2012 Molino della Suga Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

Well, it's the first Saturday of a new month, which means it's Cellar Saturday!  It's that magical time when I raid the cellar for something at least a decade in the making to see how it's developed along it's journey. Tonight I've taken a couple of cheats on my decade, first I've selected a Brunello, which by Italian law must be aged in barrel for six years, and then in bottle a further six months before release.  So, such a wine is already 65% of the way to a decade on release day!  Second, I recently bought some of this wine from Wines Till Sold Out, so I let them do a little of the aging for me!  The 2012 Molino della Suga Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a 100% Sangiovese Grosso (another requirement of Italian law), and Brunellos are usually just hitting their stride at the 10-year mark, so let's see how this one is tasting!

The wine is a bright ruby in the glass, with nice clarity, just as you might expect from the varietal.  Take a whiff and you're greeted with aromas of dried flowers, ripe cherry and plum, with hints of vanilla and anise.  Take a sip and you're immediately transported to the Tuscan countryside, with layers of dried herbs, ripe cherry and some earthy notes of tobacco and graphite, which ease into some black pepper spice and a hint of thyme midpalate.  The tannins are a bit tight at first, but gradually open up for a velvety mouthfeel leading into a smooth dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's a very pleasant and easy drinking Brunello that is just hitting its stride. This wine would pair well with classic Tuscan dishes, such as Bistecca Alla Fiorentina, pappardelle with a traditional ragu, ribollita, or a simple platter of salami and cheeses.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with some Trader Joe's Cacio e Pepe ravioli with carpaccio truffle cream sauce, the spice of this wine is a perfect foil for the richness of the truffles.  Cheers!

2012 Calla Lily Ultimate Red Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Happy Saturday!  It's been a while since my last post, and there's a reason for that.  I'm in a production of The Music Man at the Elkhart Civic Theatre and since the play opens in just a few weeks, I've been at rehearsals every night from 6:30-9:30, so it puts a bit of a damper on my wine drinking and blogging.  But tonight I have the night off and I've opened a bottle of 2012 Calla Lily Ultimate Red Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  I don't know the winery at all, but I know that 2012 was an outstanding vintage for Napa Cabernet, so I picked up a couple bottles of this wine recently from Wines Till Sold Out.  So let's see how it's tasting.

The wine is a deep inky black at the center with bright ruby along the edges, just as you'd expect from a quality Cabernet.  The nose is a subdued affair, with some leather, blackberry and dried flowers.  The taste is layered, with a rush of tart cherry at the outset that transitions to some earthy notes of dusty limestone, before reaching a climax with some sweet notes of kirsch at the finish.  The tannins are nicely structured for the long, smooth and very dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's a good wine, but not spectacular, though I will say I opened it up about an hour before I wrote this and in the hour since it's opened up quite a bit, so perhaps best to decant this one a couple hours before you want to drink it.  This wine would pair well mainly with grilled meat, anything from steaks and chops to barbecue, this wine needs to be consumed with some char!  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rare grilled New York strip along with grilled leeks and garlic scapes and some grilled asparagus as well as a big baked potato.  Cheers!

2013 Gramercy Cellars Lower East Columbia Valley Syrah

It's been raining quite a bit here over the past few days, so I've suddenly found myself in a Pacific Northwest sort of mood for some odd reason... At any rate, tonight I've decided to finally try a bottle of Syrah from Gramercy Cellars, a producer about whom I've heard many great things, but unfortunately I've only had the opportunity to try by the glass with dinner in Walla Walla.  So tonight I've opened a bottle of 2013 Lower East Columbia Valley Syrah, so let's see how it tastes!

