The Roach Clip

Chateau du Donjon Minervois 2005

2007-10-02T20:04:00.001-06:00

I picked this up at Merchant de Vino (aka Whole Foods wine shop here in Colorado) when I was looking for some Crozes Hermitage or Saint Joseph. They didn't have either of those, but said this was similar and reasonably priced. I'm currently drinking my second bottle (well, not consecutively), since I liked the first bottle so much.

Full label says Grade Tradition, and it was bottled by Jean Panis Vigneron a Bagnoles in Aude, France (though not clear where the heck that is on this map).

Nose: Cherry, berries, hints of rasberry

Color: Ruby, clear, not overly dark

Mouth: Ripe cherry, light-to-medium body, similar to pinot noirs, not particularly tannic, but nice balance between sweetness and acid. Only complaint is that the flavors don't linger very long

2006 Domaine de Fontsainte Gris de Gris Corbieres

2007-05-04T18:35:00.000-06:00

Rose's in season!

Color -- Light cranberry colored -- Mimi says watermelon
Nose -- mineral, hints of strawberry -- would expect a dry wine
Mouth -- Between a Sauvignon Blanc and a Viogner, not as dry as I would have expected, dry in the back of the mouth, and gains in dryness
Finish -- fruit fades into mineraly drynessd

Food paring -- light chicken, fish or cheeses -- would probably work with fruits like apple or pear. Veal...?

I want a real knife, thanks TSA!

2007-05-02T18:52:00.000-06:00

More than wine

2007-04-26T14:59:00.001-06:00

Well, I haven't posted in a long time -- and part of that has been because I realized how hard it is to write interesting things about wine! I have a much better appreciation for wine writers. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to comment on wine and come up with new angles to describe the smell, flavors, and color. So, I think I'll add some more stuff to my blog than wine.

2003 Ramon Bilbao Tempranillo Rioja

2007-03-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

Let's see, I had some spicy food (enchiladas) with this wine tonight, which made it difficult to pick out the aromas and flavors.

Aromas -- Some tannins, oak, some cherry
Mouth -- Really tannic and dry, some chocolate, and plum. Light to medium bodied. Sticks around for a good minute or so.

Tasting sheet from the label:

"Bright-ruby color with aromas of ripe wild backberries and red currants. Nuances of vanilla, pepper, and laurel give the wine a pleasing complexity. The palate shows incredible balance and a medium-long finish.

Winery's tasting sheet for the 2004

7 Deadly Zins (Lodi Appellation -- 2005)

2007-02-27T20:14:00.001-07:00

I've had the 7 Deadly Zins before I started blogging my tastings. Taking the opportunity that some friends gifted me a bottle, I thought I'd read up a little on Zin in my handy Oxford Wine Encyclopedia -- revealing that the Zinfandel grape is from Croatia and that the grape has been grown in the U.S. since the mid-1850s in California.

On to the tasting...

Swirl, swirl: Oddly, the legs aren't producing. There they are...really, really fat and slow. I wonder if the Jet-Dry didn't wash all the way out of my glasses?! Side note: I recently read that legs really don't tell you much about a wine, as they're produced with any liquid that contains more than 12% alcohol.

Color: Bright red, not as purple as I'd expect from a 2005.

Nose: Lots of alcohol biting in my nose. Some vanilla, maybe even a corn/maize, tobacco. Not much berry or fruitiness.

Mouth: Sweet, sticky, medium body, some harshness from the alcohol at the back of the throat. Getting some strawberry and cherry flavors. Light tannins.

From Lodi Vineyards (map):

"Soft, supple pepper and licorice-clove notes merge into a sinful marriage of deep, brambly blackberries and lustful cherries. The finish is clean on the palate with hints of rich vanilla, cocoa, and mild tannins."

Cheers!

Tagged

2007-01-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

Karyn is playing blog tag, and I'm a slacker getting to this.

