Saturday, January 17, 2009

Bogle Vineyard Merlot 2006 - My Good Cheap Wine of the Week


Hello to you all again and happy new year. My hopes for all is that this new year brings new money, new friends, new romances, new aspirations, and yeah, new wines. For some, I believe that this current wine of the week may be a good start for you. Let me introduce you to Bogle Vineyards Merlot 2006, and yes, I've watched "Sideways," and to tell you the truth, when done right, Merlot is one of the most complex grapes around. My opinion to those who look to expand their palate inregards to wine is to not get caught up in what people say you should drink, try new things and let your taste buds do the talking. Now that I'm off of my soapbox let's get down to it, this Merlot, which you can buy at any Raleys or Safeway grocery store, is a great buy at 13.99. Let me tell you, there are certain smells that will always bring a smile to my face, the smoke from a good cigar, the smell from Cinnabon, fresh bread, and lastly inhaling the interior of a new car. I love the smell of a new car, this Merlot captures that characteristic. There is an array of vanilla, rasberry, and a hint of earth tones in it. Also, what's so great is that with all these aromas tickling your nose, this Merlot does not over do it, the balance and structure is very much apparent in this young wine.
I know, I know, I went off on a tangent without even tasting this Merlot yet, but I was just trying to paint a picture for your sense of smell, now let's get to the good part. Upon tasting the Bogle Merlot, you catch hints of cinnamon and ripe cherry. As the Merlot hits the mid palate, black currant is apparent along with chocolate, which transitions nicely into the finish and is topped off again with ripe cherry. Truthfully, I would buy 2 of these bottles of wine, one I would drink now, and the other I would hold onto for at least 3 to 5 years. The idea of holding onto this wine derives within the finish. This 2006 Merlot has a finish surrounded in tannins(pucker effect in your mouth), with an array of fruit playing a symphony on your palate, but what is interesting is the fruit apparently has not yet reached its full potential. Although young, this intriguing Merlot is so well made, the structure mutes the complexity just enough to let the drinker know that down the road this wine could move up from a good wine to exceptional. This is a very well balanced wine and after a few years the tannins will mostly subside and the fruit will explode in your mouth. Once you try the Bogle Merlot feel free to comment, let me know how you feel about any of the wines I've showcased, I would love to hear your feedback, positive or negative, everyone has a different palate, enjoy.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Kenwood Vintage White Wine 2005 and Chateau Grande Cassagne 2006 "G.S." Costieres de Nimes - My Good Cheap Wines of the Week

First, happy holidays to you all, I hope the turkey was tender, the ham was healthy , and the sweet potato pie was plentiful. Now that we gotten the pleasantries out of the way, I must apologize for neglecting you last week, you know how the holidays get. To make up for my neglect last week, I will feature two wines that I drank over the holidays. Let me introduce you first to the Kenwood Vintage White Wine 2005 (You can find this wine for under 9 dollars). There are two ways to enjoy the Kenwood, you can either invest in a block of sharp or smelly cheese, or if you are not a cheese fan, buy a big peach, take a bite of either, and sip the wine, this will give you an understanding of its characteristics. I know plenty of you reading will probably skip this part, but, I like to smell a new lady before I partake of her, and the same thing is true with my wine. When I smell 2005 Kenwood, the nose holds a round, fruity smell, submerged in lemon peels, nectarines, and a hint of grass. Now that I've taken a chance to breathe her in, my taste buds obviously need to be satisfied. For the price point, this Kenwood 2005 is a gem, the taste is round, with a well balanced medium finish. The Kenwood hits you with a strong mid palate engulfed in citrus light grapefruit and lasting hint of sweetness throughout it's finish. For guys into wine, this is a great date wine for a woman, you may be seeing who you have introduced to wine and is growing pass the muscats, late harvest rieslings, and other dessert wines. This Kenwood is a must for a person just getting into white wines and want to broaden their horizons with a fruit forward wine.
Now it's time to go from the light to the dark side of the force. Sorry, ignore the reference to Star Wars, please, ignore that, I'm a guy, that stuff will come out every once in while. To get to the point, the Chateau Grande Cassagne 2006 "G.S"(online retail price at about 8.99). Costieres de Nimes is a good reflection of a classic french wine. Just like with most old school wines from France, the fruit is apparent but it's all about the complexity, and this wine follows suit. Although upon the nose of the wine you catch dark currants mixed with hints of vanilla, there are also light fragrances of top soil and vegetation. What overpowers the nose is the arrays of ripe fruit, and this is apparent when tasting the wine, and you definitely can tell the balance between grenache and syrah, with bright cherry and rasberry. The G.S. also holds within it's core a great mid palette which does a decent job of lasting into the finish, although a bit dry and tannicky, after a few years of maturation, just like with most old world wines, could be very good. I'm always about expanding you palette, and I believe that these wine have the ability to do so, so enjoy both bottles and let me know what you think, post anything.