Lenz Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon `07 $40.00

I'm starting to feel guilty about drinking this wine.  I should buy a few bottles, keep them in the cellar, and just drink one bottle a year.... but I have impulse control issues (let's just leave it at that...).

At the test kitchen, sometimes, I let the host pick the menu.  When he chose Beef Wellington with Napoleon for dessert, I smiled and thought that this meal WILL NOT be my Waterloo.  It was my first time making a Wellington or a Napoleon, but, with my usual bravado in the face of challenge, I jumped in head first and embraced the opportunity to create a culinary riff on Naval history.  The meal was perfect to showcase the Lenz Cabernet Sauvignon, and who am I to deny a man who plays the banjo while I happily putter in the kitchen? (I am a very lucky girl)

Now for the review:

Lenz Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon `07 unfiltered and unfined (Dr. Scribner would be thrilled).  What a full, lush wine.  At 13% ETOH, it was an excellent, traditional, old world style foil for the lean tenderloin wrapped in mushroom duxelles, prosciutto and puff pastry.

The truth is, I was sipping it all day as I cooked. (hey, it was 6:00 somewhere) By the time the meal was ready to be photographed... there wasn't a lot of wine left - maybe enough for a pairing - I smiled, praised Julia Child and toasted to a terrific afternoon of cooking and blissing out to my very own live acoustic soundtrack.

This Cabernet Sauvignon is flavorful, slightly dry, with notes of dark forest berries.  It's a smooth, classic, left bank type Cabernet that winemaker Eric Fry makes right here on Long Island's North Fork. I really did kick myself for drinking it while it is still young (ish).

It was so much fun pairing it with a special meal (we even broke out the good china).  I was delighted to sip it as I cooked and drink it with dinner. Thank you Lenz.  I'll be buying more, and I'll try to let it sit in the cellar long enough to mature to its full potential.


I paired the wine with a dinner of:
Beef Wellington
Herb roasted Russian banana potatoes
Red and green leaf salad with toasted walnuts & shaved Parmesan with a Honey/Balsamic dressing

 

I made a Napoleon for dessert.


 

Breaux Vineyards Nebbiolo `05 $72.00 ****

I travel.  Sometimes when I travel, I bring back wine to be tasted at a future date.  Which is why S. was very happy that we were finally drinking the "Leonardo" (that's a Da Vinci self portrait on the label) from the wine rack.

Leonardo never had it so good.  This Virginia Nebbiolo is a really good wine, with a GREAT story.

Lat year, I was lucky enough to tour Breaux Vineyards in Purcellville, VA, just an hour from Washington DC. While I was there, I fell for their Viognier, a lovely white that Jancis Robinson and Oz Clarke like too. But for me, the star is their hill of Nebbiolo grapes and the way that Spanish winemaker David Pagan Castaño creates a magic Italian elixir from the fruit.

Where else can you have a classic indigenous  Italian varietal, grown in rural Virginia by a family with deep Louisiana roots, with a second generation Spanish winemaker producing a delicious "true to the varietal" wine that holds it's own against famous DOCG Borolos and Barbarescos?  Only in America. 

E. Paul Breaux likes wine.  The story behind Breaux Nebbiolo was told to me by Chris Blosser and his wife (Paul's daughter) Jennifer Breaux Blosser, who now run the day to day of the Vineyards. As we sipped chilled Viognier in the August heat, I asked "why Nebbiolo?"  Chris answered:

One evening while visiting Italy Mr. Breaux had a conversation with an Italian man (their only common language was wine) about the noble Nebbiolo grape. It was such a great night (I believe wine consumption was involved) that he decided to come home to Virginia and plant some Nebbiolo vines.  This shows that the real estate magnate is also an iconoclast who is willing to take risks; in the spirit of the founding fathers, he took European originals (Nebbiolo and winemaker Castaño) and made a rich, flavorful American wine with Piemonte roots.

I opened the bottle while making Marcella Hazan's Risotto with Beef, Rosemary, Sage, and Barolo Wine, Alba Style.  This is where I tell you that taste does not photograph well.  I intentionally cropped out dinner from the photograph above because as I call it "Hamburger Risotto" is mouthwateringly delicious, but it looks like Ginny's dinner.  I didn't want to sully your view of this amazing wine:  Aged to perfection, with a slight orange tinge around the edge, no tannins that I could taste and a rich fruity structure with mellow earthy undertones.  It is great for sipping and paired with delicious food. At 13.8% ETOH, this is a full flavor wine, but there was no overly alcoholic kick back.

Thomas Jefferson's dream has come true.  They're making delicious wine in Virginia.

