Today we did some grocery shopping and some gardening - it was a quiet around the house weekend. We ended up at Tony's Fish Market in St. Catharines where we bought some salmon and some mussels ... the mussels had to be eaten quickly (fresh mussels are always better than ones that sit out for too long) so I made them late in the afternoon as a pre-dinner snack. The recipe called for some white wine, so I yanked out this bottle of Fielding wine, a delicous Riesling from the 2009 vintage. I used a cup in the recipe and then poured two glasses to enjoy with it ... on it's own it was a delicious wine which I have previously reviewed ... but I can't recommend it in with the mussels, it brought about a sweetness in the seafood that, while tasty at first, became too sweet the more mussels eaten. I would recommend a dried wine for the recipe, but for sipping along with them, this would have been just fine.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Concha Y Toro 2007 Winelmaker's Lot 148 Carmenere (Chile)
I know there are some of you out there that wish that Carmenere had stayed lost ... I am not one of them. With each passing year I try more and more wines made from this grape and on a percentage basis they get better year after year. Now granted, this wine isn't exactly a young pup just pulled out of the vineyard, but I believe the folks at Concha "got" this grape earlier than some. This is a single vineyard offering from the Las Pataguas Vineyard. The nose mirrors the flavours, but the palate offers up more juiciness than the nose can display. Blackberry, white pepper, black raspberry-chocolate, a touch of bramble and really sweet juicy fruit courses through the mouth sip after appealing sip. This wine was satisfying and enjoyable.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Chateau Hauchat 2008 Fronsac (France)
Word on the street is that this is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc - not a Cabernet Sauvignon grape in sight. This is what I call a "mom wine" - mom does not like a lot of tannins, she likes the fruit and spice but is not huge fan of the dryingness of tannins; and this wine has what mom is looking for. The nose is black fruit oriented, there are some herbs and and a smoothness to the wine that is (believe it or not) sniffable. The palate is smooth and seductive - the fruit isn't in your face, in fact it is wrapped in a lightly wooded glove, but that wood is not overbearing and makes this wine smooth and easy to drink. Not sure this is a bottle I would hold for any length of time, but it sure does go down easy now.
Moreson 2004 Pinotage (South Africa)
I am not a Pinotage drinker, usually, and for the most part, I shun the stuff as much as possible ... there are a few I have enjoyed, but mostly they are ... (to be delicate) not very enjoyable. That said I have learned a few things about the grape that have made it more palatable over the years. Pinotage is a nasty little cuss when young, but time in bottle gives it a certain amount of drinkability. A few months ago a Pinotage came into the market that was quite drinkable and I thought maybe the grape had finally turned a corner ... but it would seem that the producer had turned the corner, not the grape, as the next half dozen I wrapped my lips around had the same nastiness about it. Now enough about generalities and let's get to this particular one I had with homemade bison burgers.
The initial pour and sniff had me wondering if this was the same old same old, and that my theory about time had failed me ... thankfully, I can still cling to the 'time in bottle' philosophy. The smell emanating from the glass was a real stink - think of a day old fart lingering about in a closed room ... not very inviting. But the palate was altogether different, the 6 years had made quite a difference: black fruit and spice dominated the first sip. The second introduced a bit of a tarry quality and the third showed up with some chocolate notes. Sip four brought it all together: spicy black fruit, a slight hint of tar and a dark chocolate note bringing it all together. It was a real pleasure to drink this wine - I just had to avoid inhaling while my nose was in the glass.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Inniskillin Okanagan 2006 Zinfandel (British Columbia)
Tonight it's a Zinfandel from of all places Canada. It's part of Inniskillin's 'Discovery Series', where they try grapes that are not typical for the region and make small batches of wine ... this Zin saw a production of 400 cases. Spicy, peppery with hints of dark plum and licorice, there's even a pleasant assortment of raspberries (mainly on the nose), which made the aromas very appealing and while the palate showed good stuffing.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Rosedale Wines 2007 Cat Amongst the Pigeons Shiraz (Australia)
Subtitled 'Nine Lives' this Shiraz tells a story on the back label that I find, at times, hard to follow: "When Rosedale Wines became one of the largest independent producers in the Barosa Valley, they set the 'Cat amongst the Pigeons.'" ... Maybe the 15% alcohol in this 100% Barossa Valley Shiraz is getting to me, but I am not sure I follow. What I do know is that this wine is pretty typically Aussie, in a good way, from first sniff to the last sip. Big full on black fruit greets the nose - it smells soft, sweet and chocolaty, like it should just glide on down. The palate delivers on what the nose recounts, but adds a few surprises along the way ... the black fruit is there in spades, there is a hint of dark cocoa powder, plus (and this is the surprise) a real spicy hit of pepper ... there's also some heat on the palate, and really warms the insides. It's raining tonight, but this wine needs a cold winter's night to really do what it does best: help take the chill off.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Finca Flichman 2002 Paisage de Barrancas (Argentina)
I am slowly making my way through a box of “lie down” wines that I should have gotten to earlier in the year, but that’s what happens when your year gets really, really busy. So I reached into the box and the first wine I grabbed was this 2002 red blend from Argentina: Syrah, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon (in that order); aged 12 months in French and American wood, and another 6 months in bottle. I would have to say I was very impressed with this wine, licorice and dried blackberries wrapped in dark cocoa with a touch of wood tannins on the medium length finish. Nice wine that has aged quite well. Not sure it was a good match for the pasta dish I served myself, but I bet it would have paired wonderfully with a big bruiser of a steak … if I have any left I will do that next time.
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