Praise for Shiraz
With my taste for savory cuisine (steaks, roasts, and hearty bolognese-style sauces and pasta) I have found a number of wines that are very complimentary. Many of these include the Shiraz (or Syrah) grape variety. Currently we are enjoying the very affordable Australian red wines and have found none better or more consistent than Jacob's Creek. We have tried Yalumba, Rosemount, Pennfolds and still others but return time and again to Jacob's Creek. Both the Shiraz and
Shiraz-Cabernet have been delightful.
A Case for Cote Du Rhone Syrah
Awhile back, we had a dinner party where we served rib-eye of Pronghorn Antelope. I was excited about the challenge this pairing presented but also anxious about potential failure. Antelope can be very "gamey"and require a full-bodied and robust wine to "stand-up" to it. As it turned out, the steaks were absolutely delicious and flavorful and the Cote Du Rhone Syrah well-balanced and complimentary. I chose the Cote Du Rhone Syrah because it is fairly complex while not being robust. This comes from the blend of Syrah and Merlot grapes. It was, for me, the best alternative for a truly unknown situation. The result was absolutely memorable. Excellent food, wonderful wine, and great family and friends.
The Search for a Good Zinfandel
We began tasting Zinfandel's in earnest about a year ago. My initial impression of each was one of disappointment. The wines seem almost brash or caustic to the palate. To me the flavors were indeed varied but not married. Not willing to give up that easily, we began a search for a good zinfandel. I suspected we needed a wine with a bit more age on it to mellow and marry the flavors. My suspicions were confirmed when we opened a bottle of a 1999 Bogle Old Vine zinfandel and poured. Here were flavors of blackberry that were pronounced and pleasing. Certainly this is a zinfandel that should find a home in our wine cellar.
Looking Forward...
Soo and I were married in 1986. A few years after that I was lucky enough to find a few bottles of French bordeauxs with a 1986 vintage. These were boughten and laid down to establish our wine cellar.
One of these bottles is a Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion and another is a Chateau Pavillon. These wines have been under a controlled environment since that time and will be opened in December 2011 at a taste-event to be shared with family and friends.
I am curious however as to which wine will be best?
and what their flavor and character will be?
We are currently able to add a few bottles to our wine cellar with greater frequency than when first married. Since we have enjoyed the Shiraz so much I have added a number of bottles to our collection. These I will allow to age for about some years and then try a vertical wine tasting (tasting 3-5 wines from the same vineyard and variety but different vintages).
Vertical Wine Tasting
After assembling three bottles of Jacob's Creek Shiraz (2001, 2003, and 2005) we enjoyed a vertical wine tasting at our home.
This was a very good learning experience as it clearly demonstrated how variable wine can be and the effect aging can have on a bottle. My personal favorite was the 2001 as it seemed well matured and smooth on the palate. It was complex, and
encouraged savoring. The 2003, Soo's favorite was more tannic and astringent --and quite sedimented-- and more fruity. The 2005 was very fruity and but not as pleasing and well rounded as the others. We tasted these beginning with the 2005 and worked
backward in time. The concensus of the tasters was that the 2001 was the best, but several liked the 2003 a great deal. One final note worth mentioning is this, Shiraz seems to be one of those wines that
requires just a bit of age to really come into its own. I suggest five years as a rule of thumb.
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