Breaux Vineyards, Summer 2011:

Bodegas LAN Rioja Crianza `06 $10.99 ***

Comfort food and comfort wine.  That was our evening. I've written a lot about my beloved Tempranillo.  This wine is complex, fruity, brooding and well balanced.  It is a mouthful of flavor, and it is better off balanced with food...fatty food.  JPH knocked it out of the park with home made burgers, stewed onion & peppers, roasted cherry tomatoes and pan fried potatoes.  S. sat down at the table and exclaimed "Comfort Food".

Now for the wine.  This is a rustic wine.  Textured, a lot like the unseasonal (57 degrees outside in January?  Really??) grilled hamburgers that we had .  Juicy, but with a hint of char and full of flavor.  I made a comment about "chewing on a mouth full" of this wine, and I stand by it. Flavor and balance all in one bottle, and for $10.99 - we've had a few of these bottles so far this winter, and it really is a great find.

From Bodgeas LAN 100% Tempranillo, 13.5% ETOH. Rioja is an amazing wine region producing some really nice, inexpensive wines. Thank you.

And as an added bonus, their back label actually teaches us something.  I love the graph telling you when the wine is at its peak.  This may be my favorite label of the year (so far)

Mosen Cleto Crianza DO `06 ** $17.99

I really wanted to like this wine.  It was a recommendation from the expensive wine shop in Locust Valley.  But, from the moment JPH presented it, there was a sense of doubt looming.  The bottle was off putting; both S. and I tried to clean it. In a marketing gimmick, Mosen Cleto, the Spanish producer coats the bottles with glue & sand then calls it  "Well Cellared" (we just thought it was dirty).  Gimmicking the bottle harkens back to Chianti in bulbous wicker from my childhood.  Good for ambiance (burning rainbow candles in...) but for drinking? Shudder.

When it was uncorked, the cork smelled really fruity. It does smell great - dark Cherry with a subtle hint of vanilla and leather.  It was a beautiful swirl in the glass, with just the slightest pink tinge in the edge.  The first sip was so full of unsweetened stewed fruit flavor that I thought I had been punched in the mouth by an Australian Shiraz.  Really, I was wondering how it would taste with clotted cream, a fresh biscuit and some sugar... if it were thicker, I'd spread it for breakfast.

It is full of flavor with a long finish. 75% Garnacha and 25% Tempranillo, the undertones of leather and smoke give the wine a heaviness, and as an `06 Crianza, I wonder if we were a couple of years too late. Produced by the Spanish giant Bodegas Aragonesas, I wonder if we should try a younger bottle.  But at $17.99, it simply isn't worth the experiment.

S. made Brisket and Mashed potatoes, good hearty food to go with a hearty wine, but I think that this wine might just be too hearty for me.

Purato Nero d'Avola IGT `10 $14.99 **

I'll admit to being sarcastic when it comes to the "Green" movement. I spent my childhood lugging wood for the wood-stove and looking at my mother's home canned green beans every time I took the stairs to the cellar freezer to get the home grown & butchered pork - you can't get much greener or "locavore" than growing up in an economically challenged farming community.  But now, 30 years later, I live on the "Gold Coast" in Gatsby World.  When I look at the $14.99 price tag on a $9.99 bottle of wine, I just have to laugh to myself - you've come a long way baby. (maybe it is time to go back)

JPH didn't buy this wine because it says:  The label is made from 100% recycled paper, uses 100% vegetable ink to print and uses 100% recycled cardboard for shipping and an 85% recycled glass bottle. (Thank Goodness!) He bought it because he & S. like Nero d'Avola, and the overpriced wine shop proprietor recommended it. All ranting aside about being "Green", this is an ok wine. 100% Nero d'Avola, 13.5% ETOH.

I was remind to never judge a wine on the first pour from the bottle.  I was greedy and wanted instant gratification, so I unscrewed the top, poured a glass and took a swig.  shudder.  You can't swig wine!  I should know that!  I set my glass aside and went back to the mise en place for dinner (or gossiping about how bad my day at work was... I can't remember) JPH was smart and pointed me to a nice sherry as an apéritif.

Half an hour later, the pasta sauce was bubbling, the filet was in the oven and I was ready to really try the Purato Nero d'Avola.  It is young, bright and pretty good.  It has a very aggressive fruit (tart blackberry)forward, and a spicy (almost peppery) middle, with a balanced finish.  It really is easy to drink with a meal, but I don't really like it as a stand alone sipping wine.

Purato seems to be a fairly new venture from the Sicilian producer Feudo di Santa Tresa.  There is nothing about this wine on their website, but it is clearly labelled as theirs. Made with Organic Grapes, and called "Eco Friendly" it is what it is: Ok wine with an interesting marketing twist.

Menu:
Tenderloin
Sauteed Spinach with Garlic
Tagliatelle with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Chateau Trinquevedel Rosé `08 AOP $16.99 ***

Conundrum: Hamburgers need a wine that stands up to their meatiness, but summertime needs a wine that is refreshing.

