2009 El Posadero

Wow it's been a long time since I've posted! I have 4 additional posts after this one to get to as well... Oops!

So, after the UGA vs Colorado Basketball game on 11/16, Clay and I decided that we needed to celebrate the (much too narrow) Dawgs win with a glass of wine at home! I went to the wine fridge and pulled out a bottle that looked interesting. I poured a glass, took a whiff and did NOT like what I smelled!!! I then looked at the bottle again and had a flood of memories attack me! Emily: "Rebecca, you need to make sure that you decant this wine for about an hour before you drink it. I tasted this straight from the barrel earlier this year, so it's super young." CRAP! We didn't want to wait an hour and now I've already opened this bottle! UGH!

So, I poured it into our decanter in the most un-ladylike manner possible (to try and get as much air in there as fast as I could)! I swirled the decanter full of wine with power and determination! : )

So, here we are... trying to rush the process of aerating the wine! Well, it sort-of worked! : )

2009 El Posadero
Vinos de Madrid Denominacion de Origen
Date tasted: 11/16/10
Purchased at: Shiraz wine store
Price: $10.99

Rating: 8.5-9 (Clay: 9)

This wine is 85% Tempranillo and 15% Syrah and 100% DELICIOUS!!! You would NEVER believe that this was an $11 bottle of wine!!! This probably sounds stupid, but it seems like a really sophisticated wine! I would serve this or take it to a high-class dinner party and not worry at all!

Really dark in color, gets lighter at edges; very clear; beautiful deep Garnet color.

Smell: maybe cherry, not really jammy, almost flamed cherries!? (yes, I know that's weird... but it had a Cherries Jubilee type smell), some spice, maybe a little chocolate, coffee, pencil lead

Tastes: BIG, bold flavor, spices, acidic, tannic, seems like it may have a higher alcohol content than normal, but I don't know that that's true

We didn't eat anything with this wine, but I felt like we really should have! I almost felt like I was wasting the wine by not having a good meal with it!

It continued getting better and better as it had time to breathe. The last 1/2 glass was phenomenal!

I made a note that the smell throws the wine off a bit to me... Not that it smelled bad, but it tasted a lot better than it smelled to me.

I will definitely buy this wine again! Especially since it's only $10.99!!!
*Note: I did actually go back and get 2 additional bottles. Next time, I'll make sure to give it ample time to open up and breathe! And... I think we'll have a great meal with it too!

**I always talk about making notes, etc. Well, I have a wine book that Emily gave me to take notes, etc. about wines tasted. I usually just fill in the blanks on the pages, but this wine had me writing all over the page trying to fit everything in! So, I figured I'd take a picture of that as well! : )

2009 Darting Scheurebe Spatlese Durkheimer Spielberg Pfalz

My dad's officially getting old! : )

My dad, who looks no older than 30, just turned 64, so I went down to Milledgeville to celebrate with him and my mom!

My dad is definitely more of a beer man than a wine man... and he's really picky about his beer! Hand him a light beer and watch him morph into the biggest snob you've ever met! : ) So, his primary gift was beer; however, I did bring along one of our wine club wines to toast the fact that he's a year older!

2009 Darting Scheurebe Spatlese Durkheimer Spielberg Phalz

Germany- Gutsalfullung

Date tasted: 11/10/10

Purchased at: Shiraz wine store
Price: $18.99

Ratings:

Rebecca: 5

Mom: 5-6

Dad: 7.5-8

Very pale yellow and clear. Very, very fragrant, has petrol smellls, maybe a little citrus. I also wrote, "this is probably way off, but maybe lavender?". Doesn't smell sweet at all. Has a really great smell!

Rich flavor. SWEET- I definitely didn't expect that after smelling it! Maybe some honey. I also wrote, "this is probably not a good thing to say about a good wine, but scuppernong (sp?)!"

My first sip was SO unexpected! I was ready for something completely different from what I got! It really drank more like a dessert wine and I wasn't at all mentally prepared for that! (I know that sounds dumb, but it was a shock.) It smelled SO good and then, it just wasn't for me!

I really didn't enjoy drinking this, but I know a lot of that had to do with my expectations of the wine! I think that if I had this again and knew what to expect, I may like it better; however, I can't rate it highly after this try. I definitely wouldn't buy this one again.

Dad really liked it and said that he would definitely get it again. Mom said that, "To sit and sip it, it's pretty good, but I wouldn't want it with dinner. I don't know what it would complement." Apparently she has become an expert with pairings! ; ) She also said, "I would get it again, but don't really want to rank it very high." So, basically, because my mother is the world's best optimist and sugar-coater, I'll translate... she didn't like it! : )

*I'm pretty sure that I've had a dry Riesling from Darting that I enjoyed a lot, so I'm not writing them off completely! : )

2008 Turkey Flat Vineyards Rose

I decided to try and make a healthy dinner for Clay and I one night, so I made pan seared tilapia, sauteed spinach and couscous with zucchini. I had wine, Clay did not. He said that having wine sort-of negated a healthy dinner... what a buzz kill! : )

So, I picked something I knew he'd turn his nose up to, a Rose (it really bothers me that I have no idea how to put the accent mark on the e!). I'm sure I've probably had a Rose at some point in my life, but I really have no recollection of it! So, for all intents and purposes, this was my first!

This particular Rose was 63% Grenache, 18% Shiraz, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Dolcetto.

