06 Saturday Oct 2012
Posted in Wine reviews
A “Limited Production” release that a friend brought along to our little party. Not liking it. Very primal fruit, almost Kool-Aid in nature. I don’t know much about this wine or it’s price, but was really not impressed. Major pass. 80 Points and 1 star.
06 Saturday Oct 2012
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I found this ’06 vintage Cru Bourgeois hiding next to some newer wines. With 6 years of age, it drinks smoothly-starting with dark blue fruits and a tannic grip. It’s still a little young, with some hope for further mellowing and some further development. It’s nothing special, yet interesting in its own sharpish way. 3 stars, 86 points
02 Tuesday Oct 2012
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A first for me, Greek Cabernet. Very sharpish on the nose, with some primal fruit, oak and alcohol all fighting to get in there. My first sip was all alcohol, surprising as this one weighs in at a modest 12.5%. First impression, dump the bottle. But wait, perhaps I’ve been harsh lately, a certain crankiness overcoming my usual cool demeanor? I will let it rest for an appeal.
Now that the heat has blown off, showing much better. After a 30 minute wait, I am now getting some vanilla, raspberry and a slight vegetal thing on the nose. The palate has slid to the red berry side of the fruit scale and I can now make out a semblance of tannins. This is starting to grow on me, with perhaps a hint of plum mixing it up in there. By far not my favorite, striving for 85 points, I can only give it 2 stars. If it was $11 instead of $15 it would rank higher, but at its price- there are many far superior wines out there. I will chalk this one up to broadening my palate, and so should you.
29 Saturday Sep 2012
Posted in Wine reviews
Finally, @United Airlines has changed their domestic first class wine. Not a moment too soon. This very serviceable Malbec should be in everyone’s party portfolio. Easy to drink, smooth, without pretension and easy on the wallet. Not complex, it shows balance with tasty primal red fruits. For what it is, don’t expect any cellaring potential. This wine is a very reasonable way to keep many guests happy without breaking the bank.
Malbec comes in several forms from the black and tannic Cahors to the jammy fruit bombs and on to the easy quaffers like this one. 4 stars for its Quality/Price ratio and I reckon it would get 86 points from a pro. Everyone needs an emergency case of this stuff lying around.
25 Tuesday Sep 2012
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This past Friday was the first day of Fall, a time to reset for the upcoming winter, a time to put away the bathing suits, and a time to start thinking of Chili, Pumpkins, Football and “Sunday Roast”. I must admit, I need a bit of a reset as well.
On Sunday, I cooked our first Fall dinner of the season, it’s traditional in our house to sit together on Sunday evening and have an English style roast dinner. Medium rare beef, Yorkshire pudding, mushroom gravy, horseradish, roasted veggies and Claret. To be more precise, Leoville Barton 2001. A five star wine that I wrote about in the spring. Quietly maturing in my cellar for 10 years, it has rewarded my patience. I am not going to go into tasting details, you can read my previous post on this awesome Bordeaux. Instead, I am going to wax lyrical about the pleasures of cellaring a wine, watching it evolve and then opening it at precisely the right moment, with the right people. It tastes exponentially better.
It’s been kinda rough for us lately and I wanted to refresh, relax and just enjoy some of life’s little pleasures. Mission accomplished. I really enjoyed the dinner. The food and wine were superb, more importantly- I had my wife and children all sitting down at the table to have some quality family time. No I-pods, beepers, cell phones- just us and the charm of a cool Fall evening. It’s one of the few meals that all six of us likes.
Whoever you are, wherever you are, just take an evening off from your busy schedule and revert back to the basics for a change. Happy thoughts!
