Cheers Y'all! Part 2: The good, the bad, and El Guapo

Before I get started, a quick disclaimer, the title here is misleading.  There was no bad wine in the tasting.  People's tastes differed, but all the wines were excellent.  I just couldn't resist a Spaghetti western reference, it was either that or a Three Amigo's reference.

As I pointed out last night, the attendees of the Cheers Y'all wine tasting and talk were treated to a number of incredible Texas wines.  I detailed the great whites that were selected for our tasting pleasure.  While the whites were great, it was the reds that were the stars of the show.  An unofficial poll by the speaker proved this when most of the patrons responded that they preferred red.  What's more, a survey of the multitude of now empty bottles confirmed that the reds were the crowd favorites.

The first Texas red on our tasting menu was the McPherson Cellars 2008 Sangiovese.  This is one of Pris and my favorite wines, and it is easy to drink.  Like most Sangiovese's it has a mellow flavor that fills your mouth, but doesn't overpower it.  It is a dry wine, but it finishes with a refreshing acidity and you just want one more sip.  The Sangiovese paired well with the flank steak and chimichurri and some of the heartier cheeses I picked up.  These included a smoked gouda and an Irish cheddar.

We followed the Sangiovese with an Italian cousin from Marble Falls that's modeled on the Super Tuscan wines.  Flat Creek Vineyard's 2006 Super Texan is an excellent red table wine built on a solid sangiovese foundation.  Like the earlier wine, this medium bodied table wine went superbly with the roasted meats and chimichurri.  This was a fruity, but not sweet wine that opened up well and had just a light tannic finish.

Stephanie then brought us back to Duchman Family Winery for our next tasting.  For our sixth selection we sampled Duchman's 2009 Montepulciano.  The Montepulciano is the second most popular grape in Italy, and its easy to see why.  This wine was smooth, boasted a heavily fruited palate, but was only slightly sweet, and medium bodied.  It was not my favorite, but it was to a lot of folks around me.  The fact that there are no more bottles left stands as a testament to the wines' popularity.     

The final wine from the reds came from the northern reaches of the Hill Country.  It was a 2005 El Guapo from Alamosa Wine Cellars.  Like the Super Texan, El Guapo is a blend which is comprised of 90% Tempranillo, 5% Monastrell, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.  This was the biggest and boldest of the wines we had, and in the interest of full disclosure its also one of Pris and my favorites.  As with all wines, the flavors can change with the vintages and with the composition of the blend.  We hadn't had the 2005 yet, but that was quickly fixed.  The bottle needed time to open up, so it was good we had it at the end.  It was supple and complex with big flavor and light tannins.  It paired well with the strip steak and the heavier cheeses.  Pris put it best when she said "No one was mild about the El Guapo."  People either really liked it or they didn't.  Its a bold wine, at least as far as the milder Texas wines go, and that may not be for everyone.  After all, it is El Guapo. As with all of the reds, it pairs easily with almost any food, but it works especially well with grilled or roasted meats.

Besides getting to sample a number of incredible wines, we learned a lot.  Texas has a great number of vineyards producing award winning wines, but you're not going to find the big Cabs and Merlots like in California.  The Texas climate and soil is perfect for Spanish and Italian varietals that go well with grilled meats and spicy foods, which is a great thing for us here in the Valley.  You could tell by the smiles and the wines blushes that the attendees had a great time and enjoyed themselves immensely.  There's talk of this becoming an annual event, which would be fantastic.  What's even better is that local stores may now start carrying many of these wines based on the overwhelming response of the 70 plus attendees.  We'll keep our fingers crossed on that one.  All in all, great wine, great food, and some great company made for an amazing evening in the southern reaches of the Lone Star State.

The McPherson Sangiovese runs about $18.99 a bottle and you can get more information about this wine and winery at:  http://www.mcphersoncellars.com/.

Duchman Family Winery 2008 Montelpuciano retails for around $14.99.  For more information you can visit http://duchmanfamilywinery.com.

Flat Creek's Super Texan runs from $19.99 to $21.99 and can be found at Feldman's across the Valley.  For more information on this wine you can visit www.flatcreekestate.com.

Finally, Alamosa Wine Cellar's 2005 El Guapo retails for around $18.99.  You can find out more about it at: http://alamosawinecellars.com/