Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuisse 2009 (Chardonnay)

Welcome back to another installment of Good Wines Cheap. It's been a while but I'm back, so let's get down to business. Today I am drinking the Louis Jadot Pouilly Fuisse 2009. This is a Chardonnay base wine out of Burgundy in France. Louis Jadot is a well-known producer who has been producing wine for a very long time in France. With that being said, here are my tasting notes:

Nose - On the nose I first get melon with a kind of a soapstone thing going on in the background. Also, I smell a sprinkle of pear but it's not overwhelming, it actually seems to be wrapped up in thin sheet of oak.

Palate - So when tasting this Chardonnay the first thing that I acknowledge is this wine has a fair amount of balance. I love that no one nuance overpowers the palate, the only thing that stands out more than anything else is the melon on the initial attack. The mid-palate falters a bit but not enough to where it ruins the tasting experience.The finish introduces a touch of apple accompanied by melon who runs a consistent race throughout your palate all the was to the finish line. There is also a fair amount of minerality rounding out the edges of my palate, which makes this, all in all a not overly complicated pretty good bottle of wine. I believe this would pair really well with Seabass and some spicy seafood such as chili pepper shrimp, I can even see it going with some specific types of oysters. So that my interpretation of this gem from Burgundy and I hope you get a chance to go pick it up. Till next time, cheers.

Comartin Cellars Terra Alta Santa Ynez Valley 2008 Grenache

Comartin Cellars

Really quick, If you don't know about Comartin Cellars, and you love wine, please sign up for their wine club. Damn good wines, and great hands behind the scenes creating true elegance. What I drinking tonight is the Comartin Cellars Terra Alta Santa Ynez Valley 2008 Grenache. Here are my tasting notes:

On the nose: Vanilla, and fruits such as strawberry/rasberry, some licorice with hints of rose petals and pepper.

On the Palate: Sour strawberries and rasberries rounded out by specks of black pepper on the outside of the palate. Hints of vanilla kick in on the finish, and very seem-less with a solid mineral structure throughout the palate. You do catch a very small amount of alcohol on the finish, but with a little cellaring that will go away. Solid length on finish.

In my opinion this is must try, and please tell me what story your palate pulls from this wine. Shout outs to Adam, the man behind the wines, keep making the good stuff and I 'll keep drinking them. The website is http://www.comartincellars.com/.

Beneventano Anglianico 2008 Epicuro

So, I have a confession to make, I love Trader Joes. A reason I love Trader Joe's, lies in the fact that when I attended college years ago, I was starting to get the wine bug but had no money to support such a habit. I knew I wanted explore the wine world and educate myself on different varietals, and this is where trader Joe's became a saving grace. I found myself making daily visits, trying any new varietals I could get my hands on and taking mental notes on how each affected my palate. One varietal that peaked my curiosity was the Italy's Anglianico Grape. What I'm drinking tonight is the Beneventano Anglianico 2008 Epicuro.

On the Nose: Black-berries mixed in with black-cherries, hints of Cocoa and Vanilla, and on the tail end a splash of blueberries kicks in.

On the Palate: Blue-berries and Black-berries initially engage the front of the tongue. Along the Fruit some hints of tobacco and sour plum joins the party. The finish continues for a long time, but don't get this wine confused with something overly complex, it's a everyday bottle. It has pure fruit, not too structured, but delicious and allows for people not familiar with Anglianico to expand their palate. Wine is so much fun. Salut.

Vicarmont Vineyard Winery Merlot 2008

Nose: Plum, Blackberries and hints of jerky.

Taste: Heavy fruit, well made, good mid-palate and long finish. Blackberries throughout the palate accompanied with plum on finish with hints of vanilla on sides of palate. But there is a hell of a delicious factor in this wine.

Jason Stephens Winery 2007 Estate Select Syrah

This was definitely a quality bottle of wine with good complexities, here are my tasting notes:

Nose: Flakes of cocoa, hints of tobacco, cassis, vanilla, and also little hints of Beef Jerky.

On the Palate: Cassis and Black-cherries on initial attack. Tobacco on a seemless transition from front to mid-palate. Some smokiness on transition from mid palate to finish. The finish could be longer and fuller, but good round tannins.

