Saturday BBQ

Last Saturday we held a little BBQ at the house and for the event I pulled a few bottles of wine to sample and pair with the food. Here, in WSET format, are my tasting notes:

Abbaye De Saint Ferme, 2005: A Bordeaux Superieur wine this one was the gamble since I picked it up for $5 but oh what $5 can buy you. Moderately clear appearance, ruby color, dark butr not opaque. Broad core, color almost out to the meniscus. The nose was clean with medicum intensity of black fruits, touch of cherry, rather "jammy", maybe just a hint of cinnamon. This is a dry, medium bodied, medium acid, medium tannin wine that starts smooth but firms up a bit toward the finish. Dark fruits, blackberry and cherry with a medium length finish. The fruit seemed to disappear a little early but still a good experience and a great value!

Chateau Tour St. Bonnet, 2005: A Bordeaux from the Medoc, this wine was clear with a pretty intensely deep purple color. The nose was clean with medium intensity of black currant and blackberries with just a touch of some kind of sweet spice. The palate was delivered smooth tannins, medium acidity and nice dark fruits lingering quite a while. Good buy for around $15.

The Stump Jump "McLaren Vale" Shiraz, 2008: If Australian wines are anything they are enjoyable at a very reasonable price point. This $10 bottle of wine had a lovely inky color with a clean nose of intense plum, raspberry and sweet spices. On the tongue I got a fruit-forward experience of raspberries, cherries and licorice that when combined with the good acid and smooth tannins created a medium length finish that was a hit.

Frei Brothers Zinfandel "Dry Creek Valley" 2008: OK, I know, a two year old Zinfandel, what was I thinking? Well in this case it paid off. The wine poured clean with an intense purple hue. The nose was clean with a pretty intense aroma of red currant, sweet spices and a hint of white pepper. The wine was medium-full bodied with good acidity and tannins and loaded with black cherry and spices creating a medium length finish that was very enjoyable.

Number of wines reviewed in 2010: 64

2007 Frei Brothers "Reserve" Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel

The end of another day of moving and while we talked about heading to Jake's On Sixth or The Vine for a glass of wine we were just too beat and went home. Wanting something from the vine I looked at the wine that had not been stored for the move and selected a bottle of 2007 Frei Brothers "Reserve" Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel . The wine has a good reputation earning a 90 from THE Robert Parker so I was looking forward to something exceptional. Upon popping the cork my nose was greated with an interesting mix of earth, cocoa, cherries and a sweet oakiness that was rather pleasant but surprising. I poured a glass and waited a few minutes for the wine to breath. This Zin was a deep, inky purple in the glass and looked rather nice when swirled with good legs and an incredibly deep color. For me, though, the love ended soon afterward. While not bad, I was underwhelmed. The nose did transform into more blueberry and cherry with a lingering oaky spiciness that was pleasant enough but the first sip was disappointing. The wine seemed to me to be a bit along the line of sour cherries with a hint of the aforementioned blueberry. The tannins were not sharp at all, kinda smooth actually, but while all of the components were there the wine just didn't speak to me. Fruit, check. Acid, check. Soft tannins, check. But in this case the whole was not equal to the sum of the parts. The finish was medium length with a touch more spiciness at the end, but the overall experience just didn't live up to expectations.

Number of wines reviewed in 2010: 24