Australia Is The Often Forgotten Land of Wine

Australia may not be a region that comes to mind when thinking of great wine, but the land from down under is the world’s fourth largest exporter of wine, ahead of the United States, and for good reason as this country continues to build on the success it showed in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Australians have also become very knowledgeable about wine as the country consumes twice as much wine per capita as the U.S. A wide variety of grapes are grown in this country, but Grange is often considered the best. Produced by the Penfolds winery, Grange first came onto the scene in 1952. However, Grange production does not meet its world-wide demand, so the wine is often expensive and at times hard to get. Recently, a bottle of the pre-release 1951 Grange sold at auction for $50,000, according to the New York Times. Read more

Spain’s Albarino Is A Delight When Paired With Seafood

Spain is known for its red wines but this summer you might want to become acquainted with one of the country’s best white wines: Albarino.

Albarino is also grown in parts of Portugal and California but the Rias Baixas region of Spain is perhaps the best producer of this aromatic wine that provides notes of peaches, apples and lemons. High in acidity, the Albarino has been a favorite in Spain for many years and the country long ago discovered its beautiful pairing with seafood. Read more

Portugal Is A Traditional Region Known For Complexity

Portugal has long been known for its dry reds but this ancient growing region also offers strong white wines making it one of the most wholistic wine producing countries and sometimes the most unknown.

Portugal is home to two different wine regions.  The northern regions of Bairrada and Douro tend to focus on top-end wines.  In the south, the Estremadura and Alentejo regions are also high in quality but produce more full flavored wines at more affordable prices.

The 2009 Luis Pato Maria Gomes Vinho ($10) hails from the Bairrada region of Portugal and is one of the best value wines to come from this country.  This wine offers a high acidity but also floral and pear-like tastes to give this wine a great complexity.

The 2008 Niepoort Redoma Douri Branco ($25) is a bit more expensive but worth the price.  A combination of varieties come together to delight the pallet with spices of marjoram and yuzu, but fruit and citrus are also present to give a nice acidity behind the spices.

The 2001 Quinta dos Roques Encruzado Dão offers a complex nutty taste followed by a limey finish.  This white wine will also offer a herb-like aroma.

The 2001 Niepoort Redoma Branco Douro is another white wine that has a nutty taste, but bright lemon and a hint of vanilla give it an added intensity.  Some have described this wine as having an oak-like finish with a slightly toasted edge.

These reds and whites are great examples of the complexity that Portugal offers.  Many of this country’s wines go great with meals because they offer something for everyone and are great to serve at a tasting party because they can give even the newest wine drinker a distinct taste to grab onto.

Price Is Right For Trying Chenin Blanc

The recession has cut prices on goods and services in nearly every industry, including wine, but the drop in wine prices has finally caught up to the Chenin Blanc.

Chenin Blanc offerings have recently become one of the most inexpensive, high-quality wines that offer a great value when out for a night on the town or looking for a bottle to compliment that special home-cooked meal.  This white wine has always been popular with wine professionals but is beginning to catch on with budget-minded wine lovers. Read more

Monte Antico Toscano

You know, a lot of people buy highly-rated wines and just don’t know what to expect. Some people end up pleasantly surprised at the combination of value and quality that they are able to find. Others pour a 90 point wine and think they are decanting the next Opus One.

The truth about 90+ point rated wines is the same with any bottle of wine. Everything is subjective, and one man’s Abacus may be another’s Yellow Tail. What you can find in highly-rated wines is consistency, meaning that you are more likely to enjoy it over other wines, that it shares a balance of color, appearance, aroma and bouquet and flavor that will make it an overall higher quality wine.

At a suggested retail value of $11 and a Wine Spectator rating of 90 points,, the 2006 Monte Antico Toscano is a great example of a highly-rated wine with an exceptional value. It’s a great example of a wine that should be decanted, not so much for sediment as for letting the wine breath to reach it’s maximum potential. I definitely found more life in the last glass than I did the first.

It’s not an overbearing wine. It’s smooth and easy on the tannins, and would make a great wine for beginning wine lovers looking to venture from lighter, sweeter wines into the heavier, red wine market. After letting it breath for a half an hour, the Monte Antico Toscano had a light bouquet of leather, earth, herbs, black cherries, licorice and plums. The scent, much like the taste, was not overly expressive so it isn’t a particularly overpowering wine.

Don’t drink the Monte Antico Toscano expecting a striking taste. It’s round, a bit spicy with a balanced level of fruitiness. The taste doesn’t linger in your mouth for long which makes it less attractive as a stand-alone wine but a great pick for pairing with food. At the price, it’s easily the kind of wine you could keep a case of around the house for an everyday drinker.

