- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
A Wine Club in Atlanta, GA, founded in 2008. We meet to taste wine, gab, snack, and learn. TWITs is all about having fun, trying wines, and growing your palate.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Rose' with Mr. Janssen - Tuesday, July 17th 2012
Rose' with Mr. Janssen - Tuesday, July 17th 2012
We will do our typical blind tasting format for this event.
About this theme: " Rose, is a type of wine that has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques." NOTE: Rose is not the same thing as White Zinfandel.
Food Pairings: Vino For Dinner site says"Roses are nick-named a summertime "patio" wine, as they are refreshing on warm summer days and are lower in alcohol, which makes them easy to drink. They are a great party wine, as they can have broad appeal (not too sweet and not too heavy)... Rose is a versatile wine that pairs well with shellfish and can stand up to a bit of spice. "
Food served:
- Cacio e pepe (simply pasta with cheese and pepper)
- Garlic and ginger rubbed pork tenderloin
- Scallops ceviche over pasta cakes
- Berry and peach fruit salad
Quote of the night from Kathy: "I'm guessing this is French?"
Tasting Notes:
Welcome Wine: Tarantas Sparkling Rose - under $10 @ Whole Foods, 100% Spanish Bobal, 12.5% alcohol, made with organic grapes
1) 2011 Ameztoi Cosecha Rubentis - $12.99 or 14.99 (I forget) @ Le Caveau Fine Wines, 10.5% alcohol
"This Basque wine, made in the town of Getaria along the coast near San Sebastian is lean and mineral with just a whiff of unripe strawberry aroma. This tart, spritzy rosado is much in demand and hard to find in retail shops." - Spanish Table
TWITS notes: "I taste ceviche", coral pink color, grapefruit/sour apple aromas. Foamy, light, powdery, very light maple/honey aroma, tastes of fresh mowed grass, fast growing green grass
Kathy: "I'm guessing French" green grapes, candy apple aromas.
Val: graphite nose, anise, licorice, fine bubbles
Deb: Smooth, sweetarts, pixie sticks, sugar candy,
2) 2010 D'autrefois Pinot Noir Rose' Pays d'Oc - $11.00 @ Total Wine, 12% alcohol
pale pink, salmon color, almost clear, flesh colored, aroma like Pinot Noir (good guess!), wildflower, orchid, buttery, more honey, light smoky aroma, sublte.
Les - sour apple, Melissa - subtle minerality, Abbie-subtle grapefruit, Kathy - bitter,
not as harsh as first wine.
3) 2011 Chateau La Tour Beraud Costieres De Nimes - $14.99 @ Sherlocks Wine Merchant in Decatur, 13.5% alcohol, 50% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 20% Syrah
Rosy pale pink, Rhone-French
Les - this one's got NOSE, Val - burnt toast or asphalt, candy then savory, charred BBQ, Abbie - too burnt, tar nose, like Italian Nebbiolo, crisp but viscous, lime green gummy bears, popcorn jelly belly bean, burnt sugar, creme brulee, Rheinallt - southern Rhone, strawberries, Marilyn - mineral, would pair well with spicy food, Deb - More legs than the others, Jaffet - Dueling Cobras, Janssen - lilacs, peach, tastes of crisp pear, Kathy - likes this, Leslie - weird aftertaste, Karstin - almost bitter, sour aftertaste, wants cheese,
4) 2009 Santa Digna Cabernet Sauvignon Rose - $15 @ Kroger, 14% alcohol
100% Cabernet Sauvignon (Chilean)
magenta, rosier color, ruby-er, Kathy - like cherries, a new float (for the pool), synthetic rubber smell, "I'm on a Float! with my flippy floppies" Rheinallt - like jam, distinct fruit, sweet, muscadine, not fresh cherries, lollypop, juice, Karstin - smells like lipstick, really dark chocolate (low sugar), Deb - bacon, smoky, Leslie - like a Riesling, petroleum nose, Abbie- like a Trojan, latex, juicy soup grapefruit, not in love with it. Jaffet - Chevron, too much licorice, cheap licorice like Red Vines, Jamie - Jamie, rubbery, like licking a float, Melissa - Poptarts
5) 2006 Chateau de Lancyre Pic St. Loup Coteaux de Languedoc Rose - $15 or less @ WinesTillSoldOut, 13.5% alcohol, 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 10% Cinsault (Karstin brought this wine for Susan, who couldn't make it to this event)
Bets were placed on guessing the alcohol percentage: Leslie said 13.5%, Marilyn said 14.5%, and Deb said 14%. Leslie wins this round.
