Monthly Archives: July 2014

Armida Winery Maple Vineyards Zinfandel 2012

27 Sunday Jul 2014

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I am becoming a fan of Armida’s wines.  I wrote about their other offerings previously with the Poizin and my first experience with the Maple Creek Zin 2009.  The style is not overly jammy, nor heavy but relies on old vines for complexity and depth.  On pouring this rather young wine I noted that it was dark purple in hue with hints of cloves intertwined with plums on the nose.  Easy drinking yet powerful with a lithe tannic backbone and entrenched acidity.  The 14.9 % alcohol was well hidden but could sneak up on the unsuspecting.  As the wine evolved we got a dark core of black fruits with plums on the secondary and lithe hints of chocolate and bramble bush.  A nice depth of different nuances made this a very good wine indeed.  I believe it can be found for about $35 and I’m going with 91 points, making this a solid 3 star effort in my book.  We drank it before a dinner of fresh caught Salmon, but I would go with any red meats, perhaps some olives and tapenade would suffice.  Salut….

armida zinfandel

Bellarmine Wines Pemberton Shiraz 2010

22 Tuesday Jul 2014

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I must admit that I am in total disagreement with this wine’s rating. I bought it on sale with the high hopes that it’s 95 point badge was going to be right up my alley. I paid $25 or so dollars for it which would have made it a 5 star wine worthy of kings. Alas, it was not to be. Here is what the critics wrote…”Deep purple-crimson; the class of wine shines through from the first whiff to the long finish and aftertaste; multi-spice, licorice and black pepper are woven through the blackberry and plum fruit, fine-grained tannins in support.”

Here are my notes:Plums and dark cherry nose, lithe and thin with alcohol notes.  Plums and spice with a touch of wood. That is all I could write, I was so underwhelmed that I did not bother to seek deeper into the glass.  I may have opened a bad bottle, perhaps it is in a coma state.  Either way, I have one more and will wait a while to see if this Western Australian Shiraz comes any where near its claimed score.  For me 87 points and 2 stars.  Salut….

bellarmine shiraz

 

Burgess Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

14 Monday Jul 2014

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This bottle has been cellared for a few years, waiting the right moment.  I pulled it out the other night for a red meat pairing, hoping it would live up to it’s pedigree.  Gorgeous purple in the glass with a nose of plums and sawdust.  I was intrigued.  It then showed cassis and black currants after I swirled the heck out of the glass.  Subdued plums and eaucalyptus come out initially on the first taste with some oak on the nose after airing.  The tannins are completely melded and there is a clear acidic component.  Mouth filling aromas and tastes of plum torte with briar patch and Napa dirt were the strong flavors after a little ‘glass time’.  I feel that this wine is nearing it’s peak and will start to fade after 2017 which is a far cry from the 1996 Burgess that I so adore.  89 points for this $50 effort making it a 2 star wine in my books.  Don’t get me wrong, it is a delicious wine, yet lacks technical merits to warrant a higher score.  Salut….

burgess cellars cabernet sauvignon

Tabil spiced Leg of Lamb on the Big Green Egg

11 Friday Jul 2014

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I couldn’t help myself.  I need to explore every recipe I can muster to grill meats on the Big Green Egg (BGE).  This time I marinated a butterflied leg of lamb overnight in Greek yoghurt, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and Tunisian Tabil spices.  I cooked it on a high heat using the direct cooking method.  I had no choice as the skies had opened up and delayed dinner so much that the kids were about to revolt if I had taken even a minute longer than absolutely necessary.  It only took about 20 minutes to grill it so I could carve off the outer sections.  The middle was still rare so it got another dose of the charcoal the next day to ‘heat it up’.

4-5 lb leg of lamb, butterflied

Half a head of garlic, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons Olive oil

2 tablespoons Lemon juice

salt and pepper

4 cups plain yoghurt, I used Greek as it is thicker and tastier

Tabil spices: 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon caraway seeds, 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes.

I ground the spices together in a coffee grinder.  Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the lamb overnight.  I set the BGE for direct heat and let it rip once the coals were hot.  I choked down after the initial sear and maintained about 400F dome temperature to allow the middle to cook.  20 minutes total for rare inside, probably another 10 minutes for medium.  It was absolutely delicious and I highly recommend a Shiraz or big juicy Napa Cabernet to go with this spice infused beauty.  I scored the meat before marinating and served up some Tzatziki sauce on the side.

lamb on big green egg

The yoghurt drenched leg going on the coals

big green egg lamb leg

I scored the meat before marinating to give it some char

big green egg spiced lamb recipe

The ‘bits’ chopped up small and dipped in Tzatziki sauce

 

 

