WineLife365

Archive for May, 2010

Does wine get better with age?  When it comes to this question, I’m sure there are many schools of thought.  It may even elicit the response, “Well, that depends…”  Personally, I’m of the opinion that most wines made today are time sensitive and should be drunk within five years of their vintage date.  However, like so many other wine lovers, every so often I do lay a few bottles down in my “cellar” (a.k.a., a cedar closet in my basement) to see whether they will improve, or just to see if they will withstand the test of time.

Here are three bottles that I recently blew the dust off of to see whether or not they’d kicked the bucket or if they were still showing strong vital signs.

2001 Chateau Thebot Bordeaux (France) - I don’t have a large stash, but France makes up the majority of my collection.  This particular wine was awarded the silver medal at Vinalies International 2003 by the Association of French Enologists.  Unfortunately, this once good Bordeaux was cooked and finished, not to mention – brown!

2000 Chateau Reignac Bordeaux Superieur (France) – Like many, I took notice of all the accolades that were being thrown around about the 2000 Bordeaux vintage – “the first exceptional year for a new generation in Bordeaux“ (Wine Spectator) and “the greatest vintage Bordeaux has ever produced” (Robert Parker).  And like many, I bought some Bordeaux futures that I could afford.  One of my purchases was the 2000 Chateau Reignac Bordeaux.  This particular Bordeaux received 92 points from Mr. Parker.  This wine was once pretty spectacular when I had it a few years ago and only set me back about $20 when I purchased it.  Unfortunately, this one also set sail into the sunset.  It was showcasing a whole lot of funky unearthly qualities and not a whole lot of lush, ripe fruit that this vintage was known for.  It just wasn’t the same wine that I remembered enjoying when it was first released and even when I had it just a few years ago.

2001 Petersons Block One Mudgee Shiraz (Australia) – Petersons is a family owned and operated winery, which has been growing grapes for 37 years and making wines for 27 years in the Hunter Valley.  Petersons was named Champion Small Winery of Australia in 2001.  This particular Shiraz came from the winery’s Mudgee vineyard which consists of 100 acres of various red varieties that include:  Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Durif, Zinfandel, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Chambourcin.

Winemaker’s tasting notes on the 2001 Petersons Block One Mudgee Shiraz: 

“The palate is a complex combination of pepper, spicy fruit and cedar.  Having spent 14 months in American oak, the fruit, acids and tannins are well balanced and integrated. This wine would also benefit from careful cellaring of 5 -8 years.”

Mission Accomplished!  Let me tell you – the tasting notes are spot on!  This wine is a total powerhouse and it tastes just as good now.  It certainly appears that there’s still plenty of mojo left in this wine’s tank before it hits any downward spiral.  I just wish that I had another bottle of this Aussie treat to monitor its evolution!

So maybe my theory doesn’t always hold true, or maybe I just need to store my wine better; but it does give me good reason to drink my wine sooner than later!

The Wine:  2007 Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec.

Birth place:  La Linda Estate (Vistalba vineyard) in Luján de Cuyo, an area of Mendoza, Argentina.

The Altitude:  960m above sea-level.

Inside the Bottle:  Estate grown and bottled, 100% Malbec grapes from low-yielding vines. 

Time spent in the Barrel:  12 months in French oak.

Aging Potential:  Up to 10 years from its born-on-date is what they say.

How does it taste?:  Off the charts delicious!  Want to bathe in it good!  Humongous dark fruit and peppery spices that tantalize and seem to last, and last, and last!

WineLife365 Rating:  4 Stars out of 4.  One of the tastiest reds I’ve tried so far in 2010.

Price:  16.99.

In the words of Mayor Burgermeister Meisterburger,

“Toys are hereby declared illegal, immoral, unlawful AND anyone found with a toy in his possession will be placed under arrest and thrown in the dungeon.”

Old Burgermeister might not have been such a party pooper had someone given him a cool little wine gadget like the Vinturi Deluxe 7-Piece Wine Aerator Set.

