Today I'll be looking at a wine from Spain. Now I can't say that I have much experience with wines from Spain but this is wine is definitely a great entry point into what can be a somewhat confusing world. While it's not the most exciting wine I've ever tasted, it leaves me wondering what exactly Spain can do for me and for my future wine enjoyment. I always love trying wines from fairly obscure areas because chances are I'll be finding a higher quality wine at a much lower price point and the possibilities for this from Spain is really what's going to get me looking at this region more closely.
Unfortunately there's not a lot that I can tell you about the origins of the red stuff in this bottle other than it comes from Calatayud which is on the eastern part of the province of Aragon. The whole area is nestled quite nicely within Spain and away from the ocean. Other than that, I tried looking the wine up on google but came up with nothing of value, only one or two tasting notes from others who have also tried this wine. I also tried looking up the name on wikipedia but everything came up in Spanish so I didn't get very far in trying to figure out what it said.
The high Acid Garnacha grape is well blended with the thick skinned Tempranillo to create a balanced and food friendly wine. The Tempranillo would tend to add more tannins and body as well as flavours of plums and animal/vegetal notes to the spicy, berry flavoured Garnacha.
The wine was a very deep ruby, which could even take on a purplish tint in some lighting.
On the nose I got some nice warm almost stewing flavours of red cherries and black plums. I also got some sweet cooking spices and a bit of pepper. There was a note of greenness as well, almost like vegetable oil. I did smell some vanilla as well which is a trait of Tempranillo but I think this wine has a bit of oak which enhances this characteristic. While there was a slight animal-like smokiness, I'm not sure there was much beyond the vanilla that is definitive of oak in this glass.
On the palate I definitely felt some oak along my cheeks and tongue, but again, I'm not sure if i was tasting the flavours of the the tempranillo or of the oak. This is a dry wine, very dry in my opinion with high acid, fairly high but soft tannins and medium body.
The berry flavours like raspberry really popped out in my mouth. I also got a fair bit of cherry and black plum. There was a green leafy component and again like i mentioned earlier, some oaky notes along with some leather/animal tones.
The finish was medium and I think this wine is fairly good quality.
When tried on it's own this wine was Ok, once I threw in some food, this wine became rather nice. With Salt, the fruit flavours become more pronounced and the wine is simply delicious. I'd recommend it with a straightforward salt+pepper rubbed BBQ'd slab of beef. I had it with original pringles so I really got to see what the salt does to this wine. I'd definitely take it to the next level of food pairing. I do however caution against pairing this wine with bitter or herby foods. They seem to just make the wine taste astringent and take away a lot of it's charm. I also tried this wine with chocolate and that was just gross.
From my basic research, it doesn't look like this wine is widely available around Canada. It seems that in BC, I can only get it from Marquis Wine Cellars and they don't have a whole lot of it left. Actually at under $14 a bottle, I'm surprised they have any left. There doesn't seem to have any to be found in Ontario either. Still, this grape blend from Spain is a great one to look out for if you're looking for a little something to impress guests at a dinner party. Who would expect you to have this awesome little Spanish gem kicking around!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
I lost South Africa so I'll settle for some bubble (#3)
I was originally hoping to tell you about a couple nice and inexpensive South African wines I had over the weekend but I seem to have misplaced my tasting notes and therefore can't even tell you what's on the label. So instead of a short visit to a winery in South Africa, I'll tell you about a couple really nice bubbly's I had for under $15 in class today!
I can also tell you about some of the cool things I learned in class today :)
The first bubbly we tried was the Codornius Brut No-Vintage Cava DO from Spain.
11.5% alc and only $13.99!
It was interesting to find out that most Sparkling wines in the quality production are actually blends from several vintages so that the winemaker can maintain a consistency for the brand. Therefore, in 5 years from now when you're going to the shelf at your local liquor store to grab this particular Cava, it should taste very similar to the one I tried today. Wines like these are also released as demand comes in for them so they're pretty much meant to be drunk asap.
