Tasting Notes, week ending 4/20/2008

Maybe I should turn this into a wine blog. I felt like I had to write this down somewhere because I had the fortune of tasting two stellar wines this week.

Miner Family Vineyards, “The Oracle”, 2005
Another great find at a reasonable price at Anthony’s in Plattsburgh, NY. The markups at this restaurant are unbelievable. I doubt there is anything that is priced more than 200% of retail. We had this beautiful Bordeaux-style Cab blend and it was quite simply, exquisite. Dark cherries and spices, a nice leathery taste, and a lush, cool finish. Deep, intense flavours without being hostile – opened up very nicely and once it started breathing, was an absolute delight to drink.

Masseto, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, Bolgheri IGT, 1998
People hate on Merlot so much more now after “Sideways”, and I must confess I am not a particularly big fan of the grape. But I had a lovely dinner with Reed at 1789 the other day and picked – with the waiter’s assistance – an incredibly reasonably priced bottle of a 100% Merlot from the producers of Ornellaia. It was a shame that I picked my wine before I had decided on my food because I wound up picking all seafood dishes, but even if the Masseto had not been overwhelmingly complementary, it was still unequivocally spectacular. It had the earthy tones of most Italian wines and drank like dark velvet. Plums, tobacco and cedar. A nose for the ages and a finish for miles. Beautiful. Just beautiful.