Price: $40 marked down to $19.99 “Last Call”

Most so-called wine experts will tell you that nearly 95% of the wines made nowadays are meant to be consumed within one to three years of their labels’ “born-on-date”, or vintage.  Unfortunately for wine collectors, that doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for options (or error!) when making their selections.  Otherwise, a mouthful of dissatisfaction will be swallowed after they have waited patiently for greatness to occur.

I recently stumbled across the 2004 Longview Vineyard Black Crow Nebbiolo at one of my familiar stomping grounds.  This wine originally retailed for around $40-$45 back in its hey day.   However, the last remaining bottles that sat on the shelf collecting dust over the last few years were just marked “Last Call” and slashed down to $19.99 to make room for new product.  I decided to pick up a bottle to see if this baby still had some mojo left in its tank, or if I would find out that it was marked down because the sun had set on this Aussie red.

After sitting on this wine for about two months, I finally popped the cork.  What this wine unveiled completely caught me by surprise.  To start, this red wine is not your usual Aussie specimen (i.e., Shiraz/Syrah, whatever you like to call it).  This wine is made with 100% Nebbiolo grapes.  Nebbiolo grapes have been grown and used for centuries to produce fine wines in Northern Italy, and recently many Australian growers have started working with this noble grape because of its drought resistant capabilities.  To this point, Australia’s drought problems have been well publicized in the news over the past years; and as a result, Shiraz plantings have not faired well at all.  However, Nebbiolo has proven to be much more tolerant to the heat and lack of water and has adapted very well to its new surroundings.

The back label of this particular wine offers would be buyers this cellar note:

“No other red wine rewards cellaring than a great Nebbiolo, the high tannin and acid of this wine ensures it will develop more complex qualities with careful cellaring of 5-10 years”.

After tasting this wine over a 4 night span, I’d say that the peeps at Longview Vineyard certainly know their wine.  This wine is still so very young.  On the first night, I could barely drink this brawny beast.  By night two, it had calmed down a bit, but it was still ornery.  By the third night, maraschino cherries, dry herbs, and black pepper were beginning to show through.  And finally on night 4, it had surrendered and was approachable.

The 2004 Longview Vineyard Black Crow Nebbiolo was reminiscent of a 25 year old tawny port wine to me.  It bursts with big fruit, spices, and nut flavors, and really socks you with the cedar.  The alcohol content is listed at 14.7%.  I mention this, because it tasted extremely hot on my palate, just like an aged port wine.  Additionally, this wine received 18 months in 2-3 year old French barriques prior to being bottled.

If you’re looking for a bruiser of a red wine that you can “forget about” for say 5-7 years at least, this $20 gem is a good bet for all you cellar rats!      

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From: Argentina
Price: $8.99

This wine review was a tough one for me.  I personally love many different styles of red wines.  However, one group of reds that I’ve never been able to totally embrace as a whole is Italian Chianti.  The reason for my love-hate relationship with this style of wine is that I find many share a dominating and strong characteristic that I like to describe as an astringent, “alcoholly” aftertaste.  In other words, a peculiar burning or hot sensation that comes out on the back end of tasting these wines makes me feel as if I just swallowed rubbing alcohol or jet fuel, and leave me feeling like I should be calling 911 to get treated for alcohol poisoning.  But being the wine trooper and occasional “flame swallower” that I am, I’m not about to let a few “alcoholly” experiences stop me from finding a nice Chianti to pair with a plate of fava beans. 

Which leads me to a rather interesting experience that I recently had with one 2004 Trumpeter Malbec-Syrah.  This wine had me guessing from the first sip whether or not I was drinking an “agreeable” Italian Chianti or something that just tasted like Chianti that I really liked.  Here’s a wine experiment that I’d love for you to try – grab a Chianti Classico from Italy priced under $20.  Then grab a bottle of this Trumpeter Malbec-Syrah at under $10.  Taste them both blindfolded.  I’ll bet that your taste buds think that they’re both from Italy.  The 2004 Trumpeter Malbec-Syrah tasted like an “Argentinean Chianti Classico” to me, but without the astringent, “alcoholly” aftertaste.

All in all, I really enjoyed the oddity of this Italian tasting, Argentinean-born, red blend of 50% Malbec and 50% Syrah.  It had good ripe fruit, integrated very nicely with oak, to give it a full and rounded taste both on the front and backend.  It certainly wasn’t at all what I was expecting to taste, and at under $10 bucks a bottle there’s a lot to like about this wine.  If you enjoy Italian Chianti, I think that you’ll enjoy the value that this wine brings to the table.  Give it a shot one night with a plate of traditional spaghetti and meatballs (or even some fava beans) and taste for yourself.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

3 Stars out of 4.

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On this particular Friday evening, there was some excitement swirling around in our house prior to dinner being served, as our two children prepared for their unveiling of the “Fancy Dinner Friday Mascot”.

