Quick & Dirty Tasting Notes From W&CN

Much to my surprise, when I logged on this morning to add this week's tasting notes, I noticed blog traffic had spiked. After checking the traffic sources, I learned that some it was from Google searches of the following keywords:

C'mon, that's pretty funny.

The W&CN crew has been slacking with tasting notes lately due to a cancellation a couple weeks ago, catching up with family and friends the following week, and general laziness last Wednesday. Lately, I've been keeping myself busy between school and working two jobs. As a result, I haven't been savoring the wine as much as I have been guzzling it. Hunting season is just around the corner and winter will soon follow it, so blogging will likely be slow for the rest of the year. 


The most notable moment of last Wednesday: A belted kingfisher landed on the limb of pine tree directly above us. As we were all checking out the bird, the bird pooped. As we watched it fall, the group let out a roar of commotion and our gazes lost sight of the dropping before we could see it land. We quickly learned that it landed on Matt R.'s pants. Coincidentally, I snapped a photo of the offending bird no more than 30 minutes before this event.

© Paula Frenette 2013

Only one of Wednesday's bottles was new to us, as far as tasting notes go.

Name: Cupcake Cabernet Sauvignon
Producer: Cupcake Vineyards
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2010
Region:  Valle Central
Country:  Chile
Alcohol:  12.5%
Price: $10/bottle (average)
Barcode: 0081308591872
Flavors: cherry, mocha, oak

Notes: The oak is slight in taste, but hits you more on the nose. Cherry dominates the flavor and the mocha is much more subtle. Very light and smooth mouth-feel.

Rating: We had actually forgotten to rate this wine, probably because of the bird poop mishap. But, I'm going to give it a 7/10. It's tasty and cheap, and as far as wine goes, that's all I really need.

W&CN Tasting Notes

As the outdoor drinking season is coming to a close, the crowds have started to die down at W&CN. The quiet night started off with a new wine, which we all enjoyed, followed by 337, an old favorite. We ended the night with another blind tasting. 

Name: The Dreaming Tree - Crush
Producer: The Dreaming Tree
Varietal: Red
Vintage: 2011
Region:  North Coast, CA
Country:  US
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $14/bottle (Average)
Barcode: 0082100738533
Flavors: raspberry
Notes: Somewhat chocolatey to the nose. Each sip supplies a bit of initial tartness, but it quickly disappears into a clean finish. This wine’s flavor is simple and straight-forward with just a whisper of raspberry in the background. Good for the novice red drinker. 

Rating: 7.0/10.0

 

Until last night, I had no idea Dave Matthews knew anything about wine.

 

 As part of Dreaming Tree Wine's commitment to sustainability, the bottles are a quarter pound lighter, which helps reduce the overall cost of the wine. Regardless of your stance on the environment, cheaper wine is something we can all appreciate.

Name: Kendal-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Producer: Kendal-Jackson Vineyards and Winery
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2008
Region: California
Country: US
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $18.99/bottle
Barcode: 0081584013174
Flavors: dark berries, mocha
Notes: The smell is subtle with enticing notes of leather and oak. Full-bodied but smooth from the first sip. Dark berries dominate its flavor, but the delicate hints of mocha add to the overall velvety finish. Recommended for everyone, especially if you’re trying to get lucky.  (Blind tasting)
Rating: 8.0/10.0

As it turns out, there is a lot to learn about wine from blind tastings. By eliminating any expectations that could be derived from brand-names and artwork provided by the label, it is easier to free your mind and your taste buds and actually focus on what you are experiencing. Lucky for us, we blindly tasted Kendal-Jackson. Granted, it is no secret that W&CN loves K-J. However, last night’s blind tasting not only allowed for unbiased opinion, it gave us a completely new appreciation for this wine. We could literally taste, even feel, the difference in quality compared to other favorites and frequenters. Albeit redundant, the only word I can conjure to describe it is: smooth. Better quality wines just go down easier. I have come to accept and even enjoy, that popular inexpensive wines tend to kick you in the mouth on that first sip. Often, that opening assault on your tongue lingers throughout the entire bottle. Depending on the wine, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Whether that “kick” is incredible sweetness, or rocket fuel, that ten-dollar-taste is evident on some level. The ultimate goal at W&CN is to relax and enjoy the “finer” things in life, but being able to discover and experience wines that taste expensive on a Coors Light budget is a huge bonus. While definitely pushing our budget, Kendal-Jackson hits that mark.

As I look forward to more blind tastings, I am curious about the sort of reviews that would be given to wines that have already been banned from our circle. More so, I am interested in blindly trying something entirely new. (Which I guess is the difference between “legally blind” and “completely blind,” as far as our wine tasting goes.) I’ll be sure to keep a record of such experiences here as they unfold.

W&CN Tasting Notes & The Wine Rack Purge

Clean Slate Riesling turned out to be my favorite last night.

