Navarro Correas has a Nice Little Merlot

The last post of the month!  Early on it looked like we wouldn't get through too many wines this month, the drinking just wasn't happening.  But we've managed to get through a decent number of wines this month after all.  The final wine of the month is Bodegas Navarro Correas Collecion Privada 2007 Merlot.

The Navarro Correas Merlot was a good easy drinking every day wine.  It had a fruity nose with lots of ripe berry and a touch of musky earthiness.  On the palate you're hit with a well structured fruitiness that borders on sweet.  However, as the wine continues on its course it develops a bit more bite and fullness.  Along the mid-palate the berry fades and a nice oakiness comes to the fore.  The Merlot has a nice tannic finish that slowly fades after the sipping is done.

We paired the Navarro Correas Merlot with a paprika and flour breaded pan fried steak served with a tomato gravy.  It paired really well with the meal.  The fruitful wine countered well with the savory garlicky tomato gravy, and complimented the breaded beef portion all at the same time.

The Navarro Correas Collecion Privada Merlot runs about $10 a bottle.  We picked ours up at Jones Liquor here in Brownsville, but I've seen it around.  For the price its a great everyday wine that's really easy to drink.  It's mellow nature also will allow it to go with a number of different food pairings.  For more information on Navarro Correas and their wines you can visit their website here:  http://www.ncorreas.com/index.htm

Bogle Vineyard's Pinot Noir

Monday night I offered Pris a couple different dishes for dinner.  Unfortunately for her the one she wanted took about an hour and a half to cook.  On the plus side we had a lot of time to pick a wine and let it decant. Dinner was a whole roasted chicken that was rubbed with goat cheese and cilantro under the skin and stuffed with garlic and lemon.  Towards the end of the roasting the chicken was glazed with honey and crushed red peppers.  To go with this great rich meal Pris and I selected a 2009 Bogle Vineyards Pinot Noir.

The Bogle Pinot had a great complex nose that was loaded with berry goodness.  As the wine crossed the palate it was full of ripe fruit.  Towards the end there was a nice bit of mineral bite and a touch of spice.  The Pinot ends with a nice lingering finish.  This is a well balanced wine with nice herbal undertones that is mellow enough to go with almost any type of food.

The Bogle Pinot went really well with the roasted chicken and salad.  The chicken was a mix of creamy rich cheese, sweet and spicy glaze, and the sharp tang of the cilantro and lemon.  The meal was accompanied by a salad with a champagne vinaigrette with the remainder of the goat cheese and cilantro.  The mellow fruit of the Bogle Pinot went great with the rich flavors of the chicken and salad.

I picked up the Bogle at World Market while I was in Corpus Christi for a conference last week.  It runs about $11 a bottle, and its a great mellow everyday wine to keep on hand.  I kind of wished I'd picked up a couple more bottles since our Pinot selection is somewhat limited.  For more information on Bogle and its wines you can visit:  http://www.boglewinery.com/home.php

Enjoying a Bountiful B.R. Cohn

For whatever reason I was a little tired Sunday.  I initially had grand plans for our evening meal, but by the time I went to H.E.B. to pick up supplies I was already feeling a bit rundown.  So I decided to do a tried and true dinner of steak, baked potato, and salad.  To go with this easy meal Pris selected a bottle of 2007 B.R. Cohn Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Cohn has is one of our go to wines when we can find it.  We've bought it at H.E.B., Jones Liquor, and wherever we run across it.  This is a nice little Cab.  Its not as full bodied as most, but it still offers great flavor and a nice strong finish.

The 2007 B.R. Cohn Cab had a deep fruit nose that was loaded up with ripe dark fruits.  This is a softer and mellower Cab, but it still had loads of rich raspberries, cherries, and cassis.  All the hallmarks of a good Cab.  The Cohn opens up across the mid-palate and ended with a mellow, but nicely tannic and dry finish. 

Despite it being lighter, the Cohn went really well with steak, potato, and salad.  Of course the deep fruit and tannic nature of the wine complimented the rich beef flavors in the medium rare sirloin.  It was surprising how well the wine went with the salad that had just a simple home-made red wine vinaigrette.  The soft fruit and mellow nature of the wine went very well with the tangy herbal salad.  As a side note, I love making my own vinaigrettes.  They're easy and hard to mess up since all you have to do is keep adding more oil or vinegar (and sundry herbs) till you get the flavor you want.