Solution: A dry yet fruity classic Rosé. Chateau Trinquevedel fit the bill for dinner. It was delicious. Chilled with the flavor of slightly tart strawberries, with the ghost like finish of a dry red wine.

This wine is a great reminder that Tavel AOC is the Cradle of French Rosé.

Made from Grenache, Cinsault, Clairette, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Bourboulenc grapes, this amalgam of varietals is a great blend.

Menu:
Grilled Burgers, Fresh Corn on the Cob, Potato Salad, Roasted Red Peppers.

Kermit Lynch Guy Breton Morgon Vieilles Vignes `09 $35.99 ****

Photo styled and taken by MEH

It was one of those nights. JPH was head cook and sommelier for the evening. After an ill fated Italian wine misstep, he grabbed this bottle from the wine-rack and said, "Why not open a good bottle, I guess you girls deserve it." (we will never speak again of the first bottle that we opened tonight. One sip, and I was running for the vinegar barrel.) S. and I smiled when he brought out this bottle - S. was willing to suffer through the the ill fated Italian that was opened. I was not so tolerant. JPH put the subject to rest, "Enough of the $7.99 wine - tonight we have the good stuff."

This Beaujolais Cru is made from Gamay grapes, and it has aged just enough to have it be a smooth, deep(yet light) wine with dry fruit highlights (over ripe strawberries) and dark chocolate undertones. This wine and the skirt steak that we had tonight fell in love, and together they made me a very happy consumer. And at 13.5% ETOH, it was a gorgeous, light wine that won't give me a heavy head tomorrow morning. From the first sniff... mellow chocolate buried in fresh fruit, I was hooked. Gamay, when it is good makes an amazing Beaujolais, and this was it. I had to pace myself so that we had some wine left to have with supper.


Go for it, grab a well made Beaujolais Cru and have a perfect summer evening meal. From the first pour with it's bright raspberry color, to the flavorful finish with no tannins; it was worth the $35.99 splurge just to taste a wine that deserves every penny that was spent on it.

Our pre-dinner table conversation centered around "Who is this Kermit Lynch who quotes Jefferson "Good wine is a necessity of life for me" on his wine bottles?" - well, he is a California wine merchant and writer who has established some pretty amazing relationships with Vineyards/Winemakers over the years (wineshop established in 1972) - Guy Breton is one of those French Vineyards, that produced this lovely, light yet flavorful Beaujolais Cru. Well done Kermit, you do deserve your name on the label.

Here is my view from the dinner table tonight.
I love it when the stars align, and everything works.
Tonight we were blessed with good food, good wine, and amazing weather.

Descendants Liégeois Dupont Syrah `09 $29.00 ****

There is no other way to say it - they're making classic French Syrah in Washington State. S. & JPH went out to do the shopping today, and while they were at Marquis Wine & Spirits, Michael told them to try this Syrah from the Hedges Family Vineyard in Benton City, WA. It fit with the menu; tonight was going to be steak night: Rib-eye, farm-stand tomatoes, potatoes & corn, and voilà the fixings for a fresh summer dinner.

The label is classically French. You really have to study it to figure out what you are drinking. It is all there though, in script and fine print. AVA Red Mountain, 100% Syrah, Estate bottled, 926 cases; 14.2% ETOH. That is an American improvement on the French label! After he opened the bottle, JPH brought me the cork to smell, all I could smell was fresh jam. Deep dark blackberry jam. It was the smell of promise.

He poured S. a glass, and she smiled "MMMMM this is really good". He took a sip "Wow". and I soon followed. It really was a smooth, elegant flavor. Cassis was my first note. S. got the finish when she said "cognac". That was it, caramel. The finish was a whisper of caramel; and the smell... vanilla, just smelling it added to the joy of drinking it.

Then we tried it with food. S. put a dash of salt on a slice of Brandywine Tomato and said, "I know it sounds crazy, but try a bit of salt in a tomato, and then try the wine." I did, and she was right. "Wow". And with the steak and potatoes that JPH cooked on the grill, well, let's just say we ate and drank really well. This wine elevated an already delicious meal.

A strange thing happened though. As we contemplated just how much to buy, and we checked out the Hedges Family Estate Website to find out more about this wine, I thought, "Hey, if I am going to review this, I should try an aerated glass." It was the most dramatic aeration that we have ever done. It ruined the wine. As JPH said, "It sucked the fruit right out of it". We really wondered why, what is is about this wine that reacted so badly when it went through the Nuance? It didn't seem delicate, but we wondered how it would age if a simple aeration could render it almost unpalatable. I still don't understand the science of wine, but I do understand taste. All I can say is, buy a bottle of this wine, open it and enjoy it. It is fantastic - just don't aerate it.

