2021 Le Quart du Roi Côtes-du-Rhône

Happy Sunday!  I confess I've sheltered in place today with the heat wave we've been having, 87 degrees and 78% humidity is not my cup of tea!  So, I did some laundry and a few other indoor chores and now it's time for Sunday dinner and a nice bottle of wine.  Tonight, I've opened a bottle of 2021 Le Quart du Roi Côtes-du-Rhône which I bought last year from Wines Till Sold Out.  This wine is a classic Rhône blend of Syrah (50%), Grenache (30%), Cinsault (10%) and Carignan (10%).  Let's see how this wine is tasting!

The wine is a beautiful deep ruby color in the glass, with nice clarity.  The nose is chock full of ripe red fruit, cherry, plum and currant with hints of green pepper and dried herbs.  The first sip is a fruit forward affaire, with almost jammy red fruit, cherry, currant and strawberry that eases into some spicy notes of white pepper and a bit of rosemary.  Having tasted many French wines, I come to expect a bit of earthiness on the finish, but this wine is well balanced with firm tannings and a smooth dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's a wonderfully drinking and food friendly wine that was a terrific value at just $12.49!  This wine would be exceptionally well paired with unusual, hard-to-pair dishes, like Asian or Indian, which is a good thing, since tonight I am enjoying this wine with some chicken Tikka Masals with lots of veggies over basmati rice and a bit of naan to mop up the sauce.  Cheers!  

2016 DaMaNation

Happy Saturday!  Have you ever had one of those projects around the house that should have been quite simple but suddenly it completely spun out of control?  That happens to me a lot, which probably says a lot about my home improvement skills.  Today it was a fence post that rotted and needed to be replaced, but it was more complicated since it was also the post where the gate was attached.  No problem I thought, I got a post, bought some new screws for the hinge, this should be easy.  Then I found the concrete that the old post was mounted in, and I proceeded to break it up with a sledge hammer and a wedge.  I made it down about two feed and couldn't swing anymore, so I borrowed a 30-pound hexagonal bar that my friend had, apparently it was once used on the railroad for laying track.  So another quick job that will last until tomorrow, but tonight I really could use a glass of wine.  I've decided to open a bottle of 2016 DaMaNation, a wonderful blend of Grenache (48%), Syrah (36%) and Mourvedre (16%) from the Lonesome Spring Vineyard in the Columbia Valley of Washington.  So let's see if this one will provide some relaxation after a frustrating day in the yard!

The wine is a lighter ruby color in the glass with nice clarity, classic for a quality GSM blend.  The nose presents inviting floral aromas of rose petals and lavender with undertones of ripe black fruit and basalt.  The taste is a rush of cool fruit, black plum and blueberry with a bit of tart cherry that transitions almost unnoticed to earthy flavors of olive, white pepper spice and a hint of rosemary.  The tannins are quite smooth, providing a great start to the velvety smooth and very dry finish that seems to linger.  This wine is to my mind very comparable in old world style to the many high quality GSM blends from the Southern Rhone Valley of France.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's an approachable and easy drinking wine that's quite versatile from a food pairing perspective.  I actually brought a bottle of this to Thanksgiving dinner and we enjoyed it with classic turkey dinner (something that's a challenge to pair with a red wine), but it would also pair well with hearty stews, lamb or risotto.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with some panko crusted center cut pork chops, cheese risotto and steamed broccoli and red peppers.  Cheers!

2014 Perez Cruz Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva

Well it was a classic Saturday where I went over to Mishawaka to Costco to pick up a few things, including some wine.  I tend to find some interesting and value priced wines over there and tonight I have an interesting one from the Maipo Valley in Chile, the 2014 Perez Cruz Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva.  South America offers a nice variety of wines, perhaps the most famous being the Malbecs of Argentina, but I've found that Chile produces some very high quality Cabernet Sauvignon, so let's see how this one stacks up!

The wine is a deep purple at the center with bright ruby along the edges.  The nose is a rich combination of leather, oak, green grass and a hint of rosemary over subdued note of ripe black fruit.  The taste a rush of ripe, jammy fruit, blackberry, cherry and currant this at first is more reminiscent of a Zinfandel.  The fruit transitions nicely to some wonderful earthy mineral notes of tar and graphite midpalate. The tannins, while young are quite subdued, but still provide nice structure to the long, smooth, dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's drinking nicely now and might improve a bit over a few years, but it was also a great value at just $12!  This wine would be good with steak (as I'm proving tonight) but would also be great with barbecue, tacos, or a nice pasta dish.  Tonight I'm enjoying it with a prime sirloin grilled rare, with some grilled veggies and potatoes.  Cheers!

