Chateau l’Argentier Vieilles vignes de Cinsault

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn CinsaultLeave a comment

I wish to declare “force majeure” on this one.

I don’t know where to start.

Maybe because I EXPECTED to be greeted by a spider
wearing tennis shoes when I opened the bottle.

Maybe because I was thinking it was Carignan.

In an attempt to eradicate feelings of insanity
I tried to make a connection between Cinsault and
Carignan.

From wikipedia…

Other varieties that are sometimes confused with Carignan
but have been conclusively proven by DNA analysis to be
distinct include the Sardinian wine grape Nieddera that
is related to the Pascale di Cagliari grape which also
grown on the island and sometimes confused with Carignan,
Cinsault which shares the synonym Samsó in Catalonia with Carignan, <<<<< HUH?
the Italian wine grape Tintilia del Molise that is grown in the
Lazio and Molise wine regions of central Italy and the Spanish
wine grape Parraleta that is grown in the Somontano DO of Aragon.[4]

The problem is that I'm not "intellectually confused", I'm just
"plain confused".

And from https://learn.winecoolerdirect.com/cinsault/

Cinsault Taste & Aroma

The taste of a wine produced with Cinsault grapes can vary
drastically. Because this grape is often used as a filler or
blending grape,
it can produce anything from a rose to a Carignan. <<<<<<<<<<<< WTF?
The taste and aroma can vary depending on the other grapes
used and the individual processing methods.
It’s common for a Cinsault-based wine to have a strong aroma of:
blah, blah, blah, and
reptiles that emit strong odors of varmints when threatened

I give up.

Can I just have a Corbieres with the usual suspects present
in appropriate amounts?

So maybe it's not tennies.

Ahh. Yes. A tuxedo clad fox.

How elegant.

I'm trying to lure the fox back into the bottle
so I can save some (wine) for tomorrow.

Day Two…

I think the fox drowned.

There's a brighter nature to the wine (and ME?) today.

The fresh cut asparagus is warming in the buttered
skillet with a few precisely cut slices of garlic while
I warm up to the wine.

This is better. Maybe a bit of air helped this one/ME.

Low ALC, light body, tart enough, cherry flavor, and
maybe more tannins than I'm used to in the lighter wines
that I enjoy (PNs primarily).

It looks like this is the wrong kind of wine for asparagus,
but that's too bad.

I'm going to be eating a lot of asparagus this spring.
(It was my New Year's resolution.)

I'm impressed with the "purity" of the wine. Maybe
the correct wine word is "clean".

We'll see what happens when we encounter the fox again at
the bottom of the bottle.

I'm actually missing the fox now. Let's see what asparagus
does to the wine.

So, my conclusion is that if you cook the asparagus
"correctly" and it becomes actual FOOD, it would go with
any dry wine that has respectable quality.

I'm enjoying this well enough but my mind wanders to a
Bandol rosé.

I have several white/rosé wines to try the asparagus with.

Next stop will be a rosé.

Recipe:
Rinse asparagus. Leave water on asparagus.
Trim asparagus down to three inches.
Slice three cloves of garlic one eighth in thick,
across the grain. (Use a micrometer to check your work.)
Melt one to two tablespoons SmartBalance in
a nine inch cast iron skillet.
Add asparagus and garlic slices.
Add only enough asparagus to the skillet
such that each "spear" lays on the skillet bottom.
Sprinkle with coarse kosher salt.
Cover and cook on low for several minutes.
Maybe five minutes.
The excess water on the asparagus will steam
the asparagus and make it tender.
Toss the stuff around a bit.
As the water boils away keep the heat at a low
enough temperature to achieve a slight simmer.
Keep covered as the SmartBalance goes to work.
Maybe another five minutes.
Toss the stuff around another bit.
Check to see that the asparagus has started to
brown and the garlic is not TOO brown.
If the garlic looks totally brown then it got too hot.
Turn the heat off and let the UNCOVERED skillet remain on
the cooking surface.
After a few minutes you are in business.

These "first-out-of-the-ground" spears are almost
sweet and nutty.