Here is a late summer afternoon in our neck of the woods:
(I am a very lucky girl)

Ciconia Touriga Nacional Syrah Aragones NV $7.99 (not TJ's) ***(*)

photo by MEH

Impromptu, rustic, flavorful.  How's that for a mouthful.  I am LOVING Ciconia wines this week. We had some of their Vihno Verde and really liked it over the weekend.

What made it impromptu:  I wasn't planning on reviewing a wine tonight, but as dinner was cooking on he grill, JPH presented me with this familiar label picturing a folk drawing of Ciconia ciconia, the White Stork of Portugal.  How could I resist trying a sibling to the Vihno Verde that we had liked so much?

What I loved: The light fruitiness up front, and the lovely floral smell, and then the deep slightly oak finish. It is complex, yet served at room temperature on a hot/sticky day (it was muggy 80's) this wine was flavorful and refreshing. So refreshing that I can't imagine it on a cold day.  It is a great, mid weight summer red.

What I didn't love:  DON'T aerate this wine.  It made it bitter, woody and tart.   There is a threatening undertone that could be chocolate or could be bitterness.  It is like you are drinking something that could turn on you, but for the moment, it is really, really easy to drink, and flavorful, with just a hint of spiciness.

Either sip this wine alone or have it with savory food.  I tried a bite of our grilled pineapple with lime, and then drank some wine and it was like brushing my teeth and drinking a swig of orange juice.  Just don't do it. Some flavors just don't play well together.  This wine wants a nice steak with some char and a pristine ear of corn. Or anything with a full flavor that can be complimented by the deep cherry and tart raspberry with a hint of oak taste to this wine.

This wine comes from a major producer in Portugal Herdade SÃO Miguel.  There is a slight discrepancy between their tasting notes and our bottle.  Our bottle said 14.5% ETOH, their notes say 13.2%.  I believe the higher content.  It is a blend of some very interesting varietals:  Aragonês (the joke is on me, that is the Portuguese name for my beloved Tempranillo), Syrah and Touriga Nacional; a varietal used in the production of Port... mmm Port, now that is an after dinner elixir that I enjoy. 

So, there we have it, a cheap, cheerful blend of two of my favorite flavors.  The rustic coffee/leather/earthiness of Tempranillo, the heavy smooth fruitiness of the Touriga Nacional, and a light spritzer of Syrah to give it some highlight.  Well done.  It may be mass produced, and it may be a wine that you drink as soon as you open it - but for $7.99 why not?  I am a fan.

We had a simple dinner tonight.  Grilled skirt steak, fresh corn on the cob and for dessert, grilled fresh pineapple with a hint of lime, salt and rum.

I'll leave you with a shot of our dessert of grilled pineapple.  

I have been told that the leftovers may even go into some 

pineapple upsidedown muffins for breakfast.   

I am a very lucky girl.

Domingo Molina Cabernet Sauvignon `06 (not TJ's) gift/$19.99 ****

Repeat after me.  The grapes for this wine were harvested in April, 2006.  A spring harvest plays with my mind, but if I drink more wine like this I could easily adapt to the Southern Hemisphere's Autumn harvest in Spring.  Down in Salta, Argentina, the Brothers Molina are running an small, but nice Bodega.  I can't wait to try more of their wines.

This Cabernet is a deep berry, dusky flavorful wine that does Argentina proud.  It paired perfectly with our Grilled steak and pasta tossed with Marcella Hazan's Eggplant Sauce with Tomato and Red Chili Pepper.  The earthiness was a perfect foil for the high notes of the chili pepper in the pasta sauce, and the char from the grill on the steak, well... wasn't that was Cabernet was made for? We liked the spicy deep wine, and for some strange reason, I didn't even think to decant it. I think that it would decant well, and also that it is a wine that could stand to breath, and the spice would just mellow.  Maybe because our meal was so flavor forward, I didn't notice the wine opening up. It was good on the first pour.


Last Christmas, Lucie was coming to visit for a weekend in New York, between Polo Camp at El Venado in Argentina and home (London).  As she is the most wonderful house guest in the world (ok, I am biased), she brought wine.  Six months later, we are drinking it.

Thank you Lucie for picking up this tasty bottle of wine
after a week of polo!!

Domaine de Mourchon Côtes-du-Rhône Séguret Tradition `07 AOC (not TJ's) $15.99 ***

Smells nice, tastes velvety.  We've had this one before, and because we liked it, JPH ran out and bought more.  65 % Grenache, 25 % Syrah,
10% Carignan.  Hmmm Carignan, I have never heard of that grape before.  It seems to be one of those old varietals that is used in blending to get a specific taste and yield.  I really liked this wine the first time that we had it, and S & I enjoyed it so well tonight that I forgot to aerate it. Oops.

