Big, beautiful reds worth the investment

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/03/2017 (3319 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s always great to try new-to-you, or in this case, new-to-me, wines that end up being particular treats.

I’ve confessed before that I usually find my favourites, keep buying them and don’t seek out anything else. But happily, and luckily, I often have the chance to try certain wines without committing to the cost of a bottle.

I think that’s what holds me back from purchasing wines that aren’t recommended by others I trust (and even then sometimes I still get burned because no two palates are the same), or just by going on spec — “Gee, pretty label, maybe I’ll try that!” or “Well, that’s a wine from a producer I like, perhaps I’ll give it a go.” I just don’t want to invest money in something I don’t enjoy.

Case in point: After a lengthy and enthusiastic discussion with a friend about Pinot Gris, I purchased one he suggested. Although he hadn’t tried it himself — I was the guinea pig in this situation, I guess — he’d heard from several sources it was good. So I thought, “What the heck?”

But when I sat down to write a recent column that talked about some Pinot Gris I’d sampled and liked, I thought, “Oh! I should try that one, too!” and cracked the bottle. To say the least, I was vastly disappointed. It’s not that it was awful. It simply wasn’t to my taste. It was far more citrusy than is my preference, and although it was fairly smooth, it seemed more like Sauvignon Blanc than Pinot Gris. And the bottom line was, I just didn’t like it.

But because I hate to be wasteful, I gifted the remains to my husband, who’s not nearly as picky as I am. And he didn’t mind it. At all.

Truth is, I’m usually a pretty black-and-white (perhaps I should say red and white!) kind of wine-drinker. I’m rarely non-committal when it comes to the many variations of my beverage of choice. I either like them or I don’t. Sometimes, I guess, I can be “meh” about a wine, but spending money on something that doesn’t thrill — yes, thrill — me seems like a total waste both of hard-earned dollars and my time. A lovely wine can make my day, while a lousy or so-so one can break it. Which is kind of pathetic, now that I think about it, but that’s just how large a role wine plays in my enjoyment of life.

Anyway, I had the opportunity recently to share a couple of bottles of wines I hadn’t had before, and they turned out to be splendid!

I shouldn’t be surprised I liked these wines, I guess, because there were elements of predilection toward each of them even before the corks were removed. I love the vintner of the first one, and am a huge fan of the varietal of the second.

But I was a bit trepidatious, too, because I’m not always enamoured with blends, and that’s what the first one was. I mean, most wines are blends to some degree — the amount of a certain varietal required to call something a Cabernet Sauvignon, for instance, changes from country to country, but a wine that’s labelled a Cab must contain something like 70 per cent Cabernet grapes. I understand and have no problem with that. But I do like wines that are 100 per cent of a certain grape. Those are often extra satisfying.

Anyway, I had the absolute pleasure of being a guest at Francis Ford Coppola’s Winery in California’s Sonoma Country last June, and while I’d always loved Coppola wines — his Director’s Cut Zinfandel, which we can get in Manitoba for $39.64, and the astonishing Archimedes, which can only be purchased (for $75 US) at the winery, are among my favourite wines. So I while I was a bit nervous about it, I was still more than keen to try Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Scarlet Label Diamond Red Blend. A concoction composed of 27 per cent Zinfandel, 26 per cent Syrah, 20 per cent Petite Sirah, 15 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon and 12 per cent Merlot, this was one impressive blend.

I was worried it might be sweet, and there certainly was the faintest touch of sweet vanilla oak in the mix. But the soft, silky texture and beautifully structured, subdued tannins were amazing. Spicy with notes of clove, cherry, plum, dark berries, and liquorice made this wine sing. And yes, at $28.04, it’s up there in cost. But it’s a truly lovely wine that will please almost any palate. I practically guarantee it.

Same goes for the Montes Alpha Carmenere ($22.61), a delicious Chilean product made from 90 per cent Carmenere and 10 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. With notes of green pepper — very common for this varietal, but in this wine beautifully tempered — the wine doesn’t taste “unripe” at all. Along with black pepper, black berries and plums, along with chocolate, vanilla and a faint hint of mocha, this wine is gutsy and, while great on its own, even better with lamb chops and spicy beef (think Mexican food), as well as classic Spaghetti Bolognaise. There’s also a Syrah and a Cabernet Sauvignon in the Montes Alpha line — the prices of these other two varietals are within a few cents of the Carmenere, so if you like it, the others are probably worth a try, too.