Sometimes Size Matters

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Sonadora

When we are talking about wine, that is. Large format bottles are fun to open when you have a big group over for tasting and they impact the way that wine ages in a bottle. I particularly enjoy large format bottles for sparkling wines, though I buy them with all sorts of wine inside. I think I currently have about a dozen Magnum format bottles in the basement, mostly of Petite Sirah (which often has great aging potential) and of sparkling wine. We busted one open when an old friend came to town recently.  After perusing the options, we settled on the 2000 Roederer Estates L’Ermitage Brut.  I purchased this wine directly from the winery a few years ago and it’s been resting alongside its siblings in our basement every since. I think it retails for around $100 for the bottle, but I can’t recall what I paid for it.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) Having a Magnum of sparkling wine makes you feel like you actually got enough glasses as you can never have too much sparkling wine.

2.) I’ve had this wine in a regular sized bottle before. You can read my notes from that and compare here.

3.) Nearly 3 years later and the large format bottle (not sure which or if both of those factors contributed) gave this bottle a heft on the palate that I didn’t find before along with a creaminess.

4.) I need to drink more bubbles.

On the nose I got toast, bread, lemon, pear, and apple. In the mouth I found apple, toast, pear, yeast, and bread. Overall the wine had a heft and creaminess on the palate I really enjoyed, especially on the finish.

 

 

Filed under: California, Roederer Estates, Sparkling wine, White, Wine | 1 Comment »

In the Willamette

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the winery.

Harkening back to our trip to Oregon this summer, Mr. Wannabe Wino and I popped the cork on the 2010 Cornerstone Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.  If you haven’t yet had a chance to get to Cornerstone and connect with Craig Camp you are totally missing out. Especially if you haven’t stopped by their tasting room to do a tasting paired with local cheeses. The 2010 Pinot Noir has a real cork closure, clocks in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, and retails for $50 a bottle.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) I would pay $50 for this wine, no questions asked.

2.) Expanding their OR offerings would make me love Cornerstone even more.

3.) My notes for this wine say “Excellent.” I couldn’t describe it better.

4.) If you like dusty earth, dried violets and cherries, and baking cocoa in your Pinot, this one is for you.

On the nose I got spice, pepper, herbs, cedar, smoke, berries, dried cherries, dried violets, dusty earth, and dried raspberries on the nose. As the wine opened in my glass I kept diving back in and finding more good things to smell. The palate echoed the nose with cocoa notes, raspberries, cherries, strawberries, and herbs. All the fruits tasted a bit dried to me and very concentrated.  Overall the wine had excellent acidity and long finish. A very complex and well done wine for the price point, that over-delivered.

 

 

 

Filed under: Cornerstone Cellars, Oregon, Pinot Noir, Red, Wine | Comments Off

Barolo for a Cold Winter Night

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Wine Chateau.

I don’t drink a lot of Barolo.  Mainly because I oddly don’t drink a ton of Italian wines in general, which is a shame.  There was a time there where I was in love with Negromara. I should probably revisit Italy through wine as I’ve had some fun ones lately, including a new grape to add to my list of grape varieties tried.  In any event, we plucked the 2007 Michele Chiarlo Barolo Tortoniano from the cellar to enjoy by a roaring fire one cold night.  The Chiarlo clocks in at 13.5 percent alcohol by volume, has a real cork closure, and retails for $37.09 from Wine Chateau.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) I generally don’t drink much Barolo because I find it expensive. But I do love it, and this one is wonderful in the price point.

2.) I always want to put on a smoking jacket and play some refined card game when I drink Barolo. The roaring fire fit nicely with how I imagine Barolo should be consumed.

3.) While it was lovely on its own, I could easily see if with a duck ragu or a mushroom risotto.

4.) The wine felt a little young, it definitely got better and better as it aired in my glass.

On the nose I got cherry, raspberry, wood, anise, flowers, some earthy notes, spice, and other red fruits.  In the mouth I found tarter red fruit, with raspberry, wood, black cherry, spices, dried roses, dried cherries, and more black cherry. It felt expensive on the palate.

Filed under: Barolo, Italy, Red, Wine | 2 Comments »

Sipping Sauvignon Blanc

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the winery.

Snow? Cold? Rain? Gray fog? Nothing says Sauvignon Blanc like that kind of weather, right? Well, I often like to pretend it’s summer or spring when we’re in the dead of winter. Plus, the overgrown rodent in PA says it will be an early spring.  Cheers to hoping it’s right.  We opened up the 2010 Cornerstone Cellars Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc to go with a quiche Lorraine the other day.  The wine has a real cork closure, clocks in at 14.1 percent alcohol by volume, and retails for $25.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) It had me dreaming of heat waves, so it served that purpose.

2.) You can’t see me but I’m making that motion with my fingers to my lips and saying “perfecto” about the pairing with the quiche Lorraine.

