Holiday Wines

Most of the wines that I had during these holidays were repeats. And, I still like them. Here is the list.

1. 2006 Villa Antinori Toscana (Italy)
2. 2009 Montgras Reserva Carménère (Colchagua Valley, Chile)
3. 2007 Ortman Family Vineyards Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, OR, USA)
4. 2009 Rabbit Ridge Vineyards Allure de Robles (Paso Robles, CA)
5. 2006 Las Rocas, Calatayud Garnacha (Spain)
6. 2009 Petraio Nero d'Avola

I also imbibed the following new wines.

1. 2006 Windsor Sonoma Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma, CA, USA) - Unlike other Zins that I have tried, this was not a fruit bomb. Pleasant berry aromas on the nose and quite smooth. I am still trying to get Zins.
2. Roux de Beauces Grande Reserve Champagne (France) - We cracked this open just as the new year (2011) set in. Smooth with balanced acidity and good bubbles - we liked it. Looking forward to an occasion when I can open the other bottle I have.

For the new year's eve, we went for an eight course (each course paired with a different wine) dinner offered by Executive Chef Vytauras Sasnaukas (a personal friend and one of our wine club member) at Americano. The dinner was absolutely delicious and a flavor-poluzza. Vy had worked wonders with these unique ingredients. Top notch. I highly recommend this restaurant and chef.

Wines and Steakhouses

This past week has been a week of steakhouses. I went with bunch of co-workers to two highly rated steakhouses in Indianapolis - Eddie Merlot's and St. Elmo's. Eddie Merlot is an upscale steakhouse with a great decor and ambiance, very attentive service and great food with great presentation. St. Elmo's apparently is an Indy institution in downtown - established in 1902, it is currently housed in an old downtown building with retro signage and ambiance, crowded and noisy dining halls leading to what I considered not so attentive service, good food with presentation that left a lot to be desired. Of course, being a modernist, I preferred Eddie Merlot's.

Of course, we had some good wine at these steakhouses.

1. 2006 Villa Antinori Toscana (Italy) - My first super tuscan and I liked it. This wine is a blend of Sangiovese (55%), Cabernet Sauvignon (25%), Merlot (15%), and Syrah (5%) and is aged in French, American and Hungarian oak. Full-bodied, Blackberry on the nose with a very soft, velvety palette.
2. 2006 J. Vidal-Fleury Côtes du Rhône (Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France) - Decent Côtes du Rhône with red fruits on the nose and a smooth palette and a short finish.

Besides these two wines, I had the following wines in the homy ambiance of my home-sweet-home.

1. 2009 Hall Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley, CA, USA) - All I can say is, I am still not so sure about this varietal.
2. 2009 Montgras Reserva Carménère (Colchagua Valley, Chile) - Deep purple in color with spicy aroma and soft tannins. Did I mention before - I LOVE Carménère

Another week in the journey

Here are the wines that I had last week. Nothing noteworthy except for the pleasure of drinking wine in good company.

1. 2007 Murrieta's Well Red Meritage (Livermore Valley, CA, USA) - A Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Quite Good.
2. 2006 Argyle Winery Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, OR, USA) - A decent Pinot
3. Andretti Winery Merlot (Napa Valley, CA, USA) - Very smooth and balanced
4. Ventosa Vineyards Saggio Series V (Finger Lakes, NY, USA) - A blend of 40% Finger Lakes Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Long Island Merlot, 20% Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc, and 5% Finger Lakes Syrah; IMHO an average wine with nice nose and an average palette and finish.

A Week in wines ...

This past week, I had the following wines:

1. 2008 Raven's Glenn Winery Chardonnay (Central Ohio, USA) - Oak and tropical fruits on the nose with a dry palette and balanced acidity
2. 2009 Rabbit Ridge Vineyards Allure de Robles (Paso Robles, CA) - a cheap Cotes du Rhone style wine from California; Quite good I must say
3. Cherry Hill Winery Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, OR, USA) - A fantastic Pinot. I consider this second best after Domaine Serene
4. Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, OR, USA) - Quite expensive but I did not think much of it; May be it needed to breathe a bit. I will have to give it another try but I am not sure I want to pay for it dearly the next time
5. Andretti Winery Merlot (Napa Valley, CA, USA) - Very smooth and balanced

Bordeaux Varietal Blind Tasting

This past Sunday, the wine club gathered for yet another tasting of wines and related pontification. The topic of the night was Bordeaux Varietals. Here are our notes and pontifications from the blind tasting. It was a fun night with some great wines.

Back after a two months hiatus ...

It has been almost two months since my last post. Its been quite hectic with a job change, son's fifth birthday and now the holidays. I had to take a hiatus from blogging. But, by no means, it was a hiatus from wines. I tasted a lot of wines during this period. Some of the ones I remember are listed below with whatever I remember about them.

1. 2007 Six Mile Creek Vineyard Quintessence (Finger Lakes, Ithaca, NY, USA) - a Bordeaux style blend with dark fruit and a bell peppery nose; Quite Good.
2. Ventosa Vineyards Vino Rosso (Finger Lakes, NY, USA) - A nice blend of Lemberger (53%), Merlot (32%), and Cabernet Franc (15%).
3. 2006 Atwater Estate Vineyards Cabernet Franc (Finger Lakes, NY, USA)
4. Buttonwood Grove Winery Diva Sparkling wine (Finger Lakes, NY, USA)
5. Viña MontGras Carmenère Reserva, Chile - Lost Bordeaux varietal with an amazing survival story; Amazing aroma with black pepper on the nose and a soft, silky texture; I absolutely love it and will buy more.
6. 2009 Charles Smith Wines Kung Fu Girl Riesling (Columbia Valley, Mattawa, WA, USA)
7. 2008 Trevor Jones Boots Shiraz (BarossaValley, Australia) - I still do not like Shiraz and I do not understand what the fuss is all about the Trevor Jones name.
8. 2009 Del Rio Vineyards Rose Jolee Early Muscat (Rogue Valley, OR) - Extremely aromatic with Rose and Peaches on the nose; tangy, a bit sweet on the palette; overall delicious; goes very well with spicy food.
9. 2007 Selbach-Oster Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), Germany - Crisp and Dry
10. 2007 Ortman Family Vineyards Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, OR, USA) - Quite Good. And, with the attractive price that it is going for at Mustard Seed Market, I am buying some more.
11. 2007 Erath Winery Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, OR, USA) - Very Good.
12. Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, OR, USA) - Very Good as well.
13. 2006 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, OR, USA) - This is the BEST. I seem to have found the best Pinot. Amazingly balanced palette and aroma. I just loved it.

 I also tried a great Spanish Garnacha but do not remember its label.

I did miss a Zin tasting of our club. Here are the notes from that wine tasting.

On a separate note, I did go to a local Beer Tasting. I love beer but did not come across anything extraordinary at this tasting.

I Love Bourbon too

I know this is my wine blog. But, on my visit to Louisville, I fell in love with Bourbon. I had to dedicate at least one entry to the bourbons. On the Urban Bourbon Trail in Louisville, I tried the following fine bourbons.

1. Maker's Mark
2. Woodford Reserve - I just loved it; I think its the best
3. Knob Creek
4. Booker's - 127 Proof; Pure alcohol with a great nose
5. Baker's

Ahh... the smoky, oaky nose of the perfect bourbon - there's nothing like it.