Showing posts with label Granache. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Granache. Show all posts

Friday, May 25, 2012

World Tour on a Friday Night (France / Australia / Ontario)

Friends from Toronto came over in the evening (9:23pm) and the wine started following - as well some game meat sliders hit the BBQ (wild boar and kangaroo) ... so the big reds seemed to be the ones to bring out.  In honour of the kangaroo the 2008 Stalking Horse Shiraz seemed the good option, plummy, chocolate and dark fruited, big alcohol, really full in the mouth.  For no apparent reason I also opted to open a beauty of a French wine from the Languedoc, Domaine de Bachellery 2007 Grenache Fut de Chene.  The dark fruit shines on this one with touches of vanilla and spice; a seemingly delicate wine that proved to be delicious with both burgers, but still showed power and boldness once you got a few sips in.  The evening ended a few hours later with a bottle of Peninsula Ridge 2010 AJ Lepp Vineyard Merlot (http://ontariowinereview.com/wine-reviews/peninsula-ridge-2010-aj-lepp-reserve-merlot-); which proved to be the best wine of the evening (and I'm not just saying that because I live in Ontario) - it was delicate with mocha and coffee notes on the nose, and proved to be a complete opposite to the big-and-bold-ness of the French and Aussie wines.

To read more reviews or sign up for the bi-weekly newsletter visit: http://www.ontariowinereview.com



Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Borsao 2006 Tres Picos Garnacha (Spain)

Over the next week or two I will be pulling out quite a few Spanish wines from a box of wine I have been aging ... seems I put down at least four from that country into one box - usually I find that I have a high number of Ontario, California or Australian wines to get through ... but this box must have been laid down at a time when I was experimenting with Spanish finds, and why not.  Spain has some of the best wine values around.  Like this Tres Picos for instance. I have a notation that I picked it up in the US for 12.99 on the recommendation of my buddy Dave at Champane Wine Cellars - Dave has never steered me wrong on a bottle of hooch yet and again he proved his mettle here.  Now I am sure that I have reviewed this before, when it was much younger, but now that it has some age on it it's still a beauty lots of dark fruit with just the right amount of spice to make it complete - a beauty to sit and sip or a great companion to burgers (which was dinner this evening).


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Las Rocas 2009 Garnacha (Spain)

Many years ago I learned about Las Rocas wines while visiting my favourite wine shop in Michigan (Champane's Wine Cellars in Warren), my contact Dave said it was an underpriced gem, and he was right.  Now it seems this wine is coming to the general list of Ontario's LCBO - it's about time.  This really is a gem of a wine with blackberry, casis, spice and red raspberry on the nose; the aromas follow through on the palate while adding licorice all-sorts and cedar to the finish.  Smooth with lots of juicy fruit.

For more news and reviews visit http://www.ontariowinereview.com

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Vintjs 2008 Garnacha (Spain)

Tonight's wine is being drunk Italian style ... I am in a hotel room in Utica, Michigan, once again I find myself without proper stemware (or even glassware) and with some beautiful wines to possibly drink.  But the good thing is I am bringing the beauties back to Canada with me, where I have a plethora of glassware that'll make 'em taste great (as long as they are as good as the labels tell me they are).  But for now it's a juice glass and a $5.99 Garnacha purchased from Trader Joe's.  It's actually a 2008 red blend (labeled as Garnacha) from the Aragon region of Spain, made up of 80% Garnacha, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Syrah and 6% Merlot with a whopping 14.5% alcohol.  Dark purple in colour, smoky-vanilla-plum on the nose and lots of dark spiced fruit on the palate.  I would have given this one a few years to age, had I not seen the bright red plastic cork sealing the bottle ... oh well, at 5.99 it was never meant to age - it's definitely a suck it back (in a hotel juice glass) kinda evening.


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Thursday, January 27, 2011

La Multa 2008 Old Vines Garnacha (Spain)

I'm over at my parents place for dinner ... mom thinks she has found a find at Vintages this past weekend and is looking forward to giving it a try with me.  Problem is mom has some kind of pneumonia bug and everything tastes "metallic" (could be due to the antibiotics), but she still insists on opening the wine and giving it a go.  A real trooper my mom.  She says it still tastes off to her, while I think a different story.  If I'm not mistaken, I think she said she paid 13 bucks for this wine, and what a steal this one is.  It's a a drink now style of Granache from the country that grows more of the stuff than any other, Spain.  First the nose, lots of plum and blackberry with a spiced raspberry that starts to come out once the wine has been opened for about an hour - lots and lots of fruit aromas here.  On the palate it shows some real complexity: plum and blackberry lead the charge; sip after sip the wine seems to get juicier and spicier at the same time, till the palate has a spiced plum beginning to mid then turns to black pepper for the finish.  Really nice bottle of wine here that won't break the bank. Big alcohol too, at 14.5%.  A real winner with buzz potential.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Monday, September 21, 2009