2008 Turkey Flat Vineyards Rose

Barossa Valley, Australia

Date tasted: 11/8/10

Purchased at: Shiraz wine store

Price: regularly $16.99, this month $13.99

Rating: 8

just trying to show the color

Coral colored and very clear. Really good and very dry. I don't really get any fruit flavors, but I'm probably off on that. I think I was expecting it to be somewhat sweet, but it really wasn't sweet at all!

Smells fruity (but not sweet), smells yummy (that's helpful, right!?), slight grassy smell.

Seems acidic maybe. Really can't decide how it tastes, but it's really good!

Would definitely buy again!

*Note: I made this note the next day: Wasn't as good the 2nd day... that's disappointing!

I can't decide if that affects my rating and overall opinion... guess I'll just have to try it again! : )

2006 Chupacabra California Red Wine

Clay recently accepted a promotion at work that will really cut down on his travel... SO EXCITING! : ) So, this means more home-cooked meals and (fingers crossed) more wine! : )

We decided to have an at-home dinner during his first officialweek of the new job. We recently got a Trader Joe's in Athens, so I stopped by to try and find something good for dinner. I bought a Cabernet marinated roast, brocollini and fingerling potatoes. Well... not super impressive. The roast was just ok, so that was slightly disappointing. But, I still thought Trader Joe's was pretty cool! : )

We figured we needed a Cab to go with our Cab marinated roast, so I pulled one out of our wine fridge and hoped for the best. This particular bottle was (surprise, surprise) one of our wine club wines and I had been wanting to try it for awhile. The winemaker is the lead singer of "Tool"... pretty cool, huh!? : )

It's a blend of Cab, Petit Verdot, Petit Syrah, Valdique, Cab Franc and Zin. and the grapes are from both California and Arizona.

2006 Chupacabra California Red Wine

Merkin Vineyards (Livermore, CA)

Date tasted: 11/3/10

Purchased at: Shiraz wine store

Price: $20.99

Rating: 7.5 (Clay didn't think it was as good, but didn't give it a rating)

Clear and really, really dark wine.

Smells: cranberry- almost overwhelmingly so, smells jammy

Tastes: hay or wood tastes, not fruity, slightly smoky, really tannic (really dries mouth out)

Doesn't have a whole lot of flavor while you're drinking, but has a pretty spicy/powerful aftertaste

I would drink this one again, but I probably wouldn't buy it... does that make sense!? : )

Las Vegas- 2005 Banfi Summus

Vegas was off to a GREAT start and Day/Night 2 did not disappoint!

Clay, Maxey, Hope and I had reservations at Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare at the Wynn hotel. Bartolotta is an Italian seafood restaurant (hence the name) and the menu was just insanely delicious looking! I was a tad bit nervous though because Clay's not a huge seafood lover; however, I knew he'd find SOMETHING he liked! : ) Well... we all did! We had enough food to feed a small country (and ate EVERY bite)! It was so delicious and fresh and amazing! We all loved it! It was also a neat experience... we ordered several different courses and for our main course, we ordered two fish... two whole fish to split as a table. The wait staff came out and took the head off of our fish and deboned it right in front of us. I've seen this before, but it never ceases to amaze me how easily these people make it look! : )

We consulted with the sommelier and decided to stick with what we all really prefer... red wine. We knew that we wanted an Italian wine and Maxey and I were both pushing for a Sangiovese. We settled on a Sangiovese, Cab and Syrah blend that sounded too good to be true!

Our first sips were a bit strange. I really didn't think I was going to like it very much... it seemed SO light for a blend of such big grapes! We all decided to finish our drinks from the bar and let the wine sit and breathe for awhile. GOOD MOVE! This wine DEFINITELY should have been decanted! The first sip and the last sip could not have been more different!!! I'm always fascinated to see how much a wine can change and this bottle was the strongest example of that that I've seen!

2005 Banfi Summus

Sangiovese, Cab, Syrah

Ratings:

Rebecca: 8.5-9 (although I would have given it no higher than a 7 at first!)

Clay: 8.5

Maxey: 8.5

Hope: 8

*Again... iPhone pictures:

Really dark in color. Has strong coffee smells, slight licorice smell maybe (not unpleasant though- that's really not a smell/flavor I enjoy typically). Dark berry flavors, spicy, maybe a little chocolate flavor. You feel it in your nose when you drink it... I'm thinking maybe this is due to the spices!? It's dry-tannic.

This is definitely a bottle that I'd get again, but this time, I'd open it up, decant it and let it breathe for an hour or so before indulging! : )

Las Vegas- 2006 Stags Leap Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon

First off... I LOVE VEGAS! : )

But really... what's not to love!? It's such a fun and energetic environment with anything you want right at your fingertips! Ahhh... Vegas!

So, Clay and I, along with our friends, (Joe) Maxey and Hope, all headed out for a few nights of fun! Maxey was really concerned with our dinner and wine selections because he knew it would mean that he would have the honor of being featured in my award-winning blog (HA!), so we did some pretty extensive research before leaving Georgia! (No award will ever be given with run-on sentences like this one... good grief!)

We arrived in Vegas in plenty of time to lose some money and get ready for a long night!

Dinner on night one was at Mandalay Bay hotel at Aureole restaurant. The restaurant looked to have a good menu and a cool vibe online; however, that had nothing really to do with our selection! Aureole has this ridiculous wine cellar and "wine angels" and almost 10,000 bottles of wine to choose from! Seriously, that wasn't a typo!

This is what Aureole's website (http://www.aureolelv.com/) says about it...

