WineLife365

Archive for the ‘2-Star’ Category

Ok, what word in this title doesn’t quite fit?  If you said, “Bordeaux” – give yourself a big attaboy (or girl) and slap yourself on the butt!  Most wine drinkers (at least the ones I know) wouldn’t include ALL of these words in a sentence meant to describe wines from one of the most storied wine regions.  In an effort to change this perception and to elevate awareness about reasonably priced (i.e., under $20) Bordeaux wines available in the US, the folks at Planet Bordeaux initiated a campaign to educate, share and showcase examples of what Bordeaux, and in particular Bordeaux Supérieur AOC wines, has to offer consumers in the under $20 category.

Yesterday, we decided to try the 2006 Château Cablanc Bordeaux Rouge and the 2008 Château Majoureau Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge with grilled salmon and a thick piece of grilled steak .  

The first wine we tasted was the 2006 Château Cablanc Bordeaux Rouge (Sample, MSRP: $13 US).

Right off the bat – before ever seeing the vintage date on the label – I thought to myself, “this wine has seen a few moons.”   Reason being that the color of the 2006 Château Cablanc Bordeaux Rouge was a tad cloudy and had a dull ruby color to it.  That being said, though, we don’t judge any wine by how pretty it looks in the glass – it’s all about how it tastes.  As my wife and I tasted the 2006 Château Cablanc Bordeaux Rouge, I commented several times that it tasted a bit tired; it was not at all vibrant and tasted one-dimensional to me.  Made of 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, it lacked any interesting herbal and spice flavors.  I kept it open for a few hours, in hopes of tasting some violet and black currants; unfortunately, over the course of the evening, I just couldn’t find them.  2 Stars out of 4 for the 2006 Château Cablanc Bordeaux Rouge.

Our second rouge of the evening was the 2008 Château Majoureau Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge (Sample, MSRP: $15 US).

Like the Château Cablanc Bordeaux Rouge, the 2008 Château Majoureau Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge is comprised of 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.  Unlike the first red, though, the 2008 Château Majoureau Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge exhibited a beautiful vibrant ruby color.  How did it taste?  This claret coats your entire palate – front, middle and end – with raspberry, strawberry, cloves, violets and black current.  AND…I absolutely loved the chewy tannins gripping my teeth and gums with every sip!  Now this is what I was hoping to discover in an everyday-sipper, red Bordeaux!  3 Stars out of 4 for the 2008 Château Majoureau Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge.

For more information on these and other Bordeaux wines check out Planet-Bordeaux.com.

See our wines from the many regions of Italy.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not quite ready to stow away my flip flops and shorts for the season just yet.  For some reason, the Summer of 2011 seemed to slip between my toes, retreating out to sea rather quickly this year.  Maybe my family and I did so much that everything is just a blur to me now, or maybe (deep down inside) I just want to take in a few more warm and sunny days to put an exclamation point on the Summer of 2011.  If I were to ask my sons right now how to accomplish this, they’d probably say, “Let’s go noodling!” 

Ummm…sorry guys:  diving into murky water and sticking my hands and legs into a hole to be bitten by a 70lb catfish isn’t quite the ending I had in mind.  Unfortunately, for lack of better plans, it seems that the earthquake, hurricane and tornados experienced in the northeast will be the exclamation point(s) on the Summer of 2011. 

The other night, in the midst of yet another summer rain storm, I whipped up a simple steak stir-fry and grabbed two bottles of wine that were produced by Château de Jau.

Now, I don’t typically make my wine pairing selections based on the way a label looks, but for some reason Benjamin Vautier’s artwork made me think happy summer thoughts. 

We started with the 2010 Le Jaja de Jau Sauvignon Blanc (Sample, MSRP: $10 US). “Jaja” is an old French slang word for a glass of wine – an everyday or house wine.  This jaja was a big zap of lemon with some lime and granny smith apple flavors.  It finishes clean, but had a little too much pucker for my liking. 

2 Stars out of 4 for the 2010 Le Jaja de Jau Sauvignon Blanc. 

We moved on and closed out the evening with the 2010 Le Jaja de Jau Syrah Rosé (Sample, MSRP: $10 US).  The 2010 Le Jaja de Jau Syrah Rosé is made from 100% Syrah grapes and is a straight-forward fruity rosé that fills your mouth with strawberries and hints of violets.  Although it was a nice jaja, maybe a splash of Grenache, Cinsault or Mourvèdre would have made me gaga.   

2 Stars out of 4 for the 2010 Le Jaja de Jau Syrah Rosé. 

Cheers to the last days of summer!

Remember when getting together with a few friends for a barbecue used to mean firing up the old charcoal grill, tossing on some hot dogs and frozen Topps burgers, opening up a few bags of chips, and sitting back in a rusty aluminum meshed folding lawn chair while throwing back some ice-cold PBRs?  If you came home with the smell of charcoal smoke in your hair and clothes, roasted marshmallows stuck to your shorts and feeling the effects of drinking in the afternoon sun …you knew you had a good time.

