Two Whites Equals Nothing Wrong

Recently went to Press 626 Cafe & Wine Bar in Norfolk, VA and was able to taste about 10 wines over an hour long tasting and have many to share.  First is the story of two white wines.  Since I don't often talk about whites, here are two great choices.

Tenuta del Cavaliere by Marchetti is an Italian and also knows as Marchetti Tenuta del Cavaliere Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi.  This is a Verdicchio that is is a yellow-green grape variety from central Italy responsible for making dry wines of the same color. The variety has been used here for many centuries, and its use has been documented in the Marche region since the 14th Century.

The dry white wines sold under this label are made from the acient Verdicchio grape.
Legend has it that when the troops of the king of the Visigoths, Alarich (370-410), marched on Rome, they were provided with barrels of Verdicchio to maintain their strength.

I enjoyed this white wine with its smoky white pepper notes that mark the very finest Verdicchios. The wine’s rich, mouth-filling pear and melon fruit is backed by intense currents of smoky minerals, riveting acidity, and exotic suggestions of genmaicha tea, chamomile, lemon zest and star fruit. Marchetti’s Verdicchio begs for hearty, rich food. We ate it with seared Ahi Tuna and it was wonderful.  I would also consinder pairing it with other fish or white pizza.  It is an impressive wine from Italy.

The other white wine of the evening was a 2011 Roussanne Tolosa.  It is from a winery in San Louis Obispo, California and they have a solar powered winery.  Their website is here:  www.tolosawinery.com.  The wine is 100% Roussanne which is a grape that most people are not familiar with.  It is usually grown in the Rhone region of France and is often blended with Marsanne.  This is not often found in California

The wine has floral and tropical layers of banana and pineapple with a rich and creamy full bodied finish.  This is a wine I had not tried before and really loved it.  This is a great wine on a summery day and pairs nicely with any seafood or a summer picnic.  Try it, you'll love it.

Spanish Tempranillo - something different

Antano Rioja Crianza Tempranillo is an interesting wine with ruby red aromas of ripe plum and cherry with notes of violets and has an upfront fruit with balanced a nice acidity and an elegant finish that lingers. This would be a great wine with cheeses and tastings.

The wine is made of 85% Temprannillo, 10% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo, from Rioja Alta that is fermented in stainless steel and aged for 12 months in nuutral American and French oak.

Personally, at first, I really enjoyed this wine, but as it lingered  I liked it less and less.  I say try it for yourself and see what you think.  I think it goes well with food, but just to drink by itself, it doesn't hold up.

Here is a little information about the region in Spain where the wine orginiates. 

Bodegas Antano is located in the historic town of Briones, in the Rioja Alta sub-appellation of Rioja. The soil throughout Rioja is calcareous. Vines are naturally stressed in this type of soil, developing extensive root systems. Traditionally, vineyards in Rioja Alta were planted predominately with Tempranillo, a noble grape which the Spaniards regard as their finest red variety. This native grape is well suited to the region's subclimate, which is influenced by both the Atlantic and Mediterranean Oceans. Tempranillo is also blended with Garnacha (Grenache), Mazuelo (Carignan) and the indigenous Graciano. Bodegas Antano honors tradition while using modern enological innovation to produce some of the most extraordinary values in Rioja today.

Russian River Valley creates nice wine

Ottimino Zinfandel 2007 received 92 points from Wine Enthusiast in October in 2011.  This wine is high in alcohol (13.9%), in the manner of a ripe Zin.  This is a rich elegant wine and will make you want more.

 

Ottimino Estate Zinfandel pours a deep burgundy in the glass. The intoxicating nose is filled with aromas of plum, vanilla, oak, and black pepper. The wine is perfectly balanced and tastes of ripe blackberries, dark cherries, licorice, and vanilla. A spicy, long finish is prolonged with lingering notes of vanilla. This is a beautiful Zinfandel. Forget one more glass, I want to have another bottle!

Visit their website at www.otimino.com.  In Pennsylvania the bottle runs about $22 and a great price for a great wine.

Here is some more information I found researching the wine.


VINEYARD: Planted in 2001, the Ottimino vineyard is owned by Brad Alper, an airline pilot by trade, and now gentleman farmer. The vineyards were planted and then grafted with budwood sourced from Lytton Springs Vineyard, Von Weidlich Vineyard, and Rancho Bello Vineyard. At an altitude of 800’, this part of the Russian River Valley remains cool in contrast to Dry Creek Valley, yet receives more sun than lowland Green Valley. Thus producing fruit forward robust wines without the high alcohols that normally accompany zinfandels.

