A Taste of the South

After reading that title one might think, “I don’t want to read a blog post about hush puppies”. I love hush puppies, but this is about wines from the true south – the Southern Hemisphere. One of the best Cork Dorks United thus far occurred this past Sunday, and some of us are still shaking our heads. Others might still be hungover.

1st Place: 2005 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine is known as the best Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile, and that was not proven incorrect. I’m not sure it quite warrants the 96 point speculator score, but it’s a monster of a wine that I would put in my mouth any day. Probably worth the $65 price tag too.

The line up

2nd Place: 2007 Rainbow’s End Estate Shiraz

This Shiraz is from Stellenbosch, South Africa. This wine actually received as many first place votes as the Don Melchor, but it lost out by a single point. Eric and Mike both voted this in first, and it’s because they’re pyros. This wine smells like fire with Fruity Pebbles atop it. I guessed Aussie Shiraz, Eric guessed South Africa. Together, we nailed it.

3rd Place: 2006 Gimenez Mendez Premium Tannat

This wine is from Uruguay, and it’s also the high point of my blind tasting career. Despite the fact that previously the only varietal Tannat wine to pass through my lips was from Georgia (the state), and I’ve never had a wine from Uruguay, I managed to nail this one. There were two giveaways: the first was the wine’s very high tannins, which is a characteristic of Tannat, and the second is that Jeff brought it. Only Jeff would bring a Uruguayan Tannat to the table. This wine is delicious even if it could age another 20 years, and it only lost by two points to the pricier and much more highly regarded Don Melchor.

4th Place: 2007 Erales Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet is not the first grape that comes to mind when I think of the Southern Hemisphere. Actually, it’s the fourth grape that comes to mind. Despite that, three of the six wines tonight were cabs, and this one lies clearly in the middle road between the other two. Aromas of overripe fruit led me to guess Argentina Malbec, but I’ll take half correct.

5th Place: 2008 Secreto Carmenere

Chile provided the best wine of the night as well as the two losers. These two wines lost by a long shot, with this one sneaking out a 5th place finish by a nose. Aromas of funk, rubber, crayon, and just downright Carmenere hit my nostrils. Upon entering the mouth, the wine is decent, but upon swallowing the flavor totally disappears – quite the opposite of what was so compelling about the Don Melchor.

6th Place: 2007 Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine has some connection to the Rothschild family as its selling point. So does Mouton Cadet, and I’m not going to go there. I’ve never tried playdough, but I think if playdough were a beverage this is what it would smell and taste like. Perhaps that’s appealing to some kids out there in the blogosphere, but I’m not one of those. I believe the actual name of this wine is 2007 Barons de Rothschild Cabernet Sauvignon Le Dix de Los Vascos. Long name, short results.

The next Cork Dorks will meet on March 28 where white wines will be consumed, analyzed, and later regurgitated.

If it pleases and sparkles, sunshine

Sparkling wine is always a fun time, and tonight was not an exception. It made some of us slap the bass and others eat the pizza. All in all, my wine came in last, but no tears have been shed yet. Check out the reviews below:

1st place: 2007 Chateau Guadrelle Vouvray Brut
Descriptors included: dustbuster, mandarin orange, and lychee. Eric is elated that the top two wines came from the Loire Valley tonight, and he says this has a finish of, “granny smith apple”. I think Jolly Ranchers. Tasty.

2nd place: A. Simoneau Touraine Brut 100% Chenin Blanc
Yet another Chenin Blanc from the Loire showing strongly. Marshmellows, bacon, beach, and gummy bears. Despite the outlandish and moderately snobbish tasting notes, this wine is solid and could hold its own against… well… other wines. A finish of flowers lingers flowingly through Floridian flamingos.

3rd place: Graham Beck Brut 53% Chardonnay 47% Pinot Noir
South African goodness. Stinky shoes, graham crackers (coincidence? I think not), and more green apple Jolly Ranchers. We eat that shit up. Solid.

4th place: Mountain Dome Brut
This wine sparked some debate. The only Washington entry of the night, this was tasted last week in Wines of the World class which three of the night’s tasters are in. They claim large variation, with aromas ranging from meatballs to soccer balls. Any sort of ball, and it’s probably spot on. Oh, and it’s yeasty.

5th place: 2007 Vida Organica Chardonnay Mendoza
Argentina comes through, finishing the night how they started the 20th century: in last. I like this wine, and I feel horrible that it was not loved by my peeps tonight. Actually all of the wines were solid, but this may have been the shakiest of them all. Yeast, French toast, and Heather’s vegan grandmother hit the nose. Woot.

The next Cork Dorks United is on March 7 and will feature the infamous wine and chocolate pairings.

The Pinotage Party – Make that the Shiraz-Pinotage Party

I was so excited to sign up the Terroirists for the Pinotage Party. The idea was to have a collection of blogs review a Pinotage on this day, February 12. The result was less than ideal, but we did what we could. In the end, this demonstrates how hard so many Americans have it as far as wine availability. Hopefully this will one day change, but until then, the closest thing to Pinotage in Walla Walla is buying a Pinot Noir and a Cinsault and blending them.

Living in Walla Walla can sometimes pose great difficulty in finding wines which are not made in Washington. I figured we’d go to the local restaurant with typically the best import selection and have a few bottles to choose from. This was not the case – not only is there not a single Pinotage in the place, but there are a whopping total of two wines from South Africa.

Devastated, we proceeded to check the local grocery stores as Walla Walla lacks a true bottle shop. Despite our best efforts, but no thanks to my serious lack of appreciation for the horrible Walla Walla selection, we ended up going with the closest thing to Pinotage available in Walla. 42% Pinotage is better than nothing, I suppose.

The other 58% is Syrah – but the worst is yet to come. This wine, which has the highest Pinotage percentage of any wine in Walla Walla, is a bottom shelf grocery store wine. That brings me to the star of the night, the 2007 Sebeka Shiraz-Pinotage from South Africa. Actually, this wine isn’t half-bad, but the utter disappointment in my town has led me to think strongly about my morality.

Back to the wine; it has a somewhat jammy nose, and it mostly lacks the South African funk that is so common in wines from the cape. There’s a slight underlying note of rubber – also known as the famous Pinotage tar or burnt rubber aroma. Almost slightly sweet, it’s a non-offensive wine with a somewhat offensive finish. Ultimately, it just can’t be used to represent Pinotage in any form, and I apologize for a lack of planning. The next time I’m in Seattle or Portland I will make a point of finding a true Pinotage and basking it in its deserved glory.