These days, barbecue has taken on a whole new meaning for every Backyard Gourmet.  This past weekend, our fantastic foodie friends, Holly and Mike, showed off some of their impressive “Go Big or Go Home” skills on the grill - so I thought I’d share.

We started things off with some fresh sliced strawberries, cantaloupes, grapes, a little salsa and chips and delicious homemade guacamole.

Holly’s Fresh Guacamole:
(Serves 6-8)

• 3 Hass avocados, pitted and scooped out
• 1 small tomato (I like to use the vine ripened tomatoes) seeded and diced
• 1 small yellow onion diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• Juice of one lime
• One small bunch of cilantro chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mash together.  I prefer to use a large potato masher; some folks will use the tines of a fork to blend things up, while others use a food processor.  Just depends on what consistency you want to achieve.

For the second dish, Holly created a Grilled Citrus Chicken and Mango Quesadillas with Chipotle Sour Cream.

Grilled Citrus Chicken and Mango Quesadillas with Chipotle Sour Cream
(Serves 4-6)

For the marinade:

• Juice of one half of a blood orange
• Juice of one lemon
• Juice of one lime
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• Salt and pepper
• 1.5 pounds skinless, boneless chicken (I used package of fresh chicken tenders)

Marinade chicken for at least 3-4 hours, or overnight

For the Quesadillas:

• 1 package of burrito size flour tortillas
• 1 medium mango peeled, cut into medium size dice
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
• 1 small bunch of cilantro chopped, reserve some for garnish
• 1 package of goat cheese crumbles

Chipotle Sour Cream:

• Use 1/2 of a chipotle pepper canned in adobo sauce
• 3/4 cup sour cream

Blend together in mini food processor or blender.

Grill chicken, and then chop into medium dice.  Brush tortilla with olive oil.  Assemble chicken with remaining ingredients on one half of tortilla, sprinkle with goat cheese.  Fold tortilla over.  Brush both sides with olive oil.  Grill for 2 minutes each side over medium heat.  Top with dollop of the sour cream and garnish with cilantro.  Serve immediately.

A wine that came up big with this creation and that was also a huge hit with folks at an earlier tasting this year was the Cantine Riondo Prosecco Spago NV (Veneto, Italy $10 US).

For the main course, Holly assembled a few Food Network inspired dishes along with a Creamy Cheese and Chipotle Polenta (see recipes below).

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak
(Serves 6)
Recipe found on FoodNetwork.com, we tweaked it by adding cumin and cayenne

Marinade Ingredients

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Other ingredients

• 2 pounds flank steak
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper 

1. Score the surface of the steak with 1/4 inch deep knife cuts, about an inch apart, across the grain of the meat. Combine the marinade ingredients. Place steak and marinade ingredients in a large freezer bag. Coat the steak well with the marinade. Seal the bag and place in a bowl. Chill and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
2. Using olive oil soaked onto a paper towel, coat the grill rack of your grill with olive oil. Preheat the grill with high, direct heat. The grill is hot enough when you hold your hand about an inch over it and you can only hold it there for about a second.
3. Take the steak out of the marinade bag and sprinkle generously on all sides with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. The salt and pepper will help form a savory crust on the steak. Place steak on the hot grill. If you are using a gas grill, cover the grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. Half way through grilling on each side, turn the steak 90° so that you get more grill marks.  This will cook it to approximately medium-rare.

If you want, you can take the excess marinade and bring it to a boil, simmer for several minutes, and serve with the flank steak. Great also with salsa or horseradish sauce.

For the sides, Holly put together one mean slaw and an interesting take on polenta.

Green Onion Slaw:
(Serves 8-10)
Recipe found on FoodNetwork.com

• 1 cup coarsely chopped green onions, white and green parts
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 Serrano chilies
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small head of purple cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• I substituted one bag of Dole Classic Slaw in place of both cabbages

To make the dressing for the slaw, combine the green onions, vinegar, honey, chilies, mayonnaise, oil and salt and pepper to taste in a blender and blend until emulsified.

Combine the cabbage, red onion and poppy seeds in a bowl, add the dressing, and stir until combined. Fold in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate while you grill the Steak or for up to 1 hour.  

Creamy Cheese and Chipotle Polenta
(Serves 4-6)

• 1 3/4 cup corn meal
• 6 cups water
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce finely diced
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Bring the water to a boil, add generous pinch kosher salt.  Slowly add in the corn meal, using a whisk, stirring constantly.  When cornmeal has absorbed the water, has a cream of wheat texture, then add remaining ingredients, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Searching for a balance that would be bold, concentrated and full of spicy goodness to complement this meal, I decided to take a chance with a couple of wines that I had received as samples from Chile’s Viña Santa Carolina.

