Category Archives: Bordeaux

2006 Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion

Bordeaux blanc is typically a blend made of sauvignon blanc and semillon. If you went in blind and heard those grapes you’d expect a lighter style wine however these are full bodied whites. Pessac-Leognan is located on the left bank in the north part of Graves. This region is more well known for red (it’s home to the classified first growth Chateau Haut-Brion) however there are some good whites to be found. I think these wines are good alternatives to Chardonnay based whites with meals that want full bodied wines.

colonelgrape: 91. The nose was a bit funky: barnyard, hay, with a little citrus sneaking through. On the palate: citrus, limestone/chalk, and toasted oak. It had a little nuttiness to it too. Really liked the mouthfeel…good full body to it. An agressive white but good acidity leads to a long, smooth finish. I picked this up for $35 at Vin Bin and I think it’s fairly priced. I’d pair this with fleshy fish, pasta with cream sauces, and lighter meats like chicken, rabbit, or quail.

mobygrape: 88. Initial nose? Farty. After more nosing? Asparagus pee. After getting over it and nosing some more? Kind of woody and musty, and I’m not sure how else to describe it other than pungent. Looks like someone didn’t drink anything for 48 hours, drank a gallon of Ecto Cooler and peed, it’s a very intense yellow color. Are you thirsty yet? This is a serious white wine. It’s more like a white that doesn’t know it’s a white. It’s full bodied and does not want to be paired with some mamby pamby white fish. It’s tart, very full, and would definitely overpower a light fish or appetizer. I don’t think it’s got the cojones for red meat but it would be ready to step into the ring with a heavier fish (salmon, swordfish) or other meat (such as rabbit drowning in delicious mustard sauce). Cheers!

Fall NJ Trip

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Moby and I took a half day Friday to take a trip down to visit Aunt, Uncle, and Cousingrape last weekend. We ate great food and drank fantastic wine making a perfect weekend. We also stopped by wine library and stocked up on Champagne and Cotes du Rhone. Here’s the wine lineup along with a few blurry pictures in here and some wonderful hand modeling by Auntgrape and Mobygrape:

2007 Domaine Bruno Clain Corton-Charlemagne

NV Albert Boxler Cremant

2010 Domaine Blain Gagnard Chassange-Montrachet

1988 Chapoutier Cote Rotie

1990 Campo Delle Piane Boca

1989 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron

1990 Chateau Leoville Barton

For me the wine of the night was hands down the 1989 Pichon. With the wine market the way it is Moby and I do not have the luxury of drinking mature Bordeaux regularly but thanks to Unclegrape it’s a special treat every so often. The tannis had melted away leaving structured and delicious fruit. From nose to finish you get a complete wine experience, just outstanding. I’ve developed a taste for younger Bordeaux but honestly it’s not even close…if you have the will power age your Bordeaux. Be patient, it’s worth it. Moby really enjoyed the Cremant as well. Light, refreshing, not as big as a Champagne it’s a great aperitif. We’ll definitely be having more Cremant in the future.

You may have noticed the oddball Nebbiolo in our otherwise French theme. I found this bottle at Vin Bin recently and brought it along. We enjoyed it quite a bit and will be purchasing a few more bottles. It wasn’t a fair fight vs. the 89 Pichon however a delicious mature Nebbiolo at $65 is a steal.

Plate of the Trip:

Foie Gras from Le Rendez-Vous Bistro. Wow. Perfectly cooked, creamy, melt in your mouth liver with a balsamic reduction and carmelized apple. There’s a strong possibility this was the best plate I’ve had all year.

Purchase of the Trip:

Completely unnecessary yet completely necessary at the same time. Aunt and Unclegrape have two parrots so this was the perfect purchase. Does it work? Who cares…It’s a Corkatoo and it’s hilarious.

2009 Chateau Rahoul Bordeaux

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A nice young Bordeaux from Graves I picked up for $20. We had it with steak tips and vegetables which was a nice pairing. This is a general regional bottle since it doesn’t include a village name but these wines are generally affordable and go well with every day red meat meals. They are also fine to drink young whereas a bottle from a classified Chateau I would prefer to age at least 7-10 years.

colonelgrape: 86. A very bold Bordeaux, not quite California Cab-esque but somewhere in the middle…youth probably having something to do with it. The tannis were smooth but prominent. Felt more Cab dominant than usual. Dark berries structured with the tannins and very smokey flavor lead into a long finish. I’m happy with this bottle for the price, great weeknight wine. I’d prefer something with more age for a good steak or roast.