This batch of asparagus is gone and now I can focus
on the wine.

As bizarre as this might seem, the "hardy" asparagus
actually outfoxed the wine.

It seems quite pale NOW. I could close my eyes and be
convinced I'm drinking a rosé.

I'm cracking the big Wine book on this one to try to
LEARN SOMETHING.

I feel like Thomas Jefferson in his later years in
that I am VERY FOND of the wines from southern France
except that I like them WITH FOOD rather than AFTER.

Location. Location. Location.

Timing is always a challenge, even for an ex-pres.

Oops. I just got transported again.

I'm drooling as I think of a Chinon rosé which I have
never experienced.

I'd take a lighter red if I can get it.

And back to the Cinsault…

The wine has "lasted well" for some reason.

Interspersed sips seemed to be satisfying enough.

No reason to hurry. Every reason to linger.

The food might be wearing off now and I'm picking
up a subtle bit of cinnamon/pecan tannins.

Since this one was done in concrete, where are the
tanning coming from?

Is Cinsault thicker skinned than PN?

Very soft, very subtle, but noticeable.

Maybe I'm getting close to that fox. Maybe I'm just
getting tuned in. Maybe this wine was just PLAIN
GOOD from the get go.

I'm trying to imagine how to BEST ENJOY this wine.

I'm lost. I should have tried some of the smoked turkey.

I might be sneaking up on the fox. Shhh.
Don't wake her up.

Water crackers and Mozzarella.

No, triple cream Brie.

And this wine fits MY definition of "claret", as informed by the
Latin language.

In today's world, and due to our "modern" taste preferences, I
don't know if a Bordeaux (nebulously defined) "claret" can exist.
It's worth the pursuit nonetheless.

When I was a kid, I thought Burgundy was a "heavy" wine and
a (Bordeaux) claret was "lighter". There is no reason for me
to have been thinking "correctly", that's just what I thought.
So I want a "claret" from Bordeaux.

(I know the fox came from Languedoc, I'm just daydreaming
in an uncontrollable fashion.)

And it's gone. No fox.

AS IT TURNS OUT…

I had this back in June and was equally
"impressed". Similar effusive notes.

Wonderwall Pinot Gris

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn Pinot Grigio/Pinot GrisLeave a comment

As a testament to my declining mental
capacity, I had to re-remember that
Pinot Gris is Pinot Grigio.

I can’t believe it.

(My memory and the wine.)

This wine is insanely delicious.

Whether it is EXACTLY “my style” is another
matter. And no matter.

This should add to my wine appreciation factor
by several tenths of a rating point.

I cheated, so I’m expecting apricot and honeyed
grapefruit.

I’ll go with that until something else comes to
mind.

That didn’t take long…

One of my favorite THINGS is Disaronno amaretto on
grapefruit pieces or in grapefruit juice.

This comes to mind as I sip the wine.

I may have to stretch for the almonds but they’re
there. Maybe.

I picked this wine today because my appetizer will
be Honey Baked TURKEY. I figured PG would be OK
with that.

The HBT is delicious and goes just fine with the wine.

I’m having Andre’s bolognese sauce with angel hair again
so this will be REAL INTERESTING.

I figured the PG would be OK because I basically eat
the pasta with just a wee bit of sauce for flavor.
I mix the pasta and sauce as I spoon it out of the
skillet and into my mouth. Pasta on one side,
sauce on the other, eat from the middle. Like that.

Plates are for people, not wine lovers.

This is a MUST WATCH video.

This wine would go with anything between earthworm aspic
and escargo etoufee, so MY lunch was just fine.

The pairing might not be ideal but it could become
one of my favorite things…

You don’t have to watch this one unless you are curious
as to how the wine got its beautiful color.

I’m just going to keep going on about how luscious
this wine is.

And beautiful.

A rosé impersonator.

An intoxicating elixir extraordinaire.

Heaven is comprised of hills and valleys interspersed
with wineries of every sort.

Upon passing through the Pearly Gates, you are handed a
crystal chalice and directed down a winding path. The first
babbling brook you come to is filled with Wonderwall PG and
lined with almond and apricot trees in full bloom.

