Gruner remains a bit exotic, sure, but this wine is intriguing for its grapes: They’re 100 percent organically grown in Austria, a rarity in Europe presently. The results are less exciting than the grape heritage: Grassy, mild, and a little sour despite the initial flavors of fresh apple and lots of tongue-buzzing lemon. Organic is great, but the wine lacks a punch.
B / $14 / naturalmerchants.com
Winebow isn’t a name I expect you have ever heard of, but you’ve surely consumed its wines: The company is the largest importer of Italian wines in America, and as such it has the volume to be able to put on an event where it pours its Italian offerings… and nothing else. (Winebow also represents wines from many other regions, plus spirits.)
With some wildly rare and expensive wines, this was certainly an event not to miss, but there was nothing here to compare with Prunotto’s northern Italian lineup, a range of outstanding Brunellos and Barbarescos where each seemed to be better than the last. Tasting notes follow: First wines, then grappa. Prices noted are wholesale list price per bottle.
Tasting Report: Winebow’s Vini D’Italia, June 2011
2007 Allegrini Amarone Classico / $67 / A- / approachable
2004 Allegrini La Poja / $67 / A- / fruitier
2009 Allegrini Soave / $13 / A-
2006 San Polo Brunello di Montalcino / $65 / A-
2004 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli / $111 / B+ / very dried fruit character
2004 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino / $59 / B+ / herbal
2006 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino / $55 / A
2006 Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico / $16 / B- / heavy tannin
2007 Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico / $16 / C+
2006 Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico Riserva Berardo / $29 / B-
2003 Castello di Bossi Garolamo / $52 / B-
2004 Castello di Bossi Corbaia / $52 / B
2005 Falesco Marciliano Cabernet Sauvignon / $40 / B+ / big herbs, especially on the nose
2006 Falesco Sagrantino di Montefalco / $42 / B- / nose is off
2010 Falesco Est! Est!! Est!!! Di Montefiascone / $8 / B
2009 Franz Haas Pinot Nero / $42 / B
2009 Kris Pinot Noir / $11 / B-
2004 Leone de Castris Donna Lisa Salice Salentino Riserva / $40 / B+
2005 Leone de Castris Donna Lisa Salice Salentino Riserva / $40 / A / great balance
2008 Maculan Palazzotto Cabernet Sauvignon / $26 / A- / very soft
2007 Maculan Fratta / $83 / A / lush, intense
2004 Prunotto Barolo Bussia / $73 / A-
2005 Prunotto Barolo Bussia / $85 / A
2006 Prunotto Barbaresco Bric Turot / $63 / A-
2006 Prunotto Barbaresco Classico / $42 / A-
2005 Prunotto Barolo / $46 / B+ / strawberry notes
2006 Prunotto Barolo / $46 / B / sunny
2006 Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico / $55 / B+ / huge fruit
2005 Zenato Cresasso / $63 / A- / sweet licorice notes, fun
2005 Tasca D’Almerita Rosso del Conte / $56 / B+ / over-jammed
2005 Tua Rita Giusto di Notri / $77 / C+ / tight
2006 Tua Rita Perlato del Bosco / $39 / B
2007 Tua Rita Syrah / $188 / A- / great balance
2007 Tua Rita Redigaffi / $260 / A
Grappa
Poli Jacopo Moscato / $60 (375ml) / B+
Poli Jacopo Torcolato / $60 (375ml) / A-
Poli Po Moscato / $48 / B-
Poli Po Pino / $48 / B+
Poli Po Traminer / $48 / B
Poli Sarpa / $48 / B+
When absinthe essentially went dark in 2009, it handed over the reins to a replacement in the fad liquor department: Tea-flavored vodkas. These bad boys just keep coming and, thankfully, each is just about as good as the last — a claim which absinthe was never able to make.
This sweet tea vodka from Austin, Texas has a milder nose than most, but the mouthfeel is huge and the taste is, again, authentic — this blend claiming Nilgiri black tea, turbinado sugar, and Hill Country spring water in the mix. Sure enough, the darker sugar notes come through after awhile — especially as the finish lingers. My only complaint is a bit more bite than most of the other vodkas of this ilk — but that’s almost splitting hairs. This is certainly a quality product and a worthy part of the category — and cheap, too.
70 proof.
A- / $15 / treatyoakrum.com
Posted in Flavored Vodka, Rated A-, Reviews, Vodka
Don’t tell anyone but the economy has recovered… or at least it’s recovered enough to allow auction houses like Bonhams to re-institute pre-auction wine tasting events, a great way not just to taste what’s being sold the following weekend, but also to taste some old and rare wines you’d otherwise never see.
