Two for One Weekend

Here's the second post of the weekend. If you're reading this, remember to also check the one below written yesterday. And also, pass this blog on to others who may be interested. I am trying my hardest to get my readership as large as I can, and for that I need your help! My faithful readers (which I estimate to be around 6) I plead with you to help me take over the world (or at least parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island) like a plague. Anyway, busy few weeks in tasting. And today you'll learn I can bash wines just as much as I can praise them. Let's start things on a high note. Katie and I had the greatest white wine we've ever tasted the other night. And that's not in jest, it's true! We both thought it was phenomenal, and that's saying something when we totally agree on a wine. The wine was Chateau Villa Bel-Air's White wine from Graves in Bordeaux. Where I know I am going to hear from one of my reader's is that I can't remember the vintage. I believe it was 2000 but it could have been any year after that. How can this wine be so great and I forgot the vintage? I was enjoying it that much! I picked it up with Mike for like $19. It was worth every penny. It starts out with a complex aroma that hints at mineral and a fruit basket. The initial flavors are crisp like a Sauvignon Blanc, but the finish seemed like a Chardonnay. Of course, a white wine from Bordeaux will be Sauvignon Blanc with some Semillon blended in. The Chardonnay resemblance is what made this wine so amazing! Let's move on. Last Friday we attended the Beringer wine dinner at Octagon at the Mystic Marriott. People hear Beringer and immediately envision magnums of White Zinfandel. And while they do make a boat load of cash off that wine, they also make some excellent high end wines. Here's a run down of what we had (if you're curious about the food drop me an email and I'll fill you in! riwineguy@gmail.com). First up, 2005 Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley- pretty weak and flabby, not much body or crispness. Then, the 2005 Alluvium White, a Bordeaux blend from Napa Valley. The Semillon in it made the difference. It brought some structure to it and really blew the first wine out of the water. First red was a Napa Valley Pinot Noir. That right there turned me off. The only good Pinots from the Napa area come from Carneros, and the rep for Foster's Wine (massive wine company that owns Beringer now) said the vineyards for this are not in Carneros. This wine lacked fruit flavor seemed to fall out on the finish. I'd rather spend the extra dollars for a solid Sonoma Pinot. The highlight of the evening was a comparative tasting of the 2001 and 2002 Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This is Beringer's number one wine. And the 2001 did not disappoint. It had that killer aroma of Cedar and black fruits. The flavor profile followed those up and was nice and smooth even at this young age. The 2002 showed potential but was not as developed yet. It almost had a bite to it from the tannins that could use a few more years to mellow out. In all, the Cabernets and the food made the whole night worth it (especially the most amazing dessert ever!). Some other quick tasting notes. D'Arenburg's 2003 The Footbolt Shiraz from McLaren Vale in Australia is a prime example of fine Australian Shiraz at an affordable price, I highly recommend it. Look for it at Warehouse Liquors next to Shaw's in Westerly. I also took a flyer on a bottle of Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc that was on sale. It was so blah, I can't even remember the name. Last night we tasted a Chilean Cabernet that had all the flavors of a Cabernet but a soft and easy body. It almost seemed watered down, but it only affected the body, not the flavor. I really enjoyed this one. It's called "Root: 1" and comes from the Colchagua Valley in Chile and its the 2004 vintage. The vines for this wine are also the original ungrafted vines and roots. This is another wine you should search out and give a shot, it would make a nice little red for any occasion. One last wine, I promise. If you were at the first Wine from A to Zin Night then you shared the Rosenblum Vinter's Cuvee Zinfandel. Try their Petit Sirah as well. We had it at The Up River Cafe Friday night and absolutely loved it. It was just so damn smooth and easy drinking! I probably left out some wines from the last few weeks, but I probably lost you four or five sentences ago. Just remember if you ever want some advice on a wine, e-mail me, or ask for my cell number and I'll be glad to lend a helping hand! Well, till next time..."I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food."--W.C. Fields

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