If you linger, a forest nymph will bring you warm
ciabatta and Petit Basque cheese.

What are we still doing HERE?

Oh yeah, warming up.

My only question is HOW DO THEY DO THAT?

(The flavor that is. Never mind the color of Maria’s
hair. On second thought, THAT would be interesting to know
too.)

Cavallotto Dolcetto

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn DolcettoLeave a comment

This is a new experience for me.

The nose said “Ah yes, continental”.

Obvious red fruit and tannins I presume.

The body is good.

Perhaps a wee bit more “fruit forward”
than I might otherwise prefer.

Lunch today (first course) is Boar’s Head
turkey and cheese (Muenster) on Farm to Market
wheat bread, dolled up with Koops’ honey mustard.

I saute the bread slices separately in
Smart Balance on only one side, construct
the (very thin) sandwich, place the sandwich on a plate
back on top of the cast iron skillet (heat off)
and cover with a cat hair free dish towel for a
few minutes.

(I love cat hair. I just like to eat it separately.)

The result is warm bread on the outside, buttery
crunch and “cool cuts” on the inside.

From now on I will think of Dolcetto whenever I
have a deli sandwich.

The wine is “easy drinking” despite the presumed tannins.

What is one supposed to eat with this luscious stuff?

I’m imagining sausage ravioli in a slightly sweet
(Sicilian) tomato sauce.

Second course will be a bit of Andre’s pork paprika, a
reasonable stand-in.

I hope the wine lasts.

I’m having a tough time finding “complexity”.

This seems like the kind of wine that just konks
you over the head. Hello, I’m Dolcetto.

It’s wonderful, but it’s Dolcetto. Like that.

I wouldn’t mind having one around just in case I’m

It looks like I got lucky. The bottle description
says white meats and cheeses.

I DID pick this one out knowing what I was having
for lunch, BEFORE I started my “studies”.

I’m going to declare this to be the perfect “picnic wine”.

We should all be fortunate enough to have a picnic
every day. Or to just spend two hours eating
lunch and drinking fine wine.

Course Two…

Don’t let

Keep a stash of Dolcetto. How easy is that?

Any minute now…

Oh my goodness.

I put about a cup of “stuff” (pork finely diced and
fungi removed) in the 9″ skillet, drowned it with
low sodium chicken broth, put several
spoonfuls of cooked brown? rice around the sides, and
put the buttered heel of the FtM bread on top (during last
5 minutes), buttered side up. Simmered for 15 minutes
or so until most of the broth cooked away.

I’ll have the upside down, pork paprika, open face,
lift-and-eat-fast-lest-it-fall-through-the-crust sandwich
with the wild rice au jus.

Maybe an Abruzzo or Barbera would have been a better match
but the Dolcetto was just fine.

Lunch is over.

Day Two…

I’m totally distracted today so maybe it’s a good
thing that I have Dolcetto to keep me company.

I wouldn’t mind participating in an experiment/contest in
which wine lovers were subjected to Dolcetto on
a daily basis to see how long they could go before
begging for a different type of wine.

The two final contestants would be fat, dumb, and happy.

The winner would get free wine of their choice for life.

Hang in there.

Johannes Zillinger Reflexion Lage Steinthal St. Laurent

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn St. LaurentLeave a comment

This one is love at first sip.

Makes me think (initially) of black/raspberry herbal tea.

Nice paleness and good acidity for me. No goofy/woody oak.

Plenty of nose but I won’t call it typical PN “perfume”.

Even the color in the glass is beautiful.

Getting an education on this one is a challenge.

I can’t figure out what “Lage Steinthal” means.

I did find this which was interesting…

http://wine.blisswineimports.com/wine/johannes-zillinger/steinhall-reflexion-st-laurent-2013

If I’m reading this correctly, the wine comes
from a “second harvest”.

I don’t KNOW EXACTLY what that implies.

The paleness of the wine and the low ALC leads
me to think it means “LESS RIPE”.

That’s fine with me. The book implies that St. L
can be like a BOLD PN. This one is not bold.

