Saint Clair Pioneer Block Pinot Noir

AWineAWeek_2008-03-30_1
Originally uploaded by jeff+caroline

I was on a quest to find a wine my cedar plank salmon wouldn't overpower. The Saint Clair Sawcut 4 Pinot Noir, along with reducing some pepper, garlic, and shallots, seemed to work, but wasn't perfect. Pre-dinner, there were rave reviews but the spicy fish did take away from the complexities. Immediate flavors of black cherries & plum...even a cherry cola flavor. Oaky finish. For $22 at Costco, I expected a bit better, but still a solid 7.5/10 rating. Another "tin top" from NZ with good marks.

Alban Viognier Central Coast 2005 @ Sola

The jury was out on recommending this one. The Alban Viognier Central Coast caught our eye on the wine menu at Sola last night, which is one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants. The four of us did agree that it didn't go with any of our meals (salmon, tile fish, or mahi), which is a polite way of saying we didn't like it. You can find it online for around $30, and the restaurant had it priced at $55. We did finish the bottle but wouldn't order it again. Note we had the 2005, not the 2004 as pictured.

The wine had nearly 16% alcohol, which was evident in the finish along with grapefruit and possibly peach or lemon flavors. Tropical fruits on the nose; it certainly smelled better than it tasted.

T. T-R-U. T-R-U-C-K, keep on TRUCKIN' all the way...past this one. 3 or 4 for the rating out of 10 - maybe we needed a different dish, probably chicken, to make this work.

Two Angels High Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2006

Crisp & dry, that's how I like my Sauvignon Blancs...and this would be the opposite. The Two Angels is a smooth, simple wine with melon flavors, and grapefruit on the tail end. Props on the great raised artwork on the label. Created in 1591, it's around the theme of jovial inebriation and the resulting trauma of the morning after (click pic to view larger size). The 14.2% alcohol will help this image come to life, sans wings.

$13 at Costco. This Napa Sauvignon reminds me that the good stuff comes from New Zealand. 5.5/10 rating. Give this a try if you are trying to get into Sauvignon Blancs, but not if you like 'em crisp & dry like me. Wine Enthusiast gave this one a 91 rating and other good reviews are out there. Feel free to comment if you disagree with my mediocre rating for this mediocre wine.

Pascual Toso Malbec - Maipu Vineyards, Mendoza

This wine had me at "91 points" and "$8.99". Unfortunately, it only lived up to the $8.99 half of the call to action. A light, soft start on this 2006 Malbec, but a long, long peppery finish. The few sips before dinner were good; I was looking to give it a 6/10 rating. But, the label should have a warning "don't drink with leftover steak fajitas" because that 91 rating quickly became a 19 (no offense Mr. Montana). The Pascual Toso nets out at 5/10. If it's any better tomorrow when we finish it (and won't be having fajitas), I'll update this.

Lesson learned: advertising can lie. Good to know. ;)

Radio-Conteau Savoy Pinot Noir 2005 @ Aigre Doux

Wow, fantastic. This is the first restaurant photo AWineAWeek has seen, and it was worth your wait. Unfortunately, this is way out of the realm of my $15 cheap wine target, so it's not even fair to compare it on my rating scale. At $50 a bottle, even the vineyard is sold out online. The Radio-Coteau Savoy could possibly be the best pinot noir I've had - had complex, full flavors - surprising for a Pinot. As I was dining with seven others, everyone commented on it's excellence. John Battelle, who is from wine country (Marin), certainly knew what he was doing when he chose this California gem. We dined at Aigre Doux in Chicago, which was a delicious, overpriced French restaurant (I wonder what they marked this wine up to). Venison, duck, and suckling pig were a few of the treats enjoyed with the 3 bottles wine. I hope to find this wine somewhere so I can enjoy it again. It's amazing how a great wine makes for a great night.

A shout out to Mr. Aaron Goldman, who snapped this photo and is currently in the hospital as his wife went into labor this afternoon. AG: may tonight's champaign be as delicious as last night's wine. Cheers!

Terrazas de los Andes Reserva Malbec 2005

A fine malbec from the Mendoza region of Argentina. It needed a good 45 minutes to breathe before the full flavor and smell came out (initially very cigary in smell & tannins were too strong), but turned out delicious. The Terrazas de los Andes Reserva is a deep reddish purple as you'd expect from a malbec. Intense cherry & berry flavors without being too fruity and a long, toasty finish (some vanilla flavors in there?). Floral tones on the nose. A very similar wine to the La Forge Syrah we had earlier in the week (very strong), but with less bite and not quite as dry. Due the more expensive price tag of $14 @ Costco, I'm going with a 7/10 rating. Well done Argentinians.

UPDATE: drink this one in the dark...it leaves a bad case of the wine teeth!

P.S. Shout out to the Drake ballers - great comeback today, thought you had 'em in OT. Awesome season, thanks.

Winner: La Forge Estate Syrah 2006

Excellent surprise for Wednesday Wine Night (it was a long day at work, lay off). Very strong and very dry. Although I'm sipping it on the couch right now, it deserves a big steak or red pasta with it. Not much could overpower this bold French Syrah. 8/10 stars. At $9.99, it's the first sub-$10 wine to make my top tier list. Smokey campfire smells and a loooooong finish. So dry, i'm not sure I'm swallowing anything ;). This wine is not for the faint of heart. It was a reco from Sam's Wine, although their description was a bit over the top:

This wine smells like breakfast, with it’s aromas of blueberry jam, toast, bacon and coffee with cream.

They go on to say it embarrasses many $30 syrahs - that I can agree with!

A non-dry Sauvignon Blanc? Matua Valley is it.

