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  • A couple for the weekend

    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.

  • Verget Saint Veran Les Cras Caniculus

    I was looking in my cellar for something that would go well with roasted chicken. So I pulled out this bottle of the 2003 Verget Les Cras Caniculus from the Saint Veran region of Burgundy. Another French delight for me. I am not really much of a chardonnay drinker. I think that is because my palate has been spoiled over the years by over oaked unbalanced California chardonnays. This, on the other hand, puts all of California to shame. It had a beautiful light golden color. On the nose it presented solid apple pie and pears with some hints of minerals sort of like stones. There was also just the tiniest hint of lightly toasted oak. The same was observed on the palate. It was supple and silky in texture and there was a very nice crescendo of tons of fruit that lingered for quite a long time. I detected just a tiny hint of cinnamon and nutmeg on the back of the roof of my mouth. It had a really nice balanced acidity. I think this is a great effort in a white wine. I definitely need to try more white burgundies. This paired brilliantly with a roasted chicken dinner.

  • I am learning to love Bordeaux

    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.

  • Getting Organized

    For years I have just stacked my wine in the cellar without any organization at all. I only have about 200 bottles so it wasn’t so bad. But it was bad enough that I had trouble finding things. Well, recently I put all of my inventory into the on-line cellartracker database. What a fantastic resource that is! I was able to download labels for my entire inventory which I formatted to my liking and printed out. I placed these labels onto bottle tags so everything is readable without having to remove the bottle from the rack. I have organized the wines into categories – some regions (France) and some by varietal. Each column in my wine rack is assigned a bin letter and the inventory has all the location data for every bottle. Now, when I drink a wine, I can just keep the wine tag so I can remember to consume it from my library. Finally getting organized!

  • Silvertop

    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.