2012 Forgeron Mourvedre

Happy Tuesday!  I have been winding down at work, one more day until I'm finished for 2015!  In the meantime, I thought I'd open another bottle of my Forgeron wine club shipment, this time it's the 2012 Mourvedre from the Heart Vineyard in the Red Mountain AVA.  I have seldom found a nice pure bottle of this varietal as it's usually blended as the minor partner of any of a number of GSM blends.  So here goes nothing!

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass with nice clarity.  The nose presents some aromas of tart cherry, black pepper, sage and a hint of rosemary, a very rustic feel.  The taste is warm and appealing, with lovely flavors of ripe berries up front, boysenberry, blackberry and currant that transition to some notes of rustic spices, anise, white pepper and clove.  The finish is quite pleasant, with smooth tannins and a reprise of black fruit embellishing the long, dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, it's just a very pleasant drinking wine that also seems to be very food friendly.  I would enjoy this wine with a lot of rustic dishes, hearty stews, pastas and pot au feu, but tonight I am going the unconventional route and pairing this wine with a sesame seared tuna steak with wild rice and steamed asparagus.  There's something about fusing Asian inspired flavors with a southern Rhone varietal.  Sante!

2012 Harney Lane Old Vine Zinfandel Lizzy James Vineyard

Here we are, the last wine from the Snooth.com virtual tasting, the big one, the one I've been anxiously awaiting, the 2012 Harney Lane Old Vine Zinfandel from the Lizzy James Vineyard in Lodi!  This was a nice one to taste since Kyle Lerner, the owner of Harney Lane was one of the guests in Lodi broadcast during the Virtual Tasting.

The wine is a lovely deep garnet color in the glass.  The nose is just fantastic, with jammy fruit, blackberry, plum and some earthy notes of leather and toasted oak.  The taste is surprisingly crisp despite the jammy fruit on the nose, with some notes of tart cherry, blackberry and plum and a hint of rosemary and vanilla.  Really nice complexity and great balance, with nicely structured tannins that provide for a long, smooth dry finish that dares you to take another sip.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's one of the nicest old vine Zinfandels I've had, and even though the price is a bit higher at $35, it's well worth it.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with thin crust pizza with roasted veggies, but unlike many Zins, I would by no means limit this wine to pairing with pizza and barbecue.  This wine would hold it's own with lamb or wild game meats, hearty stews or even some hearty seafood dishes.  The best part about this wine is that much of their business is direct to consumer, so you can order this one on their website at http://harneylane.com/  Cheers!

2012 Primus The Blend

Happy Saturday!  I actually got a lot done today, laundry, cleaning up the yard, washing my truck and later this evening I'll be going to a play!  So why not pause for a nice glass of wine, and tonight it's one I recently picked up at Costco at a very nice price, the 2012 Primus "The Blend" an intriguing blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (25%), Carmenere (25%), Syrah (25%), Merlot (15%), Cabernet Franc (5%) and Petit Verdot (5%) produced in the Colchagua Valley of Chile.

The wine is a deep indigo in the glass, with brighter garnet along the edges.  The nose is a lovely combination of smoke, ripe black fruit, rosemary and clove.  The flavor is quite nice, with some sweet fruit notes of strawberry and plum up front that transition nicely to some earthy notes of toasted oak and blackberry midpalate.  The tannins are nicely rounded providing for a velvety mouthfeel, balanced acidity and a long, smooth and very dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7.5, it's drinking very well now, but is likely a wine that's meant to be enjoyed while young.  It was also a solid value at around $14 at Costco.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rather unorthodox dinner of butternut squash ravioli with a fresh vegetable Alfredo sauce, the acidity of this wine is the perfect balance to the richness of the sauce.  This wine would also go very well with a nice steak or barbecue.  Cheers!

2011 Terra Andina Cabernet Sauvignon

Tonight I am enjoying a nice, easy going wine from Chile, the 2011 Terra Andina Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine with a label that screams enjoy wine!  This is a bold Cabernet, and based on the label, one that should be enjoyed despite it's youth, perhaps best exemplified by my favorite statement on the label, "Terra Andina wines are meant to be enjoyed, not collected."  Words that are true of any wine, not just this one!

The wine itself has a deep ruby color, and a nose that is somewhat unusual for a Cabernet, with aromas of ripe berry, leather, rosemary and chive (chive on eh?), with a bit of musty, earthiness as well.  The taste is quite fruity upfront, with ripe plum, black currant and a sweet, jamminess that transitions to some lovely spice notes midpalate.  The tannins are soft, as is the finish, which seems a little lackluster, but pleasant.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7 as it's a decent, everyday wine and a terrific value, this was out monthly Wine Club January selection that I bought from Wineshopper.com for only $7!  Tonight I am pairing this wine with some hot Italian sausage with onions and peppers, and a little linguine tossed with garlic and olive oil, a nice Italian meal paired with a Chilean wine!  Salut!