had a lovely tawny red current color, which was light and transparent. On the nose there was current, strawberry, violets maybe some rose petal and definitely some forrest smells. The taste was true to the nose with soft tannins and nice acidity. It was reminiscent of a pinot noir, but more tannic and with a bit more oomph. I actually liked this wine, but more as Italy's answer to burgundy. I'm uncertain on the price, because Michael picked this up for me at Total Wines in Atlanta. The wine I asked for was a Nervi Gattinara 2001 Vigneto Molsino at $24. I can't find Vigneto Molsino anywhere on the label, but Nervi does make a whole range of nebbiolo and nebbiolo blend wines, so I'm probably not too far off on the price. I'd try this (or a different nebbiolo) again, mainly to explore the varietal further.

2007 Cateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay

Hello!!

This was a rather disappointing wine. I roasted a chicken and served it with garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed snow peas. The meal was truly delicious, but the wine was disappointing. The tasting notes on this wine sounded very promising, and the wine was actually very true to the tasting notes. It just wasn't very well balanced. This wine couldn't decide what it wanted to be. The color ws a very pale straw. It was aromatically challenged with a faint nose of lemon and pineapple. The first thing that hit me on the taste was pineapple with lemon and maybe a hint of mango. It was very weak on the mid-palate. Al picked up a little minerality here, but to me it skipped right over the mid-palate. On the finish there was butterscotch with a bit of bitterness. From the tasting notes I expected a heavier, buttery chardonnay, but this wine just didn't deliver. It wasn't very good as a light fruity, tropical chardonnay either. It seemed unable to decide which style it was trying to emulate, "rich and buttery" or "tropical fruit". Frankly, it succeeded at neither. It wasn't terrible, but I certainly wouldn't get another bottle.

I do like both styles of chardonnay. I seem to be able to find the very lightly oaked fruity style fairly easily. Edna Valley is a good example. It's very refreshing and pleasant. It's easy to drink. But I also like the rich buttery chardonnays. I think they pair really well with roast chicken dishes like the one we had tonight. I suspect they are just hard to find in the less than $20 price range. I had a beautiful Pine Ridge Chardonnay about 6 months ago. I picked it up on clearance at McScrooge's, where it was originally priced at about $35 a bottle. Incidentally, McScrooge's has a big selection of chardonnays. It's almost too many to choose from. so, the search goes on for a good buttery chardonnay at an affordable price. I'll keep you posted.

Suavia 2008 soave classico

Hello all!!

I had this truly delicious wine a few days ago with Spaghetti and clams (just a light olive oil and wine sauce) . It was a very nice pairing as the brightness of the wine cut through the richness of the sauce. The Suavia was a nice clear dandelion yellow. The aroma was lemon zest , apricot and melon. The taste was similar to the nose. It started out with honeydew, apricot, and a little citrus. On the mid-palate there was a pleasant minerality (limestone), and on the back end, almond. It had a wonderful lingering finish with fresh acidity. Overall, a very nice, well balanced medium bodied wine.

I picked this up at Bob's for a little over $15 because I was planning on spaghetti with clams and didn't think I had anything at home that would quite fit the bill. I was wishing I could find another bottle of the Pio Cesare gavi that I liked so much. I saw this wine at 91 points (Wine Spectator, I believe) and decided to give it a try. Al and I used to drink a lot of soave 25 years ago, but then it kind of disappeared. And I can understand why. Frankly, it just wasn't that good. We'd try a bottle every now and then, but it would be very unremarkable. So, we quit drinking it. This wine is what soave is all about (or should be). I hope to see more soave of this quality. Anyway, I went back to Bob's and bought three more bottles. I also found this at Total Wine in Atlanta for $19 a bottle (and well worth it in my opinion).

2007 Ona Anakena Malbec Limited Edition

Hello all!! I should preface this by saying that I'm really not a big malbec fan. They tend to be a little too big for my palate. Also, we don't do a lot of barbeque, tending to eat foods and drink wines that are either Italian or French in style and flavor profile. But, my husband, Al, has always had a soft spot for the malbec and syrah wines that I tend to avoid. So, I asked my son, Mike, to bring one up from Atlanta Total Wine has a catalog, so I picked one out and Mike brought it to me on his last trip to Knoxville. We were having barbeque pork on Labor Day and I thought this malbec would be a good pairing. And it was good with the barbeque. I could also see having this with a big roast in the winter. The color on this wine was an extremely dark inky purple. There was a lot going on with the nose. It started out with some pretty heavy oak, but this faded within a half hour or so of opening. The nose opened into dark currents, mulch, and spicy cinnamon and cloves with a bit of violet in the background. On the palate there was the intense jammy dark fruit flavor of currents and blackberry. The tannins were firm and a little harsh. There was lots of bitter chocolate and a bit of tobacco, especially on the finish. It was weak on the mid-palate, which seems odd considering the overall intensity of this wine. I believe this wine would be much better after a few years in the bottle (I'm developing a preference for red wines at about 5 years or more), but I'm not convinced that age will solve the problem in the mid-palate. I think I'll try another malbec next time.

2005 Columbia Crest Walter Clore Private Reserve Red Wine

Hello!! This is one of my all time favorite wines. I actually got this by mistake when I was trying to order a Columbia Crest award winning cabernet on-line. This wine is a cabernet blend and is produced using traditional bordeaux techniques. The flavor profile will sound similar to other wines I've described, but the difference is that this wine is sooooo smooth, silky and balanced! It's elegant. It had a very nice dark garnet color. On the nose there was bright dark cherry, blackberry and blueberry with a little fennel (celery and licorice). It had a rather strong oakiness on the nose when it was first opened, but this dissipated after 20 or 30 minutes, leaving a little vanilla behind. The flavor was very much like the nose with fruit on the early to mid palate and the spicy fennel and vanilla on the end. There were also subtle undertones of leather and pipe tobacco. The finish was extended and very pleasant. This was very delicious, complex and so balanced and silky. I don't drink a lot of domestic wine, but I would if it were more like this! Also, I didn't pay all that much for this wine. We rarely drink anything over $30, and this is no exception. I think I paid $90 to $95 for 3 bottles of this with tax and shipping, so it must have been about $27 a bottle? I wanted to order more, but it was all gone. Alas, this was our last bottle. We had this with black and blue steaks, baked potato and salad. It was a very good pairing, but the steaks could have been less peppery, to really compliment the wine. I purchased this wine through J.J. Buckley. They are in California, and they do ship to Tennessee.

2007 Brazin Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (red label)

Hello! I thought I had blogged this wine before, but no!! One month last spring (before the blog) the wine group did a whole dinner of Zinfandel. It was pretty interesting. There's a big world of Zins out there. They are typically California wines, and many of them are from some of the oldest plantings in California. Apparently it was a popular grape among the Italian immigrants who first planted vineyards in California. As a varietal it was overlooked for a number of years while cabernets became very popular. However, some of the old plantings still remain, and zinfandel has pretty decant following today. Having said all this, there are lots of zinfandels available, in a variety of price ranges. They tend to be big, bold and fruity with varying hints of mocha, pepper and sometimes a little licorice or leather. They pair well with basic American foods such as burgers, steaks, not too hot barbeque, and (our favorite) pizza. Some of the more expensive single vineyard zins are fairly complex and should age well, but in general zins are everyday wines.

Our favorite everyday zin is Brazin Dry Creek Valley, available at most local liquor stores (I've seen this at Ashes, Bob's, McScrooges, Cedar Bluff, and I'm sure it's at others as well). It runs from $11 to $15 a bottle. It has a nice deep color, and on the nose there is lots of cherry and a bit of oak and spice. It's very fruit forward with cherry, plum and blueberry with a bit of cinnamon on the finish. The label describes hints of mocha and vanilla as well. I would agree with this. Overall, not complex, but very tasty and enjoyable. We had it with our homemade pizza and it was delicious!! Brazin also makes a Lodi zin with an orange label. I don't care for it as much. The flavor profile is a little different and I didn't think it was as well balanced as the Dry Creek (both were 2007), but everyone's palate is different, so you might want to give it a try.

2005 Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva Tempranillo

Hello!! Thursday was a day off work for me, and I had picked up some baby back ribs on sale, so... I fixed ribs with a root beer glaze, polenta, and spinach with pine nuts. We picked out this spanish wine. It was quite good, although the ribs were a little sweet. This wine was $9 at Ashes. I saw someone carrying out a couple of cases of this a few weeks ago. He seemed to think it was an amazing deal. Well, it wasn't exactly a "change your life" wine, but it was pleasant and certainly very yummy for the price. The color was a dark garnet. On the nose there was a good bit of oak (this improved some with time). It also had aromas of cherry and plum with a bit of licorice and pepper. The taste was very true to the nose with a bit of leather added in. Overall, very nice. The tannins and acids were fairly soft. A light ot medium bodied wine. A little hollow on the mid-palate? This would be a great wine for a party! I've had more exciting wines, but honestly, for the price, very good.

2007 Val de Sil Godello Sobre Lias Valdeorras

Hello! We've been drinking a lot of old favorites (and some box wine), so not much to blog about. Last night we had a VERY nice white from our trip to Atlanta. It came from Murphy's in the Virginia Highlands area. It was about $18-$20. We had it with a chicken fajita salads. It was good with the salad, but we continued to sip it all evening. It was one of those wines that continued to improve as it opened. It had a nice pale yellow color. It had a very nice bouquet of lichee, pineapple, orange zest, nutmeg and mineral. The aromas carried through on the palate with a nice bright acidity (but not too much) and lime flavor. On the finishthere was limestone, nutmeg and finally almond. The finish was long and lingering. It had a pleasant silky mouth-feel. It was reminiscent of a torrontes, but more complex and full bodied. I'd love to find more of this.