2008 L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Merlot

Well, it has been a long day and I need to relax, so what better way than to enjoy a glass of wine from my favorite winery, L'Ecole No. 41!  To celebrate the end of the day, I've decided to open a bottle of the 2008 Columbia Valley Merlot, a nice wine that is really a more basic wine made from some of the best grapes of the region, but done in a way that maintains the character of the wine as a purely "L'Ecole" wine.  This is also appropriate given that I just received my spring wine club selection from the winery last week (can't wait to open those eventually, but you know I'm patient when it comes to wine).

Now L'Ecole is a great producer of Bordeaux style blends, so naturally this wine is not a pure Merlot (only 82%), but has been blended with some wonderful Bordeaux grapes, Cabernet Franc (12%), Petit Verdot (4%) and Malbec (2%).  The blend creates a far more interesting wine than many Merlots on the market today.  This one has deep red hues and a a nose of leather, spice and a hint of cherry.  The wine is nicely structured with a subtle taste of berry and ripe black cherry on the front end, which gives way to a wonderful smoky, mocha flavor mid-palate followed by a smooth dry finish supported by very nice tannins. 

Overall the wine tastes like what you might expect for a much more expensive wine, which is probably why I really do like L'Ecole's Columbia Valley reds for everyday drinking wine.  This one I would rate a solid 8, which gets bumped up to an 8.5 since I found it on sale at a local supermarket wine department for only $18!  Can you believe that?  As for pairings, this wine would go very well with a grilled steak, or rich pasta dish, but tonight, I am relaxing with wine and a pizza!  Enjoy!

2008 Mount Veeder Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

So tonight I decided to open a bottle of our office wine club's November selection, the 2008 Mount Veeder Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  I am fighting a cold, so my sense of smell and taste could be affected, but that will not stop me from enjoying a nice cab!  So let's get right down to business.

This wine has all the earmarks of a classic Napa cab, a rich deep ruby color, with an opacity that hints at its complexity.  The nose is a combination of leather, tobacco and spice that let's you know this wine is not playing games.  The taste is absolutely beautiful, with a fruit forward appeal of cherries and ripe blackberries, giving way quickly to the young tannins that give this wine big bold Cabernet taste leading to a long smooth finish.  What a great wine, perhaps not to the level of the now legendary 2007 vintage, but a fantastic wine in its own right nonetheless.

This wine would pair well with a variety of grilled meats, perfect with a rare T-bone, or many spicy Italian dishes, as the wine stands up to many flavors, as it stands well on it's own.  This was one of our more expensive wine club selections at $20 (thank you wineshopper.com!), but still a bargain as this wine seldom goes for less than $25, but still the cheapskates in the office whined, so it looks like I'll be stuck with a few bottles for myself <==insert evil grin==>.  I would rate this wine a solid 8.5 to 9, as it has everything a big bold Cab should have, so enjoy a bottle tonight!

2007 Kilikanoon Killerman's Run Cabernet Sauvignon

Yeah, try saying that three times fast!  Our wine today comes from the land down under, where it's probably wintry cold right now, even as I have my A/C cranked!  The Kikikanoon Killerman's Run Cabernet was sourced from premium parcels and blended together and aged in French oak barrels, then bottled unfiltered to preserve the balance of flavors desired by the winemaker.

On the nose, this wine exhibits the classic scent of a very nice cab with a clear presence of fruit, cherry and black currant, but with a hint of leather and spice.  On the palate this wine is fairly dry, with a definite taste of spice more pronounced than the aroma would suggest and very smooth tannins for a long, satisfying finish.  This wine would pair well with lamb, a variety of gilled meats or vegetables, or as I will experience shortly, a nice rare porterhouse, about 1 1/2" thick!

Although Australia is quite well known for its Shiraz, I've found many of the Cabernet blends quite satisfying, and to me this wine marks a progression of Australian wine development.  My only serious reservation on this wine is the use of a screw cap, but alas it's an indiscretion that can be forgiven.  I would rate this wine a solid 8, with the potential for improvement over time.  I got this one from wine.com (actually their wineshopper.com bargain site), and for the perhaps $15 I paid for it, I think it's well work it!

2007 Hannah Nicole Meritage

So I spent the weekend on the Lake Michigan coast, enjoying a couple days with friends at a wonderful cabin right on the lake (thanks Kail and Jacie!) and now that I am home after a wonderfully relaxing weekend away from cell phones, e-mail and internet, I am relaxing with a nice glass of wine!

Tonight I decided to open a bottle of 2007 Hannah Nicole Vineyards Meritage, and man was I impressed!  This was a wonderful Bordeaux style blend of 49% merlot, 34% cabernet, 12% petit verdot, 4% cab franc, and 1% malbec (good thing, since I am not a fan of malbec!), from Contra Costa County California (say that five times fast!), and certanly off the beaten path from the usual reds of Napa. 

This wine tasted SOOOO much better than the price would suggest, with flavors of black currant, ripe plums, cherries and blackberries (how appropriate for northern Michigan!), with a long spicy finish that just feels like a much more celebrated (and expensive) bottle of red wine.  There are many red blends on the market today, and I must say, this one really does it for me!  A bid bold taste, rich fruit flavors, lush mouthfeel and a finish that really lasts, I could just sit out by the lake and enjoy a bottle of this one (of course it was 27 degrees today, so maybe I'd sit by the big picture window by the fireplace looking at the lake!).

The regular price of this one is $15.99 at my local wine merchant, but this one was on sale for an astonishing $8.99!  And for that I will rate this one an outstanding 8.5 out of 10.  If you see this one where you shop, definitely pick up one for yourself and one to share, and let me know what time I should be over!

2008 Feudo di San Nicola Negro Amaro

Sometimes you read an article on the internet and say to yourself, I should try that!  I am mostly prone to that when it comes to recipes and new wines.  Today's treat comes from an article I read on Snooth.com about the wines of Puglia, or the "heel" of Italy.  When I asked my local wine merchant to recommend some wines from Puglia, he recommended this one, the 2008 Feudo di San Nicola Negro Amaro.

Apparently the negro amaro grape is one common in Puglia, and is one of the best wine grapes in the region.  In comparing to other Italian red wines, this one is charting its own course.  It's much darker and richer than the typical Sangiovese of Tuscany, and if I had to compare it to one other, it might come close to a Valpolicella ripasso, for those who are big fans of Amarone.

The wine itself is a deep ruby red, with a wonderful aroma or rich earthy scents, ranging from aged oak to ripened berries.  The mouthfeel is vibrant, with sensations of smooth velvet, that at first seems quite dry but finished with a hint of sweet berries.  Overall a very nice wine that would go well with grilled meats, rich pasta dishes or even just sipping alone.  I would rate this wine a solid 8.0, well worth the $14.99 sale price I paid!  So venture out of the well trod path of Tuscany and discover what other fun wines Italy has to offer!