red

Over the Hill

February 7, 2008 by greg Leave a Comment

Sometimes you keep a wine too long and it is past it’s prime. Tonight I had such a wine. I bought this 1995 Brunello di Montalcino a few years ago and kept it stored away in my cellar. I’ve been waiting for a special occasion to open it. It happens to be my birthday, so I a grabbed it. It was good but I would say it fell flat with regards to my expectations. You can see in the glass below that the color was a bit over the edge. It was almost orange in color with a deep brick red. You could tell it had some age on it. On the nose you could not really discern any fruit other than perhaps something akin to warm stewed prunes. It had some barnyard manure smells and it just reminded me of old earth. On the palate it presented with a flash of fruit right up front along with a mineralness of rusty barbed wire and an interesting sharp acidity. It had absolutely no tannins to speak of. The fruit was not identifiable and it was a bit thin on the end. To its credit it opened up a little bit with some air to present more cherry notes in the flavor. I enjoyed it with a rosemary chicken creamy pasta.

Filed Under: europe, red blend Tagged With: Brunello di Montalcino, Italy

From CA to Australia

January 27, 2008 by greg Leave a Comment

I’ve got three wines to talk about tonight. The first is from Australia. Everyone has heard of Yellow Tail. I find their mainstream wines to be rather boring and one dimensional. However, if you pay just a couple bucks more you get something actually worth drinking. Their “reserve” line of wines tend to be a significant step up from their regular fare. I like their reserve shiraz the best I would say. The 2006 had a gorgeous deep dark color. On the nose I got a complex mixture of vanilla and spice mingling with blackberries and coffee. There were nice big dark fruit flavors and cocoa on the palate and the wine had solid tannins. The only flaw I detected was that the alcohol was out of balance a bit. You did notice the hotness of the ethanol. Other than that for it’s 12 buck price point it is not a bad wine at all.

I also got a taste of California recently. The first is a cabernet sauvignon from Napa valley. This is also a step up from their average “California” cabernet. I had the 2004 vintage last evening. It had nice plum and cherry aromas that carried through on the palate. There were chocolate flavors mingling with the fruit. The chocolate mostly came out on the mid palate. The finish was a little bit short but it was certainly a solid cab for $12.

This evening I made a wonderful garlic, ginger, soy, mirin glazed fish for dinner. I was looking for a crisp fruit sauvignon blanc to go with it. I was first thinking of one from New Zealand but I stumbled across a bottle fo the 2005 Kenwood from Sonoma county. This one paired very nicely with the steelhead trout tonight. It had a very pleasant nose of pears and grapefruit. It tasted of green apples and citrus. It had a nice silky texture and a reasonably long finish. There were also very nice grass and herbal components that married with dinner. It had a crisp enough acidity to cut through the fish. Overall I’ve had 3 for 3 this weekend.

Filed Under: cabernet sauvignon, europe, north america, sauvignon blanc, shiraz, syrah Tagged With: Australia, Avalon, California, Kenwood, Napa, Sonoma, Yellow Tail

A couple for the weekend

January 21, 2008 by greg 2 Comments

I just acquired a case of the 2005 High Trellis cabernet sauvignon from d’Arenberg and I had to pop a bottle open this evening. I liked it! It was one of those Australian fruit bombs that didn’t taste fake. It was not cloyingly sweet. It had structure and complication and interesting flavors. It also had a deep deep red color that I can only describe as blood with a bit of a purple hue. See the picture below. It had fantastic color.

Of course you need to know how it tasted. d’Arenberg is a favorite of mine. I like most of the wine they produce and this one was no exception. On the nose I smelled chocolate covered dark cherries an blackberries. There were wisps of black current and a hint of leather. On the palate you were immediately attacked by huge dark cherry flavors that mingled with leather, tobacco, wood and cocoa. The mid palate was exciting and the wine had a rich flavor that weighted heavily on the palate. Currant and mulberry flavors danced along on the lingering finish. There was an interesting note of cowhide that reminds me of chewing on a leather shoe lace on a pair of work boots. It was a big fruit bomb but nicely balanced. If I were to score it I’d say it was a 90 point wine.

