This past week, Mr. B and I headed to the West Coast to attend the funeral of my ‘adopted’ grandmother. It was sad. It was beautiful. And I was so glad to be there with my family. However, getting out of town proved to be a challenge.

Our trip started off with the usual frenzy of working all day, last minute packing, taking Oscar to the dog sitter, and driving several hours to the airport. As we rushed toward the security line, Mr. B glanced up at the flight monitor and came to a sudden stop. Canceled. The flight had been canceled and of course there were no other flights out that night. Driving home wasn’t really an option since we needed to be back at the airport at 5:00am, so we found ourselves stuck in the “big city” for the night- wishing we were halfway to our destination.

To make the best of a frustrating situation, Mr. B had the brilliant idea of heading to a new wine bar that we had been wanting to check out. It was the perfect suggestion. We found the wine bar, settled into comfy brown couches and ordered a flight of red wine. The next few hours spent talking, sipping, and laughing were just what I needed to let the stress melt away and re-charge before the rest of our trip. Being the bloggers that we are, we managed to snap a photo and take notes to share our thoughts on the wine. Here are the results from Mr. B!

Here are the tasting notes:

Walter Horse, Pinot Noir: Nose of a good berry pie. Light and bright with balanced acidity. Apparent alcohol is refined and not overpowering. This would be a good Pinot for salmon.

Yalumba Bush Vine, Grenache: This wine tastes like it smells- plum, fig, and chocolate covered cherry. Very smooth, dry, and with a long flavor. This would be good with an aged blue cheese or the pork roast with winter fruits and port sauce. If you like Grenache this wine is for you.

Calina, Carmenere Reserva: Smells smoky. Has a leather/pepper flavor with petrol and a slight funk. Not special…unfocused and weak. Since this was our first carmenere we do not know if our dislike is for the varietal or just this producer. We have more carmeneres in the cellar to try later.

Marquis Phillips, Shiraz: Well balanced, lush, and silky. The fruit of this wine is controlled, complex and delivers a burst of flavor at the finish. Nice aroma of wild huckleberries. This is a delicious shiraz from a stellar producer who has not disappointed in previous tastings. Phoo-D thought it was “sexy” and would be excellent with lamb.

Punta Pays, Malbec: This wine smelled like a cigar and tasted tannic, boring and funky. Phoo-D flat out did not like it. Mr. B thought it could redeem itself with the right food (if you’re in to that sort of thing). Not the usual Argentinian Malbec we have come to like so much.

Colle Dei Venti Tufu Blu, Barolo: This wine pleased us the most. The aroma was the first clue to its complexity. The closest comparison we could come up with was fermented cherries. It tasted like dried cherries, juicy, complex with a soft beginning and a burst of juice at the end. This wine has finesse. We think it would go well with a pasta and a slow cooked tomato sauce with balsamic vinegar.

Tikal Patriota, 2006: This blend of malbec and bonarda from Argentina produced a very dark purple wine that was sweet and spicy but not cloying. The nose is dried fruit and mild chocolate. It yields to a dry peppery finish with no oak in the profile. We both thought it would benefit from decanting. If you are looking for something new and different to try from South America this would be a great choice. We think it could pair well with a buffalo burger with cheddar on an onion roll.

If you are not too proud to admit that you still enjoy a fruit bomb now and then the Marquis Philips Sarah’s Blend might be a wine for you. Here I do not mean fruit bomb in the pejorative rather as an affectionate term for one of the biggest, most plush wines you will find out there. Indeed, at 15.9% alcohol this Australian blend of predominantly Shiraz and lesser amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc sourced from the McLaren Vale vineyards is all about the fruit. The screw cap is an indication of its drink now character.

Here are the tasting notes:
Its deep inky color and heavy nose of dried fruit corresponds well with the way it fills the mouth and delivers layers of plush sweet cherries. Though you can sense it has a high alcohol level it is not hot or unpleasant from the alcohol. This wine is round, full, deep in savory cherry, yet not overly sweet.

It should stand up well to most grilled or roasted meat dishes as it did to a roasted stuffed pork tenderloin. Do not expect this wine to be especially interesting with food or enhanced by many spices other than say- black pepper. This is not to state that it disappoints in any way. On the contrary, at $16 this is a fantastic big drinking wine from down under. Over the past year I have been pleased to see a widening distribution for this wine. You should be able to find it at a Wholefoods or even your local grocery store wine section. If Sarah’s Blend piques your interest to taste a more sophisticated wine from Marquis Philips try the S2 Cabernet Sauvignon which I hope to review at a later date.
Cheers!
Mr. B.