Torres 2007 San Valentin (Spain)

This is a bottle of 100% Grenacha from Spain with a cutesy little cupid (complete with arrow) hanging from the neck. But while the bottle is cutesy, what's inside is far from it. The nose is vanilla, sweet blackberry and red licorice. At first the palate seemed a little bitter and too acidic, but give it 45 minutes to come out of its doldrums and you have one heck of a flavour profile here. Sweet vanilla oak and blackberry, a nice fruit to tannin ratio with a lingering dry finish complete with stoney mineral, black fruit and smoke.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Friday, May 1, 2009

Atteca Old Vines 2007 (Spain)

I find myself in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, the hub of wine activity here in the USA ... alright so I'm kidding, but that still doesn't change the fact that I am in Lake Geneva (for those who don't know, Lake Geneva is about an hour or so outside of Chicago). While touring the area, which includes the towns of Fontana and Williams Bay, I came upon a store called South Shores Country Store, which claimed on the map I am using, to have a "Huge Selection of Wine" ... those who know me know this is a sure fire way to get me to search out and stop at this place in my travels. "Huge" turned out to be about 15-20 wines whose prices were mostly in the $40 and up range - I guess by "huge" they meant price-wise. Later in the day I was talking to a local named Debbie, who told me of a little place back in Lake Geneva called "Pop More Corks", she told me they sell a lot of "cheap wine but have a good selection". Now that's more my speed. I must clarify that by "cheap" Debbie did not mean bad wines, she just meant inexpensive because there was nothing "cheap" about Dave's place (he's the owner). He has a huge selection of wines, over 350 labels, of which 75% are under $20. Here I am in small town USA (Lake Geneva for those with a short memory) at this incredible little hole-in-the-wall wine shop with a proprietor who speaks 'wine' as well as anyone I know (well maybe not anyone, but he sure does love his fermented grape juice). He pours 8 wines a day at his front counter and prides himself on either personal knowledge about or a relationship with each and every winery represented on his shelves (mostly "small lot, small production operations", though some big names are represented).

Now that you have the preamble I will tell you that this is where I bought this bottle of Atteca Old Vines Granacha 2007 (along with another wine to be named later). The vines are close to a hundred years old, or so claims the back label, and the wine is an absolute Spanish beauty. Full-on black fruit and spice on the nose with hints of vanilla, cinnamon and black cherry; the smells suck you in, demanding you taste. On the palate it's super spicy with lots of lush, juicy blackberries and cinnamon, touches of minerality and a boat load of big, drying tannins ... throughout the night this wine opened beautifully, softening the tannins and bringing out more of that lush berry and black fruit along with a geat bittersweet chocolate note on the finish. As an aside, I spoke with my sweetie earlier today, who is not with me on this journey, she thinks I'm slightly off my rocker because I came prepared with my own Reidel 'O' glasses (they travel well) ... I'm thrilled to have them along if for nothing else to enjoy this wonderful wine. As for that wine store (Pop More Corks) - in the immortal words of Governor Arnold, "I'll be back".

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Las Rocas 2006 Garnacha (Spain) & Four Vines 2006 Old Vines Cuvee Zinfandel (California)

This was a night of no smell ... not the wine, me. I'm still in Michigan and as of Saturday I have had little sense of smell or taste. The two wines I have done so far I have relied heavily on my sweetheart (with whom I am visiting) to let me know what I think I am smelling - with an elongated nose blowing I can get a slight sense of smell (for about twenty-to-thirty-seconds, max). Tonight was a toughie, we had invited another couple from Canada (they live in Windsor) over for a meet and greet. I decided the wine to serve with dinner was the Las Rocas 2006 Garnacha - a wine I had tasted previously during a Vintages release and enjoyed very much. I remember it having lots of dark fruit and cherries, chocolate and spices ... and here across the border I was able to pick up a few bottles from Dave at Champane's for a mere $8.99 - even with the exchange on the Canadian dollar being what it is that's still a bargain. Everyone around the table loved it, I enjoyed it because I knew what it tasted like, and was able to convince myself I could actually smell and taste it. About an hour into dinner (near the end of the main, when we were all sitting digesting and talking about things before dessert), the question of glassware came up; at the same time the topic of what is this "real Zinfandel" I keep talking about (our guests were convinced it was a pink product). Down into the cellar I went and brought up a bottle of Four Vines Zinfandel (another product of Dave's recommendation). I also produced a array of stemware: a Riesling- and Pinot Noir-style glass by Spiegelau and a Bordeaux by Schott Zwiesel. The game was on.

