2006 Marques de Casa Concha Merlot (Peumo)

Opened 1.25.10 and enjoyed with some braised short-rib, mashed potatoes, roasted broccoli, this usually $20-something bottle of Merlot was available at Trader Joe's for about $11. What a screaming deal - and yes, this is the 'up line' of the usually solid Concha y Toro producer from Chile. Like most Chilean red wines, it has that tell-tale mint-eucalypt note on the nose, not exactly herbal, followed here by a nice, smooth dark cherry core to it. There are some really enticing fig and spice notes, the latter from the oak, and finishes with a creamy note but gutsy tannins. This should open up over the next couple of nights. Right now, it's a great deal and a lovely wine. 89/100
Bottom line: See a sale on this? Get it.

Tiny foods, not wine

I could not help it. I saw this ridiculous story in the NYTimes, and had to link to it. If your food item is too small to handle (as in HAND), and you're using tweezers, that is simply dumb. Stupid. I'm paying to eat good, flavorful food, not "art" on my plate. Others can disagree as they choose. I'm sharing a quote below to illustrate...well, read for yourself:

“It’s harder to make it look like you didn’t try,” said the chef David Chang, whose kitchen crew at Momofuku Ko tweezes extensively. “It’s more difficult to make it seem it’s plated as it falls. That’s what we call it, ‘as it falls.’ It’s not rustic. It’s naturalistic. It sounds stupid, but you’re using tweezers to make it seem natural.”

Stupid is as stupid sounds.

2007 Seghesio Zinfandel Rockpile Vineyard

This is another outstanding Zin from Seghesio, even for the price ($34), and while perhaps not as monstrously exhuberant as their general Sonoma bottling from the 07 year, it proves once again two things: a) Rockpile Zins/Petite Sirahs are our favorites, and b) the 07 vintage seems to just rock across all regions of Cali and across almost all varietals. It's impressive. For this wine, the sipper-sniffer will be rewarded with some patience. So either decant for an hour (now), or give it a few years before opening. There's a great blackberry cobbler core to this Zin, followed by a tidal wave of spice, tanning, fruit-cake and sage. And yet it's not the fruit-club that the Sonoma bottle is, there's an earthiness or loamy note to the nose and the palate that is simply not present in the blended vineyard bottling Seghesio makes. The finish can become a bit muted if it's too cool, so make sure this is at 64 deg F or around there. For us, it's simply an outstanding wine for the price. Am I really going to pay hundreds of dollars for an equivalent wine from France or Italy? (No.)
93/100.
Bottom line: A fantastic effort, again, by Seghesio, in a great year from a great appellation in California.

2006 Rosenblum Syrah (Lodi) Abba Vineyard

This bottle of blackstrap Syrah was a bargain, discounted from a retail of about $25 to a great price of $11 at the local World Market here in Santa Fe. Since I have not tried many Lodi Syrahs, this was a good chance to experiment on a dime. I was a little concerned about the alcohol level, typical of Rosenblum's love for big wines, but it went nicely with a gnocchi arrabiata-spinach sauce last night. It had good balance, no whiff or back-burn of alcohol. It looks like a Petite Sirah, smells like saddles, cloves, and cigar box, then the dark cherry core emerges a bit in the middle and end. Nice vanillin after-taste, without overwhelming the palate with oak, and the fruity-leather carries through. We really liked this. For us, an 88/100.

Bottom line: If you can find it on discount, well worth a price under $16. Not sure I'd pay retail, but I might!

2005 Marques de Caceres Rioja (Crianza)

This baby Caceres, the budget-line Crianza, was found at Trader Joe's for about $14 and it's a solid, polished, and well-balanced Rioja for the money. It displays everything a red-wine drinker would like: tobacco, dark fruits, some light oak, but also offers the versatility for food-pairing of some heavier whites because of the lack of tannins and its fresh acidity. Between pizza and a stuffed flounder, no problems, just tasty with no 'metallic(a)' effect after the fish. No wonder Rioja is one of my favorites wine-producing regions: there's something tasty for every price point and every style (austere to modern) preference. The "crianza" means it spends the least time in oak compared to Reserva and Gran Reserva Riojas. Salud!
88/100
Bottom line: A Crianza Rioja remains balanced, priced right, and versatile with food.

Wines of Christmas Past...OK, just 2009

Here's a quick photo shot of some (but not all) of the wines "we" worked on during the late 2009 holiday season, with some help from my parents. The highlights were the Chateauneuf (Charbonniere, 2005, note below), and the Jaffurs 07 Syrah (note below). Out of the "budget" wines, I'd have to say the 08 Briccotondo was my favorite, just a batch of wild strawberries with good balance and acidity for food. Since I didn't post a separate tasting note for the Bricco that'll have to do - had the 07 which I found a bit gutsier, but this is still lovely for around a $12-14 wine. Happy 2010 everyone!

2007 Joel Gott Zinfandel (Cali)

This was a pleasant, fruit-mocha-forward Zinfandel, that accompanied a recently milk-braised pork shoulder with spices, polenta with grated peccorino, and roasted green beans. J Gott is, of course, of Taylor's Refresher fame (you know what I'm talking about Bay Area residents), and his wife has taken over operations as winemaker for most of the bottlings. This Zin was a bit reticent on the first night that we enjoyed it, but opened up on the second day into a floral-strawberry-licorice-chocolate treat, and for $14 retail... another good deal from our local Albertson's. Not overly alcoholic, not a bruiser, and a few layers hiding in there...if you wait for them to emerge.
86/100 - for us.
Bottom line: Not hugely complex as Zins go, but not overly syrupy or simple either; a good and balanced Zin from a blend of California regions.