I also found it very interesting that whereas Champagne in France denotes a particular geographic region, Cava DO in Spain denotes not the geographic region but the wine making techniques and therefore this denomination for a wine is very unique, but also very cool. Cava's can be from anywhere in Spain but by saying Cava on their label, they are advertising to the world that they are made in a traditional method for making sparkling wines. This traditional method means that there is a second fermentation in the bottle, the wine is subject to autolysis(a special type of aging) which gives it a slightly more bready/yeasty character, and then the dead yeast cells are removed in a particular manner thus allowing this wine to carry the prestigious title of Cava, or traditionally made sparkling wine.
Now onto the Codurniu Cava:
I found this wine to be fairly pale and yellow on first sight and the bubbles were definitely a lot smaller than I had seen in previous wines. On the nose it was clean and the flavours weren't very intense. Peach came out instantly and was followed by a sugary, frosting like character. There was also some citrus/lemon, some apple and definitely a subtle yeasty tone to the wine as well. On the palate this wine was really well balanced. It was dry with high acid making it very crisp and refreshing. Very light in body with a mild tartness on the tongue probably from the yeast. The primary flavours that came out were green apple and citrus. The finish on this wine was in the medium to long range.
Overall a fantastically yummy wine. Absolutely exceptional worth trying for the $13.99 price tag. I kept smelling and taking sips of this wine until our teacher gave us our next wine to try and I had to finally move on. Can't wait to get a bottle of this for myself!
The other wine I want to tell you about is a wine from Italy.
the Martini e Rossi No-Vintage Asti DOCG Italy 7% alc and price of $14.49.
A breakfast wine if I ever tasted one.
At first sight, this wine is clean and pale yellow with some medium sized bubbles. The bubbles were a little bigger on this one because Asti is Tank fermented as opposed to bottle fermented like the Cordorniu. Tank fermentation is another method of making the wine bubble which encourages the preservation of the natural fruit character in the wine. This is especially great for a wine like Asti since it's made from the incredibly flavourful Muscat grape.
On the nose this wine is clean with pronounced fruit, like big fruit about to punch you in the face it's just that big. There's some peach (like growers peach cider), some floral notes, some strawberry, some honey and it's got a bit of a grapey tone which shouldn't be surprising since the wine comes from a grape but for some reason, whenever I smell grape I'm surprised.
My notes for the palate start out with FRUIT, MORE FRUIT, YUMMY and well, what more do you need! It's a sweet wine with med acidity and is very light in body. The peach notes really come out as does some honey tones. The length of the finish is medium and this wine is very good. for $15, it's an any occasion wine! I'm thinking about cutting out mimosas as a traditional breakfast drink and substituting it with straight Asti. It's just that good.
Well, I'm sorry I wasn't able to provide my notes on the South African wines I wanted to tell you about but I hope that the sparkling wine notes didn't disappoint! We all need a little bubbly in our life after all!
I can also tell you about some of the cool things I learned in class today :)
The first bubbly we tried was the Codornius Brut No-Vintage Cava DO from Spain.
11.5% alc and only $13.99!
It was interesting to find out that most Sparkling wines in the quality production are actually blends from several vintages so that the winemaker can maintain a consistency for the brand. Therefore, in 5 years from now when you're going to the shelf at your local liquor store to grab this particular Cava, it should taste very similar to the one I tried today. Wines like these are also released as demand comes in for them so they're pretty much meant to be drunk asap.
I also found it very interesting that whereas Champagne in France denotes a particular geographic region, Cava DO in Spain denotes not the geographic region but the wine making techniques and therefore this denomination for a wine is very unique, but also very cool. Cava's can be from anywhere in Spain but by saying Cava on their label, they are advertising to the world that they are made in a traditional method for making sparkling wines. This traditional method means that there is a second fermentation in the bottle, the wine is subject to autolysis(a special type of aging) which gives it a slightly more bready/yeasty character, and then the dead yeast cells are removed in a particular manner thus allowing this wine to carry the prestigious title of Cava, or traditionally made sparkling wine.
Now onto the Codurniu Cava:
I found this wine to be fairly pale and yellow on first sight and the bubbles were definitely a lot smaller than I had seen in previous wines. On the nose it was clean and the flavours weren't very intense. Peach came out instantly and was followed by a sugary, frosting like character. There was also some citrus/lemon, some apple and definitely a subtle yeasty tone to the wine as well. On the palate this wine was really well balanced. It was dry with high acid making it very crisp and refreshing. Very light in body with a mild tartness on the tongue probably from the yeast. The primary flavours that came out were green apple and citrus. The finish on this wine was in the medium to long range.