"Four stories high and 14 feet square, this skyscraper-like structure is a frame of stainless steel fitted with laminated glass. Nine thousand eight hundred and sixty five bottles are held in the sandblasted Plexiglass wine racks and the entire structure is climate controlled to a wine-keeping ideal of 55 degrees and 70 percent humidity."

"Inspired by a scene from Mission Impossible, Adam D. Tihany designed Aureole's wine tower with mechanical hoists to lift wine stewards or "wine angels" up and down the four sides of the tower. Equipped with an intercom, printer and wine bottle holster, a wine steward travels from the ground floor to the top of the 42 foot tower in about 10 seconds."

*this was taken from my iPhone, so excuse the terrible quality!

We all decided that our first night in Vegas should call for a really great bottle of Cab! So... we went through the ELECTRONIC WINE MENU (seriously amazing) and after narrowing down TONS of amazing options, we decided to go with one of Clay's favorites... Stags Leap! It was SO delicious (delicious enough for us to warrant getting two bottles)! Clay and I had both had Stags Leap before, but Maxey and Hope were new, big fans instantly!

The wine went perfectly with our awesome meals and we all had a really great time!

2006 Stags Leap Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Valley, California

Ratings:

Rebecca: 9

Clay: 9 (his current favorite wine, Cakebread, holds his only 10)

Maxey: 9.5 (Maxey really wanted to give this one a 10, but got nervous that he'd give this a 10 and something better will come along... hmmm... this doesn't sound at all like a reason Maxey's still single now does it!?)

Hope: 9

*I forgot to take pictures of our bottle... Oops! I really was enjoying this one! : )

Dark and clear with slightly lighter edges. Super smooth (personally, I think this is the wine's best characteristic)!

Smells: Smells absolutely delicious! Dark berry smells, earthy, minerally

Tastes: (I really forgot to take notes... I was too busy enjoying it!) Tannic, so smooth, hard to pinpoint individual tastes- Perfect Cab.!

2007 d'Alessandro Nero d'Avola

MY BEST FRIEND IS GETTING MARRIED!!! : )

Kauleen got engaged and we were too busy to actually get together to celebrate until about 2 weeks later! Geez!
Once we were both FINALLY in town at the same time, we decided a girl's night was in order! So, I ordered lasagna and a spinach salad from Mirko Pasta (here in Athens) and drove down to Lake Oconee for a much needed night of wine and girl/wedding talk!

The lasagna lost a little of it's deliciousness in the hour drive, but Mirko is always a winner! The wine... not so much, unfortunately!
I took a bottle that we had gotten from our Shiraz wine store wine club. I cheated* this time and looked at Emily's description in the newsletter and saw that this wine was supposed to be good with Italian food/pasta, so I was really hopeful that we would have the perfect night!
*I never look at the newsletter's descriptions of the wines before I try them so that I won't be influenced by Emily's expert opinion.

I can honestly say that I'm VERY rarely disappointed with our wine club selections! I know that everyone has different opinions/tastes on wine, so it's really not a surprise that once in a while I'm not crazy about one! However... I will say that I was a bit disappointed about this one, simply because this was a celebration and the wine was just ok! Oops! Sorry K! : (
Next time we'll take no chances... BUBBLY!!! : )

2007 d'Alessandro Nero d'Avola
Agrigento, Sicily, Italy
Date tasted: 10/27/10
Purchased at: Shiraz wine store
Price: normally $16.99, but it was $14.99 at the time
Rating: 6 (I forgot to ask Kauleen what she would rate it. She said that she liked it, but I think she was being nice more than anything!)



The wine was really dark (really dark) and very clear. Was extremely dry and tannic (dried my mouth out significantly) and seemed acidic for a red (not sure if that's accurate though).
Smells: slight chocolate, cinnamon and some kind of fruit (not sure what though)
Tastes: Maybe cranberry?, not jammy at all and doesn't taste fruity at all- hard to explain
Notes: Didn't really like it much at all- wasn't terrible, but I wouldn't buy it again

Oh well, regardless of the sub-par wine, it was great seeing Kauleen (and that rock she now sports on her left hand) and talking about the wedding (and, of course, THE BACHELORETTE PARTY)!!! : )
Congratulations Kauleen and David!

More about Yalumba

That last post really got me thinking about Yalumba and I really wanted to know more about the winery. So, here's a little info.:

Here's Frommer's review:
"This winery was built in 1849, making it the oldest family-owned winemaking business in Australia. It's also huge. The winery's Signature red Cabernet-Shiraz is among the best you'll ever taste. Open daily 10am to 5pm."

YUM! I will now make it a mission to try this delicious sounding Cab-Shiraz!!!

From Wikipedia:

"Yalumba is a winery located near Angaston, South Australia in the Barossa Valley. It was founded by a British Brewer, Samuel Smith, who emigrated to Australia with his family from Wareham, Dorset in August 1847 in the ship 'China'. Upon arriving in Australia in December, Smith built a small house on the banks of the River Torrens. He lived there less than a year before moving north to Angaston where he purchased a 30-acre block of land on the settlement's south eastern boundary. He named his property 'Yalumba' after an indigenous Australian word for "all the land around". In 1849, Samuel Smith, along with his son, Sidney, planted Yalumba's first vineyards, beginning the Yalumba dynasty. Today, Yalumba is Australia's oldest family-owned winery."
"Yalumba is part of Australian wine alliance Australia's First Families of Wine, a multi-million dollar venture to help ressurect the fortunes of the $6 billion industry highlighting the quality diversity of Australian wine. The 12 member alliance includes Brown Brothers, Campbells, Taylors, DeBortoli, McWilliams, Tahbilk, Tyrell's, Yalumba, D'Arenberg, Howard Park, Jim Barry and Henschke. The main criteria is that the family-owned companies need to have a "landmark wine" in their portfolios as listed under Langton's Classification and/or 75% agreement by group that a wine is considered "iconic", must have the ability to do at least a 20-year vertical tasting, have a history going back a minimum of two generations, ownership of vineyards more than 50 years old and/or ownership of distinguished sites that exemplify the best of terroir, and be paid-up members of the Winemakers Federation of Australia."
Wikipedia also lists that they produce 750,000 cases/year and that they are most known for The Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz and The Octavius Old Vine Barossa Shiraz.

