Month: August 2018

Saumur Puy Notre Dame ‘Le Pied a l’Etrier’, Domaine de l’Enchantoir 2015

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn Cabernet Franc, UncategorizedLeave a comment

2018-08-01 Saumur Puy Notre Dame ‘Le Pied a l’Etrier’, Domaine de l’Enchantoir 2015.jpg

The first few sips hit
me with…

Surprising acidity.

“Crud” in the glass.

2018-08-01 Saumur Puy Notre Dame ‘Le Pied a l’Etrier’, Domaine de l’Enchantoir 2015 Wine Glass Crud.jpg

Big jammy flavor.

Oak aroma AND flavor.
(Forgive me, read on…)

Maybe a bit of “green”.

…

I expect to see more of
“the crud” later on and
that will be interesting.
(You got that right.)

I haven’t drunk CF enough
to have reasonable
expectations, but this one
catches me off guard with
the big flavor.

The acidity has something
like a fizz sensation to it.

I’m pretty much overwhelmed
with the aromas and flavors.

That’s how wimpy a red
drinker I am.

(I like reds, I’m just wimpy.)

Now I’m picking up the tannins.

After a few minutes of
sipping and snacking, I
can’t get away from the oak.

It’s getting in the way.

I imagine that one has to
subdue this characteristic
with some food that is
COMPATIBLE.

I’m starting to drool just
thinking about the perfect
food.

Panini-style grilled baloney,
onion, and sweet pepper
sandwiches on hotdog buns.

We wouldn’t want to insult
the Italians by ALSO wasting
GOOD BREAD.

Oh silly me,,,

We need something “French” to eat.

Escargot Flambé Trébuchet

But, but, but, what about
the wine?

It’s “challenging” FOR ME.

The good news is that I
CAN’T EVEN FINISH HALF THE
BOTTLE today.

Tomorrow will be interesting.

Day Two…

Still jammy. Blackberry maybe.

Still oaky.

TOO MUCH power Christopher.

I’m going to flog the
wine with anti-braised
(chicken broth/SmartBalance)
Brussels sprouts, parsley
and garlic.

Just smelling this concoction
cooking is making the
wine taste better.

OMG!!! After half a skillet of
the Niburu Brussels Sprouts,
the wine is completely tamed.

I submit. Drinking good wine
without eating the RIGHT food
MAY BE a mortal sin.

(If it was a venial sin,
purgatory would be a wine school.
What kind of punishment
would that be?)

St. Peter: Did you enjoy
the Loire wine we provided
for you?
OTWN: It was too heavy.
SP: What did you eat with it?
OTWN: Potato chips.
SP: Go stand in the corner.
OTWN: There’s too many
people over there.
SP: We noticed.
OTWN: What are you doing
about it?
SP: How would you like
to have a NDE and go
back as a Sommelier.
OTWN: Will I get a discount
on on the wines?
SP: Go stand in the
other corner with the
bankers.

There were six whole
cloves of garlic in the
skillet which I saved for
dessert.

(I know what you’re
thinking. He ate a
skillet for dessert.
Don’t be silly. I had
garlic for dessert.)

The wine is “smooth” and
delicious now.

And getting more “astringent”
with each sip.

How can it be smooth and
astringent?

I don’t know.

Smooth: concordance of flavor
Astringent: raspy feeling in the mouth
Meaning: Astringency wins by TKO
because it saved its best punches
for the end.

And before the wine was
totally gone, I checked to
make sure that I HAD BEEN
drinking CF.

Here’s the Skurnick link…

https://www.skurnik.com/sku/saumur-puy-notre-dame-le-pied-a-letrier-domaine-de-lenchantoir-3-2/

WAIT A MINUTE!!!

“Aged exclusively in tank”!!!

What (on Earth) was I tasting???

Where did that oaky flavor come from???

Sheeeeeeeeeesh!!!

After reading some STUFF,
maybe I was smelling/tasting
the tobacco that I see in some
notes. Ash would move me in
the right direction too.

This wine has indeed been
challenging, but it has been
MOST INTERESTING.

And now I’m meeting the expected
“crud” at the bottom of the
“well dimpled” bottle.

So long my friend. I hope
to meet the rest of your
family some day.

Casata Monticello Nebbiolo d’ Alba 2015

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn Nebbiolo D'Alba, UncategorizedLeave a comment

2018-07-29 Casata Monticello Nebbiolo d' Alba 2015.jpg

Day One…

I don’t remember.

Day Two…

This wine is OK, but I
suspect that an ordinary,
honest-to-god Barbaresco
would quickly extinguish
its wax fueled flame.

