When I found out Charles Woodson, famed NFL defensive back and University of Michigan alumnus was creating his own wine I knew I had to find some and try it. Even though Charles Woodson played for Michigan and won the Heisman Trophy when I was still under the age of 10, as I grew up I understood the athletic talent that he possessed. To this day, I still watch every single University of Michigan football (for better or for worse) and may have found a suitable wine to have during the games. The Intercept has a line of four wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, red blend, and Pinot Noir. I’ve been able to locate all four at my local grocery store but was most intrigued by the red blend. When researching the variety of grapes that composed this red blend, I found many reviews that described this wine as “powerful”. Clocking in at a heavy 16.5% ABV, this red blend is damn near a fortified port wine, but it drinks so much smoother than the alcohol content would lead you to believe. The “Intercept” wine brand is based out of the Paso Robles AVA in the Central Coast of California. In this AVA (American Viticultural Area), there are other big-time wine players such as the grocery store recognizable brands of Robert Mondavi and Beringer, along with J. Lohr. According to The World Atlas of Wine, 7th Edition, the Paso Robles AVA is a hot area with a minimal coastal breeze to cool it down. Consequently, that hot climate produces very fruit-forward wines which are pretty evident in Intercept’s red blend. The red blend, according to the Intercept Wines website, is made from 40% Petite Sirah, 30% Zinfandel, and 15% Petite Verdot (I also noticed that this does not equal 100%, so there is 15% of the blend that is unaccounted for). All three of the grape varietals that are accounted for in this red blend are on the above-average to “full” bodied red wine grape varietals, with Zinfandel being the highest per Wine Folly’s The Master Guide: Magnum Edition. It’s no wonder this wine possesses so many layers and such a full mouthfeel. Paso Robles, California After pouring the deep purple wine, it gave way to a dark fruit heavy scent with blackberries, plums, and black currant. This gave the wine a great structure to begin but then the earthy tones finished it with hints of tobacco and cedar. Admittedly, the layers caught me a bit off guard as I was anticipating a more in-your-face feeling with the high alcohol and fuller-body varietals, but after a few more sips, it became evident that this wine was more than that, but had different layers. Other flavors I could taste hints of included raspberry, blueberry crumble, and even some dark chocolate. The end mouthfeel is very, very smooth with a touch of tannins, but not enough to turn off the wine drinker who doesn’t like bone dry wines. Due to the high alcohol content, this wine has legs for days. Wow. While this wine could be paired with grilled beef or ribs, I think this wine would be better enjoyed alone to appreciate the complexity and depth of the blend. This is a very good wine and I look forward to trying to the other varietals.
Specs: ABV: 16.5% Varietal: Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, and Petite Verdot Region: Paso Robles AVA, Central Coast, California, USA Bottle size: 750ml Pairings: Grilled beef, ribs Acclaim: 90 pts. - Wilfred Wong of wine.com, 88 pts. - Wine Enthusiast My Vivino rating: 4.5/5
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In this entry, I am going to detail a wine that I, to my great surprise, was able to find at my local supermarket. I never thought I would see one of these wines at such a large chain of supermarkets, so I had to grab one - especially at this vintage! While the later vintage doesn’t always equal a higher quality wine, you don’t see too many 2015’s sitting around on supermarket shelves. I’ve been a fan of Portuguese wine for awhile now, starting with a bottle of Alicante Bouschet that I received years ago with a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Wine shipment. Ever since then, I’ve always tried to find reasonably priced Portuguese wines to try. Not only did this wine meet the two criteria I described above (Portuguese and reasonably priced), but it was also one of Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines of 2017. I generally don’t base my wine selections on critic accolades, but this time it sealed the deal for me. This wine is made by Casa Santos Lima which is located approximately an hour north of Lisbon, Portugal. However, it is considered in the “Vinho Regional Lisboa '' - the Portuguese regional distinction for wine (akin to the AVA’s in America). More specifically, it is located in the Torres Vedras Appellation per The World Atlas of Wine, 7th Edition. (Often producers will use the overarching “Vinho Regional” distinction over the more specific appellation.) This area receives roughly 30.5 inches of rainfall and has a harvest month of September. Recently there has been an uptick in the quality of wines coming from this region as different grape varietals are planted, including two of the four in this red blend: Syrah and Touriga Nacional, as well as the area’s soils. This red blend is a powerfully dry red blend. It has four different varietals in it: Touriga Nacional (30%), Syrah (30%), Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo) (30%), and Alicante Bouschet (10%). Three of the four varieties are considered to produce full-bodied red wines, which is evident in this blend. When I poured the wine, it was a deep smell of black fruit, specifically blackberry, with notes of cedar wood and soil in the middle with a wet slate, gravel finish. This blend has very high tannins with noticeable legs in the glass - this red blend clocks in at 14% ABV on the bottle, but could be even higher given the time it has spent in the bottle and/or aging! Overall, an exceptional wine with layers of dark fruit, earth, and gravel notes.
