2002 Marques de Gelida Cava

Cava is Spanish sparkling wine, made in the same manner as French Champagne. But there are some differences as well. For one, the Spanish Cava regions generally get a lot more sunshine than Champagne so Cavas are often softer with riper fruit flavours. Cavas also usually use some indigenous Spanish grapes, including macabeo, paralleda, and xarello. These varietals commonly make a light, fruity wine.

I prefer Cava to Champagne because I do not care for the yeasty flavors of many Champagnes. I prefer a fruitier wine. It is my experience that others who dislike thay same yeasty flavor also tend to enjoy Cavas. Many people though are not familiar with Cavas, though they would like them if they tried them. Cavas are usually cheaper than Champagne which is nother advantage.

The 2002 Marques de Gelida Cava Brut Exclusive Reserva ($15) is an excellent example of Cava. It has a fine fruitiness with only a touch of sweetness. It is refreshing with a medium length finish. This is one of the better Cavas that I have had and it is a good value at this price. This is a definite Drink & Buy!

If you have not ever had a Cava, try this one. Even if you dislike sparkling wines, give this a try as you might be surprised.

Lower Falls Wine Tasting-Thursday

This Thursday, July 26, from 5-6:30p.m., there will be a free wine tasting at the Lower Falls Wine Co.

They will be tasting new arrivals from the all-organic winery, Case Corini. Eileen Wright, of Il Capriccio and Adonna Imports, will be there to pour a selection of Corini's finest!

The wines to be tasted include:
2003 Barbera d'Asti "La Barla"
2001 Barbera d'Asti "Bricco"
2001 Barbera d'Asti "La Villa"
2001 Monferrato Rosso "Achille"

Wines poured will be available during the event at a special discounted price.

I have not tried these wines before but I have much faith in Adonna Imports. They often find great Italian wines, from small producers. This should be a good event and I may be there.

I should also mention that the Lower Falls Wine Co. has recently updated their website. It is more informative now so check it out.

Lower Falls Wine Co.
2366 Washington Street (Rt. 16)
Newton Lower Falls, MA
Phone: (617) 332-3000

1999 Coturri Assemblage Millenaire

While wandering through The Wine Emporium in the South End of Boston, I found several bottles of the 1999 Coturri Assemblage Millenaire ($25). I have never seen this wine before, or even heard of it before. I am a fan of Coturri Winery which makes some excellent organic wines. Their wines are usually low production wines and very reasonably priced. You can find some of my views of other Coturri wines on this blog. As the Assemblage Millenaire was new to me and seemed intriguing, I bought several bottles.

Now, the Coturri website says almost nothing about the Assemblage Millenaire. And I could not find much else online either.

This Assemblage Millenaire is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot. Only twenty cases were made so this was a very low production wine. I opened a bottle a few nights ago with my local wine buddies.

The wine is very dark in color, almost inky. Initially, this wine had a funky aroma, very earthy and almost a barnyard smell. My initial tastes of this wine began with a gush of very grapey flavors. It transformed into a more earthy taste on the finish, which was fairly long. What this wine really needed was to sit and breath for awhile. For later on, after some time had passed, the wine really smoothed out. The funky aroma largely vanished, though still being mildly earthy. The grapey flavor became much more subdued to nice blackberry and dark cherry flavors. The wine became very smooth with a complex layer of tastes. There were some spicy elements on the finish that emerged and the earthiness largely vanished. I was very impressed with the wine after it had sat for a time. It became very much a Bordeaux-style wine.

My friends all enjoyed the wine as well, especially after it sat for a time. I would recommend this as a Drink & Buy. I do look forward to my other bottles as I will get to taste even more of the wine then, rather than split it with five others.

For a wine of such low production, which is also all organic, I think this is an excellent value wine. You may not be able to find this wine because of its rarity, but if you do, buy it! If you have never had any Coturri wines, I recommend you try some. You may find some new favorites.

2002 Saintsbury Reserve Pinot Noir

When I dined at Porchai, I brought a bottle of 2002 Saintsbury Reserve Pinot Noir ($40). I knew I would be eating duck and prefer a Pinot Noir. I have long been a fan of Saintsbury Pinots. The 2002 Reserve is the last vintage to bear the "Reserve" label. Saintsbury will now create a Vineyard series of specific vineyard bottlings, hoping to capitalize on different terroirs in the Carneros region.

I found this wine to be superb. This was a darker Pinot Noir than many and reminiscent of a more Burgundian style. There were great fruit flavors of raspberry & cherry. But there were also nice spicy components. The wine is complex and well balanced, with a lingering finish. It is a silky smooth wine that is pure decadent pleasure. It was a great match to the duck. Though this is a wine you could easily drink alone, savoring its intricacies.

A highly recommended Drink & Buy.

Candy Apples

I got my candy apple last night. I stopped by the Stoneham Summer Festival (which ends today) at the Redstone shopping center. I found one vendor who had candy apples and they were actually making them at the time. The were not selling candy apples that had been prepackaged or been sitting around all day. They had both red candy and caramel apples. I got a couple of the red candy apples with coconut. At $3 each, they were not cheap.

The candy shell was very good, that hard sweet redness, but there could have been more coconut on the exterior. The apple was good, fresh and firm. Overall, it was a good apple, though not great.