Five things folks might not know about me:

I used to be a Republican. This pre-dates the recent trend against W-style Republicanism -- about which all I can say is good grief and good lord.
I used to be a Libertarian. Probably more than anything, reading Atlas Shrugged as part of the Libertarian/Classical Liberalism undergraduate seminar with Alan Kors moved me in this direction. For some interesting thoughts on Libertarianism, check out Peter St. Andre's blog. The sections on philosophy and politics are a good read for contemporary ideas on freedom.
I considered being a professional photojournalist. But oh, you have to be extraordinary to make money, and along the way I learned from a National Geographic photographer that they have an extremely high divorce rate.
I am a descendant of Charles Willson Peale. He was an early American artist who painted the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and created an early natural history museum.
My grandfather and his wife used to make christmas cards each year.

RatCast: Own your own vineyard in Argentina

2007-01-14T07:02:00.001-07:00

I was talking with J.B. last week about wine, and mentioned this podcast from alt.NPR about an American entrepreneur who has started a venture in Argentina that will help you create your own wine for $40,000/acre. You need to buy 4 acres.

Of course, it'd be cool to own your own winery in Argentina, but what triggered my mention of the story is that it is another example of "micro finance" that American's can engage in. I say "micro finance" since $160,000 isn't exactly micro for my checkbook.

2005 Orin-Swift The Prisoner

2007-01-14T06:50:00.001-07:00

About two months ago, I listened to this podcast by thewineinsiders.com. It included an interview with the winemaker behind "The Prisoner," which was my first introduction to this cult wine.

I've looked -- though not very aggressively -- for a bottle here in Denver since then, and last night I stumbled on it at the Cherry Creek Grill. As a brief aside, it appears that the previous owners of this chain has been acquired by the Hillstone Restaurant Group. But, they had the 2003 Fountainhead Cabernet, which a friend in Napa makes.

Anyway, while it was pricey by the glass, I wanted to try it. My tasting notes (i.e., my memory)...

First, the pour was to big to get much nose qualities, and the glass itself wasn't really up to snuff. Wide-rimmed glasses are lame, but I get it in a restaurant setting.

Wow, this is a big wine, and interestingly it covers most of the alcohol. In a lot of big wines, you have the prominent alcohol tinge in your mouth. Sticky in the mouth, this wine had a strong jammy, dried berries character. I'm suspecting that since this wine is so young that a lot of the fruit-forward sweetness in the wine would reduce during the aging process. Of course, that will take a long while for this wine.

But, since this is a blend, it turned out to be a lot more mellow than a straight Zinfandel. Over the course of the glass, The Prisoner never overpowered, but kept delivering on the raisiny flavors.

I think I'll have to pick up a few bottles for special occasions, and maybe try to age it in a friend's cellar.

2006 Nobilo Sauvingon Blanc

2007-01-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

We've had the Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc plenty of times before. This is a pretty straightforward Sauvignon Blanc -- strong nose that you can smell from 12 inches away -- the strongest smell being peach. After sipping some, the fruit comes and goes quickly, and yields to a strong, lemon, acidity. The mouthfeel is pretty light. The harshness of this wine is likely a result of it being a 2006.

1999 Lan Rioja

2006-12-19T20:30:00.000-07:00

Nose: Raisins, cherry, leather

Long finish -- nice balance from fruit to acid.

Jancis Robinson on Charlie Rose

2006-12-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

Jancis Robinson was on Charlie Rose this week. (TiVo makes it hard to figure out when shows are actually on!) She mentioned two wines that she had tasted when she was in Canada recently. The first was a wine made in 1892, and the second was one in the 1790s (something about the bottle having been Napoleon's at the Battle of the Bulge. Amazing.

Since Charlie's crew didn't seem to think that her portion of the show was as important as his interview with Madeline Albright, and thus is not available on the web.

BTW, Jancis Robinson's Oxford Wine Encyclopedia is on my wish list.

2003 Airlie Chardonnay

2006-12-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

2003 Airlie Chardonnay "Barrel Fermented"

Nose: Lemon, peach, pineapple, whiskey
Mouth: Medium viscosity, pretty long finish from buttery with an acid finish

The flavors and aromas puzzled me a bit on this Chardonnay, and here's the page from Airlie. The whiskey nose -- maybe this is a defect -- was especially puzzling.

