Saturday, May 30, 2009
Rose Beaujolais - Chateau du Basty 2007
Sorry - can't get a good photo of the label. I love this one. My brother gave me a case of Beaujolais as an x-mas gift and I'll clear 'em out soon now that the warmer weather is here. While not exciting, this wine has that nice acid that I taste in the back of my mouth. There is a distinct strawberry flavor. I'll score it 88 point. Mrs. Vino is away with her book club ladies so she can't comment, but she's generally not a big fan of pink. I love pink. It is a great color and pink wines are cool once the summer weather arrives.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Norton Malbec 2008
Malbecs are always solid. The label says fresh and fruity. I get structure. Mrs. Vino smells motor oil. I got that at first too. I don't think of it as fruity, but it smells like raisins or dried apricots to me. The flavor is very minerally - not sure if that is a word - but you get what I mean. Like sucking on a bunch of rocks. Not a bad thing though. Nothing wrong with this wine but nothing great either.... maybe a little boring. At $10 it works fine on this Thursday night.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Taste and expand the palate
A few years ago I put down the Sam Adams and picked up the vino. As my fellow middle aged neighbor says, "Wine gets me to where I need to be without punishing me in the morning." It started with a $10 Cabernet from Chile that the WSJ wine writers rated delicious. I found the suggested wine (Montes Reserve 2004) at my local wine store and have not stopped exploring the wine world since. I had no idea how lucky I was to actually find the suggested wine right down the street. I've since learned that you seldom find the wines you read about - to say nothing of a $10 wine that is rated delicious!
Anyway, me and Mrs. Vino tried to rate our evening wines by using a spreadsheet. I'm a CPA afterall. But the spreadsheet was as lifeless as my profession and I was never motivated to update it. Well how about a blog? We drink about 4 bottles a week (maybe more:) and I figure it will be fun to see what we can come up with for comments. My comments will be nuanced and diplomatic. Mrs. Vino will get right to the point.....Bing, Bang, Boom....and let us all know what this wine tastes like. (Those of you who know us get this - and who else would read this anyway!)
I'm into trying to pick out the various smells and tastes in the wine. (Like those guys in the Mikes Twisted Lemonade commercial who are making fun of guys like me!) With each wine I'll comment on what I get. If I can keep this going, we'll see if my palette can indeed expand. At 46, I'm not sure how much potential I have, but we'll see. I won't lie. If I don't detect any particular fruits or aromas then I won't comment on them. Hey no one is paying me to drink these wines.
Anyway, me and Mrs. Vino tried to rate our evening wines by using a spreadsheet. I'm a CPA afterall. But the spreadsheet was as lifeless as my profession and I was never motivated to update it. Well how about a blog? We drink about 4 bottles a week (maybe more:) and I figure it will be fun to see what we can come up with for comments. My comments will be nuanced and diplomatic. Mrs. Vino will get right to the point.....Bing, Bang, Boom....and let us all know what this wine tastes like. (Those of you who know us get this - and who else would read this anyway!)
I'm into trying to pick out the various smells and tastes in the wine. (Like those guys in the Mikes Twisted Lemonade commercial who are making fun of guys like me!) With each wine I'll comment on what I get. If I can keep this going, we'll see if my palette can indeed expand. At 46, I'm not sure how much potential I have, but we'll see. I won't lie. If I don't detect any particular fruits or aromas then I won't comment on them. Hey no one is paying me to drink these wines.