The Gourmez

Col di Sasso Cabernet Sauvignon & Sangiovese Blend 2009 No photo this time! It was a casualty of my trigger finger. It smells mildly of fig and tastes of fig, too, with plum notes also. Besides the healthy portion of fruit, it’s dry, leathery, a bit bitter, and abundant in allspice.  Overall, it was too [...]

Arge & Tina Malbec 2009 San Juan, Argentina Who can resist a pun like this wine’s name? Mr. Gourmez won this bottle of wine at a trivia game—hooray, free wine! Nail polish and heavy spice meet my nose, but I’ve found a nail polish smell does not always make a nail polish wine. Tobacco is [...]

Lazy Bones Cabernet Franc 2009 Paso Robles, CA This wine has quite the backstory, from the crazy label (is that art deco?) of a naked woman hanging out on her bed to the explanation of why on the back of the bottle. Lazy Bones, you see, is for those lazy days when all you want [...]

Trader Joe’s Coastal Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Central Coast, CA This is another in Trader Joe’s line of affordable, and somewhat mysterious in origin, wines bottled out of San Miguel, CA. I like an air of mystery to my wine—it just makes drinking it more fun! The color is neon gold, if that makes sense. I [...]

Tres Pinos 2009 Red Wine San Luis Obispo, CA This wine is from my stomping grounds, though I didn’t know much about wine back when I stomped there (that’s only been marginally improved). There is a sharp cranberry smell followed by the lush scent of fresh, moist dirt—a great nose, as far as I’m concerned. [...]

Zestos Red 2009 Madrid, Spain This 50%  tempranillo and 50% grenache blend is an attractive garnet. The nose is MIA. It tastes tart, like a raspberry jolly rancher but richer in flavor. Some molasses deepens the flavor and thickens its texture to medium-bodied. It’s quite good on reflection.

Zestos Blancos 2009 Madrid, Spain There is some limestone at first, followed with green apple notes galore. It’s dry but also pretty sweet. It’s a lot like a tart cider, really. I’d call it an okay, solid white that doesn’t have any character beyond quenching thirst. 100% Malvar, if you’re keeping track of the grape. [...]

2 Copas White 2009 Mendoza, Argentina This smells of flowers and oranges: it would make a great, subtle perfume. It tastes very floral also, with a bit of pine that adds more depth from the outdoors. There’s lemon but not in the off-putting, dish soap way (thank god I haven’t had one of those in [...]

2 Copas Red 2009 Mendoza, Argentina The spice of this tempranillo and malbec blend comes on too strongly at first but quickly mellows as I drink it (isn’t that somehow always the case?) Raspberries and strawberries round out that very spicy profile, which may be extra strong because it tastes young. Cardamom and vanilla come [...]

Alamos Torrontes 2009 Catana, Argentina This is the perfect white wine for me. It’s very tart with plentiful grapefruit and acidity at first, but that gets bathed and soothed with a vegetal greenness: leek? celery? Vanilla pops in with a slight tang of eucalyptus to help wash things down.