30
Jul
2014
- Details
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Category: Uncorked Tonight
(May 25, 2014) ... I'm a fan of the Intriga wine out of Chile, every vintage I try seems to get a little better, a little tastier, and a little more complex. Tonight I thought I'd try this 2008 that seemed to be calling my name as soon as I walked into the cellar. The aromas were a mixed bag of good and odd: mint, blackberry, black cherry cough syrup (?) and vanilla ... Palate seemed to follow the nose pretty closely including black cherry (no cough syrup here), blackberry, with chalky tannins which turned chocolate by the finish and carried with them touches of mint all with a lasting linger. Wine turned out to be lovely, robust and delicious despite the oddball cough syrup touches on the nose.
30
Jul
2014
- Details
-
Category: Uncorked Tonight
(May 24, 2014) ... What's more fun than throwing a chunk of a muddy root on the fire and leaving the party? I don't know, you'd have to ask my neighbor cause that's what he did, but who could blame him, I plied him with enough alcohol to stop a mule, how was I to know he felt guilty about leaving an alcoholic liquid in an opened bottle (he later told me it was because he is Italian - "It's a sin to waste wine") ... Good thing for him it's just a quick walk home.
I started him off with a Bodegas Lan 2006 Crianza Tempranillo, aged beautiful this light red had aromas of dried raspberry, plum, Christmas spice, spiced cherry, and a subtle cedar underlay ... Flavours proved just as exciting: spiced cherry, anise, white peppered plum, a pure pleasure both smells and tastes; the best part: it hardly shows its age. Simply put, this was a lovely starter.
Moving on from Spain, but staying in Europe, I hopped, skipped and jumped to France, I was originally going to pour the gorgeous 2010 of this wine but then noticed I has an E. Gigual 2005 Cotes du Rhone, another brilliant vintage for this wine, so why not - it's the reason one keeps a cellar, isn't it? This was even better than the Lan ... The wine just kept giving on both the nose and palate, in fact I lost track of what came from where, but complexity ruled: black cherry, plum and wonderfully spiced, with a dry finish. There was also strawberry, smoked-mocha and smooth silky tannins.
Was there a way to top that last wine? Probably not, but I tried with a Catena 2008 High Altitude Vines Malbec from Argentina. This one proved to be delicious as well but seemingly simple by comparison: blueberry, raspberry and chocolate ruled the palate here.
Winner of the evening was the Guigal, hands down, or should I say muddy-root-in-the-fire down. Or even more appropriately, man down - my neighbour went to bed/sleep very quickly (according to his wife's report).