The B.R. Cohn is great little Cab, especially if you're looking for full flavor minus the big boldness of most Cabs.  We picked up this bottle at either H.E.B. or Jones Liquor (we grabbed the last two there on our first trip in).  The Cohn Cab runs about $17 a bottle.  For more information on B.R. Cohn and their wines you can visit:  http://www.brcohn.com//

Massivo & Pasta: A Marriage Made in Italy

Despite all the great recipes Pris and I have been trying out recently sometimes its good to go back to old tries and true dishes.  Tonight I made an easy pasta dish I light with tomato sauce, Italian sausage, and chicken.  Of course this big pasta dish also allow us to crack open a great Italian wine I've wanted to get into for a while.  To go with our meal we pulled out a bottle of 2009 Massivo Nero d'Avola from Sicily.

Massivo is made from the Nero d'Avola grape and is compared by some to the Australian Shiraz.  This wine has a light fruit bouquet with loads of raspberry and blackberry.  The berry flavors continue on the palate in this light wine.  Massivo starts off light and mellow, but builds in some intensity and fullness as it crosses the mid-palate.  The light red fruit flavors continue through the finish.  The wine opens up some at the finish and even offers a bit of mineral tang.

The Massivo paired excellently with the pasta.  I really can't put it any better than that.  The fruit complimented the savory tang of the tomato sauce and spices.  This is a perfect wine for any tomato based pastas and probably pizza as well.

Massivo is another wine from the Wall Street Journal Wine Club.  So far we've reviewed a number of wines from this club and they've all been good.  Anyway, the Massivo runs about $13 a bottle.  You can find out more about Massivo at: http://www.wsjwine.com/jsp/homepage.jsp

A Bit of Yarrunga Field to go with Stuffed Burgers and Stuffed Bellies

Last night I decided to do something a little bit different and cook something without a set recipe to follow.  What I had decided on was stuffed burgers.  Luckily burgers are hard to screw up in general, so I thought it was a pretty safe bet.  To go with the burgers Pris selected a 2010 Yarrunga Field Black Label, which is an Australian red blend.

This was another selection from the Wall Street Journal Wines.  Pris picked it out since it was labeled as being great with grilled and/or spicy dishes and beef.  While the burgers weren't technically grilled, the wine definitely fit them. 

The Yarrunga is a blend of 85% Shiraz, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Merlot.  The Shiraz-centric nature of this wine is evident in the fruity nose and on the palate.  The Yarrunga has nice aromas of ripe dark berries and black currant.  Once you sip it you get ripe dark fruit on the palate.  The blend is slightly sweet, but isn't a sweet wine.  Rounded tannins keep the Yarrunga smooth and light.  Towards the end you'll just a touch of spice before a nice mellow finish.

The wine was paired with two stuffed burgers.  One burger was stuffed with cheddar, grilled onions, and bacon.  Apparently this is a wine you can drink with a bacon burger if you choose to.  The light sweetness was a great counter to the savory fullness of the beef, cheddar, and bacon.  The other patty was stuffed with blue cheese, chipotle sauce, and bacon.  Again, the sweet went great with the savory.  With this burger though, the spice at the end of the wine complimented the spice in the stuffing really well.  Overall, a great choice of wine for anytime you're grilling.

The Yarrunga Field Black Label runs about $15 a bottle at http://www.wsjwine.com/jsp/homepage.jsp.  You can also find more information there on this fine Australian red.

The Amazing Termes Numanthia

Last June Pris and I were in Baltimore for one of Pris' conferences.  We'd just gotten in to town and also just discovered that her museum was acquiring the Alonso Building (where we now reside).  In order to celebrate, and/or get a stiff drink since we were officially moving to Brownsville, we decided to splurge a bit on dinner.  We ended up at the Oceanaire which was about a block from our hotel.