3.) I’ll take a bottle for the first 90 degree day of the year.

4.) I’d also drink this with grilled white fish, fondue, pasta with cream sauces, on it’s own on a tropical beach somewhere…

On the nose I found lime, lemon, white peach, grapefruit, and pear. I could smell the acidity and it made my mouth water.  In the mouth I got grapefruit, white peach, lemon, and pear.  Tart and refreshing, my final note on the wine (twice, that is) is “yummy.”

 

 

Filed under: California, Cornerstone Cellars, Sauvignon Blanc, White, Wine | 1 Comment »

Syrah Kind of Day

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the winery.

We had a cold cold week in the DC area last week and I was digging red wines. I wrestled the 2008 Bonny Doon Bien Nacido Syrah from it’s comfortable resting place in the cellar and dragged it upstairs to pair with some good old fashioned meatloaf.  Seems like comfort food and red wine make it just a little cold out. Especially when your heating system decided to give out for the second time in the winter and you needed to seek alternate sources of warmth. The Bonny Doon Syrah sports a screw cap closure, clocks in at 13.9% alcohol by volume, and retails for $42.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) The Bien Nacido has  a nose you can get lost in.

2.) I’d recommend decanting the Bien Nacido and letting it get some serious air. It kept getting better and better with time in the glass.

3.) I think, given how the wine developed in the glass, combined with the acidity and tannins, the Bien Nacido could easily age for quite some time.

4.) Meatloaf was good, but next time I’d go with my rosemary/mint/mustard/breadcrumb crusted rack of lamb.

 

On the nose I found spice, cedar chest, cinnamon, baking spice, the aroma of Christmas, (pine tree, spices, cookies), espresso, pepper, cherry, and raspberry.  I would have kept sniffing at the wine, but I was afraid to lose my second glass to Matt if I didn’t move on to the palate.  In the mouth I found meat, black cherry, leather, spice, raspberry, plum, pepper, earth, and more black fruit.  Overall, the wine had great structure and acidity and seemed alive in the glass to me.

 

Filed under: California, Red, Syrah, Wine | 2 Comments »

You Need This Wine

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Sonadora

You haven’t tried wines from Bill Wertzberger? What are you waiting for, a personal invite? Don’t wait. Bill makes small lot wines from small lots of grapes that he buys from his million and one contacts in the Northern CA wine world. He’s also an accomplished artist (all his wine labels are his own artwork), a musician, and he works at Teldeschi as well. Look him up and tell him I sent you his way. In addition to all of the above, he’s a generally all around good guy and someone who is awesome to spend an afternoon with.  I suggest you do so, immediately.  The wine. We tried the 2010 Wertzberger Pedroni Vineyards Cabernet Franc with our roast the other night.  It has a real cork closure, clocks in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, and retails for $30 with 72 cases produced.

1.) I’m always impressed with the depth of the wines in Bill’s portfolio.

2.) Cab Franc is my (not so secret) wine love.

3.) Get lost in the nose of this wine.

4.) I buy a lot of wine from Bill, at least 4 cases a year. His Cab Franc is perennially one of my favorite wines.

On the nose I got spice, herbs, green pepper, chocolate, strawberry, raspberry, more herbs, red cherry, and flowers. In the mouth I found raspberry, black cherry, strawberry, spice, herbs, pepper, and chocolate. The fruit was more prominent on the palate than on the nose for me. The wine had excellent acidity and good tannins on the finish.

 

 

Filed under: Cabernet Franc, California, Red, Wine | 2 Comments »

Lobstah. It’s what’s for dinnah.

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the winery for review.

I’m on a bit of an Albariño kick these days.  We traveled North for Christmas this year to see my parents for the holidays in CT. In CT, lobster is $4.99 a pound. In VA, it’s $8.99 a pound if you can find it. And, you can almost never (read: it’s happened ONCE in the decade I’ve lived here) find steamers.  We enjoyed this lobster and some steamers with the 2011 Bonny Doon Albariño. The wine clocks in at 13.2% alcohol by volume, has a screw cap closure, and retails for around $15.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) I could drink this all day, every day with steamers. Add in the lobster and I’m in heaven.

2.) The Bonny Doon Albariño is a super value at sub-$20. It easily makes my list of best white wines I tasted in 2012.

3.) I sort of feel bad for lobsters, but they can rest easy knowing they were paired with such an excellent match.

4.) It appears the 2011 is nearly sold out (or sold out) but be sure to keep an eye out for the 2012.

On the nose I found honeysuckle, tangerine, candied pineapple, lemon, lemongrass, and orange.  The nose smelled tart and promised good things to come to help cut through the butter and rich lobster flavors.  In the mouth I got lemon, lime, tangerine, orange blossom notes, more lime, and pineapple. The promise of the nose held true with excellent acidity and tart fruit flavors.

 

 

Filed under: Albarino, California, White, Wine | 4 Comments »

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