#3-6 in one Sitting

I honestly didn't mean to cover 4 grapes in one sitting, but I did. I think I feel downright dirty and will have to revisit many of these varietals when I can. Here is how it happened--I found myself at the liquor store, nearly panicking at the variety of varietals. I picked up an Hungarian wine but put that aside for later. I settled on a wine from Forte de Valle (Valley of the Fort, I guess) from the Yecla DOC in Spain. Little did I know that it was a blend that covered 4 varietals--56% Merlot, 24% Mouvedre, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Petit Verdot.

Varietal #3 Merlot
Vatietal #4, Mourverde (dog strangler in French??)
Varietal #5, Cabernet Sauvignon
Varietal #6, Petit Verdot

The wine--Casa De Las Espacias, 2004 Forte del Valle, Yecla DOC

With a deep red olor (likely from the Petite Verdot), but not quite inky, this is a pretty wine in the glass The nose is a little different--almost smells of anise??? The flavor is straight up the middle of the tongue with some pronounced Tannins when swirled around the mouth. There is some density -almost meatiness to the wine, similar to Jumilla district wines--the terroir is definitely there. We are definitely not in California anymore--and it reminded me of many of the wines we had when we were in Spain in 2003. So if you like somewhat challenging wines that reflect on Spain and you like paying under $10 for a bottle, this one would be right up your alley

2 Down, 98 to Go

Dang, the first 2 went down fast. However, I'll be sick of wine and missing beer in now time, so my brother in law, Ted, can relax. Please note that he has now joined the Blog Community for the challenge.

Varietal #2: Zinfandel

2004 Zinfandel, Luddite Vineyards, Russian River Valley, 68 cases produced

I made a pretty great (if I do say so myself) Hungarian Style Goulash on Sunday, which we ate as leftovers tonight. The cookbook recommended Limerick Lane Zinfandel (one of my favorites)--but the only Limerick Lanes I had formed a vertical so were off limits. Hence, the Luddite wine, which is only a few miles away as the crow flies from Limerick Lane. We bought this wine in the tasting room and shipped it back with some other bottles--I'm glad we did. For those of you not familiar with Zinfandel--it is quite often a very fruit forward wine that is often described as jammy and quite often at 15+% ABV (alcohol by volume). It is one of the quintessential American Wines, but is often "dissed" by wine snobs because it is too fruity and too high of alcohol. Good for them, but I really like it for drinking in front of a fire on a dark cold evening.

This wine is deep, particularly for a 2004 from Sonoma County. It is peppery with very little fruit on it, which I find rare for CA Zins. The nose is dominated by pepper, with a little hotness, hinting at the 14.2% abv (alcohol by volume). While this isn't particularly high for a Zin, I always smell it before tasting it. The taste is of plums and chocolate. Surprisingly, the tannins are still prevalent, which again, is rare for a few year old CA Zin. I think that this wine could sit for a few years and do very well.

100 Vino Varietals

I was browsing the internet (actually reading my Google Reader Acct), and I came across Wine Century, which really peaked my interest. The challenge is to drink 100 different types of grapes and submit your "accomplishment". I quickly filled out the checklist and realized that I had only drank (drunk?) 38 different varietals in my life. 62 to go. Some people would feel daunted by that task. I felt invigorated. I wrote Anne and my brother in law Ted, who leveled the challenge that we start over! We get no getting credit for past work (pleasure), and we have to log each and every varietal we drink. I now felt doubly invigorated!!!! Running 3500 miles in a year is too daunting, drinking 100 varietals of grapes is not. Plus it gives me something to blog about. Sooo, here goes...

Varietal #1--Sangiovese

2005 Mayo Family Winery, Dry Creek Valley, Unti Vineyard

This wine varietal is one of my favorites and Mayo makes a pretty good wine. Sangiovese is a wine typical to Tuscany, but is usually blended into Chianti, which is a blend. Mayo, for those of you not familiar with them, are a family winery based in Sonoma Valley. They focus on single vineyard designations, and this one is no different. Cranberry in color and taste, something I find common in California Sangos this wine has a nice light finish and some berry flavor (not too fruity), which make this a particularly good dinner wine. I'm not talking big steak and potatoes kind of dinner, I'm thinking Pizza or a light red sauce on Polenta or Pasta. Excellent.

It's about time....and wine
I've been a little tardy in the posting. It seems that spring sprung, summer came and I forgot to look at my computer away from work. I believe there are worse things in the world, but I do feel ashamed. Those of you who know me, know that I like wine. Specifically good wine. However, I have come to realize that there is a time and place for a $25+ bottle of wine and it isn't to drink one glass with dinner midweek. Because of that, and because the marketing is so good, I decided to try a box wine the other night. Specifically the Trove Chardonnay. Cool box, $18 for 3 liters (or four bottles worth), and a cute name (get it treasure trove???). They even claim to be "premium wine in a box" on their website. I have one word for that--NOT. Maybe I have more words. Never (and I mean never) have I had a worse wine that this. I'm not sure what monkey poop tastes like, but it likely tastes better than the Trove Chardonnay. The color was golden, the nose was putrid, and the taste was unfathomable--as in how the heck do they ever get anybody to try this stuff twice??? My only hope (for the vineyard, that is), is that this wine was cooked, causing me so much derision and (dare I say) pain... I went to their website and filled out a product complaint form. I'll be interested to see what their response is. I'll be sure to follow up with this information.

However, I've decided to stick my chin out and go again at the boxed wine trials. I'll follow up in the next few days on my 2nd box o' wine.

UPDATE---Trove Wines Customer Service responded promptly and are sending me a refund for the full amount of the wine. So, crappy wine, stellar customer service.