November 19 Wines

Wines of November 2019

I hope you are not too stuffed from Thanksgiving - here are some wines I've enjoyed.

2015 Feixa Negra, Priorat, Spain

Tasting Notes:  This is 50% Garnacha and 50% Carineña, and thus a classic Priorat blend.  It sees six months in oak barrels.  The color is a dark, ruby red and transparent.  Red and black fruits on the nose, with hints of oak, vanilla and caramel.  On the palate the wine has brisk tannins and good balance.  It is medium+ in body.  Nice structure frames a long finish.  This is a quality wine, and is just short of the big, bold Priorats that would also cost much more.  Here you get all the pieces, albeit in a slightly tamed version.  Still, it is an excellent wine and shows you what Priorat can bring.

A very good wine that I got for about $10. Still had a little tannin so not close to over the hill. Bright fruits, a broad palate and a good finish. Really nice bottle of wine from Priorat that was affordable.

2014 Gravel Bar Alluvial Red Blend, Columbia Valley, Washington

This is a full-bodied red with vibrant flavors of dried cherries, plum, toffee, chocolate and vanilla. The structure is rich, with bold tannins extending the finish.

Pairs well with lamb burgers, beef stew and baked penne with pork ragu.

Blend: 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 10% Malbec, 10% Petit Verdot

VINEYARD NOTES:

For more than twenty centuries, torrential floodwaters from melting ice-age glaciers sculpted eastern

Washington's Columbia Valley, leaving in their wake deep deposits of sandy, rocky, alluvial soils. Today, framing the Columbia River, broad plains of ancient sediment constitutes one of the world's finest wine grape growing regions.

This wine is at its peak about now. Pleasant blend with a broad palate of red fruits. Tannins are mostly gone but a nice moderate finish. I got it for about $10, but worth the $15-18.

2016 Walking Dead Cabernet Sauvignon, California

The Wine:

Don’t let this wine catch you unaware, The Walking Dead Cabernet Sauvignon opens with notes of blackberry with nutmeg and mocha spices. This full-bodied wine reveals flavors of dark cherries and currants which pool on the palate, giving way to notes of mocha and spice. Fine, chocolaty tannins hold the long smooth finish.

Winemaking:

To achieve the rich varietal expression and approachable fruit profile in our Cabernet Sauvignon, we harvested our fruit at the peak of ripeness, followed by frequent pump-overs throughout fermentation. This constant contact between the skins and juice enables maximum flavor extraction from the fruit. We then aged the wine for approximately 11 months in a combination of American and French oak barrels to lend sweet, toasty vanilla tones and build structure.

OK, I got this for under $10 (7.99 maybe). Not the worst wine I’ve had, but it didn’t do a lot for me. Nose was just average, the mouthfeel was a little hollow in the middle palate. Finish was relative short, not much tannin. Drink at your own risk…

2017 Gonzalo de Berceo Tempranillo Blanco, Rioja, Spain

Bright and clear, this wine projects a pale, lemon yellow color and really shines in the glass. Great, expressive aromas of peach, pear & tropical fruits, with nuances of fresh grass, cream & white pepper. This complex nose leads to a fresh, crisp palate, that is suprisingly round as well, with reminiscent ripe & tropical fruits. A gem of a wine.

An elegant, yet lifted aroma of ripe fruits and a touch of organic earth rise from the glass. A touch of spices, cream & vanilla from the oak aging is present as well. The flavor matches, with an elegant, mellow yet fresh and ripe palate. Velvety tannins close out this wine, and enough acidity to provide a well balanced wine.

White Tempranillo was discovered in 1988 – in the mid 2000’s, it was finally approved as a white version of the Spanish red Tempanillo. Only grows in Rioja and often used as blending grape with other white grapes, this is an excellent white wine. Nice acidity for food, good fruits, pear and tropical and nuances of spices. Little pricey, but worth a try at around $26.

2017 Malpie Listan Negro, Canary Islands, Spain

Among the young wine selections, a young and pleasant red. Cherry red with violet tones of great intensity, clean and bright. Aromas of minerals and wild red fruits, balsamic. Great body and volume. The palate is powerful, enveloping, fresh while intense, ripe tannins and long pass.

This is an unusual but very nice wine from the Canary Islands (part of Spain, even though they lie off the coast of Africa). Not a lot of tannin, but nice bright red fruits, acidity for food and a modest yet pleasing finish. Flavor I described as silky yet a hint dusty, like volcanic ash. Runs around $23 – worth a try to say you have had it!

2011 Finca San Blas Labor del Almadeque, Utiel-Requena, Spain

Grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon 50% and Tempranillo 50%.

Vineyard: Tempranillo comes from the plot called «Viña Norte» (5 ha) and Cabernet Sauvignon, from the one named «El Duende» (4 ha). Planting pattern 2800 vines per ha. High density and leaf surface treillis. Clayey-chalky soil.

Winemaking: each grape variety is fermented separately. Maceration for three weeks. Malolactic fermentation in new French oak barrels from the center of France, fine-grained and slightly toasted.

