Chateau Grand Pontet will age and improve for years

It’s a keeper for a couple of reasons: the wine needs aging to reach its best drinkability, and it will just keep getting better for years and years.

This is mostly Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc added that give it such great structure and complexity and it is just about as good as Merlot gets! Even more, at about forty-eight dollars it’s a real value for a wine with this much longevity.

Sure, most wines should be enjoyed right away, but there are some that become extraordinary if you can just wait, and periodically we’ll bring them to you.

Now… if you can delay that gratification you can still enjoy this wine today.  The key is to to decant it and let is breathe (yes, that does make a difference).  I would open it a few hours before serving.

Enjoy!

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Once you pop the cork and pour a sip be sure to notice the aromas that waft out of the glass.  There’s a lot going on!  Like dense dark fruity whiffs of blackberry and the spicy woody smell of a cigar box.

Then take a sip.  You’ll be impressed by the balance of flavor and feel, with the tastiness of ripe plum and the lush texture.

Our first reaction was, “Wow, we like this one!”  And then finding out that it only costs about twelve dollars, it gets another “wow!”

Malbec is the signature wine of Argentina and this one stands out.  It pairs up nicely with grilled meats, especially beef – drink it with everything from strip steak to a burger and be very happy.  I t’s a wine you’ll keep coming back to.

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My Wine Pick bursts with the flavor of Tuscany!

What’s that heart?  It’s the famed Brunello.  And my Rosso di Montalcino choice  is true to that character, but from younger vines and with less time in the barrel and bottle before release.

It’s deep ruby red along with an aroma brings to mind violets and it has a supple taste with pronounced flavors of blackberry.

This wine is ideal for full flavored foods and a table full of good friends and perfect to try with your favorite meat sauce!

Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino is about twenty six dollars.  There’s a lot of Tuscany is packed into that bottle.

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This is a profoundly impactful one hundred percent Merlot.  It’s still young but you can’t miss the depth and complexity of this wine when you take a sip.  It’s got lush boysenberry fruit and tobacco and mocha flavors too, along with a smoky quality.

It is a big intense wine and one that will develop for years.  But who can wait!

Chateau Les Gravieres Merlot

It’s made for food so let’s Pop the Cork.  This is a wine for meat like a grilled pork tenderloin. And it’s a bit aggressive so I think a rib eye would suite it well!

Chateau Les Gravieres shows that Merlot can be both powerful and complexly nuanced.

For about thirty three dollars you can take a less travelled wine road to Merlot.  This one is worth the trip!

Our Pick This Week

This is a twelve dollar bottle of wine that delivers on quality and taste.   You’ll love the blackberry and plumy fruity character it has for sure, but there’s also a denser, meaty quality that makes this a tasty mouthful of wine.

Tempranillo wines are easy drinking, with rich and silky flavor and what gives the Torres Coronas a bigger body is the addition of just a little Cabernet Sauvignon to the Tempranillo.  That Cabernet ratchets up the taste experience.

This wine is perfect for burgers off the grill and just about any meat dish you like, or a great match for our Paella recipe at winexperience.com.

And it’s great as the pour when it’s simply time for a glass of red.

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Too often wine with dessert gets overlooked… so let’s change that right now!  This Moscato d’Asti is a delightful conclusion to a meal to sip all by itself, but it’s terrific with lots of dessert too.

Vietti Moscato d'Asti

Try some with a blueberry peach or other cobbler or similar fruit desserts.  We were at a party a couple of weeks ago and this was the ideal match to that scrumptious dessert.   Or, enjoy it by itself.  Moscato d’ Asti is sweet, but not overly so, and it’s balanced by the modest acidity and the slight fizziness.  The Italians call it frizzante.

What you’ll taste is a lovely wine with floral notes and honey that give it the dessert qualities, but even more interesting is that it not just for dessert.  You can be adventurous and try the Moscato with rich seafood or even spicy Asian dishes.

Vietti Moscato d’Asti is about fifteen dollars and a refreshingly unique wine experience for you to try as our wine of the week.

This Week's Choice

It’s a Cab that has the complex depth, structure and elegance of fine Bordeaux but with California drinkability.  And it gets the hand-crafted winemaking attention like any of the “cult” Cabernets but at about half the price.

From about fifty two dollars it’s a wine to savor.  The layers of taste keep emerging when you take a sip.

At first it’s the fruitiness and intensity of wild blueberries then it gets darker, like juicy ripe blackberries.  Under the fruit is a rich layer of toffee and that’s followed by a bramble bush-like woodiness with a unique intensity added by the gravelly soils of the Stag’s Leap area.

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It’s Guigal 2006 Gigondas.  Gigondas is a village area and known for a tasty blend of Grenache, Mouvedre and Syrah.

When you pour some of this wine and sniff there’s an aroma of dark berries along with some earthiness.  But what you’ll really like about it is its full bodied, peppery flavor.

My Wine Choice: Guigal Gigondas

We’re struck by the burst of blueberry that’s followed by that dash of spiciness from the Syrah.  It’s ideal for red meats and that makes Guigal Gigondas a super pick for grilling.

The village wines of the Rhone, like Gigondas, are a step up in quality from the more familiar Cotes du Rhone’s and a great way to discover the differences found in the wines of the region.

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What are the contrasts?  Well for starters this is a French wine from Alsace Lorraine in the northeast of the country, but the wine styles and even the architecture seem more German than French.

Then there’s the aroma…a beautiful burst of summer flowers along with the classic lychee and spicy ginger of Gewurzt; it’s an exotic combination.

And then there’s the taste.  Floral might make you think “sweet” but this wine is bone dry with crackling acidity, along with a lush and rich tastiness like ripe peaches and a supple finish feel.

Wine Pick: Trimbach Gewurzt

It’s great to contrast food to.  And it’s an ideal match for Asian food and stronger cheeses.

Trimbach 2007 Gewürztraminer is about twenty dollars and the perfect departure from your typical glass of white.

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When it comes to Cabernet Sauvignon the Napa Valley is as good as it gets and our wine of the week delivers all the luscious, intense dark fruit and complex flavors that is soooo Napa.

Our pick is Napa Cellars 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and we like it a lot.

This wine is a full bodied showcase of blackberry and cassis tastiness with an underlying layer that’s like a nip of dark chocolate.

It’s youthful, vibrant and drinkable – the perfect choice to pop open anytime you want to be transported to Napa and the trip only costs about twenty dollars a bottle.  Gotta love it.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the signature wine of the Napa Valley and there aren’t many that can deliver on the promise and reputation of Napa for that price.

The Napa Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon is our choice for its youthful exuberance and a wine of the week that says “Napa” in more ways than the name on the label.

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