Before I even begin I have to come clean, I am a fan of Masi's Campofiorin ... I am also a big fan of well-made Ripasso, hence now you know why I enjoy Campofiorin, still one of the best made in the style. This one is from a Masi-declared 5-star vintage, of which their have been very few, I believe it's something like five over the past 80 years (checking back with my notes on the subject it's 8 since 1942). I have been sitting on this bottle for probably the last 4 years and still have a few more in my cellar so I can watch the development of this wine. Tonight we had my brother and his family over for dinner and after some aperitifs of Rose and Sauvignon Blanc I BBQed up some sausages and had to find a wine that would go. Now it's 30 degrees in the shade (that's ~ 90F) on this lovely Saturday and the thought of a hot and heavy red did not seem like a good plan ... but this wine fridge dweller seemed like it just might do the trick. The wine was silky with enough acidity and tannins to keep it on pace with the smokiness and flavour profile of an array sausages (honey mustard, cheese and onion, medium, etc). The fruit was also very nice with cherry and plum taking center stage followed up by spices and some smoky character; all finished off with a lovely bit of chocolate. This wine stood up extremely well and still has plenty of life left in it, in fact it barely showed any of its 7 year age. I can't wait to open my next bottle, which could be in a few months or in a few years, but I have no doubt that it will be another exciting and tasty experience with Masi.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Friday, July 5, 2013
Starry Night 2011 Zinfandel (California)
A friend of mine in Michigan recommended this bottle of Zinfandel, and so after sitting on it for all of 3 months I finally figured it was time to open it ... it was rib night after all and what goes better with a plate of back ribs than a lush and fruity Zinfandel. Great honey garlic bbq ribs and this Zin was a match made in heaven: the nose and palate matched right up with lots of plum, black cherry, vanilla and smoke - there was also a lovely hint of cocoa that lingered on the finish.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Darting 2006 Riesling Spatlese - Ungsteiner Herrenberg (Germany)
Riesling doesn't get anymore chuggable than this one on a hot day ... this Darting 2006 Spatlese was just the ticket as the sun beat down. Now Spatlese can be somewhat of a gamble in the heat (or anytime), too sweet and it's syrupy, too dry and ... let's just go with the sweet part, dry Riesling is good anytime. This Darting is a delight at 7 years of age, the nose has peach and apricots rolled in with a lick of honey and lemon. Taste follows the nose to a tee and still with enough acidity to cleanse the palate leaving enough sweetness behind for a long finish that gets you craving the next sip - quite delicious.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
One with Friends - One for Us (California / France)
Beautiful (almost) summer evening on the back deck. Some friends came over for an impromptu drink and I open a bottle of something I picked up in Michigan this past weekend, Greystone Cellars 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon from California ... this is an almost perfect deck wine as it is big on fruit, low on tannin and nothing to get in the way of the fruity nature of this wine on the palate; had I chilled this wine for about 20 minutes it would have been perfect: fruit forward, lots of plum and cherry with no complications.
Then they went off to make dinner for their respective families and we were left to deal with own dinner plans (tonight we are breaking in the new wok): a stir-fry of shrimp and veggies, it seemed only fitting to open something to enjoy. Bouchard Pere & Fils 2010 Mâcon-Lugny Saint-Pierre was the Chardonnay of choice for this seafood dish. Peach (pit), apple and butter on the nose with a hint of vanilla (bordering on butterscotch) hanging out in the background; the palate follows pretty close to the nose with a really good acid backbone that makes it so easy to take another sip ... there's also a hit of citrus pith on the long finish that lingers pleasantly. Great for sipping before, during and even after the meal.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
J. Lohr 2005 Bay Mist Riesling (California)
In the midst of an Ontario Riesling extravaganza, which included a 2006 Rockway, 2007 Calamus and a 2012 Jackson-Triggs I found myself with a bottle of this J. Lohr from Monterey, California ... also funny to note that it was the oldest wine in our line-up today. I'm not usually a California Riesling kinda guy, so I'm not sure how this wine managed to find it's way into my cellar (obviously I bought it, but when?). I think I was most impressed by the initial subtlety of this wine and its under-expressive nose upon opening ... it's closing statement was one filled with fun and intrigue ... let me explain. When the nose finally started to come around there were aromas of lemon seed, yellow apple and a touch of pear ... the palate also took a little time to coax, at first it was mostly the sweetness of apple and pear and there also seemed to be a lack of bracing acidity, in fact there was almost no acidity at all. By the time the nose came on line and the palate started to show itself to have a rather pleasant sweet white fruit seam with (and this is where it got interesting) a funky / fun vanilla coconut finish - not flavours I readily relate to Riesling but it definitely added another dimension to this wine.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Kaesler 2005 Stonehorse Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre (Australia)
I have to tell you that I have been eyeing up this bottle of wine for the past week or so and why I did not open it sooner was because of antiquated wisdom. First, this is a big red from Oz with huge alcohol (15%) and over the past week we were having some nice fish dishes for dinner, and the thought of trying to force this wine to match with shrimp, salmon, or cod was a bit of a hard pill to swallow (or wine to drink) ... I know I always say to drink what you want with what you like to eat and throw out the old white with fish / red with meat guide book our parents all preached from; but there are times when that old book comes in handy and a big Aussie blend is not for the feint of heart (or the delicate of fish). And I have to say that I am glad I waited for Saturday's dinner of London Broil because the pairing of the pork and steak mix with the ballsyness of this wine went quite well together. The first thing I noticed upon opening this 8 year old wine was that the inside of the screwcap looked like the business end of the paint can lid ... the bottle was also stained with sediment and inside the neck there was also a caking of sediment. Of course none of that will kill you so time to move on. The nose was very raspberry, mostly of the jam variety, with sweet spices and some sweet cherry, as time in glass passed I swear I could smell red jujubes ... and that's not a bad thing. The palate was also very interesting. The raspberry and spice ported over from the nose adding in a touch of vanilla and a little cedar, but always with plenty of spice. As the night wore on other flavours appeared, like blackberry, cassis and dark cocoa. This was an amazingly delicious wine and I can't wait to polish off the remaining bottles in my cellar over the next couple of years.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Hartley-Ostini 2009 Hitching Post Pinot Noir Hometown (California)
My inner chef came out tonight as I made a pea pasta and bay scallop dinner ... sounds odd but it tasted delicious. The wine I chose to pair with it was a Hitching Post Hometown Pinot Noir - as a big fan of the movie Sideways it only seemed fitting that I have a few bottles of this wine in my cellar ... I had planned to sip on it while watching the movie but the urge to drink it tonight came over me and I thought it might go well with the pea sauce and the scallops. It did. The nose is full of ripe black cherry - it really smells sweet fruited and lures you into the glass along with some cinnamon and vanilla backing ... the palate isn't sweet but it really is juicy with cherry and good acidity on the finish. I also find a little spice here that really helps bring the whole wine together. Acidity, spice and lots of fruit, what a pretty glass ... and now empty bottle ... of wine.
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