Scary Oak World

Seriously, see the article The Oak Factor - By Heather Britton.

Cusumano Insolia 2004

The first of our purchases from last week's wine tasting at the Village Wine Market. This white comes from Sicily & its Insolia grape. It's an easy-drinking summer white with tastes of mint and apple.

The Wine Spectator said: A tight white, with fresh herb and peachy character. Medium-bodied, with bright lemon, apple character. Long, lively finish. Drink now. 25,000 cases made.

Shawn - I think you will like it. No scary oak. $12.99 locally.

House Wine

I never purchased this before because of the label. How good could it be if they don't take the time to produce a decent label? I had been told many times that this is a good wine and they were right. It is very drinkable and the price, around $10 cannot be ignored. House Wine is produced by the Magnificent Wine Company from Columbia Valley. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Syrah.

Village Wine Market

Hey, why not review a store? It was the first visit there for Mary and me. We attended the tasting tonight which features 25 different varietals for $10 a head. Good deal.

I like the layout of the store. Walls are painted a rusty red - definitely appropriate. The tall racks are around the outside walls. Each bin has a little shelf so that a representative bottle can sit upright for easy browsing. In the center are 3 or 4 groupings with waist-high shelves and boxes/bins of certain wines. They have lots of stock but there is also ample room to wander around.

There were 3 tasting tables in corners of the store so the crowd was spread out (I counted about 50 people when we left) and we didn't have trouble getting our pours. Sometimes there was a short line but no jostling or elbowing!

And did we buy? Yes:

2004 MontGras Carmenere Reserva, Chile $9.99 (red)
2004 Vina Godeval Godello, Spain $12.99 (white)
- refreshing
2004 Cusumano Insolia, Sicily, Italy $12.99 (white)
- slight mint taste, drinks easy
2004 Sancerre, Daniel Chotard, France $18.99 (white)
2004 Domain Felines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet, France $11.99 (white)
- refreshing, good to serve for a group
2004 Tir Na Nog Grenache, Australia $24.99 (red)
- soft grapey finish, very good. The guy pouring said he thought it was the best of the night.

Stay tuned for the blogs.

Blackstone Merlot 2003

How many times have we had this California wine? Plenty - but it hasn't been blogged. This merlot strong on fruit in a cherry or blackberry way with a nice smoothness. Not expensive - $10 to $11. Also suitable for one's book club.

Cartlidge & Brown Chardonnay 2004

This is a nice wine that you would be happy to serve to your Pompous Literary Society on a Wednesday night. It has good fruit tones without much oak. Interesting observation that the flavors changed quite a bit as the temperature changed. Available locally for about $10-11.

This is my first try of the Chardonnay; they also make a Pinot Noir that I had several times about 2 months ago. I don't have any notes on it but we liked it. Price point is similar.

Latitude 46 N. 2003 Syrah-- The Power and the Glory

This is the wine we were talking about during dinner the other night. The Brewers, Olivers and my aunt and uncle shared this at a restaurant on Bainbridge Island, WA. The title sounded a little "unmodest" so we had to try it. It did not disappoint. I can't recall the specifics since I have not made any tasting notes, but it was great. I had a fish with a berry glaze and it went perfectly with it. Here's one online review I found: "A very deep and intense WA syrah. Dark and opaque colour, lots of intense blueberry and blackberry fruit -some herbal garrigue notes, but very fruit driven on the nose. Nicely balanced on the palate, intense fruit - more blueberry and currants, with decent currant acidity and soft dry tannins. Probably would have been better in a few years, but with a nice grilled rib eye, this was a very good match."


I have two bottles from a stash I found in a local store here. $35 per bottle, but worth it if you can find it. Web site is www.Latitude46.com. Nothing on there but contact info, though. I searched for a label to post, but had no luck.

Rully “Les St. Jacques”, Villaine 2003

I know very little about French wine. I generally don't purchase it since I don't know what I am buying. I had a glass of sancerre at Hot and Hot before we got down to the serious wine drinking and it was pretty good but I wanted something better. The waiter recommend the Rully as our white wine. What an excellent choice. We commented on how good it was, we turned the bottle around and noticed the importer was Kermit Lynch. One thing that stands out from a wine tasting class was always buy wines imported by Kermit Lynch. Many years later this has not disappointed.

