2012 Chateau Vrai Caillou Les Vignes de la Garene Bordeaux Superieur

Happy Tuesday!  It's just started to rain, so I've decided to open up a nice bottle of Bordeaux, in this case a wine club selection from last year, the 2012 Chateau Vrai Caillou Les Vignes de la Garene Bordeaux Superieur, a nice blend of Merlot (70%), Cabernet Franc (20%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%), so a typical right bank Bordeaux with a high Merlot concentration.  So let's see how she tastes!

The wine is a beautiful deep ruby color in the glass, classic for the varietals.  The nose is a lovely expression of ripe berry fruit, leather and graphite that so often characterizes the terroir of the right bank of the Gironde.  The taste brings me back to my time in France two decades ago, with a rush of dark fruit, blackberry, currant and black cherry that transition to some wonderful earthy notes of smoke, minerals and green cedar midpalate.  The finish is very smooth and quite dry, with fine tannins that are very well structured.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's just a very pleasant drinking Bordeaux and a terrific value as I found this one in Grand Rapids at G.B. Russo's for just $12.  The wine would pair well with a variety of hearty dishes, from stews to roast beef to steak, but tonight I'm enjoying it with a simple mid-week dinner of linguine with a bit of arrabiata sauce garnished with shaved Parmesan and frech basil.  Cheers!

2015 Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc

Happy Sunday!  It's been a somewhat more relaxing weekend, with the normal errand running and chores with a bit of work tossed in, but now it's time for a nice relaxing Sunday dinner.  Tonight I am doing something a little unusual, in that I've opened a bottle of white wine!  Tonight it's a bottle of 2015 Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough New Zealand.  To be fair, this is a bottle of wine that's been in my fridge since my Christmas party, and since no one ever drank it, I thought it would go very well with my dinner tonight.  So here goes nothing!

The wine is rather light in color, with a nose full of  tropical fruit, mango, Meyer lemon, and a bit of pineapple over some hints of green grass.  The taste is rather nice, with a good bit of fruit up front, but with a nice tart acidity throughout, leaving you quite refreshed by the time you enjoy the crisp, dry finish.

Overall, as a dry red wine lover, this wine is actually pretty nice, so I'd rate it a solid 7.5,  I'm sure I didn't pay anywhere near $10 for this wine, so it was also a good value.  The main reason I opened this bottle was to go with my dinner tonight, which is a classic Midwestern Sunday dinner of oven roasted chicken with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and some steamed asparagus.  The tart acidity in this wine is perfect to cut through the richness of my chicken dinner, cheers!

2014 Reininger Walla Walla Malbec

What a fantastic Sunday!  It was about 65 and sunny so I took advantage of the weather and spend the afternoon in the yard, catching up on a number of things, mainly cleaning up some leaves and branches, and although it was enjoyable, I sure am tired now!  And what's better when you need to relax than a nice glass of wine.  Tonight I've decided to open a bottle of a recent wine club selection, the 2014 Reininger Malbec, a 100% Malbec from the Pepper Bridge Vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley.  Now you'll recall that I'm not the biggest fan of Malbec, but for some reason I really have come to like Chuck Reininger's efforts with this varietal, so let's see how this one stacks up!

The wine is a deep, inky black at the center, with garnet along the edges.  The nose is a rush of green grass, leather and ripe black fruit.  The taste just wonderful, with a rush of ripe fruit at the outset, blueberry, cherry, plum and currant that transition to some vanilla and black pepper spice notes.  The tannins are somewhat soft, but very well integrated for the long, velvety smooth and very dry finish.  This Malbec struck me as being very Cabernet like, which is probably why I like Reininger's interpretation!

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, it's still very young and will no doubt improve with a bit of time in the cellar, but it's still drinking very nicely now.  This would be a great steak wine, but tonight I am enjoying this one with a classic Italian Sunday dinner of hot Italian sausage with onions and peppers and some spaghetti tossed with garlic and olive oil.  Such a great wine to balance the strong flavors of the sausage and peppers, Tutti a tavola a mangiare!