Monthly Archives: August 2012

Birthday Wine – Part 2

In my last blog I had mentioned I had received NLC Gift Cards as gifts, and I was going to have a blast picking out some treat wines.  Well, I had a great time, and thought I would share with you some of my findings.

Barolo:

I had to pick up an Italian Barolo.

So I went with the Luigi Pira Barolo.  Keep in mind I haven’t had this yet.  It’s not easy to pick out a Barolo, our Howley Estates location has so many.  This is one of the lesser priced ones, but I can’t wait to try it.  It has been give 93.5 Ratings in 4 different reviews.   It sells for $43.54 a bottle at our NLC stores, still a great treat wine.

Had to get a bottle of Peter Lehman Clancy’s Shiraz.  Sells for $19.98 at the NLC and comes in a great tin container that makes a nice gift.  This is a great wine with a BBQ.   Natalie MacLean said it best when she described this wine as “Full-bodied with juicy ripe black fruit and a generous treatment of oak. Smoky finish”.

This is my go-to steak wine!   It’s Angove VS McLaren Vale Shiraz.  It’s $25.24 at the NLC and I discovered this wine one Friday evening, when I asked for a great Friday night wine that goes great with steak.  Since then, I have bought this wine to friend’s homes and it has never disappointed.  There’s a reason the McLaren Vale region is known for great Shiraz,  in my opinion, (that’s the name of the blog, after all!)  A rich full-bodied wine with hints of black currant (learned that in Level 1 wine class!)    Combined with flavors of oak and chocolate, I love this wine.

That’s it for this week.   As my friend Judy always says, “Life is too short to drink bad wine’.

Cheers

Darlene

Birthday Wine

Did I mention I have great friends.  I recently celebrated a birthday and received a few great wines.  I can’t wait to share some of these with friends.

Bodega Septima Gran Reserva, 2009

This is a 2009 Bodega Septima Gran Reserva Malbec out of Argentina.  Great wine.   For those of you that love Italian Reds (I do!) you will love this one as well.  Italian immigration has been very important to the Argentine culture, second behind Spain, and you can taste the influences in this wine.  This rich complex fruity wine with hints of oak is a great treat wine.

Another wine I received from the Mendoza region of Argentina, was this one.  A 2008 Clos de los Siete.

clos_siete_08.jpg

I haven’t had it in a while, so I am really looking forward to uncorking it.   It’s a dark garnet color and the nose smells of cassis and rich leather.  You can smell oak and then the palate explodes with flavors of  dark cherries.  I love this wine, and I’ve had it with steak, grilled chicken and I find it very versatile.

I haven’t tried this next one yet… definitely going to be a treat bottle, but I’m looking forward to it.  It’s a 2009 Robert Mondavi Cabarnet Sauvignon.

Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

I have read up on the wine, and it’s a beauty.  I love Robert Mondavi wines, and had the pleasure of visiting his vineyard in Napa Valley a few years ago.    I’m told this wine is deep, dark and dense, with flavors of cinnamon, cocoa and sweet tasty oak.  I can’t wait.

I also received a couple of gift cards to the NLC and had a blast picking out some treat wines with those.  I will tell you about those next week.

In the meantime, have a great week, be kind to one another and I just read this – Wine, like duct tape to men – fixes everything.

Cheers

Darlene