What's in your glass tonight?

[ibglowin]

Drinks like a wine 2-3X its price point. IYKYK.....

One of the best GMS's you will ever drink regardless of price point or Continent.

 

[VinesnBines]

2022 Chambourcin. This spent one year in bulk with French oak cubes, then eight months in a former bourbon barrel- 10 gallons American oak.

The bottle was opened last night. It was okay. The nose was not strong and the flavor was a little flat. Last night I poured the glass through an aerator but it was still muted.

We drank 1/2 the bottle and I poured the other half through the aerator into a 375 ml split. Tonight we opened the split; what a difference! The nose is fully developed. It has an aroma of dark fruits, cherries, cranberries and a hint of chocolate. The mouthfeel was full and smooth. No acid bite and no bourbon taste.

This will age well if we can keep it several years.

I have to constantly remind myself that these big hybrids need to aerate overnight while young.

 

[Hazelemere]

Framboise Fusion 2024

Just racked my 2024 Marechal Foch Rose into a 30 bottle carboy with sulphite to 60 ppm total with a bit of top up up and while doing that I made a tasting experiment in a glass: 3/4 Framboise 2024 (raspberries and Chambord liqueur) and 1/4 Black Iris Port 2024 (wild cherries, dry elderberries with a bit of wild blackberries on oak with Cassis liqueur (black currants) and Metaxa (Greek raisin brandy from sultanas) on medium toast American oak). Here are my tasting comments on this wine in a glass:

Appearance - clear dark purplish red

Smell - very fruity, good complex nose - marzipan (???), raspberries, wild cherries

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is interesting. I think it would make a good aperitif on ice in the summertime in the shade on a hot day like a Dubonnet or Vermouth. I can see myself making a case of this in 2025 if I have the chance. It could also make a killer marinade e.g. on a pot roast from any kind of meat such as roast duck, moose, venison, wild boar, sweet and sour anything, ribs. It could be really good in a dish like wild boar borscht, sweet and sour pork or lamb, sweet and sour chorizo on rice or noodles.

I think I'll try it with sweet and sour wild boar ragout. My son in law and daughter have wild venison so that can work too.

https://www.theeternaltable.com/historical-recipes/sweet-and-sour-wild-boar-stew

 

[ibglowin]

Costco run yesterday! Found a couple of gems at my local warehouse in ABQ. If you're in the market for some good Chianti and see either of these in the wild definitely grab a bottle or two.



Of interesting note is that both wines scored a very nice 93 points. The Kirkland Chianti was reviewed by the Costcowineblog.com just recently. The 2021 Perano scored an excellent 93pts on Wine Spectator no less AND it cost a mere $15.99 vs the Costco Chianti priced at $17.99. Online reviews say the Costco wine still needs to lay down for a few years or a long decant is suggested.

I found an interesting note the other day that if you can find the Costco item number on anything (including a bottle of wine) and enter that number into Warehouse Tools area of the Costco App you can search your local warehouse for stock on that item without having to drive around town looking for it. Very handy as we have four warehouses in ABQ now.

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste from a cooler split (1/2 bottle):

Appearance - clear, deep inky purple

Smell - intense Montreal smoked meat and/or roast duck, Chinese 5 spice, mocha chocolate, plums

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is a really interesting rich red wine with a really good long aftertaste. I've always had really good wines from Petit Verdot. This Petit Verdot improves the Cabernet Sauvignon that it was blended with IMHO. The Cab was very tasty. The Petit Verdot killed! This combo of Cab and Verdot is delicious. I'm thrilled to have over 60 bottles in my cooler so I can drink some of them when I'm in my mid-eighties. I love Chinese roast duck and this is a perfect wine for that. Some wines are tasty and really one-of-a-kind unique. This wine is one of those! North American Petit Verdot if is perfectly ripe can be stunning. If you can find it ripe...........try it!

retaste from a bottle:

Appearance - clear, deep inky purple

Smell - intense Montreal smoked meat and/or roast duck, Chinese 5 spice, mocha chocolate, plums, black licorice

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is a delicious rich red wine with a really good long aftertaste. I've always had really good wines from Petit Verdot. This Petit Verdot improves the Cabernet Sauvignon that it was blended with IMHO. The Cab was very tasty. The Petit Verdot killed! This combo of Cab and Verdot is sensational. I'm thrilled to have over 60 bottles in my cooler so I can drink some of them when I'm in my mid-eighties. I love Chinese roast duck and this is a perfect wine for that. Some wines are tasty and really one-of-a-kind unique. This wine is one of those! North American Petit Verdot if is perfectly ripe can be stunning. If you can find it ripe...........try it! I rate it as excellent.

 

[Hazelemere]

Black Iris Port with Creme de Cassis in a glass 2024 at about SG 1.008

finished or almost finished fermenting. I have 25 bottles. This is mostly wild cherries with a few blackberries and 1 lb dried elderberries fermented with EC-1118 yeast with nutrient. Here are my comments on this blend in a glass:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - really good fruit bomb nose

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - the Cassis is dominant but not in a bad way. If you like port this is first class fruit port. I think I'll top it up with Greek Metaxa raisin brandy to get the alcohol up to 18+%. I may treat it with citric acid to drop the sweetness. Other than that, this should be excellent fruit port. Instead of using 1, I think I'll use 2 bottles of Metaxa on a 25 bottle carboy and then put it in my cooler. I'll retaste it after I add the Metaxa. I don't want to over-ride a beautiful wild cherry smell and taste with the dried elderberries. The blackberry dose is so low that it doesn't matter. I was going to add Drambuie but I think I'll go for Metaxa.

retaste from a bottle:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - really good complex fruit bomb nose which is hard for me to describe

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is really tasty fruit port. Complex, rich, interesting fruit port. This is really good which I will try to age for years. Excellent.