Specs: ABV: 14.0% Varietal: Touriga Nacional, Syrah, Tinta Roriz, and Alicante Bouschet Region: Torres Vedras, Vinho Regional Lisboa, Portugal, Europe Bottle size: 750ml Pairings: Dishes high in fat, red meat Vivino rating: 4.5/5.0 Recently, I had a friend of mine recommend the Slow Press Cabernet Sauvignon to me. This winter I have been drinking mostly Malbec, Tempranillo, and other medium-bodied reds. Despite having a ton of dry fuller-bodied wines stashed away to drink, I decided to follow my friend’s recommendation, and seek the Slow Press Cabernet Sauvignon. I knew I could locate it at my local grocery store because I spotted it there a few months ago and it was within my price range. I figured it was as good of a time as any to crack it open and see how it was for myself. Cabernet Sauvignon is top wine style I’ve rated on the wine app Vivino, with Californian Cabernet Sauvignon’s making up 6% of my ratings, with 21 different wines and an average rating of 4.0 out of 5.0. The label states that their “vintners know that great wines are worth waiting for, so they’ve slowed down the winemaking process from start to finish.” They claim that this slowing of the process produces “the purest, most concentrated flavors, and smooth finish.” Slow Press also takes their grapes from three regions in California: Paso Robles, Monterey (San Lucas), and Lodi. Each of the three regions provides their own characteristics to the Cabernet. Photo courtesy of Dowellwine.com This map shows the 3 regions where the grapes are imported for the 2016 vintage of the Slow Press Cabernet Sauvignon - Paso Robles, Monterey County, and Lodi. I used my “Everyday Wine Carafe” from Crate & Barrel to “decanter” the wine for approximately 30 minutes prior to smelling and tasting the Cabernet Sauvignon. This Cabernet was a dark ruby color with a bright(er) red edges around the glass. The smell was fruit forward with smells of blackberry, raspberry, a touch of oregano and dried leaves. The taste of the Cabernet was held up with a flavor of blackberry jam which gave away to a dash of black pepper and a finish of dried roses. I know that black pepper and dried roses don’t exactly scream smooth, but it worked. There was a little dryness to the wine, but the Cabernet’s drinkability is superb. When I had another glass the next day, the black pepper and black tea came through even more and gave the Cabernet a more round, complete mouthfeel. This wine drank much smoother than other full-bodied, tannin-heavy wines, which I attribute to a mix of different region’s grapes and their “press” processing style. It was an interesting departure from the normal Cabernet that I usually drink.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the Slow Press Cabernet Sauvignon. I was initially expecting the fuller bodied red Cabernet that most other California vineyards produce. This was an unexpected departure and shattered my notion that every Cabernet from California is a robust dry red. I would recommend this wine for anyone who appreciates dark fruit with earthy flavors, but not the dry mouth feeling those wines sometimes come with. For the $11.99 price tag, this wine is definitely worth trying. Specs: ABV: 13.5% Varietal: Cabrnet Sauvignon Region: Paso Robles, Monterey (San Lucas), and Lodi regions, California, United States Bottle size: 750ml Pairings: Red meat Vivino rating: 4.0/5.0 After an 8 month hiatus, I'm back! I've said this before and I will say it again: I'm going to write in my blog more. It provides a creative outlet for me, I get to sample new wines, and increase my knowledge about wine tastes and oenological geography. Anyway, onto some thoughts about one of the first wine varietals I really enjoyed: an Argentine Malbec from Mendoza. Cheers! I picked up this wine at a local supermarket because it was a Malbec I hadn't seen before.....and it was on sale. This Argentine Malbec, like most others that are widely available to the consumer comes from the Mendoza area, where there are two major wine regions: Lujan de Cuyo and the Uco Valley. There are no markings or labels on this bottle to indicate what region the Trapiche is from, however, when looking at The World Atlas of Wine, 7th Ed. I was able to pinpoint the location of Bodegas Trapiche. It is located northeast of the city of Maipu, which is close to both the cities of Mendoza and Lujan de Cuyo. The red pinpoint below is of Mendoza. The smell of the wine was unlike any Malbec I have come to love. The quintessential smell of a Malbec wine includes dark fruit and spices with a smooth finish. According to the label, this wine, was aged in oak cask yet has a very fruit forward smell at the nose. The medium purple color of the Malbec with its scarlet edges blossomed a dominating smell of ripe raspberries, cherries, and red plums at the nose, but there was a hint of some depth there too. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was something mysterious about this wine. And considering it was $10, I didn’t know what to expect. The bouquet of the red fruit quickly gave way to the plum jam and boysenberry, blueberry, and raspberry when tasting. I was shocked! The wine had almost altered itself to be a darker bodied wine. It wasn't as portrayed by the scent - and to me that was good; it was a reminder of the Malbec I loved.
