2005 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Syrah, $11.00
My wife loves Kendall Jackson wines and with good reason. They are excellent value and very, very good. Syrah’s are big, rich reds and this one definitely meets that expectations. Intense black cherry, earth, and flowery bouquet. Explodes in the mouth with blackberry, currents, vanilla, roasted pecans, and caramel. Long, lingering finish. The texture is soft and smooth. They had a manager’s special at our grocery store and she veritably flew to the siplay and grabbed two bottles. Guess what we’re drinking this Saturday night? How about you join us?
Cheers!
The Death Whisperer Series
The Death Whisperer Series available at https://www.amazon.com/author/dmichaelolive
Friday, January 9, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Rodney Strong Merlot
Rodney Strong Merlot Sonoma 2005 $15.00
Well, to quote my wife, “Wow, oh wow!” We love Rodney Strong wines. I daresay I’ve never been disappointed and they are excellent buys. This is a fabulous Merlot with bright fruit character of blueberries, cassis, and coffee in the nose. The taste follows the nose with added notes of vanilla and toasty oak. Very balanced wine with a long finish. Personally, I think this is one of the best value Merlot’s on the market. Merlot took an unfair beating in the movie, “Sideways.” Miles, the protagonist, distained Merlot in favor of Pinot Noir. Now, I love Pinot’s, but Merlots are very drinkable, and one of the world’s finest wines, Chateau Petrus, is a merlot. So “boo ya,” Miles! Gotta try this one. I think you’ll like it.
Cheers!
Well, to quote my wife, “Wow, oh wow!” We love Rodney Strong wines. I daresay I’ve never been disappointed and they are excellent buys. This is a fabulous Merlot with bright fruit character of blueberries, cassis, and coffee in the nose. The taste follows the nose with added notes of vanilla and toasty oak. Very balanced wine with a long finish. Personally, I think this is one of the best value Merlot’s on the market. Merlot took an unfair beating in the movie, “Sideways.” Miles, the protagonist, distained Merlot in favor of Pinot Noir. Now, I love Pinot’s, but Merlots are very drinkable, and one of the world’s finest wines, Chateau Petrus, is a merlot. So “boo ya,” Miles! Gotta try this one. I think you’ll like it.
Cheers!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Shoo Fly Buzz Cut white
Shoo Fly Buzz Cut 2007: $10.00
Saturday, December 27th, it got up to 60 degrees in Chicago. Felt like spring, so what better time to try a new white. I’d been meaning to try some of the Shoo Fly wines from Australian winemaker Ben Riggs, and since I like crisp clean whites in the summer, I bought a bottle of his Buzz Cut 2007. It’s a blend of Verdelho (a Portuguese grape), Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling…interesting mix. The wine is a pale golden color with a complex bouquet of grapefruit, apricots, and something tropical that I just couldn’t put my finger (or nose) on. Very appealing. The first taste hinted of a bitter orange marmalade that progressed rapidly to citrus and tropical fruit with good acidity. Very clean finish. There is no oak in this wine, so if you don’t like oak (think chardonnay), then this wine is a good choice. I liked it alone, but it would probably stand up to quite a diverse range of foods. It’s not a wimpy white. Try it.
Cheers!
Saturday, December 27th, it got up to 60 degrees in Chicago. Felt like spring, so what better time to try a new white. I’d been meaning to try some of the Shoo Fly wines from Australian winemaker Ben Riggs, and since I like crisp clean whites in the summer, I bought a bottle of his Buzz Cut 2007. It’s a blend of Verdelho (a Portuguese grape), Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling…interesting mix. The wine is a pale golden color with a complex bouquet of grapefruit, apricots, and something tropical that I just couldn’t put my finger (or nose) on. Very appealing. The first taste hinted of a bitter orange marmalade that progressed rapidly to citrus and tropical fruit with good acidity. Very clean finish. There is no oak in this wine, so if you don’t like oak (think chardonnay), then this wine is a good choice. I liked it alone, but it would probably stand up to quite a diverse range of foods. It’s not a wimpy white. Try it.
