Malbec (Mendoza, Argentina) 2004 - Susana Balbo

Quick Note - this is actually a blend: 90% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

This wine to me is a quintessential Malbec - full of possibility, but ultimately just a shade disappointing. I enjoyed this wine, as well as Malbec generally, but, like so many I've had, it lacks the little extra that would put it over the top.

Overall, this is an extremely drinkable wine. Garnett in color. "Medium-full" bodied - not huge, but certainly no slouch. It was definitely not overpowering or overly-alcoholic. Moderately dry, but soft up front. The structure is everything that's great about Malbec. Ridiculously smooth - I mean silk. It's both a plus and a minus. For all its smoothness, it seems to lack the structural complexity that really makes a wind stand out in my mind.

Flavors - dark red/purple fruits (someday I'll be able to say which ones - I'm going to say raspberry/blackberry). The oaking is evident but not overpowering. As it opened up I got some cocoa and tobacco notes.

As always, the bouquet is something I struggle with. I tried some nasal spray which helped me decongest, but in the end I struggled sniffing this wine out. The bouquet was at once pungent and non-descript. Maybe it's the fact that I have no nose, but I just couldn't pick out any traits in particular. Rich, ripe, fruity - all are applicable and as far as I dare go.

All in all - a solid wine. Enjoyable but not remarkable. I think anyone who drinks it will enjoy it. I definitely want to keep perusing Malbecs in hopes that I find something to blow me away.

Wine Myths

A good article on the myths/received wisdom that surround wine and why many of them are simply untrue.

Syrah (Tuscany, Italy) 2001- Fontodi "Case Via"

Sitting here in Boston drinking a previous-night-opened bottle with su madre. I guess that would mean this wine has had more than enough time to breath. Not sure how that is going to affect the taste. I could probably tell you what it tasted like last night when it was first opened, but that was pretty late and was about the 7th and final bottle to be opened. So needless to say, I dont exactly clearly recall what it was like at the time. I guess you would call this round two.

Coloration of the wine is a very deep purple. The first scent I get when I shove my nose into the glass is damp, rotting forest. Not so sure whether that is the result of the extensive "breathing" it has endured, or whether thats what I should be smelling. There is also a good amount of strawberry and just a little vanilla. The taste of this syrah is terrific. Very rich. A hint of peach with a lot of what su madre calls "smoked cotton candy." excellent.

DC French Wine Society

So it turns out that there is a French Wine Society here that, in affiliation with the French Embassy, does numerous tastings of and classes on French wines. I am excited.

Sadly, I found out about it one day after they did their special Burgundy tasting class. But next Monday is a grand Burgundy tasting. 200 wines, including a special selection of wine under $35 for those of us who are cash strapped.

Memebership is $50, but it saves you about $30 on each event. That's a pretty ridiculous deal. They also allow you to sign up for 2 memberships for $80. I'm not sure, but I'm hoping that works like a guest pass so I can bring who I please. I'll let you know...

Their fall class schedule is here.

Touch are you in?

Mindless (Conformity, France) 2is4 - The Hobgoblin of Little Minds

Agreed on the naming convention. Henceforth there will be conformity in the titling of posts. (Although, really I think the search engine is smart enough that it will look for parts of strings).

On the Austrian Riesling whose name Marvs also cannot remember, I agree in full. It wsa an amazing bottle. I didn't get petrol, but that is an interesting description. I did however geta very refreshing, cleansing, astringent feel that Touch accurately likened to the feeling of eating key lime pie. Reeeefreshing. Also, there were some fruits - I noted apricot.

Riesling (Alsace, France) 2004 - Josmeyer "Le Dragon"

I really didn't want to start my first post with a white wine. So many people tend to look down upon, or pass over, whites when making their selections in a restaurant or in the store. Or they just order a white by the glass when eating fish. Nevertheless, my friend Bill has introduced me to some white wines that (to me) completely stand up to reds in their complexity and body. I now look for a certain few white varietals that I really enjoy drinking on their own. So I take back my opening statement and I am happy to start off with a varietal that I really used to hate.

You don't find many rieslings on wine lists that aren't typically sweet and almost "syrupy" tasting. I have been avoiding rieslings precisely because of that reason. But, recently I sampled a bottle of Austrian riesling that was not even in the same ballpark as what you would normally associate with the varietal. It was the dry, gritty, petrol taste of this particular riesling that renewed my interest. I don't remember the name or year, but it was damn good. Since then I have set out to find a similar tasting reislings, and discovered the Josmeyer.

The Josmeyer "Le Dragon" really had that same gritty petrol taste that I love, not to the same extent as the Austrian that I first tried, but a near approximation. The aroma of this Alsacian riesling was slightly orange-citrus, with a base note of oily petrol. The taste was again, gritty and dry with strong petrol flavors and a little apple.

Thus, I now know that both Austria and France (Alsace) produce some great dry rieslings in the style that I prefer. Will keep looking for others. And will definitely keep my other posts shorter.

Suggestion for titling your posts

In order to make this blog easily searchable and scannable, I would like to propose a title format for all of our posts. If you are blogging about a particular wine I think it would be good for us to follow a standard format. On the other hand, if you are blogging about something random, then by all means make your title random.

The format I suggest we use for each post about a specific bottle is as follows:

Primary Varietal(s) (Region, Country) Year- Name of Vineyard/Producer "Name of Wine (if applicable)"

So lets say, for example, you happen to have drank a bottle of, oh, I dont know, a 1997 Chateau Mouton Rothschild -- yeah probably not gonna happen very often with us-- here would be the format of the title:

Cabernet Sauvignon blend (Pauillac, France) 1997- Chateau Mouton Rothschild

Or say you happen to have grabbed a sweet discount on a bottle of 2005 d'Arenberg Lovegrass Shiraz from Arrowine or The Wine Source -- a more likely situation -- here would be the title:

Shiraz (McClaren Vale, Australia) 2005- d'Arenberg "The Lovegrass"

... just a suggestion

Solarea - Montepulciano D'Abruzzo 2000

One of my favorite wines, though I'm not a particular fan of this vintage. I've had a few other years - 2001, 2003 - which I enjoyed more. This particular wine has a great structure - full bodied, powerful, fruity, rich. I think this particular grape can have a lot of character, though most store woners seem to sell it short. There's a lot of complexity, and when it's good, it's unlike most other wines I've had. I've also had a few wines from the vineyard, Agriverde, (including a more moderately priced Mont) and have enjoyed them. I think one store owner told me they were an organic grower.

Tasting Notes: Jammy. Dark fruits. Some earthiness. Tar[maybe?].
Flavors/Bouquet: I'm pretty congested so this is tough. Hmmm, can't really smell anything.

Yeah, so this was a pretty poor first effort. My friend bought this same bottle today, so hopefully he can add some more insight.

We are not wine snobs...

My friends and I decided to start this blog as a way to share our wine experiences now that we're all in different towns. Wine is something to be shared with friends, and this is the only way we can share great wines with one another [and you]. That said, we are not wine snobs. We do not claim to know anything about wine. You drink any of the wines we recommend at your own risk.

Salud