Aging: 16 months in new French oak barrels (fine-grained) from Allier forests (Cabernet Sauvignon) and second-use American oak barrels (Tempranillo).

Tasting notes: opaque cherry red colour. Intense and highly concentrated aromas, ripe black fruit with hints of jam and marmalade, smoky oak, spicy hints of clove and pepper. Strong end, especially liquorice and fennel. The palate is tasty, fleshy, with ripe and very rounded tannins. Nice hints of very well integrated oak, with sweety notes and a spicy and mineral background. Long aftertaste.

I noted this a a big broad shoulder wine – and this is the current release (2011). The tannins are still holding in this wine, with deep dark fruits, a good palate filling flavor and a lengthy finish.  Really good blend that would hold up for several years of aging. Priced at around $23, very nice bottle of wine.

2015 Demencia Taruquin Tinto, Ribera del Duero, Spain

*RATING: 91 Points - The Wine Advocate* More arrogant, independent, very elegant and deep, it is a great expression of an area and an old vineyard that we work organically. With a nose that mixes mint and chalk sensations, the 2015 Taruguin feels quite different from the 2014. The fruit is ripe without excess, the oak is neatly integrated and there is better balance and less rusticity on the palate. There are abundant tannins that are going to require some time in bottle to be rendered invisible. A powerful Tempranillo! Pairs well with the classic, grilled meat dishes of the region. Lamb or beef lead the way, but can also be had with many game dishes, as well as hearty stews and the like. Ribera del Duero D.O.

This wines nose was a little subdues, but the flavors burst on the palate. There are tannins, this wine will age for a number of years. I called it a real big-boy type of wine, approachable but better in a few years. Needs a slab of red meat to go with it! Priced at about $24, well worth the price to stash away.

2013 Finca San Blas Vino Dulce, Utiel-Requena, Spain

Grapes varieties: Merseguera 50 % and Chardonnay 50%.

Harvest: by hand in small crates of 10 kg in the first two weeks of December 2013.

Climatology of 2013: this summer was stormy and not very hot. September was cool and rainy, with frequent fogs on the selected plots. Development of abundant botrytis cinerea during October. Natural drying of some grains.

Winemaking and aging: soft pressing for more than 12 h. Natural fermentation, without added yeast or sulfurous, at room temperature (12ºC), in second year oak barrels until the end of September 2014 (= almost 1 year fermenting), until it stops spontaneously. Aging with its own yeast in the oak barrels where it fermented, for 15 more months.

Total production: 800 bottles.

Tasting note of the prestigious British magazine Decanter: “beautifully honeyed and ripe Sauternes-like nose of peach, grape seed, pineapple, passion fruit, saffron, marzipan and tangy marmalade notes. The brilliant jab of wonderfully fresh acidity on the palate cuts through the honey and spice, butterscotch, mango and toffee and leads to a great length.”

Alcohol: 10.5% vol.

A very nice version of a dessert wine – or a “sticky” as the Aussies would say. Sweet, but with well developed flavors and a good finish. Pricey, but most decent dessert wines tend to be - $41 per 500ml.

2017 Domaine-Thevenot-lebrun  Bourgogne Haute Cotes de Nuits, Burgundy, France

It can be aged from 5 to 10 years but can be consumed from now to keep the fruity side.

Les Renardes is a 2.5 ha parcel in Marey les Fussey in the heart of the Hautes Cotes de Nuits region. The slope is steep with a south-west south orientation. The top-soil is very thin what forces the vines roots to get deep in the soil to find water. The vines were planted in 1983.

The fermentation is made by natural yeasts with a maceration of 15 to 20 days. The maturing is made in 1 to 3 years barrels during 12 months.

This wine comes from their Les Renardes vineyard, a 6 acre parcel in the heart of the Hautes Cotes de Nuits region. The slope is steep with a south-west, south orientation. The top-soil is very thin so the mature vines, planted in 1983, have very deep roots. The grapes are fermented with natural yeasts and macerated 15-20 days. It's aged in oak for 12 months.

Tasting Notes

The nose is complex with a mix of fruity, spicy and floral notes. In mouth the first feeling is on the roundness and then the tannins appear to end on a very nice length.

2017 was a very fine vintage that many growers are comparing the outstanding 2002 and this single vineyard Pinot Noir, although leaner and racier than the wines from lower down on the slope, it still shows beautiful cherry and strawberry with herbal hints on the nose and a lovely roundness on the palate with caressing tannins and ripe fruit to balance the mouthwatering acidity.

Until the prices start to catch up to the quality, this is your best opportunity to enjoy red Burgundy with distinct character and complexity that's completely affordable!

A nice affordable bottle of Burgundy – this wine had a nice nose and red fruit in a full mouthfeel. Decent acidity to make a good match with a holiday meal; good sipper as well. Finish was modest, not a lot of  tannin, so drink over the next two years. Gift, but estimated around $20’ish.  A nice Pinot from France.

Well, another month has flown by and Christmas is pressing upon us. Enjoy and be careful - keep popping those corks and I'll meet you out behind the grapevines!