Playing Wine Secret Santa
A few weeks ago, Jeff, a.k.a. the drunken cyclist, came up with the idea – how about making whole bunch of people happy and excited, just in time for the holidays, by exchanging a few bottles of wine – in secret. As the typical “secret Santa” game goes, we (all participants) have to send one or two bottles of wine to someone – of course nobody has any idea who is sending wine to whom, as all the recipients are set at random. We also were asked to include a little note about ourselves and how did we chose what wine to send – for all detailed rules and regulations you can look here.
I really liked the idea from the very beginning – being able to share the wine with someone and an anticipation of the surprise of the wine someone have chosen for you was definitely exciting. As the idea was discussed further, both in Jeff’s blog and in the e-mail, the main problem surfaced. Legally, you have to have a liquor license in US in order to send wine to someone. The creative ideas were exchanged – ask winery or a store to ship the wine you selected to your recipient; print the label at home and drop the box at UPS or FedEx – they will not ask the questions; ship the wine via US mail – but don’t tell them you have anything liquid inside (this is what I did). With this main problem out of the way, the next key question was: what to send?
Choosing the wine for such a secret mission is very far from simple (sorry, laugh all you want – we, wine snobs, like to complicate things). You want the wine to match the preferences of your recipient. Okay, so may be I’m complicating things for no reason – most of the participants should have a blog, and in that blog they probably talk about wine, so it should be not that difficult, right? Hmm, let’s see.
Finally I got the e-mail – my recipient was Chef Mimi. I went to Chef Mimi blog, which boasts beautiful pictures of food (I’m a sucker for the beautiful food pictures) and tons of recipes. I read the About section, I searched for the word “wine” in the Chef Mimi’s blog – and I couldn’t find any clues to what she might like! So I put my thinking cap on (just kidding – no cap – I just stare blindly into the computer screen). I went through Chem Mimi’s blog posts, thinking – what would I pair with this or that dish? Finally – yes, I got it – Riesling would be one, because it would perfectly pair with these sliders, and, and, and … a Merlot, middle-of-the-road-and-often-great red wine? I have a few bottles of this great Riesling, of course with the name only Oliver can pronounce, 2007 Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Kabinett Mosel-Saar-Ruwer (I talked about Spatlese from the same producer in this post, but I chose to send a Kabinett). And for the Merlot – as I live close to Long Island, and I recently was on the trip there and immensely enjoyed 2005 Estate Merlot from Jamesport, this was kind of a no-brainer decision for the wine which is unique and different. Done and done. The rest is history – you can read about it in the Chef Mimi’s post.
A few days after, my wines arrived.
Inside the box, there was a handwritten note from @NewfD90, explaining the preference for the Italian wines hence the selection sent to me – Sangiovese from California and Primitivo from Salento “just for fun”, as the note said.
I decided to start with 2010 Menhir Salento Quota 31 Primitivo Salento IGT (14% ABV). I have a limited experience with Primitivo wines. While Primitivo is a close relative of Zinfandel, and Zinfandel makes some of my most favorite wines, the Primitivo wines I taste in the past were nothing close to the Zinfandel, and shall we say it, not that great. So you can imagine that my expectations were not that high. Open the bottle, pour, sniff, swirl, sip – wow, this is great! I have to honestly say that this was the best Primitivo I ever tasted – and outside of the Primitivo category, this was simply an excellent wine. Ripe raspberries profile on the nose, dark dense fruit on the palate, with more raspberries and blackberries, good round tannins, overall very balanced. Medium to long finish. A very pleasant wine overall.
Cosentino is the well known producer from Napa Valley in California, making a wide range of wines from Chardonnay to Cabernet Sauvignon to Zinfandel. This was my first experience with Cosentino Sangiovese. This 2011 Cosentino Sangiovese Il Chiaretto Napa County (15.5% ABV) opened up nicely with the nose of leather and smoke, generally resembling Pinot Noir a lot more than any Sangiovese wines I tasted in the past. On the palate it showed touch of tobacco and licorice, with a bit too much of a sweet fruit and then black pepper in the back. It also showed some noticeable tannins. What this wine was lacking was balance and harmony – all the components stuck out on their own. I decanted some amount of the wine, but 3 hours in decanter didn’t help it. I really tried to fall in love with this wine, by tasting it little by little over the next four days – to no avail. While the wine was changing day to day, and it was still drinkable on the day 4, it didn’t come to greatness. I had much better Sangiovese wines from Temecula valley, where the grape quite popular, so may be Napa Valley is just not the place for this grape to shine. But – tasting new wines is always a fun challenge, so I”m glad I had this experience.
That concludes the Secret Wine Santa report. This was definitely fun, so I would like to thank Jeff for coming up with the idea and I’m already looking forward to the next year’s Secret Wine Santa project. Hmmm, that’s a long wait, isn’t it? May be we need to extend the idea to the Secret Wine Admirer? That would be awesome! Cheers!
Top 12 of ’13
Here we are again, on the subject of Top Wines of 2013. You already saw my second dozen (and some), and the time has come to present the top list. In case you missed my lengthy explanation about the logic of this list, let me reiterate the main point – these are my most memorable wines of 2013. May be the word “wine” is even a bit limiting – these are the most memorable wine experiences of 2013. These are the wines which are so easy to recall – when you are talking about wines, these are the wines you use as an example. These are the wines which serve as memory links, easily allowing you to re-live the moments of your life. These are the wines which give you an ultimate pleasure. Let’s go:
12. 2008 Seresin Chardonnay Reserve Marlboro New Zealand – one of the best Chardonnays of the whole year – impeccable balance of apples, vanilla, butter and toasted oak, all I want in Chardonnay, nothing more and nothing less.
