A Soaring Chardonnay from the Flying Winemaker

Normally we end up drinking the second half of a bottle of wine with dinner the night after we open it.  Wednesday night we kind of switched things around and tried a new bottle with our left over food.  I have to admit it was a nice change of pace, and it allowed us a chance to see how two different wines worked with the same meal.

I decided to finish off the roast chicken and potatoes by heating the leftover chicken and sauce together in a skillet while the potatoes heated up.  I added a half tomato covered in labneh, spices, and olive oil.  To complete the meal: The Flying Winemaker 2008 Chardonnay from Margaret River Australia, also from Cameron Hughes. 

As well as the Lot 162 Syrah complimented the Chicken, the Chardonnay was a better  compliment to the meal.  Wednesday was also a scorcher, and the chilled wine definitely cooled things down nicely.  The FW Chardonnay offered resplendent floral notes for the nose and crisp citrus on the palate.  The wine had a long smooth finish, and it went down way too easy.  There is a perfect balance of smoothness and crisp acidity. Before I knew it I was already through my second glass, for tasting purposes for this blog of course.

The Flying Winemaker is a selection of wines from around the world specifically chosen by Cameron Hughes.  These wines represent what they feel are the best varietals from each of the regions that are included.  Like all Cameron Hughes wines, you never know exactly which wineries the wines come from, only the region and season.  However, unlike the Lots series which are limited releases, the Flying Winemakers are always available.  For more information on Flying Winemaker 2008 Chardonnay, or to order some for yourself (it is now officially the hot season, and this is a great summer wine) you can visit: https://www.chwine.com/wine/flyingwinemaker/

Taking it Down a Notch: Cameron Hughes Lot 162 Syrah

After the heavy Cabs we had this weekend, Pris and I decided to go into the week with something a bit lighter.  After going through both a different Syrah and a Beaujolais that were past their prime we settled on Cameron Hughes Lot 162 2007 Sonoma County Syrah. 

This particular choice was also based on our dinner Monday night which was a whole roasted chicken (roasted with butter, garlic, and herbs), roasted potatoes, and a sauce made from the pan drippings.  We didn't have a non-desert white wine chilled and ready, so we worked on finding a lighter red.  Not to brag, but the chicken turned out great and it was really simple.  While I was getting things ready in the kitchen, Pris selected the Lot 162 to accompany our dinner.

Once again Pris made a great choice.  The Syrah had a great strong fruit nose with nice oaky underpinnings.  It was well balanced in the mouth with good structure and a full, rich fruit flavor.  Soft tannins completed the Syrah, and provided a mild finish.  The lightness of Lot 162 was perfect with the richness of the roasted chicken and potatoes.

As the wine breathed it developed a sweeter quality than when it was first opened.  This is likely due to the fact that while this wine is labeled as a Syrah, its really a blend.  Lot 162 is made up of 91% Syrah and 9% Zinfandel.  The Zinfandel is a slightly sweeter red grape, and the wine definitely exhibited this quality later on.  Still, it was a great light wine for the Valley heat.

Unfortunately, Cameron Hughes has sold out of the Lot 162.  So unless its at one of the Sams, Costco, or Safeway that carries their wines, it gone for good.  However, you can still go to the Cameron Hughes website (www.chwines.com) and search for Lot 162 and they will recommend other lots that are similar.

Wow: Cask Cabernet

Rubicon Estate's 2006 Cask Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, or more simply Cask, is another recommendation from our fellow vinophiles Trey Mendez and Diana Chapa.  Its another Napa Valley Cab, and it is made from organically grown grapes.  Pris and I finally found it tucked away in a middle corner shelf at Feldman's a couple months ago.  Due to its price we initially grabbed just one bottle, but at check out we found out it was on sale so Pris went back for a second.  That was a great call.

We decided to open the Cask to go with Saturday's dinner: blue cheese crusted NY strip and twice baked potatoes.  The potatoes were from Feldman's, and they were great.  I did the steaks and was happy they turned out perfectly (medium rare with a nicely caramelized cheese topping).  A heavy wine was needed to keep up with the rich food we were eating, and the Cask worked flawlessly.  To properly appreciate it we did open it about an hour before I even started cooking.

Normally I take a few notes in a little book on my first impressions of the wines, and then on later impressions and tastes.  When I tried Rubicon Estate's 2006 Cask Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon the first thing I wrote was "wow, good."  I know, not the most eloquent, but oh so apt.  After a while I was able to jot a few things down.  Cask has a deep garnet coloring and is full bodied and dry, and archetypal Cabernet.  Full fruit flavor of blackberry, cherry, and plum opens up in your mouth.  Its followed by a nice long slow finish that's exceptionally dry, but doesn't pucker.  This is an amazing wine.

The Cask paired superbly with the steaks.  A lighter Cab or Merlot probably wouldn't have been able to hold its own against the richness of the beef and blue cheese.  I would recommend this wine on its own or with beef and/or heavy cheeses.  However, its definitely a special occasion wine and many folks recommend cellaring it for up to 10 years.

