Monday 22 February 2010

Gnarly Head 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon

It all started with a honey ham. Caitlin found one on sale at the market and decided to make an event out of it. Girls Night With Honey Ham, we called it (in my head). A few of Caitlin's ladies came over for dinner, followed by a trip to the theater to see Valentines Day. Movie reviews are not my thing, but I will note that the movie was not the highlight of the evening, though nor was the Gnarly Head Cab.

I don't remember much about this wine, partly because it wasn't that great, and partly because I drank it over a week ago. This week has been a little demanding, so I apologize to my loyal reader(s). I will recall what I can about this gnarly wine, which I picked up on sale from $12 to $7. Last summer, a friend said it was one of his favorites, so I figured I'd take advantage of the buy and grab a bottle for the party.

The Gnarly grapes are grown in Northern California, and this wine is a blend of grapes from different regions, including Mendocino, Paso Robles, Monterrey, and Lodi. Each area's grapes add something to the overall flavor. The Gnarly Head Winery started with a mission to make great Zinfandel, but has expanded to making Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Chard, and Cab as well.

I opened the bottle while baking coconut cream cheese cookies for the ladies. (pictured left coated in almond slivers) Perhaps it wasn't the best pairing, since the label suggests drinking it with meats and rich cheeses or chocolate. It was medium bodied with a hint of cranberries up front, with a lot more presence than a typical Cab Sauv. The wine left a strong aftertaste, which Caitlin thought tasted like lime rind, and I just thought tasted bad. It was light on the tongue, but quite heavy on the taste buds - spicy and bitter with tannins on the finish. Oddly, this wine has gotten great reviews: 91 points at the 2008 California State Wine Fair Competition and 86 from Wine Enthusiast Magazine. I didn't like it much.

Wednesday 10 February 2010

Domaine Grand Veneur Les Champauvrins 2007 Côtes du Rhône Villages

There's not much to do during Snowmageddon other than drink wine and blog about it. Caitlin was making pizza from scratch last night, and class was cancelled for today (surprise!), so it seemed like a good time to open a nice bottle. We bought this Cotes Du Rhone Villages together at the neighborhood liquor store after a wine tasting one Friday. We both really liked it, and it was on sale for $19. Not exactly the humblest of wines, but splitting the cost made it bearable.

Les Champauvrins is a single vineyard bordering Chateauneuf du Pape appelation (a legally defined geographical indication), first made known for winemaking by Pope Jean XXII in 1320. This is evident in the name of the region, meaning "New Castle of the Pope." The Jaume family, who run Grand Veneur Winery, began farming the region in 1826. The area is renowned for its soil, a base of marine sandstone layered with remnants of Alpine glaciers and rocks deposited by the Rhone. The winery practices green harvesting, which means that during the growing season, they go through the fields and selectively remove bunches of immature grapes. Although this process significantly decreases the winery's output, it allows the vines to give everything they have to the remaining bunches, ultimately producing better grapes and wine - quality over quantity logic.

This particular Cotes du Rhone Villages is a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 10% Mourvedre. It is aged in stainless steel vats for 15 days with "pigeage". Pigeage is when the skins and stems, which naturally float to the top of the liquid, are manually submerged to increase their contribution to the flavor. Traditionally, people did this with their feet, like in the movies. If you Google "pigeage" there are some interesting image results.

I must confess we opened the bottle before the pizza was even in the oven. Even the cork in this wine was lovely. It was a proper cork (not agglomerate or the beloved screw top), and crested with the name of the current head of the estate, Alain Jaume. Beyond the cork, the wine was no disappointment. When I first tasted it, I thought OH! sweet! But then as it circled around my tongue and slid towards my throat, it opened up into something else. It took me a few sips to figure out what was happening, and for the first time I really understood what it means to say a wine is complex. Maybe it's because I've been paying more attention, or maybe it's because this wine cost more than $6, but it really tasted like a story. A childhood of rich syrupy fruit, a sweet and seductive adolescence, evolving gently into delicate refinement, and finishing with the subtle scars and callouses of a life well-lived. Sorry boys, but wine seems more like a woman to me.

If you can't tell, this wine was a win. So was the pizza, by the way.


Friday 5 February 2010

Jargon 2007 Pinot Noir

Thursday night Law & Econ is a great time to G-chat. Adi (left) was also stuck at school and suggested we try out the free salsa lessons after class, since I have been talking about wanting to learn ballroom (and he went all last semester). One of the girls from my section hosts lessons at school from 8-9 with a guy whom I guess she teaches legitimate dance classes with outside of school. Earlier in the evening, Adi and I had both been drinking wine at respective event receptions at school. We decided (via G-chat) more wine was needed. So he went and picked out this bottle while I was finishing class, and we convened afterward to enjoy. He brought a crunch bar and a mug, true law student ghetto chic.

He selected a 2007 Pinot Noir, mostly, I think, because of the screw top, and partly because of the little megaphone man on the label. It's bottled under the Jargon label, which only makes Pinot Noir. They have a pretty cute Web site, www.jargonwines.com, through which I learned that "Jargon" is basically poking fun at the whole wine-critique culture (and by association, my blog?). It is grown in California by the Trinchero Family Estates, which also encompasses several other well-branded wines. I can't find anything online about the process from vine to bottle, probably because of the rebel nature of the label. But I would guess it was aged in stainless steel or concrete, since there wasn't any oak in the flavor.

The easiest way to explain this wine is that it was much more like a white than red. It was simple and fruity and reminded me of the Manischewitz they serve for church communion. The sweetness was thick with cherries, and the tannins were barely noticeable. I've never had such a bright Pinot Noir, and I honestly think anyone would enjoy this wine. Adi and I liked it, anyway.

It was the perfect wine to loosen the hips for salsa. After a glass, we joined the class and I learned some pretty sweet moves. I'll definitely be back next week to learn more, and maybe review a new bottle!