11. 2011 Antica Terra Erratica Willamette Valley Oregon – probably the best Rosé I ever had. May be even calling it a Rosé is simply a mistake. It was spectacular wine, complex, living in the glass, changing from mouthful of strawberries to tart raspberries and mouthfeel of a balanced red wine. An experience.
10. 2009 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT – Tua Rita Redigaffi is listed in my “must try wines” list – need I say more? One of the best in the world renditions of Merlot. It was a pure pleasure – both the wine and the experience.
9. 2009 Chamonix Pinot Noir Reserve Franschhoek South Africa – mind-blowing. Exuberant. Over the top. Spectacular. I’m out of words. If you want rediscover Pinot Noir, go find this wine and taste it.
8. 2012 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc – truly a humbling experience and a life lesson. If you think you know everything about New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, try this wine. You can thank me later.
7. 2007 Tenuta Sant’Antonio Amarone “Campo dei Gigli” – when I’m saying that I don’t have my most favorite wine, I’m lying. Amarone is the one. But for the past 5 years or so, practically every bottle of Amarone I touch becomes a huge disappointment. Not this one. This was a pure delight and the discovery of the year. Nose of dried fruit and perfectly balanced, round, dry and silky smooth mouthfeel. Thinking about this wine makes me smile.
6. 2005 Henry’s Drive Dead Letter Office Shiraz, South Australia – If anyone remembers Tastings column at Wall Street Journal, this wine was rated “Delicious!”, which was the highest rating. When I tasted this wine, it all made sense – absolutely delicious, round, plush, silky smooth and powerful at the same time, with plenty of blackberries and blueberries which only the best Shiraz can demonstrate. I was planning the whole post dedicated to the Dead Letter Office vertical tasting, but 2008 was only okay, and 2006 and 2009 turned out to be a complete disappointment, so no post. But if you can find this 2005 anywhere, get it – I promise you lots and lots of pleasure.
5. 2010 Donnafugata Ben Ryé Passito di Pantelleria – the only wine in Italy which received highest ratings in 2013 from all three wine rating publications. Once you will try this wine, you will understand why. The balance and complexity is nothing short of spectacular. Stop reading this blog, go find the bottle for yourself.
4. 2002 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Herrenweg de Turckheim Gewurztraminer Alsace – I know that Zind-Humbrecht is considered one of the best producers in Alsace. I tasted this wine a few years back, and I was definitely underwhelmed. This year, this wine magically turned around, showing perfect balance of exotic fruit, lychees, honey, candied apricot and everything else you can to look for in Gewurztraminer, with perfectly balancing acidity. An ultimate treat.
Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer
3. 2009 Casa Burmester Reserva Douro DOC – talk about “oenophile defining moments”. I had excellent Portuguese wines before I tried this wine, but the very first sip of this Casa Burmester Reserva made me go “what? seriously? wow!!!”. In a blind tasting, this wine would stand up to the best of the best of California Cabernet – beautiful fruit, texturally present, firm, powerful and impeccably balanced and elegant.
2. 2005 Frédéric Gueguen Chablis Les Grandes Vignes – I remember almost making fun of someone else using the word “gunflint” in the wine description. And here I am, taking a first sniff of this wine with the first word coming to my mind … gunflint! That sensation of gun powder-like smell, the smoke was incredible – and it was very pleasant at the same time. Tremendous minerality, lemony notes and some apples, clean and vibrant acidity and perfect balance. This wine was definitely an experience.
Frédéric Gueguen Chablis
1. 1970 Quevedo White Port – even people in Portugal are not aware of the aged white Port – I witnessed a few surprised looks when talking to the people about white Port which is aged. This wine might be never bottled, as I’m sure it is hard to create a category from pretty much a single barrel of wine. Nevertheless, the ultimate complexity of this wine, coupled with the visual snapshot of tasting it in the Quevedo Port cellar (cue in all the aromatics and mysterious atmosphere), makes for an ultimate experience which will stay in memory forever.
1970 White Port
By the way, did you notice that 3 out of my 4 top wines (even though I’m trying no to prioritize the list outside of the wine #1) are the white wines? Quite fascinating. Do you find this list too emotional? May be, but isn’t it the purpose of wine, to solicit emotion? Anyway, for what it worth, this completes the list of my best wine experiences of 2013. What were yours? Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #86: How Well Do You Know Your Wines?
The Wine Quiz series is not meant to intimidate. The whole idea here is to have fun and learn something new. When answering the questions, it is fully encouraged to use all available sources of information, including Google or any other search engine. There are no embarrassing answers – the most embarrassing thing is not giving it a try…
Welcome to the weekend and your new wine quiz!
Similar to the last week, today’s quiz will be visual again. And I have to tell you upfront, that I can’t take the full credit for it – I got the idea from Ryan Sorrell, an artist who is creating pictures from the top foils of the wine bottles (take a look at his web site here). Ryan posted this picture on twitter and asked people to guess what wine it belongs to. I know that many people pay attention to the wine labels – but how many people pay attention to the top of the foil, while they are cutting that foil out? Let’s find out! Below are 6 different foil tops – you will need to identify the wine producer behind each one of those tops (note – click on the pictures to zoom).
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
And the bonus one (as this one is harder than the others):
Good luck, enjoy the quiz and your weekend! Cheers!
Recreating Classic Recipes: Beef Bourguignon
I know, I know – this is the wine blog, and I’m sure you are surprised with the number of food posts lately. I guess this is all because of the holidays? Well, but then this blog is all about “wine, food and life”, so I guess talking about the food is quite appropriate. Anyway, we will be talking about food today – but this food is made with wine, so we will technically cover both subjects.
When it comes to the French cooking, there are a few dishes which squarely belong to the so called “classic category”. Beef Bourguignon is definitely one of them, fighting for supremacy with Coq au Vin. Today we will be talking about Beef Bourguignon, a.k.a. Boeuf Bourguignon, a.k.a. Beef Burgundy, a stew-like dish, generally attributed to the Burgundy area in France. I personally like all of the stew style dishes, as they generally are easy to make and very rustic and comforting as food, which to me is a very important characteristic.
