Kronick Wino

MMMMM…………Tannat

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 | Tannat, Uruguay wines, Wine Tasting Notes | No Comments

I have to take a serious time-out today and talk about the wine I drank the other night.

The name of it is ‘AMAT‘. It is a 2002 Tannat Bodegas Cerro Chapau wine from Uruguay’s Rivera region. And WOW. So smooth, so rich and delicious. It’s got this great nose of black truffles and oak. It’s been aged in 50% French and 50% American (New) oak. Then when you taste it, you get dark luscious berry fruit with some leather and spice and smooth french oakey finish. The finish also lingers for a bit which is nice. It paired very nicely with some herbed goat cheese and sauteed mushrooms, baked figs with Serrano ham and blue cheese, and also some grilled hanger steak, but especially with a roasted leg of lamb appetizer. If you find this, do yourself a favor and pick it up! It’s slightly pricey - around $24 - $30/bottle. But man, worth every penny. Savor it, don’t gulp it.

A little back story on this fine grape which I had never tried till this:

Tannat is known as the national grape of Uruguay, but originally originates from the Basque region of France. It was introduced around the 19th century to Uruguay. It’s typically quite tannic and generally used as a blending grape, working with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to soften its astringency. However, in this case, oak was used to soften the bite. The Tannat wines produced in Uruguay are characterized by more elegant and softer tannins and blackberry fruit notes, than those in France.

If you try one, let me know what you think! I will definitely be adding this to my list of wines to cellar and drink now!

Tags: 2002 Tannat, Cerro Chapau, earthy wine, red wine, Tannat, Tannat wines, Uruguay wine, Wine Tasting Notes

‘A Sense Of Place’

Monday, May 12th, 2008 | Hopkins, Tasting Room Stories, wine educator | 2 Comments

My second weekend at the winery has proved to be no less entertaining and crazy from the first. Albeit, a lot less random activity. This time I was blessed with the crowds and layers of tasters from about 2pm until almost close. I had to start tasting the wines all over again about half way through just to remember what I was talking about. Does the Chardonnay really taste that dry? Was the Cabernet Franc really spicy or more fruity? And what the heck happened to the Red Barn Red?? It made my mouth pucker so much I thought my head would just about implode! But they tell me there’s more oak on it……. sure. My palette said otherwise.The newest observation of the weekend proved to be another question. Does everyone look up a topic of the day before they come to the winery from the same place? Maybe it’s something in the wine that prompts all the tasters to ask me the same thing all day. But whatever it was, all I kept hearing all day was, “So, just how DO they get that fruity flavor into the wine?”. If you’re not listening, please come closer……ready?

It’s made from grapes! I know, it’s kind of crazy, but that CAN add to the fruit factor. and no, they didn’t pump any apple or peach or raspberry juice into the barrels before they bottled it (with exception of the peach and cider wine of course….). But this of course led me into the inevitable conversation of ‘Terroir’ with all my fellow tasting students of the day. What is it, you ask? Well let me divulge: according to any reference books, or Wikipedia for that matter, Terroir is “the assumption that the land from the which the grapes are grown imparts a unique quality that is specific to that region”. Huh?

The best way to describe it is not to talk about it, but to go outside, take a look around you, close your eyes, smell the air, the flowers, the soil, feel how the wind blows. Is it chilly? Is it humid? What kind of fruit can you go pick out in the fields? Apples? Strawberries? Raspberries? Is the soil around you rocky? Does it have minerals? Or is it just dirt? Dark or ashy? Crumbly or smooth? Did you smell honeysuckles as a child? Remember those pretty purple flowers that grow in the spring that gave off such a hypnotic scent? Can you smell the grasses growing around you? Ok, now go back inside, taste your wine and tell me what you get. If you’re tasting a locally grown vintage, you might understand. Or, maybe one day you’ll be in another area of the country, with a different environment. You’ll open up that bottle that you’re so used to drinking, but all of a sudden, you feel back at home. Like if you close your eyes, it’s all there. That so amazingly recognizable scent of your backyard. That’s terroir.

I didn’t understand any of that until I came back from California wine tasting in Napa for 3 days straight. I went to open a bottle of red Napa cabernet, and i closed my eyes, and there it was! I could smell the air, taste the ashiness of the St.Helena soil, smell the fragrant bouquets of all the flora and fauna around me those few days. And that’s when I realized for the first time how those flavors got into my glass. But that’s just my experience. The most wonderful thing about wine drinking is that the experience will always be different for each person. Appreciated or not. I hope I was able to enlighten a few this weekend on the subject without sounding like a recording of Encyclopedia Britannica.

Best moment of the day: An overly zealous woman, who loved each and every sip, couldn’t help but jump at each glass I poured her. Especially when we moved onto the Cider wine and I had just poured water in her glass to rinse. She grabbed it and notes ‘This is sooo light! The Cider is WONDERFUL!’ I smiled and said, ‘That’s actually a non-alcoholic beverage called H2O, but here’s the Cider. I think you’ll really like this one!’

On a wine side note, if you can get your hands on one, please make sure you pick up a bottle of Domaine du Viking, Vouvray 2005, Gaultier L’Homme. Runs around $18 - $20 and worth every penny. Sip it slowly. Savor the layers.

Tags: CT wineries, earthy wine, Hopkins Vineyard, senses, Terroir, wine education, wine tasting