EAST COAST PALATE

A tasty inexpensive blend from Spain's Jumilla region... It's earthy with deep fruit and leather aromas.  It has a strong finish and would go perfectly with Mediterranean cuisine, and a YouTube journey through the history of flamenco.  My friend Kristen shared this with me, and I saw it later at Metro Liquor near Adam's Morgan for about $10.  The MCS stands for Monastrell, Cabernet, and Syrah - the three varietals that make up this wine's composition.  I am finding more and more value  out of the south of Spain, and it's nice to have discovered this José Pastor selection wine.  Solid B score: 86-87 points.

To those that visit my site and take time to read my rants or insight on wines, first off, thank you.  I am still drinking (not now at 6: 45 in the morning), but I'm working a bunch and I haven't made the time to sit and thoughtfully sip a glass of wine.  I'll have more reviews soon, I promise.
 -Chris

Well, here is a wine to avoid on this day for lovers.  I admit, the label has some appeal, the name is corny, but it is one of those wines that you see around stores and they just pique your curiosity enough to make to spend the 9 bucks to find out what's on the inside of the bottle.
The look:  The wine has lightness and a pretty red hue, but with a Cabernet I want deep color; I want to be pulled in by dark mysterious shades of crimson.
The smell:  Some dark cherry and cola aromas with a weird rubbery odor that, even though subtle, distracted me from the soft fruity smells.
The taste: "meh"... Really poorly integrated oak, jammy flavors at first that give way to oak and more mediocrity.  This is a C wine and there are so many other bottles  out there that offer better quality at the same cost.
On a good note, I have tried the Malbec by Cupcake Vineyards and found it much more palatable.
Lovers of wine... winos in love... whoever you are, whomever you are with on this sunny Sunday, uncork some good times. 

This 2007 Falanghina dei Campi Flegrei embodies freshness.  I wish they made dryer sheets that were on this level.  And it isn't a Febreeze or new car kind of smell, either.  It evokes mental imagery like swimming pools, ocean air, and lemon grass.  There is a scent of pear, as well, but not a fully ripe pear that gushes sweetness.  The taste is crisp and fresh, with a touch of almond nuttiness filling out the finish.
This wine has a clear, clean look, with a greenish hue to it.  It reminded me of all things aquatic, especially pairing ideas:  raw sashimi, grilled rockfish, shrimp n' grits...  It is a fantastic wine that I found at Pearson's for $13.  I will definitely search for more Falanghina for the warmer weather that is just around the 3-feet-deep corner made of hard packed snow.
The name Falanghina has its etymological roots in the method that was used to cultivate the grapes.  It was revolutionary.  Instead of letting the vines crawl on the earth and grow where mold and insects and rodents could get to them easily, people trained the vines up little posts - phalangae (remember the name of the bones in your fingers from A & P?).  Anyway, the wine comes from a small DOC (Campi Flegrei) just west of Napoli.  It's tasty.  I dig it.  B+ quality and a recommentation to anyone ready to try good, interesting wines.

So I was eeny-meeny-ing through the bottles at home, and decided to open a bottle of Bodegas Castaño Hécula.  This is a wine comprised 100% of Monastrell, a.k.a. Mourvèdre grapes.  The region that it comes from -Yecla - is in Murcia, in the southeast of Spain, with two stellar winemaking D.O.s as its neighbors: Jumilla and Almansa.  These vines dig deep through limestone and gravel, and their efforts produce very concentrated flavors in the grapes at harvest time.  The 2005 vintage in this area wasn't exceptional but this wine is excellent.  
Its color is a deep reddish purple.  The raisin, dark cherry, and blackberry aromas on the nose yield to deeper layers of cedar, resin, and stone.  The mere act of smelling this wine brought up memories of putting resin on a violin bow as a kid, of walking into a woodshop, of eating fruit rollups. 
Even though this wine doesn't have much of a finish, it has substance and elegance.  The tannins are soft, yet pronounced.  There is a hint of spice.  The stony soil in which the vines grow even imparts a cool mineral feel to the taste and body of this wine.
This is a great bottle of wine...90-91 points and only $12 to $14.
The more I try the wines from Murcia, the more I feel compelled to go visit.  If you could visit one winemaking region in the world, where would you go...and why?

This is the kind of Merlot that might incite some scoffing from Merlot-haters.  It has the fruit bomb characteristics, the lack of body or depth, the finish that is measured in milliseconds... but at the end of the day it tastes good, candy good.
There are cherry and blueberry notes mixed with vanilla and cedar.  It smells like a typical new-world style wine: lush and fruity.  While there isn't anything complex about the wine, it did remind me of the scent of blueberry muffins baking in the oven, which is a very good aroma.  Overall it's a low B wine, but not bad.  I have had a lot better Merlot from Washington state... Five Star, Tamarack, Pedestal, Revelry... there are so many; it is definitely a region where this varietal thrives. 
If you don't like the fruit dominating your wine, then steer clear of this one.  But if you like inexpensive yummy beverages with 13.5% alcohol content, then give this wine a shot.

