EAST COAST PALATE

So yesterday Jared and I made plans to go out, try a taste of Baltimore.  We started out sipping on a great Barolo at his house, then made our way to the Wine Market.  The best aspect of dining here is that you can buy a bottle from the store in the front of the establishment, then take it back and enjoy it with dinner for only a $9 corkage fee.  So he and a friend and I picked out a bottle... each of us picked one.
The food overall was good, the standout selections the duck paté and the decadent beef strogannoff.  The only disappointing dish was the special, tenderloin medallions that were cooked perfectly, but were caked with so much black peppercorn that the meat's flavor took a sad back seat to the pepper.  The decor is an open, industrial feel that aplifies conversation, but we still felt comfortable by all means.  And we had plenty of vino...

The first one (At Jared's): A 2004 Barolo from Brezza called Canubi from Giacomo e figli.  This wine brings a ton of acidic pucker, some slatey minerality, a hint of cedar and spice, with an inviting ripe boquet of raisins, dates, figs, and prunes. 89+ from me

At the Wine Market:  Gmork, A 2008 Gruner Veltliner by Anton Bauer.  solid acid, aromas of green apple skin, starfruit, waxpaper (that petrol nose that often comes with whites from that part of the world).  This paired very well with the cheeses, especially the aged Irish cheddar, and with the paté.  A solid wine to start with, 84 points

Mas de la Rouvière 2003 from Bandol.  Right off the bat the smell of this mostly Mourvèdre wine had me intrigued; stinky earthy raspberries and strawberries, a green or vegetal aroma lingering somewhere beneath the dank earth and ripe fruit.  Big tannins surprised me, but the wine's taste and body sort of seemed a let down after the crazy aromas that had pulled me in first.  A B wine (86 or so).

The gem of the night was the 2005 Ferrer Bobet from the Priorat region of Spain, a 53% Carignane, 35% Grenache, 7% Syrah, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon blend.  This fruity candy smelling wine has great balance and a sweaty minerality that create a complexity of flavors.  A truly balanced, tasty wine.  90 points

Cold Monday morning.  Last night I fell asleep watching football after eating 2 pounds of delicious cajun wings from BWB.  A few minutes after waking up I decided to taste some wine with an untainted palate, so I grabbed one of the brown bagged bottles sitting in the rack (I have to admit the process can't be called a blind tasting because I know that 8 of the 9 bottles there are French).  Making sure to not look at the cork, I poured myself a few ounces.  Ruby color, aromas of cherry and wet stones.  I thought, this beats the hell out of coffee.  The wine has a bit of a synthetic cherry thing going on, but its balance of fruit and earthiness is solid.  On the back of the tongue the wine leaves a bitter flower petal residue that gave it a weird finish, but all-in-all a good product.  I'll give it a B (86-87).  After unveiling the bottle, it is Paul Avril's Le Petit Vin d'Avril (NV).  The Chateauneuf de Pape big brother of this wine is the best in the world from '07 according to Wine Spectator (who, incidentally, rated the Petit Vin an 88).  
I paid $18 for this wine, but you can find it elsewhere for less.  I would recommend finding it for less.

The other day I asked my neighbor Carolyn to pick and open a bottle from the  half dozen that I bought that day at the Wine Source in Baltimore.  She handed me a glass and immediated I knew I liked the wine.  A nice fresh-from-the-ground strawberry aroma hit me, followed by a peppery raspberry, and even a sweaty component that brought some serious complexity the vibrant, fresh nose on this wine.  In the mouth the medium bodied wine has jammy fruit flavors backed by some spiciness and great acidity.  I think the wine could use some more time to age in the bottle, but even now it's an 89-90 point wine for my palate.

After de-bagging the bottle, I see it's the 2006 Domaine Tempier from Bandol, France.  Mourvèdre makes up 80% of this wine, with the other 20% Grenache.  I like this wine a lot and I'm stoked to have only paid $25 for a bottle that offers so much.

On the back label, a quote: " Good wine is a necessity of life for me" - Thomas Jefferson

So it begins.  An aftertaste of bacon and mushroom omlette and coffee still lingers as I venture in to a bottle of 2007 Côtes du Rhône - the Réserve by Perrin et Fils - that I opened last night after work.  Some say that the palate is freshest in the a.m. hours, and so best for doing tastings.  This wine is young enough that 12 hours time (with the screwtop cap back on) definitely will help it open up.  Last night I noted that the initial aroma was like raspberry jam smeared in an oiled up baseball glove.  The plummy and peppery flavors had to fight a bit to get through the alcohol's heat (a surprise given the 13% alc./vol.) , but the fresh fruit and acidity came though nicely.
Alright...pouring a glass.  Vibrant red in the sunlight coming through my bedroom window.  The cherry and raspberry notes don't have to elbow their way past that pungent chemically alcohol burn any more.  Not a fruit bomb by any means, this wine now seems more subtle, but the leather component is still there. 
A sip... ripe cherry and that peppercorn spiciness (likely coming from the 20% Syrah in the wine) come through on the palate, with some of that tartness that would be in a not-quite-ripe plum.  It's not a complex wine, but it's well made and decently balanced.  Last night I rated this blend as a B wine, which is to say in the mid 80's as far as points go.  This wine only costs ten bucks, so for the value it's a great wine to have on a weeknight with some takeout Italian from Mamma Lucia's.