Tasting - Barboursville Cuvee 1814 Brut Rose

 

 Name: Barboursville Cuvee 1814 Brut Rose

Variety: Pinot Noir (100%)

Region: Monticello AVA

Country: Virginia, USA

Year: NV

Price: $30

Winemaker's Review: "Produced from DOCG Pinot Noir, fermented in bottle in the metodo classico, estate bottled at our founder's Tenuta il Bosco in Oltrepo Pavese. Winemaker Luca Paschina selected the dosage with Stefano Ferrante at Tenuta il Bosco. Vivid qualities of rose in a champenois frame.

Personal Review: This weekend my girlfriend and I went up to Charlottesville and decided to visit the most renowned vineyard in the state, Barboursville Vineyards. Her family has been avid Virginia wine drinkers for  a while so we have both become pretty well acquainted with Barboursville wines, but I did not realize that since they own land in Italy, they are actually able to bottle and sell a DOCG wine with an American name! This rose was deliciously crisp with just a hint of bright red fruit notes. I actually proposed this weekend at the vineyard (she said yes!) and this is the bottle we had to celebrate in the tasting room when we got back. I could not be happier with a wine to celebrate such an important occasion!

Proof she said yes!

Tasting - 2021 Dr. L Riesling

 

 Name: Loosen Bros. Dr. L Riesling

Variety: Riesling (100%)

Region: Mosel

Country: Germany

Year: 2021

Price: $15

Winemaker's Review: "This top-selling Loosen Bros. wine is Ernst Loosen’s "ambassador" for the Mosel region and for the Riesling variety. It embodies the delicate and racy style that is characteristic of Riesling grown in the slate-soil vineyards of the Mosel valley. And, best of all, it delivers this uniquely delicious and invigorating taste at a very affordable price for every day enjoyment. It is a bright, refreshing, fruit-driven wine, with a juicy mid-palate and a crisp, drying finish." 

Personal Review: This weekend I threw a party with some friends, but was told to pick as sweet a wine as I could with a good level of complexity for under $20. Since the dinner was cod, I decided to go with a white, and the varietal  I decided to choose was one of my favorites and one I think has some of the most versatility, Riesling. While this particular Riesling did not have a sweetness level like others from the Mosel, I would probably equate it to a Spatlese in terms of residual sugar. On the nose there was bright aromas of citrus and grapefruit, which mellowed into stone fruits such as apricots on the palate. The salinity present in the finish was a perfect compliment to the brininess of the cod. For under $20, Mosel Rieslings are a great option to please all palates!

Tasting - 2015 J. Denuziere Cote Rotie

 

 Name: J. Denuziere Cote Rotie

Variety: Syrah (100%)

Region: Cote Rotie, Rhone Valley

Country: France

Year: 2015

Price: $82

Wine Enthusiast's Review: "This profoundly perfumed Syrah offers heady ntoes of dried sage, thyme, and arid earth against a backdrop of succulent baked plum. Densely concentrated black-fruit flavors seem edged by spicy notes of chocolate and cinnamon. It's a taut, firmly structured wine with bristling acidity and fine-grained but chewy tannins. Best hold till 2021 - it's a wine that will improve over the long haul." (95)

Personal Review: To cap off my nice Sunday dinner I decided to go a little bigger than usual and get a wine from a region I had never gotten to try before. Rhone wines have been some of the most interesting to me so far, and Cote Rotie, the northernmost region of the Rhone and having a huge reputation for quality, has thusfar eluded me. Luckily, as an employee of the Vintage Cellar I was able to get a slight discount but this was definitely one of the more expensive bottles of wine I've bought. To pair, I made pan-seared lamb loin chops, roasted potatoes, and asparagus, and quite frankly this dish was the best thing I have ever cooked myself! A common food pairing for Cote Rotie is lamb and I completely understood why. The subtlety of the flavors in this wine were perfectly matched by the strength of the lamb without being overpowered. The biggest difference I noticed in this wine versus other Syrahs I've had is just the elegant mouthfeel this wine has. Tasting this wine, I truly understood what "silky" tannins meant. Although unfortunately this will not be my regular level of wine enjoyment, I am very glad I got to experience this one!

Tasting - Segura Viudas Brut Cava Rose

 

 Name: Segura Viudas Brut Cava Rose

Variety: Trepat (90%), Garnacha (10%)

Region: Cava

Country: Spain

Year: NV

Price: $4.25 (for 187ml bottle)

Tasting Panel's Review: "Strawberry and pink grapefruit perfume the glass of this gorgeous Cava rosado a blend of 90% Trepat and 10% Garnacha that aged for 12 months. Defined by decisive flavors of cherry pith grapefruit zest, and grenadine, it possesses a subtle richness thanks to its refined mousse and textural complexity." (93)

Personal Review: Today my girlfriend and I decided we were going to try and treat ourselves to a nice Sunday dinner, so we decided to make a few dishes and wanted some wines to go along with them. Our first dish was a simple charcuterie board, which had lots of variation. Because of this, we wanted a wine that would be pairable with a lot of different flavors and would just work as a palate scrubber, and we decided on this wine! The fruit characteristics of this wine actually did more than just scrub the palate and added a nice contrast to the saltiness of the meats and the creaminess of the cheese. The bubbles were also a nice touch and set up a nice atmosphere. Cava is made in methode traditionnelle, which allows for Champagne flavors at much less than Champagne cost!