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2008 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Noir

A 2008–haven’t had the pleasure in some time, and a good one to be sure. This wine gets great marks for its smooth, velvety finish as well as the killer dish that accompanied the Mondavi Pinot.

2008 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Noir

2008 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Noir, California, USA.

The food was important to the overall picture, so let me paint in some details for you. You start with garlic, breaking that down in a small sauce pan, then you add some reconstituted sun dried tomatoes. Add some mushrooms into the mix, and then scallops.  When those are nice and opaque, add some lemon juice (and corn starch, itself mixed with a little water from the reconstituted tomatoes), and finally some chopped green onions. Voila. This fantastic pile of goodness goes on top of fettuccine pasta and next to a lovely green salad (bacon, egg, and blue cheese dressing–there are a LOT of likes in this meal).

So what about the vino, you ask? Really enjoyed it. It’s wild cherries on the nose and on the taste buds. The 2008 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Noir is supple and has no tart to it…yet it avoids the sticky sweet of a dessert wine. There are some spices in the mix too, a little hint or accent that winds throughout the red and plays well with the generous foodstuffs gracing our plates.

The winemaker states, “An enticing wine with alluring aromas and flavors of wild blackberries, sweet red cherries, a zing of fresh cranberry and a hint of graphite. Well-structured tannins are fine-grained and silky, and the wine ends with a long, smooth finish. Delicious and distinctive.”

In reading their summary now, I’m pretty happy with the takeaways I’d previously offered. I noted many of the flavors and smells they’d pointed out, and now I know it was ‘graphite’ that I sensed in my tasting. Hoping yours is good too and thanks for reading.

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2013 Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Lot #51 Chardonnay

Change of pace from all the reds and my love of them is the 2013 Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Lot #51 Chardonnay, a California-bottled citrusy white that we picked up…well…obviously. Selected and opened by family earlier in the week, I only revisited it myself as our meals lined up as fish and chicken over the last couple days.

2013 Trader Joe's Grand Reserve Lot #51 Chardonnay Napa California USA

2013 Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Lot #51 Chardonnay, Napa, California, USA.

There’s definitely some floral stuff happening here; some pear and peach perhaps too, all working together in oak to produce a light, buttery taste. I know my folks are fans of both oak and the buttery effect, and that they left some of this bottle for us means they either had their fill of spirits (all good!) this weekend or simply ran out of time. I’m betting the latter.

The Lot 51 Chardonnay first accompanied tuna steaks (slightly more well done than intended, but expertly seasoned) with white rice and steamed broccoli. I liked the role of this Carneros chardonnay within this meal as I thought it mixed well between bites of our fish and its spices. I enjoyed it so much that I reached eagerly for it tonight as well, both to ease my nerves after a pressure-filled work day and to complement one of my favorite meals–chicken piccata with penne pasta. This meal was my go-to for some time at Rosario’s, our favorite NJ neighborhood Italian jaunt. Regrettably, the webcast I was moderating took a bit longer than anticipated and let the white wine and caper sauce lock up just a bit, but it still made for a nice little feast by the time our speaker finished up her presentation.

The 2013 Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Lot #51 Chardonnay is bottled by BC Sellers of Napa, California, and would be an acceptable if not spectacular white gracing your table one of these future evenings.

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2006 Girabaldi Barbaresco

An enjoyable bottle of robust red comes to us here from the Girabaldi vineyards in Italy. With great promise this cherry-red beverage tumbled from the bottle into my Cabernet Sauvignon glass, a massive glass vessel that allows a generous pour and all the subtleties of the wine to come forth to the nose. I’m not sure why this 2006 was being unveiled at the time of purchase but I am grateful for the opportunity to give it a go.

The 2006 Giribaldi accompanied filet mignon, queen-size and grilled to a well-seasoned outcome in the day’s waning light. This Barbaresco complemented too a blue cheese salad with an experienced mix of dressing and crumble, plus sides of garlic-slathered mushrooms and a few miniature potato crowns–just because. Comprising Nebbiolo grapes, this Giribaldi offering brought out the flavors of the meat and was a great focal point in a delicious meal.

And just in case the above doesn’t fill in all the blanks for you, let me add that Wine Spectator remarks, “Attractive cherry, plus, and tobacco aromas get support from dense tannins in this pretty well-tone red, which still needs time for the tannins to finish.”

Perhaps the above is the reason the 2006 has been on hold until recently. We have a few more of these on hand and will look forward to sharing with guests in the coming weeks. You might want to put your hands on a few too if the above strikes a chord for you as it does us.

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2012 Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon

Sometimes your bottle of wine is a near-spiritual experience, an adventure on the palate that raises your eyebrows and engenders your smile. On other occasions it’s a more functional experience, one that slakes your thirst, keeps your heart healthy, or mellows your nerves after a busy day–slowing racing thoughts to a more manageable pace. Both have a role in your wine rack, and the trick is to know which is which.