The wine is a beautiful garnet color in the glass and the nose provides a rather pleasant combination of wonderful earthy aromas of green grass, dried flowers and some peppery spice that adds to the intrigue.  The taste is wonderfully fruit forward, with a rush of blueberry, cherry and strawberry with just a hint of sweetness that transitions to some notes of white pepper spice and tobacco midpalate.  The tannins are supple and provide a nice kick to the long, smooth and very dry finish.  I was noting with some friends the other night that Syrah can be a very challenging varietal that may exhibit a variety of taste profiles, some with more fruit, some with more spice and some with great funk.  This one clearly is on the fruit and spice end of the spectrum, making it ideal with food in my view.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's a really nice example of the varietal that's drinking quite nicely five years in.  This wine would be great with a variety of Mediterranean cuisine but I couldn't resist pairing this with a classic Northwest salmon.  Tonight I'm enjoying it with an Alder planked wild sockeye with some cilantro lime rice and fresh green beans almondine.  The lovely dark fruit is just ideal with the richness of salmon, cheers!

2015 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon

When I first visited Napa Valley on the Napa Valley Wine Train back in 2015, I met some folks on the train that shared a bottle of Justin Isosceles with me and I've been a fan of Justin ever since.  It was just about two years ago that I reviewed the 2013 vintage of the Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon (you can see that post here) and tonight I've opened a bottle of the 2015 vintage that I recently picked up at my local Meijer store.  So let's see how this one is shaping up.

The wine is a deep, ruby color in the glass, classic Cabernet.  The nose is a rush of leather, black stone fruit and a hint of mint that just call out to you to take a sip.  The taste is a rush of ripe black fruit, plum, cherry and currant with undertones of smoke and dried flowers that transitions to some mild notes of pipe tobacco and a hint of black pepper.  The tannins are firm and well integrated, creating a wonderfully long, smooth dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's just a very pleasant drinking Cabernet and a terrific value at just $22.  This wine would pair well with steaks, braised short ribs or pasta, but tonight I am enjoying this wine with a pan seared veal loin chop along with some roasted baby bok choy and a baked potato with sour cream and chives.  Cheers!

2013 Helix Sangiovese

Happy Sunday!  So last night I invites some of the folks that went down to Houston for a bit of a reunion dinner and it was wonderful, lots of Italian appetizers and the main course was bucatini with mussels fra diavalo, a classic!  So all that Italian had me looking for some sort of Italian or Italian inspired wine to enjoy with tonight's round 2 of mussels.  I found it in the 2013 Helix Sanviovese from the Stillwater Creek Vineyard of the Columbia Valley of Washington.  So let's see how this wine stands up to some serious Italian food!

The wine is a light, garnet color with great clarity as you'd expect from a nice Sangiovese.  The nose is chock full of leather, anise, dried flowers and a bit of white pepper.  The taste is somewhat subdued with black fruit notes up front, plum, blackberry and currant that transitions nicely to some peppery spice notes and tart cherry midpalate.  The tannins are wonderfully structured, bringing some mild acidity to the long beautifully dry finish.  This is a departure from the typical Chianti, but a pleasant one that provides ample fruit, spice and complexity to lift the dish it accompanies.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as I think it's solid vintage and somewhat better than the past few vintages I've tried.  This wine would pair beautifully with a wide variety of classic Italian dishes, from pasta to risotto, but tonight I am going for round 2 of last night's dinner, with some modifications.  Tonight it's linguine with the remainder of my PEI mussels sauteed in garlic and olive oil and then simmered with San Marzano tomatoes, fresh basil, red wine and a bit of hot pepper for the kick, all topped with a bit of shaved Parmesan.  Cheers!

2005 Font de Michelle Cuvée Etienne Gonnet Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Well, it's the first Saturday in December, which of course means it's Cellar Saturday, that one day a month that I try to dig deep in the cellar for something with a bit of maturity.  Tonight I've decided to open a bottle that's only been in my cellar for a few months, but is certainly ready to try, the 2005 Font de Michelle Cuvée Etienne Gonnet Châteauneuf-du-Pape.  This wine is a blend of Grenache (70%), Syrah (15%) and Mourvedre (15%), that should just about be ready to drink (I personally believe these wines should wait at least a decade before they are mature enough to drink).  So let's see what this one has to offer!

