2020 Kirkland Signature Malbec

Well, tonight's blog post is made possible almost entirely by Costco!  Of course the main reason I went there today was to get some less expensive gas, since I was on the last orange bar, and about to get the warning light on my car.  But one thing led to another and I ended up with a cart full of meat, wine, coffee and snacks!  So, to celebrate, tonight I've opened a bottle of 2020 Kirkland Signature Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina.  So, let's see what this wine has to offer and what else Costco provided for this evening!

The wine is a classic Malbec, deep, inky purple in the glass with bright ruby along the edges.  A gentle swirl of the glass reveals aromas of prune, black cherry and charred oak, with some undertones of pipe tobacco.  Take a sip and you're greeted with a blast of tart cherry that gradually subsides to notes of plum, blackberry and currant, intermingled with some earthy mineral notes of basalt.  The tannins are bright and well structured, providing for a rounded finish that's dry with a reprise of acidity at the end.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's a very solid Malbec and a terrific value for just $7 on sale, but it could use a year in the cellar to mellow a bit.  This wine was practically made to be enjoyed with a fatty steak, as the acidity would cut right through the richness of a prime steak.  And wouldn't you know it, Costco is a great source for prime beef, so I'm enjoying this wine with a prime tomahawk ribeye grilled Pittsburgh rare, along with some grilled leeks and asparagus and a big baked potato with sour cream and chives.  Cheers!

2018 Forgeron Walla Walla Merlot

 Happy Sunday!  I wish it was a fun day, but alas I spent much of the afternoon working, but at least it's now wine-thirty and I'm ready for a glass and a nice dinner!  Tonight I've opened a bottle of a recent wine club shipment from Forgeron Cellars, the 2018 Merlot.  This vintage is a 100% Merlot from the  Minnick Hills Vineyard in the Walla Walla AVA of Washington, so let's see how it's tasting!

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass with nice clarity, just as you might expect from a pure Merlot.  The nose is a cascade of ripe red fruit, raspberry, currant and cherry intermingled with some earthy forest notes.  The taste is a rush of fruit up front, cherry and currant that transitions nicely to some notes of dried herbs and dark chocolate midpalate.  The tannins as bright and well integrated for the long, smooth dry finish that lingers on the palate.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's a very nice example of this often ignored varietal, that I just happen to love.  This wine would pair well with a broad range of dishes, from lamb to braised short ribs to pasta.  Tonight I am taking the road less traveled and enjoying this wine with some chicken and vegetable green curry over jasmine rice.  Cheers!

2005 Massimo Rivetti Barbaresco Riserva "Serraboella"

Happy Wine Wednesday!  To help celebrate this fine mid-week wine day, I've decided to open a bottle of 2005 Massimo Rivetti Barbaresco Riserva "Serraboella" a nice red wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, which you guessed right, is made from 100% Nebbiolo!  I just received this wine today at the office, having ordered a couple bottle last week from Wines Till Sold Out.  Now I'll be the first to admit, I'm somewhat hit or miss on Nebbiolo-based wines, as there are some Barolos that I find amazing and others that I can't stand, though the odds of me liking them definitely increases with age, particularly once a wine reaches the 10-year mark.

This wine is a deep ruby in the glass with great clarity.  The nose is very inviting, with aromas of tart cherry over some nice earthy notes of smoke, tar and cedar.  The taste takes be back to Italy, with some wonderful flavors of anise intermingled with cherry and candied plum at the outset, which quickly transitions to some earthy mineral notes midpalate.  The bright tannins support a velvety mouthfeel and an exceptionally long, dry finish.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's a fine example of the wine that was a descent value at $26.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with some classic northern Italian wild mushroom risotto with some lovely shaved asiago on top.  The lovely fruit notes perfectly complement the earthiness of the risotto, but it would also pair well with classic pasta dishes with a variety of sauces or a lovely grilled steak.  Cin cin!

