January 25, 2006
Wednesday Wine of the Week #4
2002 Talomas Chardonnay/Viognier Central Coast (California)
This marks the first white wine featured in my WWW. In the past, I have heard a lot of people mention that they don't drink white wine for this reason or that. Some just feel that white wines are somehow inferior to reds - too feminine for their masculine tastes. I am typically puzzled by this viewpoint because there are some simply fantastic white wines available in the world that will simply knock your socks off. Some are incredibly expensive, some are not. Case in point is our blind tasting of two world-class Chardonnays (California vs. Burgundy) at our American Wine Tasting we held at the Wine Store in England back in September (Click HERE to see that blog entry. Just scroll to the bottom of the page after you get to the October archive).
I personally love white wines. I love the complexity of some of the worlds best Rieslings from Germany and Alsace and the finesse of white Burgundy. Plus, there is the versatility that you sometimes cannot find in some reds. For instance, a well-done California Chardonnay with bold ripe fruit and nice soft and balanced oaky toastiness can easily pair with either a light pasta dish with cream sauce or a thick juicy grilled meat. And the flavors of many whites are fulfilling and enticing all on their own with no need for food to balance it out. Also, a good number of white wines can age just as long or longer than many red wines (Auslese and late-harvest Riesling, White Burgundy, Tokaji, Sauternes, etc.)
So, I thought it fitting to finally do a white on the WWW. Today's is another budget wine available for under $15 hoping I could hit another one without breaking the budget. It comes from the Central Coast in California and is the result of a partnership between American icon, Robert Mondovi and the Aussie giant, Rosemont Estate. I bought this wine for $13 and I will let the review speak for itself.
Clear, lemony-straw color core that leads to a thin watery-white rim. The legs (tears) are thin and quick-moving down the interior sides of the glass.
A clean nose that is quite pronounced and showing a slight bit of maturity. Scents show vibrant fruits like a bit of banana, pineapple and white peach. Also, the nose reveals a slight touch of oak that seems to be just right.
Dry, medium-high acidity that does not overpower but lends a nice crisp minerality to the wine. Medium- to full-bodied and moderate alcohol make this wine pretty well-balanced and doesn't feel flabby or dead. However, what I thought was going to be refined and subtle oak as indicated by the nose, was entirely the opposite. What I found was that the oak dominated the wine and failed to play second-fiddle to the fruit. What I expected to taste was fuller flavored fruits like the banana and pineapple from the nose. Instead, I mainly tasted the vanilla and toast from the oak and a bit of the peachiness inherent in the Viognier (pronounced vee-oh-nyay). Alcohol seemed to prevail on the rather short and unassuming finish.
Overall, a simple unexciting wine that may be a nice wine to have...No. I take that back. I wouldn't waste the $13. There are others out there that are superior to this one for less money. Don't worry. I'll find them.
January 18, 2006
Wednesday Wine of the Week #3
Today's wine is a great Napa wine, Franciscan.
Another readily-available wine. We Americans can find this anywhere. Roughly around $25 per bottle, this wine is a little more expensive than I feel is warranted. There are a lot of great wines that are less expensive. Don't get me wrong, I do like the wine, I just think it is overdone a bit. I mean, I have always enjoyed Franciscan, but I don't really remember it costing this much in years past. I also think I have a problem with a global conglomerate such as Franciscan's owner, Constellation Brands, coming in and taking over this Napa Valley tradition and many other great producers around the world. But that may be a topic for another post.
On to the tasting notes...
2002 Franciscan Oakville Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Clear (meaning no debris, cloudiness, sediment, etc.). Deep, dark cherry-red core with a nice band of ruby on the rim. Thick robust legs cling to the side of the glass. Clean nose. Very pronounced intensity. I could smell the wine before I even put my nose to the glass. Abundant concentrated fruit on the nose - blackberry, currant, smoky wood, cedar and spice are all present. This wine is still developing, although it is not "green" - it is drinking fine now. (One of the Constellation philosophies is to develop wines that are accessible now, not necessarily in ten years from now. Great for the consumer who is looking for that, but a waste of money if you are looking for something to develop over time and appreciate.)
Dry with a medium to pronounced intensity. Quite tannic with medium acidity that accentuates the tannin. The fruits are pronounced as they were on the nose - cherry, currant as well as a lot of oak and cedar notes. A bit forward on the vanilla and wood, in my opinion. Surprisingly a relatively short finish for as mouth-filling as this wine is.
Overall, a very satisfying wine for what it is. I think that the price should come down a little bit ($18-tops), though.
(A special thank you to Capt. Chad Zielinski for donating this bottle for the WWW review. Chad is a great friend who was in England with the US Air Force, stationed at RAF Mildenhall at the same time we were. I met him through the wine shop where I worked. A very astute and knowledgable wine enthusiast. He is now back in the States in San Antonio. Thanks, Chad!!)
January 14, 2006
Ethan
Last Saturday, we went to a pool party...
Click on this link for a simple tiny video of Ethan walking to the car to go swimming. Check out his outfit. This kid is ready for the beach!
Here are a few pics...
Rocky Mountains
These were taken yesterday from Washington Park in Denver. Temps were in the upper-60's yesterday (approx. 20 Celsius) and expecting to push 70 today. Yup, it is January in Denver.
I wanted to show everyone back in Blighty were we are living now.
Small gathering at the 'Garage' for Dan's birthday - ps we drank Hamm's and PBR.
Jake, Brett and Jer show up
Dan and Penn talk UK talk...
CHEERS!
January 11, 2006
Wednesday Wine of the Week #2
2004 McWilliam's Hanwood Estate Shiraz South Eastern Australia
Here's a great example of a fantastic wine for only $10. I picked this up today for $9.99 and had previously had the opportunity to also have their Cabernet at one time a few years ago. I was really happy with the Cab back then so I thought that since the Aussies seem to know a thing or two about Shiraz, this may just fare pretty well also. It just goes to prove that great wines needn't cost a fortune.