Bonhams hasn’t had an event for about three years now, so this was a welcome return to the scene.
Favorites: Still enjoying 1982 Bordeaux, but a couple of 2003′s — another stellar vintage — really enchanted. Lots of other gems in the mix. Notes follow.
Tasting Report: Bonhams Pre-Auction Event, June 2011
1961 P. Ponnelle Les Saint Georges Nuits St. George / B / faded
2006 Les Caillerets Volnay, Lucien Le Moine / A-
2007 R. Groffier Gevrey Chambertin / B+
2007 R. Groffier Chambolle Musigny, Les Sentiers / B+
2004 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Rochioli Riverblock Vineyard / B+ / too tart
2005 Roar Pinot Noir Santa Lucia / A / amazing richness
1961 Ch. L’Arrosee St. Emilion / B- / over the hill by far
1982 Ch. Leoville Las Cases St. Julien / A / drinking perfectly
2000 Ch. Charmail Haut-Medoc / A-
2003 Ch. Charmail Haut-Medoc / A
2003 Ch. Poujeaux Moulis en Medoc / A / favorite of the event
2005 Ch. Caronne Ste-Gemme Haut-Medoc / B+ / very tight
1981 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Red Rock Terrace / B- / fading fast
2002 Chartron et Trebuchet Chevalier Montrachet, Clos des Chevaliers / A / amazing acidity
2007 Leflaive Puligny Montrachet, Clavoillon / A-
2008 Aubert Chardonnay, Lauren / B+ / lots of meat
1998 Kistler Chardonnay, Hudson Vineyard / B+
1982 Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon / A / right on the money, perfect now
1985 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley / A- / bit Portlike; later taken away as corked… I didn’t see that
1985 Keenan Cabernet Sauvignon / B- / faded
1989 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon / B / nose is off
1991 Clos Pegase Cabernet Sauvignon / B+
1995 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Red Rock Terrace / B+ / still young
1985 Henschke Hill of Grace / A- / Port character strong
1994 Ridge Geyserville Red / A-
1996 Chappellet Signature Cabernet Sauvignon / B+
1998 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon / A- / ready to go
2001 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon / A-
2001 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon, Martha’s Vineyard / A
2005 Copain Syrah, Harrison Clarke / A- / an earthier style
2005 Rene Rostaing Cote Rotie, Cote Blonde / C+
2005 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon / C+ / terrible nose
1985 Dow’s Vintage Port / A- / richer and more tannic than Warre’s
1985 Warre’s Vintage Port / A / a lighter style, ready to go, easy drinking
2003 Terra Valentine Cabernet Sauvignon / A- / huge Cab
You may be looking at that headline and saying, damn that’s a lot of French. What the hell is Pineau des Charentes, and what is a tres vieux fut?
The easy one is the latter part: Tres Vieux Fut is “Very Old Cask,” and this is the third release from Paul-Marie & Fils of this Pineau.
So, what is Pineau? Pineau is a sweet, fortified dessert wine from the Charentes area of France, which encompasses the Cognac region. Grapes that would normally go into Cognac are crushed and left as unfermented juice: To turn it into alcohol, Cognac is added until it hits about 40 proof, then the mixture is left to age in barrels in a cellar.
This Pineau has spent more than 20 years in cask. (It’s actually a blend of two casks of Pineau, one 20 and one 21 years old, but that’s probably more information than you need.) 1,285 bottles were produced, and the vast majority are available here in the U.S. (And good luck to you in finding one.)
The resulting “wine” (which is intended to be drunk chilled) is somewhere between a sherry and a Port in character, but almost rose-wine like in color, a sort of pale orange -pink. It offers dried fruits on the nose, and a dessert character that’s like candied oranges. The finish is very sweet and the most sherry-like part of the experience. Very intriguing, it keeps calling you back to try it again and again.
17.5% alcohol by volume.
A- / $90 / pmspirits.com
Thanks to Don Quixote, just about everyone has heard of La Mancha, but where is it? And what about the wines? It’s a wide area that encompasses the dead center of Spain, and as the largest winegrowing region in the nation, it is home to a large variety of wines. 75 percent of the grapes planted here, however, are Airen, a white grape used to make inexpensive and fresh table wines, with Tempranillo the big red grape.
At this event celebrating La Manchan (that sounds right) wines, I stuck with the reds, a variety of Tempranillo and Tempranillo blends with a wide range of ages on them. Aside from Allozo Centro Espanolas’ old reds, nothing blew me away, but since these wines are so affordable, they’re worth a look.