2010 Blacksmith Syrah

Well, this is the first write-up from my Washington Wine Month tasting last week, so let's start with the 2010 Blacksmith Syrah.  This is the second label from Forgeron Cellars, a wonderful producer out of Walla Walla that I learned about on my vacation to the region back in May of 2012.  This is my first experience with the second label, and I must admit I was very pleasantly surprised.

This wine had a lovely dark color, and rich aromas of ripe black fruit and spice.  The taste was wonderfully fruit forward with tastes of blackberry and tart cherry, that gave way to some tar and cedar midpalate.  The bright tannins made for a long, tight finish that will likely improve with a little time in the bottle.  But overall, I felt this was quite the worthy effort from Forgeron.

I would rate this wine a solid 8, not only because I thought it was a solid example of a syrah, but also because it was a really good value at only $18.  I think this wine would pair perfectly with some roast lamb and grilled vegetables, or almost any other sort of meaty game.  Cheers!

2009 Alexandria Nicole Quarry Butte

As we finish up the first week of Washington Wine Month, I've decided to try a new wine from a producer that I've not tried before, the 2009 Quarry Butte Red Wine from Alexandria Nicole Cellars.  This red blend was produced from Alexandria Nicole's estate vineyard, Destiny Ridge, which used to be known as Quarry Butte, located high on the bluffs of the Horse Heaven Hills overlooking the Columbia River.  The wine itself is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (54%), Merlot (19%), Syrah (17%), Malbec (6%) and Petit Verdot (4%), making this a classic red blend for which the Columbia Valley has become famous.

The wine is a rich, deep ruby color in the glass, with a nose that exhibits scents of ripe red fruit, blackberries, cherries and plums, along with a hint of vanilla, smoke and limestone.  The taste is at once black fruit dominated, but that is quickly overwhelmed by the luscious, velvety mouthfeel of your first sip.  The fruit transitions to some tart notes midpalate, along with just a hint of wild mint and gravel, giving some nice earth notes to balance it out.  The finish is quite long and dry, as the bright tannins provide ample support, and a taste that seems to last until you're ready for your next sip.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it has a lot going for it, and it's a descent value but not a screaming bargain at the $23 I paid for it.  Not for your everyday house red, but one for an occasion here and there.  Tonight I am pairing this with some lovely butternut squash ravioli topped with four cheese alfredo sauce, and an arugula salad topped with a nice aged balsamic.  Not your classic red wine pairing, but one that I think works nicely, matching the tartness and rich fruit of the wine, with the rich starch and cheese of the ravioli and sauce.  Cin cin!

2010 Coppola Claret

You know, there are some nights where you come home and you don't really want an adventure, you really just want a good glass of wine, something you've had before and you know provides you with a consistent wine experience.  Well that's where I am tonight, and I reached for a nice bottle of 2010 Coppola Claret in the black label bottle that I picked up last weekend.  It's one of those wines that you know will be good to drink, with no risk involved, just what you need after a long day!

The color of the wine is deep garnet, with brighter ruby along the edges.  The nose is a pleasant combination of leather, raisin, a hint of mint and some floral notes dancing around the perimeter.  The taste is wonderfully fruit forward, with some nice ripe berries and a hint of tartness that quickly transitions into some dried herbs and a bit of spice midpalate.  The bright tannins then emerge, supporting the long, dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, it's a great everyday drinking wine and I've been a fan for probably the better part of a decade.  And it's not a bad value either at around $15.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with some roast chicken, potatoes and steamed green beans almondine, and though it's not a typical wine to enjoy with poultry, it does lend some nice accents to the herbs from the roasting process that makes it a lovely combination.  The day is done, now it's time to relax!

2010 Borsao Garnacha

So tonight I had the pleasure of dining out at the Spain Restaurant in Tampa and overall it was a wonderful dinner along with a few glasses of 2010 Borsao Garnacha!

