Archive for February, 2012

February – The Month of Love

February:  Short, sweet, and full of romance.  Not surprisingly, this particular month of mine was filled with oodles of red Burgundy.  And why wouldn’t it be?  Fragrant, velvety, complex, and seductive… ironically, everything that men love about women.  As Burgundy and its terroir are so utterly perplexing beyond any other wine region in the world, as is the love between humans.

Here is what I thought about some of the Burgundy wines that Cupid has flung my way during this amorous month.

2004 Joseph Drouhin Bonnes Mares

Another beautiful Burgundy creation from Joseph Drouhin with rustic aromas of barnyard and pastrami.  Simply juicy in acidity and elegant tannins are displayed alongside notes of red cherry, savory peppercorns, leather and an earthy tar finish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2008 Domaine Joseph Roty Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Fontenys  

An incredibly attractive nose of toffee, red cherry, and menthol.  Light in body with fresh acidity, on the palate this wine exudes notes of Harar coffee beans, redcurrant, mint leaves, and a cedar finish.

 

 

 

 

2009 Domaine Michel Gros Chambolle-Musigny 

A striking wine with savory meatiness, red cherry, cranberry, and nutmeg on the nose. The palate reflects the nose with notes of salted ham, red berries, black pepper, and a bold kick of tobacco on the finish.  Light in body with sensible tannins, this wine really delivers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2007 Domaine de la Vougeraie Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Bel-Air

Dark ruby in color with aromas of unripe strawberries, lavender, and dusty paper.  Earthy and spice is what I would consider this wine with its notes of red cherry, brown sugar, cocoa, black licorice, spicy minerality, and a charcoal finish.  There is nice acidity and this wine is quite voluptuous for a Pinot Noir.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2000 Domaine Jean Chauvenet Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Damodes 

This juxtapose vintage is fascinating and complex with strong secondary characteristics of black olives, wet leaves, and pronounced minerality. Despite these powerful features, this medium-body wine is still able to carry distinct fruit notes of strawberry jam and red cherry. I consider this wine a best of both worlds for Pinot Noir.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

-Juju

Pallagrello Who?

Recently some of the girls and I went out to dinner at San Francisco’s Perbacco Ristorante.  Not only is the food there absolutely incredible, but the Italian wines on their list are quite impressive as well.  One of the bottles that we decided to go with was from the Pallagrello Nero grape varietal.  Dating back to before the Roman Empire, this grape is primarily cultivated in the province of Caserta in Campania, Italy.  Although Pallagrello Nero is still seldom heard of, producers are starting to focus a bit more on these elegant wines that show some aging potential.  Here’s what I thought about the one that we drank that night.

Castello Ducale – 2009 Pallagrello Nero – Terre del Volturno IGT

Flabbergasted is a word that I would use to describe my initial reaction to this wine.  While having a beautiful ruby color, this wine exuded burly aromas of wet paper towels, dust, and plastic.  Thrown off by these, I decided to give the wine a fair chance on the palate.  Let’s just say I’m glad that I did.  Although this wine is a little rough around the edges with its rustic and barnyard characteristics, there is lavish red cherry and raspberry fruit that perfectly match the fragrant violets.  And it doesn’t end there.  The real back bone of this wine is in its notes of red meat, black pepper, savory spice, volcanic minerality, and a velvety vanilla finish.  With its medium body, suave tannins, and zesty acidity, this wine drinks well now and I think it could be even better in another couple of years.  This is a perfect example of why I love indigenous grapes, there’s so much to unravel!

-Juju