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.

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?

The second red we opened was a 2000 Château Mondorion Grand Cru from St. Emilion, France.  I actually chose this bottle because while I studied abroad in France, some friends and I took a road trip that led us through the town of St. Emilion, where wine has been produced for about 13 centuries. 
This wine was replete with funky odors that may be offputting for some, but behind the musty, barnyard stink there were hints of chocolate, plums, and cherries that emerged more as we let it breath.  One observation around the table was very fitting: the wine smelled like carnations, sort of stinky, but in a good way...
The wine has a solid structure, a good balance of acids and tannins, and a chalky texture that adds to the feel of the wine in your mouth.  This was a B+ kind of wine, completely overshadowed by the excitement created by the Muga Reserva.  
This wine was also on special, costing only about $10 more than the retail price for a bottle.  I'm excited about the basement wine scene at Mrs. K's.  They have a half-price happy hour deal from 5 to 7 on wines by the glass, their food and wine menus both offer some fantastic flavors, and there is something about the cellar's ambiance that makes one forget that downtown Silver Spring is only a minute away.  The next time I want to be transported a European cellar, I'll go to Mrs. K's basement.
Oh yeah, for dessert that evening we also enjoyed a bottle of 1985 Burgundy and a bottle of Moët & Chandon Impérial.  I won't even score those bottles.  They were simply a decadent icing on my birthday party's cake.

This wine rocked my world, and subsequently the world of everyone around me (especially my aunt who may have found the love of her life).  This Rioja blend is mostly Tempranillo, but has some Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo to complete the recipe.
At first the aromas were shy and limited to a leathery, earthy, slightly cranberry smell.  Over the course of the next 3 hours this wine evolved into something beautiful.  The tightness of the nose released and out came the cherries, the chocolate, the spicy pepper, and the stoney minerality.  There is a wonderful balance between the acid and the tannins, allowing this blend to drink smooth on its own, or act as a complement to dishes like the peppery gazpacho or the portobella mushrooms.  I really liked this wine and scored it 92 points.  At Mrs. K's it was on special for $35, which is a great price considering a bottle retails for about $28.
For good reason has Muga been recently dubbed the most popular Spanish wine in America.  With a wine as good as this one, they're sure to create fans all around the world.  Take a look at the winery's website at www.bodegasmuga.com.
For those that tend to finish a bottle of wine within an hour, I suggest taking the time to see the contents change.  It is one of the most fascinating aspects of wine, and from time to time we all need to slow down, uncork a couple of bottles, and smell and taste the evolution of new scents and flavors over the course of a few hours. 
I'm now on the hunt for more Muga, does anyone have other Rioja recommendations?  Share the wine love.

After a week-long hiatus I'm back to the blog.  I admit I've had plenty of wine over the holidays.  I post reviews for some of the bottles that I really enjoyed, but for now, we move on to the wine of the day...

Periquita 2004 Reserva
This blend by José Maria da Fonseca comes from the Terras do Sado region in Portugal.  It has some berry and plum aromas that give way to more interesting smells like dusty basement and flowery perfume.  I think the perfume smell stems from the alcoholic blast that the nose brings, even though this wine weighs in at 13.5%.  The color is dark red with a transluscence that lets light shine through.  There are some particles floating around since this is an unfiltered wine, but the aromas are really pleasant and a little dirt won't hurt anyone.
There is an initial hit from the tannins that dry out the mouth, but then the flavors settle, the texture softens, and a plummy, strawberry quality brings this wine to life in the mouth.  There is an aftertaste that reminds me of Port, a kind of burnt molasses aspect.  That could be that the grapes are the same used in many Ports (Castelao, Touriga Nacional, and Touriga Franca), or it could be that the wine smells like it could be fortified.
Overall this isn't a big bodied wine.  It is smooth, with some complex aromas.  I picked it up for about $20 in a Montgomergy County liquor store.  I give it an A-, and I'm pleased with this Portuguese effort.  I'll be looking for more from José Maria da Fonseca

Here's another wine from Mendoza Argentina.  The Uco Valley is about an hour's drive southwest of the city of Mendoza, and it's gaining more and more recognition for their Malbec, Torrontes, Merlot, and even Pinot Noir.
This 50/50 blend caught my eye down at Adega Cellar in Silver Spring mainly because the winery where I used to work - SYZYGY - makes a wine that is a blend of Malbec, Tempranillo, and Cabernet Sauvignon.  While Syzygy's Saros blend is work of enological art, this blend by Urban was unimpressive. 
There aromatic components are masked by the high alcohol %.  There's a cotton candy smell mixed with flowers, strawberry and even some stinky poo aromas, but they don't mesh well for me. 
In the mouth it starts smooth, then heats up with a bit of spice that I'd attribute mostly to the 14.5% booze level.  The oak tannins on the back end were a bit overbearing, completely drying my gums after each sip. 
It seemed like all the puzzle pieces for a quality wine were there, but nobody bothered to put the thing together.  This bottle retails for about $12, but I don't think I'll ever have it again; it was just too dissappointing for a wine made from two varietals that I enjoy so much.

