Sunday, February 1st, 2009
91 / A
Tasted by Mike Supple - 16 Oct 2008
Dark ruby core with a lighter pink rim. Sweet blackberry and cherry aromas up front are surrounded by smoke, soy sauce, dried anise and a hint of barbeque ribs. Medium bodied in the mouth with ripe fruit flavors of blueberry, black cherry and raspberry. The tannins are fairly small and ripe, making this an approachable wine that is ready to drink (but with enough oomph to last another 2 - 4 years). Nice lingering finish with a touch of Good & Plenty candy licorice.
Argentina strikes again by bringing one of the best values to the wine world. A blend of 34% Cabernet Sauvignon (for red fruit and structure), 33% Malbec (for spice and acidity) and 33% Syrah (for rich, dark flavors and body). All this fruit and power needs balance to keep the wine from going over the top, and the acid in the Malbec does the trick. We pulled this wine out on set recently while shooting some Supple Wine videos and not a single person could resist. Two cases of this stuff disappeared in a heartbeat!
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Tags: 2005, and, anise, Argentina, barbeque, black, blackberry, blueberry, Bodegas, cabernet, candy, cherry, good, Malbec, Mendoza, pasodoble, pink, plenty, poesia, raspberry, red, red wine, ribs, ruby, sauce, sauvignon, smoke, soy, Syrah, wine
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
90 / A-
Tasted by Mike Supple - 06 Oct 2008
Pale lemon green in the glass. Ripe young apricot aromas with very fresh and light notes of lime, wet stone and cantaloupe. Nice sweet burst on the front of the palate that is quickly backed by great acid and a tart lemon rush. Very crisp with just a hint of sparkle showing how young it is. Nice minerality through to the finish with lots of sweet and sour lemon/lime.
If you’re not familiar with German Rieslings, go grab a bottle of this immediately and see what you’re missing. It’s the perfect pairing for Thanksgiving foods. Just a hint of sweetness to the wine works perfectly with the rich and sweet cranberry sauce, turkey, mashed potatoes, et al. It’s important to note that this is not a heavy, sweet wine. The light sweetness on the front of the mouth is quickly balanced by acid, and this is a very crisp, refreshing and delicious wine.
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Tags: 2007, apricot, cantaloupe, cranberry, fred, germany, green, hallgarten, hallgartener, jungfer, kabinett, lemon, lime, mineral, potato, prinz, rheingau, Riesling, sauce, sparkle, stone, turkey, wet, white, White wine, wine
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
88 / A
Tasted by Mike Supple - 07 Jan 2009
Dark purple core with a bright fuchsia rim. Incredibly young on the nose - very fresh and vibrant. Sweet vanilla and violets surround blackberry, licorice and thick sweet herbal notes with a touch of minerals and flint. Dense on the front palate. Young and bright with lots of acid to balance the solid core of mocha, licorice and blackberries. Medium bodied with a flinty finish.
One of the first 2008 red wines I’ve tasted, and the outlook is very promising for 2008 in Mendoza. (The Southern Hemisphere is 6 months ahead of the Northern, so their wines always come out first.) This is a great little wine that is ready to drink now. Not so complex that you have to think about what you’re doing, but with plenty of smells and flavors to keep you coming back for more. Drink it by itself, with aged cheeses or any red meat, but the ultimate pairing here is some slow-roasted baby back ribs swimming in barbeque sauce.
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Tags: 2008, Argentina, baby, back, barbeque, blackberry, cheese, flint, fuchsia, herb, licorice, maipe, Malbec, meat, Mendoza, mineral, mocha, purple, red, red wine, ribs, sauce, vanilla, violet, wine
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Saturday, January 31st, 2009
89 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 24 Sep 2008
Dark ruby (almost black) core with a brighter ruby rim. Lots of leather, earth and charred oak aromas over sweet cherry and cassis, with a hint of soy sauce. Smooth, easy entry onto the palate. Medium body and well balanced acidity. Ripe red cherry and blackberry fruits are backed by flavors of coffee, vanilla and a touch of earth. Cherries and fresh cream linger on the finish. Very fine grained tannins make this pleasant to drink now, but will also allow the wine to age for another 3 - 5 years.
This is a great value for Cabernet Sauvignon coming from Sonoma - and it has fortunately stayed largely out of the spotlight of the major critics…until now. Cab of this quality can easily run you up $40 or more, so finding this wine at half that price is a steal. There is plenty of body and fruit to satisfy all you monster Cab fans, yet the wine remains balanced and elegant enough to go very well with a meal. Just enough oak in the winemaking adds great complexity of flavors (coffee, soy sauce) that complement the fruit in the wine. This is a great bottle to pull if you are meeting your date’s parents for the first time. Everyone respects a good Cab, and this one clearly fits the bill.
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Tags: 2005, blackberry, cabernet, california, cassis, char, cherry, Coast, coffee, cream, earth, estate, kunde, leather, North, oak, red, red wine, ruby, sauce, sauvignon, sonoma, soy, sweet, vanilla, wine
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