Graham's 10 Year Tawny Port

this isn't really port season for me but i had opened this bottle a while back intending to write about it a bit sooner. i really enjoy a good port and this one was not bad for the price range of about $30, but i was left wanting a bit more. the nose was loaded with spicy apple, some floral notes and a little cocoa. the palate is where i was a bit let down. most ten year ports seem to have a lot more caramel and candied fruit. this one was a lot smokier than i expected. flavors of tart raspberry and a great deal of the nutty flavors that were okay, just different than i was used to. it did have a nice vanilla finish.

Domaine Houchart Cotes de Provence Rosé 2010

i was fortunate to try a rosé that was to my liking at my local wine store. this one sells for the nice price of $11 and is sourced from 5 different grape varieties; grenache, cinsault, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and mourvedre. it has a beautiful salmon pink color and has a nose of citrus and spice. the palate is loaded with raspberry, strawberry and a little melon and finishes with mineral and pepper notes. good complexity that appeals to a red wine lover like myself. definitely works as a warm weather quencher but try it with asian food or that friday night pizza.

Cortes de Cima Chaminé 2008

we enjoyed this red blend recently at a local restaurant that features foods and wines from portugal. the wine sells for about $12 and is worth a look if you like something that really works well with food. the blend is 49% syrah, 45% aragonez (tempranillo), 2% touriga nacional, 2% trincadeira, 1% cabernet sauvignon, 1% petit verdot. nice red berries on the nose, along with some smoky notes. on the palate, good body, nothing too overpowering, with nice red raspberry and currant, some smoke and spice, with supple tannins and a medium length finish. worked well with the filet i had and will work with veal or nice red sauce pasta dishes.

Apollo Creek Pinot Noir 2009

this is a first for me. a wine from moldova. formerly a part of the soviet union, moldova is now a separate nation and has a rich wine growing history. this one sells for about $8 and is a very light bodied, dry wine. the nose has berries and some slight earthy notes. the wine took a little time to bloom after opening, so if you try this, decant it first. the palate had lots of berry flavors, including strawberry, raspberry, a little cherry and an interesting green pepper note in the finish. only a little earthy flavor in this one. interesting and very subtle, i will have to revisit this one in the future, and look for more wines from this country, as they export quite a bit of it. we enjoyed this with salmon and salad dinner.

Prospero Winery Tapestry Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

prospero winery in pleasantville, new york imports their grapes for their cabernet from california. the wine sells for about $8 a bottle and is a very nice every day red. the nose has black cherry and raspberry notes, along with some smoke, toasted oak and earth. the palate has subtle tannins and lots of raspberry and dark chocolate flavors. i also got some slightly musty, earth and spice along with a little oak. the wine only spends about 10 months in french oak so the flavor of the grape really shines through. it is winter so this will work well with those stews or roasts that are on the menu.

Justin Monmousseau 2007 Chinon

as big and bold as the last wine i wrote about (gamble family vineyards red blend), this red goes to the opposite end of the spectrum. this wine is from the loire valley in france and is 100% cab franc. french wines tend to be subtle and are very food friendly. this one is definitely in that category. the nose has strawberry, tobacco, some inky aromas, violet, a little oregeno and some leafy green notes. the palate is subtle raspberry and currant, with earthy, musty, forest berry and fig notes. think about old books in a basement. but very subtle tastes that work with salmon, chicken, milder cheeses. sells for about $15 and is worth a try.

St Francis Red 2005 Red Wine

at the suggestion of my sibling, shorty, i picked up a bottle of this red blend from sonoma. the blend is 58% merlot, 25% syrah, 9% cab franc, 6% cab, 2% zinfandel. the nose had some nice red fruit and spice and a touch of chocolate. the palate was a bit heavy on the spice at first but it mellowed into a nice fruit forward taste as the wine opened up. lots of raspberry and red currant, some plum and spice. there was a little earth and some chocolate notes. this one will work with pizza, pasta, grilled foods or a stand alone glass by itself. sells for about $10.

