Try Something New: Carmenere

If you love big red wines but you are tired of spending over $25 for a decent bottle, look no more! The managers at Private Stock Cigar and Wine are always on the look out for the next big wine. Two years ago it was California and Oregon Pinot Noir ($15-$25). Last year it was Argentine Malbec and Cabernet ($8-$20). This year we have found some Chilean Carmenere ($10-$15) that will rock your socks off.

Carmenere was imported to South America in the 1850s along with other Bordeaux varieties, prior to the Eauropean outbreak of Phylloxera. The largest established vineyards of this variety are in Chilie, although many of these were misidentified as Merlot because the two vines share many similarities. French ampelographer Jean Michel Bourisiquot discovered the truth in 1994.

Now that the newly rediscovered grape is being properly harvested, which is to say, several weeks later than the Merlot grapes, the range of its flavor and versatility is suddenly being appreciated. Once only blended with Cabernet and Merlot, it’s now being bottled alone, with a dark red color and an amazing breadth and range of flavors, from green pepper to blackberry to chocolate, and textures that are entirely distinctive from one vineyard to the next.

Some Chilean Carmenere Wines to try: *PS = Private Stock
Casas del Toqui Carmenere Reserva ($10.99 PS). I am a Wine Snob, yes that right I consider myself a Wine Snob and if you are reading this Blog then you probably are a Wine Snob also. Be proud of your Snobbishness. I really enjoy expensive wines but I enjoy expensive-tasting wines more. Getting back to the Toqui, when we opened this wine and poured it into the glass all of our jaws hit the floor. The dark inky red color of this wine made most of your California Merlots look like water. Here are my tasting notes on this diamond in the rough:

Visual: Inky Brick Red, Heavy Legs
Nose: Big Blackberries, Cherries, Smokey, little Dark Chocolate on the end
Palate: Blackberries, Cherries, slight Black Pepper, Chocolate, with lingering Berries and Chocolate on the 15-20 second long finish

Terra Andina Carmenere Reserve ($12.99 PS)
"Color: Dark and deep red.
Complex with grilled red pepper, raspberry and blackberry fruit,
dried plums mingled with tobacco and mocha. Velvety texture with
soft and voluptuous tannins in a nicely integrated finish."

Wine, Chops, and Chocolate

Megan and I had our Valentine's Day dinner on the 15th due to our work schedules being crazy, but we did not skip out on a fabulous meal.

Dinner: Stuffed Veal Chops, Smashed Marscarpone Parsnips, Sauteed Portabella Mushrooms with Spinach, Hot Fudge Chocolate Pudding

I got the Veal Chops at Whole Foods and got the butcher to French the ends so they look like the ones you get in the restaurant. The stuffing consisted of bread crumbs, aged provolone, roasted red peppers, prosciutto and onion. Pan-seared for 2 mins on each side and finished them in the oven for 10 mins.
Parsnips look like albino carrots, but have a nice spicy, sweet flavor. Boiled those bad boys, drained then and caramelized some onions in sugar then added the Marscarpone cheese and took the boat motor to them.
Sauteed Spinach is so easy. 2mins and you have a side for dinner. Sauteed the mushrooms in olive oil and added spinach and done.

Wine: For Christmas I got Megan a bottle of white wine called "The Violinist" by Molly Dooker ($25 92pts RP) and she punched me in the FACE because it didn't say "The Violist". My fiancee plays the Viola and thinks they are better than Violins. Needless to say the wine was fabulous.
Grape Varietal: Verdelho (White wine usually grown in Spain, Portugal and Australia)
Vineyard: Molly Dooker, South Australia
Visual: Straw Yellow to Golden Yellow. Heavy Legs
Nose: Pineapple, Honey, Melon, Mango or Papayas (one or the other, couldn't really tell)
Palate: Pineapple, Tropical Fruits, Honey, Creamy (coated your mouth = long finish)

This white wine had a 14% alcohol which is really high for a white wine, usually in the 10-12% for your heavier whites like Chardonnay. What the alcohol content tells you is lower the percentage of alcohol the sweeter the wine will be and the higher the alcohol content the drier the wine is going to taste. (Riesling 8-10%ALC = sweet, Chardonnay 11-13%ALC = Dry or Less Sweet) Heavier white wines go well with heavy white meats like veal chops.

The fruit filled creaminess of this wine went extremely well with the marbleized fat of the Veal Chop. A perfect pair like Megan and Jon!! HaHaHa

The Prisoner 2007 & Rust en Vrede 2000 Estate Red

I brought these two bottles of wine to dinner the other night. We had grilled marinated steak with steamed asparagus and pureed cauliflower (looked like mashed potatoes but tasted sweet and light).

The R&V Estate Red 2000 (Stellenbosch, South Africa)($35) was rated 92pts Wine Spectator (WS) and was in This bombshell of a wine is the way all South African wines should be made. 58% Cabernet Sauv, 29% Shiraz, 13% Merlot

Visual: Dark Brick Red, Heavy Legs
Nose: Dark Fruits, Blackberries, Plum, Smoky, Currants
Palate: Blackberry, Black Pepper, Cherry, Tannins that ROCK your mouth and get you ready for that next bite or sip.

Very complex wine. You don't find wines for this price with the Tannin structure and Fruit flavors that this South African wine has for under $100. This Blend should be considered the Bordeaux blend of South Africa.




The Prisoner 2007 by Orin Swift ($35) from California is one of my favorite wines of the last few years. Every year the blend is different with there always being at least 50% Zinfandel. This year had Cabernet, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Charbono, and Gernache. The 2005 Prisoner was the #17 Wine in the World (WS) and the Prisoner has always scored in the lower 90's the past few years.

Visual: Deep Purple, Heavy Legs
Nose: Sweet Red Berries (Zin), Blackberries (Syrah), Licorice (Petite Sirah)
Palate: Blackberries and Black Cherries, Mocha, Toffee, Licorice. Coats you mouth(Zin) with very small tannins

If I would have put The Prisoner up against any other wine that evening The Prisoner would have ran away with the blue ribbon but the R&V is a treasure if you can find it. The Prisoner you can get around VA for about $35 but hurry up b/c Orin Swift only makes so much then you have to wait for next years.

French Wines?!?!

Do you have the feeling that the French hate us Americans when you open that $10-$25 bottle of Cotes de Rhone or Bordeaux and it taste like a "Barnyard" and "moldy cherries"???

I just have a hard time paying $50+ on a bottle of wine that might be good or might not be good.What you have to do is to find some Gems in the Rough!!!

I have found that for under $30 you can enjoy a $50 bottle of Chateauneuf de Pape. It just goes by the name of GIGONDAS. Located only miles from the famed Chateauneuf de Pape and by using the same grapes (Grenache, Mourvedre, and Syrah) can produce ready to drink wines for a fraction of the price. Private Stock has a great GIGONDAS for $19.99