Cheers!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Ravenswood Zinfandel
Gradually going through my Christmas vacation wine experiences. Here’s another strong candidate for your drinking pleasure:
Ravenswood 2005 Sonoma County Old Vine Zinfandel; $12.00. Ravenswood Vintners make some excellent Zin’s and this is certainly one of them. The wine is composed of 95% Zinfandel, 4% Carignane, 1% mixed blacks. It’s another powerful red with a bouquet that exudes blackberries, vanilla, and a touch of cinnamon. Dark red in color with the taste of berries, cocoa, cassis, and black cherry. Medium acidity. Very nice wine for the price.
Ravenswood 2005 Sonoma County Old Vine Zinfandel; $12.00. Ravenswood Vintners make some excellent Zin’s and this is certainly one of them. The wine is composed of 95% Zinfandel, 4% Carignane, 1% mixed blacks. It’s another powerful red with a bouquet that exudes blackberries, vanilla, and a touch of cinnamon. Dark red in color with the taste of berries, cocoa, cassis, and black cherry. Medium acidity. Very nice wine for the price.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Spanish and Australian Reds
Well, my two week vacation has come to an end. Tomorrow it’s back to the grindstone. Read a lot of books, wrote a lot for my third book, and tried some really nice wines. Here are two incredible bargains that I will definitely putting in my cellar.
Panarroz Jumilla 2006: $9.00. This is a blend of mourvdre, grenache, and syrah and hails from Spain. Very powerful wine. It’s a thick, dark red wine with a bouquet that combines fruitiness with spice. The flavor is a complex blend of plum, black cherry, blueberry, a touch of chocolate, and a little bit of pepper. Nice tannins, too. Very drinkable and for nine bucks, it’s an amazing bargin.
Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet $8.00: Penfolds winery is one of Australia’s oldest and best known vineyards. They produce a range of wines that range from the bargain wines from Koonunga Hill to the high end Grange wines. Their Shiraz Cabernet is one of those really good bargains. The label said its 78% Shiraz and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a deep red, almost purple wine. Shiraz’s are known for their powerful fruity aroma and this one doesn’t disappoint. Like the Panarroz, it’s a hefty, powerful wine with black cherry dominating the taste along with blackberries and good tannins. Robert Parker has rated this wine consistently in the 90’s and he certainly got that right.
Both of these wines are excellent for winter sipping or for complementing a thick slab of fillet mignon topped with a mushroom cap. They’ll even stand up to A1 steak sauce if you prefer it on your beef.
Even thought the holidays are over, you can still enjoy some wine.
Ciao!
Panarroz Jumilla 2006: $9.00. This is a blend of mourvdre, grenache, and syrah and hails from Spain. Very powerful wine. It’s a thick, dark red wine with a bouquet that combines fruitiness with spice. The flavor is a complex blend of plum, black cherry, blueberry, a touch of chocolate, and a little bit of pepper. Nice tannins, too. Very drinkable and for nine bucks, it’s an amazing bargin.
Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet $8.00: Penfolds winery is one of Australia’s oldest and best known vineyards. They produce a range of wines that range from the bargain wines from Koonunga Hill to the high end Grange wines. Their Shiraz Cabernet is one of those really good bargains. The label said its 78% Shiraz and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a deep red, almost purple wine. Shiraz’s are known for their powerful fruity aroma and this one doesn’t disappoint. Like the Panarroz, it’s a hefty, powerful wine with black cherry dominating the taste along with blackberries and good tannins. Robert Parker has rated this wine consistently in the 90’s and he certainly got that right.
Both of these wines are excellent for winter sipping or for complementing a thick slab of fillet mignon topped with a mushroom cap. They’ll even stand up to A1 steak sauce if you prefer it on your beef.
Even thought the holidays are over, you can still enjoy some wine.
Ciao!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Cognac: The Drink of Nobility
Spent the holiday in Chicago so I’ll have several new wines to review shortly—all good ones! But since it’s a festive time of year, I thought I’d hit a couple of areas that readers have requested more info, since the characters in my books seem to sample these a lot.
