Unti - Petit Frere

Price: $28
Region: Healdsburg, California
Year: 2006

First, a bit of background on this one. This is a wine I usually buy a couple of bottles of around Christmas each year because it is my wife's absolutely favorite red wine. I would buy it more often, but there is only one store in our local market that carries it, and I just don't get out that way very often. It is a great little specialty wine store, that carries much more wine from Europe than the US, but this one that they do carry is usually a winner. The one thing I noticed this year that I hadn't noticed before, is that while the grapes used in this wine are the same, the percentages of them from vintage to vintage vary significantly. This wine is a Cotes-du-Rhone style wine made from Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre. The blend in the 2006 vintage that I tasted was 86% Grenache, 10% Syrah, and 4% Mourvedre. A significant difference, for instance, from the 2007 vintage which is almost 50% Syrah and 40% Grenache. This wine sat in our cellar for a couple of months, until recently when we had a quiet Saturday evening home preparing for our trip to Florida, and it seemed like a good time to break out a bottle.

This is obviously a bit more than we would spend for a weekly bottle of wine, but it is always nice to have an upgrade every now and then. When I poured my first glass, I noticed the wine had excellent clarity, and a very rich looking color. It was definitely pleasant to look at. I then gave my glass a quick swirl, and took a sniff. This wine had an excellent floral bouquet. So much so, that I went back for more before giving the wine a taste. At this point, the wine was everything I was expecting it to be. I then took a sip, and instantly noticed that this wine was very smooth. It had a wonderful flavor, with great length, and a definite European flare. Maybe it was the heavy percentage of Grenache, which is a grape I don't purposely seek out, and don't usually come across in California wines I buy. This one is definitely unique, and well worth the almost $30 as something to save as a treat.

Rating: 4.25 (A yearly treat)

Hess - Cabernet Sauvignon

Price: $15.99
Region: California
Year: 2006

Still have a bit of a backlog of reviews to get to for a couple of different reasons, and was hoping to get at least two done today, but don't think that is going to happen. I decided to review this wine, just because it was one of the ones I enjoyed over this past holiday weekend (Easter), and it is fresh in my mind. In picking this wine out, I took a bit of a different approach. Before O left work on Friday, I had a quick conversation with one of my friends. We both get the same wine of the day calendar, hers being online, and mine being one of those little square desk calendars. I usually save a wine if it looks like one I want to try, and she usually saves a link for the same reason. So, we went through our saved wine of the day selections, and this is what we came up with. It definitely made the trip to the wine store that much easier. While sometimes I enjoy browsing the local wine store, the way home on a Friday evening isn't usually one of those times. For this blog, this is a couple of dollars more than I usually spend on a weekly wine, but I'm sure you can find it somewhere for under $15.

When I first poured a glass, I was a bit intrigued by the color. It wasn't a big bold looking red, but did have really nice clarity, and an almost ruby hue to it. So, if I thought that the appearance wasn't typical Cabernet, I certainly can't say that about the smell. I gave my glass a few swirls, and tried my new sniffing routine again, and very much enjoyed a full-bodied red wine smell. I would say it have a hint of blackberry, which is what usually comes to my mind for me when I smell a typical Cab. At this point, I was pretty impressed, but the taste is always most important to me. With my first sip, I immediately noticed how smooth this wine was, and also the great tannins. This wine had a great upfront taste, that continued all the way to the back of the throat. Really great length. That smell of blackberries was again evident int he taste. Overall, a really good wine, and held up well against wines that I've paid twice as much for. Go give it a try for sure.

Rating: 4.25 (A Cab for the Top 5)

Oracle of the Sun - Shiraz

Price: $8.99
Region: South Africa
Year: 2008

Well, March was not a such great month for keeping up with my reviews. That's not to say I didn't have my fair share of good (and not so good) wines. Between being away for a week for Spring Break with my family, and a crazy work schedule, I just haven't made the time to sit down and write a review. I try to keep those periods to a minimum for sure, but sometimes it can't be helped. The good news is, I have a whole lot of reviews to catch-up on, so no time like the present to get started. I bought this wine on my way home from work one Friday evening in early March. Didn't really have a particular wine in mind, but also didn't have a lot of time to walk up and down the aisle. This usually means I head to the Shiraz aisle first, as I can almost always rely on the fact something will grab my attention. The interesting thing about this particular wine is that sometimes I am in the mood for a South African wine, but they are usually in a different section of the store. At my previous job, I became friends with a couple of colleagues from South Africa, and met up with one of them on a business trip, and the wines he brought over from South Africa that we shared were excellent. Every once in a while I try to find something as good as those wines were, but haven't had much luck. So, when I was in the Shiraz aisle, and saw this wine, I was hoping my luck had changed.

