John Cleese, famed member of Monty Python, was enlisted to produce a little documentary on wine.
I love the little meta-narrative he gives at the beginning on why he’s doing the film:
“The reason that they asked me is that I am a celebrity. And if you are a celebrity you can present t.v. programs on anything: motorcycles, zebras, ghosts, cheese, skin diseases, you name it.”
It’s only 43 minutes long, and John Cleese’s gangly, aged frame hamming it up make it a pretty quick little no-nonsense primer on wine. Perhaps a little boring if you’re “into” wine, but great it you’re not.
The 2007 Montes Classic Series Merlot was the first wine I ever reviewed for this site. I marginally enjoyed the entry level effort from Montes, so I was quite interested in seeing what 8 bones and 12 months in french oak could do to a wine.
I was in for a surprise.
2006 Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon Colchagua
The first thing I wrote down when I smelled this wine was “sultry fruit seduction.” This wine smells like sex appeal; rose petals, perfume, and chocolate cherries.
It doesn’t quite have the mouthfeel or the richness that some of the higher end Chilean Cabs bring. But the depth of flavors and balance of this wine make it a veritable hydrogen bomb of sexy, supple fruit.
Very smooth texture, tasted to me like a black cherry reduction. Cap it off with a long espresso finish, I was absolutely blown away by this wine.
If you’re looking for a truly great wine for a dinner party, special guests, or to just treat yourself it’s hard to go wrong with the Montes Alpha, imho.
This is truly a serious wine and I think you could even lay down a few, or invest in a case, and watch how this wine changes over time.
Right now, this is defly mine, but what’s your favorite cab under 20 bones?
Comfort food, those vittles that are guaranteed to make you feel good no matter how shitty this world may be, or the fact that you car just got buried on the street by a spiteful snow plower.
So, for you winos out there, what’s your comfort wine?
It’s December, time for some good ol’ end of the year nostalgia…
The year was 2005, and I spent much of it exploring the newly acquired privileges that twenty-one years of age provides in the U.S.A. I also bought the season 1 DVD set for Da Ali G Show, which was pretty much what I fell asleep to most of the year.
This cat must have strangled a puppy, because karma payed him a ripe paycheck in spades:
This Sunday I dropped on by Whole Foods on Ashland in Wrigleyville to met Drew Lazorchak inventor of the in-bottle decanter, Wine Soiree. I actually met Drew on Twitter, and as cool as the interwebz is for meeting people, meeting them in real life is a lot cooler.
Drew's action shot.
It was a surprising night in a couple ways.
I’m pretty much a hater when it comes to supermarkets and wine. Even the local Dominick’s, which I will admit has been impressing me by Girgich Hills and Groth showing up on their shelves, doesn’t quench my thirst, I want more. Whole Foods has changed my mind on what a grocery store can deliver.
They do have a core list, but after that the wine manager pretty much has free range to purchase whatever he damn well pleases. And in this case, their local wine manager Ryan, rocks the party. It was a total geek fest to go through the wine section half the size of your average Jewel or Dominick’s and find at least five or six wines to be completely jazzed about. Strange feeling.
The spread.
But, I didn’t show up just for wine.
Drew hails from Calistoga, CA, a transplant from the Big Apple. He’s passionate about wine being fun and approachable, and that’s really what inspired the Wine Soiree. Launched just last year, though he batted around the idea for about a year and a half, this in-bottle decanter is “The coolest thing to happen to wine.”
It’s really pretty simple, fits in just like any other pour spout, and really a space saver. If you’re like me and you hate having loads of kitchen gadgetry, thirty different glassses, etc. the Wine Soiree gives you some space relief compared to a traditional decanter. It’s also less mess, and easier to clean up.
It really brings decanting, a great way to really experience wine to it’s fullest potential, into the 21st century: Quick, easy, and compact.
Incidentally, we also tasted a few wines:
2008 Jigsaw Oregon Pinot Noir – Solid sweet cherry, very juicy, very light but a good wine especially at $17.99
2007 Sharecropper’s Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – Incredibly light, rather simple fruits. Not sure if I like a cab to be so juicy…
2008 Chapoutier Languedoc Bila Haut – Rhone producer producing a Rhone Blend in the ‘doc. Tasty, big ripe fruits, though maybe a little thin.
The Wine Soiree is available in all 40 Whole Foods Chicago locations for $19.99.
“If a wine seller tries to sell you Cava wine from Germany or some other country, decline their offer and run away.” warns one blogger.
Literally, run the frick away. You have no idea what contraband they may be trying to pass off on you. Baby tears, elephant tusks, sex panther…you do not want to be on the wrong side of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, believe me.
Luckily the good ol’ CBP is pretty good at keeping most offenders off the consumer market, so virtually all the Cava you will be purchasing will be good ol’ sparkling juice made in the Metodo Tradicional, yet another bullshit term made up to replace Méthode Champenoise on labels.
