La Vieille Ferme Cotes du Luberon

Name: La Vieille Ferme Cotes du Luberon
Color: White
Varietal: Blend (Grenache Blanc/Bourboulenc/Ugni Blanc/Roussanne)
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: France
Region: Rhone Valley
Price: $7
Stars: 3.5 (out of 5)



We had the white version of La Vieille Ferme tonight with pasta. We've had it before and always enjoy it. It's nothing fancy; just a good, solid, reliable, and affordable white blend from the Rhone Valley. It's a tremendous value, goes well with any number of dishes, and also drinks well on its own. The flavor is mostly apples, pears, and pineapples. It has a medium body and a decent finish.

d'Arenberg Laughing Magpie

Name: d'Arenberg Laughing Magpie
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend (Shiraz/Viognier)
Vintage: 2006
Country/State: Australia
Region: McLaren Valley
Price: $25
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)

We had the Laughing Magpie by d'Arenberg last night with homemade "chicken Bryan", the Carrabba's dish that Krista had a recipe for. The chicken was terrific, grilled with goat cheese and a tasty white wine butter sauce.

The wine was excellent. My uncle bought this bottle for me for my birthday last year and we managed to hold on to it all year. So when my birthday rolled around this year, I decided to pop the cork. It's a blend of Shiraz (95%) and a dash of Viognier (5%). It consistently receives high scores from the Stephen Tanzers and Robert Parkers of the world, and the 2006 was no exception. It's a full-bodied wine with aromas of red and dark berries. The flavors are bursting with blackberries, blueberries, and a cherries, with a hint of chocolate at the long finish. It was delicious, and I can't wait to drink it again.

One note - this was the first wine we've drunk with the aid of my new Vinturi wine aerator, which I received as a birthday present from Krista and the boys. I didn't do a real side by side test, with and without the Vinturi, but I was impressed with the smoothness of the wine. The owner of my favorite local wine store highly recommended it (the aerator), and I'm happy to have one of my own!

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

Name: Kim Crawford
Color: White
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: New Zealand
Region: Marlborough
Price: $13
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

We had this bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand last night with grilled mahi filets. We've had it before and really enjoy it. It's crisp, clean, and refreshing. The 2008 vintage that we had last night was not quite as bracingly acidic as I remember the 2007 being.

The Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc is often rated as a Top 100 value by Wine Spectator, and the 2008 was no exception. It was very good, with a nose of tropical fruits and grass. I tasted grapefruit, tropical fruit, and pear. It paired well with the fish and also was very good on its own.

Chardonnay - Blind Tasting

For Valentine's Day, Krista came up with the idea to do a blind tasting of a few bottles of one type of wine. After debating between several ideas like Sirah/Shiraz, Southern Rhone reds, Petite Sirah, and others, I decided to start with Chardonnay. Not for any real reason other than the fact that Chardonnay is grown all over the world and made in many different varieties. Most of the Chardonnay we prefer is unoaked or at the most, lightly oaked.

I settled on 4 bottles - two from California, one from France, and one from Chile. Here's the line-up:

• Four Vines Naked Chardonnay, (California, Santa Barbara County), 2008, $13
• Michel Dutour "La Roche" Pouilly-Fuisse, (France, Pouilly-Fuisse), 2006, $16
• Cono Sur Chardonnay, (Chile, Central Valley), 2009, $9
• Kunde Estate Chardonnay, (California, Sonoma), 2006, $12

I bagged the bottles, then Krista mixed them up and numbered them:



We sampled each of the wines over the course of the night with cheese, bread, and crackers...



Our notes on the 4 bottles:

#1 - the color of this wine was the most pale of any of the four; it had a nice medium body with aromas and flavors of apples, pears, and citrus...tart...fruit forward, very tasty

#2 - also pale, clear...very limited nose, but extremely nice in the mouth...lemony, very smooth with a very long finish

#3 - similar to #1 in aroma and taste...green apple flavors, tart...refreshing acidity...a little lighter bodied than #1

#4 - sort of like a combination of #2 and #3...lemons, citrus, more on the nose than #2...stronger acidity and a little grassy

_________________________________________________________________

Krista and I both enjoyed all 4 wines very much. There were no clunkers in the bunch. However, we both agreed that #2 stood out as our favorite, followed closely by #1.

It turns out that the winner was the French Chardonnay, Michel Dutour "La Roche" Pouilly-Fuisse. The runner-up was the wine from Chile made by Cono Sur. There was a slight drop-off after these two, meaning that the two Chardonnays from California were our 3rd and 4th favorites from the group.

We had a lot of fun with our little blind tasting and can't wait to do it again with a different batch of wines!!

Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot

Name: Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot
Color: Red
Varietal: Merlot
Vintage: 2006
Country/State: Washington
Region: Columbia Valley
Price: $8
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

The Columbia Crest Grand Estates line of wines is often mentioned as a great source for value. Their Merlot, in particular, consistently receives great press. The nose is dominated by blueberry and chocolate. The taste is mostly dark berry, cherry, and cocoa. It has a medium body and a lingering finish. The chocolate notes were really nice. We had this wine last night with pizza and finished the bottle after dinner. It went well with the food and on its own.

The 2006 version is 85% Merlot, with Syrah, Cab Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon providing the remaining 15%. I can't remember the last time we drank Merlot, but this one was very impressive.

King Estate Signature Collection Pinot Gris

Name: King Estate Pinot Gris
Color: White
Varietal: Pinot Gris
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Oregon
Region: Willamette Valley
Price: $14
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)


The King Estate Pinot Gris is often mentioned as a great value, as well as an excellent representation of Oregon's success with Pinot Gris. Recently, it was named the St. Pete Times Wine of the Week, was recommended by the New York Times wine columnist, and was named to Wine Spectator's Top 100 wines of 2009. Is it worth all the hype? I would say so.

We had this wine last night with Chinese take-out (sesame chicken and pork fried rice), after watching Kentucky thoroughly dominate the over-matched LSU Tigers. Another strong effort by the Beast, DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins and the boys. Patterson was really active today and had a great game, too.

Krista and I both enjoyed the wine and quickly finished the bottle that night. The wine had a nice medium body feel in the mouth, with good weight and rather zippy acidity. The nose was dominated by pear, peach, and citrus fruits. The taste was similar to the aroma, along with some nice minerality. It's a fresh and fruity wine that goes well with many different dishes.

D'Autrefois Vin de Pays Pinot Noir

Name: D'Autrefois Vin de Pays Pinot Noir
Color: Red
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: France
Region: Languedoc Roussillon
Price: $10
Stars: 3.5 (out of 5)

This is the best selling Pinot Noir at Total Wine, but it really wasn't anything special to me. It had a light body, with aromas and taste of strawberry and other soft red fruits. It improved with some time in the glass, but never really developed into anything more than "OK". Several months ago, we had the "Reserve" version of the D'Autrefois Pinot. This "regular" bottling was very similar to the Reserve, but without some of the earthiness of the Reserve. I would probably pass on both of these wines in the future.