Wine Review: Smoking Loon 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Smoking Loon's 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon was my go-to wine for the later part of 2009. When I realized it has been four months since I've had a sip of my old stand-by, I decided it was time to write this up.

Bottled by the Three Loose Screws Napa winery, this $9 Cab fills the glass with a deep, jewel-like hue of purple. The nose is slightly closed, but certainly gives up some blackberry, a bit of currant and some cracked black pepper.

The flavors of blackberry and grape come through clean and delicious, but with little additional complexity. It is balanced (acidity vs. sweetness), though perhaps a little bit astringent.

CONCLUSION:

You're not going to wow anybody with this wine, but you're also unlikely to truly offend them either. The bottom line is that it is just plain hard to find a decent Cabernet in the sub-$10 range. Given the price point of this wine, it's a no-brainer.

3.5 of 5 glasses

Wine Review: Monte Antico 2006 Toscana

Several weeks ago I did a post about corkscrews - which I would highly recommend you read... for another wine. But don't bother for this wine. Monte Antico's 2006 Toscana has a screw cap.


*Disclaimer: I'm about to go off on a tangent. If you only care about the way the wine tastes, skip to the picture below.

My only real problem with a screw-cap is that I can't help but feel like I'm about to crack into a brown bag of malt liquor - but What does a screw cap really mean? There really is a fair amount of debate on the subject and I'm not going to get too into it now. Suffice it to say that some argue the screw cap prevents breathing which stops the aging process. Others argue that the screw cap preserves a tastier wine and avoids cork taint and other flavor faults. This, along with economic factors seems also to have driven many winemakers to plastic corks. Italy, however, has largely leaned toward the screw-cap.

While we're learning, I want to point out that this particular blend is a Super Tuscan. So just what is a Super Tuscan? Look it isn't going to leap tall buildings in a single bound or anything like that. This naming just has to do with politics and control.

Italy has a tremendous winemaking history going back to ancient times. I recall my trip to Pompeii. The tour guide pointed out the wine bar, still preserved after being encased in Vesuvius' deadly ash cloud nearly 2000 years ago. Still, that is young in terms of this wine region. The Greeks established viticulture 800 years before Christ and the local population produced wine from wild grapes for millenia before that.

Given such a tradition, it is only fitting that there be some kind of standardization - thus the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) was established in 1963. The DOC essentially requires that the grapes are grown in certain regions, harvested according to defined methods, and meet certain standards.

To make a long story short, the Super Tuscan fails to meet the DOC standard. Why? Well, most Tuscans, like Chianti, are comprised primarily of Sangiovese grapes along with other non-DOC varietals. The Super Tuscan breaks that mold by incorporating other varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon.

That is the case here. Monte Antico's 2006 Toscana is a blend of Sangiovese (85%), Merlot (5%), and Cabernet (10%), and can be yours for the low price of $10.99.

This wine is a nice, very clear cranberry red - far more translucent than I am accustomed to drinking. The nose is ample and gives up bits of pine, clove, pepper and pungent herbs.

In the mouth, though scant in body, this wine's bright acidity is a little overpowering. It really just sucks the moisture right out of your cheeks. Perhaps resultantly, the taste is hardly as complex as the nose. Regardless, a fair amount of red fruit flavor manages to fight its way through the tannic fray. The finish wraps up with some herb. But it doesn't go off without a hitch... there is a somewhat tinny aftertaste that was just a little off-putting to my palate. Then again, we all have different tastes!

If I had to pair this wine I'd put it with a pizza pie.

CONCLUSION:

Wine Spectator put this value play at 90 points, but I'm just not feeling it. I'll give it a 3 of 5 on my scale, which equates roughly to a low-to-mid 80's score on the 100 point scale. A solid B minus. It might have earned a 3.5 (87 or 88 points) if it wasn't for the tin.

3 of 5 glasses

Wine Review: Villa San Juliette Winery's "Romantique"

Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, producers of American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance and America's Got Talent found a talent for something else... winemaking. Or at least it says something like that on the back of the bottle... But I don't watch that stuff - so why did I buy this bottle?

Well, if you've been reading this blog at all (over the course of its now two week life), I bought it for the price! On the shelf I saw $18.99... and then I saw ON SALE! And then I saw $7.99. I didn't even look. I just bought. Rule number one of buying wine on a budget: never pass up a great sale.

This 2005 vintage Romantique is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 4% Syrah. The lovely and delicious grapes in that list are grown in the Paso Robles region of California. Once out of the bottle these youthful grapes assume a deep, dark ruby hue.

Aromas are stronger than most wines in the under $20 category. I sensed currant and leather, a bit of coffee and baker's chocolate with a whiff of burnt caramel.

Romantique is smooth in the mouth, the silky tannins providing a good structure and mouthfeel. I tasted a bit of cranberry and green apple in this tart sampling.

Pair this wine with a simply prepared filet mignon or sirloin with golden crispy fries.

CONCLUSION:

I've had better, but this is fairly good wine. At this price I may go back and pick up some more to see how it tastes after some time in the cellar. Look for another review on this wine in six months to a year.

4 of 5 glasses

Wine Review: Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon

You know the Devil is like Satan... from Hell. Or maybe he's just an impish sprite in a red leotard that likes to frolic in Chilean cellars and imbibe the fruit of the vine. If you were to ask the opinion of Don Melchor, he would probably go with the latter.

Last night I went down to the Devil's cellar and picked up a bottle of 2008 Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon. This dry red is produced in the Central Valley region of Chile by Concha y Toro and can be had for $9.99.

If I'm not mistaken, Concha y Toro translates to Shell and Bull - so what's all this about the Devil? I did a little investigating and snagged this tid-bit from the vintner's website: "Over a century has passed since Don Melchor created a legend. When he discovered his finest Concha y Toro wines were missing he spread the word that the devil lived in his cellar. From that day, the wine has been known as Casillero del Diablo, the devil's cellar."

Enough with the legend - let's talk about the wine! This bargain red has a deep ruby hue. The first whiff I got was the cassis or black currant. The cassis scent is predominant but after some work other aromatic notes are detectable. There is a hint of blackberry and a woody, smoky vanilla lingers from the eight-months this young wine spent in American Oak barrels.

The flavor is a cassis-fest as well. A quick note: Cassis = currant. Apparently we Americans prefer the French "cassis." Perhaps this is owed to our familiarity with creme de cassis, the liquor responsible for the fruitiness of a Tequilla Sunrise. I digress. The tartness of the cassis is overpowering. Yet subtle notes of dark roasted coffee and cherry come through and dance lightly on the taste-buds. After further tasting something takes me back to the waking hours of a backpacking trip through North Carolina - possibly the not-quite ripe blackberries I had for breakfast and the lingering odor of the still-smoldering camp fire.

The finish is short - lingering for three seconds or so and disappearing with a breath of alcohol. This wine has an astringent quality owed to the tannins, making it a little more bitter than I prefer. It would pair well with any red meat or cheese. Something about this wine makes me crave a good crispy salty peppery pork chop - something fatty to cut the acid. Alas, I settled for a little dark chocolate as I was fresh out of pig.

CONCLUSION

Overall I am not wowed by this Chilean Cab. The cassis comes on far too strong and prevents the drinker from enjoying the hints of coffee.

Melchor concocted the devil legend to keep people out of his cellar. I'll heed his warning next time.

3 out of 5 glasses