Neat Thoughts About Food, Wine, Travel & More
Brick red in the glass, this Italian red wine offers intense aromas of cherries, fresh dirt, leather and mocha. This full-bodied Super Tuscan tastes of ripe dark berries, anise and chocolate and offers a silky mouth feel. Long, spiced finish with light tannins.
Pairings: Grilled beef or lamb, sautéed mushrooms.
Style: Red Wine
Grape Type(s): Super Tuscan Blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Merlot
Region: Tuscany, Italy
Price: $25
Golden straw color in the glass, this Italian white wine offers intense floral aromas and freshly-baked bread notes. This full-bodied Greco Bianco benefits from seeing some French oak and tastes of ripe peach and apricot. Long finish with nice balance and acidity.
The Sommelier at Marea suggested this wine to our party having both fish and meat and it was a great choice.
Pairings: Fish, seafood, poached chicken.
Style: White Wine
Grape Type(s): Greco Bianco
Region: Campania, Italy
Price: $40
My dad poured this wine at Christmas to pair with rare prime rib au jus and it was superb.
In the glass, this Bordeaux blend is brick red. On the nose, it has barnyard and earthy aromas that I sniffed for quite a while before moving on to a sip. In the mouth, the 1984 Chateau Gruaud Larose has stone fruit, leathery, mushroomy and mossy flavors. The tannins are still present, but after a bit of time in the glass, the wine became rounder, softer but still pretty great albeit perhaps a bit past its prime.
Pairings: Beef, French onion soup.
Style: Red Wine
Grape Type(s): Bordeaux blend – Cabernet Sauvignon: 57% / Merlot: 31% / Cabernet Franc: 8% / Petit Verdot: 2% / Malbec: 2%.
Region: Bordeaux, France
Price: $120
In the glass, this affordable Italian wine is inky red. On the nose, it is bold with ripe cherries and dried cranberry aromas. Just hard to stop sniffing in order to take a sip.
In the mouth, it has blackberry and dried fig flavors with licorice and leathery notes. The 2008 Allegrini Palazzo Della Torre has great balance and nice level of acidity. Finish is long and spicy.
90 points Wine Spectator.
Pairings: Pasta with red sauce, deeply-roasted meats, cheese course.
Style: Red Wine
Grape Type(s): Corvina Veronese, Rondinella and Sangiovese
Region: Valpolicella, Italy
Price: $17
Had the pleasure of sampling this outstanding wine paired with butternut squash risotto recently. In the glass, it is honey yellow and leggy.
On the nose, it is bold and offers peach, clementine and tropical fruit flavors.
In the mouth, it has a chewy texture and Asian pear and Meyer lemon flavors with a superb balance and nice level of acidity. Finish is long and honeyed.
91 points Wine Spectator.
Pairings: Spicy dishes, pork.
Style: White Wine
Grape Type(s): Riesling
Region: Saar, Germany
Price: $18
Bought two bottles of this Champagne last weekend and loved the first one. I popped the second one last night’s for #champagneday, a virtual tasting of all things Champagne.
This Champagne is golden in the glass with tons of tiny bubbles. On the nose, the Bollinger Special Cuvee offers Asian apple and buttered toast notes. In the mouth, it is creamy, rich, well-balanced with a great level of acidity. There are notes of Meyer lemon, ripe pear and toasted almonds. Very nice Champagne showing better than many at twice that price.
93 points Wine Spectator.
Pairings: Smoked salmon, caviar, poached chicken, lobster, risotto.
Style: Champagne / Sparkling Wine
Grape Type(s): 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Meunier.
Region: Champagne, France
Price: $55
I participated in a virtual tasting last night hosted by Jeff Gordon Cellars featuring its Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah blend named Joie De Vivre. For those of you who have not taken part in a social media wine tasting, this is what it entails:
Back to the wine. The Cabernet is from Corbett Vineyards Spring Mountain, the Merlot from Solari Vineyard Calistoga and the Syrah from Page Nord Vineyard Yountville. Only 254 cases were produced, so get your thirsty hands on a bottle if you want to try it.
In the glass, it is dark purple and has me decanting half the bottle for later comparison. The nose is intense with aromas of ripe raspberry and juicy cherry exploding out of the glass. Ripe cherry, juicy stone fruit and dark berries flavors with a spice and smokey finish. The decanted wine has a lovely earthy flavor and the young tannins round up for a smooth mouthful.
Pairings: Grilled beef, cured meats and cheese platter, pasta with red sauce.
Style: Red
Grape Type(s): Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah blend
Region: Napa Valley, California, USA
Price: $61
I am grateful to have been invited to sample this celebrity wine that, as seldom happens, turns out to be quite great.
For additional information about Jeff Gordon Cellars and its wines, visit: www.jeffgordonwine.com.
Cheers, Veronique
This wine was provided to me for sampling and I am adding to my repertoire as it is truly enjoyable.
Brilliant cherry color in the glass. Big bright nose of ripe red berries. This medium-bodied Carneros Pinot Noir is classic California Pinot. Cherry and red berries explode out of the glass. Earthy, mushroom notes that linger on the finish. Velvety in the mouth. Just a really nice 100% organic Pinot, especially at this price point.
Pairings: Duck, beef, lamb, roast chicken.
Style: Red
Grape Type(s): Pinot Noir
Region: Carneros, California, USA
Price: $40
This Italian wine is dark purple in the glass. It offers aromas of dark, ripe cherries and Chinese five spice and flavors of stone fruit and dark berries with hints of leather. Soft tannins with a nice level of acidity.
Lovers of Chianti will enjoy this affordable Sangiovese.
Pairings: Grilled beef, cured meats and cheese platter, pasta with red sauce.
Style: Red
Grape Type(s): Sangiovese (90%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%)
Region: Tuscany, Italy
Price: $20
I enjoyed this red dessert wine from Uruguay at a local restaurant where the owner described it as ‘liquid raisinettes’. That quirky description might not fit in most wine reviews, but it was very much on par, and I opted to share it.
In the glass, this wine from Uruguay is deep purplish red with a bit of a syrupy consistency. On the nose, there are aromas of dark berries laced with pumpkin pie spices. In the mouth, the flavors are of dark raspberry and blackberries, chocolate, cinnamon and vanilla.
Style: Red Dessert Wine
Grape Type(s): Tannat
Region: Atlantida, Canelones, Uruguay
Price: $23 (500ml)
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