In Pursuit of the Juiciest Wine: Day 117 – Veramonte Ritual Pinot Noir 2010

It’s only 17 days until I move, and this is day 117 of the Juiciest Wine Tour. So happy synchronicity + 100 to me, which I’ll celebrate with Veramonte Ritual Pinot Noir 2010 Casablanca Valley from Chile.

I’ve had at least one other Chilean Pinot Noir. It was also a Veramonte, and I had it two years and one month ago. You can read about it and the Casablanca Valley here: In Pursuit of the Juiciest Wine: Day Twenty.

The wine bottle is wide with thick glass and the punt is also wide and fairly deep. (Punt is the dimple in the bottom of a wine bottle. It is also referred to as a “kick-up.”) It’s almost like a champagne bottle. But enough of that. To the wine.

I poured a glass two hours ago, so it should be ready by now.

The color is like a red cranberry color. It’s kinda bright for a wine. And it’s 60% opaque.

It’s quite leggy, too. The legs form quick, fall quick, but linger a long, long time. And the wine swirls for a long time. You know, like if you swirl a glass of wine and then stop, the swirl continues for a few seconds, but this one is lasting for like ten seconds and then it oscillates like a wave for a few seconds more . . . and then the legs.

This is wine is so interesting even before I smell it.

I know all wines are alive, well, most, bust this one seems like it has physical presence or a conscious presence. It’s like it has things it wants to do and places to go and things to say. It’s corporeal with meditative thoughts. I hope it’s imaginative, too.

The nose has dark cherries and dark plums. I inhale and see plum pulp. There’s a bit of toast, too. (Maybe that’s why the champagne bottle. Ha. Get it? Too big of a leap?)

The taste matches the nose and with a little chalky finish on the tongue. The finish is also spicy, especially if you inhale through the nose while the wine is still in the mouth.

The taste has raspberries and an underlying juicy plum.

I really like the body. It’s a medium-light body. I just like how it feels in  my mouth. All of the sudden I think it feels like the Saturnalian vortex, Saturnarian vortex, hm, the vortex on Saturn.

Maybe that’s why this wine swirls so long in the glass. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

The finish also has a dry juiciness. A dry raspberry and slight plumy juicy finish at that.

I paid $14 at Mahan’s for this. That seems a fair price to me.

It’s a solid wine. I give it 88 or 89 points. I give it 88 as a Pinot Noir, but 89 and maybe 90 as an outright wine.//

In Pursuit of the Juiciest Wine: Day 111 – Baron Philippe De Rothschild Escudo Rojo 2008 Maipo, Chile

Today I started reading Richard Swigg’s Quick, Said the Bird: Williams, Eliot, Moore, and the Spoken Word (University of Iowa Press, 2012). The book is about the sounds in the poems of William Carlos Williams, T. S. Eliot, and Marianne Moore, and so far it’s not about spoken-word poetry. So far it’s damn terrific. I mean, “Wow, someone devoted a whole book to discussing the sounds in poems!” You’d think there’d be more since poetry is sound. It’s meanings mostly arise from its melodies, harmonies, rhythms, intonations, and breathings, yet few write about this things other than an essays. So here’s a whole book, and I happy for it.

Tonight’s wine is Baron Philippe De Rothschild Escudo Rojo 2008 Maipo, Chile, and when I uncorked it, it gave a tremendous pop, which is very fitting considering the book I’m reading. And as I poured it into the decanter, I got a very wonderful smell of juicy fruits and berries.

For now, I’m going to let it decant a bit longer while I add some more thoughts to my review of Quick, Said the Bird, which should appear here in a day or so.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

While you wait, here’s a little story about this bottle. I picked up in Hannaford Farms in Rutland, VT, about two-an-a-half months ago on our way to Dixfield, ME, to visit my girlfirend’s father and step-mother for Christmas. I’ve been saving it ever since. Well, I’ve been wanting to drink it, but I had to save it for an occassion when I could write about it since I don’t know where else to get it. Mahan’s doesn’t have it 😦 Boo.

