by JC (NC) » Thu Oct 11, 2012 11:13 pm
I stopped in at the Wine Cafe in downtown Fayetteville to pick up two bottles of a Maranges that I had sampled on Marquis de la Fayettette's birthday. (2010 Domaine Bachelet-Monnot Maranges 1er Cru La Fussiere which seems a decent Burgundy for the $35 point.) It was a beautiful day with temp. around 69-71 Fahrenheit so I sampled three wines from the dispensing machine and took my glass to a table outside. I was joined by a young Special Forces medic-in-training. He is from Oregon and has lived in Germany, Poland, Indonesia and traveled in South America so of course he was assigned Mandarin Chinese as his language of study. I'm looking for Spanish wines available locally to include in a Spanish tapas evening at my church in January or February and I liked both that I tried today. The 2009 BODEGAS JUAN GIL MONASTRELL, JUMILLA, was very fruity with red berries and cherries. it was an attractive light ruby color. I can see it being a crowd pleaser and a QPR at $15.99 a bottle.
After a half-glass pour of this I went on to a taste of 2005 ARDEVOL COMA D'EN ROMEU PRIORAT RED BLEND. This was full-bodied with 14.5% alcohol but pleasant to drink. Red-brick color with brownish or umber shadings and I thought the description on the dispenser (from a wine critic or the distributor?) was spot on. It mentioned mulberries and spices and having grippy tannins Indeed this was more grippy than the Monastrell although four years younger. It had been recently opened. Displayed a mild funk or earthiness and came on with a strong finish. The ones who prefer big, bold red wines may like this one. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Garnacha/Grenache. The Wine Cafe sells it for $23.99 a bottle.
I then went back for a taste of a sweet wine the HAUCK RIESLING SPATLESE RHEINHESSEN. i forgot to note the vintage on this. I found some of the peach and pear notes mentioned in the description. It was spritzig when poured and quite acidic even with residual sugar. I think I can do better than this one if I want to include a Riesling in a tasting event. A pleasant way to spend an hour or more on a nice afternoon. The medic said he likes how the al fresco dining in downtown Fayetteville captures a bit of a European vibe. (When I lived in Nurnberg-Furth I was in a sixth-floor apartment overlooking a large courtyard with children's playset and sandbox, outdoor dining from an Italian restaurant and a bakery and a large fountain. It was "wunderbar" in nice weather.)