We had it with grilled burgers on fresh kaiser rolls, with warm potato salad and fresh tomato salad.  
This wine was a lush mid weight red with a bit of a velvety soft finish. It had a nice smell and was oh so easy to drink at 14% ETOH. What was really interesting was what I learned in the tasting notes:  This wine is aged in concrete vats.  I didn't taste an overt minerality, but now that I think of it, that could have added to the lush finish.

Domaine de Mourchon is an interesting producer, and I am looking forward to trying more wines from their small, but sleek diverse operation.  Wine, Olive Oil and Cosmetics.  Hmm, I sense a business plan in there somewhere.

Dinner was great, and after leisurely sitting at the table feeling the effect of the 14% ETOH, JPH pulled out the chilled Vin De Glaciere as digestif, and then, my night was over.

Last weekend, I celebrated my Birthday.  For the actual day, I visited a North Fork Long Island Vineyard (review & pics to follow).  What was most special though, was finding a roadside farm stand that had fresh Strawberries and Rhubarb.  Someone in this house has been craving Strawberry Rhubarb Pie since last spring.  I bought the fresh ingredients, and JPH & S made the pie.  Here it is, before (above) and after:

Pitch Cabernet Sauvignon `07 $19.99 (Not TJ's) ***

JPH pulled this Cabernet Sauvignon from a dormant corner of the wine rack.  It had been laying there for a few years - it was time to dust it off and pull the cork.

I learned something tonight.  First sips can be deceiving. My first impression was that I didn't like it. It seemed intense, almost concentrated, sharp.  JPH tried it and said the prophetic words "I bet it'll open up."  I was leery, and commented, "I may not review it. We'll see after we've aerated it". (Lately, I have been thinking that life is too short to review bad wine)  I needed reassurance, and JPH said, "just let it sit in the glass for five minutes."

WOW. I really have to learn that good things come to those who are willing to wait. (I have impulse control issues...)  After five minutes, it became a totally different wine; it brightened and there was a highlight of the faint, fruity sweetness of cassis, but also a nice basic dried cherry/raspberry heaviness.  This has a big mouthful of taste and a short finish, with very slight tannins; making it easy to drink and good with our dinner of grilled skirt steak, cherry tomatoes, fried potatoes and Al Funghetto (sauteed eggplant cubes) from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Italian Cooking.

I was wishing that S. were home.  She is my tasting partner in the "Aerator Death Matches". But as it was, we didn't need to have an aerator "taste off".  A run through the Nuance didn't do anything more than the first ten minutes of being open; the wine was breathing just fine on its own.  Give it some space.  For an `07 on the rack for four years, I think that it is at its peak with just a few swirls around a glass.

This is a good blend, that highlights all three varietals very well:  Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.  From Reninger Winery,  in Walla Walla, Washington (home of some great modern Vineyards, and the Walla, Walla Sweet Onion Festival).  I don't know why the vineyard doesn't list this line of wine on their website.  I'm curious, why the omission?

Yves Lambert Domaine de Saint-Just Samur Champigney `07 *** $22.99 (not TJ's)

This is a nice simple bottle of Cabernet Franc from the Loire producer Yves Lambert, who runs Domaine de Saint-Just with his son Arnold.  They make a good, easy drinking bottle of plonk for $22.99.

At first sniff of the plastic cork, I was a bit worried.  S. was more worried.  She likened the smell to musty, and maybe something a bit more nasty.  BUT.  The taste was good and spot on Cabernet Franc.  It was simple weak taste at first, with a dry big taste of dried blueberries at the finish.  It was very easy to drink and went well with our dinner of grilled Skirt Steak, pasta in a mushroom cream sauce and fresh fiddleheads from Marsh Stream in mid-coast Maine.

After aeration (Nuance):  Don't do it.  It made the wine weak and a bit sour.

Here is Marsh Stream, Monroe, Maine.
Home to the fiddle heads on the plate above
just 48 hours earlier.

Domaine Seguin-Manuel Savigny-lès-Beaune Vieilles Vignes `08 (not TJ's) $29.99****

Expensive for a week night, yet perfect for a great steak dinner on an amazing Spring day. This is a fantastic fruit forward Pinot Noir  from Savigny-lès-Beaune AOC in Burgundy.  Bright, light, with a mouthful of spicy fruit that just made my mouth water. It was a hit.

Made traditionally by award winning Thibault Marion at Domaine Seguin-Manuel, this wine is a great nod to his family heritage (Domain founded 1824).  The label is fancy French, kind of highbrow and intimidating, BUT the wine inside is fresh, bold and spicy. It is a light crimson color that smells of lush fruit. There is a full forward richness, and just a hint of mouthwatering acidity, and a long, flavorful finish that is spicy -  (subtle cloves).  It is 13% ETOH, and paired really well with our menu of: Grilled Steak, roasted red pepper, broccoli rabe with pancetta, garlic and olive oil in a balsamic reduction and just to put us over the top, baked potatoes with butter and truffled sea-salt.

