Enter the Dragon

Am tasting the 2006 Domaine du Dragon rose from Provence (need to let it Breathe). Paired with a grilled chicken sandwich. This is the second time I've tasted this wine. The first was May of this year in Oakland at a French wine trade tasting during a rose seminar where we tasted about 12 different roses. I was impressed by it then and still am. The wine is barely pink. More peachy-pink. Taste: Think SPRITE, without the lemon and without the bubbles, and without the sugar, but all that would remain, and let little berries tiptoe in at the end.
Tink!
Tink!
Tink go the berries.
It's bright, refreshing. The wine is made of Cinsault, Syrah, Grenache and Mouvedre, but Cinsault plays the starring role. Typically a blending grape, Cinsault has its time to shine.
Catch it for $12.

Intermission

We now take this brief pause in wine reviews to introduce Boy Shakira.

sneezy

Have been sick recently. Tom, our Italian/imports guy, pointed to the wine bar and told me to drink-up. According to Tom there's Vitamin C in wine.


I did not go through the Argentine line-up of wines, but I did taste (and spat) one wine... the Cade 2006 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, which (from what I could tell) was pretty. Long finish. The peeps from Plumpjack make this... $26. Will have to try that again when I am well. So far, my favorite Sauvignon Blanc is the 2005 Saracina from Mendocino, $19.

Flaccid

Sometimes when you buy wine at Costco you get a diamond in the rough. Other times, after careful examination, you discover that dark little nugget is, in fact, a turd.

Enter: Cameron Hughes Lot 35, 2005 Cabernet from Yountville.
This was not actually a "bad" wine, but it was totally forgettable. The hype behind this wine, was that it's a wine in the $10 range that's supposed to taste like a $30 wine. Two-Buck Chuck tastes better. If this wine were a man, he'd be seeing the doctor for Viagra/Cialis/Levitra.. maybe taking all 3 at once.

For $12, you too can be left totally unsatisfied.

07-07-07

Looked down at my wine receipt and saw this. Shoulda went to Vegas today.

HOT Pastrami Love

This was a weird pairing for sure. Popped open the Lucien Albrecht Cremant D'Alsace Brut Rose (Pink champagne, except you cannot call it "Champagne" unless it comes from the Champagne region in France, plus a bunch of other rules. The French like rules). This one is from Alsace, which is southeast of Champagne.




Cremant d' Alsace is lesser-known, so (compared to Champagne) you can get it for a great price. This, I bought for $14. Loved the color... the pinkiest pink you ever did see. 100% Pinot Noir. Taste: like eating fresh cranberries. Very pretty. I paired this with a pastrami sandwich (and fries) from Mr. Pete in San Clemente. I called my friend Chad (http://winefoodla.blogspot.com) for a wine recommendation for Pastrami... he suggested Pinot Noir, or a grenache, or cotes du rhone or chianti... All, excellent suggestions... but it was hot and I felt like something chilled, so I brought on the bubbly. "Interesting" combination ... The saltiness from the pastrami seemed to overpower the rose.


But the wine still rocked.

Whenever I see/eat/hear of Pastrami, I always think of that Seinfeld episode. Here's a snippet.

2005 Domaine Nicolas Rossignol - Bourgogne rouge

I first tried the 2005 Domaine Rossignol burgundy (pinot noir) at a tasting at work last week, where we tried Sea Smoke, Kosta Browne, Paul Hobbs, Williams & Selyem and some other high-end ($$$ and hard-to-find) heavy hitters in California Pinot. The 2005 Domaine Rossignol pinot was sitting at the end of the counter. Our French buyer no doubt included this to the lineup to add in his two-cents worth about that particular tasting. Even though I had just tasted all these superstar Pinot Noirs (which were all great), I was equally impressed with this French wine.

For being a French burgundy, the Rossignol was very fruit-forward. It also had great balance (alcohol 13%) and mouthfeel, with ripe black fruit on the palate... boysenberries, plums and black cherry. The 2005 Bourgogne Rouge is an elegant, young wine. I thought it was $40 pinot after tasting, and when I found out it's price ($17) I snapped up a bottle.

Had the burgundy with a French brie called Chaource (named from the village where it is made). Chaource is a RUNNY, SALTY Brie cheese made of cow's milk. You just cut out the top of the circular rind and proceed to eat. I used unsalted crackers for dipping (water crackers). Great stuff.