Tag: red

Artisan Red

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Maker: Black Star Farms, Sutton’s Bay, Michigan, USA

Grapes: ???

Region: Michigan, USA

Style: Semi-Sweet Table Wine

ABV: 11%

Appearance: Dark Burgundy.

Nose: Fruity. Prune juice, grape juice, sweet cherries, strawberries.

On the palate: Sweet and fruity. Red raspberries, raisins, black cherries, tiny kiss of oak.

Finish: Mild, slightly tannic, a bit sweet but fading quickly.

Parting words: Artisan Red is a pleasant, fruity, food-friendly table wine. It’s a tastier alternative to some of the toothache-inducing super-sweet, mediocre supermarket table wines many small wineries put out. It is sweet, but it is more complex than the competition and is a decent price. Short and sweet, just like my wife and this review. Artisan Red is recommended.

Domaine de Font-Sane Vielles Vignes

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Maker: C. Peysson & Son, Gigondas, France

Grapes: 70% Grenache, 30% Syrah/Shiraz

Region: Ventoux AOC, Vaucluse, Rhone Valley, France.

Vintage: 2008

ABV: 13.5%

Appearance: Deep plum.

Nose: A bit of oak, lightly sweet and grapey. Pluot plums, black raspberries.

On the palate: Semi-dry. Easy going, sweet and mild upon entrance, but turns chewy. Strawberries, Black raspberries, blueberries, plums, then oak and leather.

Finish: Fruity and woody. Faintly lingers for a long while, but who wants to let it? Pour yourself another glass quick!

Parting Words: Domaine de Font-Sane Vielles Vignes is an easy drinking, but fairly complex red Rhone. Fruity but tannic and assertive. It is very food friendly. I would almost say it tastes even better with food. And it’s cheap to boot. This was a supermarket wine guy recommendation, and I must say I will be asking for another recommendation from that guy very soon.. Domaine de Font-Sane Vielles Vignes Ventoux earns a recommendation.

Southern Belle Shiraz

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Maker: R Wines (now bankrupt), location ???, Australia

Region: McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia

Grape: Shiraz/Syah

Vintage: 2008

ABV: ??%

Appearance: Very dark purple, nearly black.

Nose: Black currant, concord grape jelly, plum, pecan, nutmeg.

On the palate: Not what I was expecting from a wine with such a typical Shiraz nose. Fairly light. The pecans have come to the fore. Little tannin, but softly sweet like the previous occupant of its barrel. Strawberries, vanilla, black currant, caramel, toffee.

Finish: Sweet and mild. Lingers on the lips like a faint hint of a stolen kiss. Faint barrel notes on the back end.

Parting Words: What makes this wine remarkable is its finish. It is not only finished in a bourbon barrel, but in a barrel out of which had come Pappy Van Winkle 20 y/o bourbon, one of the most expensive and most sought-after bourbons on the market. I had this when it was first released and it was really all over the place. Not a fun drinking experience. Like any true Southern Belle, this wine has aged gracefully. The flavors are much more integrated and she has grown into a refined, sophisticated lady.

Southern Belle is gone from the  store shelves, but bottles can still be found in private cellars if one asks around. A delight from top to luscious bottom, Southern Belle Shiraz is highly recommended.

Thanks to Oscar for cracking his open and getting me a sample.

Buehler Zinfandel

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Maker: Buehler Vineyards, St. Helena, California, USA

Grape: Zinfandel

Style: Red

Region: Napa Valley AVA, Napa County, California, USA

Vintage: 2009

ABV: 14.5%

Appearance: Dark, deep plum.

Nose: Black currant, oak, blueberry jam, whiff of smoke.

On the palate: Fruity, strawberry. Lightly sweet, a bit fleshy.

Finish: slightly tart, leather, a hint of oak smoke.

Parting Words: At its best, California Zinfindel is something like this. It has the finesse and complexity of a red Burgundy and the drinkability of a Côtes du Rhône. This is a fairly complex, but easy-going wine, a bit surprising for something with its ABV percentage. It goes well with food but its more subtle notes might get lost in the shuffle. Not much else to say, but Buehler Zin comes recommended.

Trader Joe’s Reserve Barbera

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Maker: ???

Grape: Barbera

Region: Mendocino Co, California, USA

Vintage: 2009

ABV: 13.9%

Appearance: light burgundy

Nose: Pretzels (and no, I hadn’t been eating them at the time), blueberry, milk chocolate

On the palate: Very light, slightly tangy. Table grapes, California strawberries shipped to Michigan, New Jersey blueberries shipped to Michigan.

Finish: Very light, a hint of tannin then vanishes.

Parting words: When I said in a previous review that these Trader Joe’s  bottles can be dull, this is the sort of wine I was thinking about. Barbera has been a grape that California winemakers have been experiementing with for a long time. In this case, the experiement has to be judged a failure. Not that this is bad, it’s just dull. If Barbera is what you’re after, there are affordable Italian choices that offer good value for money. This is not expensive, but it’s still not worth buying. Trader Joe’s Reserve Barbera is not recommended.

Trader Joe’s Reserve Syrah

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Maker: ???

Grape: Shiraz/Syrah

Region: Mendocino Valley AVA, California, USA

Vintage: 2007

ABV: 14.7%

Notes: Certified organic, single vineyard.

Appearance: Deep purple.

Nose: wild blackberries, black currant, hint of leather

On the palate: Medium-bodied. Mixed berry jam, blueberries, chewy, some tannin.

Finish: Jammy then dry, much more tannic than on the palate, lingers for a while then fades rather quickly.

