Tasting Notes

Marquis Philips Sarah's Blend 2004

This Aussie proprietary wine puts Shiraz (about 60%), Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot in one bottle and does it very nicely. This medium to full-bodied, deep purple wine is rich and concentrated, with flavors of blackberry and black cherry, and a bit of pepper, licorice and maybe come chocolate. A touch too sweet for my taste, the long and spicy finish adds to a nonetheless outstanding wine and excellent value at about $15-17.

Wine-Flair Wine Rating: 7.5

Corison Cabernet Napa, 1998

Wine-Flair Wine Rating: 8.5-9 points

I attended a wine dinner in New Brunswick, NJ last week at which Kathy Corison of Corison Winery served us a selection of her Cabs, including this absolute stunner, as an accompaniment to courses of wild mushroom and foie gras cannelloni, Berkshire pork belly and tuna, Espresso and chocolate braised short ribs, and dry-aged strip steak with marrow and bordelaise.

A remarkably elegant and subtle wine from a much-maligned vintage, the 98 Napa was dramatically different from typical rich and often overpowering California Cabs, and from all other Corison wines that Cathy poured. In fact, this medium-body wine could have been served without all this rich, high-protein food. Naturally, I'm glad it wasn't!

The Corison 98 Napa offers up a hint of mint, flowers (violets, maybe?) and spice, just enough oak, and notes of black cherry. The symphony ends with a lovely, lingering and multi-layered finish. I walked out with two bottles (yes, I paid), and I had to lock myself out of my own wine cellar to keep from uncorking one that same night.

As my pal Jonny Baliff would say, "Well done, Cathy"!

Macari Vineyards Bergen Road (Red Blend) 2001

A blend of 75% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Malbec. Aromas of tobacco and cedar, and flavors of blackberry and a bit of chocolate. Coming from Long Island, especially, this is an outstanding wine but at $40 it loses a bit of lustre. Labeled as a "Meritage," an unfortunate choice given that Macari is not a member of the Meritage Society (though several New York wineries are.)

Bodegas Alberto y Benito, Gondomar Reserva 1999

This 100% Tempranillo from the Ribera Del Duero is a rich, concentrated wine that's in it for the long haul. It opens with an earthy, almost gamey aroma and flavors of prune and blackberry, and I was almost taken aback by its tart, bracing acidity. My only complaint is that while the finish was moderately long, it was a bit thin. This is a wine that needs food to back it up, and in fact it improved markedly over the course of our meal, opening a lot and softening just a bit.

Baron Philippe de Rothschild & Vina Concha y Toro, Almaviva, Maipo, Chile, 2001

This deep purple wine is a classic Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Lots of black cherry, black pepper and a hint of chocolate with excellent, soft tannins and a medium body...and a medium to long finish. Not super complex but balanced and with fine fruit. A very solid expression of the Rothschild style in a Chilean wine.

L de Lyeth, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2002 (Wine Bargain)

L de Lyeth (rhymes with "teeth") is a medium- to full bodied Cab with polished tannins and lots of fruit, and a marvelous finish. It's ready to drink now since it's not overly tannic, but I suspect this stuff will be good for the next 3-5 years. A true Sonoma made from Sonoma fruit, this is a solid table wine that one can afford to drink every day, as opposed to spending $50 a bottle when someone gets married or, say, when a despotic dictator is placed in chains. Even the label and bottle presentation bespeak simple elegance, and the wine inside

Pedroncelli Vintage Port, Dry Creek Valley, 2001

Best Ruby-style Port I've ever tasted, hands down. Loads of black fruit and sweet but not too, this California wine is made from the four great Port Grapes - Tinta Cao, Tina Madeira, Souazo and Touriga - but in some ways tastes like a "Super Cabernet." Enough tannin to give it backbone (it honestly could use a little bit more) this should drink well for years to come. But I keep pulling the bottles out of my cellar in the evening over the holidays...


Beaulieu Tapestry Reserve 2001

A blend of a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Verdot, and Cabernet Franc from Napa Valley vineyards. It's got a fruity nose with a hint of petrol, black fruit flavors, and a medium to long finish. The tannins are just right in December 2006. You don't miss the Malbec much in this Bordeaux knock-off, and it's a very nice wine, if not a superb value.

Lang & Reed, Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley, 2002

I first tasted the 2001 L&R in 2004 at Suenos in New; since then I've bought two cases and put another down (right now you can probably only get the '02 or even '03).

Like most Cab Francs it's "green" by nature but ready to drink, and for those with a taste for this grape, it's delicious. Now, this is a varietal that you may never warm to, and it's not very common in this country other than as blending wine. Its "herbaceous" quality is more typically found in a Sauvignon Blanc than in a red, which brings us to an interesting fact: The bold and powerful cabernet Sauvignon grape is the result of a marriage of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc!

Anyway, if you are a red wine drinker and looking "for something completely different" (credits to Monty Python) try this wine. It's a little hot on the palate for me and not terribly food friendly, but a wonderful, occasional break from bold, fruity cabs and Bordeaux.

Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (Kosher)

A kosher wine that's actually good...and not sweet? Yep. Of course, it's also not cheap, at about $70-85 a bottle. But oy, wouldn't you rather drink this at your Seder than choke down Manischewitz?

