FOOD WINE REVIEW

Purchased this during my pilgrimage to Wine Library in December.  Gotta love Dolcetto.  The sleeper of the Piedmont region provides one of the best values I have ever come across.  On the nose, dark cherry, and also a vegetal green pepper component.  Great mouth feel (if you love dry wines). Dark cherry juice up front mellowing out to that green pepper vegetal component on the back end.  Little dirt action in there as well. Very noticeable tannins but in a good way!  I would definitely drink this again.

cdavis :: Jan.30.2009 :: Australia, Shiraz/Syrah, Uncategorized, Wine :: No Comments »

Lindsay received a bit of great news from work, so naturally we popped open wine in celebration. The choice was the series m by Vilafonte.  41% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec and 4% Cabernet Franc.  The nose was a marriage of old world/new world,  sweet red berries with leather and hints of tobacco.  There is no hiding this wine in a blind tasting as it screams South African terroir.  The finish is creamy milk chocolate.  In my opinion the oak masked the natural beautiful terroir this wine exhibits.  With that said I would still drink this again.  I am curious to see what else this winery offers.

admin :: Jun.26.2008 :: France, Uncategorized :: No Comments »

Bohemian Highway 2004 Cabernet (St. Helena, CA) has a great fruity flavor, I picked up cigars and smoked cherries – delicious. I will admit the quirky label grabbed my attention first and the price made me put it in my basket – only $4.99. You don’t need to attend A Night at The Opera to enjoy this inexpensive, but completely enjoyable bottle of cab.

tori :: Sep.17.2007 :: Cabernet Sauvignon, California :: 2 Comments »

I need to sneak in some Seafood and White before this summer is over. Last night I seared up some simple salt/pepper scallops and opened a 2005 Domaine Le Fruitiere Muscadet . The nose on this white was addictive, extremely fresh citrus, not overpowering. Taste was light citrus (not like sauv blanc) with a mineral/rocks/earth finish. My kind of white! I don’t give many whites 90 pts but for $9! 90 pts all the way.

Recipe Link – Seared Scallops

admin :: Sep.14.2007 :: Food, France, Muscadet :: No Comments »

Finally!

cdavis :: Sep.07.2007 :: Cabernet Franc, Long Island :: No Comments »

Just heard that addictive Umbrella song so that explains the title…

Wine Library TV episode #302 inspired this post and my drink of choice for tonight. Native to the Piedmont region of Italy, Dolcetto is often overshadowed by the leading nebiolo and barbera grape varieties. As a result, Dolcetto frequently yields tremendous QPR. Onto the wine…

The 2005 Giacomo Grimaldi Dolcetto d’Alba presented with a vegetal-peppery nose followed by a pleasingly tannic raspberry/blackberry flavor. At $13 this blows most wines in that price range clear out of the water. Solid 89, great effort!

cdavis :: Sep.05.2007 :: Dolcetto, France :: 2 Comments »

Friend of mine from college settled just outside of Downtown Raleigh with his wife about 3 years ago and I have imposed on them annually ever since. I wish i was writing about the local Raleigh wineries but unfortunately they weren’t in the schedule this year (hopefully next year). Luckily, we did get a chance to drink some wine and check out some good eats downtown.

Saturday night in downtown Raleigh started of with an excellent sandwich at a small bistro style restaurant called Rockford’s. Toasted pumpernikel, melteld fresh mozzelrella, pesto, basil and red roma tomatoes. Sipped on a 2003 Rio Sol Cabernet/Shiraz, excellent everyday value quaffer, soft tannins made for a smooth finish. Onto Vin wine bar where the fun begins…

At Vin I tasted 3 wines. First the 2005 Gilbert Picq Chablis, typical Chablis, juice a lemon over a piece of toast and thats basically this wine. Expected a tad more body but nonetheless still great, 87. Next i went straight for the only Bordeaux on the menu which was the 2003 Chateau Courtin. Medium in body this Bordeaux displayed an old world terrior driven nose of soil, rock and some black cherry. Great balance with a nice slightly spicy finish. This wine was still pretty young (like most Bordeaux us Americans consume), would be nice to revisit in 4-10 years. 90 pts for the Bordeaux, looks pretty limited on wine-searcher but for $30, I would drink again. My visit to Vin ended with my newfound love for Aussie Shiraz. If you enjoy new world fruit bombs then definitely try the 2004 Piombo Shiraz. This McLaren Shiraz exploded with BALANCED dark fruit! I stress balanced. This wine was just plain fun to drink. Reminded me of the Step Rd Shiraz i last reviewed, only better, 92 pts.

The night ended at Rum Runners. Great dueling piano bar with lots of college kids, bachelor/bachelorette parties, dancing, beer, and more beer. No wine here, sorry!

cdavis :: Sep.05.2007 :: Australia, Bordeaux, France, Raleigh, NC, Shiraz/Syrah :: No Comments »

After a long drive back from Raleigh, NC my wife in I weren’t in the cooking mood so we opted for a wine and cheese dinner. I wish i could do this every night but i am certain my doctor wouldn’t approve. Onto the note…

I look forward to seeing Aussie wines utilizing the screw cap (or as the snobs called it, the stelvin enclosure), needless to say I was disappointed to have to break out the almost obsolete corkscrew. The nose shouted “fruit bomb” with sweet strawberries & dark berries. The forward fruit coated my entire pallet with a finish that lingered 15+ seconds. If you are a new world fan then this is for you. Old world fans, don’t even touch this. I’ll go 90+ , great effort, [new world fans] seek this out!

cdavis :: Sep.04.2007 :: Australia, Shiraz/Syrah :: No Comments »

Without getting too Zen Master on you, I’m beginning to realize that I learn a little something new about wine everyday and how it not only compliments food, but life. It’s all about the experience – everything we do these days we’re told by marketers that its all about the experience. And though, that idea makes us feel that everything we do should be an “experience” and not just an act, I’d like to think that you dont have to over think everything but just enjoy it.

Enter a remix of an old Kraft blue box classic with a chilled bottle and ballooned wine glasses. Essex Restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan makes comfort food classic, mac n’ cheese, a bit more exotic by using young manchego. With a side citrus salad of arugula, edemame, grapefruit, oranges and sunflower seeds to clean your palette with each bite. A bottle of Grgich Hills Fume Blanc 2005 from Napa (about $30) was chilled and a perfect compliment to my meal providing a citrusy fruit finish.

Try pairing classic comfort foods with wine – it could make for a interesting “experience”!

tori :: Aug.31.2007 :: California, NYC, Sauvignon Blanc :: No Comments »

Went to dinner last night at a local water front restaurant, The Saltwater Grill (review to follow). Ordered a bottle of David Bruce Petite Sirah ($50 at the restaurant, $20 on wine-searcher). I havent tried many petite sirah’s so it sparked my interest.

Color – Dark Dark Dark Purple!

Nose – Blueberry was the first note that jumped out at me followed by jammy dark fruit and a hint of raisin/prune.

Taste – Medium to full mouth feel. Excellent new world fruit balance, not over the top, but lacking complexity. Very one-dimesional.

88 – At $20, i would pass.

http://www.davidbrucewinery.com/

Varietal Info – Petite Sirah (also known as Durif) is a hybrid consisting of Syrah and Peloursin. The grape originated in France but is currently mostly produced in Australia and California. Petite Sirah is known for its dark inky purple color and firm tannic mouthfeel. More from Wiki.

cdavis :: Aug.30.2007 :: California, Petite Sirah, Wine :: No Comments »