With the weather dipping another couple of degrees, it’s the perfect time to hold a tasting of nothing but wines of the red variety. From the full bodied and structured to the luscious and spicy, we’ve got a great lineup of wines from all over the world to pour for you this Friday. The tasting runs from 4-7 p.m. this Friday, October 12, and the cost is just $5/person or it’s free if you’re a Grape Nut. Light palate cleansers will be offered as well.
1. 2010 Bonny Doon Contra Old Vine Field Blend – From the enigmatic Randall Grahm comes this intriguing blend of ancient vine Carignan and young vine Syrah. It is dark, smoky, spicy and made in as natural a fashion as possible.
2. 2010 La Posta Bonarda “Estela Armando Vineyard” – La Posta continues to knock it out of the park with their single vineyard bottlings from various parts of Mendoza. Their Bonarda comes from a nearly 50 year old vineyard and sees some aging in new and used oak. It is rich and seamless with notes of crushed raspberry and cherry along with touches of dark chocolate and smoky oak.
3. 2010 Mitolo Shiraz “The Jester” – Founded in just 1999, Mitolo has quickly established itself as one of the top producers in Australia’s McLaren Vale region. With gobs of blueberry/blackberry fruit, vanilla and spice, this is sure to appeal to lovers of Aussie Shiraz and/or good, rich red wine.
4. 2010 Bodegas Borsao Tres Picos – From an old, low yielding vineyard in the higher elevations of Spain’s Campo de Borja zone, this is 100% Grenache. Half is done is stainless steel, the other half in French oak – the result is a very attractive wine gushing with rich red fruits along with side notes of spice, coffee and pepper.
5. 2010 BenMarco Cabernet Sauvignon – In 1999 Susana Balbo (one of Argentina’s top winemakers) crafted a line of wines to showcase the ripe fruit expression of her sustainably-farmed Mendoza vineyards. She done real good! This is classic Cabernet Sauvignon with a fine balance between ripe, sweet fruit and tannin. Enticing aromas of cassis, Asian spices, incense, rose petal, and black currant set the stage for a supple, sweetly-fruited, medium-bodied, nicely proportioned Cabernet that offers outstanding value.
6. 2009 Mendel Malbec – This is a serious Malbec not for the faint of heart. Crafted by Roberto de la Mota, another of Argentina’s superstar winemakers, with fruit from an 84 year old vineyard, this is full-bodied, dense, deep and chewy with flavors of black raspberry, plum, cola, roasted coffee and mint.