Spent last week in Boston on business. Visited one of my favorite restaurants, Legal Seafoods, several times. Also tried Skip Jacks, another seafood restaurant that I can recommend. As a result, I’ve got a couple of new wines tonight.
MacMurry Ranch Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, ~$16.00. Light in color with a nose of cherries and raspberries. Very light with notes of cherry, vanilla, and a touch of spice on the palate. Nice red wine for fish.
Reilly’s “Old Bushvine” Grenache, Clare Valley, Australia. $15.00. Very interesting wine. Dark red color. The nose is filled with strawberries. Dense wine with distinct notes of chocolate-covered strawberries and mulled fruit. Very nice. Would be an excellent winter wine for sipping by a fire or accompanying a steak. I’ve gotta find this one.
As I believe I’ve mentioned in earlier blogs, a good way to taste wines is through flights: 1 oz offerings of 3-4 wines. What is cool about some of these is that the wines offered far exceed what you’d probably spend on a wine. I had a Tawny Port flight at Legal Seafoods Restaurant last week that included a sampling of a $20.00 10-year old, a $50.00 20-year old and a $90.00 30-year old tawny…for $14.00. Excellent value and incredible wines. I’ll review them next.
Until then, Ciao!
The Death Whisperer Series
The Death Whisperer Series available at https://www.amazon.com/author/dmichaelolive
Friday, October 24, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Third Crappy Wine
I had a senior moment this past weekend because I couldn’t remember the third crappy wine I suffered through. Then I found my notes had fallen under my desk. The third member of the bad category is a Nederburg Pinotage ($11.00), a South African wine.
Pinotage is a cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut. Apparently the South Africans call the latter a Hermitage. Thus, the name Pinot-age. Clever. It’s grown extensively in South Africa with small amounts in New Zealand and California. It’s flavour is often described as smoky and earthy. Quite frankly, this one had a distinct aftertaste of gunpowder. Ya know, like that awful smell on the Fourth of July? Even its bouquet wasn’t particularly pleasant. So, my recommendation is don’t waste your money. Instead, get yourself a bottle of Cartlidge and Brown Pinot Noir. You enjoy it!
Ciao!
Pinotage is a cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut. Apparently the South Africans call the latter a Hermitage. Thus, the name Pinot-age. Clever. It’s grown extensively in South Africa with small amounts in New Zealand and California. It’s flavour is often described as smoky and earthy. Quite frankly, this one had a distinct aftertaste of gunpowder. Ya know, like that awful smell on the Fourth of July? Even its bouquet wasn’t particularly pleasant. So, my recommendation is don’t waste your money. Instead, get yourself a bottle of Cartlidge and Brown Pinot Noir. You enjoy it!
Ciao!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Good and bad wines
Well, it's been two weeks since I blogged on wines and for good reason. In the past two weeks I have managed to drink some pretty mediocre to bad wines and had nothing good to recommend. But then I got to thinking that maybe I should warn you about them. I did have one really good new wine, an Elk Cove Pinot Noir. So first the good:
Elk Cove Pinot Noir, 2006: Normally this is a $30.00 bottle but I got it on sale for $24.00 so it passes the under $25.00 test. Rich, ripe, plum and cherry flavors with a bit stronger alcohol taste initially. Very smooth palate grading to a subtle cherry aftertaste. As my wife said after tasting the two reds below, "You really can taste the difference between the good and the bad…and this one was very good, indeed!
The bad:
Rosenblum Cellars 2005 Mourvedre, San Francisco Bay. $11.00. It had a bouquet of violets, smoke, spice, and a bit of cherry, but the taste was strange. Slight graphite taste lingered on the palette. Not good.
Seghesio Pinot Grigio 2006. $18.00. Pinot Grigio is a good warm weather wine. It's usually light, crisp and refreshing. The Seghesio Winery makes some very good wines, notably their old vine zinfandel. This, however, was not one of their better wines. The bouquet was citris and lemon. But the wine was quite bitter initially. It was tough to get by the initial bitter taste. Believe it or not, dropping a couple of ice cubes muted the bitterness and it wasn't bad then. But it's sacrilege to put ice in a wine. Stick with their zinfandel.
That's all for now
Ciao!
Elk Cove Pinot Noir, 2006: Normally this is a $30.00 bottle but I got it on sale for $24.00 so it passes the under $25.00 test. Rich, ripe, plum and cherry flavors with a bit stronger alcohol taste initially. Very smooth palate grading to a subtle cherry aftertaste. As my wife said after tasting the two reds below, "You really can taste the difference between the good and the bad…and this one was very good, indeed!
The bad:
Rosenblum Cellars 2005 Mourvedre, San Francisco Bay. $11.00. It had a bouquet of violets, smoke, spice, and a bit of cherry, but the taste was strange. Slight graphite taste lingered on the palette. Not good.
Seghesio Pinot Grigio 2006. $18.00. Pinot Grigio is a good warm weather wine. It's usually light, crisp and refreshing. The Seghesio Winery makes some very good wines, notably their old vine zinfandel. This, however, was not one of their better wines. The bouquet was citris and lemon. But the wine was quite bitter initially. It was tough to get by the initial bitter taste. Believe it or not, dropping a couple of ice cubes muted the bitterness and it wasn't bad then. But it's sacrilege to put ice in a wine. Stick with their zinfandel.
That's all for now
Ciao!
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