Wine Lover's Glossary of Terms - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Once I started getting into wine, I realized that if I wanted to move beyond the jug o' Gallo (joke) or buying only what someone else told me to get. To do this, I needed to understand more about the language behind the wine. What I began to realize was that, as I have already implied, oenophiles have their own language and when you know the buzz words, I think it helps to de-mystifies wine-speak and wine in general.

Please feel free to add your own terms/definitions to this effort. If you have any questions, here's where to ask.

This is a work in progress, so please be patient and thanks in advance for the help.

I hate when my real job interferes with my fun job - More to Follow....

Bistro Night - 1993 Cheval Blanc & 1998 Guiraud

On Friday 13th, we had some friends over so I could try out some "Bistro" recipes. The menu included French Onion Soup, NY Strip Streaks in a Chantrelle Brandy Cream Sauce, Potatoes Au Gratin, Haricot Vert & Creme Brulee (can't you just hear and feel the cholesterol attaching to your veins & arteries?). Being my own worst critic, (I am know tranforming my persona into the Whine Defender) I thought the food was good, but certainly not as good as I wanted. The soup needed more cheese and less time under the broiler, the steaks were cooked perfectly (thanks to Mark), but were not sufficiently seasoned; the cream sauce, again, was good but not great. The potatoes and the creme brulee came out as planned and I thought were good, but the potatoes didn't set up quite as much as I wanted.

With that bit of whinning out of the way, we did have some really good wine. I had scored some 1998 Pontet-Canet (against the advise and to the confusion of my friend Adam), my last bottle of 1997 Mouton Rothschild and some 1998 Guiraud Sauternes. Mark, one of the guests, brought 2 bottles of 1993 Cheval Blanc.

As we opened the Cheval Blanc, which was not easy due to some dry cork issues, Mark made me promise that I would be honest when I wrote about the wines and not to worry about trashing a guest's wine if that's what I wanted to do. So here goes: I've never Cheval Blanc before and after watching Sideways, always wanted to... I thought that the wine was very good. I think it was on the decline (past its prime), but had really good body and depth (as compared to the Pontet-Canet which did not) and delicious flavor or soft velvety black cherries and vanilla. This is a St. Emilion wine so is Merlot based, and in classic merlot fashion, was more of a fruit-bomb than left-bank wines tend to be. To sum up, while this wine was really, really good, it definitely was not a great Cheval Blanc.

The Mouton was also really good and this bottle was the best of ones I bought. I've found that the '97 Moutons to be a little thin and without a tremendous amount of character. I like the wine and really enjoy the taste, texture and flavors, but it's not worth the $100/bottle price point. Frankly, I liked the initial taste of the Pontet-Canet, but that wine has, as many previous reviews have noted, no mid-palate. There is a good nose and flavor and an OK finish, just in the middle, when you swallow, there's an emptiness to the flavor of the wine.

We finished up with the Guiraud Sauternes, which I thought was very good. It is a reasonably priced Sauterne and is definitely drinking now. Like all good sauternes, there is that great honey taste with really nice fruit nectar flavor that really tends to linger. I really like this wine with the creme brulee because it pairs nicely (no pun, given the pear flavor in the wine) with the silkiness of the custard and the grand marnier in the recipe I used.

Bottom line, good food, great wine, great company, great time!

Las Rocas and Las Rocas Vinas Viejas (Old Vines)

I was turned on to this little gem a few years ago by a friend (Tim at Post Road Wine in Wayland, MA). The 2 best things about this wine are the 1) the taste and 2) the price. The Las Rocas sells for about $10.00 and the Old Vines (made from 100 year old vines found at the vineyards highest altitudes) for between $15-18.00 per bottle. The wine is 100% grenache and is great for beef, lamb, pizza or any kind of BBQ. Whether your drinking the highly regarded and reviewed 2001 or the 2004, you'll love the beautiful dark ruby color and spicy, bold berry taste. This wine tastes great and smells great too. When you inhale, you can distinctly smell fruit, vanilla and pepper. When I first bought this wine a few years ago (it was the better 2001 vintage), Tim kept telling me to "buy it/try it" and that "I wouldn't believe how good this wine was." I recently turned another friend onto this wine and she buys it for every party and gathering.

You can serve this wine anywhere and almost anytime. It tastes like a wine that costs more like $40/btl than the $10 I spent....and as good as the Las Rocas is, the Vinas Viejas is even better. Trust me, you won't believe how good Las Rocas is.

2001 Antinori Tignonello & 2001 Fanti Brunello

Last night we were at a great party. I brought along an 2001 Antinori Tignonello and my friend Jeff brought a 2001 Fanti Brunello. Fortunately for us, 2001 was a great year in Italy and both wines were phenomenal! The Tig is the Italian version of a fabulously big Left Bank Bourdeaux. It's a Cabernet based wine and is silky and very full bodied with soft smooth tannins, rich berry taste with tobacco and leather. Because this wine also has hints of herbs, it will pair well with basil, thyme, rosemary or parsley rich dishes.

I'm not sure whether I liked the Tig or the Fanti better. The experts suggest that the Fanti really won't be really ready for another 3 or so years and will continue to age beautifully long after that. Having said that, and keeping in mind that this was a relatively young brunello, this wine was amazing. It is a massive effort that will only get better with age. Rated #23 on this year's Wine Spectator Top Wines List, it is a chewy, rich, huge wine with lots of berry and cherry fruit taste.

Bottom line, once you start to drink these wines, you just don't want to stop.