EAST COAST PALATE

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.

For a young wine, harvested only about eight months ago, this Malbec delivers some really nice aromas and flavors.  It is a light bodied wine, dominated by a very strong candy scent that sets the palate up for some fruity, cherry flavors.  There is a slight smell of leather and nuts, and bit of a tannic bite on the back end of the wine.  This wine from Mendoza, Argentina is inexpensive and shows a younger, simpler version of how well some of the South American Malbecs are made.  I tried this wine at 1 West Wine, down in Dupont Circle, where it was on sale for $13.  It gets a solid B, and I'll probably buy this wine again.  It really is a good bottle for a Tuesday night. It would would go well with a burger, a baked potato or some spaghetti.

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. 

These wine shed any pretense, come packaged in screw caps and fun, colorful labels.  They might not fit the bill for a fancy celebration, but what really counts is what's inside, and the vintner at the Big House Wine Co. has done a great job making a tasty product that costs from $10 to $13.
2005 The Prodigal Son Petite Sirah: Don't confuse this varietal with Syrah.  The Petite Sirah grape is a crossbreed of Syrah and Peloursin, and in France it's commonly called Durif.  It definitely has some of the peppery qualities of Syrah, but for me this particular wine had some very nice floral aromas not typical of California Syrah.  It was like someone giving me some Zinfandel with a sachet of pot pourri hiding in the bottom of the glass.  The flavors are much like Zinfandel, with prunes and black cherries leading the charge.  Unfortunately, this wine's taste vanishes quickly, leaving only a dry, tingly sensation in the gums and cheeks.
It's a low B wine for me.  I'd like to see more balance on the back end of it, but really I was happy to try a varietal Petite Sirah, and to learn that in California they grow quite a bit of this grape and grow it well... for a more thorough look at Petite Sirah, check out www.psiloveyou.org

2006 The Slammer Syrah: When I opened this bottle and poured a little into a glass, the wild aromas wafted and excited me to the point where I was running around putting the glass under my friends' noses.  This wine is aromatically insane - truly funky, weird odors flood out of this wine, and I love the uniqueness of it.
This Syrah from California's Central Coast has aromas of blackberry and pepper that mix it up with freshly unearthed mushrooms, sweaty socks, and Green Giant canned asparagus.  The overall olfactory impression is swampy and dank, but the wine has some solid fruit, and decent structure.  It is more medium bodied and I think it would benefit from more tannins.  From behind the crazy smells emerges a lush and flavorful wine.  I like this enough to give it 88-89 points, B+ juice.  It's a great experience, and I'd recommend this wine to take to a blind tasting group just to see others react to it.
Visit the jail-themed Big House website at www.bighousewine.com.

This wine comes from Valencia, Spain.  While that region might not have the DOC (denominación de origen calificada) status like some other areas in the country, this Tempranillo is impressive.
The nose is a balance of fruit and dirt, dark cherry and leather, a hint of ripe red apples, and the candy scent of an open pack of Twizzlers.  It smells delicious. 
The tastes fulfill the promise of the aromas.  There is a smooth texture to this wine that is backed by solid tannins.  The fruit flavors are rich and concentrated, but kept in balance by a leathery quality that I really love in a good Tempranillo.  The red apple comes through on the tart, tannic finish leaving my palate wanting more.
This is a well made, A- wine that reminds me very much of some Tempranillos I've had from the Rioja region.  The bottled is a pretty package, wrapped in a gold filagree (much like some of the other "Marques de" bottles from Spain).  The price is only $11, which only impresses me more and makes it a fantastic value wine for any occasion.  I'd love to have this wine with some steak or a pork chop, but it's fine on its own as well.
For those fans of Spanish wines, what is your favorite wine region in Spain?  Any preference on varietals or vintages?