With no sense of smell, or much of taste for that matter, I told my guests that glassware was very important. I proceeded to pour the wine into the three glasses, placed the stemware in front of them and had them try for themselves. This was an interesting glass tasting in the sense that I had never done it before with Zinfandel. My sweetie looked at me dubiously as I attempted to sniff a glass (with barely the sound of intaking air), she smiled. I guessed at many of the smells I was getting, she confirmed with a head nod. Cherries, sweet red fruit, lots of vanilla and plum - she also told me it came through on the palate with a delightful, almost sweet, smoothness - I'm sure the 14.6% alcohol was also helpful with that. My guests were convinced about the glassware making a difference to the taste and smell of a wine - Hallelujah ... even with my limited senses I was able to persuade and teach the gospel of the glass.

As we bid adieu to our new found friends, waving them down the drive, my darling turned to me and said, "if you are like this tomorrow there is no way we should go over to Dave's for a wine tasting." I looked dejected. She finished her point, "No sense he should waste good wine on someone who can't enjoy it, let alone smell it. Now get to bed," she said kissing me on the cheek, "and keep your germs away from me, no sense in us both being ill." Up the stairs I trudged, knowing full well I would have to cancel a tasting ... bummer.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Bodegas Borsao 2007 Monte Oton (Spain)

My first day in Michigan saw me visiting Dave at Champane's Wine Cellar (fans of Drinking With Dave will be happy to know that part 2 is coming soon). I was there to grab a few bottles of a Las Rocas Granache that was just recently released through Vintages at the LCBO and sold for about $17 and sold for $8.99 here - even with the exchange being what it is this is a good deal for this bottle. I bumped into Dave and told him what I was there for; he said, "If you like that you'll also enjoy this one." He walked me over to another display with this colourful polka-dot bottle of Monte Oton, another 100% Granache that sold for a measily $5.99 - I had seen the bottle but thought the cheesy packaging and low price might Not make for a good wine in the bottle ... but after trying it tonight I think that not only is this not a cheesy wine but an absolute steal at that price. The nose is complex and loaded with great aromas: blackberries and blueberries, plums, sweet black licorice, pepper and cocoa powder. The taste is just as impressive: lots of pepper, spice and tannic black fruit, which leads me ot believe there's some ageability in this bottle, and at that price it's worth picking up a few and lugging back across the border.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Castillo de Monseran 2007 Grenacha (Spain)

I had read about this wine while perusing the Wine Access International Value Wine Awards* - it took one of the top spots for Spanish wines, and had one of the best price to value ratios; it retails for under $9 in Ontario, and in my mind that's a must try. I bought three bottles, one to drink now and two to age a little longer. Tonight, I opened a bottle and within 10-minutes decided that what I thought might be corked was indeed corked, good thing I had a second bottle; which proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the first bottle was definitely corked. With the bad bottle out of the way I was able to concentrate on this wine and get a good smell and taste of it. Fairly simple really, with black cherry and spice on both the nose and palate, very quaffable and at a great price ... if you get a good bottle - remember, corked wine smells like wet basement or cardboard - if you are at all skeptical move on to another wine and take the offender back.

*the award winner was the 2006 vintage.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Friday, December 26, 2008

Las Rocas de San Alejandro 2005 Vinas Viejas Garnacha (Spain)

After my visit with Dave I ended up with a number of interesting wines to try. One was this old vines Garnacha from Spain. No mention as to how old the “old vines” are, but then again there is no real worldwide definition or wine law that states what old vines means constitutes; you either take the word of the label or of the wine merchant who is selling it to you. I paid an extra 5 bucks for the pleasure of drinking this old vines wine over the regular vines … plus it was an extra year older. This truly was a delicious wine with blackberry, raspberry, chocolate and spice greeting me on the nose; black berry, cassis, cinnamon, spice and smooth dark chocolate on the palate. The tannins are there, but they are so well integrated into the wine that it takes several sips before they are noticed. I’d give this one 5-7 years of lie down time, but it’s a pleasure to drink now.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)