Clarendon Hills Hickinbotham Syrah 2007

11 Friday Jul 2014

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I am tasting my way through the Clarendon Hills portfolio, and I’m loving it.  This particular Syrah was nearly black in the glass.  It opened with plums and blue berries on nose with some pencil lead hints.  My first impression was powerful and juicy with delightful tannins.  I noticed that the wine sports a 14.5% alcohol which is well hidden.  Chocolate and figs on the mid palate added to the complexity of the blue fruits.  The wine has a layered elegance and smoothness that is fabulous.  I like the way this winery makes Syrah style wines, very nice and atypical.  It later hit me that this wine is very plummy, probably explains the denseness and extraction.  I noted ‘Tight tannins that are well integrated.’  I would give this wine a span of 2014-2025 with evolution hopefully coming through with some secondary flavors evolving.  I got a good deal on this bottle but even at it’s SRP of $75 it is an excellent value for money if you have a big dinner planned, running at 93 points for me and 4 stars.  Ps. I served it with well seasoned Flank steaks but this Aussie wine was made for a leg of lamb, just my opinion.  Salut….

clarendon hills syrah hickinbotham

Tranco Monastrell Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

08 Tuesday Jul 2014

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If you followed my last two posts you will know I went to a friend’s 50th birthday bash recently.  When we were all seated this bottle was on our table, waiting to be opened.  Our hosts had hired a private chef, waitresses and set up a whole outside sit-down dinner for 20 people.

I looked this wine up online and was pleasantly surprised.  The price is only $10, and it got a whopping 90 points from RP himself.  On the other hand, I have my own impressions.  It started out with blueberries and heat.  Lots of it.  I had to let it sit for a few minutes to blow off.  When it finally came around the blue fruits persisted with some earthiness, cherry kirsch and a touch of the wood.  Decent tannins were integrating and the juicy acidity was great. I would give this wine a cellaring life between 2014 and 2020.  We had Filet steaks with spinach and gratinated potatoes topped with scallops.  It worked for me…  At this price it’s hard to go wrong with this Spanish blend, but I am reserving points and going with 88 making it a solid 4 star wine that I may look for.  If you are throwing a party you may want to get some as well.  Salut….

franco wine monastery cabernet sauvignon

Mockingbird Hill Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Sonoma County 2012

08 Tuesday Jul 2014

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One of my friends brought this bottle to the party so I have no idea the price or where to get it.  My first impressions were good with a nice color to the glass and blueberries on the nose with some vanilla.  Spice box and cedar with blue fruits and plums came across on the palate which was coated in mellow tannins and sweet oak.  Decent acidity brought the whole package together for me until the back end heat showed up.  I missed the actual percentage, but it was not well integrated, which cost it a point or two.  We ate appetizers of shrimp and crab cakes, hardly the best pairing but we enjoyed the whole ambiance of the moment.  I would prefer a leg of lamb, perhaps even a grilled pork chop to go with this particular bottle.  89 points and potentially a three star wine if it goes for the $25 price I imagine it to be.  Salut….

mockingbird hill reserve sonoma

Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 40th Anniversay 2012

08 Tuesday Jul 2014

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I went in to a wine store this past weekend looking for a special bottle for a friend’s 50th party.  This was one of the ‘gifts’ we took and managed to drink.  It is a special anniversary bottling and my first experience with this winery.  I must say I enjoyed the wine, it is very much a Napa style, but very approachable young.  It started with blackberry pie and blue berries on the nose.  Very smooth tannins and balanced acidity were my first impression of the structure with delicious berries and dark fruits opening the show.  On the mid palate is where I got plums and nutmeg with some chocolate and cassis.  A strange yet compelling combination.  The 14.6% alcohol barely showed itself and the whole package was very balanced and certainly drinkable.  The wine is ready now and will go for another 10 years easily.  I would guess this wine to be a 91 pointer in my opinion and for the $55 price tag, it’s worthy of 3 stars.  We drank it before dinner as an aperitif but it would also pair well with grilled meats and some gratin potatoes.  I’m still learning about Napa cabs and this is certainly a nice way to enter the foray.  Salut….

caymus napa valley cabernet sauvignon anniversary edition

Pablo Gran Viu Finca Santiaga 2004

03 Thursday Jul 2014

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Wow, this wine was good….Blackberry and herbs on the nose after coaxing, it seemed closed at first but opened nicely.  Juicy acidity, melded tannins and a core of black fruits with an earthy touch were my introduction.  The wine is big, bold and powerful, packing a 15.5% punch which never showed up. Plums on the mid palate with some teeth searing tannins became evident as the wine evolved.  What had started out as a mature wine quickly transformed into a rather young wine (at 10 years of age already).  I timed a long finish with some road tar, black berries and orange peel on the tail end, quite complex.  This wine is till too young- 2015-2025 would be my guess.  It is a blend of Grenache, Carignan and Vidadillo from Aragon in Spain. It got high marks from the pro’s and I agree with their 94 points.  I found it online for about $60.  4 stars for this complex wine with great cellaring potential.  Salut….

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