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ABV: 13.5% Varietal: Malbec Region: Mendoza, Argentina, South America Bottle size: 750ml Pairings: Lean red meats, melted blue cheese, Umami spices, and beans (lentil, navy) In honor of Washington Wine Month, I am reviewing 4 different wines over the next 4 weeks from the state of Washington. I do not have much familiarity with the state of Washington nor its wine industry, so I want to frame the importance of the wine industry to the state, as well as the nation over the next four posts. The state of Washington currently has 50,000+ acres of wine growing inside of its borders, as well as ranking 2nd nationally in "premium wine production", according to Washington State Wine. Washington has had grapes planted for over 200 years in its soil and they are known for their excellent Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and other red blends. As noted in the World Atlas of Wine, 7th Ed., Washington's vines are quite young due to the explosion of the wine industry in the past few decades, specifically the last ten years. This youth gives the taste of Washington wines a "distinct" difference in taste from their California counterparts. The majority of the eastern region of Washington is covered by the Columbia Valley AVA, with more distinct regions in Washington being occasionally placed on labels, including: Yakima Valley AVA, Horse Heaven Hills AVA, and Walla Walla Valley AVA to name a few. I chose to dedicate a few of posts in this series of Washington wines to the Charles Smith label for a few reasons: it's accessibility (I found almost all of their wines at the local grocery store), each was on sale, and their price point was just beyond the magical $15 mark where wine experts assert there is a noticeable difference in taste and quality. I began my Washington wine quest with Charles Smith's The Velvet Devil Merlot, 2015 vintage. Charles Smith seems like a guy with lots of creative ideas and uses wine as an outlet. A native of California, he got into the wine making business in the late 1990's in Washington state and has been releasing different series/labels of wines ever since. Currently, he has a few different lines including the "Wines of Substance" series which has different varietals, including "Vineyard Collection" labels that has an asking price of $45 dollars on his website. The more I learn about Charles Smith and his wines, the more I'm drawn and intrigued to them and have added many to my "to find" wine list. He also has won numerous awards in the wine industry, including Winemaker of the Year by Food & Wine in 2009 and Wine Enthusiast in 2014 - the only person to win WOTY by both publications. Charles Smith sold his "The Modernist Project" wines to Constellation Brands in 2016. He states on his website he did this to make it more accessible to the consumer, and for the consumer to enjoy them now, as was his intention of The Modernist Project. Prior to The Velvet Devil (which is from his "The Modernist Project"), I had his Kung-Fu Girl Riesling (also from "The Modernist Project") and was blown away with it. Not only does Kung-Fu Girl feature a 12% ABV, but also a crispness that I found to be unmatched by many other Rieslings. Onto the tasting. I've had maybe a handful of Merlot in my lifetime, so this one was a learning experience for me. Looking up information while I was tasting, the Merlot varietal has medium-high tannins, body, fruit, and alcohol content, which seemed right up my alley. It should be noted, too, that this wine is blended with at least three other varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc. So there is a little of the darker fruit (plum, blackberry, black cherry, etc.), with some herb-y tastes thrown in. The color in the glass was a purple-ish hue with a lot of crimson red throughout; not an opaque purple. This represented, at least on the surface, that the wine would have some lighter characteristics/flavors: red fruit, lighter earthy flavors, and no heavy, dry feeling. The scent of the Merlot was a little cedar and tobacco with red cherry, raspberry, and plums. However, the wine wasn't pungent, it was very light and pleasant smelling. But when I tasted it, the red fruit pushed through the front and then the touch of dryness finished the taste. After a few sips, I noticed that the front and mid-taste had a smoothness to it that transitioned into that touch of dryness at the end. Just enough dryness to make you feel its presence without taking the wine over. I let the wine sit another day before having more, and the flavors blended a little bit more with the dryness being more pronounced...not a bad thing, just a noticeable difference in mouthfeel. This wine encouraged me to seek out more Merlot, as well as seek out Merlot wines that are closer to 100% Merlot. While this wine was good (I will buy again), but I want to see what Merlot can do, especially given its sometimes negative reputation in the wine industry. I will also actively seek out more wine from Washington, including those outside of those that are readily available in the wine aisle at the grocery store. