It Starts With A Grape

Because this wine is of Australian origin, i expected it to be a big, juicy, fruit bomb. Well, I was wrong. It has a delicate nose consisting of subtle oak, licorice, hints of clove, and fresh blackberry. If I’m not mistaken, there’s also a bit of freshly cut green pepper in there to. Its good and spicy on the palate, and there’s a balance of oak and vegetation that is very distinct to this wine. Though fairly light in body, it has a rather flavorful finish. As far as easy drinking reds go, this ones a winner. Thoughts on food, chicken chili comes to mind. Also, (something i thought was pretty interesting), the label for this wine is actually a work of art by the artist Mel Kadel. From what i understand there are a couple different labels that go along with this wine, and it was actually named after Mel’s artwork! Pretty nifty if you ask me.

A little back story:

Translated, Casillero Del Diablo, means Cellar of the Devil. When this winery, Conha y Toro, was first founded, the owner had a special reserve of wine he kept just for himself. He was having problems keeping people away from his ‘private cellar’, so he posted on it Casillero del Diablo, and it worked. If it had not, you may not be able to enjoy this most delicious wine today.

This Chilean Cabernet opens with a bouquet of blackberry jam, and cassis, on a blanket of toasty oak, accompanied by nuances of fresh cracked black pepper. This is a heavy duty red, full bodied and flavorful. With a deep garnet color, It boasts jammy fruit, tart cherry, and tobacco. It has a most pleasant earthy quality about it, plenty of that toasty oak carrying over to the palate, with a bone dry and quite lengthy cherry finish. Drink it alone if you dare….If not, it will match up with something as simple as burgers off the grill, or beef kabobs with green peppers and mushrooms.

This lovely Italian is light to medium bodied, and especially easy drinking. The nose boasts tart cherries, while hinting at raisins and cloves, cloaked in a mild oak. My first sip ended up being far less fruity than expected. Though the tartness did show through, it definitely had far more oak, and less berry. Its a very clean wine, from noes to finish. It didn’t linger very long at all, which i thought worked well for this wine, sometimes you just want a nice clean finish. It would pair well with most any tomato based pasta dish, or a veal parm, chicken is a little to light for it. Though you could drink this one alone, i would recommend pairing it with food.

Upon my first sniff, it was apparent that this was going to be a delightfully spicy wine. Most distinguishably cinnamon, along with plum, and black currant. It had sort of a sweet and sour sort of thing going on with its bouquet.  Though this wine has ample fruit, I quickly realized it needed to sit open (or be decanted) for an hour or so, to really let the fruit shine through to the palate. Otherwise, its just a tad too tannic. After letting it sit for a while, its juicy fruit was fallowed nicely by a bone dry,spice filled finish. This is a good wine for sipping, but it would also pair perfectly with a hearty stew, or a berry glazed rack of lamb.

So the title of this one is a little confusing, the type of white wine is an Albarina, also known as Albarino. That being said, this Spanish beauty opens up with a complex bouquet of oak, and hints of hunny ; with mostly grassy notes accompanied by a nice lemony citrus, which compliment the strong oak. Its a medium bodied wine, and a substantial amount of oak transfers over to the palate, which is perfectly balanced out by the ample, but not overpowering, citrus. There are hints of tart pineapple and other tropical fruits. This is definitely an interesting wine, but it remains easily approachable. Rosemary chicken would be a lovely pairing.

Alright, so, i have to say, when i turned this bottle over and read of its contents, i was nothing less than intrigued. This blend,hailing from California, consists of Barbera, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane, and Alicante Bouchet grapes. Think its a mouth full to say? Well, its a mouth full to drink! Its a beautiful shade of ruby red, with just hints of brick. This blend has a super fragrant nose, raspberry jam, sweet dark cherries and cloves, just to name a few. (At this point i became really excited) This is a huge, juicy wine, with a mouth feel like silk. All those cherries on the noes translated into ‘right off the tree’ cherries on the palate, balanced out with some serious lingering oak. Its simply a perfectly done wine, which would go great with an array of dishes; Bourbon glazed grilled steak comes to mind, or something BBQ’ed. The cheese is definitely Gorgonzola, or you could just drink it all by itself.

From France, this Pinot opens up with a lovely toasty oak on the noes, and jammy fruits including blackberry, and dark cherries. Id say its anywhere from light-medium, to medium bodied. Upfront, but pleasant fruit is first to caress your palate, with a subtle lingering oak on the finish. Its well balanced, and along the same strain as a traditional french Pinot, but with a slight new world twist. It would pair well with anything from roasted lamb, to a light beef stew. However you can certainly enjoy this one all by itself, it doesn’t need food.

Breaking away from the traditionally elegant and subtle French pinots, La Baume is big and bold. Its strong tannin structure beautifully compliments its super-sized fruit flavors, which include tart blackberries and just ripened black cherries. Wimpy it is not, filled with an array of peppery spices on the nose as well as the palate. It will stand up to such foods as grilled steak or nutty super sharp cheese. This pinot is a perfect companion for those chilly winter nights.