Chateau Nardian Saint Emilion 2009 Bordeaux And Two Kissing Cousins From Californian Appellations

Chateau Nardian Saint Emilion Grand Vin De 2009 (100% Merlot) Bordeaux, $16.99-$18.99, 88 points, has a mature Burgundy color welling opaque, and having pleasant earthy aromas with candy-cane hints. The medium body carries just a hint of acidity and tannin. The flavor is earthy black fruits with a pleasant, but marginal finish.


Franciscan Estate Napa Valley 2007 Merlot (92% Merlot, 5% Syrah, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Petit Verdot) $13.50-$20.00, 89 points, has a youthful Burgundy color with a dark core, spectacular aroma of flowers and cooking spice, carried nicely on a medium body of of firm acidity and noticeable tannin, with flavors of tart cherry and violet hints, finishing on a fair bed of spice.


Merriam Vineyards Windacre Russian River Valley 2005 Merlot is labeled Melot, but it is a Bordeaux-styled wine (93% Merlot 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Cabernet Franc), $29.70-$32.99, 90 points, steps-up the intensity with a bit more alcohol (14.2% vs. 13% and 13.5% respectively). Having a youthful Burgundy color with clear-bright ruby hints radiating from a near black core, this Merlot (Bordeaux style) wine has an aroma of fall leaves and a touch of alcohol, a medium bodied wine of a balanced acidity and a light to moderate tannin presence. The flavor profile is black fruit and Damson plum. There is a bit of heat throughout, but that heat is most noticeable on the long finish. 


Three Merlot wines, very similar in color and flavor, with some differences in aroma, but the Merriam stands out in alcohol and price; for $13.50 the 2007 Franciscan (Bought on sale at Hannaford's supermarket, Hooksett, NH) is your "Best Buy", but if you're out for quality and 1 or 2 points makes a difference to you, then give the Merriam a try (Bought at http://www.bellavinonh.com/ ). 
Just a note on "Grand Vin" which means a winery's best wine (this was a small "blind tasting") and 88 points might not seem like a fair score, but that 88 points really out shine's and makes MUCH MORE sense than WS giving Stag's Leap Artemis 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon 80 points; I guess my repeating this gripe manifests my disorientation with their reality, but once again they're the pros.

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Meritage Wine (Geyser Peak And Lyeth Wines)

 Meritage Wine is a non-French way of saying a wine is a "Bordeaux style" of wine without the French origin. These wines are usually food-friendly (The French treat wine in the European tradition of wine equals food).


I have two examlpes of California Meritage Wines for your consideration as a substitute for French Bordeaux, but it is important to understand that to have a Bordeaux style wine, the wine does not have to be a certified Meritage wine, but rather typically (Sometimes having only two varietals) a blend of any of these six wines: (For Red Wine) Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Melbec, Carménère, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.


Geyser Peak Alexander Valley 2005 Meritage, $17.99-$35.99, 89 points, is not always an inexpensive wine, but at the lower-end of the price scale is a fair value. Quaffable is a word that comes to my mind as we polished-off this bottle in a brief foray into a mostly Cabernet Sauvignon wine (68%). The color is a deep garnet, but black at the core. The aroma is a pleasing soft coriander-clove.
The wine body is medium to full which carries flavors of primarily plum and licorice, and having a fair finish with some heat.

Lyeth Sonoma County 2006 Meritage, $12.74-$17.99, 87 points, is a more affordable Meritage with a similar profile, though not quite as dry and with almost no heat on the finish as was the case for the Geyser Peak, and also having a medium body. The aroma is a muted cluster of cooking spices, but the flavor, though not as lush, is predominately plum and licorice with a more noticeable tannic presence and a longer finish.
At the lower price, this too is a fair buy and won't break your bank account for something a little different and competently made.

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Christmas Dinner And Wine Reviews-Bordeaux Wines

Chateau Bonnet 2008 Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon, $13.99-$15.99, 91+ points, was such a nice change from the fruit-bomb of a Concha Y Toro 2009 Merlot last night (85 Points).
Wine 101 has the Bordeaux wines to be from the Bordeaux region of France, though indigenous varietals are grown all over the world and are usually listed as these six wines: Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Melbec, Carménère, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, or blends (There are Bordeaux White Wines which I'll save for another post). It is important to understand that the designation of "Meritage" is the same varietals without encroaching on the Bordeaux region of French origin.

Chateau Bonnet 2008 Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon proves once again that there are very good French wines for very reasonable prices.

