This wine is 50% syrah and 50% merlot. The nose is big with black fruits and hints of fennel and anise. On the palate it is a little thin with a very short finish. It has a nice acidity that attacks the palate in a pleasant way. Flavors of black cherries, blackberries and brambleberries hit you right up front. A nice 87 point effort for only $5 !!! Watch more.
Saint Émilion
April 29, 2008 by 1 Comment
Popped open a bottle of the 2005 Christian Moueix Saint Émilion tonight. This one is made from 85% merlot and 15% cabernet franc. I liked it very much even if it was a little bit light. It had a nice medium purple red color that you could easily see through, so it was obvious this would not be a heavy wine. On the nose I was presented with subtle ripe cherries and aromas of sweet tart candy. Very interesting to say the least. On the palate, however, there was nothing fruit or sweet about it. It was oh so vegetative. I enjoy that. It had a medium body, solid acidity and smooth tannins. Red fruits came across so very subtly however it was the roasted beets, cooked carrots and tomato sauce that dominated the flavors. It was a little bit chalky and a tiny bit disjointed on the finish but overall it was a nice Bordeaux red. I bought it for $14 on sale which was an ok price. I don’t think I’d pay the $30 or so full price for it.
PNW Wine
January 6, 2008 by Leave a Comment
The Columbia Crest Merlot has consistently made it onto Wine Spectator’s top 100 wines. It is a steal of a deal at $12. The 2004 does not disappoint at all. This was a little harsh at first but was actually much better a day after opening. It had an earthy aroma with chocolate and black raspberry notes on the nose. It had a nice smooth mouth feel with a medium body. A really nice raspberry and red cherry hit you with a crescendo on the mid palate. The alcohol was tamed by being open for so long. It had subtle mocha notes as well. A pleasing wine that is a fine example of what is coming out of Washington these days.
South of the equator on a winter’s evening
December 8, 2007 by 4 Comments
Winter has hit us with a vengeance. Last evening the temperature was plunging down to about -15 °F (-26 °C). So I reached for some wines from south of the equator – namely Chile. Wines from South America are really coming into their own these days. I first opened a 2002 merlot from Dallas Conté. They are located in the Rapel Valley in the middle of the country near the town of Rancagua. This had a nice deep color with aromas of sour black cherries, leather and blackberries. On the tongue hints of herbs and pepper mingled with the black fruits. The fruit hung on for quite a while ending in a leathery mocha finish. After opening up for an hour in the decanter it became more complex. Good firm tannins but smooth and drinkable now. An interesting and solid merlot.
I next opened a 2003 Yelcho Carménère Riserva. This comes from the Maipo Valley which is located to the north of the Rapel Valley. I’ve been a fan of Yelcho since I found it on sale for less than $10 last year. I’ve been keeping this bottle to see how it developed. The color was INKY INKY INKY. Dark and INKY. Did I say it was INKY? Amazing color. It had the most unusual nose that was earthy and musty with hints of fruit. Coffee and leather came through as well. It had a big full body with lots of earthy red and black fruits. A slight tobacco meets dirt meegs black pepper came through. Cassis and lots of back end blackberries carried it through . Tinges of vanilla, dark chocolate and mocha. It also had, strangely, flavors of charcoal on the finish but in a good way. A big unusual wine from Chile. I still like it.
By the way, like my decanters? They are simply 1 liter florence flasks made for chemistry. They make great little decanters for a bottle of wine.
Wine Whirlwind
December 7, 2007 by Leave a Comment
Our local wine shop has free wine tastings about once a month. There are usually 50-70 bottles of wine open for tasting setup around the store. It’s a nice event and really draws a big crowd. They offer wines at all different price ranges for tasting so you can have the opportunity to taste some things that you might not go and plunk down the money for without knowing it. Last night featured a lot of very reasonably priced wines from all over the world. I tasted quite a few and here’s a whirlwind of impressions that I got from many of them.
How about we start with some white wines. Prices are the sale prices for the evening.
2005 PKNT Chardonnay $6.97 – vodka nose, light, pleasant, clean.
2005 Napa Ridge Sauvignon Blanc $10.97 – Grapefruit strong on the nose. Smack you in the face grapefruit flavor then it just disappears.
