Posts Tagged ‘smoke’
Monday, February 2nd, 2009
86 / A-
Tasted by Mike Supple - 17 Jan 2009
Bright lemon core with a clear rim. Youthful aromas of fresh lemon, grapefruit, pineapple and sweet orange blossom surrounded by a touch of smoky minerality. Dry and clean on the palate with lots of ripe pear and lemon followed by a streak of minerality and a touch of smoke on the finish.
Affordable enough to bring out when you have guests over and sure to make an impact. Far from your typical buttery Chardonnay or herbal Sauvignon Blanc, this is fresh, bright, youthful and easy to drink. A blend of 65% Ugni Blanc, 30% Colombard and 5% Gros Manseng grapes. A true value coming out of Southwest France. If you bring this out for guests, make sure you have several bottles chilling - nobody will stop after just one glass.
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Tags: 2007, blossom, cotes de gascogne, domaine la hitaire, france, fresh, grapefruit, lemon, les tours, mineral, orange, pear, pineapple, smoke, southwest france, White wine
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
88 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 15 Apr 2008
Very bright in the glass with a thick purple core surrounded by a fuchsia rim. Fleshy and sweet in both the aromas and flavors. Sweet strawberry wraps around black cherry and blackberry with a nice hint of black pepper. The wine is smooth and soft as it enters the mouth bringing a smoky, gamy undertone of flavors to support the fruit.
This is the perfect wine for bacon cheeseburgers. Rhone wines bring a great punch of spice and smoke in to the fruit, and have a lot more structure and balance than Grenache or Shiraz from most New World producers. This wine is a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah. The Grenache gives it good acidity and fruit-forward nature while the Syrah provides backbone and pepper spice. This is not an overly complex wine, but it’s a fantastic introduction into the blended styles that the Southern Rhone has to offer. The winery, Paul Jaboulet Aine, was recently purchased by a family famous for their Bordeaux (Chateau La Lagune), so look for some changes and even better quality in the upcoming vintages.
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Tags: 2006, 45, aine, black, blackberry, cherry, Cotes, du, france, fuchsia, game, grenache, jaboulet, parallele, Paul, pepper, purple, red, red wine, Rhone, smoke, Southern, strawberry, Syrah, wine
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
89 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 08 Oct 2008
Dark purple core with a violet rim. Spicy vanilla aromas surround milk chocolate, candied raspberry, fresh blueberry and a touch of licorice. The front palate is lush and bold with sweet blueberries leading to a juicy mid-palate. Full bodied with chewy yet approachable tannins. Dark roasted coffee, smoke and toasted oak linger on the finish.
Tons of flavor and complexity for the price. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (about 50%) and old vine Grenache and Syrah. Great for anyone just getting in to reds, yet it still has enough power and body to impress even the staunchest of Cabernet collectors. This wine also has enough tannin that it will continue to age well, and the oak should integrate into the wine over the next couple of years making it more lush and velvety. The toasted oak gets a little weighty on the back end but will be no problem enjoyed with some good rich foods. This is a unique wine and not imported to many places in the US, but it is worth seeking out and purchasing online!
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Tags: 2006, aix, anges, blueberry, cabernet, candy, chateau, chocolate, coffee, Coteaux, d'aix, des, en, france, grenache, licorice, milk, oak, paradis, provence, purple, raspberry, red, red wine, roast, sauvignon, smoke, spice, Syrah, terre, toast, vanilla, violet, wine
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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
89 / A-
Tasted by Mike Supple - 02 Dec 2008
Dark purple core with a fuchsia rim. Alluring, complex and spicy aromas of nutmeg, plum and black cherry around a hint of dark earth. Very easy entry on the palate. Plush and medium bodied with black cherry flavors accented by smoke, wet stone and blackberries. Medium acidity balancing out the rich fruit with a lingering dusty cocoa finish.
Throw a rack of lamb on the grill (yes, buy some lamb at your local grocery store, it’s delicious) and pour a tall glass of this wine. Rich, smooth and easy drinking with a good dose of spice and smoke makes this the perfect companion to grilled meats. A Portobello cheeseburger would stand up very well too, and the acid of the Malbec will cut right through the fat in the gooey swiss cheese that should be melting off it.
