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2005 Blackstone Sonoma County Reserve Merlot

admin — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:57:56 +0000

From the Blackstone tasting notes on their website:

The Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Merlot 2005 offers pleasing aromas of fresh raspberry, black currant, clove and vanilla with a hint of earthiness. The wine is full-bodied with layers of bright red fruit, coffee and clove, finished with nice, well-integrated structure and a velvety mouthfeel. Try serving this soft and silky wine with beef or pork tenderloin, cassoulet, sausage, pizza or beef ravioli.

The breakdown of the varietals present are: 76% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petite Sirah, 5% Syrah, 3% Teroldego. While some of those are prettty small percentages, I think they add to the overall balance of the bottle. Overall I found the taste to be very appealing, I though much better than the “regular” Blacksone Merlot, which I found to be a bit harsh. At a price point of $13.99, it’s not a bad first bottle at a cozy byob.

2004 Cline Red Truck

admin — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 04:00:36 +0000

I was wandering the isle of my local retailer and noticed a bottle of 2004 Cline “Red Truck“. Having had some great Cline port wine in the past, I was intrigued and with the price being less than $10, I was sold. As it turns out, this is a vinted blend of Syrah, Petite Syrah and Cabernet Franc, with a bit of Merlot from Sonoma Valley California.

This wine went very well with dinner, which was cheese tortellini from Trader Joe’s and a red mushroom sauce. I could see grabbing this wine as an inexpensive bottle to take out to dinner where you may not know the menu, or if you are looking for a safe bottle. I tasted a pleasing flavor of berries and something dark, which I could not quite place. Overall I would give this a strong B+ rating, scoring well on it’s nice bouquet, clarity, and smoothness. I believe I will pickup a bottle or two of this wine and let it sit in the cellar for a bit of time, it could be interesting to see how this one does with some age.

2004 Yellowtail Reserve Shiraz

admin — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:35:38 +0000

2004 Yellowtail Reserve Shiraz. I was quite surprised by this bottle. As the lighting was low for dinner, I really can’t tell you much about the clarity of the wine, the color appeared to be a nice ruby. I tasted some fruity berries with a bit of oak and a nice smooth finish. All in all, I was very impressed by this bottle for the price, and I would recommend this bottle as a great wine under $15.00.

Pascal Chatelus, Beaujolais Nouveau 2007

admin — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:28:17 +0000

It’s March, so I’m about 3 months late on a review of Pascal Chatelus, Beaujolais Nouveau 2007 ($11.99). For the wine that makes up the Beaujolais Nouveau experience, this was a very enjoyable bottle. I found it to be very bright in color, with a high clarity. We sampled this wine with a reduced set of cheeses than we would have usually knowing that we should expect a very light red. As a result, we used only the soft mozzarella and the marbled Colby-jack. Both were great with this wine, the crackers could have been giving me a bit of the smoke aroma/flavor as I was the only one in the group getting that feeling.

This was drinkable all by itself, I have another bottle I’m looking forward to drinking Memorial Day weekend with some friends. If you want to pair it with something, I could see this being very good with chicken or pork. Pretty much anything that a pinot noir would pair well with. For the price it was not a bad French bottle, but I think there are better priced wines with less adieu. Of course, if you are going for the experience and not 3 months late, then rock out with this one.

Vignealte 2007 Bianco di Custoza

imagineme — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:54:07 +0000

Hello all,

Winery of Zeni!

We go to a wine tasting every Saturday, which is a wonderful tradition we have started. On this trip on February 16, 2008, we tried this wine and I loved it so much we purchased 2 bottles. Which may not sound like much but this is a rarity for us. We like to purchase different bottles instead of more then one of the same.

Tonight we are trying this wine, as our usual Saturday nights go, with a variety of cheeses. We have also started throwing some bread and olive oil with spices into the mix. This is my opinions on what we are eating. Mind you, today one of the employees where we go for the tasting said that I go on my emotions when I try wine. You’ll find more out in my bio, but yes, I’m sorry if it is not a precise description of flavors and tastes. This will be more of a general dislike or like, maybe even some fun thoughts

This bottle is $10.99 where we purchased it at the Joe Canal’s in West Deptford, NJ. We are drinking this bottle tonight March 1, 2008.

Mozzerela Cheese w/ Whole Milk: Yummy!

Laughing Cow Light Swiss flavored Garlic and Herb: Favorite with this wine.

Sharp Spreadable Cheddar Cheese: Really dislike. Which is odd because it is one of my favorite cheeses. But with this wine it makes it taste stinky.

Bonbell- Ok seriously, again, I like this cheese in general. But with this wine, it to me is just awful! Sorry Bonbell!

Wise Pride Port Wine Spreadable: Calming. Soothing. Really don’t like or dislike. It just is.

Laughing Cow Light Swiss Flavored French Onion: Almost if not just as good as the garlic and herb. Very very enjoyable! Makes my tastes buds say “More More… I want More!”

Connoisseur Asiago Cheese Spread: I don’t care for this cheese in general personally. But With this wine I like it better then I normally do.

Goes well with the French Loaf and Sicilian seasoning. I like to put a little butter on the bread as well… yummmmmm…. bread and I get along very well. But this wine goes well with this. Quite an enjoyable experience.

So all that said. Overall, I am extremely glad we bought 2 bottles. I told modF, that this is going to be my “me night” wine. It is completely delicious to drink alone or with food. Also it just gives me a good feeling from the inside out. I definitely suggest picking up a bottle and having some fun with it!