After aeration with the nuance: Don't bother. Just pour and enjoy!  This bottle may have been a 2008 aged in french oak for 10 months, but to me it taste fresh and gorgeous with a slight hint of age just peeking through, adding deep flavor.

While JPH was roasting the red peppers on the grill, 

I poured myself a glass, 

as MEH had an impromptu photo shoot.  

She styled and took this picture.  

We are having a beautiful Spring!

Le Rote Vernaccia di San Gimignano `09 DOCG $12.99 (Not TJ's) ****

We've been on a Vernaccia kick. Vernaccia di San Gimignano is a varietal (Vernaccia) grown and pressed in a very specific Italian Tuscan hillside town (San Gimignano in Siena).  Ancient by any standards; delicious by our standards.

It was a cold, rainy Saturday.  The kind of day that I simply call "Scottish": cold, raw, overcast and windy - best to be enjoyed from the cozy indoors with a glass of something warming at hand.  Due to the cold, clammy Spring weather, JPH had been thinking about comfort food for dinner.  At lunch, he flashed at me Essentials of Italian Cooking opened to the page: Risotto with Sausage. My response was Pavlovian.  My mouth watered and my head automatically shook "YES".  During lunch, I made my shopping list.  First stop, Coves Discount for some Vernaccia (the recipe calls for dry white wine (why not go Tuscan???)).

Vernaccia di San Gimignano has the honor of being Italy’s first ever DOC wine, in 1993 it was elevated to  DOCG.  This may be my first review of this wine, but this is by no means our first bottle.  JPH is a vernaccia fan, and we've a lot of this enjoyed this wine produced by the Scotti family:  Husband & Wife partners  at Le Rote, a vineyard they inherited in the Tuscan Hills.  They are really producing a GREAT, versatile white wine that is 100% Vernaccia, and so easy to drink and cook with.

My notes are:  Dry with a crisp minerality, but not too acidic.  Refreshing with a hint of tart pear.  And all around crisp white.

Beef Broth after 3 hours simmering

In following the recipe to the extreme, I spent the day making Marcella's Beef Broth  - it was vary simple, and made the house smell amazing.  I may have even had a glass or two of leftover Almez Garnacha while I was cooking... (Hey, it is Saturday!).

Tonight, I cooked and JPH took the pictures. But I'll end this post with a snapshot from my BlackBerry.  What the table looks like after dinner. I am sipping wine, polishing off the leftover asparagus, making notes, reading Patrick Leigh Fermor's A Time of Gifts (the true story of a man who walked through Europe (quaffing some amazing wine along the way) and became a part of history during WWII), and looking things up on my iPad (notably the relationship between the Duchess of Devonshire and Lord Fermor).  Just another Saturday night....

Concha y Toro Casillero Del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon `09 $9.99 (not TJ's) (*)

We talked about whether or not I would review this wine.  I've been criticized for not posting many bad reviews (well, one star reviews, some of my reviews are classic in how badly written they are... I almost named this blog "Drunken Wine Reviews").   I'll admit that I have hated wines and NOT written a review about them; but in this case, I want to write about this wine. I made it through a couple of glasses -  it was drinkable. I was simply disappointed, and here is why:

The marketing and the bottling are great, super slick, fun and a conversation starter  - second only to Fat Bastard Wine IMHO.  The details are so professional - from the devil emblem on the bottle to the super fancy website.  All those bells and whistles, and the pour was a heavy Cabernet from Chile that had a seriously sour finish. The body of a good Cabernet was there, it had depth and a dried fruit aroma, but the finish was sour, like biting into a not quite ripe grape.  We couldn't even think of a way to "fix" this wine.  It was relegated to the vinegar barrel in the basement.  I was seduced by the devil on the package and the flames in the flash video and I was disappointed. Read into that what you will, but I had high hopes - hey it may make some really good vinegar - it was well on its way.

If they had taken just a fraction of their marketing budget and put it into better grapes, I think that they could have hit this wine out of the park (it is Spring, and I am hauling out the baseball metaphors).

Dinner was good.  We had fun cooking it.  Pan roasted new potatoes, sauteed kale and  Beef Brisket Braised with Onions From Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan (I LOVE that Marcella comments on the recipe in the post that I linked to above).

Here is our dinner as it sat on the stove waiting to be plated....

Banfi Chianti Classico Reserva `07 DOCG $17.99 ***

We've been drinking a lot of Banfi ever since S. & JPH  went to a tasting dinner in January.  I had to try this wine three different times before I figured out what I really like about it. I am not really a fan of Chianti or Sangiovese for that matter, BUT this wine was good and it was great with lunch.  Proper paring can really elevate a meal.

