“So sorry I’m late, Mrs. Woot.”
*shuffles papers sheepishly*
“Let’s see, I have my homework assignment somewhere…”
*drops pencils, papers, random playing cards all over the floor*
“OK, OK, here it is. Really, I’m sorry I didn’t get it done in time….maybe you could give me an extra credit sort of thing to do later?”
*slinks back to desk and slouches as low as possible, avoiding the glares from her classmates and teacher…*
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EDIT:The 2005 Twisted Oak *%#&@! was tasted. Please don't take off too many points....
Ahem. So, tonight I raced back (inasmuch as anyone can race back through rush hour traffic) home to taste my labrat bottle. Since I am late to post, I decided to do a three part analysis (you know, for extra credit and all that…). Follow along if you will.
PART ONE: How the wine does by itself (or, what to do while you wait for dinner)
I popped the cork, started some laundry, ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes, showered, and 1.5 hours later, poured myself a glass. This is my version of lazy-gal’s-decanting.
I swirled and sniffed and I got a little rubber dust, and some overripe blackberries. Nice.
On the palate I got my first EVER taste of smoked meats (in wine, that is). I hear that description often for certain red wines, but I’m happy to say that for the first time EVER in my 2-year taking-wine-seriously career, this blend has finally given it up. To my very own personal olfactory bulb. This is very exciting to a wine geek like me. Besides that, I noticed a rich midpalate, very smooth, that transitions perfectly to the finish with just a hint of spice. My only complaint at this point was that the finish was a tad too ‘hot’ (alcoholic) to me.
PART TWO: How the wine does with food (or, how to best disguise my wine addiction with an appearance of normalcy)
Having been out of town since Monday night, there wasn’t a whole lot to choose from in the dinner department. So I settled for leftovers of what appear to be a Black Bean Mango Barley dish (obviously, not something I made). The dish itself is sweet, but a tad bland. Now, I am always hesitant to pair wine and food. Always. No matter what anyone says, I usually do not enjoy wine and food together. I’d say 90% of ‘accepted wine pairings’ (like shiraz and dark chocolate, or chianti and spaghetti with tomato sauce) I don’t like. This is perhaps because I am a slight supertaster (yep, took the test and everything) or maybe I just like my wine unadulterated. Who can tell.
Anyway, I can count on both hands the number of times that I have truly felt that the food enhanced the wine and vice versa in my dining experience (30 years, for you nosy types). So imagine my surprise when I discovered that THIS wine and THIS dish, went hand and hand like PB&J. I was so excited I wolfed everything down and guzzled my first glass with naught but a few notes, which were:
This wine is GREAT with food, it brings out the sweetness of the dish with its contrasting sour and earthiness. Meanwhile, the alcoholic finish completely disappears. I can’t get enough of it!
PART THREE: How the wine does against a contender (or, how to irritate your building manager by recycling way too many glass bottles each week)
In the kitchen, I found a bottle of Il Tarocco Chianti Classico 2005 on the counter. No telling how long it’s been open – my husband is not at home right now to query. I did not buy it, nor have I ever seen it before. I’m guessing it’s about a $10 bottle, but don’t’ know for sure.
Anyway, when a wine geek like me sees two open bottles on the counter, there is only one recourse: pit them against eachother! Who cares if one is sangiovese, and one is a Spanish blend. It matters not to the nerdy girl in the first row.
What I found was that the Twisted Oak retained it’s lovely charred sausage personality, complete with bloody fruit and even some stone and dirt (which I hadn’t noticed before). The Chianti? Well, let’s just say the fruit flavors were AWOL, and it was a sour, sour, SOUR experience. I’m back on the TO and sucking it down happily.
Thanks to everyone for reading this entirely too long post. And most of all, thanks to el jefe for making such great wine! This is not some mass-marketed fruit bomb with zero personality (but big bahonkas). This is the real deal. The kind you take home to marry. This wine is in it for the long haul.
Twisted Oak Tempranillo, Roessler Blue Jay, K Vintners, Corison Kronos (x3), Twisted Oak (x2), Substance, Corison, PoiZin, Lange (x2), Three Rivers