 

The wine was quite nice, very fruit forward with aromas of leather, ripe berries and tar. The taste was quite nice, with plenty of fruit up front, but the tight tannins made for a wonderful finish.

On the recommendation of Pablo, my Ecuadorian server, I enjoyed this wine with the Bistecca Santiago, a lovely braised beef tenderloin with chorizo, peppers, onions, mushrooms and a delicious sauce that really balanced the fruit of the wine. I would rate this one a solid 7.5 if not for the wine for the evening as a whole!

Hell's Canyon Retriever Red Wine

Tonight I've decided to open one of my vacation wines, a bottle I brought back from a truck stop in Baker City, Oregon of all places (see us wine aficionados can find wine anywhere!), the Hell's Canyon Retriever Red Wine, a non-vintage blend of Merlot (56%), Cabernet Franc (22%), Cabernet Sauvignon (19%) and Syrah (3%).  The winery is located in the Snake River Valley in Caldwell, Idaho, so I probably passed in on the way to Oregon but I didn't stop.  In any case, I stopped at a hotel in Baker City for the night, and went across the street to the truck stop for some chips and saw they had wine, and this bottle with a great image of a Black Lab swimming with a duck in its mouth really caught my eye, so I figured why not buy a bottle?

The color of the wine is a nice ruby red, a little lighter than a lot of Bordeaux style blends I've seen.  The nose is enveloped with aromas of sweet cherry, licorice and cedar, with just the faintest hint of fresh mint.  The taste is actually remarkably well balanced, with ample fruit on the front, laced with ripe cherries and blackberries, giving way to hints of charcoal and fresh herbs midpalate.  The vibrant tannins make for a very crisp, tight finish that could mellow a bit over time, but as it stands marks the perfect yin to the sweet red fruit yang on the front end.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's hands down the best truck stop wine I've ever had!  And as I recall it was a pretty good value too at about $11.  Tonight I am pairing with some butternut squash lasagna that a good friend at work made and brought in for me to try, and a fresh salad.  The wine complements the sweet and earthy flavors of the lasagna quite well, so it looks like I'm going to have a good evening after a long week!

2008 Coppola Alicante Bouschet

So tonight I am trying a new wine I picked up yesterday at World Market from Francis Coppola.  Now I'm a big fan of his black label Claret, as it's a lovely everyday wine for a very modest price, so when I saw his diamond label on a bright magenta background I had to investigate!  This wine was the Alicante Bouschet, which apparently is a grape that has been cultivated since the 1860s, but was made popular during prohibition, since the grapes are red fleshed, which makes them much more robust in blending, creating darker colored wines from traditionally lighter grapes.  The thick skins also make it much more resistant to rot during transport from California to the east coast during prohibition.  And all this, made it a target for Mr. Coppola, who had fond memories of wines his family made from this grape during the period, so they located some and decided to make this wine.

The wine has a wonderful, deep ruby color that is almost an inky purple at the center.  The nose is full of jammy fruit, plums, blackberries, currant, with a hint of almost maple syrup.  The taste is very fruit forward, but not really as sweet as I was expecting.  The flavors of ripe red fruit quickly transition to spice, anise and mint midpalate, and then the bright tannins take control for a tight, dry finish.

Overall, I am thrilled with this wine, not so much because it's a stellar grape or exceptional vintage, but for what it can be paired with!  This wine is a perfect compliment to barbecue, and prior to discovering it, I was fairly limited to nice Zinfandels when it came to wine and barbecue, but this opens up a wonderful second option!  And it paid off, since tonight I am pairing this with a wonderful slow roasted, barbecued beef brisket, garlic mashed potatoes, grilled white, yellow and orange carrots and corn muffins!  All those flavors, and this wine stands up like a champ!  I would rate this one a solid 8, maybe an 8.5, since it's a rare wine that pairs with something traditionally more difficult, but it was also a great value at only $10!  So pick up the pink label and enjoy some today!