Doña Paula’s 2008 Malbec hails from the Mendoza region of Argentina. Jammy, with a light herbal finish, it’s easy to see why this wine has won so many accolades of late: It’s great with food or by itself, and it lightens up to reveal more red fruit as it aerates. It’s hard to love many malbecs, but it’s easy to really like this wine. The price, however, it’s what’s really shocking.
A- / $12 / donapaula.com.ar
Yeyo! It’s fun to say. Pretty fun to drink. But more fun to say.
Yeyo!
Yeyo is a new brand, a straight-up silver tequila. 100% agave. 80 proof. No aged versions. Hailing from Beaverton, Oregon (by way of the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, of course), it’s only now arriving in small pockets of the Pacific Northwest.
Easygoing but good, Yeyo has a distinct citrus character that makes it good with margaritas (I know, I tried) but also fine on its own, if you’re a silver sipper type. It’s got good agave character in the body, with a kind of charcoal-tinged finish. Quite smooth, I have no complaints, really.
Or as I like to say: Yeyo!
A- / $47 / yeyotequila.com
So many booze companies try to jump on the Oscar bandwagon with a custom cocktail, but this one from our friends at Moet sounded just about perfect. It’s what I’m serving tonight! (The Academy Awards start at 5PM PST.)
Golden Glamour
4 oz. Moët & Chandon Imperial Champagne
1/4 oz. Navan vanilla liqueur
1 1/2 oz. passion fruit juice
Combine all ingredients in a champagne coupe. Top with fresh sprig of mint for garnish.
Can the French go toe to toe with the Australians at their own game: Putting out cheap and simple varietally-focused wines that consumers will lap up? All that’s missing is the animal on the label.
Here’s how the five wines of the HobNob label — sometimes seen as Hob Nob and all hailing from “the sunny hills of southern France” — stack up.
2007 HobNob Chardonnay – Not drinkable, heavily perfumed with mint and incense. Like licking a belly dancer, and not in a good way. D
2008 HobNob Pinot Noir – Smoky and meaty, this is more harmless than the chardonnay, but a bitter green finish mucks things up. C
2006 HobNob Merlot – Jammy, somewhat easydrinking, but with a big green olive kick. Bizarre, but not horrible. C+
2007 HobNob Cabernet Sauvignon – Extremely light but clearly cabernet, at least — rare for these wines which defy varietal classification. A lot like the merlot, but with less abrasive components. Harmless. B-
2006 HobNob Shiraz – Plummy but mild. A little chewy, but easy to deal with. Curiously uses the Aussie “Shiraz” name instead of the Francophilic “Syrah.” B
$11 each / hobnobwines.com
Malt Advocate’s John Hansell called this whiskey the “American Whiskey of the Year” (20o9), a heavy honor from a man who samples hundreds of whiskies a year and certainly knows his stuff. I finally tracked down a bottle — not an easy task — to see what all the fuss was about.
The idea: To celebrate master distiller Park Beam’s 50th anniversary as a whiskeymaker, whiskey from each of Parker’s five decades in the biz is included in the blend. At 100 proof, this is hot stuff, and it easily benefits from a splash of water. A deep amber color, it also opens up as you let air get to it, revealing some of the charms that Hansell is so enchanted with.
Lovely apple fruit, vanilla, and rounded wood tones are the highlights here, with a dessert-like sweetness that Hansell astutely terms as “nougat” like. The finish is easygoing but harkens back to wood — remember there is at least some 40-plus-year-old whiskey in this thing but evaporates with hints of pie crust and biscuits, sugar and spice.
Whiskey of the year? That’s hard to say. I remain enamored with Old Rip Van Winkle’s 23 Year Old… though Parker’s Golden boy is awfully close on its heels.
A / $150 / bardstownwhiskeysociety.com
Yeah, it’s about as made-up a holiday as you can get, but March 5 is Absinthe Day, which means you should be mixing up a little green fairy concoction in honor of the misunderstood spirit.
Don’t know where to start? Here are some of my favorite absinthes on the market:
Obsello – Spanish. Fragrant, silky, and lush. 100 proof.
La Clandestine – Swiss. Blanche style (that is, not green). Lovely lavender tint to it, needs minimal doctoring to be pleasant. 106 proof.
Vieux Carre – American. Light and pleasant. 120 proof.
St. George – American. Peppery and lemon character make this one a little unique. Hot. 120 proof.
Tré means three, and if the faux-talian didn’t tip you off to the threeness of this wine, perhaps the silhouettes of the three men walking along and drinking it will.
Tré is a budget wine through and through: Each of these four varietals sells for $9.95. Produced by the Guglielmo Winery in Morgan Hill, California, look for them in mainstream markets.
2008 Tré Chardonnay Monterey County – Surprisingly big, fruity like a sauvignon blanc. The only regionally-sourced wine of the Tré lineup, it’s generally a winner, minimal oaking, lots of pineapple and peach character, and a semisweet finish. Works best as an aperitif. A-
2007 Tré Merlot California – Light bodied, with a jammy nose and bittersweet finish. Really easygoing, but not much to it. Good for parties. B-
2007 Tré Syrah California – 4% cabernet, the rest syrah. Not a fan. Seriously vegetal nose, a rough and rustic body, really weedy. Fruit is an afterthought. This tastes of dirt and greenery, like chewing on a briar. C-
2007 Tré Cabernet Sauvignon California – Inexpensive cabernet is always a tricky proposition, and Tré does the best it can at this price point. Very young and overtly jammy, with the distinct tone of strawberry preserves. Tastes a bit like something you’d find in a pastry, not quite the decadent and rich wine you’d serve with a steak. Too thin, no structure. C+
$10 each / trecellars.com
Some people swear by the “don’t mix alcohols” or “only clear alcohols” technique in their quest to avoid a hangover. Now scientists say they have a new method for limiting the negative effects of alcohol consumption: Imbuing alcohol with oxygen bubbles.
