Hits and Misses on Holiday Hooch

Well the holidays are in full swing through New Year’s Day and that means a lot of wine drinking. Gabriele and I brought some wine up to visit family and also bought some while up there. Here is the report on winners and losers.

First off, a real holiday crowd pleaser that even had my Mom asking for the name and year. Gabe and I brought up three bottles of Thorn Clarke Terra Barossa 2008 Shiraz, Winemakers Selection. An incredibly pleasing wine, it’s got big fruit with balance and a clean, tart finish. It’s a dynamite value at around $16 and on top of everything else it comes in a one liter bottle. 25% more wine will come in handy because this wine will be popular when entertaining. It was the first wine to go at our family Christmas Eve celebration.

Unfortunately, some pretty big names disappointed last week. While doing some wine shopping in Stamford, CT I noticed a Stag’s Leap 2006 Artemis Cabernet on sale for $40, and took the leap. This is a big Napa brand and I was hoping for a big Cabernet experience. Unfortunately the wine was just too tannic, even with decanting. The bouquet was promising and the wine had a nice texture, but it just wasn’t very enjoyable. The wine will probably will be better in 2-3 years.

Another swing and a miss was a perennial favorite of our, Chateau Gloria Bordeaux. We are big fans of the 2002, which is a delicious Bordeaux at the relatively reasonable price point of around $42 at Total Wine. Right before the holidays we bought a 2006 for a little less than that and brought it up with us. It was nothing like the 2002, reinforcing once again the difference a year can make. The wine started off with a nice bouquet but was thin and rather boring, like Bordeaux can be too often. A very tart finish rounded out an unsatisfactory experience. Big bummer since we’ve also enjoyed the 1996 vintage.

Another miss was the Elk Cove 2007 Pinot Noir. I purchased it on the recommendation of the store owner in Stamford. It’s from the Willamette valley and priced at around $20. It was very light, with decent raspberry fruit and a tart finish. It was so light to be almost watery, and it was drinkable but nothing memorable.

Finally, a fantastic wine to close. As described above we really enjoy the Thorn Clarke Terra Barossa, and in fact we’ve never been let down by any Thorn Clarke wine. So today at Whole Foods we picked up a Thorn Clarke William Randell 2005 Shiraz, their top of the line Shiraz. It was simply outstanding. Robert Parker gave the 2004 92 points, and the 2005 seems the same to my humble palate. It’s a very rich, very flavorful wine that is big while also being very approachable. It’s bouquet has hints of mint, smoke and chocolate, and it’s got one of the longest finish I’ve tasted. The finish is more chocolate, some oak and a hint of creaminess. Its a special wine, and for once Whole Foods delivered a bargain, I paid $40 while the Internet keeps showing me a price of $50. Suggest strongly for a special occasion wine at a great price.

Do you have any holiday wine stories to share? Drop a comment, and have a very Merry New Year.

Holiday Wine Reviews — One By Request

Last week saw an exciting first for me as a blogger. Via a Facebook friend of a friend recommendation, I was asked to review a wine from a California vineyard. It takes longer to make your mark when you tackle three topics in your blog rather than specialize in one. So this kind of recognition is very fun stuff.

The wine is the Westerhold 2007 Syrah. The vineyard is a small, family run property in Santa Rosa, California. Proprietor John Westerhold sent me two bottles, by the noted winemaker Russell Bevan. One was for my partner Marc Hausman, and one Gabriele and I opened at Thanksgiving dinner.

It’s a very big wine. A rich bouquet leads to a wine that bursts on the palate, nice fruit but slightly alcoholic in texture. Blackberry was the primary fruit I tasted, with a distinct taste of pepper. The wine lingers on the palate, with a smoky, cedar-like finish. Left some in the glass for an hour, no major changes.

It was a split decision for us. Gabriele did not like, too strong and too much going on for her. I liked the wine, but agree it could improve by staying in the bottle another year or two. Don’t drink with food that can’t stand up. I could not locate a price point online.

We also found a new wine for holiday feasting, and unfortunately were disappointed by an old friend. That wine was the Belle Glos 2007 Clark and Telephone Pinot Noir. We had the 2004 at one of our favorite meals a couple of years ago at Canoe, outside of Atlanta. Unfortunately the 2007 did not measure up.

It wasn’t undrinkable by any means. It has a fresh aroma, light body and decent cherry and raspberry fruit. But there’s nothing special about it at all, it’s pretty blah. Nothing close to what these have been in the past, and for $40 or more not a good value either.

