Tasting Wine: 5 new wines

After last Thursdays Wine Tasting, I left the Vintage Cellar with 7 new bottles I've never tried (or heard of). Here are the 5 I've tasted so far.

Name Palo Negro
Variety Cabernet Sauvignon
Region Mendoza
Country Argentina
Year 2010
Price $7.95 

Critic's Review Toasty and forward, with rounded currant and plum fruit backed by a nice weight in the palate. A long, sustained finish. Definite quality for an outstanding price.

My Thoughts (First Tasting) I should begin this by saying I picked this wine solely because the label is sexy as all Hell. From a design standpoint, this label KICK ASS. But for me, the obsession with this wine ends there. This red wine had an odd translucency about it, especially for a Cab Sav. It showed hints of brown. The initial nose was highly alcoholic. It made my eyes water. It had a musty, vegetal smell about it, like dead leaves and rotten mushrooms. Truthfully I thought this wine had gone bad. There was low complexity to it.  There was virtually no fruit present on the palate. It was VERY acidic and sour tasting.

This wine was not paired with any food.

My thoughts (Second Tasting) After letting this wine breathe FOR TWO DAYS, it began to open up. Dark fruit and spice could be detected on the bouquet. It was still highly acidic and the alcohol was still up. However, it was at least drinkable.  When paired with dark chocolate and raspberry, notes of dark berry fruits could be detected on the mid palette.

This wine was paired with a raspberry filled, dark chocolate.

Name Rex Goliath
Variety Merlot
Region California
Country United States
Year --
Price --

Critic's Review Mouth-filling flavors of plums, cherries and wild red berries dominate from start to finish. Soft, supple and complex. Pretty and seductive with a decidedly spicy nose of black cherry, cassis and cedar. Very ripe and round, almost like a Jolly Rancher candy.

My Thoughts This Cali Merlot was a dark red with a slightly purple hue. It did not dominate with complexity. It was soft, supple and smooth. The nose was powerful with dark berry fruits, primarily blackberry, mixed with a woody component.  On the mouth, it was round, with notes of cherry and cedar.

This wine was not paired with any food.

Name Faraway Farm
Variety Chenin Blanc
Region Westen Cape

Country South Africa
Year 2009 
Price $9.95

Critic's Review The soil composition and the ability to ripen the grapes work well where this wine was produced. Shale and wet rock on the nose. Rich golden yellow color. Nice combination of sweet tropical fruits like pineapple and guava, backed up with white pear, and of course some lemon. Nice viscosity, feels full and rounded in the  mouth. Some brown spice at the back of the palate. Good acid content.

My Thoughts This is a solid effort! There is a nice combination of Old World earthiness and New World style fruit. There is a mineral quality, like wet rock, to this wine that pairs nicely on the nose with upfront, serious tropical notes. This white wine had a glistening yellow gold quality about it. Pineapple and pear mixed with hints of spice on the mid palette. I got some shale and lemon on the  finish. Delicious!

This wine was not paired with any food.

Name Andeluna
Variety Torrontes
Region Mendoza

Country Argentina
Year 2010 
Price --

Critic's Review Green color with silver tones. Aromas of white flowers, citric and tropical fruits, especially rue, jasmine and peach. Fresh with an intense finish. Torrontes can be enjoyed as an aperitif of as the perfect companion to light pastas, seafood and chicken.

My Thoughts On the nose, this wine was powerful with orange, lime and peach. Very fragrant! Hints of a floral component on the nose transferred to the mid palette. Jasmine and orange blossom could be detected. I also could get a little cut grass aspect on the finish with a bit of lemon.

This wine was not paired with any food.

Name Gen 5

Variety Cabernet Sauvignon
Region Lodi, Central Valley, California
Country United States
Year 2009
Price $11.95 

Critic's Review Taking Lodi into a whole new level, the finely-tuned 2009 Gen 5 Cabernet shows intricate and complex flavors; ripe for sure, yet classy and refined; long finish.

My Thoughts This red was smoky on the nose. There were hints of dark berry fruits mixed with spices both on the nose and the palette. Complex. There was a blackberry aspect to this wine masked by a cinnamon and woody component. Hints of leather and spice on the finish.

This wine was not paired with any food.

Wine-Dinner Pairing (Round 2)

Nando Fragolino, 446 Chardonnay, Napa Cellars Zin

Here we go. Round Two of wine and dinner with my parents. This time we opted for takeouts from a local restaurant, The Bistro. It's classic American Cuisine with a little French flare. I opted to use the same three wines from our first pairing, to see how they would fair when matched with entirely different foods. To recap, from the first dinner, I found the 446 Chardonnay from California to be the best match for the breaded pork tenderloins and garlic herb rice meal. Let's see what happens this time.

Steamed Clam Appetizer

For starters, we had about 3 dozen steamed clams. They were in a white wine garlic butter sauce with tomato, rosemary and onion. AWESOME! These clams were fantastic! And, they paired well with Chardonnay. The buttery quality of this CA Chardonnay enhanced the flavors in the clam sauce and vice versa. The hints of citrus in the wine complimented this appetizer nicely.

Let's move to the main dishes. We all got something different, but I tried them all. They go as follows, My dad had a filet with a blue cheese and mushroom cream sauce over a bed of pesto rice. (I should note: my sister also had this meal, but she's a baby and can't drink yet.) My mom had coconut shrimp over a bed of spicy rice in an orange lime sauce. I had lemon chicken piccata in a white wine sauce served with fresh snap peas and country style mashed potatoes.

