The Gourmez

Les Portes de Bordeaux 2009 Bordeaux, France The nose of this French red wine contains copious amounts of mocha. Deep, rich blackberry is also present, but the chocolate dominates the nose. It’s very smooth when drinking. You hear the term jammy a lot when talking about wine, and this one fits that bill. I’d describe [...]

Alexander Valley Rendition Zinfandel 2009 Sonoma Country, CA Strawberry and nectarine simmered with nutmeg are the most prominent smells from this leathery red wine. It smells sharp, full-bodied, and young.  Strawberry remains when drinking it, but the spice is more akin to allspice. It tastes a lot lighter than it smells, and eucalyptus and brown [...]

Bogle Merlot 2009 Graton, CA   This wine strikes me as smooth right away. It’s full of bright fruit, but not tart fruit like so many bottle I drank over the past two months. The main notes are strawberry and a juicy, juicy plum with subtle spice and vanilla.   I enjoy how unobtrusive and [...]

Argiolas Costamolino 2009 Sardinia, Italy This Italian white wine made with the vermentino grape smells of orange blossoms and vanilla. It is very stony with herbal qualities like tarragon or majoram (though that may be the majoram butter from the corn on the cob I had for dinner talking). Banana, vanilla, and lemon notes abound, [...]

Arrow Creek 2009 Pinot Noir California It’s on the browner side of red for a wine, mudlike in color. I smell rhubarb, plum, and tobacco, and the plum sticks with me when sipping. It or some other stonefruit is prominent. There are a lot of tannins, and the wine tastes dark with coffee and tobacco [...]

Bolla Soave DOC 2009 Veneto, Italy This is my first experience with wines from the Soave region of Italy.  Plenty of smells rise from the glass: lemon, peach, and vanilla. The peach is prominent when drinking the wine, and it lends a great flavor overall. It’s a buttery white but not nearly as much so [...]

Tempra Tantrum 2009 Bodegas, Spain This wine with a moderately amusing name is a tempranillo and cabernet sauvignon blend. You’d think they’d go all tempranillo with the name, but trust me—they did well with the blend. They also sell a tempranillo and shiraz blend under the same name, just in case you get confused! The [...]

Terrenal Macabeo and Chardonnay 2009 Carinena, Spain The nose of this wine reminds me of donut peaches and a certain friend from the produce department at Safeway that used to always cut me samples of them. The taste is not nearly as exciting as that whiff or that memory. This is my first experience with [...]

Terrenal Tempranillo and Garnacha 2009 Carinena, Spain Oh, this is so very thin and unappealing. My word, I haven’t had a wine this uninspired in a while. It tastes metallic, with thin strawberry and fig flavors. There’s a little bit of greenery involved that reminds me of eucalyptus. It’s okay, but there are so many [...]

Little Black Dress 2009 Pinot Grigio California This is bitter! That doesn’t happen often with white wines. It’s also herbal, but I did eat a bite of rosemary just before digging in, so I may be biased. I don’t taste rosemary, though, but more oregano or marjoram. There is the typical green apple I taste [...]