The Bar Towel

SteelbackGuy wrote:Matt.

There are actually very few red wines that benefit from aging. Much like beer. Sure, a product might mellow out, but to actually improve with age is a rare quality.

Your South African wine is certainly not a good candidate for aging. With that said, it doesn't mean you might not prefer it some age. Though a tetra is hardly the vessel to age a wine in.

South Africa has a great temperature for growing Shiraz, Cab Sauv, Pinotage, and Merlot. These varieties do quite well in hot climate and can ripen fully. I find a lot of SA wines to have quite an alcoholic kick or edge to them, and I'm ok with it!!

yeah i didnt think that the tetra was a good aging option. i dont even know when i bought that tetra, i found it in one of my wine racks and it was quite dusty.

this one imparticular did have a huge alcoholic kick to it. it was one of the biggest beverages ive ever had.

SteelbackGuy wrote:There are actually very few red wines that benefit from aging. Much like beer. Sure, a product might mellow out, but to actually improve with age is a rare quality.

What an absolute load of claptrap that is Len!!!!!! Maybe you should have said that very few cheap red wines don't benefit from aging (which seems to be what most people sup on this thread), as that tends to be the case 9/10.

But the more costly and better made wines certainly do benefit from aging, as these are either bottled 'young' with the intention of cellaring, or have been aged from 12 to 24 months in oak, other wood casks.

I would certainly say there are far more wines that benefit from aging than don't. You only have to read reviews or recommendations from the wineries to see this.

I respectfully disagree Sid.

For every 10 great wines made, taht do benfit with cellaring, there are 10,000 crappy wines made that do not benefit.

One thing that I've been learning at the Wine and Spirit Guild is just this. They program material mentions this several times.
Perhaps I mis-spoke, and should have worded my thoughts differently.

Little of the sheer volume of wine produced in the world is of a type that benefits from aging. There's a lot of ready-to-drink stuff being cranked out!

The infinite varieties of other wines that may benefit from years of aging - and to what degree - is much more to know & worth reading about & paying attention to.

Anyone can read at the store about which wines you can (or even should) age, particularly in Vintages. No pount keeping a simple Beaujolais for two years, and no point blowing 40 bucks on an great Neuf-Du-Pape for tonight's party either. Check the shelf tags, or go online.

The good news is, it's hard to go buy a bottle of wine that is so green it's undrinkable, in most people's price range, and there's always decanters if you want to smooth out a tough red.

LOREDONA SYRAH ROSÉ 2008. Vintages 120246

This wine was around $15.00, but has recently has been dropped to $8.95.

Now, I bought a bottle at $15.00. Didn't drink it, and once I saw the price drop, I grabbed a few more.
This is an absolute pleasure to drink. It is a bit muted in the nose, just showing some strawberry/raspberry and floral notes. But the flavour profile is really quite stunning. It is so fruity and supple. Loads of strawberry/raspberry with soft acidity. Like drinking very freshly pressed fruit juices. Mmmmmm.

SteelbackGuy wrote:LOREDONA SYRAH ROSÉ 2008. Vintages 120246

This wine was around $15.00, but has recently has been dropped to $8.95.

That's a friendly price, and a summery wine.

That 2008 was first released inJuly of last year. - described as "a good value" for 12.95, let alone 8.95.

Probably want to drink those fairly soon I would guess!

Belgian wrote:

SteelbackGuy wrote:LOREDONA SYRAH ROSÉ 2008. Vintages 120246

This wine was around $15.00, but has recently has been dropped to $8.95.

That's a friendly price, and a summery wine.

That 2008 was first released inJuly of last year. - described as "a good value" for 12.95, let alone 8.95.

Probably want to drink those fairly soon I would guess!

I spoke with a product contultant yesterday and he said that at his store, he still has a case and a half. I'll be grabbing a few of those.

I suspect this will be a real treat this spring.

The trick is to know a few wines (berry-like Grenache or Syrah Rosé, decent off-dry Ital or French sparkling) that you can serve to practically anybody & they will really enjoy it. Some people just don't like most wine or beer - but there's something out there they will flip over.

Berthoumieu Madiran just dropped about $3.50 to under thirteen bucks.

I have receipts for the ones I paid over 16 bucks for! To me a good Madiran or Cahors is just as fine as a Bordeaux that would cost 2-3x.

Belgian, Steelback, any suggestions for a good pizza wine? Rideau and King Edward.

Bytowner wrote:Belgian, Steelback, any suggestions for a good pizza wine? Rideau and King Edward.

You kiddin? Anything dry and red - fact, you could do well with a Barbera D'Alba, or something far more rustic from Italy (Cannoneau de Sardegna.)

A lot of even the 'cheap' italian Reds pair well with 'rustic' food like pizza (if it has a good olive-oily crust, toppings like Sopprosata or Gorgonzola.) The food 'cuts' the roughness of the wine, so don't be afraid to try some of the good General List plonk like Farnese Sangiovese (not as detailed aroma as good Barbera, but gets the job done at half the price.)

I've found some of the simpler 'real' italian pizza styles (ya know, artichokes and zucchini and herbs) really seem to come to life with wine - they are 'made for each other.'

If you're ordering Pizza Pizza (and its flavorless crust) the extreme blandness of the food might be OK with a fruitier, less dry red like a Chilean Merlot or an affordable Ontario Pinot Noir.

I liked Belgian's ideas.
There is a new Spanish wine called La Casona. It is Monastrell (mourvedre). It is about $9.00 and is very good. Would be great for pizza.
There is another Spanish Grenache for $8.95 or so, which is just fantastic for BBQ/Pizza. I forget the name....SOmething Montseran. Anyway, most stores will have it.

Thanks guys. Yeah, we're familiar with La Casona, but we've been drinking it non-stop for the past month, so wanted to hit up something different. I'll close my eyes and pick up something from the Italian section.

Bytowner wrote:Thanks guys. Yeah, we're familiar with La Casona, but we've been drinking it non-stop for the past month, so wanted to hit up something different. I'll close my eyes and pick up something from the Italian section.

If that is the case, try and find the Farnese Negromaro. You'll enjoy it.

I enjoyed the Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel that came through Vintages in February.