OK. I don't know about the rest of you, but I totally get why 4 - 6 pm, Monday thru Friday, is called "Happy Hour." When I've had a hell of a day like I had today, I just want to come home, bust open the wine fridge & pour a glass or two of a school night wine. A school night wine, according to the wine lord Gary Vaynerchuk, is a "wine under ten bucks that goes well with soccer-mom stand-bys like pizza & pasta." This whole blog is dedicated to school night wines, but that's another matter.
This is a big, big wine on the nose. The scent of black pepper is out of control! It's the first thing I notice about this wine, even before its color, which is a gorgeous purple-ruby shade. On the glass, this wine sits for about 20 seconds, then begins to form legs. I smell some raspberries coming through after the black pepper, which I have to say is a nice combination. And I don't even smell the alcohol, which is a tough feat to accomplish, especially with this wine's 14% alcohol content.
On the palate, this wine has some big, bad-ass grape jam flavors, with that strong pepper component coming through on the finish. This wine has a great weight & mouthfeel (I freakin' HATE that word). If I were blind-folded & given this wine to drink, I would think it was an Australian shiraz in this $15 - $20 range, not a Spanish grenache for under $8. Truly, this is a great wine at a phenomenal price. Life-changing stuff. I highly recommend it to everyone. And if every winery made a wine like this one, with such complexity & good taste, with a higher alcohol content at a great price, well, we'd probably have world peace. I'll raise another glass to that.
Cheers!
Kate
Monday, October 25, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
2008 Bear Print Pinot Noir
OK. A history lesson here: the front of the bottle proclaims this message: "The first Bear Flag was created by William L. Todd, a nephew of Mary Todd, the wife of Abraham Lincoln. The bear was designed to be a symbol of strength and unyielding resistance." History lesson over. Not sure what this has to do with wine, but I'll roll with it.
I have to start by saying that this wine contains a 14% alcohol content. That's pretty good, considering this wine is under $10. It's really, really pretty in the glass, too. Like a dark rose wine. It smelled like blueberries when I was uncorking the bottle. I don't smell blueberries anymore, but I got that hint in the beginning.
In the glass, I smell fresh, field-ripe strawberries and a little bacon. That's pretty complex for a cheap wine, I think. And impressive - I've tasted wines that smelled far less impressive at a much higher price point. (Check out my other blog, Wine Diary, for more details.) It takes a minute for the legs to form down the side of the glass, but they do, meaning that this is a fairly heavy-bodied wine.
This wine tastes exactly as it smells. I really feel like I swallowed a piece of bacon topped with a slice - just a slice - of strawberry. It has a long, bacon-flavored finish. It's wild. I've never tasted such a complex wine at such an inexpensive price point. See, this is why I'm beginning to love pinot noir. When I get a cabernet, I know what to expect. When I get a petit verdot, I know what to expect. When I get a shiraz or a malbec or a tempranillo, I know (roughly) what to expect. Pinot noir? I learn something new with every new bottle.
I adore this wine. I didn't have high expectations for it, but I am in love. I bought this bottle at Stew Leonard's, but readers, ask for it. Look for it, ask for it, make it your own. As long as you like bacon, you won't be sorry.
Cheers!
Kate
I have to start by saying that this wine contains a 14% alcohol content. That's pretty good, considering this wine is under $10. It's really, really pretty in the glass, too. Like a dark rose wine. It smelled like blueberries when I was uncorking the bottle. I don't smell blueberries anymore, but I got that hint in the beginning.
In the glass, I smell fresh, field-ripe strawberries and a little bacon. That's pretty complex for a cheap wine, I think. And impressive - I've tasted wines that smelled far less impressive at a much higher price point. (Check out my other blog, Wine Diary, for more details.) It takes a minute for the legs to form down the side of the glass, but they do, meaning that this is a fairly heavy-bodied wine.
This wine tastes exactly as it smells. I really feel like I swallowed a piece of bacon topped with a slice - just a slice - of strawberry. It has a long, bacon-flavored finish. It's wild. I've never tasted such a complex wine at such an inexpensive price point. See, this is why I'm beginning to love pinot noir. When I get a cabernet, I know what to expect. When I get a petit verdot, I know what to expect. When I get a shiraz or a malbec or a tempranillo, I know (roughly) what to expect. Pinot noir? I learn something new with every new bottle.
I adore this wine. I didn't have high expectations for it, but I am in love. I bought this bottle at Stew Leonard's, but readers, ask for it. Look for it, ask for it, make it your own. As long as you like bacon, you won't be sorry.
Cheers!
Kate
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