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!