February Wines 2018

February Wines 2018

A short month to enjoy wines

Just a short note about my wine journey through life - I didn't have that many wines this last month.

                The wine memoirs I’ve read always have the person having an incredible wine and that makes them crazy for wine. I guess I’m similar, but it was stretched out over a number of wines. The first wine I had was Mogen David, from the jug with 7-Up. Why we had kosher wine, I have no idea but my parents always had a jug of it. Then the homemade blackberry wine (semi-syrup) my dad made. Didn’t really make me a wine-snob.

                Next were the teen wine years – Boone’s Farm strawberry hill – sweet with alcohol. I remember trying Annie Green Springs Apple, but it was too sweet. Maybe my palate was developing! I learned to drink beer after that, since 3.2% was available at age 18 in my state (at that time).
                I remember getting into German wines – Blue Nun and then Black Tower – in the mid to late 1970’s. Slightly sweet, German wines, probably mostly Müller-Thurgau, no Riesling.  I actually drank a fair amount of German wine for a while. I learned about the classification of German wines, how sweet and dry they were and other facts.  I stopped mostly because I didn’t have the money to support that habit.

                In the early 1980’s, I picked up wine – this time it was Charles Krug Chenin Blanc – an off-dry Napa Valley wine that was a giant seller in that era. Now Chenin is few and far between, since so many of the vineyards were replanted to Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. I still have a fondness for a good Chenin – preferring dry to sweet in my older age. Next came the Pink craze – White zinfandel, which begat White Merlot, White Cabernet, Eye of the swan Pinot Blanc – the name Rose became passé.  Now I enjoy bone-dry pink wines, any time of the year.

                The first red to turn me on has to be a simple Washington State Merlot in the later 1980’s, well before the Merlot craze started. It was when my brother lived in Seattle and I was visiting. There weren’t a lot of Merlot bottling to pick from, but that was probably the one that set me on the trail of Red wines. I guess my brother has been my guide and lodestone, so to speak (Don’t tell him, he’ll take it the wrong way – the way I meant it!).

                From there I ventured out, becoming a Zin Freak and overall Red wine lover. One of the most fantastic wines I’ve had was an older red from Napa Valley that two of my brothers and I shared while in Napa. My brother had gotten a gift of a 1969 Heitz Cellars Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – this was in the early 2000’s. We had it at dinner at the Culinary Institute (Greystone) – the Somm thought we would be disappointed. He was wrong – still able to hold its own, with the wonderful nose that makes Martha distinct. See tasting note below:

95 points Wine Spectator

"Elegant, with great intensity and depth and the characteristic Martha's mintiness that complements the rich currant and cherry flavors. Great length on the finish." (The Wine Spectator's California Wine Book by James Laube, 1999)

                 So, now I keep trying wines I can afford, occasionally trying those I can barely afford. I still get a thrill finding an old wine for a bargain price that is just so good. Makes me very happy!

Now to the latest wines...

2013 Cabirol Montsant, Spain

Ripe, lush fruit-forward red from Montsant in Spain. Garnatxa (Grenache) is a soft, jammy grape that is complemented by the spicy and black-fruited Syrah. You'll also find touches of rosemary here too. An excellent red with a plate of lamb. Montsant is a stunning region, a Spanish cross between the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley.

90 Points - Tom Cannavan's Wine-Pages.com, 'Montsant in the northeast of Spain, neighbouring the much more expensive Priorat, makes broadly similar wines at generally lower prices. This has a lot of forward charms, buxom and open, but I loved its meaty, dark and bloody tones set against the huge sweetess of ripe fruit on the mid-palate. Deliciously tangy and vibrant too, edged with a charcoal and chocolate bittersweetness. It's fab wine and great value for drinking with casseroles and stews, indeed any red meat or dark game.' July 2016 (2013 vintage)

I really wanted to like this wine, but it just didn’t really strike me as I expected. It was OK for the price, but the blend wasn’t really seamless for my palate.  Around $10

2013 Almirez Toro (Tinto de Toro) Zamora, Spain

Wine Advocate: 92 Points

Even more powerful and rich is the 2013 Almirez, an opaque purple wine made from 100% Tinta de Toro from vineyards planted at 2,300 feet (the highest in all of Toro). The wine has a fabulous opaque purple color, notes of blackberry, blueberry and cassis, licorice, graphite and truffle. Deep, rich, full-bodied and powerful with moderate tannin, this wine was aged 12 months in about 30% new French oak. Drink it over the next decade.

This was a close out and what a great buy! This wine had enough body and tannins to be a keeper. As it is, it drinks large with deep black fruits and spice. Really a good bottle – get some! $15

2012 Marques de Toro Mencia, Finca La Moura, Single Vineyard, Castilla y Leon, Spain $10

90 Points  Wine Enthusiast

Ripe, raisiny aromas of earthy berry fruits, chocolate and vanilla introduce a choppy palate with oaky flavors of dried cheese and cream. This also shows dried plum and berry flavors on a full, scratchy palate. End notes of foresty berry fruits, earth, licorice and hard spices are impressively solid. Drink through 2020.

Mencia is an under-appreciated grape because for a long time it was made into rough, local only wines, meant to be drunk early and priced cheap. Well, the price remains, but winemakers and growers started treating it like other wine grapes and now we have bottles like this. Maybe not enough body to last more than a few years, but very good fruit flavors with a nice deep mi-palate.  At $10 a bottle, buy several and keep it handy.

2015 Schnaitmann Steinwiege Trollinger Franken, Wurttemberg, Germany

Trollinger is a specialty of the Württemberg region in the southwest of Germany. The wine produced tends to be lighter in body, with berry and subtle smokey notes. From importer Rudi Wiest: "Rainer Schnaitmann was chosen newcomer of the year in 2007 by Gault-Millau/German Wine Guide just 10 years after he founded the estate. We discovered the estate when it won the European Pinot Cup two years running; no one since has duplicated this achievement.

“Fermented as whole clusters, aged in used barriques and bottled without filtration. This is a beautifully fruity, fresh and spicy red with sour cherry aromas and nice phenolics.”

Part of a German wine tasting, this is the closest to Beaujolais Nouveau I’ve tasted. Not much body, would be best cool on a hot summer day – priced around $15-19. Not recommended.

2015 Schnaitmann Steinwiege Lemberger, Wurttemberg, Germany

“The wine is a medium to dark ruby red color.  The enticing nose has blackberries, minerals, plums, black pepper, roasted herbs, baking spices, licorice and candied violets.  This has medium body, moderate tannins and good acidity.  On the palate the berries and plums provide nice up front sweetness with roasted herbs, pepper and minerals coming through on the mid-palate.  The finish has very nice length with a bit of chocolate and licorice coming into the picture adding good depth.  This is very tasty.”

“To me, the Lemberger is almost a softer version of a zinfandel with the dark fruit and spice”

I have to agree, this wine was kind of like Zinfandel Lite, but in a good sense. The flavors were upfront, with nice mid-palate support and some tannin on the back end. I’ve had Lemberger from Washington state – this was my first from Germany. I likedit, although I can find cheaper zinfandel to drink. Priced $20-24.

I hope you enjoy - remember to keep those corks popping and I'll meet you out behind the grapevines.