It was a monstrously good dinner, that is easily in our top 5 dinners together.  There was steak, tuna, lobster mac & cheese, 4 cheese potatoes au gratin, creme brule, banana bread pudding, scotch, and of course wine.  To this day I don't know how we ate everything we did.  The wine we selected was a 2007 Termes Numanthia from Spain.  Since our trip Pris and I have been looking for this wine, and asking all our local stores if they'd consider ordering it.  Feldmans did.  I found it about 2 weeks ago there for $30, which is considerably less than its price in the restaurant.

The vintage is different.  This Termes Numanthia is a 2008, but the wine is every bit as great as we remember.  The Termes has a rich and complex nose with loads of cherry and raspberry coupled with floral and spice notes.  On the palate the Termes is all silk luxuriance with intense fruit flavorings.  Raspberries and blackberries hold sway here, but there are nice spice notes to liven things up.  The finish is long and biting, with nice spices showing up around the mid-palate.  This bite adds a nice bit of character to this great wine.  After the intense flavor burst in the mid-palate, the finish is long and smooth.  It lingers nicely allowing you to savor this fine wine for just a bit longer.

The nearest Oceanaire chain appears to be in Houston, but even so, the menu would be different.  We could never replicate that night, but I tried anyway.  Sunday I grilled up a couple NY Strips, pan fried some South Texas flavored crab cakes, and crab and cheese mashed potatoes.  The 2008 Termes Numanthia went just as well with our crab and beef selections as the 2007 went with our meal in Baltimore.  While rich, the wine is versatile enough to go with a number of dishes.  It can stand on is own with the steak or with the spicy bite of the crab cakes.  That was part of the reason we chose it then, and partly while we'll be keeping a bottle in stock as long as we can get it somewhere.

This is a great wine.  Feldmans Market Center currently has it for $30 a bottle.  That's a ways outside of our everyday drinking price, but its definitely a good one for special occasions or splurging on the weekend.  To find out more about the Numanthia wines you can visit:  http://www.numanthia.com/

The Second Wind with Red Rock

Rather than put two wines into the same post, it might be simpler to separate wines and posts for a bit.  Bear with me while I try it out.

So after Pris, Rusty, and myself finished off the Fetzer Merlot, we started in on a second bottle which was a 2008 Reserve Merlot from Red Rock Winery.  Unlike the Fetzer, the Red Rock was a full bodied Merlot.  Strong berry aromas burst out of the glass as soon as this wine was poured.  Then ripe dark fruits, with notes of ripe plum and berries greeted the palate immediately.  While it was full bodied, the Red Rock was still smooth.  Soft tannins rounded out this wine and provided a softer light finish.

This wine went really well with the one heavier meat oriented pizza.  Due to it weight and fullness, this wine would probably complement a wide range of dishes very well.  The Red Rock runs about $14 a bottle.  This wine also can be purchased at Feldman's Market Center here in Brownsville.  You can find out more about the Red Rock Reserve Merlot at: http://www.redrockwinery.com/our-wines/reserve-merlot/index.html

Fetzer with Friends

Last Thursday our friend Rusty Faulk came over for dinner and some nice political discussions.  We provided the pizza from Feldman's Market Center, and Rusty provided the wine.  First up was a 2009 Fetzer Merlot. 

The first thing you notice about the Fetzer Merlot was how light it was for a Merlot.  Both in color and on the palate this is an exceedingly light wine, more reminiscent of a Syrah than a Merlot.  On the palate its all light fruit, plums and cherry.  It has a nice light finish and goes down smoothly.

This particular wine went very well with the various pizzas I picked up.  By and large they were lighter, with the main ingredients being tomato, basil, mozzarella, and garlic.  The Fetzer Winery prides itself on being environmentally friendly, and it one of its selling points.  Interestingly enough, this Merlot reminded both Pris and myself of the Bonterra Merlot we reviewed here http://rgvinophiles.blogspot.com/2011/04/bountiful-bonterra.html.  Both were lighter Merlots that paired well with lighter foods.

