2001 Stuhlmuller Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
~$30.00

This Cab was recommended by Josh, one of the distributors that I work with. He said that it was one of the best valued Cabernet Sauvignons in the store so naturally I had to give it a shot. Honestly, he wasn't far from the truth. If this Cab had Napa Valley on the label instead of Alexander Valley it would be priced higher and be placed in the locked viewing case. I am starting to see a trend in exceptional value coming from Alexander Valley. Just over the mountain from upper Napa Valley, it produces some fantastic Cab and Chardonnay that compete well against its more famous neighbor.

Color: Rich, dark red-purple, aided by the 6% Petite Verdot included in the wine. Had nice legs and the edges are still crisp with no signs of early aging.

Nose: Cherry, and dark plums come to mind with a herbacious potpourri character. The wine opens up in the glass to cedar, clove and licorice type aromas and a hint of damp earth.

Palate: Nice even smoothness throughout the palate. Soft tannins and sweet oak give the wine a full body with more spice on the finish.

Overall: Great wine. Try it with the heavier meat dishes. I give it an A

Arte Forma 2002 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Recas, Romania
~ $10.00

I went to the Dekalb County Farmers Market last Friday and found a wonderful young lady from Romania, in the wine department who was excited to show me a few wines. She said, "This is a wine from Romania, where I am from. You should try it!". Now picture a young beautiful woman with an accent, asking you to try a different wine from her country, would you say no? I didn't either. It was $10.00 and we were having pizza that night so it sounded good to me. The womans name was Luciana Fota and she has a distribution company called Rhapsody Wines. This was one of her wines along with another four or five varietals in the same line. All of the wines had beautiful labels by Austrian artis, Gustav Klimt. (If you check out the connecting link, you will not be disapointed.)

Romania have been growing grapes for centuries like the rest of Europe but got a swift kick in the 1960's from government sponsorship and now are the 5th largest wine producing country in Europe. Unfortunately most of their wine is drunk locally and is difficult to find outside of the motherland. 3/4 of the wine is white, mainly from local varieties such as Feteasca Alba and Feteasca Regala. International varieties have become more popular recently and quality has increased. This wine is from Recas and is probably the best red wine I have had from Eastern Europe. I think that it's time to start exploring the east as these wines become more and more accessible in the west.

Color: Dark cherry red color with nice clean edges showing youth and ageability
Aroma: Interesting herbacious, rosemary aromas from the start, then opening up to damp earth, mocha, chocolate, and pencil shavings.
Palate: Light, smooth tannin and good acidity with cherry and cranberry flavors on the way down. The wine covers the palate evenly not leaving an empty space in the center.

Overall: Easy drinking, exceptional value, and goes great with pizza. B+

Gluwien! What is that?

This past week I opened two bottles of wine that I disliked enough to leave 3/4 full on top of the fridge. I told Ana that we could use them as cooking wine but then I had a great idea. Gluwien! Or simply put, mulled wine. It's a great holiday drink or if you're in Germany it's enjoyed all winter long. I was in Heidelberg Germany 3 years ago the first time I had Gluwien and I was hooked. It is very simple to make and is great to have at holiday parties as an alcoholic substitute for cider. The recipe I have is as follows:

1/2 gallon of red wine
1 cup of orange juice
1/4 cup of sugar
about 2 cups of mulling spices.

Put it all together in a pot and simmer for about 20 minutes then serve hot in a mug. It's that simple. Its a rough recipe, play with it if you like, you really can't go wrong. Oh, by the way, you would have to boil the mixture for an incredibly long time to get all of the alcohol out. This winter drink still packs a punch.

Enjoy! A+

Campo Viejo, Tempranillo, Reserva 1999. Rioja ~$14.00

Ahhh....... Spain, home to beautiful Spanish women, tapas y canas, and the Tempranillo grape. I have had some good times in Spain and was fortunate enough to work at a winery in the Ribero de Duero region which ment working with my favorite Spanish grape, Tempranillo. I found that there is a strong rivalry between Ribero de Duero and Rioja. They say that Rioja is where the tourists and the money goes but all the good wine comes from the tall plateaus of the RdD. Of course, I am biased but I do agree. There are fantastic crianzas and reservas from Rioja but the RdD is where the biggest, and in my opinion, the best wines of Spain are coming from.
Anyhow, I am off track. I do still like Rioja and I enjoyed this wine as a light easy drinking red. It is lighter in body and structure than other Tempranillos I have had but it is smooth and a good food wine when paired with lighter meet, and poultry dishes.

