Jan

Yeah, Yeah, A Day Late

Jacob Gaffney in Red Wines, Shiraz/Syrah, Carignan, Touriga Nacional 2003, 2004, Ancient Vines, Bonny Doon, California, Lusitano Alentejo, Portugal, Sanguinhal Estremadura, USA

Look, very busy time now. Still no excuse for late bloggin’…doing my best and hope to get back on track next week.

Said sorry, now get off my back. You’re not the boss of me.

Remember, you’re getting this info for free, and, as I tell my wife ALL the time, you’re not being appreciative enough.

Went to meet a friend at a wine bar in Covent Garden, Central London, to pick up some Bonny Doon wine, rare in these parts; stopped at a Portuguese wine bar, after he gave me the bottles, maybe one of the few true wine bars in, well, the UNITED KINGDOM. It’s that bad here.

A few tables upstairs, a few downstairs, about five reds by the glass, about five whites: all Portuguese wines and a few snack foods. The way a wine bar should be: simple, but with a distinctive identity. Would’ve remembered the name if I knew it was so good.

My last tasting of Portuguese wines came at a wine fair a few months ago. Tried 12, that’s right, 12 different wines from one producer in the Douro.

And they were all bad. Real bad. Skinny and tart. Rusty and way-too-rugged. Hey, who wants a big bottle of muddy water? Gimme that corkscrew cause here’s some Portuguese wine! Ok, so that is way overboard.

But seriously, this guy’s wine stank.

The wine bar, however, was right on the mark. We had two glasses, but didn’t intend to blog them.

As remembered:

2003 Sanguinhal Estremadura: Ripe and bold, with black fruit and moist tobacco. Smooth tannin and a solid structure. Finish non-existent, giving the wine one, big great flaw. Other than that, feeling turned around on Portugal: 8.7.

2004 Lusitano Alentejo: Plumy and bubble-gummy, black cherry aroma, with a tad too much oak. Real old world style and surprisingly daring and rich; also, died in the aftertaste department: 8.8.

Dying to hear some comments on Portuguese wine from readers.

It was off to eat dim sum after that, accompanied by Sake. Drink it cold, people. Hot Sake is for suckers. Will explain in the future.

Later that night, got home and had some work to do; decided to try the Bonny Doon, ‘Ancient Vine,’ Carignan, 2004. This wine brings with it a reputation larger than its label. Compared to the Portuguese wines, it was thin. Not unpleasant, but lacked the minerality and earth of the other two (just remembered the two Portuguese wines had that). That’s what you get when you stick ancient vines in fertile earth, though. No true identity; just another California wine. Drank the rest of the bottle the next evening with no apparent oxygen evolution: 8.5.

Some people out there, especially the guy who bought it for me, will probably be upset by this review. Probably have some sort of problem with that – and apologies for that.

Now, get off my back.

Like what you've read? Why not subscribe to InterWined.com and get the lastest posts delivered fresh to your feeder.

Tasting Notes