The wine is a deep ruby in the glass, a bit darker than usual but in my view an ideal color.  The nose presents aromas of ripe fruit, plum, cherry and dates, overlaid with some wonderful dried floral and spice notes.  The taste is a nice rush of sweet fruit up front, a combination of berries and dried fruit that transition to some lovely spice notes midpalate.  The finish is quite nice, with a reprise of sweet fruit in the tannins, that play a perfect counter to the lingering dryness on the finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's a truly lovely example of a French classic.  This wine would be perfect for the holidays, pairing well with turkey, ham or lamb, but tonight I am enjoying this wine with a lovely sesame crusted seared ahi tuna filet with some steamed asparagus and jasmine rice.  Cheers!

2013 Mockingbird Hill Reserve Petit Verdot

Well, the leaves are all done, with the exception of those still up on the trees, but it seems like fall is quickly coming to a conclusion, which means that winter can't be too far behind!  And with cooler weather and shorter days, it's the perfect time for some big, bold red wines.  Tonight I've decided to open a bottle of 2013 Mockingbird Hill Reserve Petit Verdot from Napa Valley.  Now it used to be that the Bordeaux blending grapes like Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, were relegated to behind the scenes work of giving structure to the great Bordeaux blends, but in recent years more wineries have been experimenting with bottling these varietals on their own.  Lucky for us!

This wine is a deep, inky purple in the glass, reminiscent of a strong Cabernet.  The nose presents aromas of blackberry, tart cherry, dried red flowers and oak.  The tastes offers some lovely fruit notes up front, with blackberry and cherry cola that transitions to some earthy notes of oak and dark chocolate midpalate.  The tannins are very tightly wound, but still offer a solid foundation for the exceptionally long and very dry finish.  This wine is still young and will probably improve further with some time in the cellar, but in my view it's drinking quite nicely now.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, most likely due to how well the varietal holds up, as well as the terrific value of this wine - I bought this one from Wines Till Sold Out for just $17!  Again, this is a perfect fall wine, ideal for sipping by the fire on a chilly evening.  It's also a good steak wine and tonight I am enjoying this one with a rare grilled bone-in ribeye, with a baked potato and some steamed green beans.  Happy Sunday Dinner!

2012 Chimney Rock Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon

So today as I was doing my regular grocery shopping, I decided to check out the wine section at my local Meijer to see if they had any good wines on sale, and I was in luck!  They had the 2012 Chimney Rock Stags Leap District Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon on sales for $20 off, so needless to say I stocked up!  And since I like new things, I thought it appropriate to open up my newest wine for dinner tonight!

The wine is a beautiful deep ruby color at the edges, almost an inky black at the center just as you'd expect on a high quality Cabernet.  The nose presents aromas of smoke, dried flowers, blackberries and cherries, with just the faintest hint of mint.  The taste is soft and supple at the outset, so different from so many of the big Cabernets on the market today.  Black fruit flavors of blackberry, plum and cassis transition effortlessly to some lovely mineral and spice notes midpalate.  Though young, the tannins as beautifully integrated, creating a long, lush and very dry finish that leaves you asking for more.  It strikes me that whenever someone talks about a great Napa Valley Cabernet, this is what they mean.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 9, it's drinking beautifully right now (maybe because I'm thirsty!) but it will no doubt improve with a few years in the cellar.  Tonight I am enjoying this with an ideal Napa Cabernet dinner, a rare prime Filet Mignon that I recently received from Allen Brothers in Chicago, a baked potato with butter and sour cream and some fresh steamed broccoli I bought from my Amish farmer neighbors this morning.  Could there be anything better?

2005 Recoletas Reserva Ribera del Duero

Well, it's the first of August and it's Saturday, so that could only mean one thing, it's Cellar Saturday!  That wonderful time I raid the cellar to find something interesting to drink.  Tonight, after a hard day of yard work I've decided to open a bottle of 2005 Recoletas Reserva Ribera del Duero, a lovely Spanish Tempranillo I recently bought from Wines Till Sold Out.  Now keep in mind for this wine, I did not decant it, but it does open up nicely within an our or two of the first pour.

