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Rutherford Ranch 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon $20-ish Wine label said: At Rutherford Ranch we work hard and we work smart to bring you the best values in Napa Valley wine. We strive to create wines with fresh aromas, rich flavors and a smooth balanced finish. Each wine expresses the honest flavor of grapes grown in the Napa Valley. WebWino & [...]
Quick site update: I'm trying yet another advertising system, though at least this time I get to hand-pick the items, customize everything, and it's all handled seamlessly through Amazon.com. Click on the link at the left to check out my Amazon Store. Everything on that store is something I've either read, used, or consumed. When Amazon begins selling wine, I plan to include links for those bottles that I review. Obviously I want you to support your local wine shops and bookstores first, but half of the e-mails I get are people from all over the country asking me where to get a certain wine, book, or cooking utensil that I've mentioned, and if I can make a little scratch from the links, then life is good.
Monday night I attended a BYOB wine and cheese function at the Hunt Phelan Inn hosted by Slow Food Memphis. I was invited by my friends in the Squirrel Family. I didn't know until the last minute that it was Papa Squirrel's birthday, and the man actually gave me a gift: an autographed copy of Imbibe!, a history of the golden years of cocktails. I'll have more details in a future post, and look forward to making a huge punch that will serve two dozen people.
I felt the gathering of folks who were committed to preserving dying culinary traditions would be interested in trying a wine made from dandelion blossoms harvested by Amish children. I picked up the bottle during my trip to the Ohio Amish country this summer, but my desire to try it had been simmering since I read Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine at the age of 12. It's a beautifully written book that captures the pure experience of summer in its pages. And the wine also accomplishes that feat: while it's sweeter than I like, and certainly not as subtle as a fine grape-based wine, the aroma of dandelions will take you back to your childhood. When you're a kid, you're not allowed to touch pretty flowers like roses or tulips, but nobody stops you if you pick all the dandelions out of the yard. Maybe it has to do with the innocence of youth in distinguishing a weed from a prizeworthy iris, or maybe kids are just lower to the ground and better able to appreciate such things.
These were three of my favorites from the tasting, a Hawaiian pineapple wine (drier than you'd think and with a glorious nose), a big jammy Zinfandel, and a Super-Tuscan that had aged well and was a refined example of its type.
Additionally, cheeses from Mississippi State University were provided. I had the Cheddar, the Edam, and the Vallagret. All were savory and delicious, and the cheeses are available for order online or at the shop in Starkville, MS.
Future Slow Food events are planned locally--check the schedule for more details. If you're interested in eating local products, supporting local farmers, and saving heritage cuisine, look for a Slow Food group in your area.
Celebrate Wine is pleased to be a part of a new wine-writing project called "Drink Local Wine." The site brings together wine journalists, sommeliers, bloggers, and other wine enthusiasts from 16 "non-west coast" states and Canada. The goal is to enforce the reality that North American wine is not just about California, Oregon, and Washington anymore.
At "Drink Local Wine," you'll find information about wines from Illinois, Maryland, Georgia, and Wisconsin...and, of course, my home state, Ohio. Be sure to take a look.
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An amazing dinner at Tetsuya’s last weekend to celebrate a friend’s birthday, I’ll let the tasting notes and the pictures of the wine then food tell the story.