Overall a fantastically yummy wine. Absolutely exceptional worth trying for the $13.99 price tag. I kept smelling and taking sips of this wine until our teacher gave us our next wine to try and I had to finally move on. Can't wait to get a bottle of this for myself!
The other wine I want to tell you about is a wine from Italy.
the Martini e Rossi No-Vintage Asti DOCG Italy 7% alc and price of $14.49.
A breakfast wine if I ever tasted one.
At first sight, this wine is clean and pale yellow with some medium sized bubbles. The bubbles were a little bigger on this one because Asti is Tank fermented as opposed to bottle fermented like the Cordorniu. Tank fermentation is another method of making the wine bubble which encourages the preservation of the natural fruit character in the wine. This is especially great for a wine like Asti since it's made from the incredibly flavourful Muscat grape.
On the nose this wine is clean with pronounced fruit, like big fruit about to punch you in the face it's just that big. There's some peach (like growers peach cider), some floral notes, some strawberry, some honey and it's got a bit of a grapey tone which shouldn't be surprising since the wine comes from a grape but for some reason, whenever I smell grape I'm surprised.
My notes for the palate start out with FRUIT, MORE FRUIT, YUMMY and well, what more do you need! It's a sweet wine with med acidity and is very light in body. The peach notes really come out as does some honey tones. The length of the finish is medium and this wine is very good. for $15, it's an any occasion wine! I'm thinking about cutting out mimosas as a traditional breakfast drink and substituting it with straight Asti. It's just that good.
Well, I'm sorry I wasn't able to provide my notes on the South African wines I wanted to tell you about but I hope that the sparkling wine notes didn't disappoint! We all need a little bubbly in our life after all!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
a bit of portugal (#2)
Last Wednesday I had a great opportunity to attend a tasting of Portuguese wines...all of which were unavailable in BC (some were available in Ontario and Quebec). While there were some pretty expensive and really great wines, I found that most when converted from Euro's to CanDollars were very reasonably priced..and most of them were really fantastic wines! I hope to see some of them carried in the BC liquor stores very soon. Hint Hint *wink* to all the importers and sellers who were there on Wednesday...
This tasting really got me thinking about Portuguese wines and a bout how little they're talked about in the general wine media. Because of this, they tend to be pretty cheap for good quality wines (and that makes me a huge fan of these wines). Unfortunately I also know very little about them. Last week we had a small segment on Portuguese wines in class but it really didn't even skim the surface of all there is to learn about Portugal and their wine making industry. Definitely an area worth exploring a little more in my mind.
There were a few wines at Wednesday's tasting that really stood out in my mind but it seems that for future tastings I will have to refine my note taking system since for a lot of the wines I tasted I seem to be missing some vital information.
So I don't have the price point for any of these and I forget which wines are available to my Ontario and Quebec friends but hopefully they'll be available in BC soon and I can write about them in more detail.
Dom Divino Red 2005 wine from UDACA in the Dao region of Portugal (I forget the price and I forget if it's available in Ontario or Quebec)
This is definitely one of my top wines of the tasting. It was a nice ruby colour with cherry and spice on the nose. On the palate had a nice fruity flavour - of baking and warm fruits. Overall well balanced and nice on the tongue with no aspect overpowering the others.
Lote 44 Red, Syrah based Blend with a local portuguese grape called Aragonez, which happens to be a grape variety better known as Tempranillo.
From the Estremadura region in Portugal, which is about half way up the portuguese coast. Although I couldn't find this wine on the tasting for the program, word of it went around the room and people started visiting the table to try it out. It even took me a while to find it online and figure out who the distributor is and all that info. A very elusive wine but one that my taste buds will never forget. I have no idea how much this wine would go for if anywhere in BC ever did start selling it but definately my favorite wine of the show.
It had notes of candied/preserved cherries as well as some pepper on the nose and the palate. Nice light to medium body and smooth, easy tannins that helped to smooth out and elongate the feeling of this fantastic wine in the mouth.