I’m having smashed red potatoes that have overdosed
on rosemary. The wine actually goes pretty well.
It tames the rosemary with a little thyme maybe.

Also, for some reason, I’m able to make this wine
LAST. I must be taking fewer and smaller sips.

That’s nice.

Day Two…..

Another day of blissful slow sipping.

I’m being reminded of Languedoc wine today. Maybe from
a vintage “plagued” by “a sparsity of sun”.

There’s a richness of a blended wine and a wee
bit of stemmy greenness.

NOW I’m drooling for a Corbières wine.

How do you stop this incessant drooling?

OMG! I’m getting SLUDGE at the end of the bottle.

This is an unexpected and heavenly pleasure for a PN-like wine.

The sludge transports me to Alba.

And NOW as I sip the last few droplets off the
sludge, I am tasting cherry juice dripping off a
deer hide.

Wow.

Wonderful.

Wonderwall Pinot Noir

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn Pinot NoirLeave a comment

After deciding to open this one, the next
step is to listen to Oasis tunes until the
next best action seems to be to take a sip.

Shocking!

When can I start drinking?

All in good time…

First sip…

Roses? Where do we go now?

Although “perfume” is an expected PN experience,
I don’t remember ever getting hit with roses.

Maybe like an “immature” version of the classic
Barolo aroma.

But it’s fading. I hear the pitter-patter of
cherry feet. Or should that be clippety-clop?
They’re so BIG.

I’ll TRY to enjoy my onomatopoetic, oenophilic
experience.

A TART cherry milkshake fruit bomb.

Wow.

I think I’m tasting “sweetness”.

OK, let’s go to school. The ALC on this
one is 12.9% which leads me to believe that
IT COULD BE SWEET.

Why don’t they make PORT out of these grapes?

Maybe I’m being silly, but who knows.

Now I’m thirsty for V or LBV port.

As long as we’re having dessert…

I’ll have the special dark chocolate almond nuggets
with that seductive Wonderwall PN.

This one would be perfect for Sangria, so maybe
it would be a good wine to go with a simple fruit plate
and poppy seed dressing (on the fruit).

Now I’m drooling again.

The fruit plate would defuse the wine sweetness.

Moving right along…

I’m tasting smoke/ash/tobacco. I can’t decide which is worse.

Ash maybe. Not quite fresh enough to be cured tobacco leaf.

How do they do that to PN?

So, I imagine that this was a baby step in the “richer” direction
in order to expand my PN experience.

The problem is that it is too sweet, too soft/milky, and too smokey/ashy for me
with respect to my PN preferences.

Day Two…

Never mind yesterday.

I’m totally enjoying this wine today.

The ash is still there but it is not “burdensome”.

It doesn’t seem THAT silky.

There’s an interesting aroma that I can’t place.

And it’s gone…

Hang in there.

Nik Weis St. Urbans-Hof Wiltinger Riesling

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn RieslingLeave a comment

It’s 9:30am and I am already drooling.

The wine has been moved from the cooler to the
fridge so it will be REALLY COLD.

I’m having leftover André’s Quiche Lorraine which
I will gently warm up in the convection oven.

I need a distraction until I get hungry.

OK, that helped. I cleaned my wine glass three
times.

Finally…

I’m just smelling the top of the uncorked bottle.

I can pick up that “salty minerality” on the nose.

This is going to be interesting.

There’s an odor like “Epsom salts”, but wonderful.

The “salty minerality” description and my nose suggests
that the “minerals” are iron and magnesium as opposed to
slate or graphite.

I’ll remember this wine the next time I sharpen my
mower blades.

Let me pour some and swish it around a bit.

Can I smell it from two feet away???

First sip…

An exploding tart citrus bouquet.

Dry to be sure but I taste that wee bit of
sugar dictated by the Feinherb classification.

I thought I picked up a whiff of honey and expected it
to more evident on the tongue. I say it is subdued.
OK, it’s there, just hiding behind the kumquats.

One sliver of quiche down and the wine is still bouncing
off the walls.