Sterling Vineyards Napa Valley Zinfandel 2007

I am currently drinking the sterling Vineyards Napa Valley Zinfandel

2007 and on the nose:

I am catching huckleberries some vanilla oak components and also nuances of spice along with the tobacco smell from a cigar box. It has a standard Zinfandel nose along with a few more interesting surprises.

While tasty sterling Zinfandel:

I'm enjoying bing and black cherry in the mid palate and it has a long finish with a bit of cigar box and also small amounts of cocoa on the cherry which translated throughout the whole palate. This is a very balanced wine, the alcohol doesn't rear it's ugly head throughout the whole process of drinking such a wine. I say buy it, try it, make your own assumption and get back to me, it's a great entry wine for people starting off in the world of zinfandel. Till then, Happy New Year.

Thanksgiving + Wine = A good time.

So, what's the plan for thanksgiving? Gonna gobble down some of the usual suspects? You know Turkey, maybe a little ham and stuffing? This year please don't allow for your food to go down to the depths of your stomach, lonely, let's fix it up with something. For this post I plan on listing some of the usual dishes that 90 percent of the american people eat on Thanksgiving and pairing it with wine. With each dish, some will be conservative in approach and some will be for a more adventuress sort, you let me know what works for you. Without further ado,

let's start.

Black eyed Peas (or any earthy type vegetable): I'm pretty sure, although palates are different, that most red wines would not suffice when pairing with black-eyed peas. So what I propose is an Albarino from Spain (Salneval 2008, 9.99 at World Markets). It is an earthy but fruity white wine that has the flexibility to hang strong with the earthiness of black eyed peas.

Turkey: 1st pick: Zinfandel (Peachy Canyon 2007, 8.99 at trader joes)- because if you happen to be at a persons house that tends to dry out the meat a bit, the over-ripeness of the fruit in this wine may save the meal. Zinfandel tends to house lush red fruits within every glass sipped upon.

2nd pick Shiraz (Shoofly 2008, 7.99 at world markets)- because like zinfandel, this wine has a lot of red fruit within it's bottles. To be more specific, the reason I said Shiraz and not Syrah is because although Syrah is the actual grape varietal based out of France, Australia has decided to call the Syrah grape Shiraz. And the truth is, I think if you want to enjoy the Syrah grape, at least on Thanksgiving, Australia is the place you want to enjoy it from. Australian Shiraz tends to have heavy fruit throughout the palate, which might do well for those of you who need a wine to pair up nice with a juicy turkey. FYI, stay away from any over 14.0 alcohol, I'm just saying, It could over power the food.

Ham: The truth is, I would be surprised if you could find a white wine that would pair well with Ham, I know there are some out there, but far and few in between. I think a light but fruity Pinot Noir (Trinity Oaks 2009, 9.99 at Bevmo)would work.

Fried Chicken: So there are two ways you could go about this, you could get some oak induced Chardonnay (Markham 2009, 13.99 at Trader Joes), which would be a safe pairing. Or you could go for a more fruity and acidic alternative, Vouvray (Chenin Blanc, La Cheteau 2009, 5.99 at Trader Joes) from the Loire Valley in France.

Shrimp or light fish (especially with a little spiciness): Your best bet is Prosecco (Zonin 6.99 at trader joes) from Italy, It's reasonably priced and has the bubbles to balance out the flavor of fresh seafood.

Dessert (fruit forward vs. Rich and sweet): If your desserts are focused on fruity dishes my best recommendation is a Muscato D'asti out of Italy (Vino Dei Fratelli 2009, 11.99 at Bevmo), it should have enough bubbles to clear your palate before each bite, and also offers fresh fruit to fall in line with the dish you will be scarfing down.

To pair well with a dessert, that is considered more of a sweeter and richer dish, the standard recommendation is a Port (Graham Six Grapes Port 19.99 at World Markets). Which is well and good, but if you have the chance to get your hands on a Ice wine (Jackson - Triggs Vidal, 19.99 at World Markets) or Late Harvest Riesling(Hogue Late harvest Riesling 2009, 8.99 at Bevmo), you may end up being the life of the party.

Other than that, I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, I am sorry, sometimes life just happens and other things sneak into the picture that you didn't expect. Please leave a message if anything I wrote, helped you out. Till then, Peace and Wine for all.