Nevertheless, as far as
a close-but-no-cigar Neb
might go, I can’t find a
fault with this one.

Maybe it’s like the
homecoming queen’s twin sister.
She just doesn’t have the
personality.

Let’s focus on something
less precocious.

Like braised pork.

The pork was cubed shoulder
from Omaha Steak which my wife
rescued from the I-don’t-like-this-crap
corner of my sister-in-law’s freezer.

I SLOW sauteed it in some
olive oil with a wee bit of
freshly ground pepper, scraping
the skillet constantly to keep
all those caramelizing bits of
gustatorial heaven from sticking,
and adding six whole cloves of
garlic as this process neared
its conclusion.

Added chicken broth to cover,
two sprigs of fresh thyme,
and simmered covered
for maybe thirty minutes until
the broth was mostly gone.

Free food never tasted so good.

And then to have it with
this wine.

Life is tough for the old
folks that trade stock options
in retirement.

Eat free food and contemplate
the relative merits of a
SPECIFIC type of wine whose
grapes were grown in a
SPECIFIC location.

But, but, but, what about
THIS wine?

If you like Barolo and
Barbaresco, but can’t afford
them for every day drinking,
then this wine will
motivate you to get a better
job or enter riskier stock
option trades.

I’m old, so I just have
to pace myself.

And look forward to enjoying
this one again, sooner
rather than later.

Hang in there.

Garage Wine Co País 2017

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn País, UncategorizedLeave a comment

2018-07-27 Garage Wine Co País 2017.jpg

Hook nose, nebulously
named band, some spin,
and nested parentheses.

I stared at the label in
puzzlement as I moved this
wine from the cooler to the
fridge.

This is where I started
in order to get my bearings…

https://www.elixirwinegroup.com/chile-wines/garage-wine-co-2015-pais

I normally don’t read about
a wine BEFORE I start drinking it.

This is going to be INTERESTING.

My only concern is the oak
treatment.

Hopefully the barrels were
REALLY BIG and REALLY “NEUTRAL”.

The comparison to Beaujolais is
a bit “suspect”, but I won’t mind
being surprised.

Now I wait for lunch to happen.

………

I made it.

So PALE in the glass.
(The wine)

SUBTLE, but lovely perfume.
(MY dog after rolling
on the petrified rabbits.)

TANNINS???
(Qat, in season. Can we get
this (the shrub) on Amazon?)

I was hoping the “neutral”
oak would yield some tannins
and I think I got my wish.

This wine is a bullseye.

I’m NOT having fun trying
to get educated on the
Secano Interior DO.

I found a few things to read
but I’m not finding anything
“satisfying”. I can’t find
a map.

After a couple of open face,
broiled, spicy chicken, soft corn
tortilla TACOs???, I declare the
wine to be more like a Romanian
PN than anything else I HAVE
DRUNK.

And that (the Romanian stuff)
MAY BE my favorite WINE thing.

(Obviously, the OTWN is opining
a wee bit hyperbolically here.)

(For want of an accurate and
comprehensive “spell checker”
the nation was lost.)

(Oh, wait a minute, (as if that’s
how long it took to remember that)
there’s Burgundy, Beaujolais, Barolo,
Barbaresco, Rioja, Bordeaux
(in season AND FROM THE RIGHT
PLACES), and so on and so forth.
I get confused.)

So obviously, I’M REALLY
ENJOYING THIS WINE.

Every wine has a distinct
character that has to be
appreciated at the right
place and time.

I’m reminded of this character…

Gee, when IS IT a good time
to watch Jimmy Durante???

But, but, but, what
about the wine?

It’s like drinking INNOCENCE.

Purposeful ambiguity of implication intended.

I can’t imagine what it’s
like to ACTUALLY PRODUCE A WINE
THAT TASTES THIS GOOD.

Obviously, it’s…

…

I looked out this morning and the sun was gone
Picked out a wine to start my day
I lost myself in the familiar smell
I closed my eyes and I slipped away

It’s more than a feeling (more than a feeling)
When I taste that old blend they used to make (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
’till I see Marianne (the wine maker) walk away
I see my Marianne walkin’ away

…

Wake up! Wake up!

It’s ONLY a nightmare.

She’s right here.

We’re going to bottle it
tomorrow and the whole
vintage is sold out.

Thank God. What’s for lunch?

Who cares?

But, but, but, what about
the wine?

If the vineyards didn’t
burn up, this one is a
MUST TRY AGAIN IF THE
OPPORTUNITY PRESENTS ITSELF
AND I CAN REMEMBER THAT
I LOVED THIS WINE.

Hang in there.