September Wine Club – Primitivo

This month Wine Club got together and tried a Primitivo from Italy and a Zinfandel from California. Primitivo and Zinfandel are genetically the same grape. I have tried a number of Zinfandels but have never tried Primitivo before so I was curious to see how Italy would craft the wine compared to its California cousin.

Here is the LCBO Information –

CIGNOMORO PRIMITIVO DI MANDURIA 2007

VINTAGES 211078
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, Red Wine
15.2% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Puglia, Italy
By: Cignomoro
Release Date: May 14, 2011

Tasting Note - A very intriguing and complex nose offering aromas of spiced plum, vanilla, new leather and smoked meat. Dry with a sweet fruit core, fine tannins, good weight and a generous mouthfeel, this is a powerhouse of a wine. Full bodied with a medium-long finish. Enjoy with grilled bison steaks, or lamb chops. (VINTAGES panel, March 2011)
 NAPA CELLARS ZINFANDEL 2008

VINTAGES 126607
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 24.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.9% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: California, USA
By: Sutter Home Winery
Release Date: May 14, 2011

Description - An unbeatable value from Napa Valley, this intensely fruity Zinfandel is sourced mainly from the warmer sub-appellations of Calistoga, St. Helena and Pope Valley. Notes of blackberry, pepper, smoke and spice on the nose. The palate proffers delicious fruit and spice supported by gentle tannins. The finish is long and luxurious. This Zinfandel-lover's dream makes an ideal companion for barbecued baby back ribs, or pulled-pork sandwiches with a robust sauce.

The Primitivo was the take home bottle for Wine Club whereas the Zinfandel was the comparison bottle. The nose on the Zinfandel was typical California Zinfandel with big aromas of Strawberry/Blackberry/Raspberry with a touch of eucalyptus in the background. The Primitivo had more of an earthy aroma to it with loam, all spice and plum being the main aromas. Tasting the Zinfandel you initially got sour cherry as the flavour but it finished with more of strawberry flavour to it. The Primitivo flavours were a combination of plum and nutmeg.

Erik, a Wine Club member, bought in Chili, three strong cheeses and fresh baguettes to go with the wines. All of the foods were an excellent pairing with the wines. I liked the Zinfandel more than the Primitivo on its own; the big fruit flavours made it a very easy to drink wine. With the food I really liked the Primitivo as the Zinfandel got a touch lost aginist the food whereas the fruit in the Primitivo came more to the forefront and made it an amazing pairing.

Both wines were enjoyed by Wine Club and opinions on which was better were split right down the middle. I liked that while both wines were very different in style and taste and yet both wines were very good in their own unique ways.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Cab Night – Part 2

Click here for Part 1

The Stag’s Leap ‘Fay’ was the other wine in our little head to head competition.

The nose on it was a mix of dark cherry, green pepper and cedar. Tasting the wine, cocoa and eucalyptus were the two dominate flavours with the barest amount of cassis hiding in the background.  This wine certainly had a bigger mouth-feel to it than the Ferriere did but it was also much more tannic and with the lack of fruit came across as being exceptionally dry. It was OK with the Beef Tenderloin but, like the Ferriere, it got much better with the dessert.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 86, Mark - 86, Kathy – 85, Amy – 86, Overall – 85.75.

The wine was OK but it was also $79 US a bottle and for that price I was expecting a bit more than ‘OK’.

Overall I was disappointed with both wines as they were both around an $80 price point. For $80 I want a little magic or something special and while both of the wines were decent neither were as good as they should have been for that price. The $65 Robert Mondavi “Oakville” Cabernet Sauvignon that we had when Mick’s mom was over for dinner was a much better value as I would easily take a bottle of it over either of the two wines we had tonight. On the other hand, unless you try them you don’t know how good they can be.

I’d like to thank Mick and Amy for a fun night. They will be away for the next two Saturday night dinners so things will be quiet on the Blog for a bit.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Cab Night – Part 1

Our local grocery store had a great sale on Beef Tenderloin so I ended up picking up a 3.1Kg Beef Tenderloin. Over 6lbs of meat for 4 people is a little much but I figured I could use up the leftovers over the next day or two. Since the main course was going to be huge I didn’t bother with doing an appetizer. I did pick up a chocolate cake for dessert which means I had two dishes that pair wonderfully with Cabernet Sauvignon. As I had two courses I decide to go with 2 Cabs in a little head to head competition.

I picked a 1995 Chateau Ferriere from the Margaux region of Bordeaux which was a birthday gift from Mick and Amy for my wife. I also grabbed a 1999 Stag’s Leap “Fay” Cabernet Sauvignon which been on the rack for a while and I wanted to try it.

Normally I break these articles up by course but today I’m going to break them up by wine as I will review the Ferriere first and the Stag’s Leap in the second part.

The nose on the Ferriere was a mix of raspberry, cedar, smoke and marzipan. The wine had subtle flavours of plum and cocoa. I did find the wine a bit ‘thin’ as the fruit was very mild and the tannin and acidity were very soft. It was an OK pairing with the Beef Tenderloin but was quite nice with the chocolate cake.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 85, Mark - 87, Kathy – 85, Amy – 87, Overall – 86.

It is nice having great friends like Mick and Amy as you can ask questions you really should be asking like ‘how much was the wine?’ Mick recalled it being on sale for $80. I asked about the price as I was going to Blog about it here and it is kind of hard to review correctly without knowing the price. I liked the wine but wasn’t blown away by it; it may be that as it was a 1995 that the wine was a touch past its prime.

Click here for Part 2