1981 Krug This is a wine that I have always wanted to try (being my birth year) and I was very lucky to get the chance on this night. Golden coloured, with a lazy, meandering bead. Powerful ginger, spice, earth, toffee, creme brulee and cedar aromas on the nose. Incredibly deep flavour and complexity, with fresh acidity sweeping over the palate into a long and memorable finish. Kept improving the longer I left it. 97/100
1982 Krug A year and a half ago I had this wine from the same source and it looked a touch awkward (while still being excellent), but tonight it was much improved. Light gold colour with straw highlights, an insanely fine bead - probably the finest I’ve ever seen. Aromas of almond, coffee, black truffles, vanilla and ginger came to the fore as the wine warmed up in the glass. The palate is vibrant, with great acidity laid over complex flavours. Still developing, another 5 years and I think it will be close to maturity. 95/100
1990 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Hengst Gewürztraminer Vendange Tardive Golden coloured, this wine possessed an ever shifting, evolving nose of spices, honey, lychee, pineapple and rose petals. The palate possesses an astonishing balance between weight and refreshment. Rich, complex, deep and softly sweet, but with superb acidity, focus and purity of fruit. None of the oily or warm alcohol characters I often get from this grape and region. Close to the best Alsatian wine I’ve ever had. 96/100
1965 Lindemans Bin 3110 Hunter River “Burgundy” (classic release) This is one of the legends of Hunter Valley and Australian wine. Still deeply purple coloured, fading slightly to red at the rim. The nose is intoxicating and layered with notes of earth, tobacco, liquorice, leather, blackberries and five spice. The palate is so composed and well balanced. Harmony reigns among the various elements right up to the long finish. Very different in style to some other great old Australian wines I’ve tried, but superb in its own right and very representative of the Hunter Valley. 97/100
1953 Domaine J. Faiveley Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Saint-Georges Very lightly coloured. The nose on this wine was one of the most unique I have ever seen, along with cherry, earth and spices there was a beguiling character that I followed for some time, in the end only being able to describe it as akin to tropical fruit! The palate has superb definition and the structure that has allowed it to live to this age is still clearly evident. If there is one shortcoming, it is that the fruit is a touch thin, but otherwise the balance is very good - it seems that those famous Faiveley tannins do eventually integrate (it just takes 55 years! ). 94/100
1990 Domaine Leroy Clos de Vougeot This wine is a strong argument in favour of the excellent reputation of this fine estate. A bold, brooding nose of cherry, strawberry, liquorice, black tea, game and forest floor. There is a richness to the palate, but it is finely textured and exists alongside the structural elegance of the wine rather than pushing the palate around and dominating. Drank well tonight, but will continue to improve over the next 10 years. 95/100
1966 Château Palmer (Margaux) Youthful in colour. A nose that has both primary and secondary characters wound together with raspberry, cedar, tobacco, cinnamon, violets and graphite. The palate is velvet smooth, this is an absolute pleasure to drink. The elements of the palate are resolved in full and work together in harmony. Classic top-shelf Bordeaux. 96/100
1975 Château Lafleur (Pomerol) Corked A few were brave enough to taste this and proclaimed that underneath the taint it was exceptional, but I was not willing to try. NR/100
1990 Gaja Barbaresco Sori Tilden (Piedmont) Deeply coloured. One of the most complex, haunting and evocative noses I have ever had the privilege to experience - there were aromas of blackberry, rose petals, anise, pine, smoke, plum and layers more - with every sniff there was something new uncovered. There is a wonderful intensity to the palate, it is as though all the elements have been magnified but somehow remain in balance with a wave of pure fruit, striking acidity and the finest of tannin. On a night of legendary wines, this wine somehow rose above and was my favourite wine of the evening. I don’t give out 100 point scores often (4 wines so far) … and I’m not going to for this, but I really feel like I could, it is so very tempting. 99/100
1982 Penfolds Grange A nose of blackberry, cedar, liquorice, vanilla, red and black currant. Youthful and very fresh with bold and bursting with flavour, but maintains its balance across the long length of the palate. Drinking beautifully well now. Consistent with the previous bottle I tasted a year prior, one of my favourite Granges. 95/100
1990 Lindemans Sesquicentenary Release Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon (magnum) 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Shiraz. An aroma of tomato leaf dominates the nose, behind it are some notes of raspberry, blackberry and a touch of briar. The texture of the palate is good with elegant primary fruit characters and good balance. Drinking well now but will develop and improve over the next 10 years. Was not shamed among some of the great wines from around the world. 91/100
1928 Marc Brédif Vouvray A dazzling light straw-golden in colour. The aromas were surprisingly fresh - lots of pear, apple, honey, blueberry, ginger, oats and cloves. Amazing acidity and depth still present on the palate. It actually got better after an hour in the glass, taking on extra weight of flavour. This wasn’t showing any signs of falling apart, maybe good bottles will live forever! 94/100
