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Category Archives: Red Wines
Review: Casa Lapostolle Merlot Cuvee Alexandre
Red Wine Review:
Casa Lapostolle Merlot Cuvee Alexandre
Apalta Vineyard
Dirty nose belies the rich ripe red and black berry fruits in the mouth. Don’t get me wrong, this wine is definitely earthy, but has equal amounts of sweet fruit to balance out. More complex than I expected, but then I didn’t look closely enough at the label. I have long been a big fan of Casa Lapostolle’s Merlot “Cuvee Alexandre†labeled as being simply from “Rapel Valleyâ€, and never paid more than maybe twelve bucks for it. This bottle was right around that price but I’m sure it was mislabeled, as I’ve seen it elsewhere for twice as much. That’s fine … as a ten dollar wine, it is an outstanding value, and at around $22-25, it is appropriately priced for the quality inside the bottle.
The first day I opened this wine, the aroma was fairly closed, showing only a lot of earth – as in dirt. I drank about a glass and a half and re-corked it, leaving it at room temperature. The next evening, I poured it again and the aroma really opened up, showing deep, rich, ripe black fruits — cassis, black raspberry, black cherry — integrated with the bitter earthy notes, leather, black pepper, green bell pepper, dark chocolate, and a hint of tobacco. This wine is very complex both on the nose and the palate — the flavors are similar to the aromas: black fruits, earthy tones, hints of sweet tobacco, black licorice, vanilla spice. The tannins are rather aggressive, but not to the point of killing the fruit, and the acidity is also medium to medium-high. It is a fine wine for food matching, particularly for beefy, cheesy, and fatty dishes. On its own it is enjoyable but maybe a bit too aggressive; if you must drink it away from the dinner table I suggest you at least have a hunk of cheese to go with it. Complex, enjoyable, and worthy of cellaring for 2-4 years.
a-8 t-8 b-8 fc-8 v-7 ~ 89 points
Imported by Schieffelin-Somerset
Casa Lapostolle Winery – official website
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Columbia Winery Syrah 2004
For many, many years, Syrah was France’s little secret — a grape grown almost exclusively in the Northern Rhone Valley, producing scant bottles of legendary wines such as Hermitage and Cote-Rotie. Even after migrating to Australia in the 1830s, Syrah still wasn’t nearly as popular as, for example, Cabernet and Merlot from Bordeaux, Pinot Noir from Burgundy, or Tempranillo from Rioja.
Over the last 25 years, however, Syrah has become more prominent in the US thanks to, ironically, the marketing of Australian Shiraz. In the late 1980s and 1990s, brands such as Lindemans, Penfolds, and Rosemount began infiltrating the market with Shiraz (previously labeled down under as “Hermitage”), and gradually impressed American wine drinkers with an alternative to Cabernet, Merlot, and Zinfinadel. All hell broke loose when Wine Spectator put Penfolds Grange 1998 on their cover, rating it a nearly perfect 99 points — soon everyone was rushing to get Shiraz or Syrah to the masses.
The very best examples of the grape still come from the Northern Rhone, but there are plenty of other wonderful Syrah/Shiraz wines coming from other areas of France, Australia, the US, South Africa, and South America. Syrah needs a hot, hot climate to flourish, and the eventual wine tends to pick up the character of its vineyard soil. That said, Syrah flavors can vary depending on its origin; the one thing I find common, however, is that regardless of where it’s from, a Syrah-based wine leaves you with a black tongue (not unlike that of a Chow Chow).
Though there’s been a lot of press surrounding the “Rhone Rangers“, the best American Syrah may come from Washington State. The mountainous regions of the state allow for ideal, sun-facing, hillside vineyards, and offer soils saturated with complex minerals. Winemaker David Lake of Columbia Winery (NOT to be confused with Columbia Crest) was the first to grow and bottle Syrah in Washington, back in 1985, and remains one of the most highly respected producers in that state, if not the country.
Columbia Winery’s “entry level” bottle is a fine example of American Syrah, offering distinction, complexity, and character — a stark contrast from the myriad labels of “me-too” Shiraz flooding retail shelves. Forward, ripe aromas of blackberry, raspberry, some earth, vanilla, and a hint of cloves fill the nose. In the mouth it is full of superripe black and red raspberry, blackberry, and plum. Very jammy, but not overbearingly so. Supple, good weight, with a smooth, almost creamy texture. Acidity is medium to medium high, tannins are ripe and medium. Mild sweet earth and a spicy component (maybe vanilla?) are apparent in the midpalate. More black fruits abound in the finish, which is fairly well balanced and could get better as it matures. Finishes just a touch hot, but that’s to be expected for a wine with this kind of ripeness. People who like Aussie Shiraz will find this enjoyable, and more polished, clean, and less over-the-top. Bold and jammy yet elegant and classy. Though it may develop after a few years in the cellar, it’s very enjoyable now, especially if you like ripe and jammy wines. A fine match for steak, burgers, medium bold cheeses, anything blackened. At around $15-16, it is appropriately priced and a good value.