This tasting really got me thinking about Portuguese wines and a bout how little they're talked about in the general wine media. Because of this, they tend to be pretty cheap for good quality wines (and that makes me a huge fan of these wines). Unfortunately I also know very little about them. Last week we had a small segment on Portuguese wines in class but it really didn't even skim the surface of all there is to learn about Portugal and their wine making industry. Definitely an area worth exploring a little more in my mind.
There were a few wines at Wednesday's tasting that really stood out in my mind but it seems that for future tastings I will have to refine my note taking system since for a lot of the wines I tasted I seem to be missing some vital information.
So I don't have the price point for any of these and I forget which wines are available to my Ontario and Quebec friends but hopefully they'll be available in BC soon and I can write about them in more detail.
Dom Divino Red 2005 wine from UDACA in the Dao region of Portugal (I forget the price and I forget if it's available in Ontario or Quebec)
This is definitely one of my top wines of the tasting. It was a nice ruby colour with cherry and spice on the nose. On the palate had a nice fruity flavour - of baking and warm fruits. Overall well balanced and nice on the tongue with no aspect overpowering the others.
Lote 44 Red, Syrah based Blend with a local portuguese grape called Aragonez, which happens to be a grape variety better known as Tempranillo.
From the Estremadura region in Portugal, which is about half way up the portuguese coast. Although I couldn't find this wine on the tasting for the program, word of it went around the room and people started visiting the table to try it out. It even took me a while to find it online and figure out who the distributor is and all that info. A very elusive wine but one that my taste buds will never forget. I have no idea how much this wine would go for if anywhere in BC ever did start selling it but definately my favorite wine of the show.
It had notes of candied/preserved cherries as well as some pepper on the nose and the palate. Nice light to medium body and smooth, easy tannins that helped to smooth out and elongate the feeling of this fantastic wine in the mouth.
Whites:
Fonte Do Nico Light 2009, from Pegoes region Pretty much all of the white wines i liked came from this region/producer. Most are dominated by the Fernao Pires grape with a fair bit of Muscat as well as some other varieties. The muscat definately adds some fantastic ripe fruit character to all of these whites.
This wine I found to be crisp and flowery on the nose and very light on the palate with hints of refreshing fruits like watermelon. A Very simple, refreshing, hot summer deck on the lake wine.
Caves de Pegoes 2009, also from the Pegoes region Very stone fruit/peachy on the nose with some minerality which transfered well to the palate. Nice refreshing acidity and body. Again, a great warm summer wine. Slightly more complex than the Fonte do Nico.
Sto. Isidro Branco, again a Pegoes wine. I don't know the vintage. Great nose on this wine. Very ripe fruits like red apples along with some nice tropical notes like bananas or papaya. For the palate, my notes are ripe applesauce juice, good crisp acid and light to med body, yummy....which makes me think I enjoyed this wine :D
The wines and the ports(red and white) at this tasting were pretty fantastic but what made the day so wonderful for me was the Moscatel sweet wines. I know some of the Portuguese Moscatels are fortified as well as sweet wines, I'm don't think all of the wines at this tasting were. They were however all very sweet and very yummy!
My tasting notes for the Moscatels are kind of sporadic but they generally had flavours of candied pears or canned peaches and as they aged showed characters reminiscent of caramilization or sweet candied orange rinds. The wines I tried on Wednesday are not as of yet available in BC but I know some of them are available in Ontario and Quebec from the Favaios Label, from the famous region of Douro in Portugal. I know at least one of the really good ones (unfortunately I forget which one) goes for $13 in Ontario. Sweet deal!!! Beats the price of icewine for sure.
Well folks, that concludes my little trip to portugal. I hope you will find Portuguese wines in all their variety and flavours as exciting as I did and I hope to review more of them in the future (individually, with more extensive notes).
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
My new untitled wine blog (#1)
How exciting! I finally have my very own wine blog where I can tell the world (or anyone who will listen) all about the wines I love. I really want to focus on $20 or under wines so that my friends and the bulk of the population can enjoy them along with me. I will have none of that pretentious mentality which states that in order for a wine to be good, it has to be expensive. I've had some great wines for under $20 and have recomended many of them to friends who have enjoyed them just as much as I did. Hence the idea of a blog that talks about wines that are accessible to almost everyone.