Main components of Beef Bourguignon are beef, wine, few of the vegetables and aromatic herbs. For a while, I had being making Beef Bourguignon using the recipe from the book called “France: A Culinary Journey”, which is quite simple. In a nutshell, you quickly fry beef, onion carrots and celery together on the high heat, then add the wine and aromatic herbs, close the cover, and let the magic happen over the next few hours. Then I came across some recipes on internet which were a lot more complex, with marinating the meat, boiling the wine before cooking, adding bacon and mushrooms, and so on. After reading through probably 5 or 6 different recipes, all claiming originality and “classicism”, I decided that I have to come up with my own, as none of the recipes really spoke to me. Before I will talk about the recipe itself, let me give you couple of the points I find important.
Wine: The source of this recipe is Burgundy, so stick with the classics on this – Pinot Noir is your ideal case, but I also have done it a few times with Gamay wines (Beaujolais), and it worked quite well. In the wine, you are looking for acidity and light fruity profile. In general, avoid high alcohol, aggressively fruity wines – they will impart an unpleasant flavor. The wine doesn’t have to be expensive, but general rule is very simple – cook with the wine you want to drink.
Marinating the meat: based on my reading and conversations, marinating the meat in the wine is an essential step. It seems to be highly recommended for both Beef Bourguignon and Coq au Vin, so I’m going with this. I usually marinate the meat in the wine for the kabobs, which tenderizes the meat and makes it to absorb the flavor, so this definitely makes sense to use the same approach here.
Bacon: My general notion is that bacon makes everything better. However, in the case of Beef Bourguignon, the recipes usually call for making of the lardons (fried square pieces of bacon), which are then added to the meat during the last 15 minutes of cooking. As you are not cooking with an actual pork fat, I see such an addition only as textural, and I don’t believe it adds anything to the dish which is already quite rich, so here I’m saying no to bacon.
Okay, enough of the introductions, let’s proceed with the recipe.
Beef Bourguignon:
Prep time: about 1 hour. Cooking time: About 3 hours.
6 lb beef for stew – use stew-cut meat from the good store, or take chuck or roast cuts and cut them into 1″ – 1.5″ cubes)
1 bottle of red wine – Pinot Noir or Beaujolais
5 large onions (one for marinade, 4 for cooking)
10 sticks of celery (2 for marinade, 8 for cooking)
4 large carrots (I really mean large, thick carrots – if they are thin, double the amount)
1.5 lb of whole mushrooms
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
4 cups beef broth
2 sprigs of thyme
6 fresh bay leaves
1 tsp allspice
1 tbsp peppercorn
Olive oil for frying
Salt and pepper
Serve with: boiled potatoes (classic!), egg noodles, pasta
As a first step, you need to marinate the meat, preferably overnight, so you should start cooking in the evening of the day before. Take two stalks of celery, cut in half. Peel one onion, cat in four pieces. If you are using the whole piece of meat, cut it up into 1″ – 1.5″ chunks. Put celery and onion into the large bowl, put all the chunks of meat on top, pour in a bottle of wine. The wine should fully cover the meat – if it is not – sorry, get another bottle. Take cheese cloth, put in 3 bay leaves, a sprig of thyme and allspice. Tie cheesecloth together and put it into the same bowl with meat. Cover, and put in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, get the bowl out of the fridge, strain and reserve all the liquid (you will use it for cooking). Discard celery, onion and herbs, let the meat to drain completely and warm up to the room temperature.
Meat after marinating
Now, you can start with vegetables. Dice all of the the onions and start sauteing it in the skillet with the small amount of oil – use medium heat. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the vegetables. Dice the celery, put aside. Cut up the carrots in the big chunks – round slices of about 3/4″ in size. If the carrot is too thick, you can first cut it in half lengthwise. Put aside together with celery.
Carrots and Celery
Wash and cut up mushrooms into the half or quarters, depending on the size of mushrooms. Start sauteing the mushrooms in the separate pan with small amount of olive oil and medium to high heat.
Sauteing the mushrooms
Cover the pan initially, as you want mushrooms to release the water, stir a few times. After 3-4 minutes, remover the cover and let the liquid to evaporate. Continue cooking for another 5-6 minutes, or until the liquid will completely evaporated and the mushrooms are lightly fried. Add celery and carrots to the same pan, mix and continue sauteing for about another 10 minutes, stirring periodically.Turn off the heat, put aside.
Roasting all vegetables together
After about 10 -15 minutes of sauteing the onions (they should gain color and become translucent at this point), turn off the heat and set aside.
Time to start working with the meat. First, we need to sear it. Put the cast iron casserole on the high heat (definition of the high heat depends on your stove – mine is electric, and if I use the highest dial setting of 10, everything burns before it sears, so my high heat setting for the cast iron vessel is 8). Add couple of tablespoons of the olive oil, and let it heat up. Put the flour on the plate, add salt and pepper, and drench the first batch of meat in the flour.
Beef in flour, ready to be seared
Once casserole is heated up sufficiently, put the meat inside in the single layer, and don’t touch it for about 3 minutes. Turn around, and let it sear for another 3 minutes – you want to get a nice color on the meat.
Prepare the next batch of meat (drench in the flour). Remote the seared meat to another plate, and repeat the process until all the meat is seared. Once the last batch is seared enough, splash some of the reserved wine into the casserole and use your spatula to deglaze it. Reduce heat to medium-low, put back all the meat, add sauteed mushrooms and vegetables. Pour back the rest of the reserved wine, add four cups or beef broth. Prepare the bouquet garni: take cheese cloth, put in thyme sprig, 3 bay leaves and peppercorns. Tie together and put in the casserole (immerse in liquid). Give the content of the casserole a good steer. Cover with the lid, pour yourself a glass of wine and relax, your work is mostly done.