MacRostie Pinot Noir 2002

I should let Rob review this since it was his call at dinner at Hot and Hot with our wives and the Olivers. I turned my nose up at a pinot noir but I couldn't stop drinking this. It was great. I took many small sips denying the beef eaters a chance to drink red wine with their meal. I always find Pinot a little light but this one stood out. The winery web site describes the 2003 as "A bit darker than the average Pinot, the wine shows bright cherry and ripe cranberry aromas, with hints of sandalwood and menthol. On the palate there’s more juicy red fruit, like a good strawberry/rhubarb pie. The lingering finish is crisp and refreshing. While quite soft and enjoyable now, it will repay cellaring for several years." Whatever. I just know I need to find this wine locally.

www.macrostiewinery.com

Wine Tip

Wineloverspage.com's top cheap wines

This article from Wineloverspage.com has a list of top 2005 wines for $12 or less and $12 to $25. http://www.wineloverspage.com/qpr/index.phtml

From the cheapie list we have had the Laurel Glen "Reds" (see 12/23/05) and Cartlidge & Browne 2003 California Pinot Noir.

Alexander Valley Vineyards Chardonnay 2004

Here's one that's a definite cut above the average weeknight wine without jumping to the league of the Cakebread previously posted. It's described as having a "nose filled with green apple, citrus and ripe pear framed by creamy oak". What we liked about it was that the fruit and oak were present without overwhelming at all. Very nice balance of flavors here. About $15.

Shawn probably won't like (see 2/24/06) it because of the oak presence but would do well to try it to see what restrained oak is like in a chardonnay.

A Pair of Frenchies

We recently enjoyed a nice dinner out with another couple to celebrate my birthday. Mary brought a couple of bottles she picked up at Overton & Vine: a Sancerre and a Chateauneuf du Pape.

Sancerre 2004 Hippolyte Reverdy



Sancerre is a fine French white made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes. (I had to look this up but did guess the grape correctly.) It comes from the upper Loire Valley region. The style of this wine is crisp and acidic with various fruit flavors such as pear. It is said to complement seafood very nicely. I would definitely agree with this but should note it did well with all of our appetizers.

Vieux Mas des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape 2003



This is a lighter bodied CdP made by the same producer of Vieux Télégraphe. The vines here are 65% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah and 10% Cinsault and other grapes. Vieux Mas des Papes is a 2nd wine made from the youngest vines (about 20 years) and the part of the harvest which is not found good enough for Vieux Télégraphe. This means that the amount of production varies from year to year. The vinification is done in the same way for these two wines. Maturing at first takes place in concrete tanks for around 8-9 months and then in foudres (oak barrels) for 8-12 months. For the second wine in foudres for a shorter time.

We found it smooth and agreeable for all our entrees (pasta, scallops, shrimp, and pork). This is definitely more suitable to drinking young.

Peirano Estate Petite Syrah, 2003 Lodi

Excellent wine from the first tastes. Ordered this last night at Fire restaurant. It went well with all of our entrees: 1 lamb and 3 fishes. In looking through this blog's archives I was surprised not to find any other syrah entries. Mary and I have been drinking more of it in the last year but I guess not any lately. I looked in our wine rack to jog my memory and found a Novy ($17.99) and a Wild Horse. The Novy we have had and it is excellent. Grab yourself a bottle from a local store.

Winemaker's site says: "Ripe, dark fruits tempt the senses. The palate is filled with ripe blackberry, dark cherry and firm tannins."

I wonder about the availability of some restaurant wines in local stores. Do they order directly for their cellars? Will have to look for this one stores.

Evans & Tate Unwooded Chardonnay 2004

Welcome Home Chardonnay! For the past 5 years or so I have thought that chardonnay in general... blows. Is that too harsh for a wine blog? Should I be more refine? No. Face it. Chardonnay was my White Zinfandel. A semi-sweet wine that got me into other wines. I now prefer a drier white such as savignon blanc or pinot grigio. Lately I have heard of a trend away from the oakier chardonnays so I went in search of this elusive wine.

