May 10th 2007
Late night of work and then good weather pushed us up to the terrace (guess I should post pictures of the terrace, non?). Mrs.CWG and one of her friends wanted Juleps so the wine drinking is passed to another evening. Tomorrow will be a sirloin (marinating now) and cab sauv.
Till then, sip well and share!
May 9th 2007
So I switched gears, instead of the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon I decided to be spontaneous and head over to one of my favorite LCBO’s (Liquor store) and ask the shop’s expert for a recommendation. My usual criteria is: something uncommon (vineyard) for the store, competitively priced ($10 to $35), and something he/she has tasted and enjoyed. I am not looking for them to give me a breakdown of the wine or even a review. Simply I want to know did you or did you not enjoy it. So from this discussion I grabbed two bottles, one of which we are reviewing tonight and I am sipping as I write this.
Bogle Vineyards is an estate just outside of Sacramento California, east of the Napa Valley. It is a family run business that has been making wine (taken from their website) since the late 60’s early 70s. While I enjoy Merlots, I have to be honest that few, if ever leave me gasping for breath. On the few occasions they have done so, it has been at the hands of a California Merlot. This alone leaves me a sucker to grab a good bargoon (bargain folks, bargain!) and give it a whirl. This bottle was priced around $17, in the bargoon realm for sure! On to the tasting!!
On opening my nose caught a rush of fruit, primarily apple and cherry, upon further sniffing the apple remained on my nose (I find it odd as I rarely smell apple on a wine). The first few sips exposed my senses to a full bodied, large tannin Merlot. Without a doubt the apple had disappeared and cherry and oak had risen to the top of the aroma hierarchy. A few sips more and cherry, oak and a hint of blackberry own my palate. That is okay, I like all those! Without a doubt, being a bold style red, you will need to pair this with a traditionally strong meal or cheese. Think lamb, arrabiata pasta or Cheshire cheese, do not be afraid to drink on it’s own as it has enough complexity to keep your mouth happy at a party, on the deck or in the lounge. While nowhere near a “wow” this is a very solid wine and for the price is hard to beat. I am not sure this wine will improve greatly upon cellaring though without a doubt it will change a little. With the low cos it would not be a bad dollar or two to put a few bottles at the back of your cellar if you have the room and open them in a year or four. You should be pleasantly surprised. It is a drink now or keep for 2 to 5 years.
With some though and bearing this wine merits an 85.
Mrs.CWG was out on business so she has no opinion at this time!
May 7th 2007
Anyone who knows the CWG knows that I have a great love for Bordeaux wines. Not sure when it occurred but somewhere in my upbringing I felt that to be a red wine of stature the wine had to be from the Bordeaux region of France. Obviously that is not the case, but the region still provides brilliant wines, year in year out (though some may argue the early 90s should be excluded from that statement). Maybe one of the things I love best about Reds from this region is you can find some real gems for decent prices. While some may be out buying into Bordeaux futures (I will explain the concept some other time) or plunk down obscene money for a bottle from a first growth, I am content with trying to find an excellent producer that will give a nice complex wine with a lovely touch and finish. I am sure those that return to read this blog will see a consistent smattering of Bordeaux’s, for this I will not excuse myself!!
On to the wine, Chateau de Seguin is a vineyard just slightly ease of the city of Bordeaux in the Entre-Deux-Mers region (see map below). Seguin produces a solid Bordeaux-Supérieur that comes in, even at a frugal person’s budget, quite reasonably (I think it was in the 16 to 18$ range if memory serves me correct). The wine itself can probably sit for 3 to 6 more years to mature but as I bought two bottles there was no reason to wait on one of them. Opening the wine revealed a lovely hint of black cherry. The wine ended up being smooth with distinctive aromas of cherry, raspberry and a solid hint of oak (not surprising). The wine was surprising robust and pleasantly chewy, something I was not expecting for the price and the youth. This wine will be a nice compliment to a spicy meal or nice steak, maybe with a nice mushroom sauce.
Solid wine, it gets an 86.
Mrs.CWG says
“very smooth”
May 6th 2007
Our first Canadian wine to be reviewed. This bottle was plucked from the cellar after having been one of the monthly wines offered up by the Peller Estates “Wine Country at Home” Membership. The 2002 is ready to drink now, but will also see some changing if you let it sit for another year or two. The wine has notes of spice with a hint of Vanilla. While it is an enjoyable wine, I found that I was slightly disappointed in it. Understanding that this is not Peller Estates high end (the Private Reserve line is below the Andrew Peller Signature Series), still for a price of $20+ a bottle I expect a bit more complexity and depth. Maybe it is my expectations of a Cabernet Sauvignon but I wanted more “oomphf” then this delivered. Was still enjoyable, it was wine after all!
I will back track though, this wine will be very tasty with a medium spiced red sauce pasta, a bbq pork chop or a striploin (maybe reduce some Cabernet with some mushrooms for a nice sauce. Do not shy away from this if you like even keeled red that will be smooth from start to finish.
After some good thought I feel this wine warrants an 82 on the ratings scale.
Mrs.CWG says
“enjoyed it”
May 4th 2007
Let’s start with this little wine from Gard in the Languedoc Roussillon region of France. For those not familiar with the region, the city of Nîmes is the largest city in the department (Regions are broken down into departments) and the area finds itself just slightly north and west of the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This little gem was recently release in Ontario in the vintages section of the LCBO. The wine is a blend of Grenache and Syrah in equal proportions and despite being only an ‘04 is ready to drink now. The 2004 vintage for the middle/northern Rhône is proving to be much better then previous believed. This wine in question is well balanced, fruity and is a nice compliment. I will add better more complex tasting notes in the future going forward, for now this will have to do! Figure on this being excellent with a mild-medium seasoned pork tenderloin, chops, or good roasted/grilled chicken. Excellent for those trying to avoid a complex oaky Bordeaux style blend.
To get the rating system underway, I want to use a % scale, with 100 being out of this world amazing, 70 being absolute plonk (anything under would be used as paint thinner), and everything else in between based on how the wine works for me, it’s cost/value and the intangibles that I could only explain to you in a drunken stuper while talking towards one of you potted plants!
This gets an 86
Mrs.CWG says
“nice wine I’d have again”
May 3rd 2007
This blog will be my method to pass on wine love, bottles of choice, bottles to avoid and recipes to share with the wines that will compliment.
If all goes well I will review one to two bottles every few days and will increase or decrease as needed the postings. Included will be basic tasting notes, a relative “score” and a picture of the label whenever possible.
As long as the CanadianWineGal (Mrs.CWG) will let me 
, we will include trips and tasting notes as possible.
Welcome aboard, may the wine enjoyment begin.
CWG