Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

2016 Matsu El Pícaro Tinto de Toro (Tempranillo) $14

From the D.O. Toro in Spain, this 100% Tinta de Toro is grown in 50 to 70 year old vineyards and manually harvested.

It is fermented in concrete with natural yeasts.

Matsu pays homage on their labels to those that have been working the vineyards. And this "El Pícaro" translates as swindler, rascal, or scoundrel.  But, I don't suspect there is any correlation.

This is a delicious medium-bodied Tempranillo with wonderful juicy fruit flavor of sour cherry, some moderate acidity, light herbal notes, a bit of spiciness and an easy finish. The concrete vessels truly do allow the fruit flavors to be the star in this wine without the addition of flavors typically associated with oak.

This is a nice one.  And, as always in the Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week feature, it's a great value! Keep your eye out for this scoundrel - El Pícaro. He'll treat you nicely! Cheers!

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this wine at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own. 

Sample provided by Rebekah Polster 401 West Communications and supplied by Vintae (www.vintae.com) 

Try A Different Wine for a Change

I just took a week-long trip to the east coast. Not a wine-focused trip. But, nonetheless, I did pick up a couple bottles to enjoy in the evenings. Being a Californian, it's really easy to immediately look on the shelves for a nice California wine.  But, this time I decided to try a different wine for a change.

Being on the east coast, and a bit closer to Europe (well, nearly halfway there!), I decided to pick one bottle of wine from France and one from Italy. While it can seem really tough to pick out French and Italian wines, I came at it from a simple approach. I simply looked for wines any wines that were in my typical price range. 

I started with the French wines.  I spotted several upper-shelf wines that fit the price range. But, then I spotted a Châteauneuf-du-Pape.  Knowing that great red blends come from this region, I picked up the bottle.

Then, I turned my attention to the Italian wines.  Again, scanning the upper shelves, I spotted several bottles of Chianti.  And, seeing a 2012 Chianti Classico Riserva (and spotting the Black Rooster), I picked it up. (And, yes, the 'Riserva' truly distinguishes it from the more common Chianti.)

In both cases, I was very pleased with each bottle of wine.  The Châteauneuf-du-Pape (a blend of up to 13 varietals) was rich and flavorful while the Chianti had wonderful bright cherry flavor.

I could have gone with a couple of bottles of go-to wine from California, but I'm really glad I tried something a bit different. And, you should too. It's a fun way to get exposed to some different flavors. And, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised with your choices.

Cheers!

A Three-Strikes Evening of Wines Gone Bad

During a recent special occasion, I decided to pull out some older wines to share. Not really old, but from 2010, 2009 and 2007. All were reds - a couple Barberas (a favorite of mine) and a Zinfandel.

These weren't amazing bottles to begin with or terribly expensive, but they were good enough that I had put them away in my wine refrigerator in a dark spot. So, the storage shouldn't have been an issue.

But, as the title of this blog indicates, it didn't go well.  The corks all extracted well, with no obvious signs of trouble.

The 2010 Barbera's flavor had changed dramatically. What had been a smooth and well-rounded wine had become an off-flavored fruity wine. Again, it was somewhat drinkable, but nothing like when originally purchased. Strike one!

The 2009 Barbera, from a different winery, was heavily oxidized, brownish in color and nutty in flavor. Not drinkable. Strike two!

The 2007 Zinfandel was no longer anything like the Zinfandel it once was. Its flavors were very off and the bottle was quickly put aside.  Strike three!

Fortunately, my wine refrigerator is well stocked and I was able to pull out a great bottle of Cabernet for the occasion.

The moral of the story - don't assume that your wines will hold up with age. If you like the way a wine tastes,  drink it soon. Putting away wines for several years will change them. A few for the better, but often times the change is for the worse.

Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

Tio Pepe Fino ($20)

This Tio Pepe Fino Sherry is from the Jerez region of Spain. Jerez is the home of sherry and all true Sherry comes from the vineyards around Jerez.

Made from the Palomino grape, this Sherry uses only the free run and first press must. Following fermentation, the 11-12% ABV wine is fortified to 15.5%  before entering the Tio Pepe solera. There it spends a minimum of four years in oak.

This Sherry has wonderfully light flavors and low acidity making it a perfect aperitif. It does have some hints of toasted almond. Serve it well chilled and enjoy!

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this wine at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Rebekah Polster, Donna White Communications

How Well Do Wines Hold Up with Time?

Wine Enthusiast Magazine, February 2018

Last time we looked at the factors that make a wine more capable of bottle aging. And, somewhat surprisingly, there are very few wines that actually hold up well in the bottle, even with proper storage.  So then, what wines do hold up?

The results reported in Wine Enthusiast's 2018 Vintage chart (February 2018) are very revealing. As you might expect, wines from the Bordeaux region of France can hold up very well. And, most of the wines from Bordeaux are still currently at their peak dating back to 1998.  Twenty years!  But beyond that, the vintage guide suggests that wines before 1998 are likely in decline and may be undrinkable.

Then there are the California wines.  Again, as you might expect, Napa Cabernet Sauvignon's are holding up well back to 1994. But, the real surprises come with other wines that just aren't as age-able.  For instance, the Napa and Sonoma Zinfandel's are only showing good back to 2007. Russian River Pinot Noir is showing good back to 2007, while a Syrah from the Central Coast of California is only holding up back to 2010.

So, the key point to remember is that only select wines are really age-worth while most others have a relatively short time that they remain drinkable. This is a lesson that a lot of us learn the hard way. We hold on to really nice wines and wait and wait for that special occasion to open them.  But, as I recently learned, I held some too long. And I'll share that story next time. Until then, Cheers!