Wine Wednesday – 2010 JV Fleury Crozes Hermitage

Hello, hello!

I recently learned that there was a Total Wine not too far from my house so I decided to check it out this past weekend.

I love the little wine market by my house but I know what they DON’T carry and I wanted to see what I could find at Total Wine.

It was okay. I wasn’t overly impressed with a lot of the selection but I’m a wine snob particular.

I did find a couple of bottles that interested me and I snapped them right up.

One of the cool things about stores like Total Wine and Corridor Wine Market (when we lived in Maryland) is that sometimes, they list the Wine Spectator score and give brief tasting notes.

One of the bottles I found was this Rhone that was rated at 90 points (out of 100).

I thought it was a pretty great deal at $25!

And I love wines from the Rhone region. ❤

The interesting thing about this wine is it is not a blend. It is 100% Syrah.

Now, French Syrah is much, much different than a California Syrah or an Australian Shiraz.

It’s less “punch you in the face fruit” and more subtle, earthy, chewy spiciness.

This syrah had a lovely deep garnet hue and smelled of fruit and plums and earth. Mmmm…… 🙂

The tasting notes indicate ganache and espresso notes but my nose didn’t pick any of that. I guess the espresso was probably in the “earth” smell that I got. Think of how freshly ground coffee smells or maybe how the earth smells after a good rain. It’s clean and damp and … for lack of a better descriptor … earthy.

Wow. I should really brush up on my adjectives. 😉

The tasting notes state “leaves a smoldering feel through the finish” and I would totally agree with that. It was full (of flavor), round (I could taste it in my whole mouth and not just on my tongue, a little chewy (like I really wanted to chew it!), and spicy when I swallowed.

It was pretty heavenly.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I ❤ a good California Syrah and I never turn down a glass of wine from a Barossa Valley Shiraz (Australia) but this wine was something else.

It was complex and elegant and yet simple and very easy to drink.

We paired it with some sirloin steak tips (holy. delicious.) and roasted butternut squash.

I think you definitely want to pair this with red meats and hearty stews. You could do chicken but it should be hearty like Coq au Vin or even this stew (made this quite a few times. WORTH. IT.).

Talk to me: Have you ever tried a wine that surprised you? What’s your favorite recipe you’ve ever made from a Food Network chef?

– jennifer

Wine Wednesday – 2011 Bridlewood Blend 175

Hello, hello!

Sorry I wasn’t around for Tasty Tuesday yesterday.

Thing 2 had a major party in her mouth at the oral surgeon’s office and I played “mommy” to my baby who isn’t so little any more.

If only she were old enough to drink, she could totally take part in Wine Wednesday!

Alas, she isn’t and, if she were, she shouldn’t be drinking wine anyway while she’s on her pain meds. So, I’ll drink some in her honor. 🙂

Anyhoo, we went to a party this past Saturday and swung by the grocery store to grab a bottle to take.

I found this super interesting sounding blend from Bridlewood Estate Winery and you KNOW how I feel about blends! ❤

It’s a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel and rings in surprisingly low on the alcohol scale at 12.5%.

The home of the party hostess is old (like super early 1900s), absolutely beautiful – probably should have taken some pictures, huh? – and superbly decorated.

The cabinet and those glasses made me feel like I should have been drinking a super expensive French wine. But, unfortunately, she didn’t have any. 😉

This wine was beautiful and definitely an excellent choice for this party.

It was potluck (I brought my triple chocolate avocado brownies – YUM!) so there were quite a variety of dishes.

I should add that this party was with all my CrossFit peeps so … there was lots of meat and bacon, etc. #winning

The wine paired fabulously with everything!

It was jammy but soft, oaky with some toasty spice, and smooth. Bridlewood uses the word “graceful” in its description and I would have to agree.

Some wines like to pack a punch or be super jammy and chewy or be extra “hot” (high alcohol content) – this one is like going to a club/bar/wedding/party/etc and the older married couple takes the dance floor and waltzes every wannabe dancer into submission. 🙂

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The low alcohol content (which means less residual sugar from the skins) kept the wine from being too big and tannic and made it quite lovely to enjoy.

Actually, if you’ve never tried a blend, this would be an excellent first choice because it is so soft and muted and flavorful.

Cheers!

Talk to me: What do you  normally bring to potlucks? Do you have a “signature dish” that you rely on?

– jennifer

Wine Wednesday – Rare Red (or as I liked to call it – “Guess the grapes”)

Hello, hello!

Guess what day it is?!?!

I ❤ Wine Wednesdays!

And, you’re in luck! I remembered to get the pictures off my camera!

Usually I take them with my phone but for some reason, I decided to be all fancy and use my regular camera.

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Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.

Anyway, this is another wine I found at my local wine market.

The Rare Red 4 Grape Blend.

Mike knows I like blends so he wanted me to give it a try.

I can’t remember exactly how much the bottle cost and I’ve since thrown my receipt away but I’m pretty positive this was one of my less than $10 bottles.

I bought 6 bottles that day (1/2 case discount, thankyouverymuch) and only spent around $60 total. After tax. #winning

As with all blends, I flipped the bottle around to read the breakdown of the grapes.

And discovered that they didn’t say ANYWHERE on the label what ANY of the 4 grapes are!

Oh, ho, ho, it’s a guessing game now, is it?

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The first thing I noticed when I poured the wine was the dark ruby color.

When I swirled and took the first sniff, I was treated to lovely earthy aromas, some black pepper, and dark fruit. I also thought I smelled a little chocolate which, honestly, I’ve only smelled in a Port so I wasn’t really sure.

I was pretty positive I knew one of the grapes just from the color and the aromas, maybe two, but you know I had to taste it. I mean, c’mon, it was practically inviting me in!

My first sip was luscious and smooth, all fruit and earth and yumminess. There was a bit of spice/pepper on the back of my throat but not too much. The tannins, for a wine that’s 13.5% alcohol, were really mild which surprised me. Especially since I knew at that point that I definitely knew what 2 of the 4 grapes were.

I said with certainty that the wine was a blend of Syrah (hello fruit!) and Zinfandel (hello earth & pepper/spice).

And those wines can be quite tannic and big. Like maybe 14% alchohol or more!

(If you don’t know, tannins come the skins, seeds, and stems of the grapes. Red wines are more tannic than white because the skins are left in the juice longer. That also helps to add color and depth to the wine. Tannins are what makes a wine taste “dry” – like you want to pucker a little and not because it’s sour like a green apple. High tannins are also known to cause massive headaches in people that drink too of the much wine. Wine hangovers can really suck. #justsayin)

Anyway, I swished and swirled and sniffed and tasted my way through that glass in the hopes that I would come up with the other 2 grapes used in the blend.

I never did figure it out but I can say with definite certainty that the Rare Red 4 Grape Blend is a very delicious wine!

And, because it’s so smooth, you can pair it with a variety of foods. Pasta, burgers, pizza, grilled chicken, grilled salmon or tuna (I think a white/lighter fish might not be a good choice), chili, stews, hot dogs, sausages (that’s what we had!), etc, etc, etc.

The other two grapes? I had to look them up. Barbera and Sangiovese.

I never would have gotten that.

I can’t remember the last time I drank a Sangiovese and it’s been a few years since I had a Barbera.

Guess it’s time for me to grab some of those and refresh my taste buds’ memories! 🙂

Talk to me: Do you like challenges? Can you pick out different aromas and tastes in a glass of wine/beer/whiskey/bourbon/etc?