After looking at Yalumba's website (www.yalumba.com), I discovered the GSM that I had in Texas about 4 years ago! They actually call it the Yalumba m/g/s (so, does that mean that it's majority Mourvedre!?) rather than GSM. All I know is that I want it again! : )

Hmmm... a trip to Australia is sounding better and better! : )

St. Louis- 2008 Yalumba Cabernet Sauvignon

Clay had meetings in St. Louis and I'd never been, so we put the Skymiles to good use! : )

It was a VERY quick trip (I flew up there Friday afternoon and we came back on Saturday evening)! But, still great to see new places, etc.!

We didn't really have much on the agenda other than having a good dinner and seeing the arch! The weather was supposed to be terrible on Saturday, so we went ahead and got the touristy bit out of the way on Friday when I got there. The arch is amazing! I didn't think I'd be impressed (I mean... it's just a metal arch in some random city); however, I was definitely mesmerized! It's just incredible how tall that thing is! Apparently, I missed the portion of the museum under the arch where it listed the height and some fun facts about it, but smarty pants Clay didn't (of course)! He listed the height (which I don't remember) and said that the Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument and the Empire State Building (I'm not 100% sure I'm right about that last one) would all fit under the St. Louis arch! That's pretty tall!!! It was an absolutely PERFECT day outside and the sunlight was bouncing off of the metal in such a really beautiful way! So, St. Louis gets a check in my book!

Now... on to dinner!

We ate at Herbie's Vintage 72 (herbies.com) in this really adorable part of St. Louis (that Clay had never seen)! I wish it had been earlier so that we could really walk around and explore, but oh well!

I had really high hopes for the food after looking at the menu at home; however, I have to admit... I was a bit disappointed! : ( Clay really enjoyed his meal, so that's great; however, mine was definitely sub-par! BUT... the wine was great! : )

We ordered the 2007 Yalumba Cab, but they brought out the 2008... oh well! Like I'd actually know the difference! : )

This particular bottle was the cheapest Cab. on the menu (which NEVER happens), but I was excited to try it and had been looking forward to it!

I've had 2 other wines from Yalumba and was incredibly impressed! I've had a GSM and a port and loved both! So, I figured the Cab. would at least be good too! It was!

2008 Yalumba Cabernet Sauvignon

South Australia

Date tasted: 10/22/10

$30- pretty good for a restaurant, huh!? : )

My rating: 9

Clay's rating: 8

Had jammy, smoky smells (mostly cigar) and peppery tastes. It was not super full bodied, I'd actually say it was closer to medium bodied, but still had big Cab. flavors.

That's all the notes I took on it while we were there... oops!

It's DEFINITELY a bottle I'd buy again! And, it just proved to me more that I love Yalumba and will feel confident when I see it listed!

2007 Pikes Traditionale Dry Riesling

I have a lot of blogging to do... : )

I mentioned (briefly) in an earlier post that I think that Riesling has an unwarranted bad reputation, so now I'm proving that!

I, along with SO many people, thought Riesling was ridiculously sweet and unbearable to drink (and there are plenty of those); however, dry Rieslings are delectable! They are very neutrual wines and can be paired with anything (or just enjoyed alone)! Most (good) dry Rieslings will actually spell it out for you and put on the label that it's a DRY Riesling, so definitely be on the lookout for that!

This particular dry Riesling was the feature wine at Shiraz wine store here in Athens for the month of October. I walked in to pick-up our wine club wines and Emily (the store owner) said, oh Rebecca... you're going to want this one! : )

See, Emily is the person who made me take that brave first step and "try" a Riesling again. Only, she didn't exactly tell me that it was a Riesling... she tricked me! : ) She does a great job of trying to learn your particular tastes and guide you to try new things. Emily asked (early on) what I usually drink, etc. and I told her that I just really haven't been a fan of white wine, but would love to find a few "go-to" whites. She started by asking what I don't like about white and if there are any varietals in particular that I don't care for. My first response... "I hate Rieslings!" She calmly said, ok, why? I explained to her that I just DO NOT care for sweet wine (unless it's a dessert wine and I'm mentally prepared for it to be sugary sweet)! Emily's response, "No problem... I actually have a great bottle of white open, why don't you just try it and tell me what you think." So, low and behold, I take a very cautious sip of white wine and fall in love... with none other than the dreaded Riesling! Emily says this is one of her favorite tricks to pull and that tons of people have the same reservations about Riesling until they try a good one. So, the moral of this (way too long) story... TRY A GOOD DRY RIESLING!!!