brown pink, cognac, tawny color, sherry, aged, Melissa - smells like a tawny port, Leslie - chocolate covered cranberries, Asian food, Marilyn - tastes like a sherry, bronze, aged, Deb - lovely, Abbie - Dessert wine, sweeter, alcohol smell, choclate like dessert wine, old lady perfume, coconut, buttery, thick, Karstin - foie gras pairing, Rheinallt - fig, pair with "hot pot" at Gu's Bistro, Janssen - syrupy
6) 2009 Landmark Rose Sonoma - $16 from the winemaker's wine club, 13.8% alcohol,
Val - Aromas of sulfur, most complex, keeps changing, Abbie - rose of CabFranc, rosy, garnet, earthy, mushroom, Rheinallt - farts, dutch-oven, jammy, Leslie - dirty French Oak, Jaffet - oak, sweet oak, old cheese, Janssen - creamed corn (sweet), Deb - tastes of buttery caramel popcorn, Les - toffee apple, nutmeg, effervescent, loves it! Marilyn - savory, pair with fish or balsalmic, Karstin - pair with grilled fish, Melissa - barnyard, peppery
7) 2011 Zestos Garnacha Rose, Madrid Spain - $9.99 @ Whole Foods, 13.5% alcohol, 100% Garnacha, rosy peach color, funky stinky cheese, Rheinallt - bad brie or gouda, very light blue cheese, blue cheese dressing, guessing Provence, Val - bready, bitter aftertaste, pair with seafood, kool-aid, Melissa - Jarlsberg cheese, swiss variety cheese, Kathy - "I think it's French", Leslie/Deb - barnyard, like a spring day, grows on you, Karstin - lighter mold cheese, grass or hay in the mouth, Jaffet - smells pretty good, honeycomb, wiff of woman's perfume, Janssen - manchego with hint of parmesan cheese, pair with good cheese
8) 2011 Pierre-Marie Chermette Domaine du Vissoux Les Griottes (Beaujolais Rose) - $14.99 @ Le Caveau, 12% alcohol, 100% Gamay
Melissa - more rancid, burnt toast, raspberry, beautiful perfume to wear and to eat. A Mademoiselle, not Courtesan, Jamie - "Not a French Whore" , Abbie - pale peach, stinky, butter on finish, tar, burnt, "Spotted Trotter's Sorghum cured pork belly" (Deb thought I said circumcised pork belly, and we laughed a lot at that one), Jaffet - watermelon, Les - grapefruit, Deb - burnt marshmallow, butterscotch, Rheinallt - not acidic, Janssen - best finish so far, Leslie - bacon.
9) 2011 Parallele 45 Cotes Du Rhone "Ici Commence Le Sud" - $15 @ Whole Foods, 13% alcohol, 50% Grenache, 40% Cinsault, 10% Syrah, "Ici Commence Le Sud" means "The South begins here"
Abbie - coral peach, like conch shells, light nose, Janssen - Bahama pink, lychee fruit, Kathy - Spanish, Madrid (nope), Leslie - pink roses, party in your glass, Deb - it's after 9pm, oh dear god please stop, this is FUN! Fun in a glass, Kathy - Surin's has the best lychee martini's. Jaffet - not bad, not sure if great, Rheinallt - classic rose, watermelon, 1st bite of watermelon, turned into salted dark chocolate, Melissa - watermelon close to the rind.
