With Lot 169 you can "Go for Merlot"

The other night Pris opened up a bottle of Cameron Hughes' 169 2007 Napa Valley Merlot.  There wasn't any particular reason for it, she just wanted to get through a few more bottles this month since we were a little slow on our posting.  Sometimes its nice just to open a wine for no other reason than to drink it.

Lot 169 is a perfect example of what a good Merlot should be: fruity, rich , a little dry, and full of flavor.  On the nose this Merlot was loaded up with plum and currant, dark berry, and even hints of chocolate and espresso.  The rich fruit continued on the palate with the currant, plum, and berry dominating the palate.  It's hard to put into words, but even though these are some of the usual suspects found in most Merlots, the Lot 169 blends them in a way that is unique and sets it apart.  This complexity and layering of flavors provides a easily drinkable wine.

The Lot 169 2007 Merlot is a great wine to have on hand.  Its blending of mellow feel and complex flavors make it wine that can go with just about anything.  Or you can drink it all on its own on a cool autumn evening.  For more information on Lot 169, or to order your own, you can visit:  http://www.chwine.com/wine/lot/169

Italian Night is a Great Night

For any of you who watch The Borgias on Showtime you'll be familiar with the character of Giuliet Farnese, the pope's mistress in the show.  She was rumored to be the most attractive woman in Rome at the time.  I don't know if the wine we selected for dinner was named after her, but it was definitely a beautiful wine.  A few days ago I whipped up a batch of baked pasta shells stuffed with Italian sausage and a blend of cheeses.  To go with this meal we selected a 2010 Villa Farnia di Farnese Montepulciano from the Wall Street Journal Wine Club.

The Farnia di Farnese was a great Italian red.  The deep red opaqueness was the first indicator that this was an exceptionally rich wine.  Ripe fruits dominated by dark berries and plums offer a great fruity nose on this Montepulciano. When this wine hit the palate it was all smooth dark fruit.  The plum continued on and was joined by some notes of licorice and a touch of spice at the front of the palate.  

To say the wine went well with the pasta shells would be an understatement.  Overall it was a very rich dish since the shells were stuffed with Italian sausage, roasted garlic, onions, basil, ricotta, marscapone, parmesan, and romano cheeses.  This dish needed something rich to keep up with it.  The Montepulciano, tomato sauce, and Italian cheeses were meant to be paired together.  The Farnese was rich and fruitful which complimented the tanginess of the tomato sauce and savory of the cheese stuffing.  Everything just clicked together.

While the Farnese is a full flavored wine, it is not heavy or dry.  The smoothness and full flavor make this a great anytime wine, but it really shines with pasta dishes.   What's more, at $12 a bottle its perfectly priced for everyday drinking.  For more information on the 2010 Villa Farnia di Farnese Montepulciano you can visit:  http://www.wsjwine.com/

Loading up on Los Vascos

The other night Pris and I cracked open a bottle of 2006 Los Vascos Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon to go with our customary Sunday steak dinner.  Its been slow on the wine drinking lately, but this was a great wine to come back to.  The deep garnet wine was also a superb choice to go with our blue cheese, chevre, and garlic crusted strip steaks.

Los Vascos' Reserva Cab had a rich nose that was loaded with blackberry, cassis, and cherry.  All the usual hallmarks of great Cabs.  On the palate Los Vascos was big and bold with lots of fruit and great tannins.  Despite being big and bold, the Cab was still smooth and easily drinkable.  A blend of cassis and dark berry mixed with nice mineral undertones to create a robust and complex flavor.  Like any good Cab the Los Vascos had strong tannins that allowed for a satisfyingly dry and lingering finish.

This Chilean Cab went great with our steaks, shallot and crème fraiche potatoes, and balsamic vinaigrette salad.  The boldness of the wine was an excellent counterpoint to the richness of the flavors in the meal.  The cheese topping was extremely flavorful, and Los Vascos was not overwhelmed.  If fact it went great with the cheeses.  Overall, this was a great meal with a great wine.

I'm not sure where we picked up this particular bottle because we've had it for a while, before we started tracking our wine purchases.  Pris has it listed at $19 a bottle.  I've seen it at Jones Liquor (where we purchased a bottle when we moved) and at H.E.B.  Now the weather is turning "colder" these heavier wines will be good to keep you warm at night.  For more information on Los Vascos you can visit:  http://www.lafite.com/eng/Other-Estates/Vina-Los-Vascos

Another Lazy Afternoon with Marques De Caza

There are some awesome wines out there that are so rich and flavorful that they're almost beyond description.  Then there are good wines that you can drink almost anytime and they won't break the bank.  Marques de Caza's 2007 Tempranillo is one of these latter wines. 