2007 Pikes Traditionale Dry Riesling

Australia- Clare Valley

purchased at Shiraz wine store (Athens, GA)

$19.99 normally, but it was $9.99 because it was the feature wine

Date tasted: 10/19/10

Rating: 9-9.5

I had this wine one night when Clay was out of town, but I still wanted a great meal. So, I grilled a peppercorn pork tenderloin and some zucchini and opened up this fabulous bottle!

Pale yellow in color, gets more yellow around the edges, very clear wine

Smells: honey, grass, petrol- Yes, petrol/gas... I know that's odd, but it's very common and doesn't mean that it's not good... it's actually DELICIOUS! : )

Taste: medium bodied, acidic and dry- light and crisp, earthy, petrol, not sweet at all, also has little spice kick at the very end of the sip

My notes:

Really crisp and refreshing dry Riesling- Really great! Seems super versatile- I would think this wine would change someone's mind about whites and especially about Rieslings! Would definitely buy again (and again and again)! Screwtop bottle. Hard not to chug this one- it's really great!

Side note: I did actually buy this wine again... Shiraz decided to extend the $9.99 special into November, so when I picked up November's wine club wines, I bought two more bottles!

Boston! 2005 Gigondas Les Hauts de Montmirail

First off... Boston was awesome! : )

We had a great time on all fronts and I can't wait to go back!

But, the big decision for our wine at Aquitaine didn't get any easier once we were there! : )

We got there and loved it at first sight! It was such a cute, quaint, dimly lit little restaurant and we knew there was great potential from the moment we walked in! And, since I had already memorized the menu and decided what we'd order from appetizer to dessert (minus the wine decision of course), we had plenty of time to soak in the atmosphere and have a romantic evening!

I knew that I wanted to go ahead and order our bottle right when we got there so that it would have time to breathe while we had our appetizer, etc., so I really had to get with it! So, I discussed with our waiter some of the top choices I had made prior to getting there and we decided on the Chateauneuf du Pape, Domaine du Galet des Papes (2004)... and I was pumped about it! Well, the waiter came back a couple minutes later and said that someone had just ordered the last bottle! Of course they did! Had these people known how much time went in to choosing that exact bottle, they may have given it up to me! : ) So, we moved to plan B. Our waiter was very patient with me (but also obviously annoyed) and helped us decide on our perfect bottle! We ended up with the 2005 Gigondas Les Hauts de Montmirail. I was really hopeful about this one because it's a GSM and I've had some really great GSM's. This particular one is 55% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 20% Mourvedre (G=Grenache, S= Syrah, M= Mourvedre). The waiter thought that the peppery notes would really go well with our Filet au Poivre and that we'd be pleased with the flavors and weight of the wine.

We LOVED it!!! It was so perfect with our filets and it just completed an already perfect meal!

(We had the Mussels en Cassoulette for an appetizer and were basically licking the cassoulette when the mussels were gone! SOOO good!!! Then, we both had the Filet au Poivre for our entree. It was the best au Poivre sauce I've ever had!!! The filet was cooked to perfection and had the best pepper crust... YUM! I'm salivating now just thinking about it! And then we split a Creme Brulee for dessert. It was huge and amazingly delicious!)

This picture is from Aquitaine's website, but it has a picture of the Mussels en Cassoulette, so I included it! : )

Here's our steak (with the stupid good potatoes) and yummy wine! : )

Ok, concentrating on the wine again! : )

So, I didn't take too many notes because I was way too busy eating and drinking, but I'll list what I have!

Smells: slightly smoky smells (cigar)

Tastes: full-bodied, jammy fruit flavors, peppery finish

Rating: Clay gave it a 8.5-9 and I gave it a 9-9.5

These pictures were taken with my iPhone, so they're not great!

It really was a delicious wine and went perfectly with our amazing meal! Next time we're in Boston, we'll definitely be stopping back in to Aquitaine for another great experience!

A little research...

The hubby and I are headed to Boston at the end of the week for a wedding. So, in typical Rebecca OCD fashion, I started researching every restaurant in the city! : ) I have a MAJOR food obsession and have to case out every place I eat. I'll do anything to avoid one of two terrible things... 1. having food envy 2. making a bad quick ordering decision. I read and re-read and re-read menus before heading out everytime (unless of course I've been there and have the menu memorized).

So, the decisions have been made: We'll be eating at Aquitaine (http://www.aquitaineboston.com/) and Douzo (http://www.douzosushi.com/).

After deciding everything I'll be ordering from the menu (yup, everything), I decided to look at the wine menu. Well... looks good! And, I'm sure that if I just randomly ordered a bottle, it would be delicious and I'd be happy; however, I think it would be more fun to do some research on the wines and REALLY know what I'm getting when I order! More on that below...

First, a little side research...

I decided, since we've had such good luck with the vintage tips I found wherever I found them, I'd try to find more info on that. I found a table that says it's really general and doesn't take a lot of things into account, but that it should be a helpful guideline, so here it is for your viewing pleasure:

(Key: GY= good year; VGY= very good year; EY= excellent year)

Vintage 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Red Bordeaux VGY GY GY VGY GY EY

Red Burgandy GY GY VGY VGY GY VGY

Sauternes GY EY GY VGY GY EY

Rhone GY GY GY EY GY VGY

Champagne GY GY VGY GY GY VGY

Italy GY VGY GY GY GY VGY

Spain GY EY GY GY VGY VGY

California GY GY GY VGY GY VGY

Australia GY VGY EY GY VGY VGY

Ok... so this isn't very official looking b/c I couldn't cut and paste for some reason AND it only goes through 2005, BUT... it's a start! Hopefully I can remember some of the EY!

