Speaking of wines I like to try and buy, this Marietta Cellars Old Vines Red is always something I look forward to seeing on the shelves of my favourite American retailer (Champane Wine Cellars in Michigan), the price is always agreeable ($9.99) and I have yet to be disappointed by this blend. They claim, on the back label, that it is "primarily old vines Zinfandel" and it has that Zin characteristic of rich ripe plum that I adore. Marietta chooses not to vintage date this wine, opting instead to "Lot" number it, this is the 50th edition of this wine and it should have a little more glitz on the label to celebrate. Instead it has the same old same old writing and you have to search for the lot number, but there is something a little bit new, a bold font statement at the bottom of the label about how Marietta continues to be proudly be family owned and operated since 1978. As for what's in the bottle, this is a ten dollar bottle of wine that over delivers, the smells are spiced plum and chocolate while the palate doles out such favourites as white pepper, plum and Christmas cake spices. Lip-smackingly good. I'm thinking of picking up a few more next time I am south of border.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Newton 2006 Chardonnay (California)
I'm a fan of the Newton Claret (red blend) and have tried various incarnations of the Newton Chardonnay, over the years, and have found myself, in general, being a fan of that too (which is a surprise because of my usual nature is to dislike Chardonnay). I picked this one while down in the States in the hope that this was one of the year's that I liked the Chardaonnay; alas this was not one of those yeasr ... it definitely was not my favourite of the Newton Chards that I have tried, it had many of the characteristics people find offensive in Chardonnay these days (but used to love): to much oak treatment; I found it difficult to find fruit on either the nose or palate on this wine. The nose showed hints of apple, but they were obscured by vanilla, caramel and almond. The palate showed a little more promise in the fruit department, with hints of lemon and baked apple, but still there was much more hazelnut, caramel and spice then there was fruit flavour. The saving grace here was a nice seam of acidity which had me taking sip after sip looking for redeeming qualities, but finding very little.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Vinhos Sogrape 2003 Callabriga (Portugal)
Damn near a tragedy in the wine department tonight. I pulled a bottle of 2003 Chateau de Montgueret "Le Petit Saint Louis" out of the cellar this evening ... no particular reason it was just the first bottle that caught my eye. Popping the cork I could already smell something and not sure I was liking what I was smelling. I poured the wine into a glass and gave a whiff, a faint hint of cork, while the taste was muted and almost mildewy-like ... yup a corked bottle. Usually when I have a night like this I end up pulling about 2 or 3 other bottles out of the cellar that have other faults (too old, too sharp, too something), but not tonight. I next yanked this Callabriga out of the cellar, a blend of Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca from Portugal; funny coincidence, it was a bottle I had been wondering about 2 days ago but had not gone in search of it because of other wines I was planning on trying. So it turned out to be my lucky night ... out with the French and in with the Portuguese. This was a beautiful wine with lots of aromas and flavours: plum (the most dominant) with vanilla, cherry, blackberry and some chocolate notes. The wine was smooth and easy with very ripe juicy fruit and a little fine sediment on the bottom of the bottle and in my glass ... here's one I wish I had 3 more of; though if I had I probably would not be typing out this review tonight.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Venedos Errazuriz Ovalle 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile)
This is one of those bottles that I was scared of. I was not worried about the age of the wine or that it looked funny in the bottle, nope - I share a case of this wine with a friend and she had just informed me that the last two remaining bottles she had were both bad: oxidized due to the plastic cork closure. So I peeled the capsule off with a little trepidation. To my shock under the capsule was a natural cork, I have never been so happy to see a cork in my life. I almost jumped off the table I was sitting on and did a little jig - lucky for the people around me I didn't. As for the wine, it was kind of one dimensional with a minty-raspberry nose and a palate that followed suit, hints of black fruit did begin to emerge with a little aeration but the mintyness seemed almost overwhelming at times.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Michel Torino Estate 2006 Don David Malbec Reserve (Argentina)
Malbec is the grape on everybody's lips these days, especially when you are referring to Argentinean wine. I was speaking with an Argentine sommelier the other day and she said that nobody is interested in any other grape coming out of Argentina, "it's Malbec every time all the time." That's too bad because Argentine wine fans should be on the lookout for Cabernet Sauvignons and Bonardas coming out of that country. Tonight I didn't try either, Malbec was on my mind too ... I was doing bbq chicken with a smoky sauce and thought a Malbec would go well ... oh heck, who's kidding who, I had picked the wine out long before I had even thought about dinner and I am lucky that the two went decently together; for me it's all about the wine. This one had a nose of blackberry, vanilla, pepper and cinnamon - not surprising since the wine saw 12 months of new oak, and because of that I was surprised not to see more oak influence on the wine. The palate has lots of big black fruit with loads of spice and pepper Decanted there's sweet black fruit on the nose with juicy black fruit on the palate and plenty of fruit and oak tannins. I'm glad I have a few more bottles of this wine left cause I see myself enjoying this one again in 2-3 years.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Tatachilla 2003 Keystone Shiraz-Viognier (Australia)
Decided on this wine after a day in Niagara ... usually on days where I go to or try wines from a specific region that night I like to have a glass from a region that's not even a hint close to the one I have been dealing with all afternoon. This Shiraz-Viognier from Australia seemed the perfect foible to all the Niagara based wines with their food friendly nature and high acidity. I was looking for big fruit, low acidty and maybe a hint of chocolate; what I ended up getting was a heck of lot more than I bargained for. The nose on this one is just a touch on the floral side (and I mean titch) with big pepper notes. On the palate big was the opportune word: big spice, big pepper, big wine (15%) ... fruit did start to emerge about an hour later, but it was too late to make a difference, the spices had already worked their magic.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Kaikan 2006 Ultra Cabernet Sauvignon (Argentina)
Many years ago I tried, what I believe, was one of the best Malbecs I had tried from Argentina, it was the Chilean winery Montes' Argentinean project called Kaiken and the wine was called Ultra - and it truly was (ultra). Since then I have watched as Kaiken has become it's own name and brand and has now also come into the Ontario market as a Vintages Essential product, meaning it is available all the time, the Ultra is still a once in a while item but the Reserva is readily available, and quite tasty. So imagine my surprise (happily) when I saw that the Ultra was coming back, but this time instead of the Malbec we were going to meet his brother, Ultra Cabernet Sauvignon (being released this weekend at Vintages - Nov. 21, 2009). I have acquired a bottle early so that I can drink it before most people even line up tomorrow morning. The wine is rich and fruity on the nose with plenty of blackberry and black cherry to go around. The palate likes to focus on the spiciness of this wine instead of the intense fruit the nose seems to hone in on, all the while we deal with some pretty firm, yet flexible tannins on the tongue. I still think the Ultra line is one of the best to come out of Argentina and I'm glad to see another varietal being used ... this is one big wine (14.5%) that needs a big glass or some decanting (or if you have it, some time). I'm also a big fan of the dark chocolate finish. Drink up.
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