I went to Village wine shop in English Village and asked about it. They put me onto this wine from Western Australia. With unwooded in the name I figured I was on the right track. What a great wine! I drank it before, during and after a pork tenderloin dinner. The two things that stand out for me are the price and the top. The wine is only $9.99 and yes, it has a screw top. And you know how I am starting to love the screw top. I would like to tell you that the screw top kept the wine fresh for days but I'd be lying. Leigh and I drank the whole bottle.

Drink up.

Steele Cabernet Franc, Lake County 2002

As I was balancing my checkbook I noticed a business card that I had tacked to my cork board above my monitor and written on it was a very good bottle of wine. I had it at one of the Atticus Christmas parties which must have been in December 2004 at Bottega. The waitress suggested this. It was a very good bottle of wine and I haven't been able to find it but honestly I haven't searched very hard. Here is some iformation from the Steele web site.

"While we are not known as a Bordeaux/Cabernet kind of winery (we tend to make more Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel) our location in Lake County allows us to produce several of these varieties in styles which would make our neighbors to the south a bit jealous. One of these is Cabernet Franc. When we started buying grapes from the vineyard of Floyd Silva we found that he was growing some of the best Cabernet Franc that we had ever tasted. His vineyard is on a gravelly bench, which overlooks the Big Valley area of Lake County. The vines grow well but not too well and have a great balance of flavors, structure and tannins."

"While most people are not familiar with this variety, once we get them to taste the wine they are converts for life. This wine is a mouthful of pleasure: lots of fruit, medium tannins and a long lingering finish. We would recommend some cellar time for this wine if only to allow all of the great aromas and flavors properly meld."

"This is a very versatile red wine. You can serve it with a variety of traditional foods such as Beef Wellington, grilled steaks, or a bowl of beef stew. Or try something new like grilled Salmon, an assortment of cheeses or rack of spring lamb."

If you happen to find this in a local store, do tell.

ZD 2004 Pinot Noir, Carneros

Special edition from Park City, UT

On Saturday night my group of 4 ski buddies was wrapping up our trip at the Blind Dog restaurant. After starting with a glass of California Syrah I wanted to have a Pinot with my duck breast entree. The bartender recommended this ZD. It was an excellent match up ... smooth with hints of fruit complementary to the cherry reduction on the plate. About $30.

The Blind Dog was excellent, by the way. Eat there if you are in Park City. Our entrees included some very impressive NY strips, monkfish, and duck breast.

Cline Red Truck 2004

Found in the wine store in old town Park City, UT, this proves to be another good inexpensive red (about $10). Shawn says it can be found in Birmingham.

The winery's website describes it as a blend of Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Grenache, and Mourvedre. It's a product of Cline Cellars, located in the Carneros region of Sonoma County.

Duboeuf "Red" 2002 Vin de Pays d'Oc

This is a blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Merlot typical of blends from the Languedoc region in the south of France. It gets my positive recommendation as an "easy-drinking weeknight dinner wine". We received it as a gift so I'm not sure where it's available locally but web searches show it in the $9 range. The bottle has a striking group of red (mostly) and gold flowers instead of a label.

Bonus French lesson
Vin de Pays — A vin de pays is a higher-class table wine, from a particular region of France and with a specific vintage. The vin de pays is controlled primarily for the source of the grapes and also for the density of vines: the amount that can be produced per hectare. The region of a vin de pays can be very large or quite small.

In my memory, ordering a VdP in France will get you a good - but not fancy - wine from the local region.

Mmm ... France.

Don's Lodi Red

Woo-hoo! Another cheap red. I think I enjoy the typical table wines because I don't feel I need a special occasion to open. I don't even feel a need to finish it off. It only costs around $10. I bought this thinking it was from the same vineyard as the Laurel Glen 2003 "Reds" Lodi Red Wine that Rob had reviewed awhile back. I think I enjoy this a little more. The website says this about the wine:

"Carignane, Syrah, a splash of sweet Symphony and a dash of love are the main components of this wine, which was produced to honor and surprise our father, Don Phillips, on his 75th birthday. This is an atypical blend of red and white wines, with lovely fruity characteristics of Symphony added in order to please Don's amiable palate. This is an easy-drinking, everyday, great quality, red table wine. Or, in the words of Wine Today.com, the three stars Lodi Red is 'a great quaff at a bargain price.' "