This mostly Tempranillo blend really seems to me to capture a lot of what is typically associated with the wines of the Ribera del Duero region.  It has a oily leathery stink, a dusty resinous aroma that is a little hot, and very concentrated.  Even though I wasn't completely taken with this wine, I really enjoy the aromatic nuances...the cherry, the black olives, the barnyard animal.  Seriously, it has some funk that is sultry and inviting.
The tastes take their time unfolding, starting of with a rich, creamy mouthfeel, rising into the moment when the tannins take hold, and then slowly finishing with a cherry/leather senstation on the palate.  It is a medium bodied feel, not over-oaked by any means.
It's a good wine that I bought for $12.  I'd rate it in the upper 80's.  Really the aromas did more for me than the flavors.  But it's well balanced, a bit chalky and slate-like, which I like.  I couldn't pin a number on this one, so let's just call it a high B.
Sometimes I feel wierd because the more unusual the aroma, the more I want to stick my nose in that stink.  Is this a funky wine aroma fetish or something?  What are some strange smells or flavors that you have encountered in wine?  Share your stories.

The blend in this bottle is 60% Syrah/40% Mourvèdre.  It smells old-world, with dusty, earthy aromas mingling with fresh strawberry notes.  It also smells a bit strong, even though the alcohol content is listed at 13%. 
The wine is light bodied, with some fantastic minerality and a little bit of spiciness.  I like the acid levels, too.  The fruity components, in this case, were low key, taking a back seat role to the stoney, dirty characteristics.  This wine gets 87-88 points from my palate; I'd recommend decanting the wine to let it breath a bit (really just to allow some of the stinging boozey aroma to burn off).  Either way, this Luc Pirlet blend from the Languedoc region is a good wine, and I'd go back for more any day, especially since it only costs $12.

The 2007 vintage in the Rhône valley is impressive, and many critics are touting it as the best year in the last couple decades for Chateauneuf-du-Pape blends, but let's forget the Côtes du Rhônes.  Many Chateaux have limits on how much CDP they can produce, and a lot of high-quality wine is going into blends like this one that cost under 20 bucks but still bring some serious flavor to the table.
This 2007 Domaine de la Solitude has some strawberry/blackberry notes that hover just above a sweaty funk that gives this wine a well of aromatic depth.  The slate smell is in there.  There's some black cherry.  This wine smells dank and earthy.  It smells beautiful.
The mouthfeel is rich, with tannins and acids in perfect harmony.  There is a chalkiness that seems to accentuate the minerality and earthy aspect of this wine, too.  Most impressive about this product is the balance.  Some wines are 'good.'  This one is a composition.  I love it.  It an A, 93 points, and I bought it for $13 (on sale from $17)at The Wine Source in Baltimore.  Even though that Domaine Lafond CDP was a B+ for me, why would I get it ever again when I know that I could get 2 bottles of better wine for less money?  If I seemed a little worked up, it because this wine really just does it for me.  It is good enough that I might have to order a case. 

The first snow of the season fell on Saturday and I was in D.C. pouring wine at a YES Organic Market, where the wine and dairy sections share an aisle.  Needless to say, I was cold on that frigid day, and when my sampling duties were done, I went down a block to Busboys & Poets.  This was my first time here, but I'm planning on heading back this weekend.  The ambiance and noise and warmth were just what I needed.  It seems like a good place for a first date, but I could tell a lot of people were there for the food and drinks.  I, however, sat at the bar, opened a book, and thawed out.   A glass of Côtes du Rhone turned out to be the perfect wine for my brief visit.

The 2006 Côtes du Rhône by Jean-Luc Colombo is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre that has some dark cherry aromas mixed with a spicy, woodsy smell.  The alcohol adds its own spiciness to the nose, but the wine's structure is solid.  There is a good deal of acidity to balance out the tannins.  The dark berry flavors come through, but at the same time this wine isn't overly fruity.  The finish is lengthy and on the tart side, which I like.  This wine would be able to stand up to some duck confit or a hearty steak, but it's made well enough that it does fine on it's own.  A glass at Busboys & Poets costs $8, so I'd guess this wine runs about $13-$15 retail.  I'll be looking for it for my own wine cellar.