Okay alllllmost there

Hey now, I know. You are still waiting for the end of the Beaujolais run but let us pause for ye olde cabernet sauvignon. Partly because I am twiddling my thumbs on editing my Brouilly entry and partly because Gallo sent me this delicious cab which I opened because A) I’m tired of gamay for two seconds and B) I made an ice cream calling for cabernet so I had to open it so here ya go:

2014 Louis M Martini Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

YAY okay metaphor: This is the older wiser friend you have supes ridic convo with but also although any other person their age would think you an idiot for saying “supes ridic convo” , this one did not and you had enough funtime that you could (half jokingly) say “supes ridic convo” and both of you are like whooaaaa we are such fun loving ironic idiots! Yet deep. Yet idiotic. But this wine is all that MINUS the idiotic part.

 

Also this wine makes amazing ice cream. Ice cream is for all ages. I’ll leave the recipe.

Okay stats, WSETs style:

Appearance: Clear (not that it was not opaque but it was not cloudy!) deep purple red, with medium slow tears.

Nose: clean, medium, youthful, with cedar, vanilla, blackberries and a whiff of tobacco smoke.

Onnnnn zee tongue!: dry, medium, acid I’d call medium if it were white but it is acidic as heck (pleasantly so) for a red, tannins are ever so slightly fresh and medium plus. Like the tannins could be better integrated or riper but they are not overly astringent. The alcohol, my guess is medium plus. My guess is 14.5…feeeeel my anxiety as I check to see if I am accurate…14.4% on the tech sheet they gave me yet 14.9% on the bottle so…I was right there!!! Score. This is a boozy bitch.

Body is medium plus. Like it feels like but the texture and strength of booze make it feel like more. Flavor intensity is medium. The medium flavors? They are blackberries, Black currant jam, red cherry, cedar, vanilla, nutmeg, yet more vanilla, and a whiff of tobacco smoke in the name of what comes from a clove cigarette winkwinkformergothlol.  The finish is…well hot. That is the high alcohol. It does not evolve but it does not fall off so I would say it lasts medium and it evolves over the lat medium minus. Which is still better than 90% of wines out there probably.

Okay if you see this wine don’t waste is on ice cream ORRRRR do! the ice cream was insanely great. Here is the recipe:

Ch0colate-Cabernet Ice Cream adapted from Vegan à la Mode by Hannah Kaminsky

• 1 3/4 almond milk
• 3/4 cup chocolate almond milk
• 1 Tbsp Arrowroot
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa
• pinch salt
• 3 oz. chopped dark chocolate ( I used Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips)
• 3/4 cup cabernet sauvignon (she says “or any other fruity red wine” but I’d never say cab was generally fruity–I’d recommend a pinot noir, blaufrankisch or beaujolais instead)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine first six ingredients in medium saucepan. Whisk to combine then heat over medium, whisking frequently until it boils, then reduce heat to low, add chocolate until it dissolves. Take off heat and whisk in wine and vanilla. Cool completely before  processing in your ice cream maker per their directions.

Big. Ass. Mine Yours Which What-evs

So Milano Family Wines is up to putting out some hot ass. So what. The. Hey. Okay.

I wanted to be opposed to this based on name but for some everyday drinking in, I could be into this shiz-nit.

Ass! Mine…yours..whoevers…I would never in a mil and yon years have purchased this but this is what online contests are for, to expose more people to wine they might not select otherwise.

Psssssst! I got this from a giveaway on the venerable Bri’s Glass of Wine site. Bri knows some good stuff so… I figured if I won the results would be dandy. 

I am confused that Milano Family Winery is, oh say, family? I mean, my fam is open. Mom explained sex, at least the mechanics as they apply to baby-making when I was maybe 7 and my father advised me in family therapy as an adult that I should consider pre-marital sex (I took that up it was a good idea) and yes I’m writing a memoir of my fuck-uped-ness but Big Ass family wine? Okay sure. But really.

How. Does. It. Taste.

That is what matters.

Wait, first! A PSA:

TEMPERATURE IS IMPORTANT! WHEN PEOPLE SAY SERVE RED WINE AT ROOM TEMP THAT SHOULD BE BETWEEN 55 and 64 degrees Fahrenheit!!!! NOT THE USA “72 is perfect” ROOM TEMP! THAT IS TOO FUCKING WARM!

If only I could go to every bar in the USA and help them with wine temperature. EVERYONE would appreciate wine more.

This Big Ass red ain’t bad. I shall endeavor to assess with a bit of the WSET 3 criteria. But first the tech info:

This is a Merlot/Zinfandel/Cabernet/Carignan blend aged in 20% French Oak. I am assuming the Cab is Sauvignon, not Cabernet Franc because most people, if they say Cab. mean the Sauv.  

But let us not dwell on tech, let us dwell on experience.

Okay now the WSET drill:

Appearance: Clear, deep purple.

Nose: Clean, medium (+), dark red cherries and currants, white pepper and cinnamon, fully developed.

Palate: Dry, medium acid, medium (+) alcohol (apparently it is 14.5 abv), medium (-) body, blackcurrant and red currant jam (what the what?! red and black true!) cinnamon, white pepper, black pepper, allspice and cinnamon and some sage. A whiff of tobacco and vanilla but I do not think aging would accentuate it therefore ergo—-

Drink now, little reason to age. Flavor intensity was medium (+) and

Finish: medium (-) it does not totally drop off but then it does not evolve and move me. Which is fine anything over low is helpful to making me wanna have some more.

Quality? According to the WSET probably somewhere around good. Maybe between acceptable and good (closer to good but good for WSET is better than most people’s “good”)which for this price is super. Like, I would sip this freely and happily. And be like, “Hey dudes, check this BIG ASS WINE!”. It is big. And look at my ass. Hint I do have a sweet ass.

I mean in general this is good, but there is not a thing I would call special or idiosyncratic to a grape, or region but..this delight would pair up with a snack or  a dessert or even it would just pair well with a…drinking vessel?  Wine is really good when you pair it with a wine glass.

There ya go.

Wisdom for the ages.

A castle n 3 towers

The me. The wine. The hair all over the dang place.
Well heck. I’d hang there. And by “there” I mean if I could go to the Haut-Médoc in 2010 and nab some of these appellation contrôlée grapes I might just do so.

2010 Chateau Fontesteau Grand Vin Cru Borgeois

PS cellartracker was slightly less unenthusiastic than I but a good deal of those notes were made years ago. 6 years of waiting did well for this bottle.

Yeaaaaa Bordeaux. When it is good (unlike earlier that week at a bar with some overly oaky Bordeaux) it is more than good, it is better. In fact it is Bordeaux-ing on the best.

Mwahaha word jokes.

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux–the Haut-Médoc

Those grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot

That nose: Cherries, gooseberries (as I imagine they may taste) and some realm of “hey that is fresh”!

In the mouth, it is luscious in a “I do not wanna stop”
way. I mean it. The perfect amount of tannins.

Full confession. I didn’t take notes after this. I mean, Jonathon Gold doesn’t take notes while eating at a place he is reviewing so why should I?

Oh right! Because drinking a wine so good you drink a little much and then decide to go to sleep is gonna inhibit your memory. Oops. Lessons learned:
1) Take a break. Do not swig. Normally I don’t but now I reallyreally won’t.
2) Take notes. Also I normally do this but WTF, I got cocky. Ego adjusted.

Looking forward to living the dream. Responsibly. With notes.