If I had to choose a food for pairing, I’d go with just about any type of tomato-based pasta entrees, fowl or red meat. It would also do well as a cheese pairing wine for an informal movie night or other get-together.

All in all, I think the Monte Antico Toscano derserves every point it received from Wine Spectator and everyone else who has discovered this everyday treasure. I doubt you’ll find many $11 bottles of wine as surprisingly good as the Monte Antico Toscano.

Overall rating ★★★★★

Steele Stymie Merlot 2006

I am NOT drinking any f***ing Merlot! (Paul Giamatti in Sideways)

For as many reasons as pop culture has made wine as popular as it is today, the same number of reasons can be said to have led to the consumption of Merlot spiraling downwards after the release of the movie Sideways in 2004.

Which is just a shame, considering the extensive list of great varietals in production. Read more

2005 Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Review

Having wonderful clients to entertain that are experienced wine drinkers can be a challenge. Over the years of dining with us, they have come to expect the “unexpected”. We try to accommodate them by pouring wines at dinner that they have never experienced. At Aureole in Las Vegas, we had just that opportunity.

When Robert Parker originally reviewed the 2005 Arietta Cabernet, he gave it mediocre reviews citing that he thought in 3-4 years it had some potential.

Boy was he right. The 2005 Arietta begins as a classic Cabernet to my taste. It starts with rich, ripe dark fruits and classic hints of licorice and cassis.

But what made this wine so unique was that it had a distinctive “violet” taste to it. It could be described as floral, but it created a light, pale purple image as I tasted it. The taste in your mouth goes from powerful to delicate seamlessly, with smooth tannins and a great finish. This wine was recommended by the Sommelier at Aureole, and I enjoyed it tremendously.

If it were not for the color, mouth-feel and tannins, I would have had a challenge guessing that it was a Cabernet.

Merryvale Profile 1993 Wine Review

The 1993 Merryvale Profile that we had last night was surprisingly good. The wine had not been well reviewed originally, and a subsequent tasting of it in 2003 by Wine Spectator said that it was past it’s prime and metallic. My feelings were a little different.

When first opened, the wine had the classic “old wine” smell. Not distasteful in any way, but definitely showing age. However, the first small taste showed dark fruit, some leather and a rich, almost chewy texture. We did not decant the wine, and let it sit in the glass for about five minutes. The second taste had less fruit, and almost a metallic “penny like” hint to it. You could pick up green herbs in the wine – almost grass like. It wasn’t bad, but we thought that maybe it past it’s prime. There was no tannin at all in the wine. (I had not read the WS review until today, so I can see what they were thinking).

However, by the second glass, after the wine had been open for about 20 minutes in the bottle – it was back to being a complex blend. There was good, soft fruit – you could taste plum, currant and something else that I can’t describe. The bouquet of the wine was that of a more traditional blend, and none of the original “old wine” smell. There were still no tannins, and the finish was short, but overall the wine was very nice. WS had scored it with an 82 when it was released. That’s probably accurate. However, the bottle we opened in 2010 was definitely not past its prime. It was delicate and graceful, and a pleasure to drink. We enjoyed it during the entire dinner.

Now, if the wait staff could have avoided pouring all of the sediment into my last glass – that would have been appreciated!

2007 Francis Coppola Claret and a little wine trivia

Well, I don’t usually cover single wines unless they made the “Most Wanted” list, but I wanted to talk about this wine more for the sake of discussing “claret” in general.

First off, the Francis Coppola Diamond Collection 2007 Black Label Claret (1910 Type) has a very long name. This is due, in part, because of a slight case of over-marketing. But, when you’re bold enough to make a wine using all five of the Bordeaux varietals, I guess you can call it whatever you want to.

FFC’s 2007 Claret is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The dark blend of grapes  coupled with what turned out to be a pretty warm year in Napa and Sonoma creates a smooth tasting and pleasant smelling red that’s still tough enough to go head-to-head with a big bowl of beef stroganoff.

Overall, it turned out to be a good wine. It was worth the $20 a paid for it, but I doubt I would have paid a dollar more.

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Campo Viejo 2002 Gran Reserva Wine Review

A blend of Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo.

Maroon cherry red color. Aroma of jam and wood, spicey tones. This is a wine with character and persistance.

Accompanying roast meat or meat in sauce, stews and cured cheese.

“Still fresh and generous for the vintage, this red offers plum and black cherry fruit with cedar and leaf notes. Balanced and lively, with a floral and minty finish. Drink now through 2012.” 89 Points
Wine Spectator
May 31, 2009

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