a-9 t-8 b-8 fc-8 v-7 ~ 90 Points
produced by Columbia Winery
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Kanonkop Kadette
At some point in your wine buying life, you may have come across bottles from South Africa — most likely, they’d be cramped up in a back corner shelf near the wines from Australia and New Zealand. You may have found their origin intriguing, but feared buying a bottle, since no one’s ever talking about South African wine.
However, there are some very good wines coming out of South Africa, though the majority are still trying to find a receptive audience. Part of the problem is the flavor profile of their flagship grape — Pinotage — which has been described as being similar to Band-Aids (no kidding … and yes it IS a good thing). Despite its name, Pinotage is nothing like Pinot Noir, though might be closer to Meritage. In any case, it has a distinctive, earthy character, which some people love and others hate. As if that weren’t enough going against it, there are a number of subpar, inexpensive Pinotages littering the shelves — and unfortunately there are no ten-dollar bottles that can do the grape justice. The result is that people who might take a gamble on a cheap Pinotage, will likely come away believing that South African wine stinks.
Luckily, there is a veritable representative of South African wine that won’t break your budget: Kanonkop Kadette. Kanonkop is THE winery for Pinotage (as well as a great Bordeaux-style blend called “Paul Sauer”) and this is their ‘entry-level’ introduction to the raw beast of a red wine that South Africa is capable of producing. Kadette is typically 50% or more Pinotage with the balance a blend of equal amounts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Adding these grapes softens the aggressive qualities of Pinotage, and the result is a red wine that most will find intriguing, as it offers a cross-section of what South Africa’s vineyards have to offer. You will get a touch of the distinctive “Band-Aid” quality on the nose, but not so much to be offensive. At the same time, you’ll also enjoy the other marks of typical South African wine: plummy cassis, black raspberry, black cherry, grape juice, and earthy flavors wrapped in appropriate levels of tart acidity, ripe tannins, and alcohol.
In some years this wine is earthy and rustic, but there have been vintages that were more ripe and jammy, with succulent plummy fruit upfront. Regardless of the vintage, Kadette is almost always a fantastic burger wine, and you can also match it with grilled sweetbreads, blackened / cajun dishes, cheeses and cheese-based dishes. At about twelve bucks, it’s a great value and an excellent introduction to the wines of South Africa.
Importer: Cape Classics
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Red Wine Review: Venta Mazzaron Tempranillo 2004
If after watching Sidewaysyou discovered Pinot Noir to be one of your favorite wines, but found the grape to be too draining on your wallet, there is an alternative: Tempranillo.
Indigenous to Spain, Tempranillo’s flavor profile and structure is very similar to Pinot Noir — soft cherry and red berry fruit, medium acidity and tannins, a touch of earth and spice, and an overall elegant, polished character. Also like Pinot Noir, there is a wide range of quality, generally dependent on the price point (in other words, you’ll get what you pay for). Unlike Pinot Noir, however, you can get good-quality Tempranillo that reflects its origins at nearly every price point — even under ten bucks. Whereas Pinot Noir is fragile, and can be difficult to grow in certain conditions, Tempranillo flourishes year in and year out in Spain, and as a result its production is fairly consistent. This consistency and abundance allows for a wider range of quality.
In particular, there are many good, dependable Tempranillo wines in the $12-$20 range — a place where Pinot Noirs tend to be hit-or-miss. One example of a solid $15 Tempranillo is this wine, made by Venta Mazzaron.
A bright, very ripe, wide open nose of black and red berry fruits, spice, licorice, earth, and tar introduce your senses to its vibrant and complex character. In the mouth there is a lot of juicy, jammy, ripe black and red berry fruits upfront — carried by a very soft, velvety plush texture. Good acidity and medium tannins follow in the midpalate to balance off the fruit. Hints of earth, spice, black licorice, anise, and sweet tobacco may be noticed at this point and through the finish. Venta Mazzaron is soft enough to enjoy with gamey fish or peppered poultry, and yet bold enough to drink with a burger. For me, it was very nice with chicken fajitas. Its jamminess may appeal to the Aussie Shiraz crowd, but still has plenty of balance and structure to pair with food. Another good value from the always reliable Jorge Ordonez Selections.
a-8 t-8 b-8 fc-9 v-7 ~ 90 Points
Importer: Tempranillo, Inc. / Jorge Ordonez Selections
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