1981 Jakob Gerhardt Niersteiner Frauenkirchner Bouvier and Traminer TBA (Austria) Deeply coloured, almost like a tokay, but with strands of gold. Deep scents of apricot, marmalade, honey and apples. Great depth on the palate, with strong sweetness and a viscous mouth-feel balanced by very good acidity. Great persistence. Drink now. 93/100
1968 d’Oliveira Reserva Boal Madeira (Portugal) Nutty, burnt toast, caramel, banana and a very familiar medicinal aroma from my childhood (possibly amoxicillin). There is a bitterness to the palate and the alcohol stands out. It is very long and intense, but I couldn’t really get into this. 86/100
Chestnut Mushroom Soup with Truffle Salt
Italian White Roll and Truffle Butter
Smoked Ocean Trout and Avruga Caviar with Scallop Mousse and Quail Egg
Leek and Crab Custard
Grilled Scampi Wrapped in Pancetta
Scampi in Sea Water and Lemon Scented Olive Oil
Marinated Scampi with White Miso and Passionfruit
Confit of Petuna Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Konbu, Apple, Fennel and Witlof
Antarctic Black Cod with Globe Artichoke and Yuzu Vinaigrette
Roasted Breast of Quail with Soft Polenta and Shiitake Mushrooms
Slow Roasted De-Boned Rack of Lamb with Blue Cheese and White Miso
Grass Fed Angus Beef Fillet with Blewitt and Chestnut Mushrooms
Cheese
Apple Sorbet with Apple Jelly
Mont Blanc
Apple Tarte Tartin with Calvados Cream Ice Cream
Chocolate Terrine with Mascarpone and Cognac Anglaise
Copia opened in the midst of an economic downturn during the dot-com meltdown and just after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. New director seeks creative route to solvency at Napa center
Now, seven years later, the institution seems to remain jinxed, and after many stabs at success, it is considering steps as drastic as filing for bankruptcy to escape its crushing debt.
How many times have you bought a wine based on a promotional price? Or bought multiple wines you didn’t really want because of a three for two type offer? We may be all falling for “artificial promotions” that are anything but a good deal.
There are some good quotes in the article from wine industry insiders confirming that what have long been speculated to be dubious “offers” are exactly that and give no real value to the wine drinker at all.
I am on my way to visit the vineyards of Thailand. I have already learned about some of the many challenges they face, but now I will learn how they are overcoming them.
Growing grapes in the tropics takes a different approach than in the temperate climes. Vines do not get a chance to achieve dormancy, they grow vigorously all year round. This leads to the "Two Seasons, one Crop" approach, which means that there is only one harvest, even though there could conceivably be two. This increases the quality of the grapes, since the vine does not have to produce fruit twice.
Then there is the rain. This is a monsoon climate, and when it rains, it pours, for months. Wet leaves rot and this would not at all be a suitable time for producing fruit beneath a leafy canopy. And so, harvest takes place in the winter. We are not below the Equator, so harvesting in February and March means growing during the dark months. This has a direct effect on the amount of photosynthesis the vines can achieve.
High water tables in at least one of the vineyards we have visited so far, necessitate rather drastic soil management. A moisture barrier has to be placed 15 feet down, and then stones, in this case slate, is used to fill in the hole, greatly increasing the drainage potential of the vineyards. This keeps the water from rising too far, while allowing surface rains and irrigation to trickle down, nourishing the roots.
Heat is also a major concern, not only in the vineyard, but in the winery. I have tried some wine that tastes as if it may have been made in conditions that were inappropriately hot, but herein lies the rub. Was the wine damaged during production, or transportation and storage?
No matter how careful the wine producers are, the transportation and storage conditions, or more properly, the lack of them, spells disaster for much of the wine. Restaurants and stores often have no refrigeration for the wines, and even if they did, the truck the wine was delivered in may well not.
The heat is also problematic for making wines which contain residual sugar. Those I have visited with blame the heat for restarting fermentation in the bottle, or in many cases the "bag in a box" bladder. I personally think that better sterile filtering practices could make such wines possible, but I will learn more as I visit more wineries in the next few days.
Why the emphasis on wines with RS? The food. Spicy chiles are not easy to pair with wine, and while many producers insist their dry reds go well with the foods, I can't help but point out that I prefer slightly sweet whites with spicy food.
With many thanks to the Thai Wine Association who have invited me to tour their member wineries, I am off to explore and learn about the Thai wine industry. A full report will be coming to a blog near you next week.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Fat Bastard wines are doing their part to cure this disease by donating 25 cents for every bottle sold in restaurants and retail stores, up to $75,000. This is the sixth year the company has run this program and to date, they have donated more than $250,000 to breast cancer research.