Here are my notes...
Clear, medium intensity with a purple-ruby core that bleeds out to a purple-pink thin rim. The legs were minimal and very slow to form. (This could be because the clean glass I used had been dried with a towel that had been washed with a fabric softener. That leaves a slight film on the glass that may limit things like legs and, in sparkling wines, bubbles.) After my first glass, the legs were more evident. The nose is clean with a medium to pronounced intensity, meaning that I do not have to shove my nose deep into the glass to be able to get a good scent. I am able to get the aromas before I even get my nose to the glass. The bouquet is rife with fresh scents of strawberry and cherry interlaced with cedar and white pepper. The spicy pepper is quite forward, but in a good way. I even get a good hint of rhubarb pie. This is clearly still a developing wine based on the fresh characteristics of the fruit. This is a dry wine with a medium to pronounced intensity based upon the power that the fruit and spice together deliver. A full bodied wine with moderate acidity that meshes nicely with the soft tannins. The opulent fruit is balanced quite harmoniously with the spice and soft oak. The 13.5% alcohol is not too forward at all due to the powerful fruit. The finish is long. Quite long. Flavours seem to nicely linger throughout the finish. A very nice wine, especially considering the price. A top quality wine at a beginner's price. Given the freshness of the fruit but relatively mild acidity, I think this wine could only last a few years (3-5) before it is over the hill. But when it is this good for this price, why wait, anyway?
Food pairing? I had this tonight with a grilled rib eye steak au poivre (encrusted with fresh cracked black pepper) with Portobello cream sauce; fresh green beans; roasted potatoes. Yummy! Any grilled meats would be a very nice accompaniment to this wine.
January 04, 2006
Wednesday Wine of the Week (WWW)
Today, I am going to start a new feature on the blog. Now that we are back in the US, we are having a lot less opportunity to travel like we did in the UK. So, we now are likely going to have less and less exciting things to post on the blog. So, to keep the sense of adventure alive and allow those who look at the site regularly or semi-regularly to read about things that they may not have experienced before, I decided to post a once-a-week wine review. These will be one wine per post and will have been tasted by me (no copying of magazine reviews, etc., in other words). As this goes on, I will hope to encompass a wide variety of wines. I intend to post reviews on wines readily available and wines that are rare, inexpensive and pricey, common varietals and those that will require a super computer to help with deciphering the spelling. In all, I hope the you will find the posts informative, interesting, inspiring and maybe a even a little humourous if you think this sort of stuff is a load of bullocks. All in all, it's fun for me.
1997 Justin Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles
This first installment of the WWW, my wine is the 1997 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles. This is not the marquee wine for Justin. That honour goes to their flagship wine, Isocoles. This wine is more accessible on the price tag than that. We have this wine because it was one that Steph and I purchased three-plus years ago on our anniversary. As our interest in wine began to grow around 1999-2000, we decided to begin collecting, but didn't have anywhere near the budget to really do serious collecting. So, it was determined that our collection would simply begin by purchasing a couple of bottles of something we had at a restuarant at dinner for our anniversary, Christmas or birthdays. This was one of those bottles. We had had a bottle of the Justin 1997 Cabernet at dinner and were pleased enough to buy a few bottles.
We opened this wine on Monday night (January 2) in celebration of a new year ahead. Now that we are back in the States, we are embarking on another new chapter in our lives and thought that what better way to mark the occasion but to open a nice (i.e. special to us) bottle from the cellar.
The following are the notes for that bottle...
Mostly clear, medium to deep intensity of color, with a hint of cloudiness due to the fact that it is unfiltered and it has thrown quite a bit of sediment over the past few years of cellaring. (I did not decant the bottle and it should have stood up for at least 24 hours prior to opening it. Oh well, we still have another bottle left.) The color is a deep garnet core that leads out to a very thin mahogany rim. Very nice color attributes for this wine. The tears, or legs, are very slow to form on the inside of the glass but eventually appear and are thick, slow-moving.
The nose is clean (meaning no obvious taint from a faulty cork or other malady) and of a medium intensity. Not an overtly developed nose, leading me to think that this wine still could go another year or so. The main characteristics of this wine are of spiced cherries, slight oakiness and a surprising amount of alcoholic heat.
This is a dry wine with a good amount of acidity that really reveals itself on the front. The tannins are a bit sharp but this could be that the higher acidity enhances the feel of sharp tannin. Very full-bodied and a pronounced intensity. The flavour attributes show a fair amount of said spiciness, cedar and cigar box qualities up front. On the back end, more fruit characteristics come through, mainly black cherries and "cooked" fruits like cobblers. An overwhelming amount of heat from the 14+% alcohol prevails on the lengthy finish. After an hour, the wine exhibited a lot more softer characters. The acidity and tannins were quelled somewhat by more fruit that made the last few pours a lot more enjoyable than the first few.
In retrospect, this would have been better served by decanting. Overall, I was happy although I was pretty disappointed initially.
We bought this bottle in 2002 for roughly $20.00-$25.00. The current release of Justin Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles is the 2003 and it averages about the same in price depending on where you go.
If you'd like to read more about Justin Wines, hit their website (http://www.justinwine.com) and then maybe tell them you read this review on their 1997!
That's it. Hope you enjoyed it. Visit the site next week for another round.
Cheers!
January 03, 2006
New Years Eve
Happy New Year!
A lot has happened in 2005. I am sure a lot will take place in '06, too. Here's our shout out to all of you to have a happy, prosperous, satisfying and rewarding 2006.
For a few shots of our New Year celebrations, click HERE. Ethan had a good time, too.