Tasting Report: Wines of La Mancha
2001 Bodegas la Remediadora Crianza La Villa Real / B+ / unchallenging for a wine 10 years old
2008 Bodegas la Remediadora Reserva La Villa Real / B+ / easier going
2005 Casa Antonette Crianza / B-
2004 Casa Antonette Reserva / B / big mint notes
2005 Vinicola de Tomelloso Crianza / B- / very earthy
2002 Vinicola de Tomelloso Reserva / B
2010 Romero de Avila Portento Roble Media Crianza / B- / Zin-like
2003 Romero de Avila Testigo / B / big strawberry, raspberry notes
2004 Santa Catalina Los Galanes Tempranillo Reserva / A- / good balance, easy
2004 Santa Catalina Los Galanes Tempranillo Crianza / A- / similar in style
2007 Allozo Centro Espanolas Tempranillo Crianza / B+ / brambles and black fruit
2004 Allozo Centro Espanolas Tempranillo Reserva / A / great balance
2003 Allozo Centro Espanolas Tempranillo Gran Reserva / A
2008 Casa Gualda Crianza / B+
2008 Casa Gualda Seleccion 50 L / B+ / big Zin kick, black plums and dark coffee
Kilchoman’s quarterly Scotch whiskey releases continue with this Spring 2011 release which is just now hitting our shores. It is a vatting of 70% three-year-old whisky from first-fill Bourbon barrels plus 30% four-year-old whiskey from first-fill Bourbon barrels that has been finished in Oloroso sherry barrels for five weeks. Bottling strength is 92 proof.
The results are as always a pale yellow spirit with a lot of peat and heat in it, all the character of Islay distilled into a glass. That sherry, with barely a month of barrel time on just 30% of the whiskey, doesn’t seem like it will have a whole lot of chance to fight through the peat, but it just about manages to nonetheless. While smoke, seaweed, and iodine hit the palate first, it’s tempered with a touch of sweet and citrus, especially as the spirit lingers. It’s a nice effect — though it would be lovely to get a little more of that sherry influence — and one which ensures this is nowhere near the peat bomb that prior Kilchoman releases have been.
Pretty lovely little Scotch, and one which is really growing on me the more I drink it.
A- / $70 / kilchomandistillery.com
The schedule has gotten in the way of transcribing my notes from a solid half-dozen wine events of late, so over the next few weeks expect a flood of wine tasting reports. I’m starting off with this dispatch from Fladgate’s 2009 Vintage Port event, in which the company poured not just samples of the newly declared 2009 Vintage Port from its three estates — Taylor Fladgate, Fonseca, and Croft — but also the other three vintages from the last decade, 2007, 2003, and 2000.
2009 is already a bit of a controversial year: Only Fladgate has declared broadly that it will release a vintage for the year; other houses are offering only token bottlings.) Based on my tasting there’s no cause for alarm, though: The 2009s are in general dark and intense, but fundamentally no better or worse than the other vintages from the 2000s.
This type of tasting is really tough because even mediocre Vintage Port is still pretty darn good, and putting 13 Ports side by side makes picking a favorite even tougher. (If I had to: Fonseca’s 2000, which is also, by a slim margin, my favorite vintage overall of this bunch.)
Tasting notes on each wine follow.
Tasting Report: 2000, 2003, 2007, 2009 Vintage Port
2000 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port / A- / bigger raisin, prune notes, very extracted and young
2000 Fonseca Vintage Port / A / better balance, subdued, rich and complex
2000 Croft Vintage Port / B+ / lots of jam, very fruity
2003 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port / A- / lush, drinking well, offernig some of the character of the table wine
2003 Fonseca Vintage Port / B+ / young, some tightness and greenness here
2003 Croft Vintage Port / B / young, big tannin remaining
2007 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port / B+ / menthol, mint, and strong citrus notes
2007 Fonseca Vintage Port / A- / good balance and open, despite its youth
2007 Croft Vintage Port / B+ / some greenness, licorice notes
2009 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port / B / very acidic, with a hard edge
2009 Fonseca Vintage Port / A- / drinking fairly well, but not very nuanced yet
2009 Croft Vintage Port / A- / incredible dark, coffee and cocoa notes, not balanced but with promise
2009 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port Vargellas Vinha Velha / B+ / from a single block in a single vineyard, more mint here, but a surpising weakness in the body; disappointing
Posted in Port & Sherry, Reviews, Wine
You know at a glance that Demitri’s is not your everyday Bloody Mary mix. The color and thickness of A1 steak sauce, Demitri’s is not a “just add vodka” mix. You need tomato juice (and lots of it): A mere 2 ounces of the mix will flavor a full quart of tomato juice or V8. The vials these mixes come in are reminiscent of a bottle of soy sauce, and they also come in convenient pouches, perfect for flavoring a pitcher of Bloodies at a time without having to refrigerate the leftover mix.