Check the casserole periodically and give the content a good stir every time. Make sure the liquid is slowly simmering and not rapidly boiling – reduce heat further if it is. Also, check the sauce for salt – adjust the amount to your liking. The cooking process should take about 3 hours from the moment you combined all the ingredients – check the meat periodically to see if it is done to your liking. Tougher cuts of meat might take a little longer.
When done, remove the bouquet garni. Prepare your favorite starch and … voilà! You are ready to serve Beef Bourguignon and accept complements from your guests. Of yes, and I hope you didn’t use all the wine – you might enjoy some with your dinner.
Beef Bourguignon
So, what do you think? Do you have your own twist for Beef Bourguignon? What do you think of this recipe? Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer And A Few Things To Read On This Christmas Day
Meritage Time!
First of all, Merry Christmas!
Let’s start with the answer for the wine quiz #85, What is it? In the quiz (a very difficult one!) you were supposed to guess an object shown in the picture. This was the picture you had:
and here is the answer:
Champagne Tsarine
Until a few days ago, I didn’t even know that Champagne Tsarine exists. When I saw a beautiful case and the bottle, the idea of the quiz was born. It appears that Champagne Tsarine was created in 1730, with the square aim on Russian Tzar (Tzar = Tsar, hence the name “Tsarine”, meaning “belonging to Tzar”) and his royal court, and their insatiable appetite for all things French. You can find more details at the Champagne Tsarine web site. No, I didn’t try this champagne yet, it is in the plans for the New Year celebration.
As I said, this was a very difficult quiz. A number of people suggested that this was a bottle, which was definitely the right direction. I was hoping that all the curves will point in the direction of Russian architecture – this was a purposeful design behind the bottle. In case you will not care going to the Champagne Tsarine web site, so here are few sentence which describe the design: “Its exclusively designed, long, curved bottle bears certain similarities to the architecture of the great Russian monuments. Its emblematic colours, its rounded label and its evocative name are all redolent of the period of the great Russian dynasties.”
Anyway, we don’t have a clear winner today, but I have to give honorable mention to Wine And History, who came in the closest, only suggesting that this was a bottle of Prosecco, and not the Champagne. Well done!
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web.
I have a few interesting reads to bring to your attention. First, have you ever heard about 27-liter ( 3 cases worth) bottle of the wine called Primat? I personally have not. Here is a link to the article from Mike Veseth, where he is talking about his extreme wines of the year – that Primat bottle sounds very extreme to me, but there is a lot more to read there.
Next I want to bring to your attention a few posts from Dr. Vino, where is covering latest happenings around the counterfeited wines, Rudy Kurniawan trial and more. Just go and read (and watch) them – CBS Sunday Morning episode, Outtakes form the trial, the verdict.
Last but not least – a great collection of Christmas wine cartoons, as presented in the Wine Wankers blog. No other comments needed here.
And we are done! The glass is empty, but the refill is on the way. Open some great bottles tonight! Happy Holidays and Cheers!
Simple Recipe: A 20 Minute Pastry Appetizer
This simple appetizer became one of our favorites as of late – it is simple, easy to make – and it is very versatile. I’m not sure how this should be called in the cooking terms – let’s call it a pastry appetizer for the lack of the better word.
The simplicity of this recipe starts from the fact that you don’t need to make the dough – you can use the dough which is ready to go. So far our favorite was Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits, but I’m sure you can use the other brands.
We don’t need to worry about the dough, so the next step is the filling. What I really like about these pastries is that you are only limited by your imagination when it comes to what you want to put inside. Of course your filling shouldn’t be anything raw – the cooking time for the pastries is under 20 minutes. But other than that, everything goes – vegetables, chicken, salmon, pork, anything you can think of. The best is to make your filling into the salad-like consistency, fill the pastries, sprinkle some cheese on top, put in the oven and … voila!
For the pastries we made last week, we used roasted chicken breast, mixed with sauteed mushrooms and onions, a little bit of mayo, fresh dill and shredded cheese. Here is the recipe:
Baked Pastry Appetizer
Prep Time: 20 minutes (depending on what you are using, can be much faster), Cooking time: about 18 minutes.
5 tubes of small Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits, to make 48 pastries.
2 medium size roasted chicken breasts (can be replaced with any other meat), cut up in the small cubes
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
3 medium onions
1 tbsp mayo
1 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
oil spray
Preheat oven to 450F, or 425F if using the non-stick pan (follow instructions on your pastry can). Saute mushrooms and onions with olive oil over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until soft (onion should be translucent). Once ready, mix mushrooms and onions with chicken, mayo, dill and half a cup of cheese.
Take the muffin pan (we use the non-stick pan with 24 holes). Grease all the holes with oil spray. Open the package of dough. Place the dough pieces in the holes, slightly covering the edges. Put in the mixed filling. Finish filling of all the pastries, then use the remaining half a cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of the pastries (adjust the amount of cheese on top to your liking).
Put in the oven for 18 minutes. Of course your cooking time might vary, so you really need to watch for the pastries to reach right color.
Get the pan out of the oven, let the pastries cool off and … enjoy! Have fun and get creative with your filling! Cheers!
Top Wines of 2013 – Second Dozen
“Best wines I had in a year”, “my best restaurant experiences”, “top gadgets of the year” – as the year is winding down, the “best of the best” lists are being produced all of the blogosphere and traditional media. Of course, your truly is not an exception – this is the forth year in the row I would like to summarize, share, and maybe even re-live (just a little bit, okay?) the best wine experiences of 2013. And in case you are curious, here are the links for the 2010, 2011, 2012 second dozen and 2012 top dozen.