I tried a glass of this Cali Merlot the other day.  It is a great example of a wine where some vanilla aromas are easily perceived.  That smell mainly comes from the barrel aging process.  The oak used (Quercus alba) has vanillin in it inherently, so the longer a wine sits in the barrel, the more vanillin can integrate into the wine.  The particular bottle here also brings some fresh blueberry aromas, and an slightly herbal quality, which might have been what triggered my memory this morning when I had some Rooibus/Vanilla tea.  That's what really reminded me of sampling this Merlot almost a week ago.
The wine is very light-bodied, almost watery even.  It has a freshness, a juciness, and a simplicity that makes me think it would be a crowdpleaser for people who don't drink much wine .  It does have an oaky bite near the back end of the palate, but it's by no means a big, meaty Merlot.  It's a low B for about 10 bucks, perfect to have with pizza, maybe even pizza bagels like I used to make when I was kid.
For more info on getting some Gnarly Head, visit www.gnarlyhead.com.

If this wine drinks like a bold, jammy Zinfandel, that's because it practically is one.  There's genetic evidence now that show's the link between the "Californian" varietal and its cousin from the coasts of Puglia, Italy.
This wine has a dark reddish brown color.  It eminates scents of leather, raisins, dates and a bit of maple syrup.  All of these aromas carry over into the wine's taste.  The mouthfeel, which is thick and jammy, comes on strong at the beginning.  But the oakiness in this wine covers up some of the fruit flavors and then gets bigger toward the back end of the wine, leaving a very woody finish on the palate. 
The aromas really pulled me in, but then the wine's overall effect on me was not thrilling.  This is a good bottle to open up with burgers, pasta marinara, some venison stew, or maybe even a not-too-spicy chili.  It was on sale for $10, down from $13, but it isn't very balanced and gets a low B from me.
For all the people I meet while pouring tastes at various locations... I want to hear from you.  Comment back and let me know how your wines went over during the holidays.  The month of December is a festive one, and the wine will flow.  Cheers to all from East Coast Palate.

I know there are some great Italian Dolcettos out there for a good price.  This wine, to me, just isn't one of them.  The smell of this wine didn't woo me, but it was wierd enough to intrigue my senses.  I smelled, somehow, musty basement and wool sweater over the slighty cherry-currant-rose petal aromas that struggled to waft their way out of the glass.  Moreover though, I got some modeling glue/nailpolish remover (The ethyl acetate strikes again) smells that really make this wine just seem flawed.  The wine tastes tart and leathery, with a cranberry finish.  The way the wine feels in my mouth was actually a lot more pleasant than the flavors in this wine (or lack thereof).  It might just be the bottle that was off, but I won't ever buy this Dolcetto again.  The first impression really ruined it for me.  This effort gets a C.  It would've been better with food, but on its own this wine just didn't do it for me.  
What was the last time you had a let-down experience after getting your expectations up about a wine?  Or maybe the last time you opened a bottle you thought would be kind of a "meh" wine, and then it rocked your world?  Share the stories... 

This medium bodied  Garnacha brings a lot of inviting aromas, a lush and leathery flavor, and a bit of a zing from that 14.5% alcohol (and most labels downplay the actual ethanol content of the wine).  The 2007 Las Rocas Garnacha can be found for $10-$12, and for me is a bottle that I'll definitely be revisiting in the future.
I'm winding down after a 2 hour drive back from a teetotaling Thanksgiving dinner in the Shennendoah Valley, and this wine seemed like a good pairing with post-paintball aches, and a stuffed bellyfull of turkey.
There is an allure to the nose of this wine that is almost sythetic, like a strawberry Jolly Rancher, but it's mixed well with a smokey, leathery component that immediately lets you know there's more to this wine that just fruit.  In the mouth it is a burst of berry flavors that yields to some tartness and the solid grip of some moderate tannins.  The alcohol comes through clearly, kind of like when you bite into a chocolate that is filled with a cherry AND some Cognac; with this wine you get the trio: fresh sweet fruit, dark bitter chocolate, and a slap in the face (a kind of playful slap, though) from that 14.5%. 
But the key to making that combo work is balance, and this Garnacha has that.  It isn't some elegant, super-complex Chateauneuf de Pape, but it is smooth and well structured.  I like it.  It gets a solid B/B+, with 88 points.  It's great value wine for its price.