10) 2011 Cantele Negroamaro Rosato Salento IGT, Puglia Italy - $12.99 @ Total Wine, 100% Negroamaro, 13% alcohol
Jamie - Penultimate, cheap scented candle, lip smackers, Karsten/Jaffet - like walking into a perfume store - ug!, kool-aid, jolly rancher kool-aid, smells like Fanta, Abbie - cheap pink, Melissa - like a pantomime, Les/Jamie - "cheap French whore", Val - non-descript, something in a can, forgettable, Melissa - Arbor Mist, Deb - liked it though
11) 2010 Sutter Home White Zinfandel - $6.99 @ QT Gas Station
Abbie - "smells like bad breath", "like boyfriend who ate bad Asian food and tried to hide it with toothpaste", "I think it was orange chicken and a cigar, a bad cigar.", Val - honeysuckle, jolly rancher, Melissa - diet Welch's grape juice, Kathy - "This is messed up!"
Read Ms. Leslie's notes here also: Starving Wino: Beat the Heat with Rose
Until next time...
We will do our typical blind tasting format for this event.
About this theme: " Rose, is a type of wine that has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques." NOTE: Rose is not the same thing as White Zinfandel.
Food Pairings: Vino For Dinner site says"Roses are nick-named a summertime "patio" wine, as they are refreshing on warm summer days and are lower in alcohol, which makes them easy to drink. They are a great party wine, as they can have broad appeal (not too sweet and not too heavy)... Rose is a versatile wine that pairs well with shellfish and can stand up to a bit of spice. "
- Cacio e pepe (simply pasta with cheese and pepper)
- Garlic and ginger rubbed pork tenderloin
- Scallops ceviche over pasta cakes
- Berry and peach fruit salad
Quote of the night from Kathy: "I'm guessing this is French?"
Tasting Notes:
Welcome Wine: Tarantas Sparkling Rose - under $10 @ Whole Foods, 100% Spanish Bobal, 12.5% alcohol, made with organic grapes
1) 2011 Ameztoi Cosecha Rubentis - $12.99 or 14.99 (I forget) @ Le Caveau Fine Wines, 10.5% alcohol
"This Basque wine, made in the town of Getaria along the coast near San Sebastian is lean and mineral with just a whiff of unripe strawberry aroma. This tart, spritzy rosado is much in demand and hard to find in retail shops." - Spanish Table
TWITS notes: "I taste ceviche", coral pink color, grapefruit/sour apple aromas. Foamy, light, powdery, very light maple/honey aroma, tastes of fresh mowed grass, fast growing green grass
Kathy: "I'm guessing French" green grapes, candy apple aromas.
Val: graphite nose, anise, licorice, fine bubbles
Deb: Smooth, sweetarts, pixie sticks, sugar candy,
2) 2010 D'autrefois Pinot Noir Rose' Pays d'Oc - $11.00 @ Total Wine, 12% alcohol
pale pink, salmon color, almost clear, flesh colored, aroma like Pinot Noir (good guess!), wildflower, orchid, buttery, more honey, light smoky aroma, sublte.
Les - sour apple, Melissa - subtle minerality, Abbie-subtle grapefruit, Kathy - bitter,
not as harsh as first wine.
3) 2011 Chateau La Tour Beraud Costieres De Nimes - $14.99 @ Sherlocks Wine Merchant in Decatur, 13.5% alcohol, 50% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 20% Syrah
Rosy pale pink, Rhone-French
Les - this one's got NOSE, Val - burnt toast or asphalt, candy then savory, charred BBQ, Abbie - too burnt, tar nose, like Italian Nebbiolo, crisp but viscous, lime green gummy bears, popcorn jelly belly bean, burnt sugar, creme brulee, Rheinallt - southern Rhone, strawberries, Marilyn - mineral, would pair well with spicy food, Deb - More legs than the others, Jaffet - Dueling Cobras, Janssen - lilacs, peach, tastes of crisp pear, Kathy - likes this, Leslie - weird aftertaste, Karstin - almost bitter, sour aftertaste, wants cheese,
4) 2009 Santa Digna Cabernet Sauvignon Rose - $15 @ Kroger, 14% alcohol
100% Cabernet Sauvignon (Chilean)
magenta, rosier color, ruby-er, Kathy - like cherries, a new float (for the pool), synthetic rubber smell, "I'm on a Float! with my flippy floppies" Rheinallt - like jam, distinct fruit, sweet, muscadine, not fresh cherries, lollypop, juice, Karstin - smells like lipstick, really dark chocolate (low sugar), Deb - bacon, smoky, Leslie - like a Riesling, petroleum nose, Abbie- like a Trojan, latex, juicy soup grapefruit, not in love with it. Jaffet - Chevron, too much licorice, cheap licorice like Red Vines, Jamie - Jamie, rubbery, like licking a float, Melissa - Poptarts
5) 2006 Chateau de Lancyre Pic St. Loup Coteaux de Languedoc Rose - $15 or less @ WinesTillSoldOut, 13.5% alcohol, 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 10% Cinsault (Karstin brought this wine for Susan, who couldn't make it to this event)
Bets were placed on guessing the alcohol percentage: Leslie said 13.5%, Marilyn said 14.5%, and Deb said 14%. Leslie wins this round.
