From the Cellar
The Neighbors, Dinner & Drinks (Chile / France)
04 Mar 2015- Details
- Category: Uncorked Tonight
(December 20, 2014) ... We had our neighbors come over for dinner tonight and I pulled a few interesting wines out of the cellar to try for the occasion: a Chilean and two French. Kicking things off I opened an Odfjell Vineyards 2002 Armador Cabernet Sauvignon, this was the Chilean wine of the evening. For a twelve year old wine it held up rather nicely with its aromas of smoked-plum and cinnamon followed by a palate of dried dark fruit and backed by woody notes and decent spice ... The finish proved to be long and woodsy, but still rather enjoyable.
For my first French wine of the evening I grabbed out a Sasha Lichine 2006 Le Coq Rouge, a blend of Syrah (40), Cabernet Sauvignon (33), Merlot (23) and Grenache (4) ... When I tried it years ago it seemed like a simple wine and was probably meant for drinking sooner rather than later ... But the ensuing 8 years from vintage date has not hurt it at all. The nose is subtle with red berries, while the palate has white pepper, black raspberry, and black cherry - not at all what I expected but pleasantly surprised. The opposite can be said for my next wine, I had high hopes for the Domaine Magellan 2005 Vieilles Vignes, Syrah-Grenache, but what I got was a wine that delivered spicy alcoholic notes from beginning to end, and it just never seemed to get out of that zone ... Disappointing to say the least. I'm not allowed to bad-mouth closures anymore so I won't mention the plastic cork.