The wine is a beautiful deep garnet in the glass, with nice clarity.  The nose is a lovely combination of blackberry jam, leather, dark chocolate and dried flowers.  The taste is a dramatic departure from your expectations on the nose, rather than a jammy fruit bomb, you are treated with some lovely cherry cola and dark chocolate notes at the outset that transition effortlessly to some coarse mineral notes midpalate.  The tannins are perfectly balanced on the finish, which reprises some of those fruit expectation with hints of strawberry jam on the long, lush and  very dry finish.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's drinking quite nicely and was an exceptional value at just $16!  Tonight I am pairing this wine with a classic bone-in Angus ribeye topped with grilled leeks, baked potato and some steamed green beans.  The balance of fruit and acidity in this wine make it ideal paired with a bold red meat dish, but it would also be nice with small plates and cheeses.  Cheers!

2011 Fontanafredda Nebbiolo

Well, it's been a busy week with some travel and a lot of work, but thankfully the week is winding down so we may as well enjoy a nice bottle of wine with Thursday dinner.  Tonight, I've decided to open a bottle of 2011 Fontanafredda Nebbiolo, a wine made from the same grape that gives the lovely Barolo wines of the Piedmont their fantastic, earthy character.

The wine has a bright ruby color in the glass with great clarity.  The nose is remarkable in its young complexity with aromas of tar, licorice, dried flowers and an almost cotton candy note.  The taste is quite nice, with notes of berries and plum that transition to some earthy notes of peat midpalate.  The finish is quite pleasant as the young, yet very well structured tannins support a long, dry and velvety finish that lingers.  A pleasant wine today that, given the character of the grape, will likely improve with some time in the bottle.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's a pleasant drinking wine and solid example of the varietal, but it was screaming bargain as well!  I bought this one about six months ago from Wines Till Sold Out for only $10!  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a traditional Italian dinner of spinach and ricotta ravioli with some spicy marinara and Italian sausage.  The earthy flavors are just the perfect foil to the spicy acidity of the sauce.  Tutti a tavola a mangiare!

2003 Corte Pavone Brunello di Montalcino

Here we are at the first Saturday of the month, and of course that means it's Cellar Saturday, that time when I raid the cellar and open a bottle that's been waiting way too long to be enjoyed!  Tonight I've decided to go straight to Tuscany for a nice bottle of the king of Italian wine, Brunello di Montalcino, in this case the 2003 Corte Pavone Brunello di Montalcino.  There's just something about a mature Brunello, brimming with Sangiovese, a wine that is great by itself or with a broad variety of dishes.

This wine exhibits the bright ruby color that is typical of Brunello.  The nose is classic Brunello, with rich earthy aromas of leather, coffee, smoke and limestone overlaid with just a hint of dried flowers.  The taste is just lovely, it brings be back to my last trip to Tuscany nearly 20 years ago, lovely black fruit notes right up front, plum, blackberry and black currant, that transitions effortlessly to some earthy notes of leather and tobacco midpalate.  The tannins are nicely integrated, providing great structure for the long, dry finish that just has you begging for another sip.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's a very nice example of the best that Tuscany has to offer when it comes to wine, and this one was a good value from Wines Till Sold Out for just $25!  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a non-traditional pairing of grilled wild Coho salmon with a lemon dill cream sauce along with some oven roasted root vegetables, purple potatoes, orange and purple carrots and golden candy stripe beets.  A wonderful autumn dish that is really accented by the earthy flavors of this wine!

2011 Sueno Tempranillo

Do you know what day it is? Oh yeah!  It's hump day!  Time to open up a new bottle of wine and celebrate getting through to the downward slope of the work week (even though the next two days are going to be crazy busy for me).  So tonight I've opened up a bottle of our Office Wine Club's June selection, the 2011 Sueno Tempranillo!  You know how much I appreciate the quality and value of Spanish wines for everyday drinking, so hopefully this one will be true to form as it's 100% Tempranillo from the Ribera del Jucar.

