What's in your glass tonight?
- Thread starter Boatboy24
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2011 Gorman Winery "Zachery's Ladder" Best $28 bottle of Red Mountain fruit that you can find. Cab Sauv, Syrah, and PV. Still sipping on it 2 hours later and its just getting better and better.
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Apricot mead. Funny story... I bought a bag of dried organic apricots for about $18. I open the bag and taste one. Blah and bland. I try a second one. Same. Try a third one. Same. Now I'm irritated as I feel I got ripped for $18. I go ahead and make a gallon. Wow, so much better as a mead. Nice flavor and mouthfeel. Even my wife will drink it.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Out of curiosity, I grabbed a bottle of Apothic Inferno the other night. It is a red blend (of who knows what) that spent 60 days in whiskey barrels. On the nose, the whiskey is a little noticeable, but it calls you in with dark fruit, caramel, honey. Upon sipping this wine, you get more dark fruit - lots of cherry, honey, caramel, and even a little maple. You know there is some essence of whiskey in there, but it plays fairly well with the rest. The finish is long, and there is a little bit of a burn and that's when you most notice the integration of the whiskey. You've just swallowed a nice sip of red wine, but you know you've gotten a bit more than that. I paired this up with a NY Strip that had been rubbed with coffee, pepper, brown sugar and spices; then cooked over charcoal and some spent oak cubes. Good pairing.
Getting about 110 lbs of Cab Franc grapes locally, so wanted to start trying some Cab Franc wines and get a feel for what I should be aiming for. Our State store system is set up with different types of outlets. Luckily I have one pretty close to me (Hanover) that carries all kinds of obscure wines. They actually have a room, much like Total Wine down near Boatboy, that I don't dare to walk into, because a misstep could cost you a few thousand dollars, if you're lucky.
So I asked the "guy" what Cab Franc 80%+ bottles he had around. He led me to a 2013 Barboursville Cab Franc from Virginia. Now so happens I had read about their efforts in a book my kids bought me at Christmas (Grapes & Wines), and they gave it a pretty good review just by being mentioned in the book. This is an incredibly good wine. I've had other local Cab Francs that seemed a bit on the "green" side, this one is in one word, awsome. If you can get it, try it. Nice nose, no up front bitterness I usually get in East Coast unripe wines. Nice oak, nice fruit, but not over the top, just not what I expected in a good way. I'd say it is more like a Loire Valley wine than a California or Argentinian version. Looking on the website my wife and I might have to visit for an anniversary trip. Lot's of local wineries in their vicinity.
Cooled the bottle (you can see the condensation on it) but warmed to 62*F, the bottle suggests 65*F, so I figured I was close enough.
BTW, if my batch this Fall comes remotely close to this wine, I will be ecstatic, seriously ecstatic. I plan on finishing this bottle tonight and will have to deal with the ramifications tomorrow, if any.
So I asked the "guy" what Cab Franc 80%+ bottles he had around. He led me to a 2013 Barboursville Cab Franc from Virginia. Now so happens I had read about their efforts in a book my kids bought me at Christmas (Grapes & Wines), and they gave it a pretty good review just by being mentioned in the book. This is an incredibly good wine. I've had other local Cab Francs that seemed a bit on the "green" side, this one is in one word, awsome. If you can get it, try it. Nice nose, no up front bitterness I usually get in East Coast unripe wines. Nice oak, nice fruit, but not over the top, just not what I expected in a good way. I'd say it is more like a Loire Valley wine than a California or Argentinian version. Looking on the website my wife and I might have to visit for an anniversary trip. Lot's of local wineries in their vicinity.
Cooled the bottle (you can see the condensation on it) but warmed to 62*F, the bottle suggests 65*F, so I figured I was close enough.
BTW, if my batch this Fall comes remotely close to this wine, I will be ecstatic, seriously ecstatic. I plan on finishing this bottle tonight and will have to deal with the ramifications tomorrow, if any.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
I generally stay away from VA reds, but one that does decently is Cab Franc. And you're right - lots of wineries in VA, plenty of choices.
I picked up a winner with this one.
2006 Casanuova delle Cerbaie Brunello di Montalcino
Don't speak italian, what type of grape is it and what are your notes on it?
dcbrown73
Clueless Winemaker
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It's a Sangiovese. My notes were:
A beautiful translucent black cherry in color. Scents of prune, apricot, and cloves. Flavors of red plum, leather, clay, and tobacco. Medium bodied, tannic, with a nice balanced acidity. Very nice! Not too heavy, but carries a bounty of flavors and complexity.
Drinking a Francis Ford Coppola Vendetta (Cab / Malbec) which is really good! My neighbor Matt bought it for me to entice me to help him mix up his first wine kit tonight (he really didn't have to, but since he did...) Don't normally buy anything over about $15 a bottle since I'm cheap (and have 4 kids), this is pretty darn enjoyable. Hate the idea I'm on my last glass and have to go to bed...would rather finish the bottle than go to work. Hmmm, might have a problem here.
A 6 year old Apple Wine that I made one bushel to 5 gals of wine. Can't believe it's still awesome, I was a real newbie then. Roy
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2015 Chambourcin that my wife and I made. It has 15% St. Vincent added to it. It is very, very young, but shows a lot of promise. Oak overpowered the noise at the start, but after about 20 minutes of breathing settled out nicely. It has a great taste of berries and stone fruits, a hint of cherries. 400 lbs of Chambourcin and 100 lbs of St. Vincent. Yielded 12 cases of wine. We are seeing 5 under our stasis for at least a year, probably more.
Picking up this years grapes on Sunday.
Picking up this years grapes on Sunday.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
2013 Amado Sur - a blend of 70% Malbec, 20% Bonarda and 10% Syrah from Mendoza Argentina. Bought on a whim to go with our grilled fajita dinner tonight, but was very pleasantly surprised. On the nose, notes of coffee, dark chocolate, cherry liquor, and licorice. That follows through in the mouth, along with notes of caramel and raspberries. Long, dry finish. The finish almost reminded me of an Aglianico, though not quite as dry/tannic. Nice, firm tannins though, and bright acidity. Thought this was a pretty good deal @ $14.99. And that was at the local Giant (grocery store). I imagine at Wegman's or Total Wine, you'd be looking at 2-3 dollars less.
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dcbrown73
Clueless Winemaker
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2016
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- 905
2013 Amado Sur - a blend of 70% Malbec, 20% Bonarda and 10% Syrah from Mendoza Argentina. Bought on a whim to go with our grilled fajita dinner tonight, but was very pleasantly surprised. On the nose, notes of coffee, dark chocolate, cherry liquor, and licorice. That follows through in the mouth, along with notes of caramel and raspberries. Long, dry finish. The finish almost lmost reminded me of an Aglianico, though not quite as dry/tannic. Nice, firm tannins though, and bright acidity. Thought this was a pretty good deal @ $14.99. And that was at the local Giant (grocery store). I imagine at Wegman's or Total Wine, you'd be looking at 2-3 dollars less.
Thanks for the detailed description. I'm way n00b when it comes to wine pretty much, but I have completely fallen for it and the myriad of flavors it can produce. (and the crazy depth it provides with a great pairing) I can't explain it, but reading notes (non-professional notes anyhow) gives a vicarious sensation that I very much appreciate and makes me want to try it also!
I take my own notes, but get kind of embarrassed at times by them publicly, but I take them none the less. I still find enjoyment in taking them though.
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