MobyGrape: 82. Smelled like wet metal, which was not so pleasant to me. Slightly woody and smoky tasting with some manageable initial tannins. Considering we let it decant for -5 seconds I’m not surprised, but I wasn’t upset at all. After a few sips I don’t think I would really want to savor this on its own, I was happy to have a it with a meal.

Vin Bin Hopkinton Grand Opening

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Our friends at Vin Bin opened their new store in Hopkinton last month and had the grand opening this past weekend. They had great selection of 40 wines and various cheeses from around the world to sample and of course Grapestorm was there. In true Grapestorm fashion we got the best number possible…randomly. The couple in front of us got #68 so we immediately looked at eachother, giggled like small children, and grabbed our glasses. The store was generous and the first 100 groups got a nice Riedel wine glass to taste with and keep. We weren’t the only ones who thought it was funny as every bottle of wine we claimed we got a comment. Some from people you’d expect, others completely out of left field. It’s good to see we aren’t the only wine lovers who enjoy a good immature laugh. The store was packed with over 300 people showing up so we had to do some serious crowd maneuvering but we managed to taste all 40 bottles. They were offering 20% off every bottle in the store so we picked up 12 bottles from the tasting and 2 bottles of 1995 Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape I found in back. Overall it was a great time and I highly recommend checking out the store if you’re in the area.

After 3 hours of wine tasting I thought it would be a good idea to open a bottle when we got home. We got mostly whites but we did get a few nice table reds including this 2010 Chateau Joinin Bordeaux. This is a regional wine so it’s a blend of many different Bordeaux grapes but mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc and it was very inexpensive at $10. Most young Bordeaux needs plenty of cellar time before it’s approachable but the regional wines are often ready to drink sooner and this 2010 was ready. 2010 was a historic vintage in Bordeaux so it’s no suprise even the table wines are good. Sadly after a long day of wine tasting I don’t remember much else about it other than it was delicious and a good value. So was opening it actually a good idea? Questionable but if you can find some for under $15 pick up a couple bottles to have in the cellar for a casual night.

2009 Larose de Gruaurd Saint-Julien

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This is our first venture into the great red wines of Bordeaux. There is so much information that’s needed to be even semi-educated on the region I am going to dedicate a whole post to it sometime in the near future. For now let’s talk about the basics of this bottle so you can understand where it’s from.

This is the second wine of Chateau Gruaurd-Larose in the Saint-Julien appelation which is located in the Medoc region of Bordeaux. What a mouthful right? Chateau Gruaurd-Larose is classified as a second-growth producer in the Official Classification of 1855. Being from the left bank it is Cabernet dominant blended with Merlot and other red grapes.

With all that being said the best value in Bordeaux is second label wines from classified Chateaus. Unless you’re making serious money you aren’t going to want to spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on classified wines. Bordeaux is a very complex region and I promise we’ll cover it all in an upcoming post!

We enjoyed this wine with ribeye steaks, grilled potatoes, and steamed broccoli.

colonelgrape: 87. This was a very young wine. Bordeaux is some of the finest wine in the world meant to be aged but I couldn’t wait to try this bottle. Being a second wine it was approachable earlier as was the case here. After decanting it was still tight with dark fruit flavors on the nose and on the palate they came through also with leathery earth taste. Being a Cabernet drinker I could tell I was drinking Cabernet but the blend really nullified a lot of the bite and astringency you’d expect. The tannins were still there but they acted more as a structural aide than a pillar of the wine. If I can find another bottle of this I’m definitely going to cellar it and try it again in a few years, I think it will open up nicely. Looking for a Cabernet-like wine that’s not so “cabby”? Try a Bordeaux.

MobyGrape: 83. This wine is like the Destiny’s Child to Beyonce as a solo artist. Having now drank enough straight up cab to swim in, I’m fairly confident in knowing what it can taste like. This wine (so I’m told) is predominantly a cab, but it’s cut with other grapes, and for once, I think I can actually taste the difference! It’s not big and bold in your face like a solo act (read: Beyonce, All the Single Ladies) but it’s definitely got some attitude and works well with he other group members (read: Destiny’s Child, Jumpin’, Jumpin’). It doesn’t smell overly anything, we decanted for about an hour before we drank it, and it went down relatively smooth with a little tannin action, but by no means was this an ass-grabbing cabernet. OK by itself or with a meal, actually it was quite nice if you were in the mood for something a little heavier but didn’t want to commit to something you had to eat with. Bordeaux, you’re no Aretha Franklin but you’re on your way to being a solid soul sista.