Category Archives: Tasting Notes

One From Gaja

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“…this is a pleasure to drink right now, but its best days are still ahead of it…”

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My hopes were higher than my expectations for the big game, but in the end, there was only disappointment to be had either way. There’s been a lot of “armchair quarterbacking” going on around the Motor City since Sunday evening’s NFC Championship game, but all I will say is that it was a game the Detroit Lions could have very well won, which makes the outcome even crappier.

We did have some good wine to drink, however. I wanted something special for such an important game, and again, I figured a 20-year old wine should do the trick, especially one from a winery no less iconic than Gaja, located in Piedmont in northwestern Italy. It was just the “regular” Gaja Barbaresco, and not one of the even more prestigious (not to mention pricey) single vineyard selections, but it did the trick all right, with one timely qualification. Continue reading →

Rhône-ish

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“More Red Rhônes and… Detroit Lions?!”

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I found these two wines this past Saturday at our friendly neighborhood Costco. We love all the Rhône varietals, so it was an easy choice to buy them both and bring them home. Being that I almost never indulge in alcohol during the day, I had no intention of opening anything during yesterday afternoon’s Lions-Buccaneers game. I figured I’d just wait and see how the game went, and maybe open something accordingly afterwards, but my wife Kim wanted a glass of red wine during the 2nd half, and after looking over the selection in our wine rack, she decided on the Gigondas.

Happily, the Lions won the game, and are moving on to the conference championship next weekend against the San Francisco 49ers. The Gigondas turned out to be quite good too, as I found when I poured myself a glass last evening. Afterwards, I decided to see what the Côtes du Roussillon is all about, and I really enjoyed it as well, although it’s rather different in style from the southern Rhône. Here are my impressions of each. Continue reading →

Got Chave?

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“Red Rhônes and… Detroit Lions?!”

OK, I admit it, I jumped back on the bandwagon just like hundreds of thousands of win-starved football fans around the Motor City and beyond. The Lions finally put together a good team and made the NFL playoffs for the first time in how many years? I’m old enough to (vaguely) remember watching the Lions on a black and white TV the last time they won a league championship back in 1957. I have even clearer memories of those great early ‘60s Lions, who would have been the best team in pro football, had it not been for the damned Lombardi-Starr Green Bay Packers. Since then, it’s mostly been tough times for the guys wearing the Honolulu Blue jerseys.

I was geeked up for the Lions-Rams game, and I wanted a good bottle of something to open, so, considering its age, I figured this one was a safe bet. JL Chave Hermitage is one of THE great wines of the world, vintage after vintage. At its best, it is among the very finest expressions of Syrah to be found anywhere. We’ve had a lot of wonderful experiences with Chave Hermitage, and this had been in our cellar for a number of years, so I decided its time had come. As it happens, it isn’t quite as “mature” as I expected it might be. Continue reading →

Dry Riesling From the Mitten

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“I’m hard pressed to name a better dry Riesling that’s available
at this price point here in the Detroit market.”

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I used to sell a lot of Riesling in a previous life in wine retail. Many of my customers were looking for the sweeter stuff; they had no idea just how versatile the variety is, and were quite surprised when I informed them that there are plenty of dry variations of the theme to be had as well. Many of the more obvious examples come from places like Germany, Alsace and Austria, but there are also a number of great choices to be had produced everywhere from Australia to Washington, New York, Ontario and right here in Michigan.

One of my longtime favorite Michigan dry Rieslings comes from Chateau Grand Traverse, up on Michigan’s Old Mission Peninsula. We first tried the CGT Whole Cluster back in 2007, and we’ve been buying successive vintages ever since. I filed a report on the 2020 model almost a year ago, and if anything, this one might even be better. Like the 2020, it still sells for $13.99 at Westborn Market on Woodward, in Berkley.
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Another Big Bertrand Red

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“If I were to taste this blind, I might even guess that it’s a good Gigondas.”