During October, Fat Bastard wines will be easy to spot on the shelf. They'll have a pink ribbon necker with an attached pin for consumers to wear. Fat Bastard's wine collection includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Rose, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Visit BusinessWeek.com for an interesting article on wine web sites, including Bottletalk. There is also a slideshow walking you through seven different wine web sites, explaining how they work and who is behind them.
Leelanau Cellars markets this unique spiced wine as Witches’ Brew around Halloween, but let me assure you that it is a great wine to have on hand throughout the winter. This wine has two labels, the Halloween one (Witches Brew) and the label for the rest of the year, simply named Leelanau Cellars Spiced Wine.
If you’re looking for something fun and unique to bring to a holiday party this year, this is your wine! This wine is best served heated! Simmer in a pot over low heat until it is warm (the temperature of a witches’ tongue, if you’re celebrating Halloween). This spiced wine should not be served with dinner, but rather as dessert, with some good, dark chocolate. I suppose it could also be good before dinner, while folks are still arriving to the party. It would make a great ice-breaker!
Witches Brew is obviously a sweet wine, with aromas of cinnamon and cloves. It has very different characteristics when heated vs. room temperature. Try both!
Rating: 9/10 — Truly unique! Price: $5.99 Where can I get it? Many places in Michigan carry this wine, especially around the holidays. I found it at Meijer. You could always visit the Leelanau Cellars north of Traverse City to stock up!
The much-promised, overly hyped Riesling Review has now arrived (brought to you by Mylanta)
Jill, Yulia, P-Cat, and myself (Jay) converged at Boozer Headquarters (my place) last Wednesday for the Riesling blind tasting. P-Cat's writing a column for a local newspaper and needed to taste through a bunch so we decided to make it A Thing. We each got a bottle from a different geographic locale, figuring the areas that needed representation were Germany, Alsace, Austria, New York, and Australia (don't blame me for the last one, ok?)
AND, since we live the malt liquor lifestyle, we tasted them blind, each bottle wrapped lovingly in two layers of plastic bags. Ghetto super star, that is what we are.
Here are my rather lame notes:
Wine #1: Apricot, honeysuckle, rose petals on the nose; palate is lime, tangerine - stones, touch of cream, but thin.
Wine #2: SULPHER! Yikes, burned my nose hairs. V pale in glass. Diesel, swampy nose. Palate of bitter green orange, lemon zest, pink grapefruit. Long finish due to acidity.
Wine #3: Light, aromatic greens - fresh, sweet grass, white flowers, honeydew. Melon-apricot palate with stone minerality and balanced acidity. Yum.
Wine #5: Swamp water. Grape-lemon pucker candy. Sour Patch kids. Yuck. We no like.
Results:
1: Paul Blanck 05 from Alsace (score 1 for me!)
2: Grosset 05 from Australia (upset of the CENTURY, folks!)
3: Domaine Wachau 06 from Austria (amazing value - our favorite, hands down, at only $12.99)
4: Fritz Haag 05 Kabinett from Germany (which we all guessed because of the residual - oops, sorry, forgot it was supposed to be a dry Riesling tasting..)
5: Red Newt Cellars 06 Reserve from NY State (surprising only in that is sucked so badly for the money - tasting like bad NYState wine, so I guessed this one immedately...)
It was interesting too in that every wine except the Red Newt was screw cap. Go figure.
Still not a huge fan of Riesling, especially since I tasted all these the night before some serious food poisoning that had me leaving pieces of myself roadside throughout the state for the next two days and I can't help but link the two incedents.
There are a pair of excellent reviews for Ria over at Abstract Gourmet (1, 2). I've been far slower in visiting the deservedly popular and commendable Malaysian restaurant, largely because of the house policy of not allowing reservations. With a young family, scheduling and certainty when it comes to feeding times is very important. . . The solution of course is to visit without children (which most of the fashionable clientele do), or as close to the 5:30pm opening time as possible (arriving after 7pm will mean time waiting on the pavement).
