Bourgogne Pinot Noir - Michel Picare 2006

Mrs. Vino's sisters are here for some shopping and March Madness. They whipped up some awesome fish tacos and I grabbed this Pinot, which we all liked. We found it light and pleasant with good acid. There are enough tannins to give it reasonable structure and length. This was listed at $14 at the Wine House in Holliston, but with the volume discount I was closer to $12 - and a solid Pinot in this price range is definitely a wine to look for.

Domaine Pichot Vouray - 2004

We're grilling up some Cod tonight and looking for a change of pace, so we go for this white. I'm not sure sure when I picked this up, but it definitely offers something new in comparison to all the reds we've been quaffing this winter. Immediately I notice some melon like sweetness, which is pleasant and well balanced with some acid. Too sweet for Mrs. Vino but she liked it with the fish. I see this is another small time winery where grapes are hand picked - and it shows. The wine sells for about $10-$12 on the Net and I would definitely pick it up at this price. The wine showed no ill effects of its' age.

La Font du Vent - Cotes du Rhone

I'm starting to know when Mrs. Vino is going to like a wine. This wine smells pleasant and light. It is more refined than most wines we drink. While I don't taste dominant fruits, I find a light black pepper spice and reasonable tannins on the back end. I look to Mrs. Vino...wait for it... "oh...this is nice". Mm-hm. Medium to heavy bodied, the wine blends well with our spare ribs. I Google this wine to get the varietals and learn that it is 70% grenache, 25% syrah and 5% mourvedre - which I'm reminded are the typical Cote du Rhone grapes. I read that the growers are small, known for their Chateaneuf-du-Pape and take extra care of their grapes - it shows! The alchohol conent feels perfect at 14%. I see this wine at $14 on the net, which was the retail at the Wine House. I of course paid less with my SNL Cone Head, mass quantity discount. I will look for this one again.

The Immortal Zin

We had a fantastic "Primitivo" (Italians call Zinfandel Primitivo) at Truffles Grille and Wine bar in Milford the other night, so I decided to pick up some more Zinfandels at my recent Wine House visit. (BTW - while I didn't write up a full evaluation, the Primitivo was called Amano and I see it retails for about $10, so I will be looking for it!) Anywho - this Immortal Zin was no quite as refined as the Amano. Mrs. Vino says it is sweeter than other Zins we've had. There is a distinctive pepperyness you get from Zins and reasonable tannins to balance out that sweetness. So, we liked this $11 wine, but won't necessarily look for it.

XWinery 2008 Red X North Coast

Picked up 22 new bottles today at the Wine House in Holliston and I was adventurous because I've never tried about 18 of the 22 bottles. Tonight I'm starting with a blend consisting of 55% Syrah, 23% Tempranillo, 14% Granache, 8% Zinfandel. I'm a fan of all these varietals and I generally love smoothness that comes with a blend - so my anticipation is high. After smelling and tasting, I check the alcohol content (14.5%) because this wine is setting my mouth ablaze! Eventually I work my way past the alcohol and detect a cherry/jammy like flavor that typically comes with a Syrah. Great tannins and a little pepper which I'm guessing comes from the Zin and the Grenache. There's nothing bashful about this wine and I would pair it with some steaks or a burger. Too late - pasta tonight - but it will work. At $11 I'll pick this one up if I see it again, but I won't necesarily rush to the store to get more. (BTW - Mrs. Vino and I ought to burn through the 22 bottles in a bout 22 days:)