2009 September « Working Class Wine

Archive for September, 2009

Sep

Double Dog Dare

By Cunningly Brash Leave a Comment

Categories: Cabernet Sauvignon, California and Red

Cabernet

Vintage???? Your guess is as good as mine.

$2.99

California

Staying true to our title on this one. Double Dog Dare. Most of you who know me know I won’t snub my nose at a cheap bottle of wine. If I come across one and I haven’t tried it, well you guessed it, I buy it. I bought this wine around January of this year and it sat in the rack collecting dust underneath a few bottles of similar color. With a day off and nothing better to do, I popped this bugger open. There was no vintage on this bottle so I can’t compare to and known Californian vintages. I don’t know exactly how to describe the color other then appealing. The nose is of berry, cherry and vanilla, but of the cheap perfume version. It has just a touch of artificial to it. It’s light on flavor, with a medium body. The flavor has no real direction. Lightly oaked. It doses however have the flavors of chocolate covered cherry crossed with a box of California raisins. It’s not bad but with nothing truly noteworthy. It is moderately unbalanced and lacks a quality finish. I would be describing it better as an aftertaste. Although not very complex I would say it would be a good wine for brand new wine drinkers. Not expensive at all and with a few characteristics that is easily identified. One must also take price vs. drinkability into play, which sends this wine into competition with some other lower priced but equally drinkable wines. I will give this wine a iffy 70 points. Give it a try, and if you can figure out the vintage, let me know.

Sep

Robert Mondavi

By Cunningly Brash Leave a Comment

Categories: Cabernet Sauvignon, California, NAPA and Red

Cabernet Sauvignon
2006
Napa, California
8.99

This bugger started with a wine tasting at Olive Garden. The only one out of the bunch that was any good in my opinion. The best I could tell from the thimble full of wine they gave me. I bought a bottle from a local grocer and it sat in the rack for about a year. Pleasant aroma and appealing color. Nose was rich with blackberry and plum fruits, Medium, bordering full bodied. Flavor didn’t have the backbone to back up the aroma. Seamed bland with no real distinction. It finishes with a mild but unbalanced finish. Great in a thimble not so much by the glass. Sorry Robert

Sep

2up

By Cunningly Brash 1 Comment

Categories: Australia, Australia South East, My Favorites, Red and Shiraz

Shiraz

2007

South Australia

$9.97

Ok. Hang on tight. Many many years ago. Ok like two years but still a while ago, this wine was recommended to me. I have always kept my eyes pealed but to no luck. It kind slipped out of mine and I committed it to just another wine the culture vacuum of Myrtle Beach had claimed until today. A canceled trip to Charleston landed Kathryn and I at World Market. As we wonder thru the isles Kathryn called out, “Look 2up”. As we continued to shop I came across some gourmet coffees and set the wine aside. Kathryn stubbornly convinced me into the wine as well as the coffee and home we went. Not really in a wine mood I am approached buy Kathryn with the bottle of 2up. Agreed she open it up and we have a glass. Love at first sniff. Kathryn’s eyes light up and mine soon to follow. An amazing and unique nose and a flavor. The second sip we where hooked. 2up a small winery owned by husband and wife in Australia as I once heard it explained as “other wineries break more wine then 2up produces” only puts out 10,000 cases for export. This wine is of such quality and bargain. Easley a $20 plus a bottle wine with only a $9 price tag. I was put in a tough position. Do I let such a good wine slip away and finish the bottle I have or do I practice what I preach ad rearrange some bill money drive my ass back to World Market and buy a case of the stuff. Well 10 min later I was on my way only to find 12 bottles left, and with a short chat with the store manager I found out the wine was bough on a whim and they didn’t intend on reordering it. I bought up the case left and made it know I indented to buy more. With my 10% case discount I was out the door with 12 bottles of $20 wine for just over $100. It takes a special wine to get me in the car, to the store, and during rush hour before I even finish the first bottle. If you see it buy it. If you don’t like it, ill buy it off ya. Quality vs. price this is a solid 5 glass wine. I give it 91 points on the D-lo scale.

Tasting Notes:

This wine has a color of that plumb that is just about to ripen. The nose is full of that almost ripe plum and balanced with sturdy black current and coco. The flavor is of full bodies and heavy plum. Balanced cracked pepper, and spicy toasted oak. The finish is one to experience. Dry and ever lasting. This wine has exceeded my expectation of and $9 Shiraz. Although the wine is named after a Ausi game of chance, I must admit that taking chance on random wine has landed me with 2 thumbs up for 2up

Sep

Hugl Weine

By Cunningly Brash 1 Comment

Categories: Austria, Gruner Veltliner and White

2008

Grüner Veltliner

Niederösterreich, Austria

$10.97

Total Wine is a grocery store sized place with nothing but wine and beer. If you have one in your state, GO! Saturdays they have a free tasting. Normally six wines of the same region, and if not some method to there madness. This was one of five on offer for a free tasting. Three Austrian whites and three Cali reds. (Don’t understand the method here) This was put up against three of its neighbors and although the nose didn’t compete at all but the flavor blew the rest away. Very light nose but with a subtle hint of citrus. Color is crisp and light. The first mouthful was a crisp citric with a hint of cucumber. Slightly unbalance acidity. A little sting that hangs around. Very present tropical fruit with an earthy undertone which meshed well. Overall a solid wine. Not so much a everyday wine, but paired with a good meal such as poultry, pastas in light sauces, or sushi you probably couldn’t go wrong.

