Work is done for the week, the shoes are kicked off, cats are fed, dinner is cooking away…time to relax with a nice glass of wine. Tonight’s selection is a 1997 Malbec from Argentina’s Mendoza Valley. Ahhhh…lush and fruity, with berries in the front and an undertone of leather. Smoothly supple. A wine for relaxing with, not quaffing.
So share. What was the last wine you had, and how was it?
2001 Simi Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m enjoying the final glass from the bottle as I’m writing this. A nice, fruity, almost jammy Cab. Not spectacular, but very good.
I’m in a bit of a rut with wine, so I went out today looking for something I don’t usually drink. I’ve never been too much on Italian reds, especially Tuscans. I decided to try a different breed of Italian. I bought a reasonably priced Dolcetto…specifically 2001 Franco-Fiorina Dolcetto D’Alba. Anyone care to tell me what to expect. If I remember my Italian wine geography, this is a Piedmont wine, right? That’s about all I know about it.
La Brasserie Rouge '03. A $5 French vin ordinaire that’s really not at all bad. In fact it might be the best damn plonk I’ve had in memory.
Oracle Pinotage '05. South African. I’ve never heard of the varietal (some kinda Pinot Noir maybe?). Interesting taste, semidry, smoky/spicy (can’t quite tell which). About $10.
You will like. I have had several Colcettos from California vineyards, and all have been quite nice. Better with food than alone, but I find that is common with most Italian varietals that I have had.
That’s probably the reason I’ve acquired a bias against Italian wines. The last one I really remember enjoying was a cheap bottle of Chianti I bough for a dinner I was hosting. The wine was nothing special, but it was just fine with the food & everyone enjoyed it. Maybe I just expect too much from Italian wines.
2001 Victor Hugo Opulence, a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Pinot Verdot from the Paso Robles area. Don’t really know how to describe it, other than lush and soft. Perfect ending to the week.
And ditto on the Italian wines.
One of my favorites is the 2002 Thorn Clarke Shotfire Ridge Barossa Cuvee with cherry, mocha and licorice aromas and a spectrum of tastes including mocha and the aforementioned aromas. Great wine for a reasonable price if you can still find it.
Regarding Dolcetto’s the two that I have had recently include Luciano Sandrone’s Dolcetto D’Alba and Az. Agr. Cigliuti Serraboella Dolcetto D’Alba. Both were outstanding but the absolute best quality for the price Italian wine I have had of late would be a Nero D’Avola made by Ceuso and labeled *Scurati Sicilia *. It is an Italian IGT.
I tried a couple of chardonnays from the very same Mendoza Valley. Liked them a lot.
We had a Duval-Leroy Rose champagne then moved on to a Windy Ridge Pinot with dinner. The rose was yummy, a big rich champagne that’s been a surprise favorite this years. Windy Ridge was good, too, big on chocolate and cherries. Went well with the pizza we ordered.
I am curious as to whether you had the Windy Ridge Pinot made by the winery in Northern California or the one made in Australia?
A good friend is on his way over for dinner so a 2000 Silver Oak cab is breathing downstairs now. Always excellent, although I usually only break them out for special occasions. It’s the Alexander as the Napa is twice the cost.
During an anniversary dinner last week, I enjoyed a 2002 Ridge cab that was perfectly paired with a venison shank. I also tried their 1999 yesterday but really prefer the 2002.
At a wine tasting last week, we were introduced to the 14 Hands cab, a reference to the fact the winery was established on a horse ranch or so we’re told. It’s a good everyday wine in that it’s very pleasant, not too fruity or oaky and is under 8 US.
My favorite everyday though is a 2002 Sebastiani cab, which we started buying when Estancia had a less than stellar output this year. It’s about 14 US a bottle and suits most situations.
I used to think the same but I’ve taken a liking to Sangioveses and their clones, which are decent drinking wines. If you know your Chiantis there are some good Classicos as well, but Chianti has always been considered a table wine and thus quality has never been a prime consideration; it’s always been a commodity wine.
I think the last bottle of wine I drank was a forgettable Pinot Noir from Bordeaux; color me less and less impressed with the French as winemakers. The last good bottle of wine I had was a Saintsbury Garnett Pinot Noir, I believe, although there wasw a Hitching Post Cork Dancer 4.2 (one of their Pinots) that I had over the holidays; reasonably priced but excellent wine.
For a good, inexpensive drinking wine, the Yellowtail Shiraz and the Rosemont Estates Shiraz are both quite good, if a little too sweet and fruity for my taste as a table wine. I used to like the Big House Red (some uncertain blend of California reds) as a standard table wine, but since they’ve gone to the screwtop closure I’ve eschewed them. I don’t give a damn about the economics; I like the ritual of decorking the wine, damnit. (And using a wine key to do so; the rabbit contraptions are just a cheat, IMHO. Yes, I’m talking to you, Campion.) I didn’t complain when they started using artifical corks, but screwtops are just too much.
I’ve had some excellent and quite reasonably priced Chilean and Argentine Malbecs; I’ve actually found it rather hard to acquire a variety of labels recently, as the Bevmo often seems to be out, and the local wine store doesn’t seem to prefer them.
Stranger
For absol-frakking-lutely marvelous California Italian wines, try Mandolina. Their “Toccata” blend is the best sipping, slurping, won’t clash with your cheeseburger wine I’ve ever had! 
Not to be nitpicking, but I doubt you had a pinot from Bordeaux. I assume you meant Burgundy?
For my tastes (and money) I will stick to Italian varietals grown and produced in Italy. The Californian sangiovese and nebbiolo based wines I have tried pale in comparison to their Italian ancestors. Just my $0.02!
I bought a case of this a couple months back and definitely agree that for the money, it’s a great everyday Cab. Actually I’ve got four differnet vintages of this in my basement…97,99,01 & 02. The 99 isn’t anything special, but the other three are quite good.
Also, with tonight’s dinner…2004 Mark West Pinot Noir. A cheap pinot, but it came thought with a decent cherry fruitiness. It did just fine with the pork tenderloin.
Anyone have an interest in making this a regular discussion? Would once a month be too often?
How about the First Friday of each month. I’ll start it, if there is enough interest. Always interested in discovering some new wines.
Sounds good. Maybe our first order of business should be changing Stranger’s mind about the French. 
You can try that. The sign over my wine cabinet says “Coito de Galle.”
But a regular wine discussion could prove educational to all involved. I can always use some widening of my tastes.
:eek: It’s like you’re psychic!
Shame you’re not local. We could drag Stranger to a tasting at the Wine House. As a Californian, naturally I appreciate his love for my home state’s wine (frankly, all right-thinking people should love California wine). But the French do make a decent wine. The last wine tasting I went to at the Wine House was about half French wine; good stuff there. I just wish I could remember what all it was…