learn about wine

Here’s what I got:

- Simi 2004 Alexander Valley Cab, $25
- O’Brien “O – Seduction” 2004 Cab, $40
- BV 2002 Private Reserve/Napa Valley Cab, $60
- Brunello di Montalcino 1995, $90

I will hopefully be opening at least a few of them this weekend. I’ll post again then.

I shared this one with my brother and two friends tonight over dinner, which was spinach and artichoke hearts in a cream cheese dip with garlic and salt, served with pita bread, followed by 6 oz beef tenderloin steaks, lightly seasoned, with butter mashed potatoes.

This bottle was recommended to me by a local wine shop owner and oenophile, Joe Strawn, of Joe’s Wine & Spirits in Columbia, Missouri. It’s not a famous label and cost about $50. I trust Joe’s judgment, though, so I tried it out. We served it right at 60 degrees, and the first thing I noticed was the deep blood-red color. It’s a very opaque wine with very little color separation (not surprising, considering it’s only 3 years old), and a very heavy, even coat of the glass. The tears were a fascinating 3/4 centimeters apart all the way around the glass. It was a joy to watch melt slowly down the inside edge of the glass. We noticed a tall meniscus, and indeed, it turned out to be pretty viscous, but not unpleasantly so.

The nose was very gentle and not concentrated on anything except the richness of the wine. The first taste came across as extremely soft, one of the very high points of this wine, especially considering its age! This is a very smooth and light wine with a medium body and a very slightly spicy finish. It’s pretty dry, which I like, and left that characteristic sand-paper feeling on your tongue, but very pleasantly so. I really enjoyed this cab. It’s very gentle and pleasant, on its own, compared to the big-bodied cabs out there.

By the way, I ended up going back to Sam’s and I got 5 bottles of the Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve 2004 Chardonnay, 1 bottle of the 2002 Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, and a bottle of Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante, just for fun (it’s my guilty pleasure). I’ve never bought wine from a Sam’s Club before… let’s hope it made it cross-country okay!

Dave

I got 3 bottles that I’m very excited about trying, a 2004 Alamos Malbec from Argentina, a 2005 Catena Chardonnay (also from Argentina, the same company as Alamos but their better line), and a 2004 Kistler Chardonnay. They were $11, $18, and $60 respectively. I also ordered a 2002 Elyse Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2002 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon which should be here next week.

Also found out that my local Sam’s Club has a few cases of 2004 Kendall-Jackson Great Estates Chardonnay available singly for $17/bottle! Has anyone bought wine from Sam’s Club before? I’m worried about the shipping methods used… it’s been pretty hot here lately! They also have a Ferrari-Carano chardonnay that I’d love to try.

I’ll post again with my notes once I open the 3 I mentioned above.

Dave

Opened that KJ 2004 Pinot Noir tonight with a friend, and we also had Muscat Vin de Glaciere with dessert (soy green-tea ice cream).

http://www.bonnydoonvineyard.com/wine/view/84

The Muscat had a nice citrus bite, and was pleasantly sweet. I thought it was tangerine but we looked it up and it was pineapple. I was close, anyway!

The KJ Pinot was great. We ate it with stir-fry pork and vegetables and white rice. It’s a soft wine considering the age (2004) – I’d love to try another vintage.

I got a bottle of KJ Vintner’s Reserve Pinot Noir California 2004, KJ Vintner’s Reserve Merlot Sonoma County 2002, and KJ Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay (I don’t remember what year). I’ll write more when I’ve tried them!

Oh, I recently found out a bottle of Silver Oak 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon that I received a few years ago as a gift is worth about $125. Wow! I’ll have to try it and let you know what I think.

My family got together for dinner tonight, and we had a nice pasta salad with shrimp. It was very light with broccoli, oil, and a little bit of garlic and chardonnay. We also had a salad with feta and bleu cheese crumbles, hard-boiled eggs, almonds, diced ham, romaine lettuce, pineapple and artichoke hearts. We had a bottle of Kendall-Jackson Pinot Noir (2004) with it. The wine was great! It was not nearly as aggressive as the KJ Zinfandel, and although it did have a hint of spice (and cola?) it was very pleasant. We served it slightly chilled (60ish) because it was so young, but it was very soft anyway and turned out just great. It had a gorgeous crystal-clear ruby reflection on your hand through the glass from the light and was a real pleasure to look at. It wasn’t very viscous and the finish was short but satisfying. I think it’s a great value for $18.

It’s not a very formal approach, but a group of friends and I get together regularly and share a bottle of wine. Tonight we had KJ 2002 Zinfandel. It was a little spicy and a bit dry, with a very nice tart/sour finish – aggressive and unfocused, but for $15 it was just fine.

Next week we’re sharing a bottle of KJ Great Estates 1999 Pinot Noir. I’ll write about it after.

I know (so far) that I like dry white wine most of all. I have a very modest collection of your basic Kendall Jackson chardonnays, and a few cabernet sauvignons also. I’m trying to learn about California wines first, then move on to French and Italian. I can’t say I really have an interest in German wines…. what I’ve tried so far just has so much FRUIT, and I really like the oaky finish of chardonnay. My brother went to Argentina last year and brought back some interesting red wines, but we haven’t gotten a chance to try them yet.

Tonight for dinner I had Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay (2002) with pork tenderloins and green beans. It was alright – not as sharp as I would have liked. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it bland but it was definitely lacking. I’m very new at this, and I know that sharpness is generally undesirable, but this wine was either watered down or just not very good.