Color: The edges are pretty brown, with an orangy-purple core. This is from so much barrel aging. A reserva is supposed to be aged in barrel for two years before bottling and then two more years in bottle before being released. No doubt the barrels were a couple of years old and were not topped very regularly. But this isn't bad winemaking, it's just the style of the region. I found barrels in Spain that were 20 years old, holding new vintage wine. Its just what they do so don't look for much oak character in this wine. Oh by the way, due to the tumultuous history of Spain and France, it is customary that Tempranillo is aged in American oak.

Nose: Aromas of sweet orange liqueur, and cracked pepper corns. Pretty subdued but it does smell like a Tempranillo.

Palate: Very light, no tannin, low acidity and a quick finish. Some boiled pepper flavors kicking around.

Overall: It is not an unpleasant wine, its just not a very interesting or complex wine. I have had some better Tempranillos. I think Rioja blends offer a better value.

I give it a B-

Here's a Quicky

Ruffino Chianti, 2004, DOCG
~$10.00

Italian Chianti is really a hit or miss, especially in this price range. The DOCG is supposed to designate a certain quality standard but it is loosely observed. This wine was a miss, although Ruffino does make some nicer Chianti in a higher price bracket.

It is a very light wine, almost looks like a Pinot Noir, and has a bit of the Chianti earth in the nose and thats about it. Hardly any body and no tannin. I am saving the bottle for some much needed cooking wine. (I never have any around, it all gets drunk.)

Wilson Vineyards 2003 Petite Sirah
~$10.00

I wanted to do another post about the Wilson Vineyards Petite Sirah since they have their new 2003 vintage out and it is different enough from the 2001 that I think it deserves its own write up. The new vintage, being younger, shows its youth in the complexity of aromas it is showing. The tannins are still there, as they should be in any Petite Sirah, but they are softer than the previous vintage and cover the whole palate as well.

Color: The color is great. Dark purple although not the same inky purple as the 2001

Nose: Strong plum and tree fruit with a floral note as well. There is also a creamy chocolate orange aroma that makes its presence known after about 20 minutes in the glass.

Palate: Wow, sweet up front with a good coating of soft tannin and viscous alcohol. The finish leaves spicy licorice and roasted coffee beans on the back of the palate.

Overall: I like this wine a lot and think that it is a good representation of the complexity that Petite Sirah can offer.

I give it a A-

2003 Juan Gil, Jumilla Red Wine, Spain
~$14.00

This was another birthday wine that I had with dinner. It is 100% Monastrell, more commonly known as Mourvedre. History says that the grape actually originated from Jumilla, Spain but it didn't become popular until the French started using it in their blends so it is now more commonly known by its French name. Robert Parker scored it at 91 points and at $14 its a real bargain.

Color: Dark inky purple with fine ruby red edges.

Nose: Dusty chocolate and leather characters with a complex tar aroma and a core of black currants and some other dark exotic fruit that I can't put a name to. It has a very intriguing bouquet that changes over time. To me that is a real sign of quality, it's not a one dimensional wine.

Palate: Big well structured tannin, full-bodied and hot alcohol on the finish. The tannin pops up everywhere on the palate but the flavor of the wine skips the mid-palate. You get loads of ripe tree fruit flavors up front with hot and spicy flavors from the 14.8% alcohol on the back but the mid palate just picks up a layer of tannin that makes your tongue tingle.

Overall: This was really tasty but it is better on its own than with food. The high alcohol makes it really spicy with any dish you try and serve it with but after dinner we finished the bottle because it tasted too good to put in the fridge.

I give it an A-

Palazzo Della Torre, Veronese 2000, Allegrini, Italy
~ $16.00

I drank this wine the other night on my birthday after a friend let me choose any wine from his modest collection and it was a great choice. Later I found out that it was actually made the top 100 in the Wine Spectator, 2004. It was #65. It is a Valpolicella blend of Corvina (70%), Rondinella (25%) and Sangiovese (5%). A note for the label, Allegrini is the producer or winery and Palazzo Della Torre is the vineyard that the grapes came from and Veronese (Verona) is the appellation that the vineyard is located in.

Color: Dark Ruby with edges becoming orange from age.

Nose: Strong aromas of dark chocolate, leather, and tobacco with a core of dark fruits that open up as the wine sits in the glass. There is a mineral earthiness and mushroom character that lingers in the background as well.

Palate: The wine is well rounded on the palate with integrated tannins and a full jammy flavor. The wine does have a rather quick finish to it and leaves you wondering where it went. It is so strong up front and then feels weak as it leaves.

Overall: It is a very good wine, it looks like it is aging fairly quickly which may be because Corvina is such a light wine and the Rondinella gives the wine strength in tannin and mouthfeel. Overall it is a great wine to drink now or keep for another couple of years.