2001 Vina Santurnia Rioja

2006-12-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

Overall, this is a pretty big wine and a nice balance between new world and old world style wine. Some fruit up front, but some earthiness along the way to the finish

Color: Still somewhat purple
Nose: Spicy, raisin, currant, vanilla, alcohol
Mouth: Full mouthfeel, not very acidic until the finish

I grabbed this one as a result of the Reserva we tried the other night.

Triple whammy!

2006-12-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

Today I'm covering two (kindof three) wines. First up is the 2005 Acacia Chardonnay, next is the 2003 Bodegas Fontana Fontal Tempranillo Roble, and finally a 2000 Vina Santurnia Rioja Reserva.

2005 Acacia Chardonnay
On a recommendation from Lowry Liquors, my wife grabbed this nice Chardonnay.

2003 Bodegas Fontana Fontal Tempranillo

Nose: Spicy, earthy, plum, fruity
Mouth: Pretty dry, old-world style, medium acid

2000 Vina Santurnia Rioja Reserva

I don't have a detailed recollection of this wine, but it was, by far, my favorite of the Tempranillos so far. A big fruity wine with some tannins. I'd buy this again. We had this bottle of Reserva at Potager Restaurant.

2005 Matua Pinot Noir

2006-11-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

Trying to find a good value in Pinot Noir is difficult. While I'd judge the Matua less complex than other more expensive Pinots, this is a pretty great wine for the price. At about $13, you get the typical cherry nose -- perhaps some vanilla -- and some strawberry tastes.

Nose: Cherry, hint of vanilla
Mouth: Pretty light fruit, good strawberry up front, tannins at the tail, acid kicks in about 2/3 of the way through, and the wine builds in tartness after a glass or so
Color: Light red/purple, maybe looks like cranberry juice, little bit of browns
Legs: Medium width

Okay, drumroll...now for what the winemaker says...

"An elegant and delicate wine style with tasty plum and wild cherry characters, that are well balanced with a hint of rose petal. Trim tannins and oak hints complete the wine with a touch of depth and richness."

Damn, this time it was oak and not vanilla -- but lookie there, a hint.

Oh, reading the wine pro's article on Pinot leads me to remember that oak delivers that vanilla characteristic.

2004 Hedges CMS

2006-11-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

Lately, I like to try blends -- not that straight, single-grape wines are boring -- but, I definitely can fall into a rut with the standard American single-grape siloed flavor profiles. Tonight, I picked up the 2004 Hedges CMS to go with our Pad Thai from Tommy's Thai. The CMS was smack in the middle of a Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc -- not particularly acidic nor overly fruity. Interestingly, the acidity seemed to come out at the tail of a taste. Seemed to me like the wine was built to drink solo rather than as a food wine.

As I'm enjoying the pseudo blind tasting, here are my notes:

Nose: Oaky
Color: Straw
Flavors: Pear, Buttery

And, from the vineyard:
"Shining, pale gold color and aromas of citrus, gooseberry and pear, with hints of vanilla and
fig. On the palate the wine exhibits grapefruit, gooseberry and ripe pear flavors, with some
banana, herbal and vanilla notes. The mouth-feel is nicely viscous and is combined with crisp
acidity and a long, lingering finish. CMS White is perfect to enjoy with shellfish or as an
aperitif alone. " Link (PDF)

Hmm, I must have confused the vanilla with oak.

CMS = Chardonnay Marsanne Sauvignon Blanc

Yalumba Viognier 2005

2006-11-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

Quite a tasty -- and affordable -- Viognier

Denver election queuing theory

2006-11-07T23:31:00.000-07:00

Watching the pundits on TV, but no observations that the real issue in Denver was a queuing theory problem. When I voted today, there were 30 ballot boxes, but only 4 or 5 voter identification stations -- took me an hour to get to the ballot box. Since every voter was required to pass through the ID stations, that was the limiting factor.

All the talk that Hickenlooper is going to take a hit for this is dumb, but at the same time, he should instruct the Denver Election Commission on queuing theory.

Perhaps in another post, I'll see if I can figure out how many voter ID stations they really needed.

Other references:

Queuing formulas