An Evening with Bennett Sewell: Estado Natural Malbec

Winery, Location: Finca Austin & Finca La Passion, Lujan De Coyo, Uco Valley* Mendoza, Argentina

Vineyard Owner: Bennett Sewell

History: Bennett is originally from Texas and went to Argentina on a trip. He said he fell in love with everything about it, especially the way the snow blows in swirls off the mountains as soon as he arrived. He noted that you can see the snow-capped mountains from the vineyards in Mendoza, which have more of a desert climate, that only has about 7 inches of rain per year (because Argentina averages about 350 days of sunshine per year)!

*Wines from this part of Mendoza, in my experience, are a glass above the rest.

The wines:

2012 Estado Natural Malbec

Price: 16.99/bottle

Tasting Notes: Light, slightly tart, and easy to drink. Jammy fruit, and a nice mouth-feel with hints of oak.

My Verdict: Not bad at all. It's drinkable but I'm not a huge fan of tartness in wine, so I would go with one of the other two.

2009 Estado Natural Reserve
Price: 21.99/bottle

Tasting Notes: Notes of Vanilla, coffee, and mocha and dark fruits. Slight acidity and tannins with a buttery finish.

Notes: This wine doesn't need to be decanted, which is nice. It's been aged in oak barrels for 12 months.

My Verdict: Very good, but not as good as the third one (see review below).

2007 Estado Natural Gran Reserve

Price: 37.99/bottle

Tasting Notes: Deep red color, juicy, with aromas of berries (especially blackberries). Just the right amount of tannins and full bodied, yet light and buttery and a lingering finish.
My Verdict: This was my favorite by far. An exquisite and elegant Malbec.

Fun Fact: Bennett said part of what makes a wine a Gran Reserve is the variations in the contours of the ground, and the soil.

All of these wines are available at Grateful Red, and I believe through the winery's website here.

A Love Note: Bennett told a really sweet personal story in front of the group of wine tasters at Grateful Red, which was truley lovely. He met his wife when he was starting up the winery in Mendoza; she was the wine consulant who helped him get into the business. Now they have a four-year-old son. 

Cheers!

Vine Find of the Week: Priorat

I've recently had several wines from this region recommended to me, so I thought I would give it a shot. 

I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed.

La Conreria, 2009**

Varietal, Region: Garnacha, Priorat, Spain
Store, Neighborhood: Total Wine, Sterling, VA
Price: $19.99
My Tasting Notes: Intense yet well balanced, smooth, nice finish, notes of blackberry and mocha
My Verdict: This is a 90 point wine (so says Wine Advocate.) I've always been a bit skeptical of wine ratings, since taste is obviously subjective, but in this case, Wine Advocate definitely got it right. I cant wait to try other wines from this region! This wine was fantastic!

Tip- Total Wine had about 5 or 6 different bottles from the Priorat region but generally, these wines aren't easy to find...I've heard they are carried in Adams Morgan and Georgetown. I'll do some research and report back...

Weeknight Dinner Party Wines

What kinds of wines work well for a weeknight dinner party? It depends on the palates of your guests...but having a variety of varietals on hand is always smart.

Two of my very good friends Brenna and Trina are saying farewell to Arlington. We will miss them very much but wanted to have them over for dinner one last time before they left.*

*Although this was for a special occasion, it's always fun to have a dinner party...you don't even need a reason!  

A nice touch: These roses were $5 from the man selling flowers outside of the Foggy Bottom metro station.

Now, onto the wines!

The sparkling:

Vve Fourny & Fils Premier Cru Brut Rose

Varietal, Region:  Pinot Noir, Champagne, France

Store, Neighborhood: Greatful Red, Clarendon

Price: $59.99

My Tasting Notes: Very fragrant, notes of slightly tart raspberry and strawberry. Clean, crisp bubbles,  and a creamy yet light finish

My Verdict: Great rose. A bit pricey but definitely one of the best roses I've had, and a (champagne) glass above the rest.

The reds:

                                       

Prado Ray Roble, Ribera del Duero, 2010

Varietal, Region:  Tempranillo, Castilla y Leon, Spain

Store, Neighborhood: Whole Foods, Foggy Bottom, DC

Price: $11.99

My Tasting Notes: Light but well rounded. Plush and velvety texture. Notes of black cherry, a hint of tannins & spice with a nice finish

My Verdict: I'm really excited about wines from this region. For just over ten dollars this is a great deal and its something different. Enjoy! 