This Merlot runs about $10, and you can find it at H.E.B. and most liquor stores.  For more information on the Fetzer wines you can visit:  http://fetzer.com/Default.aspx

Of Moroccan Chicken and Meritage

Last Wednesday was interesting.  There was a meeting going on down at the far end of our Museum's building we currently reside in and I was trying to make a relatively easy meal of Moroccan stewed chicken.  I figured the slower stewing process would create less mess and smell than frying something up in a skillet.  I was a bit wrong on that account, but as smells go, it was delightful.

To go with this sweet, spicy, and savory dish Pris pulled out one of Cameron Hughes' wines.  She selected Lot 119, a 2005 Meritage from the Alexander Valley in Sonoma County.  This was good wine that went great with our meal.

This wine, like so many others, offered several layers of flavor over a couple of days.  It offered a light ripe fruit nose with plum, spice, and mocha.  On the first day it was open it held sumptuous rich fruit on the palate.  However, as rich as it was, the Meritage was still light and even refreshing.  Raspberry and oak dominate this wine.  The finish was smooth, but somewhat abrupt.  On the second day this Lot mellowed dramatically.  The flavors were richer, and the wine was far more smooth.  From the second day on the finish lingered with a nice earthiness and bite.

As I said, the wine paired excellently with the meal which was chicken thighs stewed with tomatoes, chick peas, zucchini, garlic, and generous amounts of cinnamon, cumin, and cayenne pepper.  The result was a slightly sweet, slightly spicy, and very savory dish where the chicken just melted away in the flavors.  The mocha, spice, and fruit complemented the spice in the dish very well.  It worked to subdue the heat a bit, and really brought out the savory in the stewed chicken. 

The chicken dish itself was somewhat like a mole in the flavoring.  The only ingredient it really lacked was the chocolate.  So I don't think it'd be a stretch to say this wine should pair very well with chicken mole for anyone looking to branch out some.

We ordered this Meritage at Cameron Hughes' website (www.chwine.com), but it appears to be sold out at this time.  It runs about $12 a bottle, which is a great price for a wine this good.  The trick is finding it.  I did see a couple spots online that seem to have it in stock, all you need to do is look around.

The Way of Cenay



Sunday I should have been hunting with my family, but was sidelined after a small kitchen accident.  However, all was not lost.  Since I wasn't out in Bluetown, I was able to make a nice little dinner for Pris and I.  The same injury that kept me out of the field meant that it needed to be an easy dinner, so flank steak with caper sauce and grilled asparagus seemed to fit the bill. 

To go with this rich fare Pris selected a 2006 Cenay Blue Tooth Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, California.  Apparently September is California Wine Month, and Pris remembered that this is a great California Cab.  Despite all that though, you can't really go wrong with beef and California Cab.



The Cenay hits with loads of ripe red fruit on the nose.  The typical raspberry and blueberry aromas were in full effect.  This Cab was full and flavorful on the palate.  The same ripe raspberries and some cassis worked together with a bit of oak worked together nicely.  The Cab starts of smooth at first, and continues smoothly through the mid-palate.  But then bold tannins come out and lead you into a big biting finish.





Essentially, the 2006 Cenay Cab is everything you'd expect from a California Cab.  It went great with the flank steak with caper sauce, grilled asparagus with manchego cheese, and toasted Italian cheese bread.  The savory bite of the caper sauce was a great counter-point to the fruit in the wine.  At the same time, the beef itself complimented the lush Cab very well.  We're actually finishing off the wine as I write this.  It went well with tonight's dinner which was a bone in strip steak with mushroom/goat cheese polenta.  Again, the bold Cenay Cab was a great compliment to the beef and the savory polenta.



If you're looking for something exceptional, this isn't quite it.  If you're looking for a really good Califonia Cab and are willing to spend a bit more, then this is a wine for you.  We picked up this wine originally at Central Market in Austin.  This particular bottle that is now empty was purchased at Jones Liquor for $37, but they also sell it at Feldmans as well here in the Valley.  For more information on the Cenay line of wines you can visit:

http://www.rowlandcellars.com/about_cenay.html



Celebrating International Tempranillo Day with a Sumptuous Sincero

I was not aware that last Thursday was International Tempranillo Day until Pris told me.  Since we love wine and have a wine blog it was only fitting that we celebrate such an auspicious occasion.  It also helps that Tempranillo is one of our favorite grape varietals.  In order to celebrate fully Pris and I whipped up some tapas and had our friends Diana Chapa and Trey Mendez over.  Trey had some business that kept him busy, but he did make it for the second bottle.