Anyway. From the back of the bottle:

[. . .] the Rothschild name comes from the German phrase “Das Rote Schild,” a reference to the red shield which originally served as the Family sign. “Escudo Rojo” is the literal Spanish translation.

“The Red Shield” of wine. Hmm. Well, I’ve been shielding you enough from a description. So in the words of the French, allons-y le bouclier rouge.

The back of the bottle also says this wine is blend of “four traditional grape varieties,” though it doesn’t say which ones, and I can’t find any sources on the internet. Based just on the waft I got from pouring I’m going to guess one of them is a Cabernet Sauvignon, and I’m positive about that, and I’m going to guess Syrah and Merlot.

Now, that I’ve smelled it with integrity, I’m sticking with my guess. I’m also adding that I love this nose with cherries, peppers, and a hints of cantaloupe and earthiness. It smells juicy. It smells like there’s a Washington Merlot in there, which may be why I’m getting juicy green apples. Oh, and vanilla. And some cola. My gosh, I’m drooling over the possibilities.

The color is dark, royal purple that is 85% opaque.

The finish is tart as you might get from a green apple. Why do I always pick up the finish first?

It’s also a bit bitter on the finish.

The nose is way better than the taste. The nose is all hope and warm fuzzies of goodness. The taste is kind of ordinary, or maybe my expectations were set to high from the nose.

You know what. I’m changing my Merlot from above to Carmenere. That’s what is hurting this wine. To me Carmenere smells like Merlot, but it doesn’t taste like. It’s like Merlot is The Beatles and the Carmenere is the Dollar Store version of The Beatles, or The Monkees. (I thank Harvey for that Beatles-Monkees analogy.) Carmenere’s DNA is very similar to Merlot, too. Actually, the more I sip it, the more I pick up some luscious cherries and pepper. It’s getting better with each sip. The bitterness and tartness are fading. It’s juicy and dry at the same time. It’s juicy on the palate and dry on the gums. It’s lip smacking. There’s some smoke, too.

Anyway, I’m liking this more and more. I think it will go good with a spinach salad that has crumbled bacon. It should also complement smoked gouda cheese.

I’ll say 88 points, or a B+.

I don’t remember what I paid for it, but I wouldn’t pay more than $12 or $13.

Oh so I did some more research. This wine is:

• Cabernet Sauvignon 40%
• Carmenere 37%
• Syrah 18%
• Cabernet Franc 5%

Okay. I taste that Cabernet Franc, now, but it’s good. I usually despise the Cabernet Franc, but it’s hiding itself inside the Carmenere. It’s wearing Carmenere camouflage.

To read the tasting notes I found, which also includes the blending notes, click Baron Philippe De Rothschild Escudo Rojo 2008 Tasting Notes. It even has a map so you can locate Maipo Valley, Chile.

Their tasting notes say it’s “round, fruity.” I say it’s “cubical and dark berry.”//

in pursuit of the juiciest wine: day sixty-one (Armador Cabernet Sauvignon 2007)

Tonight is Odfjell Armador Cabernet Sauvignon 2007.

I love that the consecutive letters D F J are in its name. D F J. It sounds like a string of letters in an alphabet. Like an alphabet of prime numbers and consonants from a planet in a different galaxy where there are no vowels. Surely this wine comes from the planet Dfjg3klmnpq5. It’s probably a cubed-shaped planet, too.

It turns out I’ve had this wine before on day nineteen of the juiciest wine tour. Luckily, I have forgotten everything about this wine. (I though the label looked familiar, but after a while, the labels blur in my memory.)

So, this is a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. Chile is so hip with wines right now. I expect a lot from this one, even though it was only $9 on sale.