brown pink, cognac, tawny color, sherry, aged, Melissa - smells like a tawny port, Leslie - chocolate covered cranberries, Asian food, Marilyn - tastes like a sherry, bronze, aged, Deb - lovely, Abbie - Dessert wine, sweeter, alcohol smell, choclate like dessert wine, old lady perfume, coconut, buttery, thick, Karstin - foie gras pairing, Rheinallt - fig, pair with "hot pot" at Gu's Bistro, Janssen - syrupy
6) 2009 Landmark Rose Sonoma - $16 from the winemaker's wine club, 13.8% alcohol,
Val - Aromas of sulfur, most complex, keeps changing, Abbie - rose of CabFranc, rosy, garnet, earthy, mushroom, Rheinallt - farts, dutch-oven, jammy, Leslie - dirty French Oak, Jaffet - oak, sweet oak, old cheese, Janssen - creamed corn (sweet), Deb - tastes of buttery caramel popcorn, Les - toffee apple, nutmeg, effervescent, loves it! Marilyn - savory, pair with fish or balsalmic, Karstin - pair with grilled fish, Melissa - barnyard, peppery
7) 2011 Zestos Garnacha Rose, Madrid Spain - $9.99 @ Whole Foods, 13.5% alcohol, 100% Garnacha, rosy peach color, funky stinky cheese, Rheinallt - bad brie or gouda, very light blue cheese, blue cheese dressing, guessing Provence, Val - bready, bitter aftertaste, pair with seafood, kool-aid, Melissa - Jarlsberg cheese, swiss variety cheese, Kathy - "I think it's French", Leslie/Deb - barnyard, like a spring day, grows on you, Karstin - lighter mold cheese, grass or hay in the mouth, Jaffet - smells pretty good, honeycomb, wiff of woman's perfume, Janssen - manchego with hint of parmesan cheese, pair with good cheese
8) 2011 Pierre-Marie Chermette Domaine du Vissoux Les Griottes (Beaujolais Rose) - $14.99 @ Le Caveau, 12% alcohol, 100% Gamay
Melissa - more rancid, burnt toast, raspberry, beautiful perfume to wear and to eat. A Mademoiselle, not Courtesan, Jamie - "Not a French Whore" , Abbie - pale peach, stinky, butter on finish, tar, burnt, "Spotted Trotter's Sorghum cured pork belly" (Deb thought I said circumcised pork belly, and we laughed a lot at that one), Jaffet - watermelon, Les - grapefruit, Deb - burnt marshmallow, butterscotch, Rheinallt - not acidic, Janssen - best finish so far, Leslie - bacon.
9) 2011 Parallele 45 Cotes Du Rhone "Ici Commence Le Sud" - $15 @ Whole Foods, 13% alcohol, 50% Grenache, 40% Cinsault, 10% Syrah, "Ici Commence Le Sud" means "The South begins here"
Abbie - coral peach, like conch shells, light nose, Janssen - Bahama pink, lychee fruit, Kathy - Spanish, Madrid (nope), Leslie - pink roses, party in your glass, Deb - it's after 9pm, oh dear god please stop, this is FUN! Fun in a glass, Kathy - Surin's has the best lychee martini's. Jaffet - not bad, not sure if great, Rheinallt - classic rose, watermelon, 1st bite of watermelon, turned into salted dark chocolate, Melissa - watermelon close to the rind.