To wit:
The drinks with the added oxygen content sobered people up 20-30 minutes faster, under the influence of the rather potent alcohol they used for the trials. 20% alcohol is around the strength of fortified wine, soju, or a very strong mixed drink, so while shaving a half hour off your drunken tomfoolery might not seem a great deal, when you’re trying to fall asleep at night and combating the spins, you’ll appreciate it.
The researchers also asked what would change if someone were to drink multiple oxygen-enriched drinks over the course of the night. Would there be a cumulative effect? Again, the answer was yes: People who drank oxygenated booze had less severe and fewer hangovers than people who drank the non-fizzy stuff.
Remember, we’re talking about oxygen bubbles, not CO2, which is what most carbonation is composed of, so don’t go guzzling Jack and Coke and assume you’ll be all well in the morning.
St. Patrick’s Day is always good for dozens of recipe submissions from companies hopeful to have their (invariably green) cocktails featured here.
None have come anywhere close to the audacity of Richard Blais’s concoction, which is reprinted here for your shock and awe. Cabbage water, people. Cabbage water.
Corned Beef Collins
1 ½ oz. Michael Collins blended whiskey
2 oz. Fresh sour mix
2 oz. Club soda
1 eye droplet of Corned beef extract (corned beef drippings from pan)
1 splash Cabbage water
Corned beef spices and cabbage oak aroma
Shake whiskey, corned beef extract and sour mix with ice. Pour into Collins glass and top with club soda. Smoke corned beef spice blend (bay leaf, black pepper, coriander, salt, mustard seed) with oak chips and present smoke suspended in covered, inverted glass. To serve, remove glass to infuse the air with the smell of corned beef and enjoy!
Gambero Rosso puts on a tasting event of its most highly rated Italian wines — tre bicchieri, or three glasses — every year. I was fortunate to be able to sample 41 different wines from this elite event, with wines from all over the country.
There’s no rhyme or reason to what’s on tap at Tre Bicchieri — everything from Prosecco to Barolo to Nero d’Avola can be found in the aisles here. As such, I’ll leave any broad generalizations about vintages or varietals to your analysis of my ratings. A special note however for 2005 Benanti Il Drappo, a modestly priced Nero from Sicily that had everything I love to get out of that grape and more.
2010 Tre Bicchieri Italian Wines Summary Report
2004 Masi Amarone della Valpolicella Cl. Campolongo di Torbe / B+
2006 Nino Negri Valtellina Sfursat 5 Stelle / B / vegetal
2006 Nino Negri Valtellina Sfursat / A-
2006 Isole e Olena Cepparello / B+
2007 Feudo Maccari Saia / B+
2006 Michele Chiarlo Barbera d’Asti Sup. Nizza La Court / C-
2005 Michele Chiarlo Barolo Cerequio / A-
2004 Tenuta la Fuga – Folonari Brunello di Montalcino / B- / barnyard notes
2006 Tenuta la Fuga – Folonari Cabreo il Borgo / B+
2006 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri Sassicaia / B+
2007 Tenuta San Guido Guidalberto / B
2005 Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato / A-
2006 Particaia Montefalco Sagrantino / A-
2005 Germano Barolo Cerretta / B+
2005 Germano Barolo Prapo / B
2004 Giancarlo Travaglini Gattinara Riserva / A- / great balance
2008 Planeta Cometa / B+ / lighter viognier style
2000 Ferrari Trento Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore Brut / B / apple juice like
2007 Petrolo Galatrona / A- / 100% merlot, surprising
2005 Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole / A-
2008 Cantina Produttori San Michele Appiano A.A. Sauvignon St. Valentin / B-
2006 Antinori Tignanello / A-
2005 Antinori Barolo Bussia Prunotto / B-
2005 Sant’Antonio Amarone della Valpolicella Campo dei Gigli / B+ / mint and rosemary character
2008 Nino Franco Valdobbiadene Grave di Stecca Brut / B
NV Nino Franco Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut Rostico / A- / like SweetTarts
2005 Bridaldara Amarone della Valpolicella Cl. / A-
2004 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino / B
2008 Pra Soave Cl. Monte Grande / B-
2006 Sapaio Bolgheri Sapaio Sup. / B-
2006 Benanti Etna Rosso Serra della Contessa / A-
2005 Benanti Il Drappo / A / incredible balance
2006 Fattoria Felsina Fantalloro / B-
2004 Oddero Barolo Mondoca di Bussia Soprana / A-
2005 Allegrini – Corte Giara Amarone della Valpolicella Cl. / A- / plum and cherry
2006 Allegrini – Corte Giara W. Dedicato a Walter / B
2008 Cantina Tramin A.A. Gewurztraminer Nussbaumer / C+ / you don’t hear about a lot of Italian Gewurz… there’s a reason for that
2005 Castellare di Castellina I Sodi di San Niccolo / A-
2007 Di Majo Norante Molise Aglianico Contado Ris. / B+ / big cocoa finish
2007 Librandi Ciro Rosso Duca Sanfelice Ris. / C-
2005 Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Cl. / B+ / very sweet, with a maple syrup character