Act 1: The Fancy Dinner Friday Mascot pays us a visit

This summer, our sons have become quite fascinated with mascots; particularly how mascots dress up in costumes, make an exciting entrance, and know how to electrify a crowd.  Last Friday, my wife and I were paid a very special visit by the “Fancy Dinner Friday Mascot”.  All that I can tell you about this funny looking mascot was that it looked like a much younger Chef Boyardee, with a mixture of the little burger chef from the classic 1980’s arcade game called “BurgerTime”, and bared a striking resemblance to our youngest son.  As the little chef-looking mascot ran wild throughout our house to his specially selected mascot music, he made sure to give everyone lots of high 5’s and some cool jumps before exiting.  Shortly after his departure, our youngest son made his way to the dinner table and we told him that he just missed the mascot.  He told us, “Oh man…maybe I’ll get to see him next time!” (Wink-Wink).

Act 2: One Cabernet Sauvignon Coming Up

Tonight’s spaghetti and meatballs couldn’t have asked for a much better red wine than this one, based on the label and the price tag alone.  We were drinking the 2004 “Estate Bottled” Michel-Schlumberger Cabernet Sauvignon from the Dry Creek Valley in California, and the cost was an astounding $18.99 a bottle!  The last time that I had an opportunity to taste a Michel-Schlumberger wine was back in early 2000 when the price of a bottle of wine from this outstanding producer was under $20 bucks and Enron was the stock to buy.

Prior to the current economic global meltdown, a California Cab of this stature would have easily run you $30 dollars or more.  But, I was fortunate enough to see the “blue light special” flashing in aisle 3 at my local wine retailer and had the option of either buying this wine – 1 for $18.99 or 2 for $30.  Having never tried this particular Michel-Schlumberger wine before, I decided against the very enticing two-fer offer and settled on one bottle.

I sure am kicking myself now for not taking advantage of that 2 for $30 special, because this Cab is good!  In fact, it’s very good!   My advice to you:  If you see this Michel-Schlumberger Cabernet Sauvignon marked down from $29.99 to $18.99 like I did, BUY IT! 

The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon is a remarkable bold blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot made in a French Bordeaux meets New World style.  This outstanding, well made Cab doesn’t have one element per say that pops out at you – it just delivers a consistent heady and seamless punch of spicy dark fruit and rich spices that is perfect from the time that it hits your taste buds until its long terrific finish lingers away.  This is a wine that offers Cabernet Sauvignon lovers something to cheer about from the beginning, to the middle, and through the end.

I award the 2004 Michel-Schlumberger “Estate Bottled” Cabernet Sauvignon 4 stars out of 4.  It was like drinking a 3 course meal!

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Price: $38.00

I can only think of three words that describe this “Estate Bottled” Cabernet Sauvignon – Pure Napa Gold! 

I had the pleasure of sampling this wine a few nights ago, and it completely knocked my socks off!  This monstrous full-throttle Cab doesn’t waste any time grabbing your attention and holding it until the very last drop.  It explodes with dynamite ripe-cherry, blackberry, and spices that are skillfully intertwined with sweet oak.  As you continue drinking it, the wonderful flavors of the 2004 St. Supéry Cabernet Sauvignon just grow bigger and burst all over your palate like a fireworks finale.

In my humble opinion, the 2004 St. Supéry Cabernet Sauvignon is about as close to perfection as it gets.  It also made me consider changing my wine rating system to a facial expression rating system because it only took one sip of this big Napa Valley Cab for my wife’s face to look like the cat that just ate the canary!

I award the 2004 St. Supéry Cabernet Sauvignon 4 Stars out of 4.  It’s gutsy, powerful, and flat out awesome!

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From: France

Price: $12.99

After experiencing a stream of “lab rat” red wine concoctions from California so far this year, I thought that it was time to get away from the US and taste some French red wines to see if they were any better.  I grabbed a bottle of this French Rhone blend in the hopes of finding a solid, old world style red wine that would excite me. 

Unfortunately, this French country wine or “Vin De Pays” did nothing to restore my confidence that a great tasting red wine under $15 bucks could be found, if you were willing to look for it. 

I found this red Rhone blend of 50% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 10% Carignan, and 5% Merlot grapes to be rather boring.  In my opinion, the fruit lacked the spiciness and richness of other red wines that I’ve experienced from this neck of the woods in the past.  Additionally, the label on this wine indicates that it has an alcohol content of 13% – and believe me you can taste it.  Finally, the herbal flavors that also characterize wines from this French region were also rather subdued and bland tasting to me.

All in all, I found the 2004 Montirius “Le Cadet” just to be pleasant, but rather uninspiring.  I did however appreciate that it tasted like a “real” wine and not manufactured.

I give it 2 Stars – there’s just not enough flavors popping to warrant a 3 Star rating.

WineLife365 Rating: 2-Star

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