Edmeades 2006 Mendocino County Zinfandel

the thanksgiving wine for the wife and i was this zinfandel from california. we actually had this same wine last year but it was the 2007 vintage and was quite nice. always good to find a wine that works well with all the different tastes of the holiday feast. nice nose of black cherry and spice. a little bit of cedar and floral aromas in there too. the palate had juicy raspberry and cherry flavors. the wine was very soft on the tongue. i got some smoke, spice, a little floral violet and cedar in the flavor profile as well. sells for about $15. very nice zin at this price.

Castle Rock 2007 Syrah

syrah lovers will like this one from the columbia valley in washington. selling for about $10, you can expect a very nice quality wine. the nose has nice raspberry and cherry notes and some spicy earth too. the palate is wonderfully jammy with more raspberry and cherry flavors, followed by some spice and some nice firm tannins. i got a nice licorice note in the finish too. excellent value wine that will work with a wide variety of foods from spicy dishes to red meats.

Vivir, vivir Ribera del Duero 2008

i had this tempranillo from spain recently. it sells for about $15 and had a nose of raspberry, vanilla, coffee, and some slightly earthy note. the palate was just a little thin. maybe more time in the bottle was necessary. flavors of cherry and raspberry, along with some vanilla and oak. the tannins were there but the finish was a bit light. i was expecting more than i got from it. as i said, maybe it was just not ready to be opened. not a bad wine, just left me wanting more.

Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz 2009

south african reds are interesting, to say the least. this one has been getting quite a bit of press lately. i tasted this some time back at my local wine store and got the opportunity to revisit it recently. this is not your typical shiraz. this is a semi-sweet red that begs for a cheeseburger or a pizza. the nose has lots of blueberry, blackberry and a little chocolate. because this wine spends little time in oak (30% of the wine spends 5 months in american oak) the palate is extremely fruity. fruit bomb comes to mind. lots of red raspberries, juicy blackberries and hints of chocolate. jammy! jam jar is just that, a jam jar full of fruit flavors. looking for a way to get into red wines? this might serve you well. sells for about $10.

Evergreen Valley Vineyards 2003 Baco Noir

i love to visit wineries whenever i am traveling the country. i was in pennsylvania recently, discovering that they had about 100 wineries. the comely brunette and i visited several of these on the groundhog wine trail in the central part of the state. one stop was at evergreen valley vineyards. seems the buying public in pennsylvania like sweeter wines and all of the wineries we visited play to their audience. even the dry wines tend to be a little sweeter. the hybrid wine, baco noir, is no exception. the nose had cherries, raspberries, a little spice and some caramel notes. the palate was very fruit forward, with sweet raspberry and cherry, a little strawberry and a chocolate finish. very little in the way of tannins and the finish is not very long. if you are just beginning to try red wines, some of the offerings from pennsylvania might be the place to start. good pizza or friday night burger wine. sells for about $12.

Three Oaks Cellars Red 2008

every once in a while you get to try something unique. i tried this red wine a week or so ago that few will get to try and that you can't purchase in a store. produced at a do it yourself wine shop, makewinewithus.com, this wine is a blend of cab, amador zinfandel, and carignane. the nose was loaded with blackberry, cherry, earth and after the wine had been in the glass for a bit, some nice chocolate aromas. the palate was beautifully fruit forward, with raspberry, cherry, more of the earthy notes, and chocolate. the tannins were well balanced and the finish was long and lush. a good food wine, especially as we had it with a salad and left over slices of filet mignon over the top, and olive bread. the bread especially brought out some nice rye flavors in the wine. awesome job by three totowa, jersey guys: mario, jimmy and jason. thanks for the bottle! looking forward to trying more from you. keep up the great work.

Vinos de Arganza Flavium Crianza Bierzo 2005

the comely brunette and i enjoyed this bottle of 100% mencia from spain recently. mencia is usually quite fragrant on the nose and is lighter in taste. this one fell into that category for sure. much bigger on the nose than on the palate. still quite drinkable and interesting enough to revisit at some time in the future. sells for about $11 making it attractive to those on a tight budget. the nose had some cedar, and orange along with sour cherry, and a earthy, meaty quality. on the palate, raspberry, cranberry, some subtle asparagus notes, and a little earth. nothing huge, and a medium finish. i would suggest decanting this as it did open up and soften as we finished the bottle. pasta and meat dishes would work with this one.