We opened another bottle this evening from California. The 2004 Bogle Phantom. This is a meritage blend of 54% Petite Sirah, 43% old vine zinfandel and 3% old vine mourvedre. If you like petite syrah you’ll like this wine. The zin gives it a spice that is very interesting. It displayed black currants, raisins and spice on the nose. On the palate it was big, jammy and spicy. It had a lush dried fruit component that reminded me of chocolate covered raisins, dried figs, currants and prunes. The chocolate really came out on the mid palate. One the end there were flavors of mocha, black dirt, vanilla, a tiny trace of cumin and coffee. A quite interesting wine. It developed more as it was allowed to breathe. Definitely worth the $17 I paid for it.

Filed Under: australia/new zealand, cabernet sauvignon, meritage, north america, red blend Tagged With: Australia, Bogle, d'Arenberg, McClaren Vale

I am learning to love Bordeaux

January 12, 2008 by greg Leave a Comment

You may have noticed that my posting has slowed down just a little bit lately. After the over excesses of the holidays I’ve had to cut down on my calories and alcohol. So, I’ve been saving the wine for the weekends. Earlier this week a case of 2005 Bordeaux arrived from Wine Library. I have been dying to taste this all week. I am beginning to really appreciate the old world style wines from Bordeaux and am learning a lot as I taste more and more.

The 2005 Chateau Clos du Moulin comes from the St. Estèphe commune at the northernmost part of Médoc. Wines from this region are typically tannic and slower maturing than other areas of Bordeaux. According to Robert Joseph (French Wines The essential guide to the wines and wine-growing regions of France, DK Publishing) when the classification of vineyards in Bordeaux was happening in 1855 the wines from this region were considered to be of lesser quality than other areas of Médoc. Thus, it was only awarded 5 crus classés. Forty vineyards were deemed to be crus bourgeois. I never realized that the classes were designated more than 150 years ago. See, I’m learning! I think a lot can change in 150 years and now I wonder how much stake to put in the vineyard classifications of France. I would welcome comments and discussion about this point. Anyway, I digress. St. Estèphe has a soil that is a mix of gravel and clay. This is a combination that can make Cabernet Sauvignon rather rough. Thus more merlot was planted in this area in the late 1980’s and the wines have become softer and more supple than before.

The 2005 Chateau Clos du Moulin is comprised of 40% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon and 20% cabernet franc and petit verdot. I found it to be a super interesting wine and one that a novice like I could guarantee will age nicely for at least the next 10 years. When I first opened the bottle the nose was a bit closed. After a few minutes and warming the glass with my hands I began to notice aromas of cherries and some spice, maybe anise. Interestingly I noted the tiniest hint of caramel on the nose. Drinking this was an experience, I tell you. At first I was attacked by alcohol. My first tasting of this right after opening made me think this was out of balance. The alcohol level is 13%, by the way. But the more I tasted it and the more it aired out and opened up, the more excited I got about this wine. It had quite firm tannins that probably exaggerated the alcohol at first. But I also tasted lots of long lingering fruits. They were a mix of black currant, blueberry and cherry. There was a distinct minerality on the palate as well mixing with an earthy moss flavor. Some spice perked up the flavor and just on the very back sides of my tongue I could detect what to me tasted like rollo candy. You know those candies with creamy caramel in the center covered in chocolate. It was definitely the caramel chocolate combination, not one or the other alone. It had a long finish and pleasant aftertaste. All in all this was a solid bottle of Bordeaux for under $20. If I were to drink it now I’d definitely decant it for at least a couple of hours. Better yet, leave this one in the cellar for a few years and I think you will be rewarded with a beautiful, balanced, and supple wine.

Filed Under: europe, red blend Tagged With: bordeaux, Chateau Clos du Moulin

Silvertop

January 7, 2008 by greg 2 Comments

Let’s go south of the equator again. I enjoyed this malbec from Argentina and I wanted to share my thoughts about it with you. The 2005 Silvertop Malbec can be found here in Fargo for about $10. For that price it is certainly a good value. This had a deep rich dark color. Aromas of bright red fruits greet you as you sniff it. It almost reminded me of cherry candy. In the mouth you experience dancing raspberry and cherry mingling with peat and a bit of tobacco. There were also hints of red plums. It was very fruity, almost juicy, but not in a sweet way. It was not that complex but certainly quafable.

Filed Under: malbec, south america Tagged With: Argentina, Silvertop

Over the Hill

From CA to Australia

A couple for the weekend

I am learning to love Bordeaux

Silvertop

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