Month: November 2018

Incânta Pinot Noir 2017

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn Pinot Noir, UncategorizedLeave a comment

2018-10-28 Incânta Pinot Noir 2017.jpg
Ah yes.

Romanian Pinot Noir.

I always get a “tannin sensation”
from these.

I have no idea as to what or why.

Maybe they run the skins and seeds
though a wringer so they get every
last bit of “stuff” off/out of them.

This one is “richer” than I might
expect.

The tannins keep it from being an
easy drinking fruit bomb.

Then there is this pale herbiness.

Like maybe a combination of basil
and mint.

I’m having it with free food.

Maggiano’s Mom’s Lasagne.

It’s ALL RIGHT.

To be any better it would have to
have just a wee bit less fennel
(It. sausage?) and the wine would
have to be Barbaresco.

I could get used to the fennel,
but I will never get used to
Barbaresco substitutes.

So…

When I received this wine in the
6/$60 deal, I glanced at the label
and saw “Wine of xxxxNIA Vintage 2017”.

My mind turned the incomprehensible into
“CaliforNIA”.

Oh boy, another WHATEVER wine.

NOT SO.

This wine is a treat and is
recommended to PN lovers.

I just might have the wine leftovers
with chicken thighs braised with
garlic and thyme.

There’s still a few sips left for today and
I AM enjoying each one.

Was there a hint of chocolate in that sip?

Chocolate covered wild cherries
with a hint of mint.

I should get a prize for drinking
ONLY half of THIS bottle.

Or something…

St. Peter: We weren’t expecting you.
OTWN: I suffocated.
SP: HOW?
OTWN: I tried to hold my breath until
I could finish that Romanian PN.
SP: Here, take a sip of this,
it will make you feel better.
OTWN: What is it?
SP: Your leftovers.
OTWN: Good heavens.

Day Two…

I did make the braised chicken
thighs.

Theresa brought home a loaf of ciabatta
yesterday, so I adorned pieces of that
with SmartBalance and let them warm up
in the skillet at the end of the braising
time.

So good.

Notwithstanding the tannins, I actually
found myself trying to “chug” the wine.

Strange.

Hang in there.

Gabbiano Promessa Pinot Grigio 2015

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris, UncategorizedLeave a comment

2018-10-28 Gabbiano Promessa Pinot Grigio 2015.jpg

At least I didn’t get demerits
for not showing up for class.

There is absolutely nothing wrong
with this wine.

I paid $7.64 for it in Paola.

This would be my pick as a
“party wine” when the food focus
is Italian.

I had fun with this wine back
in June so I won’t waste any
more words “appreciating” a $7 wine.

On the other hand, in June, I didn’t
have a outer-wall-integrity-challenged-
hot-water-heater-flexible-interconnect
pipe with which to enjoy my wine.

Hang in there.

Kettmeir Müller Thurgau Alto Adige – Südtirol 2015

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn Müller ThurgauLeave a comment

2018-10-23 Kettmeir Müller Thurgau Alto Adige - Südtirol 2015.jpg

After several minutes in diacritic hell,
I can finally write my notes.

I didn’t take notes in real-time,
but I can assure you that this
is a wine YOU SHOULD NOT PASS UP.

Whether this wine tastes like this
or that is not the interesting thing.

The interesting thing is how this
wine can make ME feel like an idiot.

(The good thing is that even inexpensive
wines have this effect.)

My first thought was how wonderful it
is to be having a GERMAN wine made from
a lesser known grape variety.

Then I couldn’t figure out what a GERMAN
wine was doing with a DOC designation.

Back to school…

Here’s a map of Italy that shows you where
the region fits in to the big scheme of
things.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trentino-Alto_Adige/S%C3%BCdtirol

Here’s a map that shows how the region
is snuggled around VENETO.

Top 5 wine hotels in Italy’s Veneto

To me, the “upper right of Italy”
is MOST DESIRABLE for white wine.

Let’s see how Müller Thurgau
fits into the regional picture…

https://www.altoadigewines.com/en/home.html

And finally, a little grape history…

https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/white/muller-thurgau

So now I can feel smart until I see
another one of these on the store shelf again.

Hang in there.

MDZ Malbec 2017 Mendoza, Argentina

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn MalbecLeave a comment

2018-10-26 MDZ Malbec 2017.jpg

Another of the 6/$60 wines.

Jammy.

Milky.

Flabby.

Pruney.

The wine is fine.

It’s just not my cup of tea.

There may be a detectable
“herbal character” to help
break the monotony.

At least the wine weighs in
at a scant 13% ALC.

The wine went well enough
with the pork Bolognese leftovers
which I heavily “augmented”.

Yesterday, I made my triannual trip
to Lukas in Overland Park and one of
the wines recommended (and purchased)
was A FREAKING MALBEC.

It was fermented in “concrete eggs”,
so I had to buy it.

I’ve only had TWO Malbecs over the past
TWO years and neither one spent time
in concrete.

Getting back to this wine, as I reach my
half bottle limit for the day, I’m picking
up a distinct “tartness”.

Tomorrow will be interesting.

Day Two…

Tomorrow (today) IS BETTER.

My “palate” is zeroed in and now
I can just enjoy the wine without
ALL THAT TRAUMA.

Lightness.

Beautiful dancing red fruit.

Great background choreography.

Left handed violin players.

Autistic savant economics professors.

Ooops. My leash broke.

Hang in there.

Cosentino The Chard Lodi 2012

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn ChardonnayLeave a comment

2018-10-21 The Chard Lodi 2012.jpg

The wine was “interesting”.

I would say that the wine had
“way more FLAVOR than I can comprehend”.

Maybe I should try a Chard from
this AVA again if I get the chance.

This would be a “try it and tell
me what you think” kind of wine.

Since I gravitate to Chablis,
CA Chard is a big huge question mark.

It might be interesting to seek
out a CA Chard that has “particular”
characteristics and see how the
chosen wine hits my wine target.

I’ve never given CA Chard
a second thought.

How dumb is that?

Hang in there.