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Greetings, salutations and a very happy new year to all!

The holidays have come and gone, and like many of you, we indulged in our share of good food and fine wine. One red in particular was new to us, and fits the parameters of this blog perfectly, as it offers very good quality and affordability.

As previously mentioned, we’ve been fans of Gerard Bertrand’s wines for almost 20 years now, so whenever I find one for 20 bucks or less, I’m going to jump on that puppy to see what it has to offer. I’m happy to report that this one is a great buy, and there is a whole bin-full of the stuff at our friendly neighborhood Costco.
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A Fleurie For Zinfan

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“I’ll buy a few of these for near term drinking
and a few more to lay down in the cellar.”

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Our old Gang of Pour co-conspirator, Alan Kerr, never used to care much for Gamay, but in the last few years, he’s gotten the Zen of the stuff, and now likes it a lot. He’s in town for a visit, and this is a wine that I will make a point of opening for him, because I think it’s what we’re both looking for in a good Beaujolais.

Fleurie, of course, is the highly-regarded Beaujolais cru appellation. While one bottling I’ve had recently is more in the deep, dark Morgon-like spectrum, most have been a little lighter and more fruit forward, like several of the Coudert Clos de la Roilette offerings we’ve enjoyed. This one falls more in the latter category.
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Good Buys in Red Wine

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“These two are both good wines at very good prices.”

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I ran across a couple of good buys in red wines this weekend that I would submit for your consideration. Both were in full bins (there was at least a case of each on Saturday) and those Costco prices are always attractive.

It’s been a few years since I’ve last had any Palazzo della Torre. I used to sell a lot of it, and we drank a fair amount of it as well, going back to at least vintage 1999. When I saw this one, it was another one of those “how bad can it be” purchasing decisions, and I’m happy to report that it is in fact very good indeed.
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Sancerre Rosé

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“…both of these offer excellent value for their respective price tags…”

When casual wine drinkers think of wine from Sancerre, they are almost always considering Sauvignon Blanc, because that’s what is in the majority of bottles with “Sancerre” on the label. However, this small Loire Valley district also produces Pinot Noir, some of which is vinified to make rosé, and that’s what I found in my most recent visit to (where else?) our friendly neighborhood Costco.

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These two have been in the bins of the wine department for the last few weeks, and after looking at them during preceding visits, I decided to give them both a try. I couldn’t find any background information on either of these producers, not even on the importer’s website, but, happily, the wines themselves tell me all I need to know about them. Continue reading →

Two More Dry Rosés

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“It’s always open season on dry rose at our house…”

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I keep finding more good specimens of dry rosé at our friendly neighborhood Costco, and last week, I brought these two home. Both are follow ups on previous wines featured in this blog, and offer good bang for your buck.

When I like a wine from a particular producer, say Domaine Lafage, I’m often inclined to try another bottling from that same producer. Because we enjoyed the Lafage red blend so much a few months ago, it wasn’t a difficult choice to give this one a try. 

Domaine Lafage is located in Cotes Catalanes, in the Roussillon region of southwestern France. This is only the third wine I’ve had from this area as of late, and all three have been much to my liking. The QPR (quality-price-ratio) of the three is even more to my liking, as they are quite pocketbook friendly.
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Two More from Wapisa

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“I’m still looking for another Pinot Noir as good as or better than this
at a similar price point, and I have yet to find one.”

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I’ve really been looking forward to trying the new vintage of Wapisa Pinot Noir, having enjoyed the 2020 so well. My reasoning was that, if I liked the 2021 Wapisa Malbec as much if not more than the previous model, I might expect at least the same from the Pinot, right? I also expected to find this new vintage at Costco for around $15, but instead, it was purchased at Holiday Market in Royal Oak, for a few bucks more. Holiday also stocks the Wapisa Sauvignon Blanc, which I had yet to try, so I picked up a bottle of that as well. My impressions of both are as follows. Continue reading →