2005 Perrin and Fils Chateauneuf du Pape Les Sinards

Chateauneuf du pape- don't ask me to pronounce it- is a region in the Southern Rhone of France known for its red wines. The region usually blends grenache and syrah along with up to 11 other grape varieties, many of which are unrecognizable to the average folk. Unfortunately for cheapskates like myself, the average price per bottle has risen dramatically over the years. For this, we have Robert Parker to blame. While Burgundy and Bordeaux have historically always been well known throughout the wine world, chateauneuf du pape was France's little secret. With Parker's commercial success, he quickly drove prices to fall more in line with the reviews he transcribed.
As it stands today, there are other wine appellations within the Rhone that are probably the "next chateauneuf du pape" including Cornas and Vaqueryas, which are increasingly improving their quality and provide much better value. They do, however, lack the unique bottle of a chateauneuf. For those unfamiliar with what I am speaking of, the bottle has a mitre, or papal regalia, on the front of the bottle, giving it a very important look. Good thing the wine is worthy.

As for this particular bottle, it was the second time I had it and it wasn't as good as the first tasting. It was much too reserved and didn't have the depth I recalled. This is not a fruity wine, nor should it be, and it carries more of a minerally texture, along the lines of many French wines. I usually like that but this was lacking too much in the flavor department.
Speaking of Parker, he gave it a 91, while Wine Spectator gave it a 92. I'd go even lower and settle on a 90. The last time I had it, I believe I gave it a 93. Go figure. Just goes to show....
Regardless, if you do find yourself buying a 2005 chateauneuf, you should probably give it a little bit more time (check out the clip for one of my favorite songs of all time).

2006 Catena Alta Chardonnay

Butter and spice might be in the recipe for egg nog this time of year but it is also the key for this wine. With grapes grown over 5,000 feet above sea level, this wine is grown at an altitude that is abnormally high. While growers are attempting to repeat this feat in the Rockies, it has not happened yet. If it does, God knows that there is plenty of land available in Colorado and Utah. Think value.

This wine is very smooth and round. It's full bodied without being too oaky, nutty or buttery; in other words, it has balance.

This is an interesting test of the reviewers. Wine Advocate rated this wine a 93 and claimed that the wine had a level of complexity for a Burgundy that would cost 2 to 3 times this wine's $25.00 retail tag. Wine Spectator gave it a 90 and Stephen Tanzer of IWC gave it a 91. Each reviewer pointed out different characteristics of the wine, which goes to show that everyone's palate is different; even the experts! While there may be some commonality among the reviewers, ie in this case the rich, full bodied nature of the wine, there are many differences "picked up" by the experts. I think this wine exhibits a lot of vanilla and butter and some spice but I did not notice the baked apple, tropical fruits and floral notes. To be honest with you, I'm not sure I'd want a wine that was buttery, spicy, tropically, appley, peachy and floral. That might be a little too complex, wouldn't you agree?
At any rate, I'd give the wine a 91 and you'd probably give it a higher score if you really enjoy round, rich chardonnays. This adds to my theory that Wine Advocate tends to rate rich, round, strong flavored wines higher scores than do their competitors, especially Wine Spectator, who tend to place more emphasis on balance and soft, nuanced flavors. I'm not saying either is right or wrong, but knowing this going into assessing the reviewers is helpful as you use these ratings to economically select wines.

2006 Monte Antico Toscana

Sometimes wine takes a few chews before you can enjoy it. Other times, you enjoy a wine on the first sip. Personally, the former is a lot more common than the latter as was the case for me with this wine. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Some of my favorite bands also required more than one listen before I "got it". One of those bands was Modest Mouse. Once I "got it", I never looked back.

The Monte Antico Toscana is a blend of 75% sangiovese, 15% cabernet sauvignon and 10% merlot. A wine like this is now called a "super tuscan". This wine is $10.00/bottle so I would call it the "super-priced tuscan." It combines the dark flavors of sangiovese with the rounded fruit and tannins of merlot and cabernet sauvignon and does it beautifully.

I give this wine a 91 and would label it *********CASE WORTHY*********CASE WORTHY*********CASE WORTHY******************

2005 Turkey Hill Barossa Valley Shiraz

Wow.

Ok, let me first start with the setting for this wine because it gets into the topic of melding food and wine, only on the highest scale: Thanksgiving. Wine, when chosen carefully, can make the flavors in food more pronounced. This is not always an easy proposition however.

This issue is magnified at Thanksgiving, because of the number of different dishes and flavors. Turnips, mashed potatoes, stuffing (variations on this side dish aloneare many), cranberry sauce/relish, corn, brussel sprouts. Oh, and let's not forget the turkey! How can you possibly pick a bottle that can stand up to all of these flavors? Good question. Many experts and sommeliers will tell you that zinfandel is the way to go. Others speak to the virtues of a white wine, such as chardonnay, riesling or gewurtztraminer.

