I find myself at the Festival Inn in Stratford enjoying the evening with my wife after we returned from the events that took place on the Saturday afternoon at Savour Stratford (a report will follow in the next few days on the On the Road blog). I brought along a little something special to while away the evening ... at least I am hoping it is special. Not sure why I have been holding onto this wine like it was gold, I guess I am impressed to have some white other than Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand in my possession. A curious wine because it started out a little too funky but then seemed to reclaim itself ... let me explain. The nose started off too petrolly and almost hard to drink, but the palate didn't have that problem, there was little to no petrol there. So I decided to let it sit and see what happened (our fridge might have also been a little too cold). Yes petrol was hanging out in the background but there were also smells of apricot and lemon peel. The taste also proved to be rather interesting with citrus notes in the form of lemon pith, over-ripe pear and some apricot. As the wine warmed and opened up; after another hour there were hints of green apple and some minerality thru the mouth that disappeared into an apricot-lemon pith finish. I think this wine has held up rather nicely.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Cline 2005 Ancient Vines Zinfandel (California)
Even sittin' at home on a Friday evening I found myself in a California State of Mind, so I opened up an old bottle of this favourite from Cline. They say the vines they use are between 80-100 years old, that's pretty ancient indeed. Now at first I was not sure about this wine, things did not smell good and the taste was suspect. The nose was plummy to a degree but also had quite a bit of pruney and foresty floor nuances. The taste also rode the line with vanilla, oak, creme de cacao but with a long slightly pruned-oaked finish. But with more time in the glass and some more aeration to the wine it began to sprout. In the end I got chocolate with dried plum, but not yet prune notes and some spice started to show up to give the wine a nice kick. Yup, a decanter and an hour would have helped this wine, but I could not wait to get to the good stuff - patience is a virtue and sometimes I have none of it.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Trinchero 2009 Zinfatuation (California)
As the label suggests this is another in a string of Zinfandels I have been drinking here in California over the past week. This one is an exclusive to Cost Plus World Market, where I had purchased a few bottles in San Francisco. It's rich and plummy with hints of vanilla and black cherry on the nose. The palate is plummy with some spice and loads of vanilla - an easy sipper for an afternoon staring out at Monterey Bay trying to pick out sea otters in the bay and on the rocks. Thinking back to the past week, my favourite Zin on the trip was the first one I tried, but this one is quite lovely and another steal for 8.99 or something ridiculous like that ... like seriously how can you go wrong with a wine that inexpensive, worse case scenario you dump it in the stew. Well I guess it's cheers from California, tomorrow it's back to the Great White North where I will be screwed at the cash register for even the simplest bottle of wine at our liquor monopoly (good bye free enterprise, hello rubber glove).
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Chock Rock Vineyard 2006 Syrah - Chalone (California)
A beauty of a Syrah that I tried while touring around the Carmel Valley area of Monterey, and happened across this winery tasting room, the project of Dan Karlsen, winemaker for Talbott Vineyards. I was impressed by this reasonably priced ($18.00) Syrah that had so much actual Syrah character; probably because the grapes come from the cool Chalone appellation of Monterey. I liked it in the tasting room and I'm loving it even more now that I have it in a larger, more appropriate glass. Smells are of dark fruit and smoked meat while the palate has some lovely peppery notes, raspberry fruit and plenty of spice, Dan has also managed to trap some good acidity here so it's not a heavy jammy Syrah and it'll pair well with meat and cheese, I have no meat in the room but I am munching on some cheese as a pairing and it is just heavenly, especially with those cheeses that have a bit of a bite to them.
Friday, September 16, 2011
White Blend - Murietta, Chardonnay - Lockwood and Syrah - Qupe (California)
Dinner at Shake's Old Fisherman's Grotto on Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey was wonderful and the entire Jazz-FM party seemed to congregate at the place, all 26 of us, give or take one or two. Jazz-FM is the group I find myself with to attend the Monterey Jazz Festival, and our first night in Monterey finds us here a day earlier than the festival begins to take in the sights. Which is why tonight we find ourselves at the above mentioned restaurant.
I find myself at a table with two other couples and they look to me for some interesting wine choices for dinner. Each couple is responsible for a bottle, and with 25% off anything local it makes the wine selection a little easier. We start off with a poached pear and Gorgonzola salad and pair it with a Murietta's Well 2010 The Whip, a blended white from 6 different grapes including Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Semillon, Pinot Blanc, Orange Muscat and Muscat Canelli. The nose is very aromatic with lemon, floral and sweet grass while the palate has a slightly sweet-grassy flavour along with lemon, floral, apple and hints of limeade on the finish, there is also a touch of pear and some great orange creamsicle notes that make it creamy and delicious.
Moving to the main I have, as well as 4 of my table-mates, a sesame encrusted walu ... which I just learned is also known as the ex-lax fish because of its laxative effects it has on humans (according to a January 2010 CNN report) and has been banned in such places as Japan and Italy (good to know now). I can say it was very tasty especially with its coating of sesame ... we paired that with a Lockwood 2009 Chardonnay that had lovely smells of pineapple, apple and hints of vanilla on the nose followed by nectarine, peach, and pear fruit in the mouth along with a subtle spiced-vanilla finish.
Ending the evening with a little creme brulee topped with fresh strawberries and a Qupe 2009 Syrah that was loaded with black raspberry and white pepper on both the nose and palate, there were also some decent tannins on the finish to keep it from being jammy.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Peachy Canyon Winery 2008 Incredible Red - Zinfandel (California)
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| View from room in Monterey |
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Hahn Winery 2009 Meritage (California)
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