We live in a small state and anyone who knows my dad, knows about Wine & Cigar Night and, in the past few years, a lot of wines have been given to him. How they fall into his lap usually goes something like this: "Oh, you like wine?! I have a bottle that was a gift, but I don't drink wine. You can have it!" I am willing to bet that most people with a passion for vino have experienced this phenomenon. Everyone who has ever attended a W&CN has shown up, at one point or another, with an unfamiliar bottle that had been pawned off on them. We usually reserve these mystery wines until the crowd is substantial and everyone is tipsy, because, by then, even less than palatable wines tend to disappear. However, too many of us have developed a taste for good wine and this elimination process was long overdue.

Good bye, organic.

Hello, mouthwash.

Len was impressed with the legs on the Petit Verdot.

Last night started on a high note with a delicious Riesling that Len brought with him, but it was mostly downhill from there. The following wine was organic, which was accidental. If you are a fan of organic wines, then you can have them... all of them. In our experience, organic wine is terrible. Anyone involved at W&CN has yet to taste an organic wine that even compares to its non-organic cousin. If anyone out there has a suggestion that might prove us wrong, send it our way. Until then - yuck. The following two wines were part of the wine rack purge. Both wines were awful, and I mean just awful. None of us even made through more than a couple of sips. Those three wines were so bad, none of us made any real attempt to take tasting notes, we mostly just complained. Though, I can say with confidence, none of us would recommend them to anyone. Ever. Luckily, the last wine of the evening was decent.

***

Tasting Notes, in order of appearance:

Name: Clean Slate Riesling
Producer: Winebow, Inc.
Varietal: Riesling
Vintage: 2011
Region:  Mosel
Country:  Germany
Alcohol: 10.5%
Price: $10.99/bottle
Barcode: 0750625653012
Flavors: apple, lime, peach
Notes: Light and fruity with a hint of lime and a peachy finish.
Rating: 7.0/10.0

***

 

Name: Cono Sur Organic Cabernet Sauvignon
Producer: Vina Cono Sur S.A.
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2011
Region:  Colchagua Valley
Country: Chile
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $10.99/bottle
Barcode: 0089417036
Flavors:
Notes: Smells awful. Tastes like gasoline and rotten produce. Finishes like burnt toast. Paul immediately dumped his glass and found mouthwash. Lenny testifies that the brand itself should not be to blame for this atrocity, as he has tired Cono Sur in the past and is completely convinced we should point our fingers at the organic grapes.
 Rating: 0.0/10.0

***

Name: Lambert's American Ice Breaker
Producer: Lambert's Vintage Wines
Varietal: American Ice Breaker
Vintage: Unknown
Region: West Virginia
Country: US
Alcohol: 12%
Price: Unknown, gifted
Barcode: 0894409000194
Flavors: grape
Notes: If you actually paid for this wine, demand a refund. The flavor bears an uncanny resemblance to Welch's grape juice and it is sickeningly sweet. The label offered no information other than the ABV% and where it is produced and bottled. This is probably the reason West Virginia isn't known as wine country.
Rating: 0.0/10.0

***

Name: Rhubarb Wine
Producer: Black Diamond Winery
Varietal: Rhubarb Wine
Vintage: Unkown
Region: Washington
Country: US
Alcohol: 12%
Price: Unknown, gifted
Barcode: Unkown
Flavors:
Notes: I brought this wine back from Washington three years earlier and I am fairly certain that it had expired long before we tasted it. I should also note that it is rare that fruit wines, mead, or the like go over well at W&CN, so I'll take the hit this time for even suggesting it. Before opening, we noticed some floating debris in the bottle, but we were already committed to at least tasting it. Upon opening, the sound was more of a, for lack of better term, queef, than it was a pop. We should have stopped at the smell, which was close to a dirty diaper and further suggested that this wine was way past it's prime, but we continued. To our surprise, the taste was not nearly as horrible as we anticipated, but the smell ultimately won and we tossed it.
Rating: 0.0/10.0

  ***

Name: Edna Valley Vineyard Petit Verdo
Producer: Edna Valley Vineyard
Varietal: Petit Verdo (according to label: Merlot/Cabernet blend)
Vintage: 2008
Region: California
Country: US
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: Unkown, gifted?
Barcode: Unkown
Flavors: black pepper, cherry, leather, oak
Notes: Smelled very much like leather, which was interesting, but not unpleasant. This wine was all strong, complex flavors, which mellowed out the longer we drank it. The first sip hits you in the back of the tongue like a typical strong, dark red before the hints of pepper and oak
make themselves known. It is definitely an acquired taste, which we do not recommend for newer winos. Probably best pairs with red meats and strong cheeses.
Rating:  5.0/10.0 (We actually forgot to rate this last night. I'm filling in the blank with my opinion, which Len is sure to argue.)

W&CN Tasting Notes

 It's Thursday, which means W&CN was last night and the crew attempted tasting notes for the second time. Two of the wines were done as a blind tasting  with the bottle left in the paper bag (white trash style). The person(s) who knew the wine before hand did not contribute to the tasting notes.

 I've been taking the tasting notes collectively, so the flavors and notes are a combination of whoever threw their two cents in about the wine. The group last night consisted of my dad and his girlfriend, Len, Crystal, James, and myself.