This year, I chose an Australian shiraz, for its dark fruit flavors. I didn't choose the wine based on the name of the vineyard but I could have and I would have been happy with that rationale. The best way I could think of to describe this bottle was blackberry pie. It was a perfect accompaniment to the cranberry relish, to the turkey and to the stuffing of fresh bread, pine nuts, red mustard greens and currants. The wine more than held its own against my full plate but it also didn't extend itself to the point where it took away from any of the strong flavors of the food. I'd call it a perfect match.

Robert Parker gave this wine a 95, Wine Enthusiast a 94 and Wine Spectator a 91. In this case, I'd have to go with WE as the wine was a great buy, even at $40 retail. It will age for at least 15 more years so I'd buy and hold.

2006 Falesco Umbria Sangiovese

Sangiovese, a grape that I wrote about in a previous blog, is a versatile grape. In its highest form, it is a very strong, deep red wine that can age for 20 years or more (brunello di montalcino). This particular wine is on the opposite end of the spectrum, retailing for $10.99. That said, I had this wine with an organic slice of pizza consisting of chicken, lime and cilantro and another slice with savory ground beef, black beans and jalapeno peppers toppings and the wine held its own equally well against both slices. It didn't necessarily have the leathery, tobacco flavors of a brunello but it was a tasty glass of wine. Exhibiting darker fruit, this wine had a smooth, clean finish. For $10.99, this is a great way to delve into the world of Tuscan wines. Just look out for the Monster of Florence. I'd give this wine an 89 and is a value in the world of Italian reds.

Crognolo Tenuta Sette Ponti 2006

Sangiovese is a grape native to Italy. The common scents and flavors are tar, tobacco and leather. And this is something one is supposed to drink? Well, it just so happens that sangiovese is one of the most expensive grape varietals on the planet. It is the grape responsible for vino nobile di montepulciano, chianti and brunello di montalcino (one of the most well known and expensive red wines on the planet). This particular wine takes that grape and blends it with merlot. MERLOT? Merlot is the grape that everyone makes fun of, you might note. Merlot is also one of the best blending grapes in the world because of its high alcohol, fruit forward flavors. Merlot is blended in many of the best Bordeauxs, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and sometimes Petit Verdot or Malbec.
So, this wine takes those two grapes and puts them together and, in this case, the whole may be greater than the sum of its parts. It is generally referred to as a super tuscan (and this one certainly fits the bill)! It's called a super tuscan because it does not follow normal appellation guidelines (in Italy, you may be able to get away with this but good luck trying this stunt in France with a bottle of Burgundy!).
This wine retails for around $35.00 and is perfect with a pasta dish with a red wine sauce (spicy or otherwise). The merlot certainly holds its own against the sangiovese flavors giving you a complex wine that is balanced. Sometimes high alcohol wines like merlot can be out of balance (and you can usually taste the out of balance-ness when you swallow it as it goes down hard and harsh), but in this case the finish is very smooth. You can taste the sangiovese tobaccos and the fruit forward berries of merlot. This wine is also a good way to delve into the sangiovese grape, if you have never tried it before. I recommend this wine but I'd save it for a few years.

2006 Kangarilla Road Shiraz Viognier

This wine is young. There is no question about it. One of Robert Parker's henchmen may say you can drink it now but this wine has a ways to grow. WHO ARE ROBERT PARKER'S PEOPLE ANYWAY? Can you really trust them? I know they have been trained to rate wine like he would but how can you know for sure? I've found that Robert Parker's reviews are more consistent than his understudies. However, the only publication I really can follow consistently is Wine Spectator. For example, I have yet to drink one of their wines with a rating over 92 that I was not entirely pleased with. Wine Advocate, on the other hand, has had a number that failed to make my grade. Wine Spectator tends to like a more balanced wine, in my opinion, and that's also why I probably respect their opinion more.

Anyway, onto the wine, At $20/bottle, this is a 92% shiraz, 8% viognier blend from McLaren Vale in Australia. With time, this wine could be great. The viognier (a white wine that is typically very floral and that has some of the strongest aromas found in wine) certainly adds delicacy to the strong shiraz flavors of black pepper and black berries.

I'm going to buy another bottle and save it five years and I'll bet you my notes then are more complimentary.

