Saturday, November 18, 2006

Wine Spectator Great Wine Values, Part II


Tonight I have tasted and reviewed two more wines from the list of Wine Spectator's Great Wine Values in October's issue. See Part I with the first two wines reviewed at 11/15/06.
I started of with the 2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle-Dr. Loosen Riesling Colombia Valley, Eroica. It is the seventh vintage of this wine and they are getting better and better with narrowing it down and finding their style. It received 90 points from Wine Spectator and 92 from Wine Enthusiast. Sweet, white floral on the nose lead you to believe that it might be to sweet, but once in your mouth it is lively and crisp with ripe apple notes and transforms quickly to a sweeter peachy tone with a long finish. Very tasty! $19.99 at BevMo.
I had planned to taste an Australian Shiraz after this but upon opening the bottle I discovered that it had bled through the cork. I am not afraid to return these bottles as it might have affected the wine, and so I will.
Instead I moved on to the 2004 Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec Mendoza from Argentina. Nicola Catena, an Italian immigrant, planted the first vines in 1902. The third generation is now running the winery, striving to put Argentina on the map as one of the premium wine producing countries. And they are on their way. The nose reveals red cherry and berries, and black berries and dark fruit on the palate with a long finish. Wine Spectator rewarded this beauty with 90 points and I agree. $19.99 at BevMo.
Tomorrow: the Australian Shiraz...

6 comments:

Edward said...

Victoria,

Thanks for your comment on my blog. It looks like you have been thirsty and busy. . .

I look forward to reading more.

Anonymous said...

Hello Victoria,
Yes I have experienced bleeding corks. It usually means that the botle was overfilled at the time of bottling and the insertion of the cork causes wine to be forced out around its sides but with no resulting bad effects to the wine.
Re: the Catena Malbec, yes an awesome wine. I recently had the privilege of attending a seminar put on by the Bodega Catena Zapata with their wine education director, Jeff Mausbach, where we tasted the various wines from their different elevation vineyards that go into the blend of their Alta Malbec. I like using the 20 point system and I gave it a 19. Mendoza will be a region to watch for great wines in the the near future.

Victoria said...

Yes, usually this is the case but this bottle has a relatively low level in the bottle neck and it had not leaked all around the cork but only in one area. In this case I suspected improper storage in to high temperature causing the bleeding. Just in case I did request a new bottle earlier today without any problem. They retrieved a new bottle with a smile and appologized for the inconvenience...

Unknown said...

Thanks for your comment about the Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake on WineRant yesterday. I appreciate your stopping by and letting me know about your site. Check back later today and I'll have a review of your blog posted.

Anonymous said...

Stunning quest there. What happened after? Thanks!


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