Leoville Barton 2001
23 Sunday Sep 2012
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Really……disappointed, with this thin wine. From the stellar 2009 vintage, I was hoping for depth, charachter, fruit and a cellaring potential. Nothing I mentioned showed up for this party. Overly acidic, unbalanced and lacking any semblance of a typical Burgundy, this wine is a major pass. Move it along people, don’t waste your time. I get nothing on the nose, a thin reedy mid palate of just juice and no fruit on the finish at all. 1star, and a paltry 80 points if done by pro wine taster. Sorry to burst bubbles….
22 Saturday Sep 2012
Posted in Wine reviews
Finally. I have been in a Shiraz/Syrah slump recently, not being able to find anything worth a damn. This wine came through for me. If you have read my previous posts on Aussie Shiraz, you will remember that I am not a huge fan of the monster jammy style, preferring a more subdued approach to managing the awesome potential of this grape. Elderton has done it with this wine, and for a decent price. Red fruitiness and good balance lead into a nice tannic mouthfeel that caresses with more plummy fruit and good acidity. The wine is somewhat young but drinking nicely already with another 5 years to maturity. My kind of wine for a meaty dinner, perhaps a beef stew. Good balance and a crowd pleaser. 4 stars, 91 points for around $22.
22 Saturday Sep 2012
Posted in Wine reviews
Yup, two vintages in one blog post- by accident. My local shop was running a BOGO on this wine. I am a little leery when shops are giving wine away at half price, a sure sign of it’s inability to sell. However, my goal is to taste every thing in this particular shop (not a huge selection mind you). So, I picked up my two bottles of Latour Camblanes and a bottle of Shiraz. When I arrived at the tasting site, I retrieved all the bottles from my bag and noticed that one of them had a green top on the capsule. Upon further investigation, the labels looked slightly different. I then realized that the staff had placed the 2009 vintage behind the 2008 and the SKU’s must have registered as the same item. I had paid full price for the 2008 and got the 2009 for free- as advertised. I was excited to perform a mini-vertical tasting and proceeded to open both bottles. I started with ’08 and realized my worst fears. The wine needed to be given away at half price, it was just shabby. No flavor profile, very little tannin and generally flat. Yuck. On to the 2009, not so. Cherry and tobacco, some edgy tannins and a crisp acidity made me come back for more. I did not drink any more of the 2008 because I believe strongly that life is too short to drink crappy wine. My drunk friend didn’t care and proceeded to polish it off for us, leaving the far better ’09 for me to ponder and enjoy. In a nutshell, 2009 was a far superior vintage in Bordeaux and this point was highlighted in our little tasting. I would imagine the ’08 was a combination of poorly made wine in an average vintage versus a little more effort put into a far better vintage. It’s a shame really because I am now poisoned by this brand. I will not take a chance on their wine, knowing that they did not perform in an average year and relied on nature to help them out in an excellent year. 2008 1 star and 80 points. 2009 3 stars and 85 points. Would I buy again? Nope.
18 Tuesday Sep 2012
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When in doubt about a wine list, go with D’Arenberg. Each bottling has the signature red sash across the label and I have never been let down- until yesterday. This wine was just so plain and uninteresting I had to see what others were saying. I am not alone. It must be the vintage, because I usually see some good depth in this brand, usually well balanced and flavorful. I got some red raspberry out of the nose, but not much transcending the palate. Very little tannic structure leave me to wonder about the long term viability of this vintage. A true disappointment, but I haven’t given up on the brand. Like I said, a go-to-wine when confused about a wine list. 2 stars and 85 points. Boo hoo…..
18 Tuesday Sep 2012
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Syrah is also known as Shiraz and comes in many styles from all over the world. In Australia, they make it in a jam-bolic style, in the south of France, a more restrained style. In Napa, Burgess has gone old-world and made a soft and rounded style of Syrah that I would consider pretty decent for an everyday drinker. However, the price of this offering versus the quality and value leave me somewhat disappointed. Some fruit, little tannic structure and nothing to really stick out and say “pick me”. I really wanted this wine to rock and roll, but it’s just not happening
. 2 stars in my books. I reckon an 86 pointer.