This post is all about the North Shore of Long Island, and the Italians that have made it home for the past century. Razzano's is an Italian Salumaeria is just a mile or so from The Banfi Estate (importers of this Chianti that is made by them in Tuscany). It was fitting that I have a glass of their rustic, full bodied Chianti Classico to accompany the amazing Meatball Parmesan hero that JPH & I split from Razzano's. (I challenge ANYONE to eat a full sized one at one sitting!)

Banfi Chianti Classico Reserva `07 is full of flavor - dried blackberries and a bit of raspberry with an undercurrent of earthiness (translation, there is a slight roughness about it).  What made those flavors perfect was the fact that as I was sipping, I was chewing on an amazing juicy veal/pork/beef meatball, with homemade tomato sauce in a freshly baked roll.  I asked for some additional red pepper which made my mouth tingle and my lips a bit numb.  It was the fruitiness and subtle roughness that just tasted great together.  The fresh bread roll was slightly sweet, crusty and softly saturated with the tomato sauce. The wine was an intense mouthful of flavor that made me realize that the Italians know flavor. It was a delicious Italian/Italian lunch that just proved to me that the right wine with the right food can be make a great meal almost perfect.

As a reminder, everything I write about is paid for - retail.
I am running on and on about Razzano's (NY Times review)
because I am a huge fan.
I am writing a series on Banfi because theirs is an amazing story,
and they are right next door.

If you ever find yourself in Glen Cove NY, give Razzano's a try
you won't be disappointed!

Banfi Tasting second course:  Banfi San Angelo Pinot Grigio `09 $18.49 (not TJ's) ***
Banfi Tasting third course:  Banfi Centine Rosso `07 $10.89 (not TJ's)
Banfi Tasting fourth course: Banfi BelnerO `05 $35.99 (Not TJ's) ****

Palin Syrah `06, (not TJ's) $16.99 ***

A very good Syrah from the Limarí Valley of Chile, that has either experienced a boost* in sales or a drop in sales due to the name (which  pre-dates the 2008 presidential election). Palin has polarized the public who have politicize plonk. (now say that three times fast!)

*For their own reasons, JPH & S. bought a lot of this wine.  It is good wine.  Solid, flavorful, just a hint of spice.  Kind of smooth.  Researching the wine and where it comes from is difficult because of all the political ranting about the name.  Ranting really does just muddy the water now, doesn't it?

We dusted off a bottle, then had it with Filet Mignon and tagliatelle with mushroom  cream sauce. Of course we played with the name, but we never lost fact of what we were drinking.  Good, clean, basic plonk.  Organic (bonafides come from the IMO Swiss authority). This is a classy Syrah from a varietal that can range from rough and tumble Shiraz from Australia, to this organic, highbrow small producer Chilean Syrah.  There is room for all versions in my life.

After Aeration:  We tried pouring it through the nuance, but the cutting aeration just agitated it and made it rougher and bitter.  (Are you listening Katie Couric?) It is better left in the bottle and then poured into your glass.  We need winemakers in this world, just like we need public servants in office.  Sometimes, when you agitate them and make sport of tearing them apart, it simply tarnishes the profession, leaving us guided by the slick and mass produced. We need individuality, we need true diversity, we need small producers, and we need wines like Palin Syrah.

Two days later... this wine needs to be enjoyed when fresh. Just like it didn't stand up to aeration, it does not sit bottled up very well at all.  The bitterness is the front and the back end.  I did what worked best for it after being opened for two days, I recycled my glass to the vinegar barrel.  A few months of fermenting and it will be a delicious salad dressing.

And so, I'll leave you with the other versatile Palin,
not quite as organic, but spicy ...

Chateau Simard Saint-Emilion `99 AOC $25.00 (not TJ's) ***

This review was borne of a gadget.  A gadget called "the Electric Rabbit". Those of you in the know will smirk. Others will say "huh?" I will simply say BRILLIANT MARKETING!

Over Christmas, two of my closest friends independently bought Wine Rabbits as a gag wine gift for their boyfriends. Another was gobsmacked to see it for sale in a kitchen store, whipped out her iPhone and snapped a picture for her Facebook page. Let's just say that many sniggers were heard.

It is a shame that I am tainting the review of this GREAT wine with shtick on a fad.  BTW, a totally lame fad at that, all it is, is an electric screw; you still have to pull the cork from the bottle and it is rather slippery as the shaft of the Rabbit is quite sleek. Seriously, save the $50.00 on a gag gift and buy a really nice bottle of wine instead!