No complaints about the unsheathed “rapier-like” acidity here. Sheesh.

An now, for a bit of geography. First, I had to struggle to learn that
this one is not from the Saar. Did I take home something from Saar? I know
you mentioned something about Saar. Anyway, it appears that St. Urbans-Hof
has two terrain disadvantages. It is on the flat AND
north-facing side of the river. 0-4. The Mosel gets a bye.

Does this have any bearing on the “style” of wine?

Of course it does. It’s ALMOST bone dry, SUPER acidic, and
REALLY LOW in ALC. Who needs sunshine?

Nevertheless, perfect. No need to chug this one. I COULD drink it
all day. We’ll see how it goes.

Maybe there’s a bit of apple in there. Tart, but ripe,
not green.

Now this is really bizarre. I just got an “oiliness” sensation
along with some “herbiness”. I didn’t get that sensation straightaway
even though the description was trying to help me. Without further
guidance, I declare it to be thyme with a hint of tarragon, but I’ve
been smelling THAT since I cleaned up the herb garden yesterday.

Maybe the wine and I are relaxing a bit.

I love the citrus flower girl with thyme braids in her hair.

Afterthought…

Now I’m bouncing off my cranial walls after seeing that the urbans-hof.de site
actually specifies “iron” as the “mineral”. I didn’t make it to this site
until I re-corked the bottle for the day. I can’t believe I pulled the correct
rabbit out of the hat.

Day Two…

I’m just going to have the leftovers as an aperitif
to lunch.

 

Straight Shooter Pinot Noir

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn Pinot Noir1 Comment

Back in Oregon. Back in the locker room.

I think we can dispense with any idea that what I’m
detecting is a “defect” or “taint”.

Let’s call it “pleasantly musty”. I don’t know.

I pick it up on the nose and tongue.

In most of the Oregon PNs it dissipates quickly.

It’s lingering a bit on this one.

I’ll wind up finding fault with PN if it
DOESN’T taste like this.

…
The Vosne-Romanée was a lovely wine but failed to exhibit
that wonderfully pleasant musty sensation found
in run-of-the-mill Oregon wines.
…

So, I have gone into the weeds to see if I can find
any evidence that Brett or TCA is “a problem” for
Oregon wines.

I found this…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/why-screw-caps-and-oregon-pinot-noirs-are-made-for-each-other/2015/09/04/a01bb046-50ca-11e5-933e-7d06c647a395_story.html?utm_term=.8df1d9eb6887

This is particularly interesting to me because the
remedy for TCA goofiness is a screwcap.

I actually get giddy when the wine I pull out of
the cooler has a screwcap because I expect it
WON’T BE JACKED.

So, if we take the path of least resistance, and assume
that I’m tasting TCA, then there has to be an
“always present” continuum of the culprit in Oregon PN
such that it only “sometimes” causes most peeps
to notice while it “most of the time” causes me to
notice to one degree or another, without negatively
affecting my overall enjoyment of the wine.

I’ve only had one Oregon PN where it was unbearable.
(Seaglass)

I’ve cleared the shoulder on this big fat bottle and I
think the distraction is gone.

I’m picking up some of the oak, and that is particularly
“interesting”.

The ML softening puts the acidity at bay I guess, so
I imagine that my tastes require a really high acidity
(and low ALC) going into that process such that the
acidity is not obliterated.

This is a “high” ALC (13.8%) wine so I expect it to be too
soft.

It’s SOFT ENOUGH.

Either I’m in left field or I’m getting a handle on things.

I don’t know.

All of this intellectual tail-chasing doesn’t mean that
I’m not enjoying the wine.

The wine is GOOD. It’s just more interesting.

And getting more “intense” in the fruit department as I sip.

It just takes me forever to lock in.

Day Two…

I’m not going to eat today.

I’ll just listen to this and finish my FREAKING DELICIOUS
WINE…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89g1P_J40JA

Not sated???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8VHHcd0M_o

Masochistic?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtGjJVcrKQU

Hang in there and don’t be shy about capitulating
to the direction of pioneers; no matter the genre or
oenoligical wizardry.