Wine Review: Cornaro 2006 Pinot Grigio

Italy, Veneto IGT

$8.99 from The Fresh Market specialty food store

Paired this wine with a delicious shrimp pasta (with diced tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olive oil, lemon and capers). Jen also used a little of the wine in the pasta recipe.

Visually, this wine had me worried…it is almost as colorless as a glass of water. However, this was deceiving, for the nose was more pronounced than expected, and was actually quite pleasant and inviting. The predominant aromas were honeydew melon, grass and maybe some floral components. There was also a slight rubbing alcohol odor hiding in the background, which troubled me just a little. Checking the alcohol content (about 12%) eased my fears of it coming across too hot.

On the palate, this wine delivered. It was quite well balanced, with mild acidity and plenty of citrus flavors on the mid palate. The finish was short but pleasant and left somewhat of a full-mouth feel at the end. It wasn’t a complex wine, but I found it very refreshing and paired perfectly with the citrus and saltiness of the shrimp pasta.

For $8.99, this is definitely a good value wine and exceeded my expectations for a cheap Italian white. It is perfect for sipping by itself (warm sunsets on the deck come to mind), or paired with any light dish like scallops or tilapia, a sandwich or fruit & mild cheeses. I’m giving it 3 stars in my log, and will likely buy a few bottles to keep on hand for this summer.

Wine Review: 2002 Château Lalande-Borie

France, Bordeaux, Haut Medoc, Saint-Julien

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc (probably around 65%/25%/10%)

Purchased from PA Wine Store in April 2007 for $19.99

The Château Lalande-Borie was created almost entirely in 1970 from third growth château by the Borie family (owner of the more prestigious château Ducru-Beaucaillou, Haut-Batailley and Grand-Puy-Lacoste). Lelande-Borie is right next to the château Ducru-Beaucaillou, a second-growth château, so it benefits from the more prestigious château’s expertise, experience and terroir. The soil from this part of the Medoc is composed of a deep layer of large-grain gravel with excellent drainage, and the vineyard was supposedly only planted after a very meticulous choice of grapes and graft-stock was made. Generally, wines from this château are considered pretty good value wines.

Our 2002 Borie had a deep red color, with ruby hues typical of most Bordeaux wines. We drank this wine over two nights. First with grilled turkey burgers (stuffed with herb-butter) and then with grilled pork chops seasoned with herbs de Provence. The wine improved considerably the second night, and would have probably benefited greatly the first night from a few hours in the decanter (we drank it straight from the cellar).

The first night, the nose had a slightly unpleasant vinyl component, somewhat reminiscent of the odor you get from driving by a chemical plant. This component translated to the palate as well, but thankfully was also accompanied by a few other complex mineral, smoke and leather flavors. There was essentially NO fruit that I could discern. The balance was OK, with good acidity and noticeable but supportive tannins. The finish was dry and surprisingly simple, with a bit of a tobacco taste lingering for 20 seconds or so. The pairing with the burgers was good, and the smokiness of the two complimented one another. Overall, my initial impression the first night was that this wine was OK, but not great, and really suffered in the “delicious” category. The vinyl flavors were just too distracting.

A day on the counter seemed to transform the displeasing vinyl components to a much more pleasing (on my palate, anyway) barnyard and earthy flavors. The second night also revealed some nice fruit that was hiding the day before, mainly a cherry sensation much like cherry cola, both on the nose and palate. The feeling I got between the two tastings went from being in a damp, generally uninteresting basement the first day to being in a dark, wet forest the second, full of mushrooms, moss, smoke and maybe a bit of dung...not for everyone, but I liked it. The pairing with the herbaceous, smoky pork worked quite well.

Overall impressions: This wine wasn’t a "big" wine nor was it as deeply complex and leathery as some Bordeaux’s I’ve had, even on the second day. It almost seemed more like a Burgundy than a Bordeaux with some of the barnyard elements that appeared the second day. I would have preferred seeing just a tad more fruit, and wonder if maybe the 2002 is already past its peak, even though it’s very young by Bordeaux standards. Overall, it’s not a classic, but then again I only paid 20 bucks for it. With a little decanting (or a day on the counter), I think it’s probably worth what I paid. I gave this wine 3.5 stars (out of 5) in my log, based mainly on the second day's experience.

Wine Review : 2005 Les Galopieres

France, Burgundy, Cote D'Or, Pouilly-Fuisse

$15.99 from Claymont, DE Total Wine & More

First tasted with a grilled chicken salad. Nose was a little tight, with kiwi and watermelon flavors (thanks Jen), almost a Jolly Rancheresqe aroma. Taste was pleasing, nice balance and paired fairly well with the chicken. The finish was short but nice. Green apple and lemon-lime flavors. The label mentioned almonds and nuts, but I didn't pick any of that up. No oak to speak of.

Second taste was a day later and paired with pan-seared ham leftovers from Easter. The nose had opened up considerably since the day before and the watermelon was the predominant element, although green apple was in there as well. Palate was about the same as before, though the finish was even shorter, possibly a result of the food. Not the most logical pairing, but it seemed to work anyway. Sometimes you have to go with what you got.

Overall, not a bad wine, but not necessarily delicious and maybe a little expensive for the quality. Nevertheless, I would probably pick this over an equal-priced California Chardonnay. I gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars in my logbook.