What to Eat: Goat Cheese Truffle Dust Souffle with Truffle Honey

What to Eat: Goat Cheese Truffle Dust Souffle with Truffle Honey

Where to Eat: Wood Cooking at FireDoor in Surry, Australia

Where to Eat: Wood Cooking at FireDoor in Surry, Australia

Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan Bordeaux

Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan Bordeaux

Riva Ranch

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample in order to participate in a Taste Live Event. Content originally published on Wannabe Wino.

I liked this Chardonnay the best of the wines from the Wente Taste Live Event. I know, it's saying something when Chard is my favorite, as I tend to drift away from Chardonnay many times. However, I really enjoyed this wine. Apparently I'm not alone as it got an 89 from the Wine Spectator back in July, so I'll be cross-posting this entry over on The 89 Project....does anyone post there anymore? The wine is the 2008 Wente Riva Ranch Chardonnay, clocking in at 13.5% alcohol by volume with a real cork closure and retailing for around $17.

On the nose I got pear, apple, apple cider, spice, lots oh pear, a bit of cream, and white flowers. In the mouth a little oak and butter popped up, but I thought it was well integrated and found the oak to be on the toasty side. I also got more cream notes, round apples, pears, spice, white flowers, and tropical notes. I thought the Chard had some nice acidity on the finish to round out the hints of oak and butter. Overall, I really enjoyed this wine.

Mourvedre My Darling, Mourvedre

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the PR folks for Quivira Winery

Content Originally Posted on my blog, Wannabe Wino.

I feel like that commercial for hair club for men...I'm not only the founder, I'm a client too...I've been a member of the Quivira Wine Club for going on 4 years now. I have tons of their wines in my basement. I usually tend to sit on the reds for a bit though, so I'm happy to have a chance to taste them earlier through sampling so I can decide what more to order for myself and how long to hold my own bottles. Now, I also LOVE LOVE LOVE Mouredre, Monastrell, Mataro, whatever you want to call it. One of my favorite "obscure" grapes. Tonight I pulled the 2006 Quivira Mourvedre from the basement, thinking it might work well with a pot roast I had made. I'm guessing this retails for around $30....I know I paid $27 for the one I got in a club shipment, it had a real cork closure and clocked in at 14.8% alcohol by volume. It appears this vintage received a score of 89 from Wine Enthusiast, so I'm going to go ahead and cross post this blog over on the 89 Project.

On the nose I found campfire smoke...I love that smell in wine, black fruit, blackberry, boysenberry, cedar, vanilla, chocolate, spice, and herbs. It had that dark brooding nose I love in wine. In the mouth, more black fruit with black cherry thrown in, blackberry, herbs, chocolate and pepper, also some tart raspberries lurking in the background. The wine had nice tannins that will see it through a few years, though we really enjoyed it now with our pot roast!

Patrick Lesec's "Bouquet" is One Fine Value Wine

There are plenty of choices from France's Cotes du Rhone area in your local wine shop. You will find the Grenache- and Syrah-based wines plentiful in any good shop worthy of your business.

There are so many wines to choose from, most quite tasty, it's hard to remember anything truly outstanding. Or at least outstanding enough to remember the name or write it down. That might be true until you sample the wines of Patrick Lesec.

A 2005 bottle of Lesec's Cotes Du Rhone Bouquet was nothing short of remarkable for the price point. For $12.99 you're going to have a great bottle of wine that will hold up to most dinner dishes.

It's a terrific wine with herbal notes, a big ripe and rich flavor, but still medium bodied and smooth on the finish. And for the real wine geeks, the first taste of this wine screamed "DIRT!" If you want to taste the "terroir" the soil and environment where the wine is made, or better understand the concept, find a bottle of Patrick Lesec's Bouquet.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, gave this juice an 89 rating. I thought it was every bit that good. Most of us are influenced by the price point though more than Parker. If you buy your wine on a budget,try this wine.

It's a cliche' but this is far better wine than the price point!

This is also posted at my blog Grape Sense - A Glass Half Full.

I Spy...

This is a cross post from my blog Wannabe Wino. This wine received an 89 from the Wine Spectator.

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Spy Valley Winery.

With my little eye a wine that's an excellent buy! (Oh, and I rhyme too!) I first came across Spy Valley wines at the 2008 Wine Blogger Conference (woohoo, only 18 days until I meet up with my wine blog friends again!) and then had a chance to try them again at the New Zealand Winemakers' Tasting in Dc. Folks from the winery contacted me and offered to send along a more complete sampling of their offerings, so I will have 5 wines to bring you over the next weeks! We first tried the 2008 Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc. It clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume, had a screw cap closure, and retails for as low as $12 on the internet.

On the nose I found lime, grapefruit, citrus, crushed stone, lemon, and tropical undertones. The nose smelled like a wine that would be tart and crisp, and the mouth did not disappoint! In the mouth I got grapefruit, lime, almost a hint of green apple, tart citrus, passion fruit, and an herbal quality. I found the wine to be really tart, extremely refreshing, and with great acidity and structure. We drank it with grilled pork chops and corn on the cob, sitting on our back patio enjoying a lovely evening.