           Lucinda & Millie, 2012

Varietal, Region: Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendocino County, CA

Store, Neighborhood: Whole Foods, Clarendon & Foggy Bottom locations, Tivoli in Ballston

Price: 9.99

My Tasting Notes: A juicy wine with a bright palate, hints of spice and black currant

My Verdict: This is a great value buy. Not to mention the fact that it's made with organic grapes. The animals on the front are pretty cute, too. 

Just make sure to decant it, or at least open it and let it breathe for 20-30 minutes. Then drinking it will be a much more pleasant experience.

Brenna and Trina brought some great wines over as well, and I plan to talk about those, one in particular that I really liked, in a future post.

We did have one white wine but it wasn't worth writing about in my opinion, and for the most part, it went untouched. I would have stocked up on a better one but I knew ahead of time everyone preferred red so it wasn't an issue. Also, it's a good idea to have beer just in case...we had Sam Adams Porch Rocker...pretty good!

Dinner: The food was fantastic and I owe many thanks to my wonderful "chef" fiancé who whipped up a menu of mussels, shrimp, pasta, and Caprese salad.

Dessert: To top of the night, another friend stopped by after dinner with apple pie and vanilla ice cream.

All in all, great food and wine, but most importantly, great company. 

Cheers!

(I miss you Brenna and Trina!)

Wine of the month club: Month One, May

I'm a proud new member of a wine of the month club!

The club is through Grateful Red Wine shop and Screw Top Wine Bar. I recently picked up my first two wines! There are pick up parties each month but I wasn't able to attend this one.

They have several different wine club options (& a beer club). Even though I'm not a huge fan of white wines (hangover), I decided to try the club with one red and one white each month, mostly because it's about $20 cheaper per month.

Someday I might upgrade to "Club Red" but if the first month is any indication, I might stick with this one.

May Red:

Field Recordings "Fiction", Paso Robles, 2012

Varietal: 40% Zinfandel, 13% Tempranillo, 12% Petite Sirah, 11% Touriga Nacional, 10% Mourvedre, 8% Grenache, and 6% Cinsault
Price: about $20 per bottle
Available at: Grateful Red*
Tasting Notes: A nice combination of spicy, fruity and jammy. The different varietals of grapes meld together very well for a nice finish.
My Verdict: Normally I would have looked at all of the grape varietals that went into this and thought, less is more. But that's the beauty of a wine club. What a pleasant surprise...Loved it.







May White:

Head Hunter Albarino, Paso Robles, 2012

Varietal: Albarino
Price: about $20 per bottle
Available at: Grateful Red*
Tasting Notes: It tastes just like apricot.
My Verdict: I had the shock of my life when I opened the bottle and saw that the white wine on the inside was cloudy not clear!! But I have to say, don't judge a book by its cover because this one was pretty terrific (and again, I hardly ever gush about a white). This one is different than most, but very enjoyable.

*I'll do my best to post updates when I find this for sale elsewhere in Arlington

Vine Find of the Week: Ribera Del Duero ( &Iberico Ham)

Conde de Siruela Roble, 2010
Varietal, Region: 100% Tempranillo, Ribera del Duero, Spain

*Store, Neighborhood: Shoppers, Falls Church

Price: $11.99

My Tasting Notes: A light red, slightly spicey on the nose with notes of cherry. A slight mineral taste, but nice structure.
My Verdict: Great deal. For a lighter wine, it packs a nice punch. 

Interesting Note: This wine comes from Northern Spain, Castilla y Leon, on the Northern half of the Iberian Plateau. 

The area is close to Portugal which shares the Douro Valley, and also produces wines from the region that tend to be on the sweeter side (some, but not all, are Ports).

On a related note, my fiancé goes bananas for Iberico ham. Normally, I wouldn't touch ham with a 10-foot poll (although, I do love prosciutto and bacon, but no, they are not the same or they would have the same name). 

That being said, if you ever get a chance to try it, Iberico ham is fantastic (I'm pretty sure the region is also home to truffle-sniffing pigs, too)! 

While I've never seen Spain in person, one of my little sisters Colleen has been there several times (and just brought me back some amazing chocolate). 

And my cousin Matt's wife Isabelle is from Spain! When we went to NYC a few years ago to celebrate their wedding-the original one was in Spain- they had the family over to their apartment and guess what was among the foods they served? Iberico Ham! The fiancé was in heaven.

Cheers!