I really like writing this “Top Wine” posts, as it gives me an opportunity to reflect on the past year in wine and bring back the memories. In a typical year, we are probably going through a few hundred bottles of wine – if I would add all the wines tasted as part of the different events, winery visits, dinners, etc., this number will easily get close to the couple of thousands. How do you select most favorite 20 -something bottles out of all of those wines? I actually have a two-pass approach here. In the pass number one, I simply push my memory to produce the names of the wines which are on top of my mind – and write down those names. The second pass involves going through the label journals. When faced with the bottle of wine, taking the label off, putting it in my journal and adding the notes is my topmost priority. To refresh the memory, I simply go through that journal(s) with the mission of finding most memorable wines. Yes, it is possible that I gave the wine a high rating, but if looking at the label doesn’t trigger the reaction, such wine most likely will not be included into the consideration for the Top Dozen list.
Similar to 2012, I didn’t even try to limit my top list to only 12 wines. The list is split into the first and second dozens, and I think the “dozen” will be treated a bit loosely here – let’s say, a dozen and a few. The actual Top Dozen includes the most memorable (read – easiest to recall) wines of 2013, and the second dozen includes the wonderful wines which I feel I must mention. I will have the Top wine of the year, but otherwise, both lists are not prioritized – this is way too much work to decide that I like the wine #3 a 0.0001% more than the wine #4, thus please don’t look at this list as sorted – this is just the random list of my most memorable wines of 2013.
And now, without further ado, let me present to you Talk-a-Vino Second Dozen+ of wines of 2013.
27. 2011 Haute Cabrière Unwooded Pinot Noir Franschhoek South Africa – light, tangy, refreshing, thirst-quenching, crowd-pleasing wine. It is a quintessential Pinot Noir, with all the smoke, violet and cranberries, packaged in a delicate, effervescent frame.
26. 2005 Jamesport Vineyards Merlot Block E, Long Island, NY – one of the very best Long Island can produce. Powerful, concentrated and dangerous – you just don’t want to put the glass down. A pure delight.
25. 2010 Montesco Passionate Wine Parral, Tupungato, Mendoza – the wine with the soul. The passion, which s part of the name of this wine, is showing in every sip. Powerful and delightful.
24. 2008 Paritua Riesling Central Otago New Zealand – perfectly delightful or delightfully perfect? Clean, balanced, refreshing, light and delicious – all in one package.
23. NV Boroli Barolo Chinato, Piedmont – I think adding aromatic herbs to the Barolo is a stroke of a genius. Yes, it is more of an after dinner drink than the wine, but you can’t stop smelling your glass, the aromatics are just incredible. Definitely one of my personal discoveries of 2013.
22. 2011 Siduri Pinot Noir Sonoma County – beautiful Pinot Noir – clean and perfect. Do I need to say more?
21. 2010 Le Cimate Montefalco Rosso DOC – I had to include at least one of the beautiful Montefalco winesinto the Top list, as Montefalco wines (both Sagrantino and Rosso) where another personal discovery of 2013. Le Cimate was a love from the first sip – powerful, concentrated, lip smacking cherries – delicious.
20. 2007 Mount Palomar Charbono Temecula Valley, California – I probably managed to hit the sweet spot – this wine was definitely at its peak. Layered fruit, concentrated, silky smooth and perfectly balanced.
19. 2012 Mt. Beautiful Pinot Noir North Canterbury, New Zealand – pure, beautiful and classic. An excellent rendition of Pinot Noir – delicate, but present, elegant, round and perfectly balanced.
18. 2004 Coume Del Mas Quintessence Banyuls Red Dessert Wine – may be a single best (definitely one of the very best) red dessert wines I ever had. Supple dried fruits – prunes, figs – supported by balancing acidity. Outstanding.
17. 2001 Nino Negri ’5 Stelle’ Sfursat di Valtellina DOCG – I love the contrast of the sweet dried fruit on the nose, which you often get from grapes dried under the sun before they are pressed, and full and powerful body of wine. This wine had it all – sweet dried fruit on the nose, and perfectly balanced, perfectly dry palate, tons of pleasure in every sip. Yes, I would gladly repeat the experience again.
16. 1974 Quevedo Colheita Tawny Port – What can beat the taste of 40 years old port? Well, may be a 50, but I can’t tell firsthand. This was absolutely delicious, complex and still fresh, as only the old port can get. Wines of that level make the whole table to go quiet for a moment (or two), and just reflect on life.
15. NV Egly-Ouriet Brut Tradition Grand Cru, Ambonay – This wine restored my love and appreciation for the fine Champagne. Somehow, for the most of the year, I was in the mode “Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, Sparkling Shiraz – who cares, they are all the same” (okay, may be except the sparkling Shiraz) – the first sip of this wine put a “wow” back into the glass of Champagne for me. This was perfectly complex, with every sip making me crave another one.
14. 2005 Domaine Laleure-Piot Pernand-Vergelesses AOC, Burgundy – it is the wine like this which makes you say “boy, this is the wine I want to drink every day”. Round, supple, yet effervescent – vanilla, sweet oak, fresh apples – all painted with the light touch, everything is in the perfect balance, everything is present, but so perfectly weaved together, you can only think of this wine a whole. Ouch, I need a sip of it right now…
13. 2011 Niepoort Tiara Douro Branco – this wine should probably be called a “perfect pick me up”. If you are in a bad mood, after a long day, after your boss was the usual jerk, have a glass of this wine. Your body will straighten itself, automatically assuming the perfect posture after the first sip. After the second sip, all the problems will go away, and you will be ready to face a new day or whatever is that you need to face. Delicious.
There you have it – an extended second dozen of Top wines of 2013. Tried any of these wine? Didn’t try but have something to say? Comment away! Cheers!
To be continued…
Weekly Wine Quiz #85: What Is It?