The wine aeration arena is certainly starting to get pretty crowded with all sorts of devices claiming to yield a better tasting glass of wine.  The peeps at Vinturi have some of the most popular wine aerators on the market and a boatload of favorable reviews and testimonials about their products all over the internet.  A little while ago, they were kind enough to send me the Deluxe 7-Piece Wine Aerator Set to try out and review.

Here’s what Vinturi has to say about their aerator:

“Wine needs to breathe to allow it to open up, release its intended aromas, and of course, make it taste better. Vinturi’s patent-pending design speeds up this process by instantly aerating with ease and convenience in the time it takes to pour a glass of wine. Hold the aerator over a glass and pour wine through for instant aeration. It mixes the proper amount of air in the right amount of time.”

The result is supposed to be a “noticeable” and more enjoyable wine experience.

So, is there a noticeable difference in the way a wine tastes when it’s poured through this little contraption, versus being poured straight from the bottle into a glass?  The answer is…yes.  However, I’m not going to sit up here and say that your wine will taste better:  I think this really depends on the wine and the person drinking it.

After multiple “tests” with the Vinturi Aerator, I’ve found that it has a way of smoothing out much of the upfront assertiveness that a given wine might possess.  With these wines, it spreads things out a bit to give you a little more taste in the middle palate and at the backend on the finish.  Most of the people that I’ve shared this device with noticed a difference, and did in fact prefer their wine poured through the Vinturi aerator versus straight from the bottle.  However, I’ll admit that I’ve also had a few people tell me that they preferred the taste of some wines before they used the aerator.  Their reason was that they felt that the aerator smoothed out or softened up the wine too much for their liking, and that they missed the upfront kick that the wine initially displayed.  Overall though, most people, including myself, chose the aerator over the direct pour.

One more thing that I would be remiss to point out about the Vinturi Aerator is that there are a lot of reviews or comments about some dripping from the air holes on each side of the aerator while using it.  If you check out some other reviews at sites like Amazon, the dripping “issue” is mentioned quite a bit.  This is true.  There is a very small amount of wine that will drip out and run down the sides if you don’t follow the manufacturers’ instructions to “Start pouring on the side of the bowl, instead of directly down the center”.  My helpful hint:  I find it’s easier to get the “right pour” (i.e., no drips) by holding the aerator rather than using the stand.  With that said, I will continue to work on my “stand method” because, well…it’s just fun!

All in all, the Vinturi Deluxe 7-Piece Wine Aerator Set is a nifty little wine toy.  Any wine lover in your life will get a big kick out of it and they will undoubtedly conduct countless tests to taste the before and after Vinturi difference.

Finding a solid, satisfying Cabernet Sauvignon for around $10 these days has proven (at least to me) to be one illusive road to red wine happiness.  Of the cabs that I’ve tried so far this year, many  have been noticeably concocted into a sweet black cherry mess, while others have been razor-thin in the taste department, and a few others fell into the category of “Cabernet Sauvig-what?”  Could it be that I’ve set my expectations way too high in finding a brawny, relatively complex and interesting, everyday Cab that doesn’t suck, for less than $15?!

Fortunately, the folks at Montes Winery, headquartered in Chile, have answered my prayers with their 2008 “Classic Series” Cabernet Sauvignon.  The 2008 Montes “Classic Series” Cabernet Sauvignon has renewed my hope and given me the desire to turn the page to seek out more top of the line, grade-A, inexpensive Cabernets like this one.

Consisting of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, this particular wine was aged in oak for 6 months.  The 2008 Montes “Classic Series” Cabernet Sauvignon delivers a respectable serving of dark fruit flavors, alluring spices with chocolate notes that are very appealing and perfect for just about any day or time. It also will pair quite nicely with a variety of grilled foods and late-night snacks.

3 stars out 4.  Restored my faith that there are Cabs costing less than 15 bucks that taste great!  Look for the wine label with the benevolent looking angel on it.

(Price: $10.49)