Delas 2002 Les Launes Crozes Hermitage Syrah - Wine Review
June 4, 2008
I went to a wine tasting last night and came across a Delas 2002 Les Launes Crozes Hermitage Syrah. This wine was very unique I have to say for a syrah wine. The impression I received at first was light and fruity followed by a bit of tart kick when tasted on the middle of the palate. The finish of this wine was like pepper with a touch of olive hovering around afterwards. Again… I have to say that this was unique. Never quite had a syrah with a combination of this kind of lightness coupled with pepper. Possibly since it was vintage 2002, maybe it should have been consumed sooner… But still, would I the Wine Virgin complain about free wine?
Notes on the Vinters website has about this wine:
The color is a deep garnet red. The nose is essentially fruity, with strong aromas of cassis and plums, a touch of violets and is an ample, well-rounded wine.
Wine Region: Crozes Hermitage
Type of Wine: Red
Grape Type: Syrah
Country Where Produced: France
Cost to You: $20 +
Rating: 3 out of 5
Renwood 2000 Old Vine Zinfandel - Wine Review
June 3, 2008
I recently picked up a Renwood 2000 Old Vine Zinfandel and last night I had my way with it, all of it. Gone. I have to say it was pretty good. It definitely has an intense taste of what can be described as a rich dark chocolate along with dark cherry. This wine has nice slick almost velvety feel in the mouth and combined with a lush tinge of an alcoholic aroma makes the wine burst with flavor. After you are content with a couple glasses, the finish of the wine lasts for a good while hints of dark cherry and blackberry linger in your mouth. Definitely one of the better ones I have had in my time and if you are lucky enough to come across a bottle, I recommend you pick it up. Cheers!!
Notes on the Vinters website has about this wine:
I did some searching online and because this was an older bottle, I was not able to find any specific notes for this vintage. However, the Renwood Old Vine Zinfandels are noted for have a bouquet that consists of cranberry, allspice, nutmeg and blackberry. Also, The flavor has been described as a ripe berry fruit followed by a mix of holiday spices while finishing with chalky tannins and vanilla bean from the oak that it is aged in.
Wine Region: Amador County
Type of Wine: Red
Grape Type: Zinfandel
Country Where Produced: U.S. - California
Cost to You: $20
Rating: 4 out of 5
Organic Wine - The Truth
April 28, 2008
Between organic wine and wine that is not classified as organic, is there any real difference or is it just marketing hype? - Missy in Pine Bluff, AR
An organic wine is defined as “a wine made from organically grown grapes and without any added sulfites by the USDA and must give information about who the certifying agency is.
A lot of savvy marketers will take advantage of certain overly zealous health nuts that want everything they touch to be “organic”. However, there is a specific reason why this trend has caught on, mainly being is that if made right organic wines can be just as high in quality than conventional wines if not more so. You have to stop and think for a moment that before the advent of industrialized farming which uses pesticides and powerful fertilizes, the craft of wine making has always truly been an organic process from vine to bottle.
Also, another contributing factor to the higher level of quality is because organic vineyards have a better resistance to bad weather and various diseases. Many organic wineries will use grapes from organic vineyards that hand pick their grapes vs. relying on mechanical pickers. This process provides the best bunches of grapes while at the same time saves the vine and soil from the damaging effects from the overuse of pesticides and fertilizers.
It’s definitely easy to be jaded when something is lauded as new and different with a shiny politically correct label slapped on it and some slick marketing behind it. But believe it or not I have tasted quite a few organic vintages and I have to say that they are on the top my list of some of my most favorite wines. Cheers!!
Crusted Wine - Why?
April 14, 2008
Why is crusted wine called as such? - Meg in Portsmouth, VA
Crusted port wine is a type of ruby port. It is also an inexpensive version of vintage port, and in turn receives it’s curious name from being unfiltered. This leads to a very interesting natural sediment that builds up over time from grape skins, twigs and seeds, hence the “crusted” in crusted wine. Appetizing no?
Definitely and absolutely, crusted port wine should be decanted. If not, you might take a sip and end up snacking on something that isn’t quite edible. However, what’s good about crusted wines is that you can enjoy them at a much younger age vs. a good vintage port, some of which can take decades to mature, where they can be fully appreciated.
Keep in mind that when you see the date on the bottle, this is alluding to the bottling date and not the actual year in which the grapes were grown. Cheers!!
Late Bottled Vintage
April 11, 2008
What is meant by saying a bottle is late bottled vintage? - Chandra in Seattle, WA
Late Bottled Vintage is the term given to wines that are left longer in a barrel than what had been planned for, due to a lack of demand. This practice has led to 2 distinct wines. From these 2 types, both of them are bottled between 4 to 6 years after the vintage. The key difference between them is that one is fined and filtered before it is bottled and the other one is not.
Basically, when a wine is filtered like this it can be consumed without having to be decanted first. Now as for the unfiltered wines, these definitely have to be decanted. Some wine lovers feel that the filtering process takes away from the character of the wine. One of the reasons this practice made sense was that late bottled vintage is similar to drinking a vintage port without having to wait 10 plus years before enjoying the bottle.
Kinda like getting your cake and eating it too so to speak and not having to feel all that wine guilt just because you want to indulge. But then again sometimes its good to be cautious. A lot of late bottled vintage wines are worthy of your time but a few, due to the filtering process and how they were crafted can be likened to drinking a shadow and will leave you with an unsatisfied craving for more. Cheers!!
Wine Vintage Date
March 25, 2008
Two questions for you Wine Virgin. Why don’t some bottles have a wine vintage date and what is a wine vintage chart used for? Thank you, thank you. - Nikolas in Bangor, ME
You’re welcome, welcome. Have you already had a few while getting ready for an interesting Tuesday night up there in Bangor? Hmmm… well Nikolas, some bottles won’t have a wine vintage date on them because they are actually made with wines that are from different years. As a result these are known as non vintage.
Now to satisfy… your curiosity about what exactly a wine vintage chart is, here’s the answer. A wine vintage chart will show the particular ratings for every year in a certain wine region. But do you think that ratings on a chart could sum up the qualities of certain wines? No way, but they are used to assess a vintage’s reputation.
These charts are however, used in such a way as to get a broad context for determining the characteristics of wines produced in region. They can also be referred to when there is a question as to when one should either let the wine age or to enjoy it while there is still time to do so.
Keep in mind that many who are involved in the production of wine in a certain region will try in subtle ways to slant the charts in their favor, that a wine vintage is unusually great and should be added to a persons collection immediately. It’s never fun getting one pulled over on you so be a wee bit cautious and remember that a wine vintage charts are a guideline to consider and not the rule of thumb. Cheers!!