The Wine Quiz series is not meant to intimidate. The whole idea here is to have fun and learn something new. When answering the questions, it is fully encouraged to use all available sources of information, including Google or any other search engine. There are no embarrassing answers – the most embarrassing thing is not giving it a try…
Welcome to the weekend and your new wine quiz!
As I’m taking the break from the Grape Trivia series, today’s quiz is one of my favorite types – it is a picture quiz. What you see in the picture below is definitely wine-related – you need to identify what it is and provide as many specific details as possible.
This is a difficult quiz, no questions – but you got nothing to lose and there are no bad answers!
Good luck, have fun, enjoy your weekend and cheers!
Don’t Miss Last Bottle Wine Marathon – December 19-20
The Last Bottle, a purveyor of fine wines at a great value, just announced their Chrismukkapalooza Marathon which will take place today and tomorrow. This event is very similar to the WTSO marathons, with few important differences.
For the next two days, Last Bottle will be offering lots of value-priced fine wines at their web site, changing in the rapid succession (some deals might be there only for the seconds). The event will start at 9 AM Pacific time, and will continue for two days or until they will run out of wines. There are no minimums to get free shipping (that is what I like the most – you can try lots of wines). All orders will ship after January 6th.
You should have an account to buy wine at the Last Bottle. If you don’t have one yet, make sure to sign up before the event will start. Better yet, I will be glad to be your referral – you will get $5 credit at your first purchase, and yes, I will make money on you – I will get $20. Send me an email with your email address to (talkavino-info) (at) (yahoo) (dot) (com), and I will be glad to sign you up.
[Added after original post was published]: It also appears that you don’t need to send me an e-mail, but instead you can sign up directly through this referral link:
http://www.lastbottlewines.com/invite/4618917ef4f90628fb70367611992bc630d41515.html
Have fun and happy hunting! Cheers!
Following Wines Til Sold Out – Gift and Magnum Marathons, December 2013
As a self-appointed chronicler of WTSO (Wine Til Sold Out) deals, I want to bring to your attention the details of not one, but two of the events WTSO conducted in December. The first event was done as part of the CyberMonday on December 2nd – it was a Gift Marathon. The event was different from the typical WTSO Marathon – all the wines were offered as gift sets consisting of one bottle of wine and two Riedel varietally correct glasses. There were no minimums, and you could specify multiple shipping addresses, which greatly simplifies wine gift giving. New sets were offered 36 times, from 8 AM Eastern until midnight – there was a lesser number of wines offered, as some of the gift sets were repeated. I was not able, unfortunately, capture all the prices – from the few that I did, I can say that some of the gift sets were great deals, like Sassicaia at $149 – this is much better than the regular price of that wine alone, forget the gift set packaging. Overall, there were quite a few great deals offered.
The second event was Magnum Marathon on Thursday, December 12th, from 8 AM Eastern until the midnight. There were 57 offers, with most of the wines coming as 1.5 liter bottles (magnum), and few of the 3 liter bottles (double magnums). Prices per bottle ranged from $24.99 to $499, and the minimum quantities (to get free shipping) were from 1 to 3. What was interesting is that for the first time that I remember, both marathons featured a 100-point wines. And both events were “no holds barred” type, with some of the best known names being present, such as Cristal, Heitz, Caymus, Joseph Phelps and others.
Without further ado, I will leave you on with the data. Yes, my collection was somewhat lacking this time, so you will see some missing data as to pricing and source of ratings – oh well, I hope you will still find it interesting.
As usual, before I will leave you with the data, here is the guide to the rating abbreviations: WS – Wine Spectator, WA – Wine Advocate, ST – Steven Tanzer, WE – Wine Enthusiast, WRO – Wine Review Online, W&S – Wine and Spirits, JS – James Suckling, RP – Robert Parker, JHN – Jonathan H. Newman, D – Decanter Magazine, rating goes in stars ( 5 stars is max), JH – James Halliday, TRR – The Rhone Report, BH – Burghound, IWR – International Wine Report, TLC – The Library Collection, PR – Pinot Report.
Gift Marathon:
| Time | Wine | Rating | Price |
| 11:30p | Sojourn Cellars Rodger’s Creek Vineyard Sonoma Pinot Noir 2011 Gift Set | PR94 | $59.99 |