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by this Merlot and will keep an eye out for more Charles Smith projects and I think you should too. Charles Smith website Specs: ABV: 13.5% Varietal: Merlot: 84%; Cabernet Sauvignon: 9%; Malbec: 3%; Cabernet Franc: 2%; Other (WA State): 2% Region: Walla Walla Valley AVA, Columbia Valley AVA, Washington, United States Bottle size: 750ml Pairings: Beef, chicken (surprisingly), tomatoes, duck After an extended absence, I'm back and hope to be writing more than I previously was. Since graduate school is complete, I need a way to continue to learn, don't I? Hoping to get a new entry out every week or two for the foreseeable future. Anyway, Happy New Year and happy drinking! For my first entry of 2018, I am doing a Portuguese Alicante Bouschet. The esteemed wine publication Wine Enthusiast ranked this wine as #74 of its Top 100 Best Buy wines of 2015, and subsequently gave it a 90 point rating. Alicante Bouschet is a grape that is a cross between Petit Bouschet and, one of my favorite types of wine, Grenache. When in the glass, the color of this Portuguese red is a dark violet with a crimson/scarlet tint on the edges of the wine glass. Similar to the color of a deeper, bolder wine, this Alicante Bouschet has layers of flavors throughout. This grape is commonly planted in Spain, Portugal, and California. Also, fun fact, this grape was heavily planted during Prohibition to be shipped to the eastern United States due to its thick skin, which made the grape more resistant to the transportation process. The region where this wine comes from is known as Vinho Regional Lisboa (or Lisboa VR), which was called Estremadura until 2009. According to The Wine Atlas 7th ed., Estremadura, or Oeste, translates to "the West", which is notably as Portugal is located on the west side of Europe, and more specifically, this region borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The regional, true to its namesake, holds the capital and largest city of Portugal, Lisbon. This region also plants other grape varietals, like the bold Syrah, Touriga Nacional, and some lesser known grape varieties: Castelão, Camarate, Trincadeira, Fernão Pires, and Arinto. I had been saving this bottle to review for quite a while. When I researched the grape before I poured the bottle I was expecting a Syrah-Zinfandel-Cabernet Sauvignon type body, but upon smelling and taking a few sips from the glass, that it would not be. The dark inky color reminded me of one of the bolder wines I mentioned above, but with a bit darker color around the edges of the glass. The thicker skins of the grape is what gives it that darker color.
The initial smell of the Portuguese red was a stronger fruit scent than anticipated, with flavors like blackberry, red fruits like strawberry and raspberry that creates a bit of tang in the taste, and some plum. This wine has a strong fruit taste in the front with a transformation to an earthy and mildly dry finish of leather and tobacco, but subtle and not overpowering as its bolder counterparts. There is a notably amount of acidity on the end of this red, too. The wine did have a complex layered body, but without the heavy feeling of a bolder wine. If you are looking for a deeper red wine without feeling full or the dry mouth feeling after drinking, this is a good one to try. This is one of two Portuguese wines I have tried, so I'm still getting used to what the wine in the country is like, but this wine was a good one to better understand both red wines and red wines within Portugal. Specs: ABV: 13.0% Varietal: Alicante Bouschet Region: Lisboa VR, Portugal, Europe Bottle size: 750ml Pairings: Beef, tomato-based sauces It's been awhile since I've written and I've tasted many wines since then, but this one really stood out to me. My sister got back recently from a trip to Spain and other parts of Europe, and it just so happened that I had plenty of bottles of Spanish wine already. So while she was gone, we talked a few times about the wine she was having and whatnot. Honestly, sounded like a cool experience (especially with the all the wine she sampled - pretty jealous of that.) Anyway, when looking through my inventory of wine, I realized that I recently purchased this 2010 Tempranillo (tem-pr-ah-knee-oh) from the Rioja region of Spain. (Note: Rioja is a region in Spain, not a varietal of wine. Tempranillo wines are often labeled by region, so this wine is a Tempranillo-based red wine from the Rioja region.) Spain also has a rating system for its wine (similar to the French and Italians), with "controls" (read: regulations) that producers have to meet to be considered a DOC, DO, VCIG, etc. You can read more about the Spanish categorization of wine here, but all intents and purposes, DOC is the highest rating a Spanish wine can earn. As you can see on the map below, Bodegas Montecillo is located in the Northern region of Spain, where the average annual rainfall in nearby Logroño is 16 inches per year (The World Atlas of Wine, 7th ed.). Now to the fun part: drinking it! So Tempranillo wines generally have a low fruit, medium-high body. This gives the wine less acidity and a higher alcohol content - this wine clocks out to 13.5% ABV. I decanted the wine for about 35 minutes and then poured a little bit into a red wine glass. The color is a deep raspberry jam red color; it's almost crimson/scarlet. It was very appealing to me as a bone dry red wine drinker.
