Tried this last night after the GrandKids left & I needed something:
1. Maison LaBelleVie Vin de Noix RW (Red wine aged in walnut wood; 15%; www.MaisonLaBelleVie.com) Palisades/CO NV: Very dark color w/ some bricking; rather earthy/dusty/loamy bit herbal slight walnutty/newly sawn wood rather exotic/complex nose; somewhat sweet/portish/plummy/jammy some earthy/dusty/loamy slight herbal/spicy bit walnutty/exotic/new sawn wood/smooky smooth/polished flavor w/ light/gentle tannins; long slight walnutty/new sawn wood/smokey slightly sweet some earthy/loamy/dusty/plummy/herbal finish w/ light/smooth tannins; more like a wood port than anything; quite an exotic/interesting port.
$29.00/hlf (DiV)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This is a wine from JohnBarbier, who grew up in the LoireVlly & whose family has been making wine there for some 150 yrs. Not quite sure how a Loire guy wound up in Palisades, CO.
The wine is from Merlot that's aged 4 yrs in neutral French oak. From the WebSite: "We age this wine in green English Walnuts for a short period of time". Not at all sure what the heck that means. Does it mean that it's aged in new barrels coopered from walnut? Does it mean walnut wood shavings are steeped in the wine? Does it mean that walnuts are steeped in the wine? Do they use the hulls of green walnuts to give it a walnut hit, or just the nut meats themselves?
The wine reminds me mostly of a Calif port, such as the ChristianBros or PaulMasson used to make that was aged in old oak ovals and drawn from occasionally. It did not have the strong/grapey character of a young port. There is definitely a walnut hit there, though subtle. It's not the heavy/pungent/musky character I recall from the hulls of green walnuts. It reminds me of when my Dad would saw up some walnut planks on his table saw for making furniture and the sawdust would have a distinct aromatic air. There used to be a wood mill near my home that manufactured WWII rifle stocks from Missouri walnut trees. They would occasionally burn some of the walnut scraps (well before the EPA cracked down on such doings) that gave off a distinctive aromatic air.
At any rate, this is a very interesting Port/light w/ an exotic character to it.
Tom