We found Cask at Feldman's here in Brownsville, but other stores may have it.  It ran about $76, but was on sale with the Feldman's card for $35.  If you'd like more information on Cask and Rubicon Estates you can visit: http://www.rubiconestate.com/

Do not Chug the Krug

I was reading through the Facebook feed a few days ago and saw that the Charles Krug Winery was celebrating its 150 year anniversary. Apparently it is the oldest winery in Napa Valley.  Aside from this, it was one of the bottles that Pris and I kept around after drinking since we liked it.  Pris had been keeping an eye out for this wine for a couple years now, and we finally found it at H.E.B. a month or so ago.   So I figured this would be a good wine to review, especially given the long weekend.

We opened the Charles Krug 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon last Thursday to go with a good beefy dinner (steaks from Texas Roadhouse).  Initially the Krug tasted light for a Cabernet, exceptionally smooth, with a heavy dry finish.  As the wine opened up it developed heavier full fruit notes.  This was a really well balanced wine.

I'd definitely recommend using a decanter, aerator, or letting the Krug breathe for a good long time.  We finished off the bottle the next day and it tasted better than the night before.  This one really needs time to open up, but its worth it.

We picked up the Charles Krug 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon at H.E.B. for about $20.  If you'd like more info on Charles Krug you can check out their website: https://www.charleskrug.com/

Keeping it Classy: Château Lagrave-Aubert

So I decided to class it up a bit tonight, wine wise at least, since there's no classing up a lazy Saturday dinner at home. To this end I took a chance on Bordeaux that was on sale at Feldman's.  I was browsing through the wines while waiting for our food to be prepared, and I noticed there were a number of French wines on sale.  It also helped that our friend Yvonne Welther recommended a Bordeaux to go with the order.  Unfortunately, her recommendation was so good they were all out of that particular wine.  Pris and I hadn't had a Bordeaux in quite a while so I picked one out that was on sale for $20.  It wasn't exactly a scientific selection process, but it turned out to be a great choice.

I grabbed a bottle of Château Lagrave-Aubert 2007 Côtes de Castillon.  This is a Bordeaux from the vicinity of St. Emillion in France.  Its made up of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The heavy Merlot foundation came shining through in this wine.  The Côtes de Castillon was smooth, with a rich hearty fruit palate.  The two Cabs provided nice structure with good tannins for a full and slightly dry finish.  As the wine opened up it developed a more complex flavor with a longer and smoother finish. 

This was a great wine.  Yvonne was right about it pairing great with our food.  The Bordeaux paired nicely with steak Pris ordered, as would be expected of this type of wine.  It also paired excellently with the tandoori chicken kabobs I got for myself.  The spice in the chicken and the fruit in the wine offered great counterpoints to one another.  But the best pairing had to be the wine with the herbed labneh, a Lebanese herbed yogurt cheese ball.  My one regret on that was that I only got one to split rather than getting several.  It was another great wine and a great meal on a beautiful Saturday evening.

For more information about Chateau Lagrave-Aubert you can check out their website: http://www.aubert-vignobles.com.  Right now, the wine is on sale at Feldman's for $20, but it usually runs about $30 there.

La Mano: Always Good to Have on Hand

You have to hand it to the Spanish, they really know their Tempranillos.  In this particular case its La Mano Mencia Roble from the Bierzo region of Spain.  Yes, its two Tempranillo reviews in a row; but I think in one of the earlier posts I mentioned that Tempranillos were one of our favorite all around wines.

La Mano is an incredibly smooth and full Tempranillo.  Its boasts a rich dark fruit flavor with just a hint of earthiness mixed in.  This particular bottle was opened with our friends George and Virginia Gause, who were down for an event at Pris' museum.  George detected a subtle chocolate undertone as well.  The wine boasts a gentle finish on the palate thanks to its soft tannins.

La Mano's great taste and smoothness alone help make this one of our favorite wines to just pull out and pop open.  Its such a great wine, it works both for everyday drinking and special occasions.  We also like introducing friends to it because its so accessible.  What's even better is that we're not alone in our appreciation.  La Mano is ranked as a 90 point wine, and you can generally find it for about $10 to $12.  We generally try to keep a good supply on hand due to its bank account friendly pricing.  We got the bottle we're working on at Jones Liquor her in Brownsville, but up until a couple months ago you could find it at H.E.B.  You might be able to find it at some of the stores around the Valley, or for sure at Jones.

Normally I'd say "For more information on La Mano Mencia Roble you can visit their site:" at this juncture.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find a website for the winery.  There is a lot of information out there though, so just Google La Mano.   