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Tags: 2006, Argentina, black, blackberry, broquel, burger, cheese, cherry, cocoa, dust, earth, fuchsia, lamb, Malbec, meat, Mendoza, nutmeg, plum, portobello, purple, red, red wine, smoke, spice, stone, swiss, wet, wine
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
89 / A-
Tasted by Mike Supple - 05 Jan 2009
Medium garnet core with a lighter rim. Very sweet aromas up front. Cola, black cherry and vanilla give way to lurking dark wet earth, smoke and mushrooms with an accent of strawberry jam. A touch of dill on the front palate with earth and black cherry fruit. Less overtly fruity than the aromas with more structure, dark scorched earth and burnt tobacco. Fairly high acid, and very well balanced overall.
This is a very nice wine, particularly for the 2004 vintage in Burgundy. Many of the wines are harsh and herbal, but this wine has great silky mouth feel and ripe fruit. The so-called “off” vintages are the best ones to find great deals in Burgundy. This is a great price for a well made Premier Cru wine.
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Tags: 1er, 2004, beaune, black, Burgundy, burnt, chanson, cherry, cola, cote, cru, de, dill, Domaine, dominode, earth, et, Fils, france, garnet, jam, les, mushroom, noir, pere, pinot, premier, red, red wine, savigny, scorched, smoke, strawberry, tobacco, vanilla, wet, wine
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
90 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 02 Jan 2009
Dark, inky purple core with a vibrant rim. Spicy aromas of caramel, licorice, cardamom and nutmeg around rich plum and blackberry with a smoked ham and white pepper punch. Big in the mouth but with great balance. A hint of nickel and minerals come in on the mid-palate supporting toasty red cherry and raspberry, leading to lingering candied violets.
A blend of 95% Syrah and 5% Malbec.
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Tags: 2006, Argentina, blackberry, candy, caramel, cardamom, cherry, consulta, double, du, ham, La, labourde, licorice, luca, Malbec, Mendoza, mineral, nickel, nutmeg, pepper, plum, purple, raspberry, red, red wine, select, smoke, spice, Syrah, toast, uco, valle, valley, violet, white, wine
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
90 / B
Tasted by Mike Supple - 24 Dec 2008
Dark purple core with a fuchsia rim. Lots of purple fruit aromas. A touch of oak over blackberry, plum, grapes [yeah yeah, wine is made of grapes, but this is a fresh juicy grape aroma], and a hint of leather and smoke. Smooth entry onto the palate. Medium bodied with lots of spice. A bit overblown - big fruit flavors, lots of extraction, jammy and full. Good acid on the back. Fans of huge Australian Shiraz will like this quite a bit. For the money though, I have had several other Malbec based blends with better balance.
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Tags: 2006, achaval, Argentina, blackberry, ferrer, fuchsia, grape, leather, Malbec, Mendoza, oak, plum, purple, quimera, red, red wine, smoke, spice, wine
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
88 / B
Tasted by Mike Supple - 10 Dec 2008
Maroon core with a thin pink rim. A bit austere on the nose with oak and slate dominating the fruit - a touch of cherry and some orange zest. Fruity on the front palate (mostly red cherries) followed by a hint of smoke and game with slatey minerality and a touch of oak on the finish.
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Tags: 2006, barbara, california, Central, cherry, Coast, core, cuyama, game, maroon, moreved, mr, oak, orange, pink, red, red wine, santa, slate, smoke, valley, wine
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
90 / A-
Tasted by Mike Supple - 08 Dec 2008
Thick purple core with ringed by a maroon rim with fuchsia highlights. Very rich aromas leap from the glass, and intensify as the wine sits. Thick fruit - blackberry, blueberry and black cherry - with smoked mint and other herbs are all surrounded by wet clay, violets and lingering wild strawberries. Fairly bold (yet integrated) tannins from the front palate through the lingering finish. Dark fruits flood the palate supported by tannins and acid, expanding on the mid-palate and leading to a long creamy vanilla finish with swirls of roast coffee beans, dark chocolate and ripe black cherries.
A blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and a few other reds. Owned by Catherine Pere-Verge, the owner of Chateau Le Gay, one of the best Chateaux in Pomerol, Bordeaux. Using the same wine making team (harvest is 6 months different due to the northern/southern hemisphere thing) this is a very high quality wine made by people with tons of skill for a fraction of the price.
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Tags: 2005, Argentina, bean, black, blackberry, blueberry, cabernet, cherry, chocolate, clay, cofee, cream, fleur, fuchsia, herb, Malbec, maroon, Mendoza, mint, monteviejo, Petite, purple, red, red wine, roast, sauvignon, smoke, strawberry, vanilla, violet, wild, wine
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