Well, another meeting has come to a close, and this time I wanted to update everyone while it was fresh in my mind, since we got a lot accomplished this month. We had an extremely successful meeting and of course added some new favorites to our list...our tastes are really becoming more refined and educated. We're using more terms to describe the bouquets of the wines we tried: one wine was "oaky," another "smoky." And we paid a bit more attention to the finish of some of the wines. Our selection this month included wines that left us with a distinct impression even after we swallowed (and for the most part the finishes were quite pleasant).
We added a new member: Ishmael Joseph, my uncle, who heard me going on and on about our little club last week while on a trip to Boston to visit my cousin and said, "You have a wine club? I gotta check that out!" Well, check us out he did, and he brought us a nice surprise: a Spanish red that we actually tried back at our very first meeting, but that we were happy to revisit. More on that later.
We also finally chose a name, as displayed above. Going forward, we are the DiVine Company Wine Club of Queens, NY. So when you go into your local shops to choose each month's wine, be sure to refer to us by name to the shopkeeper! Thanks to Arthur for the great name and logo.
On to the wines! Once again, the reds won out over the whites, and once again, we ruled out a particular grape as definitely NOT a fave.
THE WINNER: Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon California 2003. This was a very close race. We actually chose 5 favorites this month and had to go through a run-off and 2 retastings to choose one winner. But this wine won for its bold, smoky, fruity bouquet and the oh, so smooth finish. Very flavorful and not too dry.
2ND RUNNER UP: Juan Gill Spanish red. This was a surprise, because Ishmael brought it not realizing that we'd tried this red at our first meeting (see Feb-March Wine News). But since our tastes had come a long way since that first gathering just 4 months ago, we were happy to give it another go. We were very pleased with this one. It was light for a red, but very smooth and fruity. A perfect dinner red, for the not-so heavy meats like lamb, or for pasta.
3RD PLACE: Broquel Malbec 2004. My personal favorite. I was so glad to find another Malbec I loved; this one did not disappoint. It was a beautiful dark, almost black color, and bursting with fruity aromas. Smooth, rich, very flavorful. One need never drink another merlot as long as there's a good Malbec around, I say!
HONORABLE MENTION: Pindar 2005 Riesling Ice Wine. This was our first ice wine, though not our first dessert wine and we saved it for last, of course. Tracy said it best: she doesn't like ice wine, but she liked this one. Though it was sweet as to be expected, it was not heavy or syrupy at all. There was a honey-like finish that was palate-pleasing. We paired it well with our fruit platter, and found that the cheeses actually cut down on the sweetness of the wine a bit in a nice way.
WE ALSO LIKED:
--Ruffalo Reserva Ducale Chianti Classico. This was one of our 5 favorites and just missed making it into our top 3. Tasting the similarities and differences between the chianti, the cab, the Gill, and the malbec was very educational and I recommend that everyone do so. Just line them up and try each one.
WE DID NOT LIKE:
--Adagio Pinot Grigio 2004. Nothing special at all about this one; it just got lost on the tongue. And this was early in the meeting, when our palates were still quite fresh.
--Domaine Ott 2005 Chateau Romassan Bandol Rose. Once again, do not be taken in by a pretty bottle or a long, impressive-sounding name. We struck out again with a rose, even though it was slightly more expensive than the wines we usually drink. The wine had nothing to say. We spilled out the leftover wine and gave the bottle to Dorean to take home and use to decorate her bedroom. I think she's going to fill it with colored sand, or something.
So we did very well this month. I found a new malbec, Robin actually found three wines he liked other than rieslings, Loretta fell in love with ice wine; Tracy took home the pinot grigio to cook with; and Ishmael may no longer be able to say, "Hey, I'm just a zinfandel guy." Not too shabby.
So it's summer, and I wish everyone well with their vacation plans. Let's keep blogging until we meet again on August 4 (no meeting in July). Drink lots of wine over the next month; I want reports! Oh, and check out the following websites:
inwinecountry.com
winefoodandfriends.com
amazinggrapeswinestore.com
--Navorn
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