The new discovery is a delicious Zinfandel, Edmeades 2007 Mendocino. Gabriele and I visited the Cheesetique wine bar in Del Ray and this wine was part of a California tasting flight, and the clear winner. Very nice bouquet with a lot of juicy fruit, primarily raspberry to me. Medium body and slight bite at a clean finish. It’s a very approachable and smooth wine that I think would be a hit around a holiday table. Web site puts the retail at $20 – even better!

I hope everyone’s holiday season is off to a super start. And if you’d like any thoughts on what to serve (or bring to the family gathering), please drop me a comment anytime.

New Wine Discoveries

Recently Gabriele and I returned to Bonefish in Kingstowne for a nice dinner. We have eaten there a few times, and each time we’ve been pleased with the food.

The first time we went there, we found a very nice tasty Pinot Noir — in fact, I talked about it in the very first post on this blog.

Unfortunately, the 2007 Bridgeview Blue Moon wasn’t nearly as good as the 2006 we enjoyed that first evening.  Bonefish doesn’t have a large wine list, so unless they were pouring a 2008 Bridgeview that we liked I wasn’t anticipating having a new wine to blog on. But our server told us he had something off the menu that we would like.

He brought out a 2007 Mossback Pinot Noir, and highly recommended we have it with our meals. I like a strong suggestion from a server, so we did. It was very nice — soft, flavorable aroma that leads to a very drinkable wine. It was soft but not thin, with strong black cherry fruit with a touch of creaminess on the finish. The wine lingered on the palate longer than most Pinots. Very good – if you go to Bonefish in Alexandria suggest you ask for it. Retails for about $25.

A few other wines we’ve found in the past couple of months. Do you someone who says they hate Chianti? Gabriele was not a fan, having had some poor ones in the past. We recently found a winner at Total Wine, the Massanera Chianti Classico 2006, $17 retail. Very smooth wine, not thin at all, slight pucker on the finish. It will be a hit with those who don’t like big, huge reds and who don’t think they like Chianti.

Another winner was the 2006 Veramonte Primus, a Chilean blend. It combines Cabernet, Syrah, Merlot and Carmenere. It’s a big, bold wine that feels full in your mouth, inky in color and with a long finish. It tastes a lot more expensive than it is; we paid $24 in DC but can be found for less.

Finally, after all the GSMs we’ve been drinking I’m happy to write about a nice, affordable Rhone. It is the 2004 Feraud Brunel Cotes du Rhone Rasteau. A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault, it’s sharp but fruity, tart and very balanced. $21 at Total Wine. It passed the toughest test for a French wine — Gabriele liked it!

So if you’re looking to try some new wine this fall, give these a try. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. And if you don’t, drop me a comment!

Fine Dining in Beaufort, SC

Last week Gabriele and I spent a very nice vacation at Harbor Island, SC. It’s a peaceful and beautiful community just outside of Beaufort, SC: http://harborisland-sc.com/ They advertise it as a place that co-exists peacefully with nature, and it’s obvious as soon as you get there. You share space with all sorts of creatures — a huge variety of shore birds, big spiders, and the occasional alligator.

We asked around and did some online research on where to go for the nice dinner out, and decided to try Saltus River Grill. We had a really super dining experience. The restaurant just crushed it on all fronts — atmosphere, service, food and of course, wine.

We were both having seafood, so were looking at their Pinot Noirs. Our server recommended a Domaine Carneros 2005, and I agreed. I always like it when the server makes a strong rec — they should know, and it’s definitely in their interest to have us love the wine. But bummer, she came back and said they were all out.

So we went with a Gundlach Bundschu Pinot Noir, also 2005. It was a strong choice. It started with a slightly earthy, burgundy-like nose that was a bit deceiving. Because it didn’t taste of earth at all, it had really nice, smooth fruit that carried throughout the palate, not all at once then gone like some CA Pinots. I tasted a lot of cherry, and it was definitely on the assertive side for a Pinot. The vineyard web site is selling the 2006 for $34 — well worth it.

The food at Saltus was truly top notch. Gabriele had a she-crab soup that she christined the best she’s ever had, and she’s had it at a bunch of places. Steamed clams were fantastic with chorizo and onions, as was the caprese salad. Grilled lobster tails were perfectly prepared, and seas scallops were matched with a ham risotto and mascarpone cheese, a surprising touch that worked.

So if you ever check out the gators at Harbor Island, or are just driving through on your way to Hilton Head or Savannah, highly suggest you stop at Saltus River Grill.