| 10:51p | Brunello Conti Costanti 2007 Gift Set | WA96 | $74.99 |
| 10:30p | Silver Oak Cabernet Alexander Valley 2009 Gift Set | $79.99 | |
| 10:00p | Merryvale Merlot Napa Valley Oak Knoll 2007 Gift Set | 92 | |
| 9:33p | Joseph Phelps Insignia 2010 | 95 | |
| 8:42p | Veuve Clicquot Brut Rose Champagne N/V Gift Set | 90 | |
| 8:30p | Donna Olga Brunello di Montalcino 2007 Gift Set | JS93 | $49.99 |
| 8:00p | Clarendon Hills Cabernet Hickinbotham 2006 Clarendon, Aus. Gift Set | WA96 | $74.99 |
| 7:30p | White Burgundy 1er Cru Meursault Perrieres 2007 Gift Set | 94 | |
| 6:57p | Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet 2009 Gift Set | WA93 | $99.99 |
| 6:29p | Champagne Veuve Ponsardin Clicquot Brut NV ‘Yellow Label’ Gift Set | 90 | |
| 5:48p | Champagne Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon 2003 Gift Set | 94 | |
| 5:21p | Merryvale Cabernet 2009 Napa Valley Gift Set | 91 | |
| 4:56p | Champagne G.H. Mumm Cuvee R Lalou Prestige 1998 Gift Set | 93 | |
| 4:37p | Silver Oak Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Gift Set | 91 | |
| 4:10p | Ribera del Duero Gran Reserva 2001 Bodegas Balbas Gift Set | 96 | |
| 3:34p | Magie Rouge Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 Gift Set | WA94+ | $79.99 |
| 3:15p | Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Chardonnay 2010 Gift Set | 92 | |
| 2:46p | Caymus Vineyards Cabernet 2011 Napa Valley Gift Set | $84.99 | |
| 2:30p | Clos du Marquis 2010 Saint-Julien Gift Set | 96 | |
| 2:00p | Silver Oak Cabernet Alexander Valley 2009 Gift Set | $79.99 | |
| 1:30p | Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut N/VGift Set | WS93 | $74.99 |
| 1:08p | Joseph Phelps ‘Insignia’ Proprietary Red 2009 Gift Set | 96 | |
| 12:55p | Sojourn Cellars Rodger’s Creek Vineyard Sonoma Pinot Noir 2011 Gift Set | PR94 | $59.99 |
| 12:38p | Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Reserve 2010 Gift Set | 95 | |
| 12:10p | Champagne Philippe Prie Brut Tradition N/V Gift Set | 91 | |
| 11:50a | Sassicaia Super Tuscan Tenuta San Guido 2010 Gift Set | WA96 | $149.99 |
| 11:28a | Brunello Conti Costanti 2007 Gift Set | WA96 | $74.99 |
| 10:54a | Corton Charlemagne 2006 Grand Cru Chardonnay Domaine Louis Latour Gift | WE95 | $84.99 |
| 10:32a | The Prisoner By Orin Swift 2012 Gift Set | WA90 | $59.99 |
| 10:10a | Bouchard Pere & Fils Le Corton Grand Cru Rouge 2008 Gift Set | WA94 | $74.99 |
| 9:40a | Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet 2009 Gift Set | WA93 | $99.99 |
| 9:19a | Perrier Jouet Fleur de Champagne Brut Cuvee Belle Epoque 2004 Gift Set | WS92 | $119.00 |
| 9:00a | Chiappini Guado de Gemoli 2009 Super Tuscan By Emiliano Falsini Gift Set | 100 | |
| 8:30a | Cristal Champagne Brut 2005 Louis Roederer Gift Set | 97 | |
| 8:00a | BV Georges de Latour Private Reserve 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Gift Set | 94 |
Magnum Marathon:
| Time | Wine | Rating | MSRP | Price | M.Btls | %off |
| 12:00a | Our 2013 Magnum Marathon is officially over (sad) but what an awesome day! Hoping all of you had a chance to score some “BIG” wine deals! | |||||
| 12:00a | Brunello DOCG MastroJanni Estate 2007 | JS95 | $95.00 | $39.99 | 3 | 58% |
| 11:46p | Eagles Trace 2006 ‘Latitude 38’ Magnum (1.50L) Conn Valley | $300.00 | $199.99 | 1 | 33% | |
| 11:11p | Brut Champagne N/V Piper HeidsieckcMagnum (1.50L) | WS93 | $100.00 | $64.99 | 2 | 35% |
| 10:33p | Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 2005 1.50L Magnum | WE97 | $750.00 | $499.99 | 1 | 33% |
| 10:00p | Domaine Du Grand Montmirail Gigondas Cuvee Vieilles Vignes | IWR91 | $150.00 | $54.99 | 2 | 63% |
| 9:38p | Ribera del Duero Clave de Tabula 2008 Bodegas Tabula Magnum (1.50L) | WA95+ | $300.00 | $129.99 | 1 | 57% |
| 9:07p | Chateau de Ribebon Bordeaux Superieur 2010 Magnum (1.50L) | IWR90 | $55.00 | $28.99 | 2 | 47% |
| 8:36p | Fontanafredda Barolo Reserva ‘Tilson’ 1997 Limited Edition (1.50L) | $450.00 | $119.00 | 1 | 73% | |
| 8:06p | Mont-Redon Rouge 2009 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Magnum (1.50L) | ST92 | $150.00 | $54.99 | 1 | 56% |
| 8:01p | Eagle Trace Conn Valley Cabernet 2006 Double Magnum (3.0L) | $300.00 | $199.00 | 1 | 33% | |
| 7:30p | Red Bordeaux Castillon Cote de Bordeaux Chateau Hyot 2010 Magnum (1.50L) | WS90 | $45.00 | $24.99 | 2 | 44% |
| 7:00p | I Giusti & Zanza Dulcamara Super Tuscan 2009 Magnum (1.50L) | $175.00 | $54.99 | 2 | 69% | |
| 6:45p | Jean-Luc Colombo Cornas La Louvee 2008 Magnum (1.50L) | WE93 | $225.00 | $99.99 | 1 | 56% |
| 6:15p | Brunello Magnum (1.50L) La Mannella 2007 | WE95 | $160.00 | $99.99 | 1 | 38% |
| 5:47p | Champagne Philippe Prie Brut Tradition N/V Magnum (1.50L) | WS91 | $125.00 | $49.99 | 2 | 60% |