Now I do have a little problem with this blog and that is that I don't have a name for it. I've asked around but I haven't yet heard any suggestions that I really like. So in order to solve this little problem of namelessness, I'd like to open up the naming of the blog to my friends and possibly also friends of friends reading this post. Let the naming contest begin!!
Also, I'm sure I'll always be looking for ways to make this blog better so any improvement ideas or suggestions will be welcomed.
Now for my first wine, I'd like to write about a wine that gets high praise everytime i recommend it to someone (or as has happened, people i recommend it to then go on and recommend it to someone else). It is a wine that sells for $9.95 in the BC Liquor Store and in my opinion, for 10 bucks, you can't get a better deal. The wine is called Mapu and it's a chilean blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere. The wine is a Chilean venture by Baron Philip de Rothschild, the owner of a first growth chateau in Bordeaux which is a top wine producing region in France. In Bordeaux, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild is a top rate wine and the Baron's venture with Robert Mondavi in California, Opus One, is also a highly rated wine and as such is fairly expensive. But this chilean wine tastes like if it was made with the same care and dedication as the much more expensive french and californian wines but like chilean wines in general, it sells for much less.
The grape variety of Carmenere has built itself a reputation in Chile. While originally from France, it has thrived in the Chilean climate and makes some great varietal (100% carmenere) wines as well as some great blends, such as this Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenere wine. The wine is a deep ruby colour and imparts a prominent nose of red berries such as fresh raspberries and cherries. There are also some toasted oak and chocolate smells and a slight medicinal or eucalyptus smell common to chilean wines. On the palate this wine is extraodinary. It has medium tannis and medium body and is extremely well balanced making this wine a joy to drink. The flavours in the mouth are of fruits such as raspberries and cherries as well as chocolate. My first impression of this wine when i tasted it was of chocolate covered cherries. Yum! This wine sits well in the glass and evolves nicely when exposed to air. The finish isn't too long and the wine itself isn't what some people would call complex but for $10, it's an absolutely fantastic wine.
Give it a try and see for yourself why I give this wine an 'A' grade and recommend it without hesitation to anyone who will listen to me :D
Now I do have a little problem with this blog and that is that I don't have a name for it. I've asked around but I haven't yet heard any suggestions that I really like. So in order to solve this little problem of namelessness, I'd like to open up the naming of the blog to my friends and possibly also friends of friends reading this post. Let the naming contest begin!!
Also, I'm sure I'll always be looking for ways to make this blog better so any improvement ideas or suggestions will be welcomed.
Now for my first wine, I'd like to write about a wine that gets high praise everytime i recommend it to someone (or as has happened, people i recommend it to then go on and recommend it to someone else). It is a wine that sells for $9.95 in the BC Liquor Store and in my opinion, for 10 bucks, you can't get a better deal. The wine is called Mapu and it's a chilean blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere. The wine is a Chilean venture by Baron Philip de Rothschild, the owner of a first growth chateau in Bordeaux which is a top wine producing region in France. In Bordeaux, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild is a top rate wine and the Baron's venture with Robert Mondavi in California, Opus One, is also a highly rated wine and as such is fairly expensive. But this chilean wine tastes like if it was made with the same care and dedication as the much more expensive french and californian wines but like chilean wines in general, it sells for much less.
The grape variety of Carmenere has built itself a reputation in Chile. While originally from France, it has thrived in the Chilean climate and makes some great varietal (100% carmenere) wines as well as some great blends, such as this Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenere wine. The wine is a deep ruby colour and imparts a prominent nose of red berries such as fresh raspberries and cherries. There are also some toasted oak and chocolate smells and a slight medicinal or eucalyptus smell common to chilean wines. On the palate this wine is extraodinary. It has medium tannis and medium body and is extremely well balanced making this wine a joy to drink. The flavours in the mouth are of fruits such as raspberries and cherries as well as chocolate. My first impression of this wine when i tasted it was of chocolate covered cherries. Yum! This wine sits well in the glass and evolves nicely when exposed to air. The finish isn't too long and the wine itself isn't what some people would call complex but for $10, it's an absolutely fantastic wine.
Give it a try and see for yourself why I give this wine an 'A' grade and recommend it without hesitation to anyone who will listen to me :D
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