10) 2011 Cantele Negroamaro Rosato Salento IGT, Puglia Italy - $12.99 @ Total Wine, 100% Negroamaro, 13% alcohol
Jamie - Penultimate, cheap scented candle, lip smackers, Karsten/Jaffet - like walking into a perfume store - ug!, kool-aid, jolly rancher kool-aid, smells like Fanta, Abbie - cheap pink, Melissa - like a pantomime, Les/Jamie - "cheap French whore", Val - non-descript, something in a can, forgettable, Melissa - Arbor Mist, Deb - liked it though
11) 2010 Sutter Home White Zinfandel - $6.99 @ QT Gas Station
Val threw this wine in, last, to see if the TWITs could tell it was not a Rose. I think we passed!
pale rose pink, Leslie & Deb - strawberry lemonade kool-aid, carmelized, fruit taste, meringueAbbie - "smells like bad breath", "like boyfriend who ate bad Asian food and tried to hide it with toothpaste", "I think it was orange chicken and a cigar, a bad cigar.", Val - honeysuckle, jolly rancher, Melissa - diet Welch's grape juice, Kathy - "This is messed up!"
Read Ms. Leslie's notes here also: Starving Wino: Beat the Heat with Rose
Until next time...
Monday, July 16, 2012
Le Caveau - Bastille Day Tasting - 7/14/2012
Welcome back Susan Maschal of Ultimate Distributors on Bastille Day as we celebrate French Independence and taste through some vins des terroirs from the Bourgeois Family Selections portfolio.
1) 2010 Elicio Ventoux Blanc - $11.99
100% Vermentino
Raphael Trouiller uses his experience as a vigneron to produce Elicio in the south of the Rhone Valley. "Elicio" is Latin "to reveal." This wine is made from a careful selection of young vines growing on chalky and clay soils in the Southeast of the Rhone Valley. 100% Vermentino varietal that is aged in stainless steel tanks, which shows pure fulfilling flavors that evoke warm and fruity flavors of its sunny region.
2) 2011 Chateau de Saurs "La Jouvencelle" Gaillac Blanc - $18.99
Varietals: Le Mauzac, Le Loin de L'oeil, Le Sauvignon
The Saurs Castle is located in the heart of the Gaillac AOC, one of the oldest ones in France which can be traced back to 6th Century, about 30 miles northeast of Toulouse, in the village of Lisle-sur-Tarn. The soil is a well-balanced mix of clay, chalk, and gravel at the foot of the slopes.
Le Mauzac: Characterized by apple and pear
Le Loin de L'oeil: This ancient varietal is only found in Gaillac. It brings freshness, with a flowery aromatic.
Le Sauvignon: With a smoky note and citrus aromas.
3) 2011 Clos Teddi Patrimonio Rosé Corsica - $25.99
75% Niellucciu, 25% Sciaccerellu
(Nee-oh-LEE-chee-oh - Shock-oh-REH-loo)
Niellucciu is a clone of Sangiovese.
The Patrimonio area owes its quality to the climate of a region sheltered from the winds by the surrounding mountains, to soils of masses of fallen chalky rocks mingled with clay. Clos Teddi spreads over 50 acres located in the AOC Patrimonio, which is the oldest recognized appellation in Corsica. It is located in the desert of the Agriates, in an ancient archeological site. Its exceptional soils, next to the sea are surrounded by mountains and enable organic farming.
4) 2009 Domaine de Cascavel "Le Cascavel" Ventoux Rouge - $17.99
40% Grenache, 40% Carignan, 20% Syrah
"Le Cascavel" means "the little bell" - and there is a little bell drawing on the label. This is made by the same winemaker as the Elicio above.