I can't recall what we were having for dinner that night, but if I had to guess it was probably pizza, which seems to becoming a Friday night staple. When I was ready to sit down, I poured a glass, and was a bit surprised at the color. It was much more shallow then I was expecting for a Shiraz. Not the end of the world, but wasn't impressed. Not sure if I said this in one of my other recent postings, but I read recently that when you smell wine, you should take multiple short sniffs, as opposed to one long one. I really can tell the difference when you do this, so I would recommend it. The comment said to think of a hound dog following a scent. Anyway, this isn't a wine I went back to sniff again. It wasn't horrible, but definitely a bit off. Just not overly pleasant. This was going to have to finish with a phenomenal taste to win me over for sure. I took my first sip, and my impression was average. It didn't have those good chewy tannins that I love to find in a Shiraz, and it definitely wasn't a big bold wine, but it wasn't horrible. I paid $9 for this wine, which is too much. I just saw online while looking for the picture that it can be had for $6. It might be worth a try at that price, but I just have to say there are much better wines out there for the price.

Rating: 2.5 (I'd skip it)

V Sattui - Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Price: $30.00
Region: Napa, California
Year: 2006

Well, I missed a week for the first time in a while, but time to jump right back in. I was hoping to get two reviews written up tonight, but might just try to do the 2nd one over the next couple of days instead. I actually had this wine two weeks ago, when we had just received another big snow storm. This was the second or third of the year (lost count). Anyway, I didn't feel like tracking through the snow, so I went downstairs and grabbed a bottle I had been saving for a rainy day... or in this case, a snowy day. I didn't remember to write down what I had for dinner with this particular bottle, but if my memory servers me correct, we made a fairly simple pasta dish.

I'm cheating a little bit on this review because I did have a taste of this wine back in January when I was in San Fransisco for a week of training. I was fortunate enough to get done early, and headed up to the winery for lunch and a little wine. I knew it wasn't going to be one I turned my nose up at, but I was still looking forward to a couple of glasses to have a little more to go on. I was not overly surprised at the color being a Napa Valley Cab, but never get tired of the sight of a dark red wine like this one. I also very much enjoyed the aroma, with a fairly noticeable fruit smell that I would liken to blackberries. I'm not sure I'm getting any better at picking out certain smells, but every one in a while I go with the first impression, and that's what happened here. So, when I finally took a sip, and then another, I knew I had made a good choice in picking a bottle of this up. It was a very smooth wine, with a flavor that hung on for quite a while. The predominant flavor hit the back of the tongue, which always carries a little bit of spiciness to me, but it definitely didn't disappear right away. My kind of wine for sure. I would say you could probably fine similar quality wines for a bit less money at your local store, but if your driving through Napa anytime soon, you just can't go wrong by pulling into the V Sattui parking lot. You won't be disappointed. I know I haven't been yet.

Rating: 4.0 (Worth a trip to their website)

Carro - Tinto

Price: $9.99
Region: Spain
Year: 2008

Sometimes it happens that I head into the store with one thing in mind, and for no particular reason, head out with something completely different. After a few of weeks of being completely out of my routine, I settled back into a fairly normal weekend for me. I was stopping to grab dinner on my way home from work on Friday, and stopped by at the most convenient store, which happens to be one of my least favorite. For some reason, I was pretty much set on grabbing a bottle of California Cabernet. To be honest however, I never even made it over to that aisle. On my way over, I took a detour, and ended up looking at some rather well priced Spanish wines. This particular bottle of Carro Tinto just happened to catch my eye. When I looked at the back, I saw it was primarily made from three grapes, two of which I knew fairly well. The third, and predominant grape however, I had never even heard of, and that was Monsatrell. Given that the other two were grapes I'm very fond of, Syrah & Tempranillo, I thought it was a good gamble at $10.

Right when I poured my first glass, I noticed that this wine had a nice moderate color, with good clarity. Definitely not very dark, but not weak looking either. The smell on the other hand, while being very pleasant, and slightly floral, was quite strong. It was actually an aroma I enjoyed very much. When I took my first sip, I was a bit surprised. I was expecting a middle of the road type wine, almost like a California Merlot, but this wine was much more. It was very smooth, with good length, and very nice tannins. I know this following term is one you'll see in some reviews of high end Cabernet, but it was almost a bit chewy, with a nice hint of spice (must be the Syrah). Anyway, from beginning to end, I found this wine very enjoyable. A nice smelling wine, that was fairly smooth given the price, and had a nice flavor. I will definitely give it another try sometime.