Here's another that should be easier and actually goes through 2007:

(click on the table to see it better)

(the formatting for the rest of the post is all messed up and I can't seem to do anything about it!)

So... back to the Boston menus:

I'm mostly looking at Aquitaine because Douzo is a Japanese restaurant and I may not drink wine. So... I really love Bordeaux (probably has nothing to do with my amazing 2 months in France), but I am a little picky with them. Again, I'm a Cab. girl, NOT a Merlot girl. And, I have learned that with Bordeaux, it's either Right Bank or Left Bank and that Bordeaux is almost always a blend of several grapes. (I love blends... such a fun way to try different things at once.) Well, typically Right Bank is Merlot heavy and Left Bank is Cab. heavy. Problem is... the label/name typically doesn't say which bank it is (ugh... how rude!). So... I decided to look up all of the Bordeaux that they have and figure out what I'm dealing with!

1.) Bordeaux Superieur, Lalande-Couturier 2005

I couldn't find this exact wine, but from what I can tell... mostly Merlot... NEXT

2.) Bordeaux, Chateau Compassant 2004

Cab and Merlot blend... maybe, but doubtful- just can't find enough info.

3.) Haut-Medoc, Chateau de Taillan 2005

Hmmm... definite potential- all I can tell is that it's mostly Cab; however, it says that the best drink dates don't start until 2011, so that's a little concerning

4.) LaLande de Pomerol, Chateau La Fleur St. George 2006

Started off thinking this was Cab., but upon further inspection, looks to be Right Bank Merlot... this may be more difficult than I thought!

5.) Saint-Emilion, Chateau Vieux-Guinot, Grand Cru 2003

This was easier to find... 70% Merlot, 30% Cab- Nope, not there yet

6.) Pauillac, Chateau Pichon-Longueville 2006

45% Cab, 35% Merlot, 12% Cab Franc, 8% Petit Verdot- Hmmm... 35% is still a lot

7.) Margaux, Chateau de Clairefont, 2nd Prieure-Lichine 2005

Getting a little closer... 54% Cab, 40% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 1% Cab Franc

8.) Saint-Estephe, Chateau La Peyre 2005

Going backwards... 50% Cab, 45% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot

9.) Saint-Emilion, Chateau Bel Air Ouy 2004

Couldn't find this exact wine, but apparently Saint-Emilion is mostly Merlot and Cab Franc with relatively small amounts of Cab

10.) Saint-Julien, Chateau Clos Du Marquis 2006

Ugh... this was a hard project... couldn't find this one either, but from what I could find, it's a Medoc, which I found is Left Bank, so I'm deducing that it's majority Cab

11.) Pauillac, Chateau Lynch-Bages 2004

Oh man... I REALLY thought I'd finally found it! 73% Cab, 15% Merlot, 10% Cab Franc, 2% Petit Verdot... Awesome! UNTIL... I looked at the price! $275/bottle... Riiiggghhhttt!

Well, based on all of this, it looks like #3 would be my best bet; however, I think I've created a monster! Now I want to look closer at the rest of the wines because I'm just not convinced that that's THE best bottle for us! : )

Alright... Aquitaine is a French restaurant, so I really do want to stick with a French wine (I'm a dork)! So... here are the rest of the options:

THE SOUTH

1.) Cotes du Roussillon Villages, Chateau de Caladroy 2006

This is a Grenache... I really do like Grenache, but I think that may be too light for what I'd like

2.) Cotes de Provence "Rouge Reserve", Domaine Houchart 2003

Grenache and Syrah blend- Hmmm... could be very interesting! However, I'm sort-of worried about the 2003 vintage!

3.) Coteaux du Languedoc "La Reserve", Chateau L'Hospitalet 2006

Syrah- Hmmm... definitely interesting- I love the peppery aspects of a good Syrah

LOIRE

4.) Chinon "Tireaux", Domaine Olek-Mery 2006

Cabernet Franc- This could be fun! A little something different!

RHONE

5.) Cotes du Ventoux "La Quintessence", Chateau Pesquie 2006

80% Syrah, 20% Grenache- I think that sounds pretty good, but I saw a description that says it has pretty strong licorice/anise flavors... NOT ok with me! : )

6.) Chateauneuf du Pape, Domaine du Vieux Lazaret 2007

Yummm... I love a strong Chateauneuf du Pape- can't really find out too much about this one though- Also, they only offer a 1/2 bottle... probably not enough! : )

7.) Chateauneuf du Pape, Domaine du Galet des Papes 2004

I found a blog where someone reviewed this wine and I was practically salivating!!! This seriously may be the winner!

8.) Saint Joseph "Le Grande Pompee", Paul Jaboulet 2005

Syrah- the description sounds delicious!!! This is definitely a front-runner right now!

9.) Gigondas "Les Hauts de Montmirail, Domaine Brusset 2005

This is a Grenache blend and sounds yummy... but maybe not as good as a couple others

10.) Cornas "Vieilles Vignes" Alain Voge 2003

Syrah- This one sounds AMAZING! However, upon further inspection... A bit pricey!

11.) Cote Rotie, "Terres Lombres", Yves Cuilleron 2005

Syrah- couldn't find much info on this one; however, it's $215/bottle... yeah, no thanks! : )

BURGANDY

12.) Beaujolais Morgan, Chateau de Pizay 2008

Gamay- A little too light for this occassion

13.) Bourgogne "Vieilles Vignes" Joseph Voillot 2007

Pinot Noir- I like Pinot Noir sometimes, but this isn't what I'm looking for

14.) Volnay 1er Cru "En Chevrets", Louis Latour 2005

This is a Pinot Noir- again, just not right

15.) Bourgogne "Cuvee Margot", O. Leflaive 2007

Pinot Noir...