I’ll start with a beverage that is, for the most part, out of the realm of my $25.00 price limit. But since I happen to enjoy it and have two favorites which are very close in terms of affordability, I thought I’d take a stab. What’s the beverage? Cognac.
So, what the heck is cognac? There is a saying, “All cognacs are brandies but not all brandies are cognacs.” Technically, brandy labeled as cognac must come from the Cognac region of France. There are strict rules for its preparation beginning with the grapes used, through the pressing, distillation, and aging processes. The entire area of the Cognac region encompasses about 200,000 acres, actually quite a small territory.
The grapes used are covered by the decrees governing the cognac process and come from the white wine varieties of Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, and Colombard. Each has its own purpose. The Ugni Blanc is a late maturing disease resistant grape. Oddly, the Folle Blanche and Colombard produce thin wine that wouldn’t ordinarily be bottled. But it’s perfect for the distillation process leading to cognac. The soil is critical to producing cognac. Again, it produces wine that is not very good, but is ideal for distillation. The soil conditions in the Cognac region vary, ranging from chalky to red clay to green fields. The quality variations in cognac are related to the amount of chalk present in the soil. Generally, more chalk content increases the quality of the cognac, and the softer the chalk, the better.
After harvesting, the grapes must be pressed in traditional horizontal plate presses rather than the more modern continuous presses which exert too much pressure and could damage the skins, causing the pressed product to become bitter. This, too, is covered by a decree. Fermentation is natural—no chaptalization (sugar addition) is allowed. Fermentation takes over two to three weeks at which point the wine is quite delicate and must be distilled immediately while it’s still fresh. Because the alcohol content is low, it takes about ten gallons of wine to make a gallon of cognac. Distillation is done in a charentais pot still, an onion shaped copper boiler that’s heated over an open flame. A swan-necked copper tube connects the pot to a condensing coil and cooling tank. This first distillate is called brouillis, a cloudy liquid with an alcohol content of 28-32% by volume. The brouillis is subjected to a second distillation from which the final distillate or eau-de-vie is obtained.
The eau-de-vie is placed in oak casks created from 100-year-old French oak trees taken from either the Limousin or Troncais forests. The wood transfers its tannin and color to the young cognac during the aging process. Troncais tannins are said to impart smoothness while Limousin wood is known for the strength and balance it imparts to cognac. Aging must be for a minimum of 2 years but can be fifty years and more.
Cognac is not a single year’s distillation but rather a complex blend of many different cognacs ranging in years of age. The final step is the blending of the individual cognacs, a process that is more art than science.
Cognacs have several designations:
V.S.: Very special. These cognacs are the youngest but must have been aged for at least two years.
V.S.O.P.: Very superior old pale. The youngest blend here is at least four years old.
X.O. and Napoleon: These are the top of the line in which the youngest blend is at least six years old.
The top cognac houses are Remy Martin, Courvoisier, Martell, Hennesey, and Camus. Many of these cognacs start at $100.00 and up and some can be well over $1,000 a bottle. But if you have a hankering for something different, especially when the temperature dips and the world is covered in a blanket of snow, here are a couple of my favorites that I can afford. Keep in mind that you don’t open a bottle of cognac and consume the entire bottle at one sitting. The alcohol content is about 70%, slightly less than whiskey. Instead, take a wine glass, or a small snifter and fill it about a quarter full. No more than two ounces at a time. Let it breath for a while to open up the aromas. Then bring the glass to your nose and sniff it delicately. Note the bouquet. Lastly, take a tiny amount into your mouth, run it over your tongue, hold it, then swallow it. You should feel a nice warmth spreading across your body.
First up, Courvoisier V.S. It’s about $30.00 normally but watch for sales. I usually get it for $27.00 which is pretty close to my $25.00 limit. The bouquet brings subtle tones of plums, raisins, almonds, and vanilla. It’s a delightful aroma that won’t bring tears to your eyes like some brandies I’ve had. It’s very smooth in the mouth and on the finish, with notes of raisins, currents and vanilla. My favorite.
Remy Martin V.S. It’s priced the same as the Courvoisier. Very smooth and drinkable. Milder aroma of vanilla, hazelnuts, and plums.