2007 Darting Durkheimer Michelsburg Riesling

If you want to understand the concept of minerality in wine, I recommend this wine. Value? Check. At $14/bottle, this German riesling would complement a spicy Chinese/Thai dish extremely well. Length? You bet. The minerality extends at least 30 seconds, which is a great sign for a white wine.
Kabinetts tend to be less sweet than their Auslese or Spatlese counterparts and this wine certainly fits that bill. The overall mouth-feel is medium bodied for a ries and really holds it own alongside food.
If you are having a dinner party or heading to a BYOB with friends and you are in the mood for a riesling, I recommend a kabinett because it is more likely to be enjoyed with all types of white wine drinkers. Many ausleses and spatleses are not necessarily appreciated by people that like dry wines. On the other hand, for people that like sweet wines, there is just enough sugar and sweetness for you as well!
I highly recommend this wine.

Chateau Pesquie Quintessence 2005

At 80% syrah and 20% grenache, this wine is extremely full bodied. Freshly picked blackberries on the nose and licorice on the mid and back palate. For $25, you would be hard pressed to find a syrah/grenache blend from France that is this complex. The grenache really adds balance to the structure of the wine.

If you are having lamb for Easter, serve this wine with it. It will cut right through the meat.

Luigi Bosca 2007 pinot noir

Pinot noir from... from Argentina?!!! Yes, and it got a 90 from Robert Parker. I had to try it based on the newness of the concept.

Unfortunately, I thought the wine was lacking. No barnyard, no nothing. Little flavor, to be honest. At $15 it was reasonably priced, and I generally don't dip below $20 on pinot noir period so maybe it's a weight class issue. Maybe if I compared it to a $15 Oregon Pinot noir and certainly if I compared it to a French burgundy, it might hold its own.

Regardless, I suppose some wines are just getting too expensive for their own good. To not be able to find a $15 pinot noir is a problem, when you can find other varietals, even CABERNET, that have much more quality at that price. It's a shame but the truth of the matter is that there are just not that many places that can grow pinot noir. Supply and demand. When up and coming countries, like China and India start flocking to pinot, watch out. The sky is the limit.

Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Sauvignon blanc is consistently the best wine that you can buy for $10 or less. That is not open for debate. I take that back. New Zealand sauvignon blanc is the best wine that you can buy for $10.00 or less. This wine was extremely crisp with a smooth finish. As with most New world Sauvis, Dashwood exhibited passionfruit in a clean, oakless setting.

For $8.00 a bottle, this wine is a perfect accompaniment to seafood, although the complexity was somewhat lacking. I'd mark it down as a quality summertime drink. Mark it eight dude.

Rosenblum 2006 Petite Sirah Pickett Road

My wife and I are drinking this wine as our first fire of the year glows in the background. Let me just say that this is the type of wine that makes a fire unnecessary. This wine has a very Deep Purple hue. and has 14.8% alcohol and you can taste it in every draw. That's not to say that it's not enjoyable. Parker would call it a fruit bomb. I call it a che che che che che che cherry bomb. It's nuanced for a wine that is this ripe. Cherries, vanilla and a smoky oakiness all come across on the palate.

The back palate is a little too intense for me; slightly unbalanced if you will. However, there is no denying the long finish. You can taste it well after your draw.

For $20, you can't beat this wine on a night when you are looking for a little internal heat to help you through a long winter. And it goes pretty damn well with the heat of good Mexican food, although I think it would probably overpower many other cuisines except for perhaps gamey meats.

vino, part 1

Wine is dynamic. From year to year, region to region and varietal to varietal, the saying truly fits the bill, "no two wines are the same". In and of itself, that makes wine different and exciting. You can drink a Budweiser year after year after year and it still tastes like Bud. Wine is different and it's more challenging and, I would argue, rewarding than most other types of alcohol. Opening up a bottle and not knowing quite what to expect is what it's all about. Having a bottle that is everything you expected and more can make for a great evening with friends and family.

The thing about wine is that there is so much to learn and know and that knowledge changes regularly. A good year for Bordeauxs might also be a horrible year for Burgundys and a mediocre year for Brunellos. The next year, the tables could very easily turn. At the end of the day, there is a lot to know. The only way that you can overcome the depth of wine is to taste and read and form your own judgments on those readings and tastings.

For the many of us who have gotten into wine slowly, because they liked the taste of a cabernet or a pinot noir, little did we know how far this hobby would go. It starts with wanting to try all varietals; an amarone, a vouvray, a sauternes and then it goes deeper into making comparisons within those varietals. And every year (at least for most wines and vintages) brings on a whole new "batch" to start all over with.

My palate longs to try something different so I am open to most varietals and types of wine: I like dry more than sweet but I'll drink both. I can drink a red wine that is high or low in tannins. I can drink a barnyard pinot noir or a fruity pinot noir high in alcohol. I can drink an oaky, buttery chardonnay from Napa Valley or a dry, crisp Chablis. There is no doubt that we all have our preferences but I think part of what strengthens my love for wine is knowing how much there is out there that I would really enjoy. I hope you feel the same.

With this blog, I hope to give you my opinions on some of the wines I taste as well as make more general statements on wines. Enjoy!