Hey, everyone! We were finally able to have our Spain/Argentina/Portugal/Chile meeting this month, and man, was it ever worth the wait! We had fun with these wines, mainly because we were able to sample grapes that were new for us like tempranillo and garnacha, and to revisit an old favorite, malbec. Plus, after not meeting for 8 weeks, we had serious club withdrawal! It was very nice to get together again.
We had 7 members present at Saturday's meeting and sampled 7 wines. Two interesting things: 1) we actually had a white, a rose, and some reds, so our sampling ran the wine spectrum; and 2) even though Portugal was included and we did have a couple of Portuguese wines, no one brought a port, which is very interesting considering how much we love the stuff. Could it be that we're still on overload from January's chocolate pairing meeting? Hmmmm....
So, here go the results:
THE WINNER:
Don Olegario 2006 Albarino (Spain)
http://www.donolegario.com
This was a light, crisp Spanish white made from the albarino grape. Fruity on the nose with a hint of ale, this wine turned out to be pleasantly semi-sweet, much like a kabinett riesling. The wine was surprisingly smooth and citrusy, and many members chose it as a favorite.
SECOND PLACE:
Tinto da Anfora 2005 red (Portugal)
http://winelibrary.com/reviewwine.asp?DCMP=froogle&item=38288
This wine featured blackberry on the nose, with cocoa powder and tobacco. Intriguing! Yes, we actually picked up all this! On the palate, the wine proved to be lighter than anticipated despite some pretty tough tannins right up front. When tasting, the wine hits you right away, then mellows out nicely. Unfortunately it didn't have a long finish, which would have helped round this out.
THIRD PLACE:
Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha 2007 (Spain)http://www.bodegasborsao.com/pages/trespii.htm
Psyche gave the most interesting description of this wine: "Like a five-part harmony, but missing a note." I love that, and I loved this wine, despite the missing note. This was our first experience with the garnacha grape (which is apparently completely different from the grenache grape, contrary to what I'd thought) and the thing that struck me right away was the spiciness, both on the nose and in the taste. The berriness was immediately obvious, but there was a definite spiciness there, and the nose was a bit metallic as well. Mom said she tasted white pepper in this one. A very complex wine, with a nice finish. My personal favorite, and I've already bought myself another bottle!
THE REST:
Vega Sindoa rose 2007 (Spain) http://www.marketfinewine.com/155854?id=Haa9HinJ
This rose, a blend of 50% garnacha and 50% cabernet grapes, smelled very sweet, like cherry soda. But the taste was drier and very light. It was not tasteless like many roses. Not amazing, but pleasant.
Eagle Rock malbec 2006 (Argentina)
Although the wine had a pretty tight nose, we still were able to pick up a hint of mint and some meatiness. Mom said it reminded her of a steak cooked in butter (!). I found this wine too light, not at all robust like the malbecs I usually like. The wine tasted young, like it should be put away for a few years before drinking. I should revisit it, though; it may be helped if allowed to breathe for a while.
Arrocal Ribiera del Duero 2006 (Spain)
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=420480
Made from the tempranillo grape, this wine was more leathery and bold on the nose; what I'd imagine the malbec would be if allowed to mature. It had big tannins and was fruitier than the malbec, but disappointingly, it disappeared on the back end. Nothing to hate here. Apparently, Arthur found this a good wine to drink while watching Wednesday's presidential debate! (Hey, AGP, care to give a follow-up review?)
Armador syrah 2005 (Chile)
http://www.stirlingfinewine.com/r/products/armador-syrah-2005
Wine Enthusiast describes this wine as "a bit funky at first." Boy, is that an understatement. This wine will forever be known in the club as "the cat pee." Eslin picked it up first, and right away...this wine had a serious litter box aroma on the nose. If you weren't at the meeting, you missed some serious ick faces on your fellow members! As for taste, it was complex: bitter at first, but then it was hard to get past the smell to appreciate the rest. Surprisingly, cheese helped it a lot; mellowed out the aroma and the bitterness, and a nice fruity red came through. In the end, Ishmael and Robin liked it, the ladies not so much, and Arthur has permanently sworn off Chilean wines. (See August meeting minutes!)
You'll notice I'm adding something new to our blog. Going forward I will try to include in the reviews links to websites where you can see, read about, and perhaps order the wines we tried. Hope you find this useful.
Next meeting, November 8, and if you read my email you know it is going to be an important one. Really hope you can make it. See you then!
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