Altorredondo: Raising the Bar

Smooth, full, and complex.  That's probably the simplest way to describe Altorredondo's fantastic 2005  Tempranillo.  Pris and I cracked this bottle open Friday night to go with some of our usual fare from Gazpacho's.  We figured this Spanish red would go well with tapas-esque fare.  Since this is a 93 point wine we even opened well in advance of dinner to let it breathe properly.  Great decision, and I'd highly recommend it.

The Altorredondo was dense and complex with a strong fruit finish.  Like most Tempranillos, this one was slightly dry with a long finish in the back of the mouth.  Most of the wines we drink are paired directly with food, but the Altorredondo was so good we ended up working on it all on its own Saturday and Sunday nights.  Even two days out this wine is still great.  If anything it has continued to improve and mellow as it oxidized. 

Altorredondo 2005 Tempranillo runs about $60 a bottle, which is well outside our general price range.  However, we picked this particular bottle up on sale at half price at Feldman's Market Center.  For more information on Altorredondo winery you can check out their website: http://altorredondo.com/.

Bountiful Bonterra

Pris has been warning that this would happen, but I didn't really believe her.  We've been on a pretty exceptional wine kick with a number of really superb wines that aren't what we'd call everyday wines.  So when we came back to a good everyday wine, I had some trouble adjusting.  Pris has been wanting to review some more of our everyday wines that we like, and something that's readily accessible at H.E.B.  Let's face it, that's where most of us spend the majority of our shopping time, and its easiest to pick wine up while we're there.

That said, Bonterra's 2008 Merlot is a great wine.  It has a very heavy fruit presence with ripe berry overtones.  But its still lighter than heavier and dryer Cabs.  We had tried the Bonterra Cab a few months back and it was so good, we went back for another bottle. This time, however, we decided to go with the Merlot. It was very smooth, and offered subtle tannins for a soft finish that contained a hint of spiciness.  You should definitely let this one open up in the bottle or your glass.  I tried a sip shortly after opening the bottle, and it really wasn't the best first impression. Fortunately, I'm not one to let a wine go to waste.  Bonterra's Merlot opened up nicely over the course of an hour or so.

We had the Bonterra last night with steak and paprika/garlic mashed potatoes.  There was a spicy bite in the wine that complemented the spice in the steak and potatoes nicely.  While the wine was light, it did not get lost with the meat.  However, we worked on the remainder this evening with a chicken/sausage marinara over penne and the wine really shined.  It worked better with the slightly lighter fare.

At about $12 at H.E.B., the 2008 Bonterra Merlot is a fantastic everyday drinking wine; it is a wine you can keep on hand to open when you feel like having a glass.  As an added bonus, Bonterra is made from organically grown grapes.  This allows for a softer, purer flavor in the final product.  Bonterra Vineyards is considered a pioneer in the field of biodynamic viticulture and the use of organic grapes.  This particular Merlot is everything you'd expect from a Merlot.  Bold but soft, fruitful but not sweet, and smooth with a hint of spice.  A great find from H.E.B.

As stated earlier, the Bonterra 2008 Merlot can be found at H.E.B. and it runs about $12 a   bottle.  For more information you can visit: http://www.bonterra.com/

Cain Cuvee

So we finished up the La Posta Friday night with a couple of steaks from Texas Roadhouse (sometimes it is just so much easier to pick up food rather than cook it).  After we finished dinner and the wine, Pris opened up a bottle of Cain Cuvée NV7 from Napa Valley to work on.  The Cain Cuvée NV7 was a recommendation from Mike Jones on one of our trips to Jones Liquor, and let me say it was a great call; this is an incredible wine.

A quick note on the Cuvée before going on to how it tastes, because the taste is so tied to its composition.  This particular wine is made up of 46% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 9% Petit Verdot.  What's more though, the grapes also come from the 2006 and 2007 harvests (but mostly 2007, hence NV7 nomenclature).  In other words, this is blend of blends.

The Cain Cuvée NV7 had a very complex nose with a heavy alcohol content that took a bit to subside.  As complex as the nose was, the wine was equally complex on the palate with heavy fruit and a smooth, even silky finish.  The NV7 was really smooth, but more on that later.  There was a distinct earthiness to the wine, which was likely due to the heavy clay soil the Merlot grapes were grown in.  The Cuvée was perfectly balanced all the way around.

Due to the smoothness of the wine, Pris cruised through her glass in no time.  I nursed mine, and was actually really glad I did.  As the time passed the wine really opened up and became noticeably lighter and refreshing.  The lightness was surprising given the heaviness of the Merlot and Cabernet grapes.  Great wine, one that is now gone, so Pris and I are going to have to restock at some point in the near future.

Normally the flavor of wine changes as it oxidizes, but the NV7 really changed as it breathed in the glass. This is a great wine that you want to use a decanter for, or let it breathe for several hours.  Our bottle wasn't decanted, but the next one will be.

The Cain Cuvée NV7 can be found at Jones Liquors, if they still have it in stock.  It ran about $37 for the bottle.  For more information on the wine and winery you can go to: www.cainfive.com.