This Cabernet Sauvignon falls into the latter category. My first tasting of the Diablo was nearly a year ago at my cousin’s wedding, and this second sampling occurred under much less grand circumstances. The 2012 Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon was opened on a busy September weekend, one where we hosted a dear friend who was in town visiting from our old NJ neighborhood. She’s a vodka drinker, which meant this Chilean red was readily on hand for yours truly. It ultimately accompanied one of my favorite pre-travel meals–a simple dinner bowl of pasta with butter and salt.

It’s obviously less than ideal to drink Cab from a simple juice glass, but I’m afraid that’s how things unfolded on this particular Sunday. Regardless, the 2012 del Diablo has an easy, smooth profile. There is definitely an ample black cherry vibe about the wine, with a couple undertones that the winemaker claims are “hits of mocha and dark chocolate.” Now, I love both mocha AND dark chocolate, but those subtleties I couldn’t quite identify in the del Diablo–you’ll have to take their word for it. I am, however, going to grab a few more of the 2012 Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon just to have on hand.

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2011 Shelton Vineyards Cabernet Franc

It’s been some time since I last had a Cabernet Franc, and it’s not a grape to which I typically gravitate when I’m out hunting for fun new wine. This is not for any special reason other that I tend to drift more frequently toward Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, and thus was a fun treat to encounter this red blend courtesy of my wife.

2011 Shelton Vineyards Cabernet Franc

2011 Shelton Vineyards Cabernet Franc, Yadkin Valley, North Carolina, USA.

Grown in the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina is this 2011 Shelton Vineyards Cabernet Franc, a Bordeaux-style blended with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The vineyard has approximately 136,000 vines (spanning 145 miles) growing 10 different varieties of grapes, and they employ no-till farming techniques to help reduce erosion. That’s not to say all this green emphasis diminishes the outcome; to the contrary I thought the 2011 had muscle in all the right places.

We enjoyed this Cab Franc over several nights and with different meals that included sushi as well as ground beef. The wine dressed up our meals with its fresh, red fruity scents and little bit of pepper that is honestly quite endearing. Of the 2011 vintage, the folks at Shelton remark, “The finish on this wine has essence of woodland cedar and some smoke to complement rich grilled salmon, chicken or barbeque.” Some nice tannins deliver a lasting finish, too. In hindsight, I think this bottle received our “middle of the work week” treatment when it had all the merits for a weekend glass or two.

It’s my understanding that our local grocery store had the 2011 readily in stock and I’m interested in securing another couple of these for the fall.

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Summer Reds

The summer is nearing its end, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t share several reds that we sampled along the way. Some scored high marks (like the Atilla’s Selection from Buena Vista); others like the Toro or Navardia will probably fall into the “been there done that” camp. The real fun is in discovering which is which. Here’s a fly-by for your consideration:

2012 Cruz Alba Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza, Argentina.
2012 Navardia, Rioja, Spain.
2011 Cairanne La Cigalette, Rhone Villages, France.
2011 Mannara Primitivo, Puglia, Italy.
2013 Toro Tempranillo, Spain.
2010 Solanera, vinas viejas, Yecla, Spain.
2012 Buena Vista Atilla’s Selection Zinfandel, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA.
2011 Insomnia Red Wine Blend, California, USA.
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2009 Ares Crianza, Rioja, Spain

Our local wine store was bringing all their Spanish wines to the mat, and in our last visit we grabbed several new reds that are now making their way to our humble table. A recent Tempranillo I’ve put off summarizing because it was largely forgettable, but this one is 180 degrees in the other direction. The 2009 Ares Crianza is a gem; it’s packed with a fruity, mossy scent and filled with both weight and substance.

Keeping my glass filled all night was a challenge, and regrettably I took no photo of this bottle as it was less and less full over the course of the evening. The 2009 Ares complimented juicy filet mignon, baked potato–pre-slashed and in need of only a sprinkle of salt–and a delicious pile of expertly cooked asparagus.  This guy drank his grapes from a Pinot Noir glass, and the Tempranillo showed off its muscle even in this crystal cage. Deep purple, damp, earnest, and lip-smacking–the Ares (my astrological sign) will be easy to remember.

I’ve learned that Rioja–which this wine is–is a term used to describe several red blends from Rioja. Tempranillo is at the heart of many of these blends, but Grenache and Carigan often play a role in a Rioja as well. But the 2009 Ares Crianza is supposed to be 100% Tempranillo, aged for 12 months in French oak, so Rioja must mean more than just Spanish red blends. Call it what you will, this one was fun and earned a place on our dinner table again in the future.