Covenant is a unique partnership in the Napa Valley: grapes from the Larkmead vineyard, a Kosher Crew from Baron Herzog, and the knowledge, skills and palates of Jeff Morgan and Leslie Rudd. Jeff, who was my instructor at the Professional World of Wine Course at the Culinary Institute, also makes a nice dry Rose called Solo Rosa, while Leslie owns one of the most elaborate wineries and vineyards around, in Oakville, in addition to being the Chairman of Dean & DeLuca.

Their wine, which is not mevushal - "boiled" - is a lovely deep purple, with solid underpinnings of blackcurrant and plum, soft but ample tannins and a long and satisfying finish.
Covenant has a second label, Red Sea, that sources from the same vineyard, but I've never tried it.

Nederburg South Africa, Pinotage Western Cape, 2004

This wine, unknown to most Americans, comes to the palate with a more than a bit of earthiness reminiscent of good French red Burgundies, tannins that are a little rough but not unpleasant, strong cherry and raspberry flavors, and a medium to long finish.

This varietal is the result of an original grafting of Pinot Noir with Cinsault at Stellenbosch University's Welgevallen Experimental farm in South Africa, at the hand of Abraham Izak Perold, in 1925. I think it's ideal with game or Osso Bucco, and a moment ago I recommended it to a friend as an accompaniment to Cassoulet. We'll see how it likes it, but I shared a bottle last night with three friends, and it was a hit entirely by itself once it opened up.

A nice bargain at about $12 to $14, and on sale for as little as $9.

PreVail, Alexander Valley Red Wine, West Face 2003

This rather unusual, deep purple blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah with a smidgen of Cabernet France is one of the fruitiest reds I've tasted this year. In fact, it's so fruity that one perceives a bit more residual sugar than is probably there, which is its minor flaw. But this wine is nicely structured, with aromas of red fruits, and lots of fairly polished tannin. Some fellow aficionados taste "road tar" but - thank God - the chocolate and spice flavors that I perceive are much preferred. Here the Syrah makes the difference and sets this wine far apart from most Cabernet and Meritage blends.

About $40 to $52, and hard to find. And it's in one of the heaviest glass bottles - with the deepest punt - I've ever seen in a 750 ml still wine bottle.

The Poet, Cosentino Winery, Napa, 1999

This is a spicy, unusual, and thoroughly rich wine that I tasted at the winery in Yountville in January 2006.

This thing hits you with tons of black fruit, a hint of spice and supple tannins, and has a remarkably long finish. I don't know the poet's name (maybe its the winemaker, Jason Fisher), but the wine inside is poetry, for sure. If you can find it, it should run about $65 and it's well worth the price. I decanted the bottle but only to aerate it.

Cesari Amarone della Valpolicella, 2000

This wine is made in the Valpolicelle district using the same varietals as in traditional Valpolicella-Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. But here they are harvested early and dried in boxes or on mats for weeks before being fermented. While drying, the grapes lose up to 1/3 of their weight, mostly water, which concentrates their flavor and results in a style of wine far different from traditional winemaking techniques.

The 2000 Cesari hits you with rich, dark fruit; the taste of prunes is clearly discernible, yet delicious. This wine has a wonderful, supple mouth-feel and the finish is very long and smooth. There's tannin here but it's not oppressive or even remarkable, it is subtle and balanced so that the fruit and spice come through. Maybe some notes of licorice and tobacco. I decanted the bottle, not really worrying about sediment but to aerate the wine, and over the course of a half-hour it became even more wonderful.

I suppose I should try some other vintages, but right now, I'm going to get a case of the 2000. You should, too. This retails for about $28-38 per bottle before case discounts.

Domaine Capmartin L'espirit de Couvent, Madiran, 2001

This is an amazing, wonderful blend but not for the faint of heart or palate. It's approximately 40% Tannat, 30% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Fer Servadou. Until I drank this wine I'd never heard of Fer Servadou, which is more familiarly know as Braucol, or just Fer, and is used to soften the harsh tannin of the Tannat grape.

It is a deep purple, almost black grape and according to wine aficionados produces aromas of blackcurrant, raspberry and red pepper. This wine comes from the same region as the Chateau Montus Madiran, but is not as tannic as the Montus mainly because it's a blend, while the Montus is either 90 or 100% Tannat. I cannot tell, and no one can tell me, it seems.

Make no mistake, though, this is a powerful and wonderful wine...and it goes great with Buffalo wings in my view.

Chateau Tour Prignac, Medoc, Cru Bourgeois, 2004

Most reviews of this wine are an example of the absurdity of reviewing a red Bordeaux shortly after bottling, or even in barrel. By nature these wines will be rough, tannic and green at that point, with their potential disguised or in doubt.

This one was said by Wine Spectator to be "best after 2004." Duh. And as it's well after 2004, this wine, having had a little time to age and soften, is already drinking very nicely. Of medium body, with aromas of plum and black fruits, and tannins that are soft and light. The finish is a little short for my palate, and this wine won't hold up for more than a couple more years, but as an "everyday" red, it's excellent.

About $14-17. Easy to find in NY and NJ.