WEST WICHITA WINE CONNECTION March, 2014 Tasting

WEST WICHITA WINE CONNECTION  

      March, 2014 Tasting

Argentina versus Chile – South American Throwdown

Gathering  Wine

2011 Loma Larga Sauvignon Blanc, Casablanca Valley, Chile

Pale green and golden color; pleasant fruit forward nose;nicely crisp with hints of green apple and apricot.

Dinner Wines

2007 Aduentus Mediterraneo, Red Blend, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

Complex blend of 40% Malbec, 30% Syrah and 30% Tempranillo,; polished tannins with a nice long finish. Malbec contributes silkiness, the tempranillo the structure and syrah a hint of spiciness.

2009 Flechas de Los Andes Gran Malbec, Uco Valley, Argentina

Partially owned by Lafitte Rothschild, this dense wine has aromas and flavors of blackberries, minerals and violets. Nice acid balance with hints of dark chocolate on the aftertaste.

2009 Santa Carolina Reserva de Familia Carmenere, Rapel Valley, Chile

Good nose of red and black fruit; full bodied wine with red and black fruits along with some spice, tobacco and a nice aftertaste.  Really good example of carmenere.

2010 Casa LaPostolle Canto de Apalta, Rapel Valley, Chile

A unique blend from the same people that own Grand Marnier; 45% carmenere, 16% cabernet sauvignon and 14% syrah. Decent nose that opened more as the evening progressed – concentrated flavors of plum, blackberry and dark currant and black fig. Moderate tannins on the finish, and hints of spice and mocha.

Top vote getter was the La Postolle and the Chilean red wines outscored the Argentinian wines. Very nice group of wines – good job, Matt.

Until next time, keep popping those corks and I’ll meet you behind the grape vines.

 

Cabernet Sauvignon – King of the Red Grapes

Who would debate that cabernet sauvignon is not the King of red grapes/wines? There are other contenders, but they fall into lower categories. This red grape is grown from France, Spain, Italy, the United States, and Australia to New Zealand and even Lebanon.  It grows in many soil types – loamy to gravel to alluvial.  Discovered to be the love child of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc by Dr. Carole Meredith of UC Davis, it had the grassiness from the white and the black currant and pencil box of the red grape.

A naturally hardy grape stock, cabernet sauvignon grapes have thick skin, tend to be low yielding and bud later, avoiding early frosts in many regions.  This means it is harvested later, causing problems in only cooler regions. The grape doses not tend to suffer from rot, mildew or any number of other vine maladies.  There are some problems with the grape – there are a couple of vine diseases that strike it, and some rootstocks make the vine overproduce, needing to have clusters dropped before they reach maturity.

Typical Cabernet wine has a typicity of high tannins and notable acidity, making these wines suitable for aging.  Flavors tend to run to black currant, black cherry, pencil shavings, and black olive, with wines from cooler regions having a green bell pepper “twangy” flavor.  This generally occurs because the grapes did not see enough heat during daytime growing hours and cool evenings.  Some wines even have a menthol or eucalyptus note to them, though this seems to vary depending on the growing region. Another nod to the French, the concept of” terroir” or a sense of place exhibited in the wine. Cabernet does well in oak barrels, adding tannins and rich flavors to the wine. American oak can add a hint of dill, where the European (mostly French) adds a buttery vanilla touch to the wine.  

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that saying “cabernet sauvignon” comes off sounding cooler then “shiraz” or “merlot”.  The wine drinking public took to this and it is still the gold standard for red wines.  From the thousand dollar first growths in Bordeaux to the Cult classics of California, Cabernet fetches high prices for the most important wines in the world. Not saying other wines aren’t expensive (Burgundy’s Pinot Noirs, Australia’s Grange), but many of the highest priced are cabernet sauvignon based wines.

Just some random thoughts about red grapes.  Until next time, keep popping those corks and I’ll meet you behind the grape vines.

WEST WICHITA WINE CONNECTION February 2014 Tasting

Cabernet Sauvignon around the World

Opening Wine

Domaine Ballade Cabernet Rose 2012, Gascony, France

Pleasant body, moderate nose; overall a very nice sipping wine

2012 Maipe Reserve Cabernet  Sauvignon, Mendoza, Argentina

Good nose, lots of red fruit. Nicely balanced, lots of red berry fruit taste, decent length aftertaste. Nice wine for the price, good with the food. 100% Cabernet.

2011 Mollydooker Cabernet Sauvignon McLaren Vale The Maître D', Australia

Big fruit nose, hints of mint in the red fruit. Nice big mouthfeel, red fruit/berry flavors, mint and a berry-chocolate hint. Good long aftertaste, well balanced. 100% Cabernet.