16.) Santenay, Jean-Marc Morey "La Comme Dessus" 2006

Again... Pinot Noir

17.) Savigny Les Beaune, "Veilles Vignes", Alex Gambal 2008

Pinot Noir

18.) Pommard "Les Tavannes", Domaine Gaunoux 2004

I can't find anything about this one, but I'm just going to go out on a limb and guess Pinot Noir

19.) Vosne Romanee, Domaine Chezeau 2006

Yup... Pinot Noir

There are 2 others, but they're really expensive and I'm guessing Pinot

So... another thing learned: Rhone=Syrah (generally) and Burgandy=Pinot Noir (usually). This is actually something I think I may be able to remember!!! : )

Well, this is a lot to think about, so I'll just have to study these descriptions for another day and then hope for the best! I'll let you know what we choose! : )

2008 Argie Andes Torrontes

A girly TV night filled with admittedly terrible shows (i.e. new 90210, Gossip Girl) calls for wine! I had a couple bottles of white wine from our wine club selections in the fridge, so I decided to give one a try.

2008 Argie Andes Torrontes

La Rioja / Andes / Argentina

purchased from Shiraz wine store (Athens, GA)

$13.99

Rating: 8.5

I have to admit, I'm always a bit nervous opening a bottle of white wine. I have always prefered red wine and white wine intimidates me. I know that there are tons of red wine varieties and grapes, but for some reason, they seem easier to conquer. I can't remember a Chardonnay from a Pinot Grigio for anything! But... I'm trying!

All that being said, I was extremely pleased with this bottle! Again, I'm always wary, but the first sniff and sip put me at ease.

I'm not good at identifying aromas and tastes with any wine yet, but whites are definitely harder for me than reds, but here goes nothing...

Appearance:

very light in color, slightly yellowish, also slightly lighter around edges, very clear

Aromas:

slight honey maybe, possibly slight watermelon?, it smells fruity, but it's not sweet smelling, it smells really good, could possibly smell citrusy

Tastes:

medium bodied, seems fairly acidic and crisp at first, but then not as much so after a few sips (maybe as it warms?)

light, not sweet (but not dry necessarily either), possibly a little buttery tasting, but I could be way off on that, pretty noticeable alcohol taste at the end, seems like it would be a great Summer wine, light and refreshing, maybe a little earthy (a little cut grass maybe?)

I would definitely buy this wine again! Also, I think this would make a GREAT Spring/Summer gift because it seems so neutral and easy to like! I'll have to refer back to this one next year when we're invited to dinner or something.

Also, I don't know the first thing about pairing, but I can really see this being good with light seafood (raw oysters, shrimp cocktail, etc.). Who knows!? I can't wait to try and see though!

Definitely a good start with the first blogged white! : )

Random, and possibly helpful, tidbits...

As stated before, I don't pretend to know much about wine; so any small piece of information, that I can actually retain, that will help me successfully choose a bottle is great!

I've randomly discovered a few vintage pointers (who even knows where- so they may be wrong) that have helped lead to some great wines.

*2005 was a great year for California Cabernet Sauvignons
*2007 was a great year for Napa Cabernet Sauvignons
*2003 was NOT a good year for any European wines (tremendous heat wave- my husband was in Greece for part of summer 2003 and remembers, very vividly, the sweltering heat)

Again, I truly don't even remember where I heard/read this information, so it may not be totally correct; however, by using these guides, we've had great success picking some really delicious wine! And yes, I know I'm being biased towards Cabs... I'll work on that!

My biggest problem with wine is my memory... I can remember every detail about preschool 24 years ago, but can't remember, for the life of me, what I had for lunch yesterday (literally)! This is a huge dilema when you're trying (really hard) to learn about wine. I never remember what anyone tells me, I never remember the name of that amazing bottle I had, etc. My saving grace is that I have begun to learn the tastes and characteristics that I enjoy in wine and can try to explain these to someone who has a better short-term memory than I do!

One of those (really important) things that I can't usually remember is the progression of wines. I know that Cabernet Sauvignon is, traditionally, the heaviest wine, but I have a hard time remembering where other grapes fit into the spectrum. So... here's a list (and this is just a general list... there are, obviously, many other grape varietals not listed):

Heaviest to Lighest RED:
1. Cabernet Sauvignon
2. Syrah
3. Red Zinfandel
4. Merlot
5. Pinot Noir

Heaviest to Lightest WHITE:
1. Buttery Chardonnay (this actually goes between Merlot and Pinot Noir on a complete list)
2. Fruity Chardonnay
3. Riesling***
4. Sauvignon Blanc
5. Chenin Blanc
6. White Zinfandel
7. Pinot Grigio

***I feel it necessary to make a note about Rieslings... They get a bad reputation. My experience with Riesling, prior to last year, was this sweet, syrupy liquid... not usually the case. Yes, there are some really bad, sweet, wretched (in my opinion) Rieslings, but there are also some REALLY delicious dry Rieslings that will change anyone's mind about the grape! Dry Rieslings are actually one of the most accessible (probably not the best word choice) wines because they can be paired with almost anything.