When we bought this wine at Jones Liquor, Mike Jones told us it was an okay Tempranillo.  Not bad, but nothing particularly special.  After opening it up today I found he was once again right.  That's not to say the Marques is a bad wine, it just doesn't pack any wow factor.  However, at $11 a bottle its easily an everyday wine if you're a fan of Tempranillo's.

The Marques has an exceedingly fruity nose with loads of raspberry and currant.  As the wine breathed and opened the nose developed a bit more bite and the fruit notes became a touch muted.  The oxidation process didn't do much to dampen the lively fruit this wine packs on the palate though.  Ripe red berries dominate the palate, and there is just a spice towards the back of the palate.  The Marques has a mineral and spice finish that hits quickly, but then lingers for a bit.  All in all its a solid Tempranillo.

We opened this bottle up to go with so left over Rudy's BBQ brisket that we heated up for lunch.  The fruit and spice in the wine went really well with the smoke and spice rub on the brisket.  This wine was made for roasted red meats, and though its smoked, the brisket fit that bill well.  The fruit and spice also played well with the rich and spicy bbq sauce.

This is a good everyday drinking wine that is easily drinkable.  We picked it up at Jones liquor here in Brownsville and it runs about $11 a bottle.

Dining with Don Manuel Carmenere

Pris and I actually opened up two bottles of wine tonight.  This was done partly as a back-up in case the Zinfandel didn't work out, and partly in a vain attempt to get a couple more posts in before the end of the month.  As a back-up we chose the Don Manuel 2009 Carmenere from Chile.  This was one of the wines from the Wall Street Journal Wine Club.

The Carmenere didn't work as well with the meal as the Zinfandel, so I'm currently working on what's left of our glasses while I get this typed up.  While the Zin was fruity, the Carmenere was all big bold flavor.  You could tell this was a big wine from the whiff of the bouquet which was loaded with fruit and spice.  The Don Manuel was full of big dark fruit on the palate with hints of spice running underneath it all.  Big tannins create a strong full finish for this big wine. 

The Don Manuel Carmenere was a bit overpowering on the meal.  It would definitely be better served pairing up with a large chunk of beef cooked medium rare.  We got the wine from my mom's over-flow of WSJ wines.  You can find out more about this wine, and order it for $14 a bottle, at: http://www.wsjwine.com/

Zipping Along with Flying Wine Maker's Zinfandel

Several months ago, before we started this blog, Pris and I opened up a bottle of The Flying Wine Maker's 2007 Zinfandel from Cameron Hughes wines.  The Flying Winemaker label does the same thing Cameron Hughes does, just on an international scale.  Essentially, they find excess wine from various wineries, buy it cheap, label it under their own brand and sell it for less than the label price.  Its a good deal and they're usually pretty spot on.

The last time we tried the wine I wasn't overly thrilled with it.  I thought it was too sweet, and slightly gone by the wayside.  However, we decided that if this bottle was still good it might go with the Moroccan spiced chicken and pumpkin/cheddar grits.  It was a great call.

The Flying Wine Maker Zinfandel was sweet, but not so much as before.  I think it helped pouring through the aerator.  The wine had a good fruity nose with loads of very ripe dark fruit.  On the palate, the wine was smooth with a mix of sweetness and spice.  The wine finished with a great spicy bite that was a great compliment to the spicy chicken.  This wine went great with dinner, and I'd recommend it for anything spicy or savory.

We got this wine at the Cameron Hughes website over a year ago.  It doesn't appear that they're selling this vintage anymore.  One problem with Cameron Hughes is that their wines are good, and their lot sizes are small, so they tend to run out fairly quickly.  This one was about $10 a bottle and was a good wine if you're looking for a red that's not too dry.  There is a 2009 vintage out there, and if the 2007 is any guide, its definitely worth looking into.  For more information on the new vintage you can visit: http://www.chwine.com/

A Nice Evening with Nolia Catalunya

Saturday I was running around getting everything I needed to cook dinner yesterday and today.  While out I went by Feldman's Market Center to take advantage of a nice little steak lunch special they had going on.  While there I picked up a couple bottles of wine for cooking, and one for Pris and I to work on over the weekend.  It'd been a while since we had a nice Spanish red, and they had a bottle of Nolia 2009 Catalunya Granacha on sale for about $10.

The Nolia had a soft fruit nose with nice notes of ripe red berries.  One of the selling points of this wine is that its from old vine grapes, and it shows on the palate.  This wine was soft and supple with loads of raspberry and cherry.  Undercurrents of spice and leather added  balance to the otherwise fruitful wine.  The minimal tannins allow for a light and fruitful finish to this good Spanish red.

I had a little of the wine with a steak from Feldman's, and it went well.  But it didn't really have time to breathe and it was slightly sweet.  This evening we drank some with our dinner of red wine and apricot braised short ribs with mushroom and cream mashed potatoes.  Tonight the wine opened up nicely and went great with the tender braised beef.