You can make your own mulling spices, however I am very happy with the combination from Williams-Sonoma which is seasonally available in stores. (Ebay seems to have quite a few too). It is helpful to have a large tea infuser, but you can also use cheesecloth to make a satchel for the spices.

Vina Cobos El Felino Malbec, 2007. If you have ever doubted that you love Argentinian malbecs then you likely have not had the fortune to ply the genius of winemaker Paul Hobb’s South American creations. His entry level malbec, El Felino, gets our attention here. I have enjoyed many sub-$20 Argentinian malbecs but never ventured up to a higher quality bottle. A memorable encounter with Felino’s cousin, Cocodrilo Cabernet, convinced me that I needed to search out this relatively hard to find wine and see just how great a malbec could be.

Here Are the Tasting Notes:
The deep purple-hued wine had an underwhelming bouquet-though presented a hint of boysenberry jam. The wine coats the tongue, is supple, well rounded, and carries the strong flavor of ripe fruit from start to finish. A wonderful balance is achieved with tight tannins, acidity, and focus. This malbec stands up to food nicely and paired with a dish of adobo spiced turkey (recipe to be posted at a later date) became more interesting and complex throughout the meal. The boysenberry fruit comes through subtly and is held in check with some dryness and an earthy spice. This versatile wine could be enjoyed on its own or would complement many dishes in the spicy sweet realm. Fortunately I bought a few more at a small independent wine store and will treat them as a special wine for the amazing price of $20.

Cheers!
Mr. B

For all of you malbec lovers out there-take note. I recently found two 2005 Pasodoble bottles after reading the recommendation from a savvy buyer at K & L Wines. Of course by the time I tried to order it K & L was sold out. Luckily, I was able to add it to an order placed with Wally’s for the attractive price of $15 per bottle. Anxious to finally try this wine and looking for a pairing to go with Phoo-D’s Coq au Vin, I reached for this bolder red wine last week.

Here are the tasting notes:
Light ruby in color the wine offered a bright, racy, yet earthbound bouquet. The first few sips were pleasing with a full berry flavor ending with nice acidity and a white pepper finish. It was good with the Coq au Vin though I think a rustic red Rhone blend or Vouvray sec would have been better suited for the meal. The food did not make the wine better, which is fine as I think it is a very pleasing wine that could drink easily on its own. For the second bottle, I will try pairing it with a grilled rib-eye.

This wine seems full, fruit forward but clearly on the dry side, and has a distinguished arc of petrol and black cherry to it. Pasodoble is a Bordeaux style blend of 34% Cab, 33% Malbec and 33% Syrah made by established French winemakers venturing into Argentina. I would say the malbec dominates the palate-which is great. If you love quality Argentinian malbec you cannot go wrong with this wine and you may find it to be an interesting variation to the increasingly popular and affordable malbecs Argentina is now famous for.

Cheers!

This is the first of what I hope will be weekly posts by the other half of the Phoo-D family, Mr. B. In our household I’m typically the designated chef, and Mr. B is usually responsible for all beverage pairings. Each week, Mr. B will write about what we’re drinking and mixing along with ideas for excellent food pairings. So without further adieu, Mr. B!

Hi everyone. Having had great experiences with Australian wines over the past few years but occasionally encountering uninspiring, if not disappointing chemical creations in the below $20 price range I took note of the positive plug from the December 2008 Gourmet for the Tobreck 2007 Woodcutter’s Shiraz. Torbreck is a name I recognize from wine publications as a top rated producer and I was excited to see it on the shelf of a wine store on a recent visit to California.

We tried it out with a horseradish braised brisket dish (unfortunately this dish was not blog worthy and will be recast later this winter). However, the underlying braised meat and earthy vegetable flavors played well to this wine.

Here are the Tasting Notes:
At first the wine is young and fresh with a slight Shiraz peppery heat. It is not overly berry-rather an earthy, balanced, and round structured wine. Like all good food wines it took on more dimension with the meal-becoming deeper and slightly perfumed. Ah, this makes me want to get more! Don’t let the screwcap or the $18 price tag fool you. This is a well made Shiraz and an outstanding value. It is a wine that will pair well with a variety of hearty dishes.

I checked out more of the Torbreck story and learned that the vintner David Powell is a fan of Rhone wines and makes an assortment of interesting red and white wines from vineyards he rehabilitated in the early 90′s. Unfortunately there is not even a single distributor for his wines in all our surrounding Midwestern states, however it is possible to order the Torbreck Woodcutter’s Shiraz from K&L online. I have a Torbreck Cuvee Juveniles in stock to try out, and look forward to posting on that wine soon.