Pris decided that we would open a bottle of 2007 Sincero from the Ribero del Duero region of Spain.  Of course it goes without saying that this particular Spanish wine is a Tempranillo.  We'd had it before shortly after we moved to Brownsville, and it was a recommendation from the staff at Feldman's Market Center.  Fortunately, since it got such a strong recommendation, we bought two bottles when we first purchased it.

Patatas bravas, garlic shrimp, chorizo/manchego, and the
proscuitto wrapped roasted pear stuffed with manchego.

The Sincero had a light fruit nose that was still robust.  On the palate it was all full fruit and supple tannins.  Light red berries and earthy minerals mix together on the palate to provide a complex and refreshing wine.  One of the great things about this wine is that it starts light in your mouth, and then opens up with well balanced tannins for a crisp finish.

We opened the wine to go with a smattering of tapas that Pris and I put together.  Pris made prosciutto wrapped roasted pears stuffed with manchego cheese.  I made patatas bravas (a type of Spanish fries with aioli and a spicy tomato sauce), garlic shrimp, and toasted garlic bread with manchego and Spanish chorizo.  The wine went great with everything.  So good in fact that the three of us finished things off in short order.  We then moved to a bottle of Altorredondo that Diana brought. 

Patatas  bravas and sauces.

The Altorredondo was every bit as good as I remember it.  You can see the post here: http://rgvinophiles.blogspot.com/2011/04/altorredondo-raising-bar.html.  It was an interesting study in contrast.  The Sincero was light and refreshing, and the Altorredondo was deep, full, and bold.  Yet both wines came from the same grape varietal.  Both wines were excellent, and neither bottle survived the night.  We even got into some Cava that was left over from the shrimp, but that's a review for later.

The Sincero is an excellent wine.  It runs about $14 a bottle, so its a great everyday, or semi-everyday wine.  We got ours at Feldman's Market Center here in Brownsville.  For more information on Sincero's Tempranillo you'll have to Google it and look around.  I wasn't able to find a website for the winery using a simple search, but there's lots of info out there on this wine.

A Syrah for Summer: Domaine Saint Francois

Pris and I keep reading about how Syrah and Rieslings are perfect for summer drinking, but we don't really drink too much of either of these wines.  Its something of a shame too considering our summer weather usually lasts almost 6 months.  However, we decided to rectify that a bit on Tuesday and open up a bottle of Domaine Saint Francois 2010 Syrah from the Wall Street Journal Wine Club.

This particular Syrah was far lighter and fruitier than most of the other Syrahs we've had.  The nose was light with lots of crisp red fruit.  The Saint Francois was almost effervescent on the palate, which isn't an easy thing for a red wine.  Light fruit and spice meld nicely as this wine travels through the mouth.  After being open a couple days, but sealed with a vacuum top, this wine really opened up.  Its was far fuller with a more mature flavor.  The Saint Francois ends with a nice long finish that lingers subtlety in the back of the mouth, not overpowering, but you know its there.

We paired the Domaine Saint Francois with oven "fried" chicken; broccoli/carrot slaw; and mashed potatoes with crème fraiche and sautéed shallots.  The wine was a good choice for the meal.  The lightness of the wine cut through the richness of the breading and the heaviness of the potatoes.  It was a good compliment to the slaw which was well seasoned with apple cider vinegar.  The sweet fruit and sour slaw worked very well together. 

I wish the wine had reached the same taste level that first night as it did a couple days later.  But that's our fault for not using a decanter.  We did use our aerator, but its not the same.  So if you get this wine and its too fruity, let it set a day.  Or use a decanter and let it breathe for a few hours before serving.

The 2010 Domaine Saint Francois Syrah is $13 at the Wall Street Journal Wine Club site.  If you like your Syrah light and fruity then order some, open it up and go to town.  If you like your Syrah a bit fuller then still order, but let it breathe deeply before drinking.  You can find out more about this Syrah at: http://www.wsjwine.com/jsp/product/productDetails.jsp?productId=prod380091