Full review and rating here: http://www.wine-girl.net/2009/08/review-2003-macrostie-pinot-noir.html It was a surprising wine. Paired terribly with our pizza and was world's better (and chocolatey) on night 4. Yes, night 4! Our review: :> on our happy face scale
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http://www.wine-girl.net/2008/07/s-is-for-summer.html :-) We bought this wine in Walt Disney World. We were at the EPCOT Wine & Food Festival (a purely adult entertainment by the way) in November 2006. We had attended the Festival of the Senses, which is an amazing Disney adult party surrounded on all sides - and in the middle - by Cirque du Soleil. It was wonderful and odd in my memory. I met the winemaker for Bodega Familia Schroeder. At some point, I was assured that I couldn't possibly buy this wine in Kentucky, which explains why I paid most likely too much at the EPCOT Festival Wine Store. I bet it's cheaper than $17 in Ohio, but maybe not. It's a damn good wine.
It was a weird and wonderful night, that night at the Festival of the Senses. But I remember the winemaker telling me that when the winery was built, they unearthed the fossils of one of the largest dinosaurs on earth. Obviously, this inspired the name of their wines - Saurus. Of course, I add in a Disney element and picture a big happy dinosaur, a la Land Before Time, toting around a bottle of wine. When I heard "Sponsored by the Letter S" for this WBW outing this Saurus wine came to my mind before any other.
This wine was handpicked, and 40% of the juice spent its time in French oak for 12 mos before blending in with the rest. It paid off. The wine is smoky, without a lot of overpowering oak. That said, it's still a very new world style wine, with big fruit and big alcohol.
I have a built-in hot "high-alcohol" detector. Over 12% and I usually don't like the wines. However, most of those wines are poorly balanced. This particular wine came in at 14% and while I felt the alcohol's effect, I certainly didn't feel the wine was hot or unbalanced. The wine also brought in a large amount of plum, berry, and spice, complimented by leather.
We enjoyed this wine with a very tradition Steak dinner, seasoned simply with Salt, pepper, and garlic, as well as your traditional Steak dinner sides. The Steak brought out the fruit in the wine and the wine brought out the simple seaonsing in the Steak. It was a simple but perfect pairing.
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February 28 was Open That Bottle Night. OTBN asks that you take that special bottle of wine you've been saving for a special occasion, and just open it. No occasion is ever special enough, right?
We took advantage of OTBN to open a half-bottle of 2002 20th Anniversary Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Staglin Family Vineyards. Kevin picked up the wine as a gift for me a few years ago, from Jungle Jim's, to celebrate the anniversary of our first date. The half-bottle cost $70. Label
The color was a gorgeous garnet shade. The nose was laced with peppers and berries, plum, blueberries, and clove. Kevin called this "a really true wine" because everything in the aroma also showed up on the palate. In the mouth it was filled with all those flavors, and was rich and full - almost beefy. There was some toasted oak, but it was appropriate, accenting the wine instead of overpowering it. The tannins were there, but gentle. The entire package was well balanced and immensely enjoyable.
We probably could have let this wine alone for another 10 or so years, but it was Open That Bottle Night, and well, what the heck?
This was the kind of wine where you knew you should be savoring every sip. The worst thing about this wine is that we had to finish it at all. I was quite sad when I took my last drink, but thrilled to have tasted it. That's a good wine.
2003 MacRostie Pinot Noir Carneros
8/25/2009 - wrtgirl wrote:
Full review and rating here: http://www.wine-girl.net/2009/08/review-2003-macrostie-pinot-noir.html
It was a surprising wine. Paired terribly with our pizza and was world's better (and chocolatey) on night 4. Yes, night 4!
Our review: :> on our happy face scale
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2004 Bodega Familia Schroeder Malbec Saurus Patagonia Select
3/17/2009 - wrtgirl wrote:
http://www.wine-girl.net/2008/07/s-is-for-summer.html
:-)
We bought this wine in Walt Disney World. We were at the EPCOT Wine & Food Festival (a purely adult entertainment by the way) in November 2006. We had attended the Festival of the Senses, which is an amazing Disney adult party surrounded on all sides - and in the middle - by Cirque du Soleil. It was wonderful and odd in my memory. I met the winemaker for Bodega Familia Schroeder. At some point, I was assured that I couldn't possibly buy this wine in Kentucky, which explains why I paid most likely too much at the EPCOT Festival Wine Store. I bet it's cheaper than $17 in Ohio, but maybe not. It's a damn good wine.
It was a weird and wonderful night, that night at the Festival of the Senses. But I remember the winemaker telling me that when the winery was built, they unearthed the fossils of one of the largest dinosaurs on earth. Obviously, this inspired the name of their wines - Saurus. Of course, I add in a Disney element and picture a big happy dinosaur, a la Land Before Time, toting around a bottle of wine. When I heard "Sponsored by the Letter S" for this WBW outing this Saurus wine came to my mind before any other.
This wine was handpicked, and 40% of the juice spent its time in French oak for 12 mos before blending in with the rest. It paid off. The wine is smoky, without a lot of overpowering oak. That said, it's still a very new world style wine, with big fruit and big alcohol.
I have a built-in hot "high-alcohol" detector. Over 12% and I usually don't like the wines. However, most of those wines are poorly balanced. This particular wine came in at 14% and while I felt the alcohol's effect, I certainly didn't feel the wine was hot or unbalanced. The wine also brought in a large amount of plum, berry, and spice, complimented by leather.
We enjoyed this wine with a very tradition Steak dinner, seasoned simply with Salt, pepper, and garlic, as well as your traditional Steak dinner sides. The Steak brought out the fruit in the wine and the wine brought out the simple seaonsing in the Steak. It was a simple but perfect pairing.
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2002 Staglin Family Cabernet Sauvignon 20th Anniversary Selection
2/28/2009 - wrtgirl wrote:
February 28 was Open That Bottle Night. OTBN asks that you take that special bottle of wine you've been saving for a special occasion, and just open it. No occasion is ever special enough, right?
We took advantage of OTBN to open a half-bottle of 2002 20th Anniversary Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Staglin Family Vineyards. Kevin picked up the wine as a gift for me a few years ago, from Jungle Jim's, to celebrate the anniversary of our first date. The half-bottle cost $70.
Label
The color was a gorgeous garnet shade. The nose was laced with peppers and berries, plum, blueberries, and clove. Kevin called this "a really true wine" because everything in the aroma also showed up on the palate. In the mouth it was filled with all those flavors, and was rich and full - almost beefy. There was some toasted oak, but it was appropriate, accenting the wine instead of overpowering it. The tannins were there, but gentle. The entire package was well balanced and immensely enjoyable.
We probably could have let this wine alone for another 10 or so years, but it was Open That Bottle Night, and well, what the heck?
This was the kind of wine where you knew you should be savoring every sip. The worst thing about this wine is that we had to finish it at all. I was quite sad when I took my last drink, but thrilled to have tasted it. That's a good wine.
http://www.wine-girl.net/2009/03/otbn-staglin-family-20th-anniversary-cabernet-sauvignon.html
:-)
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