It looks big bodied as it is 95% opaque with a dark purple color. The meniscus is of average size with the middle layer a sunset pink color. This pink color will complement the muted grapefruit nose. Some one commented somewhere that it was passion fruit, which it may be. My girlfriend picks up whiskey or bourbon on the nose. I also get cigars, figs, and blackberries. It definitely has lots of alcohol and legs that don’t move.

This goes down easy as its cool and smooth. It tastes similar to the nose. I also pick up a cola, which is always fun. I also get earl greyer tea.

The grapefruit or passion fruit is just getting in the way of what could be a really good wine.

Now, when I reviewed this on June 17, I got a completely different tasting on this. This time it’s like a fru-fru mixed drink and last time it was like forest of funk. It was better last time. Much better. That’s just bizarre.

This wine is put together well, but because of the nose and how that nose lingers, I’m giving this 86 points. Get rid of the nose and how it lingers, and this Chilean cab is 89 or 90.//

in pursuit of the juiciest wine: day twenty-three

U. S. vs Ghana ("Yes you can" vs "Yes you Gyan")

U. S. won today and advances. Ghana won and advances. (I knew they were ghanna.) And on Saturday they meet. Yes you Gyan, but not this Saturday Ghana. Despite all that, I feel blasé. To fix that, I’m gonna get my groove on. I’m gonna/ghanna get my Richard “Groove” Holmes on. It’s time for “Groovin’ For Mr. G”.

That got me right. Now, I can continue with mini Chilean Wine tour. This is the last day of it, so I’m gonna go out with one of my favorite everyday wines: Root:1 Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. It’s from Colchagua Valley, Chile. “Chile. The original ungrafted. Varietal. Rootstock.”

Here’s the story from the front of the bottle:

Chile is a true rarity in the wine world. Unique geographic & climatic forces have allowed it to remain one of very few grape growing regions in the world where the original European rootstocks, survive, unaffected by phylloxera – the disease that forced grape growers worldwide to graft vines onto generic rootstocks. Chile’s isolation, protected by the mighty Andes to the east and the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean to the West, ensures that grape vines can remain on the original rootstock, in the purest form. These same geographic characteristics provide Chile’s fertile central region with optimal climate & soil conditions to produce consistent and outstanding grapes each year. This Root: 1 Cabernet Sauvignon is crafted exclusively from grapes grown on the original, ungrafted root systems tended by our Master Winemakers. This gives the wine its pure, rich fruit flavors & aromas.

This seems to be turning into an advertisement, and maybe it should. This wine receives a dedication in my latest collection of poems.

Alright. Let’s get to the wine. Vamos.

A lovely nose of cherries, chocolate, vanilla, and maybe some caramel. Hm. This one is not as good as previous years. It’s a bit tart, especially on the finish. It’s a bit thin. It still has the cherries and chocolate. But, oh, the 2008 is a disappointment. The 2007 was wonderful. Arg. Arg is how I felt through the whole United States game today until they scoredin injury time. They dominated, but they couldn’t score, except for the phantom offsides, and then the glorious goal in extra time.

Arg. That’s how I feel about this 2008. It’s a phantom of the 2007. Ohhhh, the 2007 is splendid, but the 2008, eh, not so much. Now, I’m sad again. Back to Richard “Groove” Holmes.

//

in pursuit of the juiciest wine: day twenty-one

Day twenty-one of the Juiciest Wine tour and day two one the mini Chilean Wine tour is brought to you by Santa Ema Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2006. I’ve had the other Santa Ema Cabernet Sauvingon when Mahan’s was selling it for $4. At that price it was excellent. Then it went up to $5, and it was still good. Then it went up to $6, and then it was ok. Same wine, but the taste didn’t match its price. Still, it’s a pretty good wine. This one is different. It’s the Reserve, so it should be better.

Santa Ema is in Maipo Valley, which is in Valle Central. See day twenty‘s map of Chile.