Recently, Dawn - the publisher of City Living magazine - recommended that I stop in and visit a brand new store down in the Adams Morgan area.  A.M. Wine Shoppe has a beautiful display of wine lining an entire wall.  When I walked in there were a few bottle open, waiting to be tried.  They had cheese and salami samples as well.  There wasn't a huge amount of different wine (while there, I heard someone come in and ask for Virginia wine, and there is none there), but what they lack in extensive selection, they make up for with their service.
Okay, the wine: 
2008 Mader Pinot Blanc... The nose on this Alsatian white wine is fresh, loaded with citrus and a sweet honeydew aroma.  I picked up a slight nasal burn from the alcohol, and there's a floral component layered into the fruity aromas.
If you like sorbet, or Starburst, or just good crisp wine that wakes up your tongue, this is a wine for you.  It is light, but full of flavor, with the lemonpeel leading the way.  The tartness stretches out the finish so that if you take a sip and walk away from your glass, you will honestly carry the flavor in your mouth for a few minutes.
This is a B+ wine for $14 (I've seen it at Rodman's, as well).  It would balance out a strong cheese or cream sauce, or work as a perfect compliment to a fruit salad.
2007 JK Estates Cabernet Sauvignon... Krishna, thank you for this wine.  No, I'm not converting to any religion, Krishna is the guy who gave me this California Cab to try out.  It is a $15 bottle, hailing from an Estate winery in Lodi.  The aromas are what made this wine stand out so much for me, while the body is rather light weight.
This bouquet is full of the beautiful weirdness that gets me excited about wine: pickled okra?  check.  capers?  check.  Imagine you have a dish of blackberry preserves, and then somebody reaching over drops a bit of green pepper, cippolini onions, and pickle juice into the mix.  Sound delicious?  The greenness of this overall aromatic blend may be a turnoff for some, but the onion and green pepper are known to make cameos when it comes to Cabernet.
Despite the olfactary circus going on, the wine is light in tannin, feels fresh and smooth in the mouth, and for me gets a solid 85. 

You can see the deep color extracted from this Sicilian grape.  The Nero d'Avola varietal thrives in the hot, dry climate of the end of Italy's boot.  Its flavors attain an intense level of concentration, yet this wine has some fresh, floral element that makes it seem lighter on the palate.
The berry aromas are strong, complimenty by some musty and floral notes.  In the mouth this wine doesn't feel huge, with tannins tearing apart the cheeks and gums, but it definitely has substance.  There is a hint of spiciness, too, which evoked a peppery strawberry image for me. 
I like this wine enough to give it a solid B, but priced in the upper teens it may be too much buck and not enough bang (I got it up at the Wine Source in Baltimore for $15).
If you haven't tasted a wine made from this native southern Italian grape, it is worth the trip to your local wine shop.

Every Saturday there are tastings at Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits from two to five.  This is the the easiest way to learn about new wines and put your palate to practice...
From right to left (light to bigger) in the picture here are four wines that offer different styles, smells, and flavors:


2008 Ferrari Carano Fumé Blanc:  This is 100% Sauvignon Blanc, full of zestiness, with key flavors like lemon and grapefruit.  About 1/3 of the wine was put into barrels to age, to soften some of the acidic sharpness, then blended back with the rest that stayed in stainless tanks.  The end result is a fresh Sauvignon Blanc that still has good acidity, yet comes at the palate in a more mellow way.  This normally costs $17, but was on sale for just under $13.

2006 Merryvale Starmont Chardonnay:   Chardonnay is a grape that can be vinified in a number of ways, a fact which splits Chardonnay drinkers into two schools: those that dig oak, and those that don't.
This bottle delivers a blend of half barrel-fermented and half stainless-steel-ferments grapes, resulting in a wine that still has nice body and a beautiful golden color, but is smells more of fresh fruit than it does of butter and barrels.  There are some lovely citrus, pear, apple, and even pineapple aromas here.  For someone like me (I tend to steer clear of California Chardonnay) this is a nice medium between the two ends of the Chardonnay spectrum. 

2007 Erath Pinot Noir:  For those that haven't tried Oregon Pinot Noir, you are missing out.  This wine shows just a glimpse of the whole world of Pinot that is growing continually in Oregon's Willamette Valley. 
This wine is light in body, and color.  It has earthy, leathery smells that meld well with a soft cherry aroma.  The wine is silky smooth in your mouth and, though its finish isn't big, it leaves a spicy aftertaste.  For pairing wine with Thai food or salmon, this would be perfect.

2007 Planeta Segreta:  A Sicilian blend consisting of mainly Nero d'Avola, this wine has body, lush fruit aromas, crisp acidity, and great overall balance.  There is Syrah, Merlot, and a touch of Cab. Franc in the blend.  The pruney, blackberry aromas are strong on the nose, with undertones of cranberry and rocks.  The minerality makes a huge play once the wine coats your mouth; it has substance, an almost chalky viscosity that makes you take this wine seriously.  This bottle could compliment so many types of food, from cheese to chicken, pizza to prime rib. 

Question for today:  Do you go out to shop where you know you can taste wines?  If not, you're neglecting your palate-maintenance.  If so, where do you go, and why?

This is a very good bottle of wine for $10.50.  I picked it up in Cleveland Park last weekend and now as I try it I want to go back and pick up some more. 
The blackberry aroma is the main factor in the olfactory department.  There is also a cool, stoney smell and a spicy, perfumy scent that reminds me pot pourri.  I might even call the nose on this wine "mushroomy."
Anyhow, it drinks very smooth.  The tannins are soft (especially after it's aerated a bit).  The minerality and acidity give it a very fresh quality that makes this wine stand up very well to food or aging.  I would love to taste this paired with pork... maybe with a side of cous cous filled with cranberries, raisins and apples.  This bottle is a fantasic value, a B+ for not a lot of money... you need to try this wine.
Has January really almost come and gone?  I'm very excited about this year.  There are many ideas swirling around in my head about the first East Coast Palate hosted events...maybe some wine pairing dinners or scavenger wine hunts.  How does that sound?  If I don't hear from anyone, then these amazing celebrations of life and wine can't take place.  Give me feedback!