Sampling Wines and Reliving Memories at Canoe

This weekend Gabriele and I were in Atlanta, and had the chance to visit one of our favorite restaurants. On Sunday night we had dinner at Canoe, a fantastic place we first visited in 2006 and had a very special meal with our friends Amanda and Russell.

Often a place where you’ve had a special meal can’t quite match your memories the second time around. There’s no place to go but down, in a way. Thankfully, that was not the case with Canoe.

We got there on the late side and decided to eat in the quiet bar area. At good restaurants you can usually do this and still get good service, and that’s what we got Sunday night. Tammy the bartender was also a super waitress, and had a lot of passion for the menu and the wine selection.

Canoe lets you order half glasses of whatever they pour by the glass, and their wine list is large. So we were able to have a lot of fun sampling various bottles to decide on the right wine with the meal. We had:

• Mongeard-Mugneret Bourgogne 2006 — A French burgundy started us off. It was light in color and body, on the mild side with very little of the funky, earthy flavor of some burgundies. It was a nice Pinot with a tart finish but not very impressive.
• Chateau Bellevue-Peychaneau Bordeaux, 2005 — This Bordeaux throws you a bit of a curve ball. It has a beautiful, big bouquet that leads to a very thin, mild wine. There’s nothing wrong with this wine but it’s almost not there, nothing memorable at all.
• Grenache Blend, Acoustic Montsant 2005 — This was a very interesting Spanish wine with lots of flavor. It was strong and almost thick in texture, delicious but definitely not right with any kind of subtle dish. It would be super with seasoned steak or chops.
• Anne Amie Pinot Noir 2006 — From Willamette Valley in Oregon, this Pinot had a bright, fresh bouquet. It tasted the same, very nice fruit and flavorable but also a little simple and straight-forward.
• Etude Estate Pinot Noir 2006 — This one was the winner of the evening. Bigger and deeper that the average Pinot, with excellent fruit. Lots of descriptions talk about black cherry and currants — with this wine you really taste them. Just a great tasting wine without being too big or powerful for food.

And oh what food! The smoked salmon came riding on crispy potato cakes along with traditional items. Tomatoes carpaccio were amazingly fresh and delicious, and the George’s Bank scallops were perfectly prepared and paired with a leek and bacon risotto. But maybe my favorite was the ruby red and golden beet salad, which came out looking like a fruit tart, riding on a bed of goat cheese.

The setting is beautiful inside and out, with a large patio and a garden right up against the Chattahoochee river. The next time you’re in Atlanta, check out Canoe — and tell them you read about them here!

GSM Stands for a Good Wine Experience

Lately I’ve been enjoying a number of GSM wines, sometimes also called SGM. These wines are a blend of the Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre varietals. They are the dominant grapes of the southern Rhone valley of France and the grapes that most often make up Chateauneuf du Pape, the most famous appellation in the area.  Grown in Australia and America this mixture produces a consistently good wine at a better price than well known Rhones.

We haven’t had a bad experience yet. The wines have nice fruit, are approachable but not simplistic and are very food friendly. Any of them would be a good choice for a table having a variety of dishes. Here are four I can vouch for, all around $20 retail or less.

Kunin Pape Star, 2006 — We first had this at Overwood in Alexandria and it has become a favorite. From the Santa Barbara region of California, it’s a medium-bodied wine with nice fruit, a little pepper and low tannins. Primarily Grenache with around 25% Mourvedre and a little Syrah.

Hewitson “Miss Harry” 2006 – We ordered this wine when out to dinner with uber-fun couple Jeff and Stephanie. Relatively light body, very nice fruit and a clean finish. It’s from the Barossa region of Australia. This one is about half Syrah, half Grenache with just a little Mourvedre thrown in. Extremely versatile wine — order it for someone who thinks you can’t have red with fish.

Kaesler Stonehouse GSM 2006 — Deep, very flavorful with slightly more body than some others. This is another wine from the Barossa region of South Australia. Like the Hewitson it’s mostly Grenache and Syrah, with 11% Mourvedre.

Courtney Benham Vin d’Eliza 2006 — Courtney Benham is a second label to Martin Ray Vineyards, and rarely lets us down. This wine has a big nose, and is big in general for a GSM. It’s still smooth and very drinkable with a nice finish. This one leads with 40% Syrah, around the same Grenache and the balance Mourvedre.

Check out a GSM the next time you reach for a red this summer — you won’t be sorry.