2007 The Table Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Clay and I bought a new grill a couple days ago and thought we should properly break it in... with a nice, juicy steak! So, we went to our wine fridge and found what we hoped would be a great Cab. to go with it.

2007 The Table
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
ONCE Sommelier Series
Purchased from Shiraz wine store (Athens, GA)
$20.99



We loved this bottle! It was a really great, perfect example of a Cab. Seemed really tannic to me and also seemed to maybe have a bit higher alcohol content, but I really don't know if it did. I would say that, unless you really love Cab., you wouldn't enjoy this bottle as it is very dry, tannic and strong. All the qualities I love! : )

My notes:
Dark in color with slightly lighter edges. A bit cloudy because of noticable sediment (the bottle ended up having A LOT of sediment- the last glass I poured from the bottle was FULL of sediment, but it wasn't a distraction to me). (You think that sentence had the word sediment enough times!? Geez Rebecca!)
Starts off with a strong pine smell, then at the end of that same whiff, it smelled like really sweet cherries. Very interesting and really pleasant.
Earthy tastes (I'm sure the sediment has something to do with this), thick jammy tastes (not fruity though).

Rating:
8.5-9.5 (that's as specific as I can get... I am NOT good with ratings!)
I will definitely be buying this wine again and again!

What I like (in a nutshell)...

Typically, I will NOT be writing 3 blog posts at a time; however, the novelty hasn't worn off yet! : )

This will be more of a "stream of thought" post about my general likes/dislikes so far.

I'll start off by saying that, if I was only able to drink one type of wine for the rest of my life, it would be a good, strong Cabernet Sauvignon. I'm definitely a red girl, but I'm really learning to explore and appreciate whites. (I feel the need to explain that I'm also a big meat eater... My last meal would be a rare to medium-rare filet with an amazing au poivre sauce... and that great glass of Cab.)

LIKES:
big, strong flavor
tannic
spicy
dry (goes along with tannic)
earthy
jammy (not really fruity necessarily, but the rich jam flavors)

DISLIKES:
overly sweet
too smooth
most Merlot

I really thought these lists would be easier... I guess this is all part of the process though. I'll make it my mission to expand these a bit.

My humble beginning...

I feel like it's important to explain my wine "journey" and what brought me to this point.

I'm sure I'm not alone here, so even though it's embarassing to write, I'll do it... Hi, my name is Rebecca and my first wine experience was with White Zinfandel. Yikes!
I probably wasn't even legally old enough (sorry Mom and Dad), but I had a glass or two of what I will, from here on out, refer to as Wine Kool-Aid at a wedding. I thought I was being uber sophisticated drinking wine... whatever, give me a break!
My palate completely expanded from there... HA! One of my first true wine memories is of my college girlfriends and I sitting in my (parked) car drinking a magnum bottle of Yellowtail Shiraz out of Solo cups and dipping our Blow Pops in the wine... to make it taste better. Yes, you could definitely say I had a rocky start into the wine world! You gotta start somewhere, right... Right!?

Luckily for me, and most importantly, my taste buds, my appreciation and taste for wine has changed (I'd say positively) throughout the years. I credit most of this on the Summer of 2004.
I made a fabulous decision and studied abroad in Paris for a summer to round out my college career. France really opened my eyes to wine. You have to love Europe... drinking wine at lunch only to head back home and nap for awhile... my kind-of people!
I drank (mostly table wine) daily and almost croaked when I came back home and had to pay more than $5 for an amazing bottle of vino. I will say that I didn't fully embrace the experience and could have gained SO much more information about wine, but I was still in my beginner's stage. Next time I go... it's on!

I still don't have the big budget to fully explore my love for wine, but I think that's part of the fun... Great wine doesn't have to be expensive!
Disclaimer: I will not be drinking crazy expensive wine and super old vintages, so if anyone is reading this (not likely) and that's what you're hoping for, try one of the other 6 million blogs dedicated to wine.

The premise...

I am, like so many people, a believer in wine. Yup, a believer.

Wine is delicious, yes, but I also feel it holds medicinal properties. Wine can be a stress reliever, a companion, a liberator, and, of course, a means to an end (drunken bliss).

I don't pretend to know much about wine, other than... I LIKE IT! However, with each bottle opened, each sip tasted, each glass drained... I learn more and more.
Personal taste is just that... personal. So, I feel that wine can be difficult across the board. Everyone's palate is different, so my favorite wine may taste like yesterday's garbage to you. I am simply making an effort to lasso any information I obtain about wine into one central location, so I'm not rummaging through my house (constantly) looking for that scrap piece of paper I wrote that vintage on.

My wine journey (and blog posts) will be random and probably extremely frustrating for wine aficionados; however, there's always that possibility that just the right person will be out there reading and find something useful! : )
Most of my posts will just be my random (and NOT expert) notes about wines that I taste (varietal, vintage and producer information, smells, tastes, general opinion, price and whether food was involved).

I will also note that my husband, Clay, and I are members of a monthly wine club here in Athens, GA at Shiraz wine store. Through this great store, we've had the opportunity to taste a great variety of wines and really learn which wines and characteristics make us happy. I also had the fantastic experience of taking a 6-course beginner's wine class to start my "formal" education. Wine class is great (too bad that wasn't an offered major at UGA)! We tasted wines from around the world, compared our opinions on aroma, taste, etc. and began to understand more and more what we loved (and, unfortunately every now and then, what we hated).

Hopefully this will be a fun exercise for me and possibly someone out there who cares at all about my worthless opinion!