VINTAGE: In the nearly ideal 2007 vintage, bud break in the Ottimino Vineyard was a bit earlier than Rancho Bello and Von Weidlich Vineyards, and its youthful vigor supported both an extensive canopy and an abundance of fruit. Numerous passes were required to bring the vines into balance, and by late summer the final thinning for green and raisined fruit left full, evenly ripened clusters of loosely packed, deep purple berries.

Great Price = Great Taste in this Wine

EOS 2009 Red Zinfendel was a favorite of many at our wine tasting a week ago and I want to share this especially with you.  EOS Estate Winery is located in Paso Robles, California about half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco.  The county is subject to similar climatic influences as its northern counterpart in Napa.  You can find more information about EOS Estate Winery here:  http://www.eosvintage.com/index.cfm 

This wine was not only enjoyed at our tasting because of the taste, but the price was only $8.99 at the LCB here in York.  I sugges you go now and buy up every bottle you can find.  The 2009 Eos Zinfandel has dark ruby hues of garnet. The aroma exhibits classic peppery Zinfandel spice with raspberry highlights of boysenberry jam. Secondary aromas of cola, briar patch, and sultanas follow. On the palate, the wine is refreshing with zippy acidity and a lush palate. Flavors of jammed raspberries and spiciness persist. The finish is tightly knit and leaves the taster with a refreshed impression making this an excellent food wine.

2009 was a great year in this area for the Zinfandel in the Paso Robles region because it was a cool year that allowed the fruit to barley ripen and therefor exhibited surprising restraint for a Zinfand

Composition

81% Zinfandel
14% Petite Sirah
2% Merlot
2% Syrah

1% Other varieties

 

Readings

Alcohol: 13.9%
pH: 3.8
T.A.: 0.6g/100mL
R.Sugar: 0.3g/L

Summer Time and a Rose

I love a good Rose wine on a summer day and I found one recently at a wine tasting that I enjoyed.  We hosted a wine tasting this past weekend and did wines from California and chose the Zinfandel.  We didn't have any of the sweet white zinfandel, but went dry and red.

This wine comes from Napa Valley and is called Zin Gris made by the Storybook Mountain Vineyards.  Please note that it may be hard to find as they don't make it every year, but the 2011 version that I had was lovely.  It is patteren after the dry rose wines of Rhone and Provence.  It is aromatic and deeply flavored with a kiss of oak.  This is a rose that comes from a zinfandel grape. 

The winery crushes the fully mature grapes and slowly barrel ferment them to the dryness you experience under the cool conditions of their caves.  It would go great with a smoked salmon.  Ask for it at you local wine store.  It is great this time of year on a hot summer day.   You can see other wines from Storybook Mountain at www.storybookwines.com. 

Farwell Tennessee Durigutti Malbec

I am writing about my last wine that I tasted while working in Tennessee, which was a treat of good friends.  We went to a lovely Jazz Supper Club near Nasville and had a wonderfule meal.  Good friends, good food, good wine, what more is there to ask?

Durigutti Malbec 2011 was one selection for the evening.  This Malbec has a nice dark color with
rustic aromas of currant, chocolate, mocha and leather. Supple and suave but not overly concentrated, with good inner-mouth energy to the flavors of blackberry, chocolate and mint. A rather dry, classic malbec with a savory finish displaying fine tannins and a lingering chocolate note.  We certainly enjoyed it

WineMaker states:  Lush nose laced with black-berry and plum fruit. Soft yet focused on the palate, with additional flavors of strawberry and wild herbs. Medium tannins and balanced acidity.

See more about this and other Durigutti wines at www.durigutti.com

Wine Week at the Beach

Since I was in Delaware last week and I have an upcoming wine tasting the end of July, I thought I would try a bunch of California wines and do some pre-tasting.  I purchased 8 different California wines, mostly Cabernet, but did end up with a few others and was very disappointed.  I must have picked all the worst.  One bottle was so bad I poured it down the drain.  It tasted like grape juice.  YUK.

I will share with you the one I went back for.  It is called Lock & Key Meritage.  It is made by the Trinchero Family Estates and can be found at http://tfewines.com/our-wines/lock-and-key.php.

I did enjoy this wine.  Meritage is fast becoming the US version of Bordeaux.  This blend includes cabernet, merlot and cabernet franc.  It would be a great wine for dinner. 

The grapes are sourced from California's prestigious North Coast Appellation.  It has layered blackberry and plum flavors with hints of dark chocolate and tobacco spice.  I also found the finish to be nice, slightly silky.

The price point in Delaware was great too at $10.99 a bottle.  Overall, nicely balanced, fuller bodied, good fruit levels with the smoothness that comes with a blend.