2009 Tolaini Toscana Tenuta S. Giovanni Valdisanti , Tuscany, Italy

Almost blumted nose, some fruit but a little hidden.  Big wine with a tannic backbone – berry and chalk flavors mixed in. Somewhat closed at the end – needs time in the bottle to be more user friendly. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese and cabernet franc.

2010 Spring Valley Frederick Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington State

Big berry nose, fairly open. Berries, red and black, on the tongue with wisps of chocolate and slate in a broad mouthfeel.  Tannic, but not overbearing, very nice would be better in a few years of bottle aging. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot.

Top vote getter was the Mollydooker, by a wide margin.

Until next time, keep popping those corks and I’ll meet you behind the grape vines.

Spanish Wines

 

I really do enjoy Spanish wines.  There are wines from high end prices, moderate and down-right cheap for good quality wines.  Not every cheap bottle is a hit, but many are surprisingly tasty – maybe not ones to cellar for many years, but good enough to buy several bottles to enjoy.  You don’t have to be an expert to enjoy Spanish wines – sometimes it is better not worrying what region it came from, just does it taste good.

 

 

The oldest known region is Rioja and the most basic grape grown is tempranillo. There are others grown, most notably Garnarcha (known in the US and France as Grenache) along with white varietals not grown in many other areas.  Actually, tempranillo is known by various names in Spain, as well as Portugal.  The more known varietals are also grown, but in surprising low numbers. Spain has a lot of acres of vineyards, but they tend to keep the volume low on the vines. This creates better tasting wines.

 

There are very young wines from Spain, that are fruity and fun and there are aged wines that are complex and deep. I could write a whole chapter on the basics of wines from Spain, but I want to talk about a couple of areas. The first area to speak of Rioja – a very old, prestigious area that still has a surprising number of affordable wines.  The second is Prioirat – there aren’t nearly as many affordable wines from that area, though the wines are really good. My personal favorite is an inexpensive wine called Onix, which is a $10 to $16 range and has always been very sturdy and deep.

 

 

Another area is a large area called La Mancha – yes, the same as Don Quixote. Near the southern end is Valdepenas.  I had a couple of aged tempranillo’s – one 5 years and one 10 years.  They didn’t have the depth of similar wines I’ve had from Rioja, although they were relatively inexpensive ($ 12 to $22).

 

One of the newer upcoming areas is north of Rioja, called Bierzo. There has not been a long history of wineries in the area, but that helps in two ways. One, the wines are affordable and two, experimenting is part of the fun.   Many of the wines are made from Mencia – different from Garnarcha and Tempranillo but along the same wines. I lost the picture of my bottle a 2009 Alvarez de Toledo Mencia Roble, Bierzo, Spain.

 

What did you drink in 2013?

I have kept track of the wines I open and drink at home for several years. I don’t review or write up all of them, but I can look back and see what I enjoyed and what was just average.  I had a nice aged Bordeaux in January – a 2002 Chateau Bellegrave from Medoc.  Present from my brother, very nice. This year I opened and drank my A Rafanelli wines I’ve stored for a few years.

                Opened a 2005 Northstar Merlot from Washington state, again very nice, a present from my other brother (he bought it for me when he was here a few years ago).  Drank a nice Zorzal Malbec from Argentina (Matt’s suggestion),an Agua de Piedra Malbec  and a Mendoza Vineyards Malbec that were all nicely priced and very tasty. I also had at least one bottle of Line 39 Petite Sirah – a stand-by at around $7 that is always a good sipping wine.

Here are my notes on a couple of these wines – the Zinfandel was actually pretty good, but would have been great a year earlier.

2008 A Rafanelli Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, California                 $30 (est)

Color was still deep and dark with a nose of brambly fruit and berries.  Flavor full with black and red berries, some pepper and spice. Finish not very long; bottle would have been really good a year earlier.

 

2007 A Rafanelli Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, California           $35 (est)

Color was still deep and vibrant. Nose was full with dried berries and cedar box. Full mouthfeel, dried red berries, blackberries with some herb and spice around the edges. Decent length finish, echoing the same flavors. Very nice wine that still had several years to age and drink wonderfully.  Wish I had more than one bottle!

2010 Mendoza Vineyards Reserve, Mendoza, Argentina                                               Sale 19.99

Real good color, bright dark purple. Nose filled with big berries, graphite and hints of herbs. Big in the mouth with dark berries, some bramble and hint of metal and herbs.  A powerhouse of Malbec, with a nice finish and a light tannic structure. Said to be a wine to be priced above $50, great at $20. Would age several years and be a good compliment to a meal.

Until next time, keep popping those corks and I’ll meet you behind the grape vines.