The color of the bottle made this a St. Paddy's Day winner. While walking my dog this afternoon, the realization of being a father set in. I passed at least 10 bars with lines around the corner - lines full of drunken leprechauns and other green oddities. The smell of beer and green barf was in the air indeed. ...and I was walking my dog ;)

So after fighting this mild depression with a few Guini (Guinesses isn't a word) I cooked a wonderful dinner of crab cakes and green beans and enjoyed this wine. If you live in Chicago and haven't discovered Dirk's Fish house on Clybourn, you are missing out - $5 cakes w/ a horseradish-mustard sauce on the side.

I digress: how was the wine? Excellent. Surprisingly not as dry as a typical Sauvignon Blanc and a bit tart - some bite on the sides of your tongue. A sweet finish. The bottle speaks of pear and gooseberry flavors, but I'd be lying if I knew what a gooseberry tasted like. It was a gift someone brought over, so I'm not sure where it can be found, but I saw it online for about $15 (p.s., you bring over wine, I'm going to look it up and judge it, so be careful). 7.5/10.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Ravenswood Zinfandel 2004

More Ravenswood Zin has been consumed in this house than any other single bottle of wine. It's been a standard on the rack for the past couple of years. A great value from Costco at $8.99, but a few weeks ago it was only $5.99. Heck of a deal. Don't confuse this bottle with the more expensive Sonoma Blend which is around $13. This Vintners Blend is from grapes over several counties, which means quality...and price, is lower.

At this price point, it will exceed your expectations. In the grand scheme of things, it's a 5 or 6 out of 10. You'll get a mouth full of spicy flavor, but it's decently mild for a zinfandel and even fruity at times.

Adam Rosenblatt meets his match: Pepperwood Grove Chard

The following post is from our friends & guest bloggers of the month - Adam Rosenblatt & Tricia O'Kelley from LA:

Pepperwood Grove California Chardonnay 2005 13.5% Alc by Vol

Mild aftertaste but it lingers, a lot. It’s definitely a CA chardonnay as it has the buttery flavor that coats your mouth as you drink it- however I threw it in the freezer for a few moments to taste it as if it had been in the fridge for a few days and that butteryness becomes a bit more of a sharp harsh flavor.

For $4.99 per bottle, it’s a good deal, I’ll say it again for $4.99 it’s a good deal. This in an inexpensive bottle and for the most part you can tell. That being said this would be good for a casual glass of wine, just home from work and don’t care if you only have a glass and have to throw the rest away, although I think 1-2 glasses is the most I could have. Would probably be good with a heavy fish, rich chicken dish or even a pasta in a heavier white sauce.

Rating out of 10: overall flavor 5, overall flavor for the price 7

How does wine fit into our lives?

My wife is pregnant now so it fell out of her life and I chose to pick up her slack.

I grew up in Northern California surrounded by wine, so wine has always been an integral part of my life. My favorite thing about wine is pairing it with food and seeing how a wine or a dish can change/compliment each other.

Vrac Cotes du Rhone 2006

This Cotes du Rhone needed over an hour to breathe - both flavor and smell were overpowered by the alcholyness. Deep purple in color and and i eventually tasted some cherry/sweet fruit. I can't imagine my leftover turkey burger brought out the best in this the first night, but some spicy tacos made an improvement tonight. 5/10...maybe it needs to age a few years to cool out, but I'm too impatient with a $10 bottle.

P.S. Drake Bulldogs MVC CHAMPS!!! Headed to the dance baby! If any NCAA officials are reading this, please put Drake and Duke in the same bracket in hopes of the ultimate Campbell household showdown!

P.P.S. my sister is in labor right now...raise your glasses and think good thoughts.

Castle Rock Pinot Noir 2006

A Pinot with some flavor. I'm happy with it, but would classify it as a 'pizza wine' - something you'd pop open without planning and could go with anything. Berry flavors with a fine finish (especially strawberry), but unfortunately leaves your mouth a bit gummy until the next sip or bite of food. 6/10 rating as it's a decent wine for $9 (@ Costco).

Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc - Stellenbosch, South Africa

We've had this wine several times and visited the winery in Stellenbosch, South Africa - so we knew what we were getting into here. 8.5/10 rating as it's one of the top Sauvignon Blancs out there, in our book. The Mulderbosch isn't as dry as the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, so a great flavorful choice to complement last night's stuffed sole (fantastic work, McCoy's). The Mulderbosch dances a quick ditty on the tip of your tongue before drying up on it's way down. Crisp and clean. $18 at Sam's and pretty easy to find. You'll easily remember the creative label of this vineyard.

While in SA, this was on our short list of must-hit wineries because of this exact wine. Little did we know it wasn't open to the public. Regardless, the Viticulturist welcomed us in for a tasting. As we sat in what was more like a living room than a tasting room, he scrambled off for to get something "we must try". He returns with a golden/apple juice colored wine in the bottom of an empty Evian bottle. He tells us it hasn't even been bottled yet, asked what we thought, and the proceeded to ask for help naming it after hearing we were both in advertising. We were both speechless, which is rare ;). It was a Noble Late Harvest dessert wine, which still isn't on their website. Fun times!

Water Color South Island Pinot Noir 2006

As you can see in the picture, the Water Color was very light. There was little smell or body to this Pinot Noir from the South Island of New Zealand. Sweet and fruity flavors. As we were waiting for someone to bust through the wall saying "oh yeah!", a grapefruit flavor was noticed in the finish. After that was pointed out, that's all I could taste. 7/10 rating, but if you are big into Pinot Noirs, give it a try as Sam's Wine called this "the best under $20 Pinot Noir we carry." We picked it up (and about 12 other bottles) at Sam's for $13. We typically enjoy full bodied/spicy wines, so the Pinot Noirs are rarely at the top of our list.