Folonari Pinot Noir 2008 Delle Venezie

i am going to do a little bit of an unfair comparison. i am starting first with this italian pinot noir boxed wine which i recently purchased for about $17 for the box. that works out to a little over $4 a bottle in this 3 litre format. later tonight i am going to be at a wine tasting featuring styring vineyards pinot noir from oregon. and i am pretty sure the styring pinot will blow this italian out of the water. as for the italian? nice nose of black currants, spice and a little forest floor. the palate was somewhat dry with raspberry and black cherry notes. a little vanilla and some earth as well. not bad for the price. drinkable, but a bit thin. i don't think it is earthy enough to stand up to a salmon dish, but this would work with lighter summer fare, like salads and cheese. or just as a nice patio sipper. i am looking forward to comparing this to the oregon pinot tonight!

Bodegas Aragonesas Castillo de Fuendejalon Crianza 2006

this red blend was a wine tasting discovery at my local wine store. a blend of 75% grenache and 25% tempranillo that sells for a nice friendly price of $8. nose of black cherry and hints of violet and vanilla. the palate was filled with cherry and raspberry with firm tannins and vanilla and a little earthiness in the finish. finding decent every day reds at this price is always a joy. try this with pasta, which is how i enjoyed it. worked very well. it was also quite nice by itself both before and after the meal.

Zaca Mesa 2002 Z Cuvée

i was walking through my local grocery store wine department recently and they had a manager's special shelf. i casually looked at what was available and found this lovely beauty for the very nice price of $7. i have raved about zaca mesa wines before and to find one at this price and this vintage was a treasure. i only hoped that the wine had not been sitting somewhere in a back room in extreme temperatures or was corked. the blend was 45% grenache, 30% mourvèdre. 16% syrah, 9% cinsault. opened it slowly in case there was a dried cork. nose was good with some barnyard and nice fruity blueberry and some spice. the palate was still good, although i think it may have started to fade just a bit. flavors of raspberry, herbs and smokey earthy. still a beautiful wine and at this bargain price, a real steal. good food wine but enjoyed this one with the comely brunette all by itself.

Red Shorts Red 2006

tried this red blend a week ago at my local wine store. the blend is mostly syrah, 70% to be exact, with 20% petite sirah, 5% cab and 5% voignier. the wine comes from lodi, california and the peirano estates. the nose was very fruity, with plenty of red berries, a little earth and spice. on the palate, a juicy burst of raspberry and boysenberry. i got some slight earth notes near the finish, but this is a fruit forward wine that screams for every day foods like burgers and pizza. sells for about $12-14. i would label this one an every day go to type wine if you like a fruit forward red. nothing too complex, just a fun, easy drinking wine.

Glorie Farm Winery Cabernet Franc 2007

another wine from the shawangunk wine trail in new york's hudson river region, glorie primarily makes sweeter dessert style wines. the cab franc was a new release for them. the nose had aromas of raspberry, violet and a little earth. the palate was full of raspberry and earth notes, with some floral flavors as well. there was also an odd circus peanut flavor in the finish. tannins were light to medium and the wine was not bad. priced at $21, this red is a bit pricey for the type of wine it is. not bad for a northeast cab franc but i have had better. the cab franc from kinkead ridge in ohio comes to mind. i will be interested to see glorie produce this for a few years and if the wine gets better.

Layer Cake Shiraz 2006

i purchased this wine back in november of 2007 and have had it laying in the cellar since that time. the weather outside was snowy and i wanted to just sit back and look outside watching the snow fall while i sipped a nice red wine. this one filled the need perfectly. the nose had a very pronounced chocolate note after it sat in the glass for a while, along with blackberry and spice. alcohol level was about 15% and you got that heat from the nose as well. the palate was much better and more complex after the wine opened up with time in the glass. raspberries and chocolate notes were very pronounced. this is a full, juicy, jammy red. lots of subtle tobacco and spice notes. velvet mouth feel with a long finish. sells for about $16-20 depending on where you shop. good red meat wine but i enjoyed this by itself.