We tried all four of Demitri’s Bloody seasonings as well as its two “RimShot” rimming powders.
Demitri’s Bloody Mary Classic Recipe – Really rich, a recipe that lets the tomato juice shine. The heat is mild and the flavor is meaty, savory, and classic — a perfect balance of everything you want in a Bloody Mary. Looks good and tastes even better. A
Demitri’s Bloody Mary Chilies and Peppers - The Classic Recipe kicked up a notch, as Emeril might say. Here you still get a good slug of tomato and rich, Worsterchire-like savoriness, then the heat comes on, lingering as you enjoy it. Definitely one for those who like moderate heat — but not an overwhelming amount of spice — in their Bloody. A-
Demitri’s Bloody Mary Chipotle-Habanero - Lots of heat here, and while it fires up the mouth and stomach, it really burns the lips. Habanero will trump the mild chipotle every time, so if you’re looking for heat, you needn’t look further than this blend. It’s right on the edge of how hot I can handle my breakfast — though perhaps I used too much in my sample cocktail — but fireheads will love this one. B+
Demitri’s Bloody Mary Extra Horseradish - The name says it all. This is perhaps the sweetest of the bunch, and the extra horseradish in the recipe doesn’t add much to the experience. There are notably no “chunks” of anything in the mix, and perhaps having the horseradish pulverized into a virtual liquid keeps it from making much of a showing. Stick with the Classic and add your own horseradish if you’re a junkie. B+
Demitri’s Bloody Mary RimShot! – Rimming a drink is always a matter of personal taste for the drinker, but with Bloody Marys they make a lot of sense. After all this is a drink that is often garnished to within an inch of its life, so why not go all the way and spill over the edge of the glass with more stuff? This rimmer is something you can pretty easily do on your own. While Demitri’s claims (of course) a secret recipe, it comes across mainly as coarse salt, celery salt, and ground pepper. The celery component is really clear hear, and then the pepper takes over. Good balance in the blend; I’d buy it just to get it all premixed and in the handy rimming tin. A-
Demitri’s Bloody Mary Bacon RimShot! - Bacon and salt are two of my favorite things, and sure enough they work perfectly with a Bloody. Taste’s authentic and makes you instantly crave a bacon cheeseburger. The effect is much different than the standard RimShot, and, for my money, it’s a more exciting, surprising, and complementary addition to the drink. Bacon always makes for a conversation piece, too. A
mixes: $11 to $13 per 16 oz. bottle; RimShots: $8 per 4 oz. tin / demitris.com
Buffalo Trace is a monster distillery, with 150,000 barrels of whiskey in inventory at any given time. 1,500 of those are “experimental” — wild stabs at genius from whomever’s manning the still that day — and every now and again Buffalo Trace sifts through the ricks to see what’s out there. Sometimes they even sell it.
With this round, Buffalo found a few dozen barrels of ancient whiskey — 17 to 21 years old — with unknown provenance, hailing from its acquisition of the Old Charter brand. As Bourbon brand manager Kris Comstock notes, of the barrels, “one was empty, one tasted horrible, and the others tasted very nice.” They bottled the others as three (very) old Bourbons and, considering their age, are selling them for a song. We tried all three.
Buffalo Trace 2011 Experimental Collection 1989 Barrels, Rediscovered - 21 years old. Harsh and rough. Quite bitter on the palate, with notes of sawdust, pinecones, and shelled nuts. Mostly it’s proof that yes, there is such a thing as a whiskey that’s too old. Even water doesn’t help the 1989 much. This is a Bourbon that is tired and well past its prime. C
Buffalo Trace 2011 Experimental Collection 1991 Barrels, Rediscovered - 19 years old. Quite an improvement over the 1989, with bracing sweetness and huge notes of toffee, caramel, and lots of spice — orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, and more — in the finish. Shockingly balanced and a real revelation in comparison to the dead ’89. Gorgeous. I’d drink this any day. A
Buffalo Trace 2011 Experimental Collection 1993 Barrels, Rediscovered - 17 years and 7 months old. A hot burner, with a rye kick to it, but ultimately it reveals itself as a great, old Bourbon — full of caramel and finishing with oranges, cinnamon, and lots of warmth. A worthy little brother to the ’91, as well it should be. A-
$47 each per 375ml bottle / buffalotrace.com
