Sunday, January 19, 2003
Going on the road always impacts how much wine I taste. Dinners with friends and clients alike, all add to up and down nature of tasting, but going to suburban Nashville, TN really makes one appreciate the wine and dining selections home, San Diego, CA or even Philadelphia, New York, Denver, Los Angeles and of course San Francisco.
But not to be undaunted, even by an eight inch mid-week snowfall, I did find a very interesting wines that I got to share with long time friends, foodies and now parents, The Streaders, Jeff and Stephanie, recent transplants from New York City to the Nashville area. Jeff is without a doubt the self admitted foodie in the family. His international business travels takes him around the globe and their former time spent in New York and Southern California has widened his search for what is always a very good meal. So while Nashville has some very good dining spots, the wine prices are out of control compared to the left and right coasts, providing the eagle eyed wine hunters with daunting challenges and some possible opportunities. Some of the best values at Cool Springs Wine and Spirits seem to come from Spain, Portugal and Austria. Yup, Austria. We had the good fortune to drink a delightful bottle of the 2000 Weinkeller Tiedl Gewurztraminer Spatlese from Austria's Neusiedlersee-Huhelland region. The wine has the viscosity of a California style Gewurztraminer, reminding me of the fantastic early releases of Babcock and Fetzer. More Germanic in style than Alsatian, this wine has flavors of apricots, peaches, honeydew melon, Mandarin oranges and a light, pear syrup finish.
A second impressive find was the 2001 Cachello Jumillo from Spain. A blend of 50% Mourvedre, 30% Tempranillo, 20% Merlot, the Merlot makes it drinkable now, but the body, spice and deep black fruit of the Mourvedre and the cherry, black raspberry flavors of the Tempranillo gave this wine a real kick in the teeth type of flavor. It was perfect with pan roasted hickory ham and oven roasted chicken.
Sadly, I was not impressed with two reds from Portugal, a region that is actually producing some exciting red wines at very pedestrian prices. The 2000 Quinta de Parrotes a Vinho Tinto from the Alenquer region is a blend of Periquita (85%) Cabernet Sauvignon (15%). While pleasing it did not compare value wise to either the 2000 Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone, 2000 Guigal Cotes du Rhone or the current release of the Rosenblum Vintner's Cuvee, all of which sell for the same price of less. I felt the same way about the all Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 Quinta de Pancas from the Estremadure region. While it was Cabernet through and through, given it's price point, I'd want to drink the 2000 Castle Rock Napa Cabernet that is still available here in San Diego, and hopefully, soon in Nashville.
But not to be undaunted, even by an eight inch mid-week snowfall, I did find a very interesting wines that I got to share with long time friends, foodies and now parents, The Streaders, Jeff and Stephanie, recent transplants from New York City to the Nashville area. Jeff is without a doubt the self admitted foodie in the family. His international business travels takes him around the globe and their former time spent in New York and Southern California has widened his search for what is always a very good meal. So while Nashville has some very good dining spots, the wine prices are out of control compared to the left and right coasts, providing the eagle eyed wine hunters with daunting challenges and some possible opportunities. Some of the best values at Cool Springs Wine and Spirits seem to come from Spain, Portugal and Austria. Yup, Austria. We had the good fortune to drink a delightful bottle of the 2000 Weinkeller Tiedl Gewurztraminer Spatlese from Austria's Neusiedlersee-Huhelland region. The wine has the viscosity of a California style Gewurztraminer, reminding me of the fantastic early releases of Babcock and Fetzer. More Germanic in style than Alsatian, this wine has flavors of apricots, peaches, honeydew melon, Mandarin oranges and a light, pear syrup finish.
A second impressive find was the 2001 Cachello Jumillo from Spain. A blend of 50% Mourvedre, 30% Tempranillo, 20% Merlot, the Merlot makes it drinkable now, but the body, spice and deep black fruit of the Mourvedre and the cherry, black raspberry flavors of the Tempranillo gave this wine a real kick in the teeth type of flavor. It was perfect with pan roasted hickory ham and oven roasted chicken.
Sadly, I was not impressed with two reds from Portugal, a region that is actually producing some exciting red wines at very pedestrian prices. The 2000 Quinta de Parrotes a Vinho Tinto from the Alenquer region is a blend of Periquita (85%) Cabernet Sauvignon (15%). While pleasing it did not compare value wise to either the 2000 Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone, 2000 Guigal Cotes du Rhone or the current release of the Rosenblum Vintner's Cuvee, all of which sell for the same price of less. I felt the same way about the all Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 Quinta de Pancas from the Estremadure region. While it was Cabernet through and through, given it's price point, I'd want to drink the 2000 Castle Rock Napa Cabernet that is still available here in San Diego, and hopefully, soon in Nashville.
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