Cava is an appellation that actually covers up to six regions in northeastern Spain, although most of the wine produced comes from the Penedès, a small region within Catalonia right on the coast of the Mediterranean.
Freixenet Cava Brut NV “Cordon Negro”
I was actually pretty interested in this wine because one, I have really enjoyed quite a few Cava’s in my time; and two, I see this wine everywhere, I believe it’s the most imported sparkling wine in the U.S. Unfortunately, I don’t think popularity translates very well into drinkability in this case.
I smelled some melon, a little citrus, and maybe just a touch of grass. It wasn’t as inspiring as that description sounds. The taste was pretty simple too, it was like biting into an un-ripe lemon. It was really sour, and not in the good Warhead kinda way. Maybe just a touch of minerality on the finish, which did linger a little bit.
This wine was bad; nothing interesting, playful, coy…just straight up ugly. You can usually write it off as, “Well, it was under ten bones…” But not even the price point can save this wine. I promise you can find three or four Cava’s that are so much more exciting for the same investment.
Who knows, though, it could’ve been the bottle. But if you want to be sure, just run the frick away.
Some say it’s an affront to bacchus, some say it’s the words of the immortal Jack Kerouac that sum it up best: “Try never get drunk outside yr own house.”
Thursday night St. Supery and Rick Bakas dropped by Chicago to showcase a few of their wines from their Napa Valley winery, and to meet local Chiacgo…tweeps?
The first wine on the agenda was their 2008 Sauvignon Blanc. St Supery is the largest producer of the grape in Napa, and sell to a lot of different California producers. They even have their own clone, the Dollarhide. You know it’s serious.
This was pretty much a straight-up California Sauvignon Blanc, loads of citrus, and tasty.
The second was the 2006Virtu, and was probably my favorite of the night. Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. with a serious bakery spice on the finish that’s really intriguing. Rick called it a “red wine drinker’s white,” I would agree.
Playing somewhere in the mid-twenties in the chicago market, it’s really a steal for the level of quality and intrigue-factor this wine carries. Not to mention the badass label (Virtu and Elu with their ancient-future motif, in my opinion, are some of the coolest labels I’ve seen.)
They brought two cabs to taste, their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2005 Dollarhide Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. I’ve been decidedly in a non-cab stint lately, so it was fun to try some great examples. The ‘05 Dollahride lives up to it’s 95 point rating from Wine Enthusiast: full of casis (go figure), great mouthfeel, a little bit of a jammy quality to it with a perfectly balanced oak. Probably a little young, but still enjoyable.
Finally we finished up with a 2008 Moscato. Typical floral nose, full of peaches and a crisp sweetness.
Five wines in total, just a small part of the 18 varietal catalogue they boast. Windy City Wine Guy was also there, but we apparently just missed each other. I also met local social media gurus Carrie Becker and Philip Nowak, who make me feel like a loser with my blackberry, but they were incredibly accommodating nonetheless.
Brut style made by Methode Cap Classique (the South African Methode Champenoise)
55% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir
Delicious chiffon-like texture
Raspberries, a little wet rock
Around $15
The holidays have raised the banner of terrible music, gaudy decorations, and miserable weather in Chicago. Call me scrooge, but I actually appreciate the holidays because it’s the one time of year that everyone likes a good, wholesome drink. And for once, wine finally gets some serious palate time, especially if it’s sparkling.
The 7/11 is a great place for snacks.
Now I know most of you have been eyeing that magnum of Barefoot Bubbly down at the 7/11 for a few weeks already. And I’m here to tell you that there’s no shame amongst friends, go and buy it.
However, if you’re up for a little challenge, and you’d really like to explore how exciting wine can be, a little investment of just five to ten more bones can bag you some interesting juice. So keep the screw cap on that André for just a second more, and let’s explore the first candidate:
Graham Beck NV Brut Rose
South Africa is an interesting place for wine. If you’ve ever had the Pinotage experience, you know exactly what I mean. “Bacon grease tire burnout bonanza” might be an apt description for those I’ve tried, which, luckily doesn’t come into play with this sparkler. Though, that might not be a bad thing…
…just kidding! But seriously…
It’s made by Méthode Cap Classique, which is basically Méthode Champenoise renamed to stop pissing off the French. The blend is 55% Chardonnay and %45 Pinot Noir, but Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc (AKA Steen in South Africa) could be included if ol’ Graham Beck so desired.
Honestly, this wine is a tasty treat.
You can definitely smell the pinot noir on this nose, it’s full of strawberries. tons of soft, supple bubbles give the wine a chiffon like texture that begs you to savor each mouthful. Loads of raspberries, and maybe just a little lick of wet rock.
This is a delicious wine that’s incredibly easy to drink, and even though it is a brut style, I think you could please a lot of different palates–even those that may be used to a sweeter style.