2005 Napa Ridge Chardonnay $10.97 – Pears, alspice and nutmeg on the nose and the flavor. Hints of oreo cookie creme filling on the back end hitting the roof of my mouth.
2005 Konu Baru Sauvignon Blank $9.97 – simple nose with clean simple taste. Not very distinctive. A little light. Did I say clean?
2003 Marcelina Chardonnay $17.97 – Classic chardonnay nose with oak and buttery apricots. Hints of green apple and peaches on the flavor. A nicely structured chardonnay.
I certainly tried many more reds than I did whites. And I forgot to write down the vintage on some of them.
Penfold’s Rawsons Merlot $5.97 – Hings of tequila on the nose. Not bad, good balance with some cassis flavor. A bit on the light side.
Penfold’s Rawsons Shiraz/Cabernet $5.97 – musty nose with black fruits. Good tannin structure and blackberry flavors. Pretty well balanced. A great buy at 6 bucks.
Penfold’s Rawsons Cabernet $5.97 – Musty herbal nose. Light body and a little blah.
2006 Layer Cake 100% Shiraz – big wine, needs to open up some but has nice flavors of chocolate, blackberries and raspberries. A little bit short on the finish, but it was quite tight when I tasted it.
Black Box Paso Robles Cabernet $18.97 (3L) – Definite sour cherries with a jolly rancher smell. Light finish but pretty good fruit. Not bad for a box.
2005 Wolf Blass Merlot $8.97 – Light musty dusty nose with similar flavor profiles. Ok but not great.
2004 Wolf Blass Shiraz $8.97 – Diesel fuel nose. Not very balanced. Harsh on the back of the throat.
2005 Wolf Blass Shiraz/Cabernet $8.97 – Big fruit nose, sharp alcohol on the back of the throat. Flavors of cassis and red berries. Much better than the Shiraz.
2005 Wolf Blass Cabernet $8.97 – musty sweat socks meets basil on the nose. Big fruit on the tongue with slight herbal oregano notes. Black cherry comes through.
Kono Baru Shiraz $9.97 – light color. Alcoholic on the palate with a light finish. Nice flavors of chocolate and raspberries on the fron tend.
Kono Baru Cabernet $9.97 – Penzoil service station smell. Some fruit, nice taste, light on the end.
2005 Mia’s Playground Cabernet $8.97 – Big red jammy fruit nose. Red raspberries and blackberries on the palate. A slightly strange aftertaste but not really unpleasant. Hard to describe. A good solid wine but not a serious cab.
2005 Geyser Peak Cabernet $12.97 – Nose filled with cranberry aromas. Soft fruit on the palate. Mid palate and finish is very disappointing. Nothing there but dry wood.
Redwood Creek Pinot Noir $5.97 – light color and light in flavor. But some resonating red fruits with toasty oak. The oak almost covers it up though.
Redwood Creek Cabernet $5.97 – very blackberry.
2004 Marcelina Cabernet $23.97 – Vanilla, oak, cherries and cassis on the nose. Very nicely balanced with red fruits and hints of vegetables and mushrooms.
Beringer Napa Pinot Noir $20.97 – Definitely toasted oak on the nose. Light but complex fruit. Hard to describe. A pretty good pinot.
2005 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet $21.97 – Chocolate and cherries on the nose but you can’t taste this on the palate. Hardly any fruit. Earthy and tannic.
2005 Chateau Souverain Merlot $16.97 – Sour cherries, blackberry jam. Balanced and very nicely structured. Still good tannins that will let this one age. Maybe give it a few years.
2004 Chateau Souverain Cabernet $17.97 – Nose is very interesting with cherries and something that reminds me of the dentist – fluoride? tooth polish? Nice fruit and strong tannins. Another one to age for a while.
I also tasted a couple of sweeter ones.
Luccio Moscato d’Asti $10.97 – nose full of tangerines and apricots. Definitely a stone fruit taste. Sweet and balanced. A nice effort for 11 bucks.
Nachtgold Eiswein $16.97 (375 mL) – Apricots with a bit of petroleum on the nose. Very apricot on the flavor. Not too complex. Sweet but not cloying. Good acid.