Chateau Bonnet 2008 Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon has a somewhat deep cloudy magenta color with a large transparent rim.
The aroma is a quite nice flowers and plum with hints of cinnamon spice and earth.
The medium body carries the very dry wine with ample tannin.
Flavors of gentle violets accent the more powerful plum and cherry.
The finish is fair, but delicious.
How does this wine pair with chocolate? How does Fred Astaire go without Ginger Rogers, Sony without Cher, or even Batman without The Joker, oops, Robin?
I was very pleased with this wine, and for $13.99 and at least a 91 point wine makes for a best-buy from me.


Vin français est une aventure en beauté !
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Castello DI Monastero 2007 Chianti Classico

Castello DI Monastero 2007 Chianti Classico, $16.14-$20.99, 91+ points, is my last Thanksgiving wine review, but Christmas is coming quickly and I want to present a few Bordeaux varietals common to NH. So, if you haven't finished with your preparations, then this one should do quite nicely. I bought this one at the New Hampshire Liquor Stores a few months ago, but I wouldn't doubt that you'll find this wine to be obtainable almost everywhere.
Castello DI Monastero 2007 Chianti Classico opened with a perfect ruby hue, the aroma is a very nice earthy blackberry with subtle hints of cinnamon and clove, this very dry red wine has a medium body and carries a rather straight forward but excellent flavor of  blackberries with earth tones and hints of licorice. The finish is long on smooth tannin and black pepper.
I paired this with Chipotle Pasta and sausage with a cheesed Focaccia grilled in the oven, but this wine will pair well with poultry or beef as well.
This is a great stand-alone wine if you like a dry red wine.

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Ridge Estate 2009 Chardonnay And Roland Lavantureux Grand Vin De Bourgogne 2009 Chablis

Ridge Estate 2009 Chardonnay, $33.14-$38.99, 89 points, begins its rite of passage with an unpleasant aroma, though subtle we all noticed (Made me think there might be a problem with the bottle itself) the off blue cheese nature of it, but as it breathed for sometime, I notice that negative quality dissipated and was replaced with ripe melon; all these aromas were present on my palate, but late palate pepper became apparent and made for a rather nice finish with just a touch of spearmint. The color is light gold in a matrix of a medium body.
I've been a big fan of Ridge wines, and I'll want to try another Ridge Chardonnay, but this one doesn't get a buy from me, because of the price.


Roland Lavantureux Grand Vin De Bourgogne 2009 Chablis, $18.69-$21.99, 88 points, has a pale yellow color, an aroma of gentle lemon-zest, a medium body, and flavors of grapefruit-lemon with just a hint of lime. The finish is fair with ginger and floral notes.
Though I like this wine there are other Chablis wines I've reviewed that I like better and at a comparable price.


Both these wines were up to the task of pairing with Buffalo-wings, fried Haddock, and Turkey-gravy with mashed potatoes.


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Plumpjack NAPA Valley 2009 Chardonnay An Expensive But Worthy Thanksgiving Choice

Plumpjack NAPA Valley
2009 Chardonnay Reserve, $39.09-$49.99, 92 points, is nearly everything an excellent California Chardonnay should be: balanced with subtle oaky vanilla, quaffable and creamy, but very refreshing (Not heavy) pear-pineapple, and hints of quince; there is the gentle aroma dominated by pineapple, the color of transparent gold, and the long finish with noticeable ginger that works so good together.
We liked this wine very much, and though we served the Plumpjack Chardonnay with Lobster-bisque this is a wine for almost any cuisine.
Now I know my neighbors won't like the price (I didn't, even at $39.09), but let's face it, Thanksgiving-Christmas is only once a year; this is not an every-man-everyday bottle of wine. As for me, I don't eat-out more than two or three times a year, and when I do the cost is always more than the price of a bottle of Plumjack, which makes this my treat.

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Zenato Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripassa 2007

Zenato Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripassa 2007, $28.00-$32.99, 93 points, is a beautiful wine of great depth, but possesses the simplicity of liquid velvet wound in its deep ruby-red. It clings to your glass as it clings to you palate and finishes long on flavors layered and fluted. Okay, make fun of me, but this wine has many "faces" and will please many people, both those who want something special and those who just want something with their meal, but either way, if you are going to spend a hundred dollar or more on your Thanksgiving dinner, then why not display the "mettre en évidence des repas" in an elegant bottle with and elegant flavor that will be remembered for a long time?

"Verona in America, un bellissimo vino di fiori e frutta per abbellire il nostro tavolo."


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