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30 March 2007

Fri. Random 5 + 1 Chewy Chilean

Hollygo Friday Random Music 5

  1. Holly Golightly - This Ship
  2. Of Montreal - We Were Born The Mutants Again With Leafling (?)
  3. Alexi Murdoch - Song For You
  4. Miles Davis - I Could Write A Book
  5. Pearl Jam - Sonic Reducer (listen .mp3)

1 Chewy Chilean

Erasmo Reserva di Caliboro 2005 (~$25) - To those who think there is no distinct terroir in Chile, I say, "thhppphhhttt!"  This is the the 3rd Chilean Bordeaux (60% Cab S., 30% Merlot, 10% Cab F.) blend I've sampled that has a unique something-something.  That something is a nifty scent compilation of cherry liqueur, charred cedar and orange peel.  I dig it.  While the wine's flavor is straightforward black cherry-blackberry, it possesses two types o' tannic textures: 1) slightly abbraisive & attention grabbing followed by 2)smooth and supple.  Quite a trick.  Give it a go with a standing beef rib roast and/or crock-potted root veggies.

05 July 2006

WBW23: All 'Bout the Salt

Danish_viking WineBloggingWednesday has become an institution.  Of course, it's always about the wine.  However, with this month's theme of, "BBQ Wines," it was salt, not wine, which stole the show.  I discovered something called, "Danish Viking-Smoked Salt."  If you are a serious BBQer, I can promise you that this salt is for you.  It is essentially sea salt, which has been evaporated over a fire stoked with oak, cherry, elm, beech and juniper.  I can only describe the resulting product as, "crystalized, smoky goodness."

I took my BBQ-inspiration from a recipe on the Salt Traders Website and made barbecued pork shoulder. It is incredibly easy. Simply rub the smoked salt into the pork, place it in a roasting pan, add about 1/3" water and cover tightly. Place the pork in a preheated 300F oven and roast for 2-2.5 hours. Once the pork is tender and smoky, fire up your grill (high for 10 minutes and then lower heat to medium) and baste the pork with basic/simple barbecue sauce (like this, or, *gasp* from a bottle). Grill and continually baste until pork shoulder is sporting definite grill marks. Voila!...simple, easy, smoky, delicious BBQ.

Continue reading "WBW23: All 'Bout the Salt" »

31 March 2006

Cabernet, Wallace Style

Wallace2I love wine. Wine tasting notes - not so much. The traditional tasting note is brief, descriptive and entirely unimaginative. Occasionally I daydream of ways in which my passion for wine might be more creatively communicated. I've experimented with wine love letters, fake wine news shows and avant-garde poetry. However, I always return to the David Foster Wallace-style tasting note. Why? A Wallace note maintains the traditional form, yet at the same time, it opens wine up to adjunct information, brief and extended asides, and random weirdness. And hey, who doesn’t enjoy a glass of wine, chased by a shot of random weirdness? If you’re a Wallace fan, sit back and enjoy. If Wallace gives you hives, prepare the tomatoes!

 

Montes(1) Alpha(2) Cabernet Sauvignon(3) 2003(4) (~$20)
Deep(5) indigo(6) in color, fading to an intense pink rim(7). Classic Cabernet nose(8) of cassis(9), leather(10), cigar
box(11), black plum(12) and vanilla(13). Dry, with balanced acidity(14) and soft mouth-filling(15) tannins(16). Medium-full bodied(17) with a fruit-dominated palate(18) and slightly abbreviated(19), vanilla-heavy finish(20). A reasonably priced Cabernet from the Colchaqua valley(21). This wine may be drunk now(22), but may develop more complexity(23) over the next 2-4 years(24).

Continue reading "Cabernet, Wallace Style" »

21 October 2005

Ten Buck Gem Recipe

Chim_1The latest contributor to this month's meme (Ten Buck Wine Gems), Chef Melissa recommends a $6.95 Chilean Trio from Concha y Toro.  It's a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Cab Franc.  She then went and got all chef-y on us and provided a Trio-friendly recipe:  Empanadas Chilenas con Salsa Chimichurri.

Thanks to the Cooking Diva, I got a plan for the weekend - whisking some chimichurri & sippin a TBD Cab-Shiraz blend.

And lo! I've discovered two new-to-me wine blogs from the great Pacific northwest: le wine blog and Through the Grape Vine.  So, Jameson & Catie, gotta ten buck wine gem you'd like to add to the list?

08 August 2005

Clos Apalta

Closapalta02_12002 Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta ($65)   
Clear, opaque ruby core fading to a dark pink rim. Clean, youthful and medium-high intense nose of oak, black plums, smoky oak and cinnamon. Dry, with medium acidity, and moderately high, ripe tannins. Full-bodied, with an intense palate of vanilla oak, spicy black plums and dark, almost raisined red fruits. High yet balanced alchohol, with long length.  Exellent quality merlot-based Chilean wine. Drinks well now, but could use some time - up to 10 more years of aging.   

25 April 2005

2 quickTakes: one hit/one miss

Logowind_5_2First the miss (just a slight miss) -
Treana Central Coast 'Mer Soleil Vineyard' '01 ($23).  This big 'un is 39% Marsanne and 61% Viognier.  Smells delicious - apricot, peach, honey, flowers.  Yet, as a food wine it's a bit overthetop.  That said; it's a-OK by itself.  The reason?  Full-body, lots of alcohol, and lowish acidity.  It clashed with my meal, but was perfectly fine (and mouthiflling) as a solo sip. 

Now the Hit -
Montes Alpha Syrah, '00 ($17).  Not an XL Syrah; yet not a wimp by any means.  One of my favorite Chileans to date.  Black plums, pepper, and some sweet spice.  Solidly balanced in the mouth with pro-food tannins and a luxurious finish.  Would that more sub-$20 Syrahs could be so lovely.

31 March 2005

Chile con Car[me]nè[re]

CarmenereCarmenère was one of the earliest varieties to be grown in Bordeaux.  It's a tough vine to raise, so it has been mostly yanked out of its French home.  Carmenère was taken to South America pre-Phylloxera.  Chilean winemakers have since shown an affinity for this somewhat Merlot-like grape.  Enter Envero (No! not this Enver)

The Skinny
Apaltagua 'Envero' '01 ($14)

  • 91% Carmenère & 9% Cabernet Sauvignon
  • From the Colchagua Valley, central Chile
  • A leathery-red color with narrow coral rim
  • Overall, a faint nose.  Sweet spices (oakyoakyoak), black cherry, and some blueberry
  • Medium-bodied; slight, coating tannins; a little low acidity; somewhat 'green' tasting

**.5 (2.5 stars out of 5)

This wine received numerous accolades.  I, however, wasn't won over by the lack of character.  It's not bad - yet for fourteen bucks I expect a little more.

(ed's note: apologies for the wacky text formatting in this post.  I just can't seem to fix it w/o losing the entire post.)

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