Domaine de Cascavel is a small wine producing estate located in the Cotes du Ventoux AOC and has been operating in a biodynamic manner since 200. The 30 acre vineyard grows on clay soils (argilo- carcaires) and allows for a perfect environment to produce Cotes-du-Ventoux wines. The rising star of the Ventoux, this biodynamic estate (in conversion) produces small quantity, small yields, hand-crafted wines. The wine is aged in cement tanks.
5) 2009 Domaine de Chateaumar "Cuvée Vincent" Côtes du Rhône Rouge - $17.99
100% Syrah
Named after their son "Vincent."
For many generations the vines at Domaine du Chateaumar have been cultivated by father and son. Today it is Jean-Felix and Frederic Souret who manage the vineyard, always maintaining the greatest respect for nature. A Custom Cuvee for the Bourgeois Family made from a single vineyard of Syrah vines. Only 550 cases were made of this custom cuvee, 100% Syrah, from hillside vineyards, aged for 8 months in concrete tanks.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
1) 2010 Elicio Ventoux Blanc - $11.99
100% Vermentino
Raphael Trouiller uses his experience as a vigneron to produce Elicio in the south of the Rhone Valley. "Elicio" is Latin "to reveal." This wine is made from a careful selection of young vines growing on chalky and clay soils in the Southeast of the Rhone Valley. 100% Vermentino varietal that is aged in stainless steel tanks, which shows pure fulfilling flavors that evoke warm and fruity flavors of its sunny region.
2) 2011 Chateau de Saurs "La Jouvencelle" Gaillac Blanc - $18.99
Varietals: Le Mauzac, Le Loin de L'oeil, Le Sauvignon
The Saurs Castle is located in the heart of the Gaillac AOC, one of the oldest ones in France which can be traced back to 6th Century, about 30 miles northeast of Toulouse, in the village of Lisle-sur-Tarn. The soil is a well-balanced mix of clay, chalk, and gravel at the foot of the slopes.
Le Mauzac: Characterized by apple and pear
Le Loin de L'oeil: This ancient varietal is only found in Gaillac. It brings freshness, with a flowery aromatic.
Le Sauvignon: With a smoky note and citrus aromas.
3) 2011 Clos Teddi Patrimonio Rosé Corsica - $25.99
75% Niellucciu, 25% Sciaccerellu
(Nee-oh-LEE-chee-oh - Shock-oh-REH-loo)
Niellucciu is a clone of Sangiovese.
The Patrimonio area owes its quality to the climate of a region sheltered from the winds by the surrounding mountains, to soils of masses of fallen chalky rocks mingled with clay. Clos Teddi spreads over 50 acres located in the AOC Patrimonio, which is the oldest recognized appellation in Corsica. It is located in the desert of the Agriates, in an ancient archeological site. Its exceptional soils, next to the sea are surrounded by mountains and enable organic farming.
4) 2009 Domaine de Cascavel "Le Cascavel" Ventoux Rouge - $17.99
40% Grenache, 40% Carignan, 20% Syrah
"Le Cascavel" means "the little bell" - and there is a little bell drawing on the label. This is made by the same winemaker as the Elicio above.
Domaine de Cascavel is a small wine producing estate located in the Cotes du Ventoux AOC and has been operating in a biodynamic manner since 200. The 30 acre vineyard grows on clay soils (argilo- carcaires) and allows for a perfect environment to produce Cotes-du-Ventoux wines. The rising star of the Ventoux, this biodynamic estate (in conversion) produces small quantity, small yields, hand-crafted wines. The wine is aged in cement tanks.
5) 2009 Domaine de Chateaumar "Cuvée Vincent" Côtes du Rhône Rouge - $17.99
100% Syrah
Named after their son "Vincent."
For many generations the vines at Domaine du Chateaumar have been cultivated by father and son. Today it is Jean-Felix and Frederic Souret who manage the vineyard, always maintaining the greatest respect for nature. A Custom Cuvee for the Bourgeois Family made from a single vineyard of Syrah vines. Only 550 cases were made of this custom cuvee, 100% Syrah, from hillside vineyards, aged for 8 months in concrete tanks.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)