Rating: 3.75 (A nice find)

Poggio Morino - Morellino Di Scansano

Price: $15.00
Region: Tuscany
Year: 2006

The weather has definitely been a bit crazy around here lately. Lots and lots of snow. I haven't had the chance to run out and pick out a new bottle of wine, but luckily I still had a couple left over from our recent wine tasting. This bottle was another one our friends bought for us that we tasted that night. Now, given that it was the first Italian wine I've had in a little while, and the fact we get a lot of take-out from a nice Italian Cafe that is close by, you would think that would be what I had with this bottle, but it just didn't work out that way. Instead, we stopped by our favorite burger joint for some good old hamburgers and fries. Sometimes the food-wine pairing just doesn't work out, but that definitely isn't going to stop me from opening a bottle of wine. Regardless of the food, I was hoping for a nice smooth wine for a Friday night.

I took a quick look at the label to see if I recognized the predominate grape that is used for this wine, but I didn't. Sometimes that makes it a bit more interesting and forces more of an open mind. When I poured my first glass, I noticed the wine had good clarity, with a hint of ruby to it. It kind of flashed red a bit as I poured it into my glass. I tried something a bit different when going to smell the wine. I read recently that I was doing it all wrong, which really isn't much of a surprise. Instead of a prolonged sniff, I read that you should take a series of shorter sniffs, kind of like a hunting dog. That seems to make sense to me, so I gave it a try. My impression was that it definitely intensified the smell, but that didn't necessarily help me in identifying smells that some people seem much better at picking up than me. It did have a pleasant smell, and I would say somewhat earthy. It kind of reminded me a little bit of a Shiraz. With no preconceived notions at this point, I gave it a taste. It actually tasted much like it smelled, with a hint of earthiness to it. The taste hit the back of the tongue, but didn't fade away immediately. it was a little different, but I very much enjoyed it as a change of pace from my normal reds. I would say overall it is a good medium-bodied red, that would go well with pasta, even though I enjoyed it with hamburgers.

Rating: 3.5 (A solid Italian wine)

Altos Las Hormigas - Malbec

Price: $10.99

Region: Argentina

Year: 2009

Some time back in October, we attended a wine tasting for a local breast cancer charity. One of the auction items that day was a wine tasting for up to 20 couples at the same store . We decided to split the auction item with some good friends, and it just so happened that this past weekend was the day we decided to hold this wine tasting. We each brought four other couples with us, so the final group was a nice even 20. The tasting was scheduled for late afternoon, so once 3:00 rolled around, it was off to a very nice, sort of upscale, local wine store. They had a nice variety of wines for us to taste, ranging from a California Riesling, to an Australian Shiraz. As isn't too much of a surprise, I was not overly impressed with the whites we tasted, but based on the small samplings, thought a couple of the reds had some promise. I actually decided not to purchase any of the wines that we tried, but given that we have some very generous friends, I found out as we started our walk to dinner, that one couple had bought us three bottles as a sort of thank you.

We now have a couple of bottles of wine to try from our most recent tasting, which always make for something to look forward to. The first one I decided to try this past weekend, was the 2009 Malbec. I think this was mostly because we were having beef stew for dinner, and it seemed like the logical choice, but it was always because of a comment someone had made on my blog the last time I reviewed a Malbec. Back in November, I reviewed the Alamos Malbec on a whim (http://winereviewsyoucanunderstand.blogspot.com/2009/11/alamos-malbec.html). Being that I love wines like Shiraz, and Cabernet, I was thinking Malbec would be the next logical choice, given they are mostly very well priced and have good word of mouth. Anyway, the Alamos left a bit to be desired, and someone left a comment to make sure that I didn't give up on this particular variety. So, with that in the back of my mind, I wanted to give it another go.

This is definitely a bold looking wine. Very dark and jammy in color. A nice wine to look at for sure. As far as the smell, it was pleasant enough, but just seemed a bit young. It didn't have that stand up and take notice type of aroma, but again, not bad. With the last Malbec I tried, it was the overall taste that made the rating take a bit of a hit. It was definitely thin, and a little bitter. This wine however, started out with a nice flavor that hung around for a bit, and finished smooth. My initial impression was somewhere between a Shiraz & a Cabernet. This wine didn't "wow" me, but it was definitely a good counterpart to the beef stew, and it is nice to have a change of pace sometimes. I think I may now be on a search for a really good Malbec that comes in at a reasonable price. Wish me luck....

Rating: 3.5 (Getting warmer...)