A New Wine — and a New Ride

This is a combination Wine and Wheels post. Gabriele got a new (to us, anyway) car, and in celebrating we discovered a fantastic Zinfandel.

First the car. There was only one thing wrong with the white Murano we purchased last year – the former owner had been a smoker. Despite some kind of treatment the dealer had given the car, it still smelled on hotter days. So with summer here, Gabriele was thinking about a new vehicle. Last week we went to the CarMax at WoodBridge looking for another Murano.

There was no Murano that fit the bill, and I suggested she test drive the FX35. It’s probably the sportiest SUV this side of a Porsche Cayenne, built on the same platform as Infiniti’s G35 sports sedan and coupe. She loved the power, features and handling, and just like that the FX was our new target vehicle.

CarMax made the experience very easy by giving us a great quote on our Murano. From there, is was just finding the right used FX, and our salesman Mazen had two candidates on the lot this Saturday for us to check out. A beautiful 2005 Grey/Silver with tan interior and only 19K miles was the winner, and we drove her home feeling good about the transaction.

We drove our new vehicle to Del Ray that night for dinner at Bombay Curry Company, one of our favorite Indian restaurants. (I recommend the Saag Goosh.) Mount Vernon Avenue was hopping with people and activity, it’s just incredible how that area has changed since I lived there in the mid-1990s.

The evening was just beautiful, and after dinner we stopped in Cheestique for some, you guessed it, cheese and wine. They have a few outside tables along the avenue and we snagged one of them. We actually found a blue cheese Gabriele likes, Cambozola, a cow-based cheese from Grermany. But the find of the night was the 2007 Hart’s Desire Zinfandel.

A glass was $16, and I asked the waitress if it was worth it. She confidently said yes, and brought me out a small taste. The wine was unlike any other Zinfandel I’ve had. It was very rich, almost chocolately and a bit creamy. It had none of the pepper and spice a lot of Zins have. It had a very unusual aroma — this will sound very weird, but it reminded me of tiki torch fuel. (Gabriele backed me up on this.) That sounds awful, but it wasn’t. The smell was there but not overpowering. The wine was fantastic with the cheese, and I’d recommend it highly.

All in all, a very productive summertime Saturday!

Pizzeria Paradiso Still Just That

Pizzeria Paradiso has been a favorite of mine for many years. But I haven’t written about it until now, which just isn’t right. The restaurant has consistently delivered for years, and I’m giving it its due tonight.  Maybe the news the restaurant is moving a few doors down P Street to a larger space was the catalyst I needed.  I will miss the old location a bit though:

http://www.eatyourpizza.com/

It’s so far above average pizza a new term should be coined. Everything else is high quality as well. Gabriele and I like the panzanella (seasoned diced vegetables) over bread or salad as an appetizer. For us the two best pizzas are the Atomica and the Bosco. The Atomica is tomato, black olive, salami, pepper flakes and mozzarella. The Bosco is tomato, mushroom, spinach, red onion and mozzarella, and then Gabe adds pepperoni. Absolutely fantastic.

We tend to drink Barberas when we go to PP, rather than Chianti. We’ve ordered the 2006 Michele Chiarlo Barbera d’Asti in the past. It’s a good Barbera, with a light body and very dry and tart. It’s a bit sharp and is definitely a food wine. PP sells it for $31, and I think it retails for around $15.

Recently we ordered another Barbera, and it was a clearly better wine. The 2005 Coppo Barbera d’Asti Camp du Rouss was a very enjoyable bottle. It had medium body and a deep aroma. There was very nice fruit with a taste of cherries and a certain smokiness. It was a little pricey at $47 but worth it, I think the retail is around $18-19.

The only down sides are finding a place to park, and long lines at times. But maybe the new, larger location will help with the latter. If you haven’t tried DC’s best pizza, get there soon.

Vacation Wine Finds

Last week Gabriele and I enjoyed a get away from the daily hustle and bustle. We rented a well appointed cabin in the Shenandoah valley and brought our own supplies, including of course some wine. We also visited two Virginia vineyards, Rappahannock Cellars and Fox Meadow winery.

The big winner of what we brought was a delicious Adler Fels 2007 Pinot Noir. A staff member at Total Wine in Alexandria has recommended it, and we’re glad she did. It was smooth and very tasty, with a slightly earthy aroma but none of the funkiness of some burgundies. It had strong but balanced fruit and lingered pleasantly on the palate. The wine was also an excellent value for $20.

