Wine Blogging Wednesday #40: 2005 Rosenblum Cellars Petite Sirah Heritage Clones

The Story: The theme of Wine Blogging Wednesday #40, "Que Que Sirah," is brought to us by Sonadora from Wannabe Wino. Eager to participate in my second WBW and taste my first Petite Sirah, I braved the cold and the rain and booked it on over to K&D Wines. The store only had three Petite Sirahs, only one of which was under $35. I picked up the 2005 Rosenblum Cellars Petite Sirah Heritage Clones for $17.99 and returned home to drink it with a braised lamb shank I had made the day before.

The Region: Contra Costa, California. Contra Costa is located in the San Francisco Bay area. Rosenblum Cellars on Google Maps.

The Grape: Petite Sirah, aka Durif. According to Jancis Robinson's The Oxford Companion to Wine, Petite Sirah is known for producing a "dark, well-balanced, sturdily tannic, red wine of agreeable if not highly distinctive flavor." Some more information on Petite Sirah can be found here.

The Look: Very dark, inky purple.

The Aroma: Strong odors of black pepper and blackberries. Very spicy aroma.

The Swish: At first, I was unable to get beyond the spicy taste of black pepper. Pepper is not a flavor I have come across in a wine before. Eventually, blackberry and coffee notes revealed themselves. This wine had a very thick mouthfeel and a nice, long finish.

The Verdict: Black pepper is not exactly the most pleasurable flavor in a wine, so it took me some time to decide whether or not I liked this wine. While the spice of the pepper was undeniably present in this wine, so too were the delicious coffee and blackberry flavors. The pepper notes in this wine played a similar role to the black pepper I ground on my lamb shank-- enhancing the wine without overwhelming its other wonderful flavors. This wine was perfect on a cold winter night with a hearty winter dish. I would definitely buy it, and other Petite Sirahs, in the future. Thank you, Sonadora, for a wonderful WBW theme and for turning me onto a new varietal.

Gutturnio at Via Emilia

This past weekend, I celebrated my friend Adam's birthday at Via Emilia, an Italian restaurant on E. 21st St. serving the food of Emilia-Romagna region. All of the food we ordered was excellent, especially the chicken and mushroom tortelloni with truffle oil my friend Justin ordered, but what stood out most was the restaurant's wine list. Like the food, all of the wine at Via Emilia is from Emilia-Romagna. Aside from several Cabernets and Sangioveses, there was very little on the wine list that was familiar to me. Fortunately, the list had helpful descriptions of each wine, so it was not not too difficult to pick out something that sounded as if it would suit my taste. I selected the 2006 Ferrari & Perini Gutturnio, and while I had never previously heard of the designation, I was very happy with my choice. Gutturnio is a 70/30 blend of Barbera and Bonarda. This wine was medium-bodied with roasted fruit on the palate and nice acidity. It paired very nicely with my rich tortellini alla panna. I found the 2006 Ferrari & Perini Gutturnio at Crush Wines for $20.99. You may not have heard of Gutturnio, but it is yet another esoteric Italian wine that is well worth trying.

Tasting Note: 2005 Lavradores de Feitoria Douro

The Story: It's Thursday night, and it's been a long week at work. I want an inexpensive red to drink with dinner: sauteed pork chop in a sherry shallot pan sauce. I look at the options I have on hand and the most fitting looks like this Douro. I bought from Mister Wright for $11 a few weeks back because wines from Portugal have been all the rage among wine geeks recently, and I have never tried one. Tonight seems as good a night as any to test drive a Douro.

The Region: Douro, Portugal. The Douro region is in Northern Portugal. It is the same region of Portugal where Port is produced. Lavradores de Feitoria is located in Vila Real., the capital of the province of Trás-os-Montes. Vila Real, Portugal, on Google Maps

The Grape: This is a red blend. Traditionally, Douro wines include Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional grapes, among others. The same grapes are also used to produce Port.

The Look: Dark purple.

The Aroma: It takes a good amount of swirling for me to identify anything. Eventually I notice hints of raspberry, but the aroma is mostly "red wine."

The Swish: I manage to break the cork in half the first time I try to open the bottle. As I try to pull out the second half of the cork, pieces of the cork crumble and drop into the wine. A little cork never hurt anyone. I hope the cork does not absorb too much wine.

As I take my first sip, the wine tingles the tip of my tongue. This is a sensation I have never felt before. In that first millisecond when my tongue touches the wine for each sip, my tongue tingles and I briefly taste raisins. I wonder if this taste is something that the wine picked up from its sweet cousin, Port. It is a very unusual taste for a red wine, but I like it.

Once the wine passes the tip of my tongue, it is fairly one dimensional, but enjoyable. I notice hints of plums on the palate, but for the most part it just tastes like fermented grape juice. I taste more alcohol than I would prefer. I manage to swallow some cork, but it does not detract too much from the wine. Despite the alcohol flavor and the cork, the wine is easy to drink. It is full-bodied and has a nice finish for $11.

The Verdict: I still cannot get over the tingling sensation and that this wine had on my tongue when I first sipped it. One day after opening the bottle, the tingling sensation was gone, but I will remember this wine by that sensation. I've never had a dry red wine that tingled on the tongue and tasted of raisins. Do Douros usually have this characteristic? While I did not love this particular wine, I am intrigued by Douro wines. I would not buy this wine again, but I definitely will purchase other Douros.

TN: 2006 Domaine de Fenouillet Vin de Pays de Vaucluse

Following up on yesterday's lesson about wine importers:

The Story: A few weeks ago, I went to my local wine shop (Mister Wright on 3rd Ave. between 89th and 90th) and come across the above Southern Rhone blend that is selling for $8.99. I usually, I do not buy wines less than $10 unless a respected salesperson recommends it because I have usually been burned in the category. However, I looked at the back of the bottle and see that it was imported by Rosenthal, so I put my liver in the hands of Neal Rosenthal and decide to give it a try. Fast-forward two weeks and it I have a perfectly modest wine to go with my Sunday supper of herb roasted chicken.

The Region: Southern Rhone, France. This region is in Southern, France. Wikipedia informs me that this region has a "mediterranean climate with milder winters and hot summers." Domaine de Fenouillet on Google Maps

The Grapes: This is a red blend. I am not sure what grapes went into this wine, but wines from the Southern Rhone valley generally contain a combination of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan, and/or Cinsaut.

The Look: Dark purple and with little transparency. I can barely see my fingers through the glass.

The Aroma: Fruity. Cherries, maybe?

The Swish: This wine does not do much for me on the first few tastes; there is just not much flavor to me. Did I get what my 9$ paid for? Am I too stressed about getting dinner on the table to be able to have a discerning taste? Or does the wine just need some time to open up?

Fortunately for my $9, it was the latter. I begin to enjoy this wine after I have let the glass sit for about 30 minutes. It's medium-bodied and fruity. I wish I could say what fruits I taste, but I am not far enough along in my wine journey yet. All I can say at this point is that I like it, and that's all I can ask for at $9.

The Verdict: This wine is perfect for a modest Sunday night or weekday supper. For $8.99, I think it would be difficult to do much better.