The Santa Ema Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2006 has long-lasting legs like the Armador Cabernet Sauvignon 2007. It also has a peppery and dark berry nose with a hint of honey-dew mellon. It’s chewy and leathery especially on the finish. There’s some currant, dark currant, especially up front and around the gums. It finishes with pepper and dark berries. This is a solid cab with a big body. It’s cohesive. The tastes are intertwined with each other and are hard to separate – like my girlfriend and me.//

in pursuit of the juiciest wine: day twenty

Chile. The main wine region is in the red box.

In my previous post I talked about Chile and its wines. Well, this week will be a Chilean wine week since I purchased four Chilean wines.   

To start off this mini Chilean wine tour inside of the Juicy Wine tour, I will be drinking a Pinot Noir. I picked out a Chilean Pinot Noir for one reason: Chile is Oregon south. That reason is based on this assumption: Oregon makes the best Pinot Noirs in the world, and since Chile has a similar coastal arrangement as the Oregon coast, maybe its Pinot Noirs will fair the same.This Chilean wine tour will kick off with Veramonte Pinot Noir Reserva 2007. It’s from the Casablanca Valley in the Aconcagua region. (Look at that, you can even learn a little geography while you are here.)   

Alright. ¡Vamos! 

When I was pouring this wine, it looked a little darker and fuller than an Oregon Pinot Noir. (By the way, the best Oregon Pinot Noir is Erath.) As I hold it in the light, that difference is less pronounced. The color and translucency are very close. So, hopefully the nose and taste will be, too.   

The nose is delicious and juicy. It smells a bit like cherry cola with raisins and other berries, even blue berries. The body is delightful, though heavier than an Oregon Pinot Noir. I taste strawberry jelly and spirit. It’s spirited. How about that. It’s also got some musk and tobacco. There’s a cranberry and peppery finish to it, and the finish is long. The tastes in this Pinot Noir are similar to an Oregon Pinot Noir, but they are more pronounced. It’s louder and proud. I forgive its pride, accept its spirit, and say, Pour it again, Sam. //

in pursuit of the juiciest wine: day nineteen

Oh, Chile. Chile is doing so much good lately. They are making wonderful wines. I particularly love the Root:1 Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s one of my favorite everyday wines. There’s good fish coming from Chile, at least there was before I became a vegetarian in January. They are becoming a very green energy country, especially with automobiles. And they have a good futbol team. They are 1-0 right now in World Cup play. I don’t know what I’ll do when the play Spain on June 25, because I enjoy Spanish futbol, too. I remember after 2006’s World Cup, I thought they would be one of the elite teams in 2010, but whoa. They lost to Switzerland?! Plus, Chile and Spain are my favorite wine countries. They are like twins separated by an ocean and some mountains.

So today I am going to try the Armador Cabernet Sauvignon 2007. It has a dark cherry color with a hint of brown. It looks big bodied, and it has the typical Cabernet legs. It’s got a woody nose. Maybe even like a forest with moss and mushrooms. And deep, deep in the center of that forest is a plum tree.

At the same time, it smells like a medium-rare steak. Odd. My girlfriend picked up on that. A forest of steaks with a plum heart.

I just looked at the glass again. It’s been about 10 minutes since I swirled it, and the legs are still there clinging for life, . . . or  ttrying to climb out and get into my mouth.

¡Vamos!

This is a fairly big wine with some big dark berries and a hint of plum. It has a sour finish that lingers for a few seconds, as well as a hint of black pepper. It doesn’t make me think of Chile. It’s not at all like that silky and juicy Root:1 Cabernet Sauvignon. That’s not to say I don’t like this wine. I do enjoy it, especially for $9.

It’s so big. It’s got funk. It’s big and funky. It’s so big and funky, it needs some food to put it in its place, like a Strawberry Sundae Crunch Bar or some 18-year-old balsamic vinegar.

What it really needs is some groove. Some “Groove Holmes.”

In fact, from now on, I want to be known as “Groove.” Thomas “Groove” Holmes.

That’s right. Get down with “Groove Holmes” and some Chilean happiness and funk. Drop the beat but don’t drop the glass.//