Monthly Archives: June 2010

I was introduced to this wine a few years ago as a true value wine. Borsao, a Spanish producer, makes a couple of different wines that are mostly grenache-based. Of these, all of them tend to be well-made, drinkable wines that go well with foods but can also be enjoyed as well on their own. I’ve had their lower-end Borsao red, which is a light, easy drinking wine retailing for 7-8 bucks. Their Tres Picos bottling usually retails for a little more, around $12-14 and also has a little more structure and richness to go with some good fruit. This vintage is no exception. This wine also seemed to be a favorite of many of the wine critics where it scored well, including a 91pt review from Josh Raynolds of the International Wine Cellar.

I’ve had two bottles of this Spanish red in recent weeks with very similar tasting notes. The one thing I noticed both times is the wine comes off a little young and grape-y initially. I’d suggest it would be a good idea to let it breath for 30 minutes or so, before diving in. Let some of that youth burn off and the structure that is there will come up to the top a little more. Overall, good body and mouth-feel. This wine has a very soft and approachable taste that makes it rather food friendly.

There are some decent tannins in the wine, along with fruit to hold things together nicely. The nose is nice, cherry and anise, with some oak. Overall, the flavors are predominately cherry and plum, with some cinnamon and tobacco mixed in. There are some other spices as well that pepper it a little. Maybe a little bit of bitter chocolate as well. The finish is strong yet pleasant and it finished clean with maybe just a little bit of extra sugar, probably due to the youth of the fruit.

Overall, I’ve got to say that Borsao continues to make solid, easy to enjoy wines, and at a very reasonable price. Its easy to see why this is definitely a wine I come back to again and again. I’m going to agree with Mr. Raynolds and rating this a slightly outstanding.

Cliff Lede is a relative new comer to Napa Valley. He bought the S. Anderson Vineyards and transformed it into a wine oasis outside of Yountville. Complete with a large tasting room and inn, he’s working towards crafting high-end Bordeaux-style wines with “depth and concentration” as the label would suggest. He’s hired esteemed winemaker Michelle Edwards from Colgin Estates, a Napa cult-level winery, as well as the respected David Abreu to oversee the vineyards. He’s also brought in consultant Michel Rolland, who has his hands in nearly every big wine around the world. In case you were wondering if he was serious, he definitely is, and his wines are already becoming a hot commodity.

I decided to open up one of his Stag’s Leap Cabs over the weekend and here were my notes:

This is a big, rich cab for starters. Priced around $50, its already worth the price. The nose is full of mushroom, cassis and raspberries. There’s already a nice aged smell with some earth and tobacco. The initial decant for this wine was around 1 1/2 hrs. The flavor is smooth and rich, with blueberries and raspberries, along with a nice smattering of tobacco and leather mixed with burnt sugar.

Even after 3 hrs open, there are still some pretty solid grip from the tannins, which would suggest this wine has a number of years left before it hits its peak. The finish is strong, yet smooth, with a great deal of length. Probably a good 30-40 second finish to the wine. Very meaty and manly wine, with lots of earthy and hearty elements. Paired up with a thick steak, you can’t go wrong. Overall, this is a solid, well-made wine with some years yet to go. Lede obviously has assembled a solid team that will look to continue to make very high-quality wines, and score well with the critics. I’ve been won over as well, giving this wine an outstanding mark.

Ok – so here’s a wine for all of the ABC Haters out there. This wine really rocks and of course was featured for a steal of a price about a month ago on Wine Library. Normally priced around $20, this was only $13, and well worth probably the normal $17-$20 found elsewhere. This wine, from the Russian River Valley has a big buttery rich mouthful with good acidity that helps to round out its finish.

The wine has a nose of lemon custard, apples and peaches. First thing I notice is a great body, where it has good weight in the taste. There is also a little mineral quality. There are flavors of apple, pear, peach and lemon, along with the custard and butter finish. Also get a little banana and kiwi, along with melon. The bracing, cool acidity mixes in with the rich fruit flavors to create a really well made wine. Overall, I’m very impressed with this Chardonnay, and would have to rate it a borderline outstanding. All in all, a solid effort.

I’ve been coming back again to Chardonnay, particularly from California lately. I think it’s for two reasons. One, the quality has improved and also the style has changed quiet a bit. We’ve moved from over-oaked flabby wines to steely, piercing wines, and now are starting to settle somewhere in the middle. I’m finding a good number of wineries both mid-priced and high-end playing around with what makes the most enjoyable wine at a higher quality.

I was able to get the 2007 Bernardus Central Coast Chardonnay for around $15. This wine does seem to fall somewhere in between the big buttery chards of old and the new mouth-puckering acidic Burgundy-style wines. And while I’m a fan of the later, sometimes, a simple enjoyable glass of Chardonnay is all you need. This wine does have some character to it however. The nose is full of cinnamon and apple blossom. There are also hints of lemon custard.

The flavor complexion moves from full bodied, with apples, pears, melon and pineapple, with a good attack on the mid-palate. There is a decent amount of malolactic fermentation present, but it doesn’t make the wine too buttery or milky. Instead, it added subtle body to the finish which does round nicely with the acidic-lemon-lime swirl at the end. I’m pretty high on this wine in terms of the level of complexity and its unique dimensions that are easy to decipher.

Overall, this is a very drinkable wine, and I think the price point matches up well with the overall QPR. Keep in mind however, that I’ve seen this wine selling in the mid-twenties. I think at that price, the wine starts to get a little overvalued. At $15-18, it instead delivers a very solid wine, that for California, stays right in the middle of flavor tastes. Because of that, I’d think this would be a crowd pleaser. I’m rating this wine a Borderline Outstanding.

This high-end Italian restaurant located near Dupot Circle, tends to be a well-kept secret in the DC dining world. Never on the top of the list of must-do restaurants, but for over 20 years, serving up some of the best Northern Italian cuisine in the area. It’s a tiny restaurant, maybe 25 seats with a prix-fixe menu for $75 each. This buys you five courses including a large anti-pasta course, pasta, entrée, cheese, and dessert, plus cookies with the bill. Chef Peter Pastan, who also owns 2Amys pizzeria, specializes in simple well-prepared Italian foods.

Good: The food! Overall, the quality is high here. Anti-pastas including risotto balls, roasted red peppers, duck meatballs, and sardines wrapped and baked were all very good. The pastas were all light and ethereal. Breads are all house made and perfect compliment to the meal. You won’t leave hungry, that’s for sure. Also for a small place, the table spacing was great, with plenty of room between each to allow for more privacy.

Bad: Ambiance is ok, but the place could go for a little bit of an update. Looks to be the same furniture since they first opened. Entrees were good but not very exciting. Cheese was good but only two types. A third would have been a good contrast.

Wine: The wine list was very good with only Italian selections. Hard to say how well priced the wines were. They did have a few selections in the $30-50 range, but many more from $75+. Wine by the glass also were anywhere from $6 to $16. A selection of 3 daily cocktails were also available along with a full bar for anything else.

Overall: The restaurant, while missing on a few things, overall, was a wonderful experience, with the food meeting all my expectations. Needs a little bit of a makeover, but aside from that makes for a nice romantic dinner.