We were less impressed with a 2005 Titus Amphora. We had really enjoyed a Titus cabernet and decided to give this blend a try, with 48% cabernet, 45% merlot and 7% cabernet franc. The wine had a rich bouquet, but too much Merlot in the taste and finish for me. Gabriele likes Merlot a lot more, but she didn’t like the finish either, said she tasted first the creaminess of Merlot and then a cabernet aftertaste that didn’t mesh. Not a favorite of either of us and not a good value at $30.

When we visited Rappahannock Cellars the guy who gave us a tasting, Nick was really welcoming and knowledgeable. He was happy to give us a red only tasting, but we didn’t have anything that really impressed us. We had a Bordeaux style Claret blend, a 2006 Cabernet Franc and a 2006 Meritage made up of cabernet, cabernet franc and petit verdot. The Meritage was the best of the three, but not worth $29.

We really wanted to buy something, and luckily Nick also let us try a dessert wine, a 2007 Vidal Blanc. It was sweet but not cloying, a lot of peach and apricot with a clean finish. Gabriele likes dessert wines, so we picked up a bottle for $18.50.

Tamara welcomed us to Fox Meadow and we had the place to ourselves — a benefit no doubt of visiting on a Tuesday. She poured us a number of 2006 reds, some interesting but none really impressive. Two were cabernet francs and very different, one very light and almost pinot-ish, the other more traditionally spicy. The best wine was the Fox Meadows Vineyards Le Renard Rouge, a 60% merlot, 40% cabernet franc blend. It had a subtle, interesting aroma and taste but wasn’t a great value at $30.

After getting back home, we had a very good experience at the french restaurant Bastille. We both ordered the four course tasting menu, but wanted a bottle of wine rather than the assigned glasses by course. Our waiter was very familiar with the wine list and after I couldn’t find a Rhone wine that sounded right, he offered us a Bordeaux that had been taken off the wine list. He recommended it and offered a discount off the usual price. Sold!

It was a Chateau Mongravey 2006 Margaux. The wine was light, soft and flavorful, 55% cabernet, 35% merlot, 5% cabernet franc and 5% petit verdot. It was a very good food wine, just right with each course for us. Special mentions go to the beet salad with a delicious light, whipped blue cheese and the grilled branzino filet.

We’ll be back out to the Shenandoah again, and will plan on hitting more of the local Virginia wineries. And I recommend Bastille the next time you’re wanting French cuisine.

Recession Fighting Reds

The economic news continues to be bleak, and as a result many people are naturally watching expenses. In times like these, wine lovers are less inclined to pay big money for a wine based only on a brand name, a waiter’s recommendation or a “staff favorite” card in the store aisle.

I’ve enjoyed some enjoyable red wines in the past few weeks that also were great values.   Here are some candidates for pleasing both the palate and the purse strings.

Domain Alfred “DA Red” 2005, $16 retail.

Edna Valley in central California, this wine is mostly Pinot with some Grenache and Syrah as well. Fragrant on opening, DA Red has strong fruit and a medium body with makes it bolder than lighter Pinots.

Merryvale Starmont 2005, $19 retail.

This is just a very good Napa Cabernet, with some limited amounts of other varietals mixed in, primarily Merlot, with a little Petit Verdot, Syrah and Cabernet Franc. Big and strong like a Californian should be, with a refined long finish.

Murphy Goode “Wildcard” 2003 Claret, $20 retail.

Located in Sonoma’s Alexander Valley, this wine carries the old British term for Bordeaux, Claret. 55% Cabernet, 35% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. 100% enjoyable, with strong blackberry and vanilla flavor with a light to medium body.

St. Francis Red, 2004 $13 retail.

Quite a mixture of Merlot, Cabernet, Cabernet Franc and Zinfandel. Rich aroma leads to a medium bodied wine with easy fruit and a clean finish. We’ve had both the 04 and the 05, both excellent bargains.

Corta all Flora Guiggiolo Toscana 2007, $11 retail.

Sangiovese wine from Tuscany although the bottle uses the local varietal term Prugnolo Gentile. Strong earthy nose is deceptive, leads to a light flavorful wine with more substance and finish than the typical Chianti. Try it with almost any kind of food and with friends who don’t think they like Chianti.

Gougueheim Malbec 2007, $9 retail.

Any finally the absolute steal of the bunch. A Malbec from the Mendoza region of Argentina, this wine is very simple but satisfying. It gives strong fruit with a body light but not too thin, nice on the palate but quick tart finish. Really hard not too enjoy at the price point.

All prices shown are local ones I’ve seen. Give one a try soon and let me know if you agree — or disagree!