I give it a B+

Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel, 2004, Lodi
~$10.00

This wine has a great label doesn’t it? (It looks better on a bottle.) Unfortunately, the greatness stops there. Zinfandel is one of my favorite varieties and say what you will about its history, I call California its home. Back in Italy they call it Primativo, in Croatia, Plavac Mali, but not until California made Zinfandel popular did we hear about these other names. The grape may have originated in Eastern Europe but like the people this country was built upon, it immigrated to the U.S. and called it home. It first landed in New York, passing Ellis Island and everyone else trying to "get in” and ended up on the tables of Manhattan as an eating grape but didn’t do well because of the seeds. Then the gold rush hit and swarms headed west to California and some brought the grape with them, planting it all over the sierra foothills and parts of the Central Valley and Sonoma. So now we have old vines of Zinfandel pushing past the century mark throughout California. These old vines produce concentrated aromas and are so popular that the “Old Vines” are becoming younger and younger. There is no legislation or certification that says how old vines have to be in order to be called “Old Vines” so we are now finding more and more Zins with this popular distinction. So what is old? Who knows?

Back to this Zinfandel. It doesn’t really say how old the vines were that made this wine but it does have a nice story on the back label about the guy who started the winery in Manteca CA of all places. It says he went to Lodi and saw some of the old vines that were over 80 years old and he thought “Wow what gnarly heads” describing the old head trained vines that were all twisted and “gnarled”. So he was inspired to start a winery and make “Old Vine” Zinfandel but it doesn’t say how old the vines were that he made his wine from. So again, what is old? Who knows?

Color: Wine has brick red edges with a ruby translucent core

Nose: Smoky bacon with cherries, tobacco, some dustiness too. The wine doesn’t open up too much either, very one dimensional.

Palate: Vegative and peppery with a medium body and a quick finish with hot alcohol and bitter tannin.

Overall: I didn’t like this one too much, can you tell. I’ll blame the above rant on the wine. I give it a C-

Timbuktu Big Block Red, 2004 South Australia Red Wine
$9.99

I got this wine from work because everyone keeps talking about it and I had not tried it yet. It was great. Excellent value. In typical Aussie fashion, they export a red blend that is ripe and full of flavorful and sporting a label that verges on tacky. But we're Americans, we love tacky. One of the best sellers right now at my store is a wine with a picture of Elvis in a Santa hat on the label. So why not this one? The Australian wine industry knows what they are doing and they are doing it well. The funny thing is, you can't buy this wine in Australia, you can't buy yellow tail in Australia and there are probably many others too. Most of Australia's wine is drunk outside of their country. If only we were that good at selling wine.

So, back to Timbuktu; Its a blend of five different varieties with of course, Shiraz being one of them:
39% Cabernet, 27% Petit Verdot, 24% Shiraz, 6% Merlot, and 4% Malbec

Color: Deep Purple with sharp violet edges. It's young

Nose: Ultra ripe, spiced plum, blueberries, and cherry pie. After 15 minutes it becomes more herbacious. The ripe fruit dissolves to lavender and rosemary notes with a "strong" hint of crushed peppercorns.

Palate: Big and juicy on the palate and covers every tastebud (thats from all the different varieties in there). Its a bit spicy and hot but is so big, almost syrupy, that the heat doesn't last long. The tannins are relatively silent in this one. You kind of feel them in your teeth, like they just want to let you know that they are along for the ride but they sit in the back seat and try to stay out of the rearview mirror.

I give it a B++
(p.s. you should be able to buy this wine at Cost Plus World Market)

Wilson Vineyards 2003 Merlot

Another wine from Wilson Vineyards, the Merlot. You get a lot of bang for your buck with this merlot. I think it is retailing for somewhere around $10.00.

Color: Very clean, young, cherry- red edges with a dark Burgundy core.

Nose: Like I said, its a lighter merlot but very ripe flavors like plum, tobacco and sweet red bell pepper. Aromas of pencil shavings and American oak also come into play. After the wine sits in the glass for a while it opens up to more floral notes, something like violets I think. It is definitely not one of the early picked unripe Merlots that tickles your nose with vegetative mercaptans.

Palate: The palate is clean with good acidity. The midpalate is a little weak but the tannins leave their mark on the back of your tongue and keep the wine lingering.

Overall: The wine drinks easily and is very versatile with food. The alcohol is 14.7% but the wine isn't hot and goes down smooth. I enjoyed this Merlot with a dinner of stuffed eggplant and shrimp. It went nicely.

I give it a B+