Category Archives: Year

Nov 02 2012
9 Comments
2011, Côtes du Rhône, France

2011 Rhône Valley Vineyards Luberon AOC Blanc “La Ferme Julien”

2011 La Ferme Julien Vin blanc

I bought this wine for two reasons: First, fellow blogger Talk-A-Vino had given this particular wine an honorable mention in this post. Second, Nina and I have been on a mission to become Wine Century Club members. For those not in the know, you can become a member in this club once you have tried 100 (hence the century) different grape varieties. It is completely based on an honours system of reporting and membership is free. While I am pretty certain that I have had more than 100 grape varities in my life, I am only counting those that I actively remembered, so I am still a bit short. This wine is a blend of four grapes that I did not have on my list, so it brought us closer with even just one sip…I think it is a fun way to expand our knowledge of grapes and horizons by trying to get to the magic number.

Let me start by saying that I am not the biggest white wine fan, aside from Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Sauvignon blanc. I find a lot of the other whites I try uninspiring and lacking in exciting flavors and aromas. That said, we were excited to try four grapes we had never heard of: Bourboulenc, Grenache blanc, Ugni blanc and Roussanne.

For short, I will just call this La Ferme Julien blanc. I bought the bottle at Trader Joe’s for $5.99. The wine has 13.5% ABV, and, according to its back label, has been blended by the Perrin family, a well respected French négociant. You can find their wines on all levels of pricing and quality. I was surprised to find their name on this wine!

The wine showed a light yellow in the glass, with hints of green. On the nose, it was incredibly fruity: initial notes of yellow apple, peach and floral aromas. Later on I got banana (I think; Nina agreed). It was a really appealing and refreshing nose. On the palate, light bodied wine was dry, rather bland with light citrus aromas and a certain creaminess to it. There was slight strawberry, I think, but for me it was all overpowered by the alcohol, which also left me with some bitter notes at the finish, which I did not enjoy much.

In a way, this wine seemed to highlight my problem with higher alcohol white wines (not reds!): they become too heavy on my palate, when I want something fresh and clean. I felt like this wine would have been great at maybe 12% ABV, but that bit more made it hard for me to like it. The nose was fun, but the taste – not for me.

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Oct 29 2012
4 Comments
2010, Argentina

2010 Domaine Jean Bousquet Malbec

2010 Domaine Jean Bousquet Malbec

Another short wine review today, while working on bigger posts for the upcoming posts. Nina is a big fan of malbecs, so we acquired a number of them in the past months. I have no particular opinion on malbec, but there are times when I enjoy bold red wines, and malbecs can have that quality to them.

We received this particular bottle as a gift from friends. It was our first malbec by Domaine Jean Bousquet. The label says the wine was made with organically grown grapes in the Tupungato Valley of Argentina. The neck of the bottle is adorned with a sticker “Best Buy 89 Points Wine Enthusiast New Release”.

The website states that Jean Bousquet is a Frenchman who owned 120 hectares of vineyards around Carcassonne, France, before he bought 110 hectares (265 acres) in Tupungato Valley, Mendoza, Argentina in 1997 and planted vines there. The stated goal is to combine European winemaking with the terroir of Mendoza Valley.

The winery produces three lines of wines: Domaine Jean Bousquet as the estate wines with grapes grown on their property (with reserva and grand reserve), Santa Bax sparkling wines and Cameleon.

Our 2010 Domaine Jean Bousquet Malbec is the basic wine of their estate grown grapes. The website indicates that the 2010 vintage won several bronze medals in international contests. Apparently the 2009 vintage was very good, with a gold medal from Mundus Vini and the above mentioned Wine Enthusiast rating.

I will take this opportunity to state my disdain for this practice: I have no problem with bottles being marketed with prizes they actually won. But here, it is very clear that the Wine Enthusiast rating that is being advertised does not apply to the current vintage. The words “New Release”, which try to indicate that fact, are not very helpful. Ratings are problematic by themselves already, but slapping a rating on a bottle that does not apply to the current vintage (and not stating that fact in clear terms!) in my view is deceptive.

But on to the wine: It poured in a dark, ruby red. The nose was disappointingly green and alcoholic, rather prominent oak and unpleasant memories of cold mulled wine. On the palate, the wine was surprisingly medium bodied, with a nice jammy fruit of red berries with good acidity. It was better on the palate than the nose let on. The finish was short. The 14% ABV were not noticeable, it was easy to drink.

There was really nothing memorable about the wine. The wine seems to retail for around $11, which is an ok price for an unexciting, but drinkable wine. The nose was definitely off-putting and a downer.

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Oct 17 2012
15 Comments
2011, Food and Wine Pairings, Hungary

Trader Joe’s 2011 Floriana Grüner Veltliner

2011 Floriana Grüner Veltliner

Just a short tasting note today.

I picked up this grüner veltliner a couple of weeks back at Trader Joe’s where it retailed for $5.99. Grüner Veltliner is a white grape that is mostly grown in Austria, kind of the dry sibling of riesling, and maybe even vinho verde (notice the word “green” in both wines). I cannot recall ever having had a grüner veltliner before, so I figured I should give it a try. This particular 2011 Floriana Grüner Veltliner was made in Hungary. Given Hungary’s and Austria’s common history (they once formed the Austro-Hungarian Empire), I gathered that Hungarians should be capable of making decent wines out of this grape. The wines are generally perceived as food friendly.

I made schnitzel last weekend. My friend Tracy and her husband had prepared an amazing and detailed instruction manual for me, because Nina loves schnitzel and I wanted to be able to recreate them here. In my case the schnitzel was a thin, crusted and then fried pork steak. I had read before that grüner veltliner can be a good companion to this traditional Austrian dish (the true classic is Schnitzel Vienna, but that is made with veal).

2011 Floriana Grüner Veltliner poured into the glass in a very light color. On the nose, there were prominent apple and citrus aromas. On the palate, it is dry, with apple and citrus persisting, but eventually herbal aromas coming in, which made it a really nice partner for the schnitzel, which is traditionally served with some lemon to squeeze over it and a salad as a side. The wine was light and refreshing. It did resemble the Trader Joe’s vinho verde in its freshness (but without the fizz). The herbal aromas did give it a different feel, though. Definitely worth trying if you are looking for a refreshing dry white.

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