The smell was very earthy and spicy with mixes of dried fruit (blackberry, raspberry, blueberry). Spices I noticed were dill, tobacco/cigar, a hint of sweet cinnamon, and more burnt wood. Smelling this wine was like smelling an unlit cigar combined with red and black fruits. Very, very good smelling wine (if you're into that). The taste is less woodsy, smoky and more fruit forward, although I can't say it's as juicy or fruity as a Pinot Noir, but more than I anticipated. True to its color, the wine has a tart/tangy strawberry and raspberry front followed by a quick burst of the spicy, ground peppery flavors. This Tempranillo is definitely on the drier side - it will leave your tongue a bit dry and "puckering" to regain saliva. Specs: ABV: 13.5% Varietal: Tempranillo Region: Rioja, Spain, Europe Bottle size: 750ml Pairings: Beef, spicy meats, or Indian ethnic food. After purchasing this bottle a few months ago, I decided to open it and pair it with some home-cooked enchiladas. I have read that Zinfandel had paired well with Mexican dishes, but I wanted to try something different, yet similar. I bought it for $8.99 at a wine speciality store in Grand Rapids, but I'm sure it is available at many "speciality" liquor stores throughout the United States. I have never seen it at a large chain grocery store, though, so I would look somewhere else to grab a bottle than your local large chain grocer. I tend to like a more peppery/dry wine with my Mexican dishes, and this wine did not disappoint. Note: I'm using the spelling of the varietals from the bottle, these can be spelled differently. This southern Spanish red blend is a mix of Garnacha Tintorera (70%) and Monastrell (30%) - both of these varietals are common in Spain. I have had Garnacha a few times, but nothing recently, so I was excited to try it again. The southern Spanish region is a hotter climate, with this winery being located in the northern area of the region. The southern Spanish region wines have the characteristics of sweet fruit, clay flavors with medium acidity. This wine was bottled in the D.O. (Denominaciones de Origen) Almansa, which is located on the eastern side of Spain to the southwest of Valencia - see picture below. D.O. Almansa has very hot summers with very little precipitation. The D.O. has 12 wineries and hundreds of growers within approx. 17,500 acres of vineyards. When I opened the bottle, I got a heavy scent of dark fruit and pepper - I knew I would love this wine solely upon that. I poured a glass and let it air out for a few minutes. In hindsight I maybe should have let it air out a little longer, but I was too excited to try it! The color in the glass was a medium red/purple color, from the mix of the lighter colored Garnacha body and darker colored Monastrell body. The primary aroma I sniffed the wine for the first time, was as aforementioned, heavy on the pepper, as well as mineral-like and dark fruit (e.g. blackberry), but after a few more smells I noticed a subtle hint of strawberry as well.
When tasting, though, all of these fruit flavors burst out on the front: blackberry, strawberry, acai, and a hint of blueberry finishing with a heavy tobacco and leather taste. The wine is a full-bodied dry wine, so if that is not your preference, this wine is not for you. I prefer my red wines to be dry and full, so this was a slam dunk for me. The wine is also fairly high in tannins. According to Wine Folly, tannins are a textural taste that leaves the mouth feeling dry and is mostly found in red wines. The Laya red blend was dry to the taste, but a woodsy dry, which was expected, but also a nice touch on the back end of the wine. I was very pleased with this blend and will always keep a bottle on hand. I cannot say enough good things about this red blend. If you are a fan of dry, full reds, or are looking to try something new at a reasonable price tag this wine is for you. Highly recommend. |
Author20 something living in Beer City USA with an affinity for wine. Other hobbies include photography, reading, and playing my pup. Archives
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