New feature alert! Wine Wednesdays is a new bi-weekly column where we’ll discuss wines we’ve recently enjoyed, or not enjoyed, as the case may be. Because we are not wine experts, these “reviews” will be written in the typical B.S. style. We don’t take ourselves, or our wine, too seriously but hope you’ll enjoy our perspectives and maybe find a new bottle of wine to enjoy. We‘ll probably play with the format a bit as time goes on, so feel free to make suggestions if you have them.
LC Villa Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2015
This lovely and affordable LC Villa Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is my current go-to for an easy, every day red. It’s highly quaffable, with a nice floral nose and lively cherry notes on the finish. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a star for its affordability, but I never feel like I’m slumming it when I open a bottle of this. We’ve enjoyed it mostly on its own, with friends, but also with lighter pasta dishes and chicken.
B.S. Bottom Line: Find this and buy it (retails at around $10)! Perfect red table wine to have on hand for any occasion.
Les Quatre Tours Classique (rosé) 2016
I drink rosé year-round, but it’s even more fun once the temperature heats up. This one is nice and complex with a lot of grapefruit on the finish. While rosé is usually my favorite wine to drink on its own, this wine is much better paired with food to balance out the acidity. We’ve really enjoyed this with loaded salads on busy week nights or with a snack of cheese and charcuterie.
B.S. Bottom Line: While we enjoyed this, I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy it. However, a bottle with a grilled fish dinner and a citrus salad would be a great pairing.
Aranjeuz Tannat (Vintage Unknown)
Tom and I have a fascination with Tannat, a lesser-known French grape commonly used in blending. Tannat grows very well in parts of South America, specifically Uruguay. We drank many Uruguayan Tannats while living in Brazil, and often seek them out at local wine shops, but I’d never tried one from Bolivia until I spotted this one at Hank’s Cocktail Bar. Tannat can be harsh if not blended due to its highly tannic nature, but if done well and aged appropriately you can find extremely supple and exciting versions. This wine surprised me in that it was not nearly as smoky or leathery as I’ve come to expect from Tannat. Instead, it was rather fruit-forward and almost jammy in flavor while still maintaining the full-bodied texture typical of Tannat.
B.S. Bottom Line: While a bit pricy at $13 a glass, I would definitely drink this again. I’ll be searching for more Bolivian Tannats from now on!
Chateau Paradis La Grande Terre 2016
Another rosé from Provence. I guess I have a type. I loved the look of this bottle, which is not something I usually note. Pretty things win me over, I suppose. We drank this on a dreary, rainy Saturday in honor of my new motto: “Drink for the weather you want, not the weather you have.” This was a perfectly lovely, classic rosé with a nice honeydew finish.
B.S. Bottom Line: The pretty bottle would make this a great hostess gift for a summer barbecue. The wine itself wasn’t overly memorable, but I would drink it again. We got a discounted price at WTSO, but this wine typically retails for around $15.
That’s all for Wine Wednesday round two! We’ll talk more wine in two weeks. Cheers!
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