I should probably add that no one is paying the W&CN crew to give reviews, or providing us wine to review - we are not that lucky. Unfortunately, we are paying for the bottles ourselves and drinking in the middle of the week, as we have been for years. However, if the opportunity presented itself, each one of us would jump on it immediately.

Tasting Notes - In order of appearance.

Name: Robert Mondavi Private Selection
Producer: Robert Mondavi
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2011
Region: Central Coast
Country: US
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $11.99/bottle
Barcode: 0086003061910
Flavors:  cherry, dark berry, plum
Notes: Tasty dinner wine. Perfect dryness - just enough to make you constantly wanting another sip. Served chilled due to the heat and humidity.
Rating: 7.3/10.0

Name: Apothic Red
Producer: Apothic Wines
Varietal: Winemaker's Blend
Vintage: 2011
Region: California
Country: US
Alcohol:
Price: $8.99/bottle
Barcode: 0085000017746
Flavors: oak, plum, vanilla
Notes: A good red wine for the budding wino with a sweeter palate. (Blind tasting.)
Rating: 6.1/10.0

Name: R Collection by Raymond
Producer: Raymond Vineyard and Cellar
Varietal: Lot No. 7 Field Blend (Red)
Vintage: 2009
Region: California
Country: US
Alcohol: 13.8%
Price: $9.99/bottle
Barcode: 0087447552071
Flavors: black pepper, cherry, dark berry
Notes: A good lower-end dinner wine. If your date doesn't know what he or she is talking about - you're in. (Blind tasting.)
Rating: 6.8/10.0

 

Blue Moon Agave Nectar Ale

I saw Blue Moon's Agave Nectar Ale at the liquor store this weekend and, being a fan of Blue Moon, decided to try it. I drank it straight from the bottle and in my opinion, it is pretty similar to the original Blue Moon, maybe just a little more hop-y, with a slightly sweet finish. I didn't love it, but it's drinkable.

Ingredients and Profile

Malts: Pale, White Wheat, Munich
Hops: Mittelfruh
Our Twist: Agave Nectar
IBUs: 14
ABV: 5.6%
(Source)

Also, I downloaded BrewGene's app for the iPhone (you can find me here).

W&CN's First Attempt At Tasting Notes

Maybe they're not pros, but they try like hell.

Last night, the Wine & Cigar Night crew decided to actually taste the wine, while I took notes on everyone's opinions.



Disclaimer: While we do drink a lot of wine, none of us really know what the hell we are talking about. Collectively, the extent of our wine knowledge is limited to our experiences at bars, liquor stores, W&CN, and the occasional trip to a vineyard. None of us are claiming to be a sommelier, in fact, most of us cannot even pronounce that word correctly. 

It looks as stupid as it feels.

In preparation for this event, I read this article. I found it to be very helpful, but it also made me realize that there was no way we were going to put that much effort into describing colors, smells, and tastes. So, to keep things simple, I turned to my iPhone. I downloaded a free app called Wine Notes and decided to give it a shot. The app is easy to use and is a nice place to store information, such as the producer, varietal, vintage, etc. You can also add a photo, your location, notes, and scan the bar code. As part of the details of your wine notes, the app includes a scale that rates sweetness, acidity, tannins, and body from 0-5 (none, minimal, moderate, medium, or most), and a list of common flavors you can select as you are tasting. While the list of flavors is handy, I found it to be very limited. It also includes an overall rating system, which ranges from 0-10. In general, I would recommend this app for the white trash wino, or even a slightly more sophisticated wino. But, if you are that guy writing really beautiful wine notes on your $50 bottle of wine, this probably isn't for you.

In my search for wine apps, I discovered that Kendal Jackson has a free app which recommends foods to pair with their wines. If you are a fan of Kendal Jackson wines (and, in my opinion, you should be) check it out, if you already have, comment and let me know what you think. I haven't taken any of the app's advice yet, since we ate burgers last night and did not drink Kendal Jackson (that's the good stuff - the "I got laid" wine), but when I do, I'll be sure to mention it.

Without further ado, tasting notes...
(In order of appearance.)

August 14, 2013 @ Wine & Cigar Night

Name: Gnarly Head
Producer: Gnarly Head Cellars
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2011
Region: California
Country: US
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: $8.99/bottle
Barcode: 0082242290432
Flavors: clove, dark berry, oak
Notes: This wine is no diamond in the rough - it tastes like cheap wine because it is cheap wine. But, for $8.99/bottle, it'll get the job done.
Rating: 3.0

Name: J. Lohr Seven Oaks Estates
Producer: Passo Robles
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2010
Region: California
Country: US
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $11.99/bottle
Barcode: 0089121288122
Flavors: black pepper, cherry, grape
Notes: Opinions varied - "It's ok," "It's not bad," "It's a good wine." - none of them were very high. With that said, it's a fairly good wine, nothing too impressive.
Rating: 4.7

    

Name: 337
Producer: Noble Vines
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2011
Region: California
Country: US
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: $12.99/bottle
Barcode: 0082242280433
Flavors: cherry, chocolate, coffee
Notes: A decent everyday-wine with a taste that hits you at the back of the tongue.
Rating: 6.2