Celebrating over 135 years, Viña Santa Carolina is best known in the local markets that it has served over this time span.  More recently however, the winery has made an effort to step up its marketing campaign in the US to establish itself as a producer of quality driven wines at affordable prices.

First up was the 2010 Santa Carolina Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon (Sample, MSRP: $12 US).  The general consensus on this red wine was that with it being a 2010 it seemed a bit sharp on the tannins and registered a lot of overly sweet raspberry flavors on the palate.  We tried it over the course of two hours hoping that this breathing time would open up some other interesting flavor components.  Unfortunately, we all thought that the vanilla was too overpowering against the subtle black peppery notes and forward sweet raspberry fruit flavors.

We were all in complete agreement  – 2 Stars out of 4 for the 2010 Santa Carolina Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon.

Our second wine of the evening from Viña Santa Carolina was the 2010 Reserva Carmenere (Sample, MSRP: $12 US).  Much like the Cabernet Sauvignon, this red also showcased a noticeable amount of upfront vanilla flavor.  One of our hosts’ described it as being like a “vanilla smoothie on your tongue.”  The difference between the two wines however, was that this red wine was much more concentrated and balanced out with dark fruit and soft spices.  We all agreed that the 2010 Santa Carolina Reserva Carmenere was silky smooth and offered a lot of good value for everyday wine drinkers.

3 Stars out 4 for the 2010 Santa Carolina Reserva Carmenere. 

And what would a barbecue be without dessert?

We ended the evening on high (albeit stuffed) note with a cheese course that was out of this world good!

Shown in picture: 

Delice D’Affinos (France) cow’s milk, soft, creamy, mild. 

Cabrales/Valdeon  (Spain) blue cheese, sheep and goats milk.  This cheese came highly recommended by the crunky looking European cheese lady at the cheese counter.  She also recommended lightly drizzling honey over top.  What!?.. it was Delicious!  Thanks cheese lady!

Murcia Al Vino (Spain) Sheep/ goats milk, red wine notes, very tangy.

Romero Vall De Cati (Spain) Sheep/goats milk packed in a rosemary herbed crust.

After all this, who would have thought that a pile of Pillsbury crescent roll dough mixed with butter, cream cheese, cinnamon, honey and sugar could have be so effin’ good!!  (Don’t judge!)  Checkout this Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie that my wife stumbled across on Allrecipes.com.

Trust me, when I tell you – it was good for dessert, but you’ll wake up the next morning wanting it for breakfast too!

Good Friends, Good Food and Good Wine!  That’s what Good Livin’ is all about!  Bon Appétit!

You’ve made your list and think you’ve got all your bases covered for a romantic evening.

Romantic essentials:

• Flowers – Check
• Romantic table dressed with long, flickering candles – Check
• A romantic dinner for two- Check
• Perfect bottle of wine – Check
• Romantic Music – Check
• Bubble Bath, massage oils or whatever else you’ve got stashed that’ll light your Sweetheart’s fire. – Check

Dissolve to:  Wine Shopping Day.

So let’s talk about the wine:  I selected the 2009 Apothic Red ($12).  It seemed to be an easy choice; an older vintage of the Apothic Red came highly recommended by the most influential wine critic on the planet.  Not to mention, the wine store that I purchased this at had a shelf-talker prominently displayed, that read:  “Top 50 Wine Values.”  So I thought to myself, “Oh, yeah- SCORE!”

Apothic Red reveals intense fruit aromas and flavors of rhubarb and black cherry that are complemented by hints of mocha, chocolate, brown spice and vanilla. The plush, velvety mouthfeel and smooth finish round out this intriguing, full-bodied red blend.

Cut to:  The Romantic Evening.

Everything is going exactly as planned until…I opened the wine.  My honey and I start to drink it.  We both quickly notice that there’s no trace of intense fruit aromas nor any sexy, velvety fruit or spice component that makes either one of us long for another sip.  Instead, the moment is lost as our minds began to drift off to thoughts of eating Tootsie Rolls at Grandma’s house, while sipping on an ice cream soda (minus the bubbles).  A fond memory (maybe), but not what I’m looking for in my wine; and I certainly don’t want thoughts of Grandma creeping into my head at this point.  I digress…  We found this wine to be so overpowering with the mocha, chocolate and vanilla sweetness that we promptly put the cork back in it, and my wife turned to me and said, “Please baby, can you get another bottle of red – I don’t want our night to end like this!”  Luckily, I was prepared…

In all fairness, if you like a dry style red wine with a heavy hand of sweetness to it, you might love it.  If you prefer your reds with lower levels of sugar, the 2009 Apothic Red will not be right for you.  With that said…

2 Stars out of 4 for the 2009 Apothic Red.  Somewhere inside this very attractive bottle was a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah and Merlot.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t get past the sweet chocolate and vanilla taste to distinguish anything else.