30 August, 2011
Alpha Domus 2007
Even though I don't fancy merlots generally, this blend has enough cab and franc on board to keep it honest--still, not peppery and no tannins to speak of. Very smooth, subdued berry NOS. Not bad at all for 25$ and likely to pair amiably with a large variety of foods.
2010 Farmgate Viognier
Nice to see viognier catching one here in NZ. Floral nose, suggesting sweetness, but actually opening quite dry with a fair bit of acidity up front, followed by pear hints. Tried pairing it with fish 2 nights in a row and it really needs something more spicy, as it ended up tasting a bit heavy and tinny with these.
2008 Black Barn Riesling
medium-dry, lots of nice depth and a good clean finish. To me the best Rieslings take like a grape "spirit" (or late harvest) with little or no competing fruit, and this does just that. The Villa Maria 2009 Dry Riesling is also good (a bit drier), and both of these are in the 15-25$ range.
2007 Mission Estate Late Harvest Semillon
Strong gum eraser nose (really), lush golden color and honey-sweetness balanced from opening to finish. I don't like it as well as the Stables 2010 sticky (varietal?), which is magic, but a worthy effort.
2010 Elephant Hill Viognier
Tasting Notes: Floral nose, with some phenolics. First taste impossibly light, then a hint of acidity, but this faded. A bit herbaceous - lemongrass. Not much fruit, but a bit of under-ripe green grape. Nice, full mouthfeel without being heavy. No mineral tones other than a hint of chalk. A delightful bottle of wine with excellent Thai food: fish case, green curry with prawns, and red curry with seafood.
26 August, 2011
Askerne 2007 Merlot-Franc-Malbec
Super-fruity nose was a bit daunting, but first taste was pretty standard merlot. Over the course of dinner, we paired with spinach and blue cheese salad, lamb and broiled root vegetables (kumara, carrot and onion) and fruit (pear and golden kiwi) with museli and Greek yogurt. About mid meal the cab franc and malbec began to predominate, but no structure as such ever emerged and from start to finish this wine felt like an experiment.
21 August, 2011
Allan Scott 2010 pinot noir
Date tasted: August, 2011
Where: Museum Hotel, Welly
Notes: We are back in NZ (as we passed through immigration this morning, the agent noted that we had ticked the "permanently" response for the intended length of stay, looked up very briefly, then said "cool" as she stamped our passports). As we await the keys to our flat tomorrow, we wandered over to the market for a sunset snack and picked this inexpensive young Marlborough pinot from Allan Scott. One of the great advantages of the highly competitive makers of the "big 4" NZ varietals (pinots, cab blends, chardonnay, savs) is that you can find so many reliably good wines quite cheaply. This little pinot, for about $10 US, will never knock Latour out of your cellar, but it's not intended to. Instead, it ably does the three-stage "dance" of a good young pinot: (1) opening with ruby color and fruity nose, totally smooth right out of the bottle (2) tightening briefly with a bit of acid and astringeny then (3) settling down into ripened fruit and mild tannins.
18 August, 2011
2006 Tirohana Estate Pinot Noir
Date tasted: August, 2011
Where: MPLS
Notes: We initially encountered this wine during a tour of the Martinborough region in late 2008, whilst living and working in nearby Wellington. We loved this "young" wine then as an embodiment of the Côte d'Or Burgundy style-- simple, generous, mellow and balanced. We shipped a case back on our return and have held the last bottle for three years now in anticipation of our return to New Zealand, this time as permanent residents.We shared this bottle with friends Matt and Beth, who are celebrating their first year in Minneapolis.
The wine, which we remembered as translucent ruby-colored, smelled musty and poured out a deep, opaque purple. No corking here, though (the Kiwis sagely use screw tops), but rather a maturation into a wine that reminded Matt of California Cab and me a bit of good Malbec. The wine opened up nicely over the course of an hour-- with acid up front, followed by tart notes of cherry and earthy cranberry, then finishing with a long, pleasing minerality. I do not know how much longer this wine will hold, but it structure at 5 years is remarkable.
17 August, 2011
2009 Alvaro Palacios Camins del Priorat
Date tasted: August, 2011
Where: MPLS
Notes: A gift from Patrick, who knows we love Palacios' Finca Dofi. Although more modestly priced than some priorats, this is no mere table wine. It has a hint of sweetness, even floral (hibiscus tea?) notes and a slightly salty finish that I do not find in the Dofi 2004-5's that I have tried. Some nice tannins are there, but not the refined woodiness and lead-pencil depths of the older vines and vintages. In short, this young wine does what any good blend does--hides any flaws in the component grapes while highlighting their strengths, and pairs with just about anything.
2007 Ripassa valpolicella superiere
Date tasted: August, 2011
Where: MPLS
Notes: A gift from Ron and Kelley's cellar, this wine was my introduction to a blend of Italian vareitals (and techniques) that I will certainly want to try more of if this wine is typical. The re-pressing ('ripasso') produces a concentrated flavor similar to the 'amarone' technique of waiting to press until the grape has been picked and partially dried.
Dense in both color and body, this is a red-meat wine all the way. Very long and lush--heft reminiscent of a good port but without the stickiness and possessing more tannins. Should I be so lucky to encounter it again, I will pair it with closer attention and a proper meal.
