Well, it's upon us - Christmas is just around the corner. I've tried to help you out with wine choices for both that Christmas dinner and otherwise. They may seem a bit unusual, but something you might consider.
If I don't see you in the store before the holidays, happy holidays to you all.
Carinena
Monsaterio De La Vinas 2005 Gran Reserva (618355)
Spain
$19.99
Sometimes while doing a little research on the wines I've tasted, and will write about, I'm amazed that we have these wines at all and for as little as $20.
This wine comes from an area in Spain whose wines were so prized they were the favourite of kings - an area that was spared by the phylloxera plague that ravished most European vineyards and became the favourite of the French who moved in while their own vineyards lay fallow. But after 30 or 40 years most of the French left Aragon and returned to their own recovering vineyards back home.
Between revolutions, war and poor markets, this area languished until the local monastery created a co-operative. This meant that collectively they could work together to modernize and bargain for better prices.
By 2002 they were equipped with state-of-the-art technology and a bottling line that will fill 12,000 bottles an hour.
Often you will see the word Reserve on a wine label. I'm sure it is used to let the consumer know that more care and attention was taken while producing this wine. But it only has legal definition, relating to wine, in Italy and Spain.
In the case of a Gran Reserva from Spain these must come from an exceptional vintage and must spend a minimum of two years in cask and a further three years in bottle before it is released. These are minimums and are often aged longer. In this case the wine will soon be 10 years old.
This Gran Reserva is a blend of Granacha, Tempranillo and Carinena. The Carinena (indigenous to Aragon) might be better known to us by what the French call it, Carignan. Wine is made from each grape and aged separately in oak barrels. The Tempranillo and Carinena spend 24 months in French oak and the Granacha spends its 24 months in American oak. After maturing for two years the wines were blended, bottled and left to meld for another three years.
In 2010 the jewel was released and here it sits on our shelves for $19.99 two years later.
This is a wine that has what I like to call, old-world style. It has layers and depth and is not a fruit bomb.
In the glass it is dense and a dark purple with some garnet highlights and looks thick in the glass with great legs.
On the nose it has very nice fresh fruit aromas, plum, black cherry and blackberry. There is a bit of a prune or dried fruit quality too, but around the edges I noticed hints of olive, leather and mushroom. The palate is as varied as the aromas, ripe and dried fruits with olive, toasted oak and mocha.
This wine has more of a creamy texture, due to the malolactic fermentation, and fine tannins.
Even with a creamy texture and fine tannins I would recommend serving this wine with a heavier meat dish, maybe the prime rib served after the holidays.
Ecos De Rulo
2012 Carmnre (884601)
Chile
$19.99
A short time ago I talked about a Chilean Carmnre that I had tried. After thinking about it I was regretting not suggesting that if you would prefer a red wine with turkey you might want to give that one a try.
Unfortunately we have sold through that one and we can't get any more. But, the thought of a Carmnre with turkey dinner appealed to me and I found another. The Ecos De Rulo - a 2012 Carmnre that will make a fine substitute.
Founded in 1978 the Bisquertt Family Vineyards has a fine line of wines including this one and La Joya. Even though this is a dry wine this particular grape has a bit of a sweet presence. I always find honey aromas in them and this is why I think it would be a good holiday choice.
Like the last red wine this one has a dark purple colour that is opaque, and dark purple fruits are the aromas you'll find. No dried fruit aromas here, but fresh black plum, blackberry and of course black cherry with hints of savoury spice. It has a nice medium- to full-body and attractive black fruit flavours. Both the acidity and tannins are low making it a good choice for that holiday dinner.
Echeverria
2013 Moscato Frizzante (662759)
Chile
$15.00
Moscato wines are really versatile. They always have some sweetness, very little or no acidity, often lighter in alcohol and very fruity. These are terrific wines to serve someone who wants just those qualities. They can be used to pair with a dessert or a spicy Asian dish. This one in particular suits those requirements.
In the glass you can see the fine line of bubbles rising from the bottom. The colour is a pale lemon yellow.
These wines are very aromatic and fun to smell. Nothing is subtle and it's easy to pick out the aromas - peach, apricot and grape are the most pronounced. It's rare to smell a wine and pick out grape as one of the aromas and something quite unique to wines made with the Moscato grape.
In the mouth it isn't as sweet as I expected given it has a sweetness rating of five on our scale of zero to 10. I've tasted others with a rating of two or less and they have felt sweeter than this one. That's because there is a little acidity that helps to balance the sweetness. The flavours match the aromas and it is quite fruity with a good mouth feel.
It's definitely a wine to have on hand over the holidays.