Now on to the wine:
Chateau Simard Saint-Emilion Bordeaux is a fantastic blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. I love Cabernet Franc, the dried fruitiness and the highlights of raspberry blend with the earthiness of Merlot.  This is a really nice, not too heavy wine, but it does have some pepper to remind you that you are drinking a red wine.  The tannins are very, very subtle. 

We had it with Beef Stew over egg noodles.  It is a not too robust wine, so I see it as a very versatile red.  It was great for sipping before dinner as we were laughing about the Rabbit.  It was good with dinner and was good as I sat at the computer and started this review.  This wine is not cheap, you are paying for the enjoyment, which is why I can't give it four stars. I can easily see this as a go-to wine for a glass at the end of the day or a really good wine to serve with nibbles if someone special has popped over for a visit. : )

I need to remember to give K an aerator so that we can taste this wine pre and post aeration. I'll be curious to see what, if any change aeration brings to this wine.  If we open another bottle in the future, I may update this review.

Whenever I review a good Bordeaux (St.-Émilion is a sub-region), I imagine Thomas Jefferson and his "claret" table wine. We could easily plow through a few of bottles of this wine over dinner while talking travel, politics, health-care or gossip. Of course, TJ elevated that to an art form. The book, Passions: The Wines and Travels of Thomas Jefferson is on my reading list. Wow, I have brought this review from low brow to Jefferson in just a few paragraphs.  How very Franklinesque of me!

I'll leave you with Kodi.  

K's gentle giant who, from his enthusiastic greetings
and subsequent attempts at being a lap dog,
seems to like me as much as I like him.

Kodi is an Alaskan Malamute of the "Giant" persuasion.

He guards over dinner, 

hoping that a scrap of food may come his way.  

On the left was last night, as we were getting ready to go to the table and 

next to that is a more flattering picture of Kodi simply being adorable.

Dominio de Eguren Protocolo `08 $7.99 ***(*)

Today was our first day of snow.  I should have taken a picture from my bedroom window because it really was beautiful to wake up to, but the reality was it just made the driveway slippery and the roads crowded with slow moving traffic. First snow in theory is wonderful.  In practice though,  it is cold, wet and slippery. Especially on a day when you have to go to work and not just gaze through the window at the beautiful scenery.

Enough about snow...

I came home to the lovely waft of a brisket simmering in red wine with celery root, carrots & garlic, fresh bread and potatoes being mashed.  S. had taken a snow day and she cooked! JPH was eager to share his finds at Greenvale Grapes; he showed me two bottles and said "One was $7.99, and the other was $17.99 - you pick." Well, I grabbed the bottle that didn't have Reserva on the label and JPH said "$7.99". So that dear readers is how tonight's blog post was born.

I am partial to Tempranillo. When I poured the first glass and took a sip, I shuddered then ran upstairs to get my camera.  I was thinking that this was a blend, and I didn't think that I would like it.  I was WRONG.  This is a wine that needs to open up.  Five minutes in my glass, and it improved to the point that I now believe that it is 100% tempranillo, and it is a good tempranillo at that.  Not too nuanced, there aren't a lot of leathery or tobacco undertones, it is a good middle weight red table wine that has a dark currant fruitiness and just enough of a threat of oak, pepper and leather that you know that you are drinking something that has character. Wine should be interesting as well as flavorful, and it sure is a bonus that this is $7.99!

After the vinturi, there was a dramatic change.  Aeration changed some for the character into a smooth palatable wine that would be a bonus at any table that likes a dark current, spicy/peppery red wine. This isn't a beginner's wine.  I could imagine that people have bought it, had an unaerated mouthful and said "I hate red wine".  This is where time and taste need to develop a persons palate. I was ready to give up on my first swig, and I love tempranillo.  But I was impatient. I needed to wait and see what this wine developed into after opening the bottle.  Sometimes, you can wait and wait and a bad wine just gets worse.  But in a situation like tonight, a few minutes and a little aeration to polish the edges and we came up a really good everyday Tempranillo.

WARNING.  Drink this the first day you open the bottle.  It does NOT age well after opening. By day three, it was undrinkable, even after being vacuum sealed.

Because this wine responded so well to aeration, in January, we decided to use it Round One of the Aerator Death Match: Pitting the Vinturi, Soiree and Nuance aerators head to head.  (Spoiler: the Nuance won the first round)

This wine deserves me using it's full Spanish name:  Dominio de Eguren Vino de la Tierra de Castilla Protocolo 2008.  From the North East region of  Castile-La Mancha, Spain - the land of Don Quixote.  I'm not delusional (at least not in this case...) This wine is plonk, just like we know that Don Quixote rode full tilt at windmills on a skinny, worn out cart horse, his delusions still are a great story and this plonk is a really good table wine. I wouldn't knock it for being cheap and a little rough around the edges at first, it grows on you... just like Cervantes.

Since I'm not one for Christmas Cards, I'll let the puppy say it for me: