Hello everyone!! We had this wine with a steak and blue cheese salad. It was too big for the food, and would have been better with a burger, or steak and potato, or a nice rubbed flank steak. Also, it's young, so it was much better for opening an hour or so. The color was deep inky purplish red. The nose was not very big, and carried aromas of blackberry, and toasty oak. The flavor profile was true to the nose with added notes of chocolate and a touch of licorice. It was very fruit forward with firm tannins and bright acid. It was a little rough at first, but improved significantly as it opened. I paid $6 for this wine at Total Wine in Atlanta. It would be a very good everyday wine if we ate heavier, beefier foods. Also, I think this would improve with age.
Does anyone but me wonder how anyone can make money by selling wine at this price?? Since I've been spending more time "bottom feeding" I have been amazed at some of the wines available for less than $10. Yes, you can improve the odds of getting good wine by moving up even into the $15 range. Still, I sometimes find very acceptable wines at the lower price point, and I wonder how the producers do it. Box wines run about $5 a bottle (or $20 a box, figuring 4 bottles to a box). These are bulk wines. I know enough about economics to understand that higher volume production means you can often lower your profit margin and still make good money overall. But the little pearls I've been searching out are generally not mass produced wines, though they are not exclusive "cult" wines either. I just don't get how anyone can make money selling $6 wine when you're talking retailer, distributer, importer and producer all making a living. You'd have to sell a lot of wine. Clearly, I still have a lot to learn about wine and the wine business. Until then, guess I'll just keep enjoying.
Showing posts with label Spanish red wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spanish red wine. Show all posts
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Mas Donis Barrica 2007 Old Vines (Spanish)
Hello all!! We enjoyed this wine a few days ago as a nice sipping wine after having chili for dinner. We snacked on cheese and crackers and sipped this wine. This is one of the wines I picked up at Wine Library. It is 85% grenache and %15 syrah. It was about $10 a bottle and described as delicious! The color was a dark inky garnet. The nose was of blackberry and cherry with vanilla and a little licorice. The flavor profile was blackberry and cherry with vanilla, licorice and a little tobacco on the finish. It had a wonderful silkiness with smooth tannins. It had a light to medium body. Overall, it was very nice, especially for the price. I wish I had more of it!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
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.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
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!!
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!!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Dinner guests: 2008 Martin Codax Albarino, 2007 Sebastiani Pinot Noir, 2006 El Coto Rioja, 2005 Las Rocas Garnacha
Hello!! Well, we have been drinking wines this past week, but nothing new until this weekend. We had another couple over Saturday evening. For starters I fixed little crostini with green beans, zucchini, salsa verte, and feta cheese. We had the Albarino with this. It was very quite good. Subtle aromas of jasmine and white flowers. I picked up well integrated flavors of peach, mild citrus and hazelnut. It was very well balanced and had a nice rich body. It was my first Albarino and now I know what all the fuss is about. I'll be keeping one in my winerack. This particular wine was $16 at Ashes. They have one on sale now for $10 or $11 which was rated 90 or 91 by the Wine Spectator.
Next came Italian mushroom stuffed crepes and salad. Our guests brought the Sebastiani pinot noir, and we opened it with dinner. It was a pleasant, soft well balanced pinot, somewhat lacking in complexity, but it was a nice wine with dinner and took a bit of a back seat to the food. It had soft tannins and acids and pleasant, easy to drink fruit flavors of strawberry, cherry, and plum.
The other two wines were after dinner sippers. The Las Rocas is one we have had before, $19 at Ashes. This is one of my current favorites. It's a fairly big wine with a big, aromatic nose which rises right out of the glass to greet you. The aromas are dark cherry and a soft spiciness. On the palate it's dark cherry, blackberry, and cedar with a little bit of pepper. It's fairly smooth and full bodied with firm tannins and a nice balance of acid. It had a pleasant lingering finish. Lastly, we opened the El Coto. To me, this was a bit of a disappointment, but Al liked it better than I did. It had a big, in your face nose, with bright cherry and oak. The taste was pretty much the same. It seemed simple and very "new world" after having had the Las Rocas. It wasn't bad, but was a bit of a fruit bomb and the oak monster was definitely with us on this one. Personally, I think you can find better Spanish wines. To each his own.
Next came Italian mushroom stuffed crepes and salad. Our guests brought the Sebastiani pinot noir, and we opened it with dinner. It was a pleasant, soft well balanced pinot, somewhat lacking in complexity, but it was a nice wine with dinner and took a bit of a back seat to the food. It had soft tannins and acids and pleasant, easy to drink fruit flavors of strawberry, cherry, and plum.
The other two wines were after dinner sippers. The Las Rocas is one we have had before, $19 at Ashes. This is one of my current favorites. It's a fairly big wine with a big, aromatic nose which rises right out of the glass to greet you. The aromas are dark cherry and a soft spiciness. On the palate it's dark cherry, blackberry, and cedar with a little bit of pepper. It's fairly smooth and full bodied with firm tannins and a nice balance of acid. It had a pleasant lingering finish. Lastly, we opened the El Coto. To me, this was a bit of a disappointment, but Al liked it better than I did. It had a big, in your face nose, with bright cherry and oak. The taste was pretty much the same. It seemed simple and very "new world" after having had the Las Rocas. It wasn't bad, but was a bit of a fruit bomb and the oak monster was definitely with us on this one. Personally, I think you can find better Spanish wines. To each his own.
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