If you want to stretch your budget a bit more, try Camus VSOP, about $40.00 a bottle. It contains a high proportion of the rarest cognac growths and has a beautiful aroma of hazelnuts and almonds. Slightly fruity too. On the palate, it shows notes of vanilla, hazelnut, and peppery spices.
Until next time, enjoy some wine.
Ciao!
I’ll start with a beverage that is, for the most part, out of the realm of my $25.00 price limit. But since I happen to enjoy it and have two favorites which are very close in terms of affordability, I thought I’d take a stab. What’s the beverage? Cognac.
So, what the heck is cognac? There is a saying, “All cognacs are brandies but not all brandies are cognacs.” Technically, brandy labeled as cognac must come from the Cognac region of France. There are strict rules for its preparation beginning with the grapes used, through the pressing, distillation, and aging processes. The entire area of the Cognac region encompasses about 200,000 acres, actually quite a small territory.
The grapes used are covered by the decrees governing the cognac process and come from the white wine varieties of Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, and Colombard. Each has its own purpose. The Ugni Blanc is a late maturing disease resistant grape. Oddly, the Folle Blanche and Colombard produce thin wine that wouldn’t ordinarily be bottled. But it’s perfect for the distillation process leading to cognac. The soil is critical to producing cognac. Again, it produces wine that is not very good, but is ideal for distillation. The soil conditions in the Cognac region vary, ranging from chalky to red clay to green fields. The quality variations in cognac are related to the amount of chalk present in the soil. Generally, more chalk content increases the quality of the cognac, and the softer the chalk, the better.
After harvesting, the grapes must be pressed in traditional horizontal plate presses rather than the more modern continuous presses which exert too much pressure and could damage the skins, causing the pressed product to become bitter. This, too, is covered by a decree. Fermentation is natural—no chaptalization (sugar addition) is allowed. Fermentation takes over two to three weeks at which point the wine is quite delicate and must be distilled immediately while it’s still fresh. Because the alcohol content is low, it takes about ten gallons of wine to make a gallon of cognac. Distillation is done in a charentais pot still, an onion shaped copper boiler that’s heated over an open flame. A swan-necked copper tube connects the pot to a condensing coil and cooling tank. This first distillate is called brouillis, a cloudy liquid with an alcohol content of 28-32% by volume. The brouillis is subjected to a second distillation from which the final distillate or eau-de-vie is obtained.
The eau-de-vie is placed in oak casks created from 100-year-old French oak trees taken from either the Limousin or Troncais forests. The wood transfers its tannin and color to the young cognac during the aging process. Troncais tannins are said to impart smoothness while Limousin wood is known for the strength and balance it imparts to cognac. Aging must be for a minimum of 2 years but can be fifty years and more.
Cognac is not a single year’s distillation but rather a complex blend of many different cognacs ranging in years of age. The final step is the blending of the individual cognacs, a process that is more art than science.
Cognacs have several designations:
V.S.: Very special. These cognacs are the youngest but must have been aged for at least two years.
V.S.O.P.: Very superior old pale. The youngest blend here is at least four years old.
X.O. and Napoleon: These are the top of the line in which the youngest blend is at least six years old.
The top cognac houses are Remy Martin, Courvoisier, Martell, Hennesey, and Camus. Many of these cognacs start at $100.00 and up and some can be well over $1,000 a bottle. But if you have a hankering for something different, especially when the temperature dips and the world is covered in a blanket of snow, here are a couple of my favorites that I can afford. Keep in mind that you don’t open a bottle of cognac and consume the entire bottle at one sitting. The alcohol content is about 70%, slightly less than whiskey. Instead, take a wine glass, or a small snifter and fill it about a quarter full. No more than two ounces at a time. Let it breath for a while to open up the aromas. Then bring the glass to your nose and sniff it delicately. Note the bouquet. Lastly, take a tiny amount into your mouth, run it over your tongue, hold it, then swallow it. You should feel a nice warmth spreading across your body.
