Tasting Notes from All Over

I have a friend who’s been badgering me lately to write about how incredible a Brandy Alexander tastes. He insists that they’re not as sweet as you’d think-especially if you use the traditional recipe that only uses cream, not ice cream. I’m not convinced.

But what I do know, is that the weather is finally breaking and there seem to be celebrations and wine tasting everywhere around me that I do think are incredible.

In fact, at the FMCT fundraiser/wine tasting, The Days of Wine and Roses, there will reportedly be over 60 wines available for sampling. The event will take place at the Ramada Plaza Suites & Convention Center on Thursday, April 24th from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. and is sponsored by Happy Harry’s Bottle Shop. This year’s wine tasting will include more than 60 wines from across the globe. In addition to a variety of domestic wines, people attending The Days of Wine & Roses will sample wine from Argentina, Australia, Germany, Chile, France, Italy, South Africa, and many other countries.

One tip, when you attend a wine tasting of that magnitude, be picky and remember that if you don’t like it, there’s usually a bucket around for you to spit out the wine you don’t like-leaving room for more that you may enjoy.

And a couple of wines that I’ve had the chance to enjoy in the recent past include the Amici Zinfandel out of Napa and Blason’s Tocai Fruili Isonzo out of Italy. The Amici was a 2003 that was dark and plumy with a smooth finish and just a hint of pepper on the end. As I am a fan of zinfandel to begin with, it wasn’t too hard of a sell.

The Amici, on the other hand, was a surprise. I’d never had a friuli before and didn’t know what to expect. The wine was crisp and had an edge of natural effervescence. The top notes of the wine combine peach, pear, and possibly apricot with a touch of citrus. There is an undercurrent that suggests malolactic fermentation with a clean, slightly creamy finish.

Though neither of these wines is currently available locally, K & L Wines out of San Francisco is usually quite adept at procuring small production and import wines such as these.

A few locally available wines that I’ve been drinking more of are the Leasingham Magnus-which is a blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon and the Block 50 Shiraz. The first, the Magnus, has actually been a standby for me over the past 2-3 years. It’s not too heavy and has enough fruit to hang onto if paired with food. Named after one of the founders of the Leasingham winery, Magnus Badger, the blend uses fruit sourced entirely from the Clare Valley in Southern Australia according to their home website. Whatever the origin, Magnus, for the price, is generally a good bet.

The Block 50, in contrast, is a new wine for me. A few of my friends found it watery at a tasting they attended (I’m not sure how many others they had tried beforehand however), but at the price--penny sale or not--it’s very affordable coming in under $10 a bottle. Not the heartiest of shirazes that I’ve tried, but there is enough dark red fruit to make it attractive.

A final wine making my short list of wines I’d like to try and hear great feedback on is d’Arenberg’s The Twentyeight Road Mourvedre. The wine has been described as having a “deep bright crimson ruby colour with lifted, spicy clove, cranberry and ripening blackberry primary fruit smells, elements of mulberry, light blackcurrant, cinnamon and vanilla licorice, as well as mint and flowers, especially violets which are also evident on the young palate” (http://www.d’Arenberg.com). As always, be safe and enjoy.