| 5:27p | Super Tuscan Magnum (1.50L) Cabreo Il Borgo 2010 Tenute del Cabreo | JS91 | $135.00 | $79.99 | 1 | 41% |
| 5:20p | Heitz Cellar Martha’s Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet 2005 Magnum (1.50L) | WS93 | $400.00 | $249.99 | 1 | 38% |
| 5:02p | Ribera Del Duero Reserva Miros De Ribera 2004 Bodegas Penafiel Magnum (1.50L) | WS92 | $120.00 | $39.99 | 2 | 67% |
| 4:37p | Domus Vitae Brunello DOCG 2007 By Attilio Pagli Magnum (1.50L) | WA93 | $160.00 | $69.99 | 2 | 56% |
| 4:23p | Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne ‘La Cigalette’ 2011 Domaine de Dionysos Magnum | IWR91 | $80.00 | $29.99 | 3 | 63% |
| 4:19p | Heitz Cellar Trailside Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (1.50L) | 93 | $189.99 | $129.99 | 1 | 32% |
| 4:07p | Paulo Scavino Barolo Bric Fiasc 2006 Magnum (1.50L) | WA95 | $325.00 | $199.99 | 1 | 38% |
| 3:48p | Veuve Clicquot Magnum ‘Yellow Label’ Brut Champagne NV | WS92 | $150.00 | $82.09 | 1 | 45% |
| 3:36p | I Balzini White Label I.G.T. Rosso 2006 Magnum (1.50L) | WS93 | $130.00 | $49.99 | 2 | 62% |
| 3:24p | Jean-Luc Colombo Cornas La Louvee 2007 Magnum (1.50L) | WS93 | $250.00 | $99.99 | 1 | 60% |
| 2:54p | Maroon Cabernet Signature Reserve Napa Valley 2010 Magnum (1.50L) | $90.00 | $44.99 | 2 | 50% | |
| 2:43p | Podere Poggio Scalette Il Carbonaione I.G.T. Alta Valle Della Greve 2009 Magnum | WA94+ | $200.00 | $119.00 | 1 | 40% |
| 2:36p | Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut NV Magnum (1.50L) | WS93 | $225.00 | $99.00 | 1 | 56% |
| 2:27p | Domaine Chene Macon Milly-Lamartine 2012 Magnum (1.50L) | JHN91 | $55.00 | $24.99 | 2 | 55% |
| 2:20p | Burgess Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet 2009 (1.50L) Magnum | $128.00 | $59.99 | 1 | 53% | |
| 1:53p | Chateau Haut Gravet St. Emilion Grand Cru 2010 Magnum (1.50L) | JS92 | $105.00 | $54.99 | 2 | 48% |
| 1:32p | Amarone 2007 Magnum Tenuta Lena di Mezzo Monte del Fra (1.50L) | WS93 | $119.00 | $59.99 | 1 | 50% |
| 1:25p | Jarvis Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2004 1.50L Magnum | WE96 | $350.00 | $319.00 | 1 | 9% |
| 12:57p | Mont-Redon Rouge 2009 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Magnum (1.50L) | ST92 | $125.00 | $54.99 | 1 | 56% |
| 12:49p | Jean-Luc Colombo Cornas La Louvee 2006 Magnum (1.50L) | WS93 | $250.00 | $99.99 | 1 | 60% |
| 12:23p | I Giusti & Zanza Perbruno Syrah Toscana 2010 Magnum (1.50L) | WE95 | $110.00 | $59.99 | 1 | 45% |
| 12:16p | Burgess Cabernet 2002 Vintage Selection Napa Valley Magnum (1.50L) | WRO90 | $116.00 | $44.99 | 2 | 61% |
| 11:54a | Champagne Charles de Cazanove Brut NV Magnum (1.5L) | WS92 | $125.00 | $59.99 | 1 | 52% |
| 11:38a | Eagles Trace Conn Valley Napa Cabernet 2006 Magnums (1.50L) | $150.00 | $99.99 | 1 | 33% | |
| 11:30a | I Balzini Black Label 2006 Tuscan Red Wine Dai Colli Della Toscana Magnum (1.5L) | WS92 | $130.00 | $49.99 | 1 | 62% |
| 11:20a | Grand Cru Blanc 2009 Louis Latour Magnum (1.50L) Corton-Charlemagne | IWR98 | $225.00 | $159.99 | 1 | 29% |
| 11:08a | Heitz Cellar Martha’s Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (1.50L) Magnum | WS88 | $400.00 | $249.99 | 1 | 38% |
| 11:00a | Brunello Magnum (1.50L) Vertical 3-Pack Scopone 06/07/08 | 94 | 51% | |||
| 10:38a | Chateau de Macard Bordeaux Superieur 2010 Magnum (1.50 L) | IWR90 | $55.00 | $28.99 | 2 | 47% |
| 10:32a | Joseph Phelps Insignia 2010 Magnum (1.50L) | ST94 | $600.00 | $369.99 | 38% | |
| 10:12a | Sette Ponti Oreno 2010 Magnum (1.50L) | JS96 | $225.00 | $134.99 | 1 | 40% |
| 10:04a | St. Supery Napa Valley Cabernet 2005 (1.50L) Magnum | WE90 | $80.00 | $49.99 | 2 | 38% |
| 9:47a | Domaine Du Grand Montmirail Gigondas Cuvee Vieilles Vignes | IWR91 | $150.00 | $54.99 | 2 | 63% |
| 9:35a | Franco Martinetti Barolo Marasco 2008 Magnum (1.50L) | 93 | 40% | |||
| 9:31a | Jordan Cabernet Alexander Valley 2003 Magnums (1.50L) | 34% | ||||
| 9:22a | Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 2005 1.50L Magnum | WE97 | $750.00 | $499.99 | 1 | 33% |
| 9:19a | Howell Mountain Cabernet 2007 Ladera Vineyards Magnum (1.5L) | 93 | 20% | |||
| 9:00a | Cotes du Rhone 2011 Domaine de Dionysos ‘La Deveze’ Magnum (1.50L) | 90 | 62% | |||
| 8:41a | Guado De Gemoli 2009 Super Tuscan Magnum (1.50L) | WE100 | 38% | |||
| 8:19a | Corton Grand Cru 2007 Domaine Louis Latour (1.50L) Magnum | 92 | 65% | |||
| 8:16a | Burgess Cellars Napa Cabernet Vintage Selection 2001 Magnum (1.50L) | 89 | 60% | |||
| 8:00a | Super Tuscan (1.50L) La Torre “Esse” 2010 | 95 | 58% | |||
| before | Brut Champagne N/V Piper Heidsieck Magnum (1.50L) | WS93 | $100.00 | $64.99 | 2 | 35% |
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. Did you get anything during either one of the marathons? What do you think of the deals?
Cheers!
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