Sep

George Duboeuf

By Cunningly Brash Leave a Comment

Categories: Burgundy, France, My Favorites, Pinot Noir and Red

2005

(Burgundy) Pinot Noir Reserve

Burgundy France

$10.99

I would like to start by saying I am not a Pinot fan. I have never been fond of it but Kathryn is, so to be fair I buy whites and pinot for her. This Pinot was given to us at our Wine’aux nine party by a good friend of ours Debbie, the owner of Tea Time Cafe in Market Commons. On to the wine… As I said I’m not a pinot fan so I went into this not expecting much, but man was I surprised. This one knocked my socks off. An absolute fine wine from start to finish. Rich rich burgundy in color. Pinot in my experience is normally lighter in body but this one was medium. Big fruit nose full of red cherry and raspberry. Strawberry on the tongue, and a bit sweet. Round flavor with a killer finish. Probably the best finish pinot has to offer. Very very good pinot worthy of 3 stars in my book.

Sep

Dry Creek Vineyard

By Cunningly Brash Leave a Comment

Categories: California, California Sonoma, Chenin Blanc, My Favorites and White

Chinin Blanc
2007
Dry Creek (Sonoma Valley) California

$11.00

I can’t say enough about Dry Creek. If you are looking for a dry crisp white that makes all you worries melt away, this is the one. For the price you will get a truly superb wine with some pretty intense complexity. It is light on the nose, with citrus and what what reminds me of a sunny summer day. It is light colored and brilliantly clear. It is dry and has a green leafy effect on the tongue as if you bit into some fresh cut greens. I have paired this with Swiss cheeses, and chicken dishes, but if you want a pairing maid in heaven. Try a glass of Dry Creek with a plate of sushi. You will not be disappointed. Enjoy. My Favorites

Sep

Barton & Guestier

By Cunningly Brash Leave a Comment

Categories: Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc, France, Merlot, Red and Saint Emillion

Bordeaux (60% Merlot, 40% Cab Franc)

2004

Saint Emillion, France

$15.99

My search for a bold and fat Bordeaux for under 20 has been unsuccessful once again. I have not had a wine from Saint Emillion that i have not enjoyed, until today. I placed this bottle in my wine chiller set it for 64 degrees and let it sit for a few hours. The time had come to give it a try. The nose was full of cherry and what seamed to be wet cardboard. The wine was clear but with a rust color. medium bodied at best, no with no real flavor. I let it decant for an hour, and when i returned it sadly didn’t improve much. It has a hint of fruit that i could only compare to those little mushy grapes that hang onto a bushel of concord grapes a little sour and bland. This wine may have been corked as well, but showed not tell tail signs of it. Nothing like any Bordeaux i have had in the past. Sadly i can only award this wine two stars. Two stars being i didn’t have to pour it out. This is strike two in my quest for a quality fat Bordeaux under 20.

Sep

George Duboeuf Pouilly-Fuissé

By Cunningly Brash Leave a Comment

Categories: Burgundy, Chardonnay, France, White and White Burgundy

Pouilly-Fuissé “poo-yay fwee-SAY”

006

White Burgundy (Chardonnay)

$18.99

(89)

Please please please do some research on this wine. This wine region of Burgundy France was almost destroyed but cheap imitations of its wines. The wine became enormously popular ten or so years ago so every Joe blow from around the world stated slapping Pouilly-Fuissé on the bottle subsequently destroying its reputation. George Duboeuf may not rack the wine in Burgundy but the grapes do come from the region. Very very good. Wonderful and powerful nose. One of the most aromatic wines i have ever had. It is followed by crisp ripe fruit. It is dry and has a medium oak flavor. A full bodied white with an amazing finish. I paired this with some jarlsberg swiss and monterrey jack, which went superbly

Sep

Château Tour de Ségur Lussac-Saint-Emilion

By Cunningly Brash Leave a Comment

Categories: Bordeaux, France, Red and Saint Emillion

Merlot 60% Cabernet Franc 25% Carbernet Sauvignon 15%

Bordeaux, France, St Emillion

2005

$18-$22

Long name, but with a wine as good as this its well deserved. Now this wine is not for beginners, you may want to try a few wines before you head strait into this one. I say this because I made this mistake. This wine is one of eight wines served in Vin de France in Epcot. Many moons ago I tried this (Not at all failure with wine) and thought wine was the worst thing ever, but as I played around with wine more and more and discovered what I like, I found this wine to be superb. My most recent taste was in June of 2009, and it was 2005 vintage. Epcot doesn’t aerate its wines, so fresh out of a new bottle it’s stuffy and smells very unimpressive. Give it a swirle’ swirl, let it breath and take a sniffe’ sniff, and you will find it much more robust with hints of smoke, even legs and awesome balance of bold fruit and acidity. This is a little more expensive then I care to pay for a bottle of wine but if you have something to celebrate, splurge, its well worth it.

The particulars:
Begins to open up after 2 to 3 years, will age 10 to 12 years

Sep

Hardy’s Nottage Hill

By Cunningly Brash Leave a Comment

Categories: Australia, Australia South East, Chardonnay and White

Chardonnay

2006

South East Australia

$8.89

Hardy’s was first recommended to me for their shiraz, but while wondering around a local wine store and locating probably the last 2003 Rosemount show reserve on the planet i saw Hardy’s Chardonnay. Although i had not tried the shiraz but trust heavily on this persons recommendation Hardy’s. I snatched it up and popped it open. Weak on the nose but huge in flavor. Dry and crisp. Citric and with just a little bite. Super super wine. I paired it with a happy birthday cupcake. Terrible choice.