First up, Courvoisier V.S. It’s about $30.00 normally but watch for sales. I usually get it for $27.00 which is pretty close to my $25.00 limit. The bouquet brings subtle tones of plums, raisins, almonds, and vanilla. It’s a delightful aroma that won’t bring tears to your eyes like some brandies I’ve had. It’s very smooth in the mouth and on the finish, with notes of raisins, currents and vanilla. My favorite.
Remy Martin V.S. It’s priced the same as the Courvoisier. Very smooth and drinkable. Milder aroma of vanilla, hazelnuts, and plums.
If you want to stretch your budget a bit more, try Camus VSOP, about $40.00 a bottle. It contains a high proportion of the rarest cognac growths and has a beautiful aroma of hazelnuts and almonds. Slightly fruity too. On the palate, it shows notes of vanilla, hazelnut, and peppery spices.
Until next time, enjoy some wine.
Ciao!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Wines for spicy foods from San Francisco
All right. Last night in San Francisco and I’ve got two more wines and a fantastic Indian restaurant for you.
The first is a Joel Gott Cabernet Sauvignon; $18.00. Floral, but complex nose. Flavors of blackberry, spicy fruit, peppercorns and coffee. Tannins and acidity were mild. It was good but not terribly remarkable for my tastes.
Next, the restaurant: Amber. It’s an Indian restaurant behind the Marriott off Market Street. My dinner started with spinach and feta kulcha, a nan or bread cooked in a Tandoor oven and stuffed with chopped spinach and feta cheese. Dinner was Goan spicy scallops. Six enormous scallops were spiced, grilled, and served with a spicy sauce. It came with Indian spiced rice containing carrots, peas, and corn. It was fantastic!
Now, to stand up to the spices, I needed a wine with strength so I ordered a Domaine Gouran Chinon Loire Cabernet Franc, somewhere between $18.00 and $24.00. Cabernet Franc’s are a conundrum. They are thought of as the “other” cabernet, often ignored as a result. Yet from my point of view, they can be very drinkable, especially those that are from the middle of the Loire region where it really shines. The cabernet francs are under-rated by those who like big, fat, oaky reds that are heavy on the alcohol. Yet because of their underdog status, the French versions can be real bargains. The red wines of Saumur, Saumur-Champigny, Chinon, Bourgueil and St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil are almost exclusively Cabernet Franc.
This one had a voluptuous nose of wild flowers, cranberry, black currants and earth with distinct spicy overtones. It burst on the palate with cherry, cranberry, and a hint of smokiness. It stood up perfectly to the spicy food, cutting through the richness. In spite of the cold and rain, San Francisco was definitely good for wine.
Ciao!
The first is a Joel Gott Cabernet Sauvignon; $18.00. Floral, but complex nose. Flavors of blackberry, spicy fruit, peppercorns and coffee. Tannins and acidity were mild. It was good but not terribly remarkable for my tastes.
Next, the restaurant: Amber. It’s an Indian restaurant behind the Marriott off Market Street. My dinner started with spinach and feta kulcha, a nan or bread cooked in a Tandoor oven and stuffed with chopped spinach and feta cheese. Dinner was Goan spicy scallops. Six enormous scallops were spiced, grilled, and served with a spicy sauce. It came with Indian spiced rice containing carrots, peas, and corn. It was fantastic!
Now, to stand up to the spices, I needed a wine with strength so I ordered a Domaine Gouran Chinon Loire Cabernet Franc, somewhere between $18.00 and $24.00. Cabernet Franc’s are a conundrum. They are thought of as the “other” cabernet, often ignored as a result. Yet from my point of view, they can be very drinkable, especially those that are from the middle of the Loire region where it really shines. The cabernet francs are under-rated by those who like big, fat, oaky reds that are heavy on the alcohol. Yet because of their underdog status, the French versions can be real bargains. The red wines of Saumur, Saumur-Champigny, Chinon, Bourgueil and St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil are almost exclusively Cabernet Franc.
This one had a voluptuous nose of wild flowers, cranberry, black currants and earth with distinct spicy overtones. It burst on the palate with cherry, cranberry, and a hint of smokiness. It stood up perfectly to the spicy food, cutting through the richness. In spite of the cold and rain, San Francisco was definitely good for wine.
Ciao!
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