Comenda Grande Tinto 2004 Wine Review by Billy

Nose:Asparagus, loamy earth, milk, mushrooms, soft dark jammy berries
Palate: pleasantly tannic at first but soft with rounded feel. Not big in the mouth but even and subtle.
Finish: cocoa, tapering finish that ends quickly with a tough of green.

Overall: there is no way to describe the excellence with which a wine received as a gift imparts when you open and drink it. This Comenda Grande 2004, a red wine from the Alentejano region of Portugal, was given to me as a gift from a dear friend from Portugal. I was in Lisbon on a business trip and my friend and I got to talking about wine. He gifted me this bottle and another from his own collection. As I drink this wine, I am flooded with pleasant memories of Lisbon, the evening spent watching football at a local eatery, and the friendliness of the Portuguese people.

The wine is a nice table red. A blend of Portuguese varietals Trincadeira, Aragones (aka tempranillo) and Alicante Bouschet, this deep red is flavored predominantly by the Trincadeira and smoothed and rounded by the Aragones.

Raise a Glass!

Menage a Trois 2006 Wine Review by Billy

(2003 pictured, 2006 reviewed)
Nose: Big and Fruity with Black, Blue, And Red Raspberry smells. Some cinnamon and cedar give it character.
Palate: good balance, big feel in the mouth. not flabby, not over done.
Finish: blackberry jam finish with some pepper.

Overall, this is a decent red-sauced pasta accompanying red table wine. It delivers easy drinkability and simple, fruity tastes and smells. Structurally it is unsophisticated but not poor. A good every-day value wine. This bottle was part of a meal gift from friends but I've seen it go for anywhere from $9 to $15 dollars locally.

Raise a Glass

2005 Flora Springs Napa Valley Chardonnay wine review by Billy

This wine was tasted with NW at his New England estate.

Nose: Quite possibly some small TCA taint evident on opening. However, this did "blow off". Nevertheless, we did still continue with the tasting and review. After the corkiness smell was eliminated, honeyed pear emerges with cirtussy pineapple and toast underneath. I expect that these would be at the fore in an untainted bottle.
Palate: fine and light. good balance.
Finish: fruity with some green grass.

Overall, a nice and subtle chardonnay. It is not overly oaky, not overly buttery, not overly fruity, but very nicely balanced. Subtle, staid, elegant.

2007 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau wine review by Billy

The Fetching Mrs. Billy and family and I are in New England at NWs place for a day before we head north to PBs house for the Christmas and New Years Holidays. This bodes well for lots of wine tasting and great fun. Be sure to keep checking back here at The Wine Cask Blog for updates as we have planned several evenings for the three of us (NW, PB, and me, Billy) to taste a wide variety of wines for Christmas as well as New Years.

On to this tasting of the 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau (again - reviewed previously here and here). This was served with a wonderful array of appetizers including blue cheese, honey, and walnuts.

Nose: Strawberry predominates. Undertones of something I can only describe as petroleum
Palate: limp, thin
Finish: tannic strawberry at the end

Overall: still not the best year for Beaujolais Nouveau. Though after a day of travel and sleeping recovery, then sledding in the New England snow, it is really not a bad start to the evening.

Wine & Philosophy Book Review by Billy

Looking for some last minute Christmas gift ideas for the cerebral wine lover on your list? Then check out Wine & Philosophy edited by Fritz Allhoff (Amazon link here).

(Disclosure: I was sent this book to review)

The book is a collection of essays and articles that run the gamut from heady to witty to intensely scholarly. The book appealed to me personally (I hold an undergraduate degree in philosophy and an MA in communications with an emphasis on philosophy) and was an engaging read. It is definitely not a casual read, but something that would make a great read for someone wanting to go "deeper" into both the philosophical underpinnings of wine and it's role in western philosophical traditions.

Some of the articles stretch the links between wine and various philosophical traditions or disciplines but are an enjoyable excursion into the worlds of "as if" and possibility. Consider it in the same family (though a grown up big brother) as "Pooh and the Philosophers".

Either way, enjoy this Christmas!

Ameztoi 2006 Wine Review by billy

Nose: Minerals and Steel and Citrus with under hints of an Alsace-Riesling like spice.
Palate: Dry. spritzig. While dry, not overly acidic. very even feel throughout the mouth. expertly made.
Finish: tempered. lingering minerals.

I walked into one of my home wine stores after a short business trip wanting ... something. I didn't know what. So I simply asked. (By the way, many of you email asking about how to get one wine or another - walk into a store and ask. Ask even if you don't know what you want.) The wine guy went over and suggested this wine. I have never heard of this wine nor the grape (we didn't know what grapes were in this wine before I came home and googled it.). What he did know was that they had just tasted it the day before and he enjoyed it. It was intriguing. He liked it so he suggested it. I bought it. For about $16.00.

I am glad I did. It is not a "sparkling" wine though it has more than a hint of fizz. It is not a sweet wine. It is not a tropical fruit bomb. The 2006 Ameztoi from the Getariako Txakolina region of Spain near the Atlantic is a gem of a wine that makes a fantastic before-dinner wine (as I am having it now) as well as it would go with a light, fruit and cheese based dessert.

At $16 it is fairly to well priced. I suspect that this vintage is rather good compared to earlier vintages simply given the quality and price point.

The majority of the grapes planted in the region (Basque region of Spain) are Hondarribi Zuri and Hondarribi Beltza (cite)

Overall, I would highly suggest that you get a bottle and try it. It is very drinkable and interesting enough to keep you asking for another glass.

Raise a Glass to BASQUE WINE!

Three Thieves Pinot Noir 2004 Wine Review by Billy

Sure it's a jug, but it's a cute jug. And at about $7- 10 for 1 Liter, who can complain.

First, this should be evaluated in its price class and not necessarily against a world class Pinot. But up against something like the 2005 Pinot Evil (click for review below) it is positively a delight.

Nose: thick pinot nose of strawberry and pinot stank.
Palate: a decent attempt at balance though missing the mark in favor of tannins. This still hold up well with foods like pizza with tobasco on it.
Finish: dry, but there is a finish. Hints at early season (not quite ripe) strawberries.

I had a glass of this side by side with the 2005 Pinot Evil from Romania and the Three Thieves 2004 Pinot Noir from California wins hands down. Not only is it better crafted, it even tastes like a pinot noir. Add in the fact that you get more for about the same price and, woo-hoo pardner, you're a-drinkin' wine!

Buy this for a cheap meal accompaniment for you and your old frat buddies. Don't get it to impress the girls.

Pinot Evil Pinot Noir 2005 wine review by Billy

Reviewing the keywords that often lead folks here yields interesting results. Among the wines folks type in to get here is one that we've not reviewed until just recently: Pinot Evil (see PB's review HERE). This is a sourced wine (meaning the winery gets the grapes from other places (Mark West winery from California is similar). The 2005 pinot noir hails from (get this) Romania (DOC Recas).

The clever naming and cute monkey pictures aside, this is not the world best Pinot Noir. It's not even really a good example of a Pinot Noir. In the opinion of this blogger, it's plonk. Here's the review anyway:

Nose: bigger thicker redberry, some licorice. Where is the pinot smell?
Palate: thin. biting. the kind of wine that makes non wine drinkers stay away from wine. the kind of palate that makes wine drinkers go, "I paid what for this?"
Finish: finish? All I have left in my mouth is some green tree - leaf stems.

Take the $7 and buy some Three Thieves Pinot Noir instead.