Monday Night Wines (7/21/208)

Discovery, adventure, challenge, and openness are all words that need to be part of one's lexicon with regards to wine. Tasting and drinking wine is an adventure. It can lead to amazing discoveries if you are just up for the challenge and willing to be open to new things.

This week the adventure leads us to South Africa for the white and Italy for the red. South Africa has been on the radar in the States for a while, but has been subjugated by many into the realm of "cheap" wines. This is an unfortunate way to perceive the wines of this region. Two importers that have been consistently brining in high quality wines from South Africa at all prices points are Vineyard Brands and Cape Classics. Next time you are in you local wine shop ask where the South African wines are, flip the bottles around and look for the importer's name. Take the plunge and begin to discover South Africa.

Winery: Neil Ellis
Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Gronekloof Ward of the Darling Hills
Vintage: 2007
Approximate Retail: $15.00
Website: http://www.neilellis.com/
Fun Fact: The vineyards are only 8 km from the cold southern Atlantic which mediates the temperature and keeps the vineyards cool.
Tasting Notes: The one aspect of this wine I really enjoyed is that it is not obvious. The wine does not give you everything at once but holds you in suspense each time you sip. The wine is a shimmering straw color with a slight tinge of green (indicates youth and freshness). The immediate aromatics were reserved, but as the wine opened aromas of Kaffir lime, lemon, Manderian orange, lemon grass, and a bouquet of fresh herbs began to emerge. The wine has a steely edge to it that was a tad nervous. The wine was perfect with our mixed green salad, heirloom tomatoes, and goat cheese. The wine is dry and has a lovely finish. If you are daring enough and wanting to "shake" things up a bit, seek this wine out.

 

 

Winery: Pio Cesare
Grape: Barbera
Region: Alba, Piedmonte, Italy
Vintage: 2004
Approximate Retail: $20.00
Website: http://www.piocesare.it/
Fun Fact: Pio Cesare has been producing wine since 1881
Tasting Notes: 2004 was an amazing year for Piedmont, and the wines are worth searching out, especially wines from Barolo and Barbaresco. Pio Cesare is a classic producer of wines from Piedmont, but with all houses that have been in operation for over 100 years there have been quality fluctuations. I have enjoyed many bottles from Pio Cesare and I believe they are back on track. The 2004 Barbera was classic, almost textbook for the grape and region. The color was a vibrant and translucent red. The nose had sour red fruit aromas of cherries, raspberries, cranberries and tart wild strawberries. Intertwined with the fruit aroms were subtle hints of roses, sage, and dried brush. The palate was focused and seamless with the fruit aromas translating directly to the palate. All of this was tidily wrapped up with kisses of earth and the acidity of the grape shining through on the finish. If you want to know what Barbera tastes like unadulterated and in its most naked form this would be a great introduction to the varital.   

Comments

[jill]

oooh. I would really like to try the blanc. Looks great. Also, did you get Sean's message? My parents are coming to the Napa region and I was wondering if you still had any connections, or at least a really awesome recommendation. Do you have any??? They are trying for Sept 20th.

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