23 Sep Uncorked #18: The Red Wine Tasting
So here’s the story, a couple months ago Christi came up with the genius idea to have a wine tasting just for us sisters. Unlike me, Christi is a white wine girl, and she thought it would a great time to try a variety of reds to find her fav. Luci came down for a visit and we had the day all planned.
Christi made a homemade boursin cheese recipe that she found on Pinterest, which I think we all agreed the original is better, but for a large party it would be a great substitute.
To let you all know we are not alcoholics, we did a small pour of each of the wines. Despite the small pour, we soon found out why usually when you do a wine tasting, you should only have a few bottles…not nine.
The bottle describes the Carmenere as: “the signature grade of Chile, has rich aromas of ripe, red fruit. On the palate, lush fruit flavors and a touch of spice lead to an elegant finish. A heavenly choice every time.” What we found, is that it’s a very acid wine. We poured a glass and after one sip I decided that we probably should let it breathe for a little. After letting it breathe for about 30 minutes, the wine tasted great. It was full bodied and fruity. However, it was still a little acid so we all thought this wine was just not for us.
Then onto the next wine, the Manyana 2009 Tempranillo
This bottle is described as a “juicy classic that is saturated with wild black fruit, cherries, and a hint of savory spices: perfect with all kids of meats or veggies – or relax into Manyana with a classical regional dish of a few olives and salted almonds.” We all really liked this wine, it was light bodied, fruity, and a very pleasant drinking wine.
The next wine was the Yellowtail Shiraz
It’s described as “Flavors of mulberry, spice, smooth vanilla.” This was a medium body red, that was fairly fruity with some spices in the taste. This wine was ok, but I don’t think any of us were very impressed with it.
The next bottle was the Tamarack Cellars 2008 Firehouse Red
The bottle’s label say it’s a “blend of 37% cabernet sauvignon, 30% syrah, 16% merlot, 7% cabernet franc, 3% malbec, 3% sangiovese, 3% petit verdot and 1% carmenere. Since it’s first vintage, Firehouse Red has been consistently recognized as an outstanding red wine of depth and distinction.” Now I sampled this earlier in the day and thought it was a good example of a blend. It was very acidic compared to the other wines we had sampled so far. A good example why some people equate a more acidic wine with a higher price. This was one of those bottles, that I would enjoy the first glass, but need to switch to something different on the next. My sisters were not fans of this wine at all.
On to the next bottle, Conquista 2010 Malbec
This is described as “spiced red plum flavors combined with this silky texture.” I believe this was the first Malbec that both Christi and Luci had and they were really impressed by it. Malbecs have really become popular over the last 6 months. This was a full bodied wine with a nice peppery finish. It was enjoyed by all of us!
At this point, Christi started to ask how I knew what was light bodied and full, so we did a swirl test. We poured a little of the Tempranillo (light bodied) into one glass the the Malbec (full bodied) and Luci swirled the two glasses around to show the difference. It was fun to see her do it without spilling because if it was me, I would have spilled 🙂
“A luscious wine with alluring flavors of boysenberry and chocolate. Hints of anise and subtle tannins complement the decadent silky finish.”
“Bright, zesty and bursting with flavors of black cherry and raspberry with just the right amount of spice.”