20 July, 2011
1989 Chateau Lynch Bages Bordeaux
Date tasted: July, 2011
Where: Gillette, WY
Price: don't ask
Notes: Thanks to Ken at the Prime Rib for decanting this classic Pauillac Bordeaux before we arrived and seating us in his impressive cellar for a fantastic dinner. Great claret color, very light camphor and a hint of fruit on the nose, but not much else. Smooth as silk, lightly acid, notes of pencil-lead and time-subdued tannins--almost no fruit there. Paired magically with escargot, caprese, filet and creme brulee.
28 June, 2011
2006 Cannubi Boschis Barolo
Date tasted: June, 2011
Where: Minneapolis
Price: $$$$$$$$
Notes: luscious and smooth right out of the bottle, and a little more fruit-forward than some other vintages. Not sure about the structure or how it would have evolved over time, as the majority of the bottle was "poached" by some bloke at the dinner party, who probably had no idea he was drinking $75/glass wine and couldn't tell the difference between this grand Barolo and boxed wine (am I a little bitter, perhaps?)
1997 Bruno Giacosa Falletto Barolo
Date tasted: June, 2011
Where: Gillette, WY
Price: $$$$$$$$$
Notes: We've been on a bit of a Barolo jag of late, and were stunned to find a restaurant here in rural Wyoming with an amazing cellar. We didn't mess around, pairing the burly red with a filet and ribeye. The bottle opened a bit tight, and was never very impressive on the nose. Still, it quickly settled in to show off its structure, depth and balance. By the time we were halfway into the steaks, we were experiencing the magic, and there are no words to describe what was happening by the time the chocolate lava cake hit the table.
27 May, 2011
2010 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc
Date tasted: May, 2011
Where: Minneapolis
Price: $$
Notes: Hard to say how many great bottles of Cloudy Bay we've had over the years. Simply the "go to" NZ sav if you want tart, herbacious, finely acid and impossibly crisp exemplar of this varietal.
2001 Feudi di San Gregorio Taurasi Riserva Piano di Montevergine
Date tasted: 26 May, 2011
Where: Minneapolis
Price: $$$
Notes: 100% Aglianico di Taurasi grapes and aged 10 years, this is what red wine should be: subtle, long fruit (cherry, plum, gooseberry); balanced acidity and tannins through which notes of oak, leather, olive, even nuttiness play. This wine wields its power through structure, and so pairs with just about anything you'd put alongside a good red, from fish (we paired it with wild caught AK sockeye salmon) to lamb, cheese, chocolate, sex, waking up, breathing . . .
24 May, 2011
2008 Vietti Barbera D'Asti Tre Vigne
Date tasted: 23 May, 2011
Where: Minneapolis
Price: $$
Notes: a really well-mannered red, with subtle cherry/cranberry notes adding a mild acid tartness that unfolds with surprising length. In spite of the relative absence of tannins, not jammy at all. Paired nicely with Punch pizza putanesca (anchovies, olives, capers) and an evening with our friends Matt and Beth.
12 May, 2011
2010 Castello del Poggio Moscato D'Asti
Date tasted: 11 May, 2011
Where: Minneapolis
Price: $
Notes: sweet and mellow with a little fizz, but only 5% alcohol. Almost after-dinner-sipping sweet, but also can see it as great picnic wine on a hot day when you want something stronger than sparkling grape juice-- for about the same price.
Paired acceptably enough with a ginger syrup and caper seared tuna, fresh asparagus tips and MN wild rice, followed by raspberry yogurt "parfait" with a sprinkle of butterscotch pecan granola.
10 May, 2011
Black Hills Estate 2008 Nota Bene
Date tasted: 11-12 May, 2011
Where: purchased Vancouver, BC (tasted in Mpls)
Price: $$$
Notes: a Bordeaux-style blend of 41% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cab Franc. A lucky find, as this vintage had been technically "sold out" for almost a year. Fruity on the nose, but not at all jammy. Merlot does a nice job of balancing the heavier notes in the cabs. A little shorter on the palette than I'd hoped, but worked well with a variety of flavors: dark chocolate, St. Marcellin soft cheese, baba ganoush and smoked AK sockeye salmon.
2007 Road 13 Fifth Element
Date tasted: 9 May, 2011
Where: purchased Vancouver, BC (tasted in Mpls)
Price: $$
Notes: a Bordeaux-style blend of 58% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cab Franc. Top of the line blend from this South Okanagan Valley vintner. Nice tannins and oak (s?), as well as notes of leather and tobacco, all finely enough balanced to drink now, but likely to age well, too. Paired with home cooked round tip steak (to which it was added as part of a jerk, herbs de provence and au jus reduction), followed by prosciutto-wrapped dates stuffed with fromage bleu and thick cut uncured bacon. This is a serious effort, to be paired with red meat.
Mer Soleil 2008 unoaked Chardonnay
Date tasted: 7 May, 2011
Where: Vancouver, BC
Price: $$
Notes: mineral, acid, modest citrus and melon, but best vintages appear to be 2006-7. Paired well with paella and halibut. Unique in that it never touches wood of any kind, and is bottled in ceramic.
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