Buelher Vineyards Napa Valley 2009 Zinfandel, $16.99-$19.99, 90 points, began at room temperature (68 degrees), with a deep purple to a dense core. The aroma was cedar and spice with black cherry and plum, all of which carried nicely over to the palate in a medium to full bodied wine experience. This is a sound Zinfandel, with a long finish of Black And White pepper, and at the lower price or the higher, still a great buy.
Chateau Montelena Napa Valley 2008 Chardonnay, $33.14-$38.99, 90 points, reminds me of the gender terms masculine and feminine; for the most part, I find California Chardonnays to be big and powerful (Masculine), but the gentle Chateau Montelena is apropos to its name, with a light transparency to a feminine natural aroma of still pome orchards, and delicate flavors of pear and tangerine with vanilla hints. Did I like this wine? You bet, and the contrast to their recent Zinfandel was appreciated.
Commentary Time:
Chateau Montelena Chardonnay is juxtaposed to the Buelher Zin, and though they are completely different wines, their prices don't equal (Subjective opinion) their value. QPR reaches across all varietals (Unless your a collector/Investor); I will buy another Buelher Zinfandel, but probably not another Chateau Montelena Chardonnay. Is that hard? Well, maybe, but for a "poor" guy like me, I made the Big sacrifice from my wallet to try a piece of history, which I did (I don't regret that), but that having been said, I have to live in the "real world".
Okay, this is what I paired these wines with, both were just fine. What is this? Greeks know, but for all others: Spinach Pita with Feta cheese.
Copyright 2011 Dennis Tsiorbas. All rights reserved
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