Parting words: Trader Joe’s Reserve wines are never bad, but they can occasionally be dull. I wouldn’t go so far as to call this one dull, but I’ve had more interesting Syrahs. For what it is, it delivers. There is lots of varietal character and it did well with corned beef. It would probably pair well with other rich red meats. For the price, it’s a good wine. Trader Joe’s 2007 Reserve Mendocino Syrah is recommended.

San Sebastian Vintners Red

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Maker: San Sebastian, St. Augustine, Florida, USA

Grape: Muscadine

Region: Florida

ABV: 11%

Appearance: Deep burgundy, with broad, thick legs.

Nose: Slightly musky, foxy, sweet.

On the palate: Sweet, but not cloying. Foxy grapes, clove, ginger, black licorice.

Finish: Gingery with a bit of sweetness and long, sexy, leathery tannins.

Parting words: Muscadine is a native American grape, Vitis rotundifolia. It’s so distinct, even from its American cousins, that it has its own subgenus, muscadinia. Unlike Northern and European grapes, it thrives in hot humid climates, and was a favorite wine and table grape in the Southeastern US from the 18th century on. Its skin is also very thick, it’s the only table grape that needs to be peeled to be eaten.

This is the first Muscadine wine I’ve ever had. I enjoy foxy wines made from native grape cultivars and hybrids, but I wasn’t prepared for a wine of this intensity of flavor. The more I drank, the more I liked it. But be warned, if you do not like foxy flavors in your wine (think Concord Grape juice), you will hate just about anything made with Muscadine.

I’m writing this in South Florida, a landscape that has been completely transformed over the past century to the point where it bears no resemblance to what it was for most of its history. San Sebastian Vintners Red is a link to the past, the colonial past and the ancient past of what’s now the American South. I think that’s pretty cool, but I also think it’s a pretty good wine. San Sebastian Vintners Red is recommended.

 

Emilio Moro 2007

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Maker: Bodegas Emilio Moro, Valladolid, Spain

Grape: Tinto Fino, 100% (Tempranillo)

Region: Ribera del Duero DOC, Spain

Vintage: 2007

ABV: 14%

Appearance: Deep plum with tartrate crystals and long, luscious legs.

Nose: On first pour, the it’s a bruiser, but after a few minutes in the glass it learns to behave itself better. Still, a bit of alcohol shows up but balanced with wild blackberry, oak and creamy vanilla custard.

On the palate: Medium-dry and assertive but not obnoxious. Slightly tart, blueberries, big chubby west coast blackberries and a firm smack of leather on the back end. Very enjoyable, if that’s what you’re into.

Finish: Tannic at first and a little mealy. Eventually fades to a little sweetness and a little oak and vanilla.

Parting words: This wine scared me when I first opened it. It packed a massive punch right out of the bottle and I was afraid it would be a bull in a china shop, to coin a phrase. But when rested it is a very nice beef-oriented red. Tempranillo doesn’t always do well as a soloist. I find I usually enjoy it more when it’s lightened up with some Grenache or beefed up with some Cab or Merlot. Emilio and friends have managed to make a fairly complex, food-friendly, moderately priced red with nothing but Tempranillo. ¡Gracias a vos! Or something like that. Emilio Moror 2007 (and other vintages) come highly recommended.

 

Chateau Chantal Malbec Reserve

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Maker: Chateau Chantal, Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Grape: Malbec

Region: Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina

Vintage: 2007

ABV: 14.5%

Appearance: Dark inky purple with long quick gams. Throws some intense amounts of sediment around.

Nose: Woody, intense, grapey. Almost like a Port or a Gran Reserva Rioja.

On the palate: Medium-bodied,  intense and grapey. Mildly tannic, coats the mouth. A powerful wine that stands up to rich food very well, but you don’t feel like you’re being punched in the face or about to fall off your chair either.

Finish: Fruity, like Concord grape jelly, but without the foxiness. The sediment coats the mouth and lingers for a long time.

Parting words: This is not a terribly complex wine, but it’s very good. Argentina’s Mendoza region is firing on all cylinders right now and Malbec, an old Bordeaux variety, is its flagship grape. Chateau Chantal owns a vineyard in Argentina and imports its wine to sell here. High-end Malbec can age for 10-15 years but most lower-end and middle-range ones are just fine after 2-4 years in the bottle, like this one. Michigan is not known for Bordeaux-varietal reds, but Chateau Chantal has found a great way to offer an excellent one to its customers. Recommended.

Chateau Grand Traverse Gamay Noir

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Maker: Chateau Grand Traverse, Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Region: Old Mission AVA, Michigan, USA

Grape: Gamay

Vintage: 2009 (2008 vintage pictured)

ABV: 12.5%

Appearance: Light burgundy with long, fairly thick legs

Nose: Plums, leather, black pepper, cherry. For once a back label is dead on.

On the palate: Light mouth feel, fruity tart cherry up front. As it sits in the glass, the leather and black pepper notes come to the fore. There’s still plenty of fruit, though. A delightful dichotomy of deliciousness. Yes, I just wrote that.

Finish: Clean finish with some lingering tastes of cherry juice and the ubiquitous black pepper.

Parting words: The name Gamay isn’t well known, but many people do know the name of its most famous product, Beaujolais. It has always had its detractors. Two different Dukes of Burgundy outlawed the cultivation of “disloyal Gaamez” in the 15th century. For the record, I am a fan of Gamay, especially in Beaujolais. I was surprised by the peppery nose but it gives it depth and interest that I wasn’t expecting. The pepper moves it closer to estate or cru Beaujolais (according to the internet anyway) than the Beaujolais-Village I drink to wash down my pork chops. This is a very good, food-friendly, but not dumbed down, wine. Recommended.