The wine is a little darker than I might have expected, with a deep ruby color throughout that brightens along the edges.  The nose is classic Tempranillo with lots of dark ripe fruit, blackberry, plum and cassis intermingled with some dark chocolate and dried flower notes, that transitions to just a hint of black pepper and spice.  Despite the dark fruit nose, the taste is very light, with some lovely berry notes on the outset that transitions to some rustic flavors of anise, dusty limestone and barnyard.  The tannins are somewhat soft but very well integrated giving a nice structure to the wine and supporting a smooth, dry finish.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 7.5 as it does what most Spanish wines do, pair well with a variety of dishes at a value price - I bought this one from Wines Till Sold Out for just $11!  And tonight I am enjoying it with a classic mid-week dinner of pizza, a perfect pairing as the rustic flavors just mesh so nicely with the spicy sauce and pepperoni.  Cheers!

2007 Reininger Cima

Another week closer to moving to Indiana, but for now I have a long drive home on Friday and then unpacking then getting something for dinner, oh yeah and then opening a bottle of wine!  And tonight's feature is a wine club selection from Reininger that I received recently, even though it's a 6-year-old vintage it was just released!  Reininger has a habit of doing that, and I really appreciate it since when I receive the wine I know that it's ready to enjoy without any additional cellaring (though that's not usually a bad thing either).  The Cima blend (which means "summit" is an interesting one, that's surely off the beaten path of the more traditional Bordeaux style blends that Walla Walla is known for.  The 2007 Cima is a blend of Sangiovese (53%), Cabernet Sauvignon (21%), Petit Verdot (16%) and Merlot (10%), and it's really the heavy reliance on Sangiovese that makes this wine such an adventure.

The wine is a lovely deep ruby in the glass.  The nose is very interesting, with a whiff of leather that is layered upon rich ripe fruit, lovely spice, vanilla and a hint of dried flowers.  The taste is just marvelous, with a subdued combination of fruit, blackberry and cherry cola with a hint of cassis and plum midpalate.  The finish is divine, as the subdued tannins suddenly awaken and combine with a wash of acidity that supports the long, supple finish.  Truly a pleasure to sip on a crisp autumn evening!

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, is it's just a quintessential Walla Walla blend that takes things up a notch.  I have no idea how much I paid for this one either, and frankly that doesn't bother me a bit!  As for pairings, it would be perfect with a variety of grilled meat, or spicy Italian fair, but of course since I am just getting home from a week in Indiana, I am enjoying this with some simple pasta and veggies with a parma rosa sauce.  Cheers!

2005 Chateau de Camensac Haut-Medoc

So yesterday I received my 2012 State Tax forms in the mail, and that made me think of this wine.  No, I don't have anything against this wine or chateau, but it was a gift last year from my friend Chea for helping her do her taxes.  And since tax time is coming up again, I thought I should crack open this bottle and enjoy it!  For those of you who know me, I am a big fan of Bordeaux, and in fact I learned to like red wine in Paris back in the mid-1990s, and one of my favorite Bordeaux was the Haut-Medoc (I think I brought back like 5 bottles in my carry-on bag!) so you can imagine I've been looking forward to this one.

This wine has a wonderful deep purple color at the center, edging out to bright ruby.  The nose is just what you would expect from a well crafted Haut-Medoc, rich aromas of leather, mint, a touch of cedar and dried flowers.  The taste is somewhat fruit forward, with muted flavors of cassis and berry that transitions to a bit of sour cherry and some black pepper spice midpalate.  The tannins are soft and well rounded, making for a classic, bone dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, it's a little more expensive, but well worth it!  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rare New York strip, with some Danish bleu cheese crumbles melted over the top, along with a baked potato and some steamed broccoli, a classic steak house dinner done at home.  The wine paired very nicely with this meal, as the flavors stood up well to the red meat, but the dry finish really played well with the rich flavors of the Danish bleu.  And now I need a nap!