2006 Banfi Rosa Regale

Okay, it's been over a month. Bad, Nikki.

Tonight I'm tasting a sparkling wine. I'm going outside my comfort zone, folks! Watch out! ;)
After the Frenchtown Wine and Art weekend, I decided to try more varieties of wine. Since I enjoyed so many of the wines offered in Frenchtown that I "knew" I'd hate, I figured it was time for me to take my head out of the ground.

One of my favorites at the tasting was one called "Pineto Brachetto D'acqui." This was a crowd favorite at one of our stops and I really enjoyed it as well. I've kept my eyes open for the wine, but can't find it. Tonight, while perusing the champagne section at the liquor store I found a red sparkling that had very similar color. Further investigation revealed that this wine was also a Brachetto D'Acqui! I knew that I'd found one to compare it to. (Thank you trusty moleskine :: I wrote down the wine's name and put a "Marsha" beside it because it was her favorite at the first tasting! Score! I've found the mystery wine!)

Onto this wine's tasting.

The color of Brachetto D'Acqui is so beautiful. Like the light rouge of a pinot noir. The scent of this wine is fresh and clean. I know that sounds strange, but I believe that it's because it's such a light scent. Imagine someone walking past on a spring day with just a hint of perfume on. That's what this reminds me of.

On tasting the wine, the sweet palette offers itself up promptly. I'd say this is a medium bodied wine that rounds off sweetly with bits of cherry and raspberry. I love the tiny bubbles that create a fun and light refreshment.

I'd definitely enjoy this wine with dessert. I look forward to drinking more of it. Yum!

Wine Friday Meter :: 8.0
Paid :: $12.00 for 375mL

2001 Lost Sheep Shiraz

Hello! It's been forever since I sat down to rate a wine so here I am. I went to Frenchtown this past weekend for their Wine and Art Festival and it was PHENOMENAL! I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I tasted so many different sorts of wine; a lot that I'd never normally set my hands on, but I learned a lot about my palette. I like a lot more than I thought I did. ;) I'll rate some of those soon. (Sparkling and whites - oh yes, I said it...white!)


Anyhow, tonight I'm trying a wine that my boyfriend picked out at the wine shop. It's a 2001 Lost Sheep Shiraz.

The nose is sweet and fruit heavy with just a hint of flowers.
The taste is fruit right up front and it follows through strong (the fruit) all the way to the end. It's a little tart and I taste cherries and red fruit flavors. This is a medium bodied wine that is easy to drink. There's nothing extremely offensive about it unless you don't like a fruit heavy wine. The lack of tannin is obvious resulting in a very soft mouthfeel and overall experience.

I like this wine. It's very pleasant to drink.

Wine Friday Meter :: 8.0
Paid :: $11.00 (about)

What are you doing this weekend?

Here's what I'm doing! I'm so psyched!

I'll be going down Saturday. I won't be indulging in the full weekend of wine that's offered, but I'm really excited to check it out. Todd and I had a vacation there last year and stayed at this bed and breakfast.

I fell in love with the little town and saw that they were holding this event.

Picture credit www.frenchtowner.com

2004 Hayman & Hill Meritage Reserve Selection No. 38

This wine is a bright purple/ruby color. I can smell rich red fruit and a hint of flowers. On tasting the wine, I find that this particular one just doesn't do it for me. It's OK, but just not my style. It's a bit too fruity for my palette. I won't look for this wine again.

I'm thinking that this is a wine that could improve with age. If you have a bottle of the 2004, save it a little while. I think you'll fare better.

Wine Friday Meter :: 6.5 (Wine is good if you like a fruit heavy experience.)
Paid :: $14.99

Update

Hi everyone,
Just a quick update. I've been SUPER busy the past couple of weeks with a couple of freelance jobs, but I'm going to try my best and review a wine tomorrow. I did try my Margaux on Monday and let me tell you, it was the second best wine experience I've had to date! So DELICIOUS. I'm going to watch for another bottle of that yummy stuff. For those of you who are interested it's called, "2000 Les Hauts du Tertre, Margaux." Buy some. You'll be happy you did. ;)

2003 Chateau du Donjon Minervois Grande Tradition

Happy New Year!

Tonight I'm tasting Chateau du Donjon's 2003 Minervois.
The nose is a little musty. I can pick up a bit of tobacco, spice, and dark red fruit. The red fruit I picked up on the nose is front and center on the mouth. Smoke and pepper sort of creep in on the finish and trail off into a spicy finalé. This is a pretty straight forward selection and it's very pleasing to drink. I'd buy this one again. A great value!

Wine Friday Meter :: 8.75
Paid :: $9.95

2002 Chateau Roquefort Bordeaux

This evening I'm rating a french bordeaux. I've been doing a bit of french wine drinking since my "Rothschild episode" about 4 entries back. I'm trying to understand the world of french wine a little better and there's A LOT to learn! Anyway, onto the tasting.

The wine's color is a rich, deep purple and almost opaque. I smell fresh pencil shavings, mildew, and a hint of raw beef. (Which I hate, mind you.) Needless to say, I'm not turned on by this wine's nose. I'm hoping the taste pulls me in.

The taste fares better than the nose which makes me happy. The wine is a little gamy, but rounds out with a bit of spice and warm woody notes. I'm still not sure about pairing wine with food, but I've learned that the general assumption of pairing whites with fish and chicken and reds with steaks or pork, is not 100% true. I can't help, but want a nice seafood stew of some sort with this wine. Hmmm.. a pescatore would be excellent with this wine. (Or so I think ;)

I paid $11.99 for this wine.
Wine Friday Meter :: A solid 7