My meal was fantastic! The wine sauce over the lemon chicken was a perfect match! It's no surprise that the chardonnay complimented this meal nicely. It should also be no surprise that the Zinfandel was NOT a match with this meal. The heavy oakiness and dark berry notes of this powerful Zin were not the right combination. The chardonnay, however, was delectable. The meal reminded me much of the tastes and flavors in the wine - a citrusy component masked by a buttery, creamy quality made this meal excellent.

Coconut Shrimp Over Spicy Rice

Now we will move to the Coconut Shrimp.  Another fantastic pairing for the chardonnay. Patty Pat was NOT a fan of the Zin (surprise, surprise)! She did, however, enjoy the Single Vineyard 446 with this sweet and tangy meal. The strong, spicy, citrusy quality of the rice and sauce was made much more subtle when paired with the creamy, butteriness of the chardonnay. I would even go as far to say that Patty Pat actually enjoyed this pairing. (Her young, inexperienced palette had a tough time with wine.) I, too, agree that this meal was paired nicely with the chard. For me, the tropical notes in the wine were enhanced by the fruity aspects of the orange lime sauce. I could detect hints of pineapple and a crisp green apple in the wine. There were also subtle notes of grapefruit, of which I could not detect when tasting the wine sans food.

Next up, we have the big, bad filet. It should be no surprise that the Zin went much better with this than with the other meals. My dad seemed to think the steak cut some of the oaky component of the wine and gave the wine less of a bite at the finish. I tasted it and agreed. That strong tannic component on the finish was less mouth puckering when paired with the steak. I also picked up that the spicy, peppery aspect of this wine was a good pairing for this grilled, red meat. I will say, that I still think the Chardonnay was a better pairing with the pesto rice. There was just something about how rich and silky this wine was that made it a nice match with most of the dishes.

Lemon Chicken Piccata

Filet Over Pesto Rice

For dessert, we had a raspberry cheesecake. The Fragolino offered litle more than it did the first night. It was good, but it was sweet. Drinking large amounts of this sparkling candy syrup is difficult because it's so fruity and sweet. I did, however, detect hints of raspberry on the bouquet this time, which I did not notice before. (Maybe it had to do with the raspberry in the cheesecake?) And, I detected subtle hints of peach flavors on the mid palette. Other than that, few surprises from this Italian candy drink.

The parents, goofy as they are, enjoying their meals (and attempting to enjoy their wines).

Wine-Dinner Pairing

Let's begin. Wine and dinner pairing with my parents. They do not drink. At all. I've seen them drink champagne at a wedding on two occasions. That is all. However, I'm slowly converting them to the dark side, one glass at a time. For this dinner, I chose three wines - a red, a white, and a sparkling dessert.  My mother prepared the meal while I shopped around for wines at our local liquor store, Hops and Grapes. Actually it's more like a liquor warehouse.  I spent over an hour looking at all the wines. I've never tasted nor heard of these wines before.

Wine selection for our dinner pairing

The three wines I selected for dinner are shown to the right.  There are as follows (from left to right): Nando Fragolino, Single Vineyard 446 Chardonnay, and Napa Cellars Zinfandel.  The dessert wine is from Italy.  The Chardonnay is a 2010 from Monterey, CA. The Zinfandel is a 2009 from Napa Valley, CA.

Dinner table set, meal prepared

Patty Pat (my mother) prepared the meal.  It consisted of breaded pork tenderloins, rice in a garlic and herb sauce and broccoli.  Garlic bread also complimented the meal. Chocolate and assorted fruits were served for dessert. The pork was cooked perfectly, although I may be a little biased. The rice was my favorite, though. I love rice any way you cook it. This way just happened to be exceptionally delicious.

My partially eaten plate

The Zinfandel PACKED A PUNCH! It was powerful.  It was spicy. THE OAK MONSTER came at you at full force. The heavy oaky component was a little much. Notes of berry, particularly ripe blackberry and raspberry jam come through on the nose. Aromas of black pepper spice is present. The palette follows with juicy, round fruits and warm oak.  This zinfandel is deep, dark and purple. It's complex and delicious. I feel it would be paired better with grilled or barbequed meats, more specifically a nice, juicy steak (which I did in a later dinner pairing).

The Napa Cellars Zinfandel

This was probably too strong of a wine to start my parents off with. It was super bite-y, super potent, super powerful. My mom was not a fan. She had a hard time even sipping this wine. It was, in my opinion, too complex for unexperienced wine drinkers. Both my mom and dad did pick up notes of oak and dark berry.  My dad thought the wine finished spicy. The tannic structure of this bold red was not for the new wine drinker.

The chardonnay was a PERFECT pairing with the rice portion of this meal.  It also complimented the meat nicely, although it still wasn't the best choice. But the rice! Oh the rice! This oaky, buttery chardonnay is CLASSIC CALIFORNIA! Balanced and bright with fresh citrus and delectable tropical notes. This was definitely did it for me! The oak component paired perfectly with the garlic and herb rice. The rice enhanced the buttery quality of the wine. This wine was creamy and silky smooth on the palette. The pineapple notes further complimented this wine. Both my parents agreed this was a better fit for them and for the meal.

Patty Pat and I enjoying our meals

The Nando Fragolino was a fruity, fizzy, strawberry flavored sparkling dessert wine.  It was low alcohol, low complexity, low structure, and my mother's favorite. Her main reason for loving it was that it tasted like sparkling cider. She's a mess. I enjoyed this wine more with the chocolate and fruit pairings than by itself. The dark chocolate helped cut the fruity strawberry component some, making the wine more tolerable. I couldn't drink a lot of this wine at once because it hurt my stomach. It was too sweet for me.

I think Patty Pat may have had a little too much wine.
She's laughing and making fun of me. Typical.