A few more reviews...

wine wine wine..down in my belly...here's a few to try..or avoid:

Château Rouquette Sur Mer Cuvée Amarante 2007, Ac Côteaux Du Languedoc La Clape $17.95

90

 Lovey dark red wine. Dried fruit and herbal nose with a slightly floral hint. Medium bodied, but concentrated. Very dry and savory. Very French. Plenty of fine, ripe tannin. An honest, dry, old world style wine that's not out to impress critics with over-extraction, too much oak or sweetness. Not necessarily a friendly sipper though, this really ought to be drunk with big, savory foods....red meat, spicy pasta etc. My kind of wine. This gal will certainly cellar for at least 5 years, it will likely soften and develop a more complex bouquet. But it's good to go now.

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc $19.95

90

A little spendier than some blancs yes..but full of flavour. A strong scent of pink grapefruit right out of the gate. Crisp and refreshing, nice medium body and really quite delicious. Would be great with grilled, mildly seasoned salmon (lemon, sea salt, pepper, fresh dill...nothing else!). Seafood, shellfish. Might be nice with mildly spiced asian foods, mild curried chicken, phad thai etc. And any chicken dish...roasted, a bit of rosemary maybe. Too bold flavours might kill the subtleties of this wine...keep it simple. If the food could use a squeeze of lemon...crack this gal open.

Marqués De Valcarlos Crianza $13.95

88

Tempranillo/Cabernet Sauvignon really is one of my favorite blends. This Navarra has a strong nose of oak, pepper, tobacco, some christmas spice and a hint of rubber. On the palate, medium body, stewed prunes and blackberries. A bit smokey. Finish is very woody (some might say over-oaked) and slightly astringent. This is certainly an old school, masculine and rustic wine, but I quite liked it.
A few years might soften it a bit, but for me it's ruggedness is the whole point. Good value. Drink with mexican food!

Henry Of Pelham Off Dry Reserve Riesling 2007 $15.95

88+
I picked up a few bottles of this direct from the winery before LCBO sold them...I'm glad they're in stock now because I love this wine. On the nose; a nice peachy, gooseberries, green melon and slightly gasoline thing happening. On the palate; tropical fruit, (mango!), citrusy and a slight biscuity nuance that of all things reminds me of dom perignon! My wife ordered in indian food, I ordered in sushi...I wanted to to see if i could find a wine to drink with both..this is what I picked, and it was perfect.

Tyrrell's Rufus Stone Shiraz 2007 $19.95

84..and that's generous.

LCBO has this rated as a "94" by some no-name Aussie reviewers. Last year's release of this wine got crazy good reviews..i missed out, sold out before i had a chance to try it. So when i saw this new batch a snapped up a few bottles....yeah...well I can only assume that is a rating for the previous vintage and not this weirdo. Big surprise that you've never heard of whoever gave this wine that rating. This wine is a disjointed, under-ripe, acidic mess. It tastes like homemade wine. popped-and-poured: An interesting oaky, slightly smoky berry nose with touches of spice, pine and tobacco. Disappointingly medium, almost light bodied. (Isn't this supposed to be an Australian Shiraz?? The epitome of BIG BOLD WINE!) Very little concentration of fruit that just can't compete with the raw cranberry, woody palate. Long finish, like lemon juice. Embarrassing release from Tyrrell's ("winery of the year"...says james haliday). I took back the rest.

By the way....anytime you see an Australian reviewer (like James Halliday for a prime example) reviewing Australian wine...deduct at least 2-5 points.

I'll do a whole other blog about wine reviews another time.

 

 

 

 

Z! Z says "zuh!". Z! Z for Zinfandel!

Yeah, I have a toddler. She thinks Z is for Zebra. Silly baby, Z is for zinfandel!

Ok...so it looks like this blog is gonna be a weekly thing at best. What with taking care of my baby girl, the laundry, the lawn, replacing dead pond fish, etc, time is scarce.

So anyway...I'm firing up the ol' bbq. 1st time in many months.  I guess I'm sort of a wimp when it comes to cooking in the cold.

BBQ usually equals beer, and there's no shame in throwing back a bunch of cans or bottles of whatever with your grill full of whatever. Beer rocks. I could write a beer blog, but why bother? Beer is easy, everyone knows what they like and we don't usually sweat over which kind to buy.

But guess what? Wine is easy too! Once you know the basics, and that's what I'm here for.

Today's lesson:

BBQ = Zinfandel.

"Great I brought some!"
"Hey, get that pink shit out of here!" 
"But you said zinfandel.  : ("
"That's right I did, but I didn't say bring pink shit that tastes like sprite."

See, for many years when someone said 'zinfandel' they usually meant "white zinfandel', the pink stuff drunk out of plastic cups at college parties by 19 year old girls.

It's wine, but for people who don't like wine. 

But I'm no wine snob. Chilled, it's a perfectly refreshing summer sipper...it's just too sweet for me. 

Anyway, California's 'native' grape is in fact, not. It's Italian! Zinfandel is exactly the same, genetically, as an Italian variety called Primitivo, often found down in Puglia, you know, the heel of the boot, as well as other places like Croatia. Primitivo is usually a bit more rustic than Cali zin. But it's also a good drink and certainly worth checking out.

Real red zinfandel is a great match for BBQ, specifically BBQ sauce. Ideally it's full bodied, fruity, peppery, tannic and high in alcohol. Often 15%.  But as with all wine it comes in many styles and prices, you'll just have to try a few to see what you like best.

Here's a few to get you started:

Ravenswood Vintners Blend $17.95

Hot and fruity. Jam and pepper. Not much character but easily quaffable. Good with many foods. Great with all things BBQ. My wife's standard 'house' wine. 87

Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel 2007 $19.95

A bit more complex than the Ravenswood. I found it softer, more balanced. 88.

Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin $15.00 

 A simple zin. Easy drinking, sweet and spicy and a bit heady, as zins tend to be. 86

Rancho Zabaco Sonoma Heritage Vines Zinfandel $19.95

Plenty of lush fruit, some herb (thyme, basil/anise?) a bit of black pepper but not as much as I like in my zins. Full bodied and quite soft, but slightly spicy. Plenty of alcohol gives the impression of sweet heat. Good acidity and a mouthful of tannin keeps this from being too flabby. A well balanced, easy to drink zinfandel that will please the crowd at a bbq party. I wouldn't bother cellaring it, as I suspect it may 'devolve' and go from balanced to fat and flabby. Drink now. 89

Vigne & Vini Zinfandel Primitivo Del Salento $14.95

Maybe the most Cali style primitivo i've tried. It's also the first time I've seen "zinfandel" on an italian wine. Obviously made for a north american crowd (and since "Ontario" is on the back of the label probably an lcbo exclusive.) Lightly floral nose, medium bodied, moderately tannic but also quite soft and fruity. Not much acidity which makes it seem perhaps a bit too soft. Drink now. 86.

Ridge Lytton Springs $44.95,  Ridge Geyserville $47.80

 





Top stuff here. Ridge Zinfandels are about as good as they get, and they have price tags to match. I would say that you are paying a $10 premium for the name alone, but these are big, complex wines that will last and evolve for at least a decade in the cellar.