The food is satisfyingly good and true. The menu is short, there were no noodle dishes for instance, but each and every dish I tasted was lovingly prepared and complete. Some highlights included the multi-textured egg plant salad (which had at least 15 ingredients that I could identify) and the indulgent caramelised duck (pictured above). The food, being Nonya inspired, is strongly spiced and flavoured, making wine matching challenging. It was a challenge I avoided, the excellent food and curries are much better suited to beer and in the end I opted for pint of Porters. For those interested in wine, it is BYO (bring riesling, rosé or a cheap GSM blend), or there is a short list (9 whites and 9 reds, and all seemingly from the Constellation stable of brands - Amberley, Goundry, Hougton, Tintara, Yarra Burn, Kim Crawford etc) which could do with more diversity and thought.
And apparently, Yulia is the Upset Queen. She's adept at bringing $7 bottles that end up winning blind tastings. Either that or we all have cheap tastes... not quite sure.
So last night was the Mourvedre/Monastrell showdown. And honestly, it was pretty disappointing. We blind tasted 5 wines and none of them were particularly stellar. As per my normal accuracy, I guessed 3 out of 5. I knew we had 2 cheap Spanish, 1 pricier Spanish, Cline's Ancient Vines, and Thomas Coyne. I did not know the vintage of any of them.
Wine #1: Blackberry/blueberry nose, with a touch of herbs. A bit of funk wafting through. Tight tannins. Thin fruit, but very ripe. Smoke on the finish. I guessed it was a cheap Spanish from 05. I gave it 2.5 out of 4 stars.
Wine #2: Smells exactly like sweet boysenberry pancake syrup from IHOP. Blast of fruit on the opening palate and then... nothing. Kind of gross, really. I guessed another cheap Spanish from 05. I gave it 1 star.
Wine #3: Much lighter in color (the previous two were densely purple-red). White chocolate and sweet cinnamon on the nose with blackberry/raspberry fruit. Same fruit on palate with spicy-herbal finish (sage, thyme, cinnamon). Lingering cocoa. I guessed a CA from 05, and I figured it was Cline. I gave it 2.75 stars.
Wine #4: Ripe blackberry, some astrigency on the nose - kinda like band-aids. Also lighter in color than the first two, more red than purply. Cassis fruit, smoke and lots of herbs. Lingering tea. I guessed a CA from 03 or 04 based on color and herbality. I guessed it as Thomas Coyne and gave it 3.25 stars.
Wine #5: Smelled just like... dish soap? Seriously. Or cheap rose perfume. Sweet raspberry also present. On the palate, pretty tasty mulberry fruit with mint and thyme. I guessed it as the pricier Spanish and placed it as an 05. I gave it 3 stars.
So, it turned out that:
#1- Cambra's 03 Uno! Shit, we all got that one wrong. And quite frankly, it is NOT worth the price.
#2- Chonchelo 06 - Cheap Spanish, indeed. We just poured this straight down the sink.
#3- Cline 05 Ancient Vines Mourvedre - Got it right, but it's not as good as I recall. Much lighter and much leaner on herbs.
#4- Thomas Coyne 04 Mourvedre - Pretty good stuff. I'd feel ok about recommending this.
#5- Finca Luzon Verde 06 Monastrell- And with that, Yulia's cheap Spanish trumps us all. This is a great bargain.
I’ve been involved with Twitter Taste Live since the second tasting and will be participating again next time when the theme is “Bloggers Take Over.” In past tastings wineries have presented a selection of wines and wine lovers from around the world then posted their thoughts on Twitter while tasting the same wines simultaneously. But the next time out each wine blogger will be able to pick their wine(s) and give you the chance to pick them up and taste along with us on November 15th.
I have selected Lot 92 2004 Margaret River Chardonnay and Lot 36 2005 Rutherford Cabernet for the tasting.
The Chardonnay is available for just $14 at the Cameron Hughes online store but Lot 36 is only available in Costco or Sam’s Club stores (I paid $12.88 today for Lot 36 at Sam’s).
So pick up one or both of these wines, friend me up on Twitter and taste along with me on November 15th. I’ll be posting a follow-up with the approximate time of the tasting next week and, of course, tweet about this too. I hope you will join me or at least follow along on Twitter Search using the hash tag #ttl.
In 1980, Barbara and Jim Richards were living in Midland, Texas, and began thinking about a second home. They had an interest in wine and started looking for some property in the Napa Valley to build a home and plant a small vineyard. They realized their dream in 1983 when they found a property located five miles west of St. Helena and over 2,000 feet above the Valley floor near the top of Spring Mountain. Vineyard exposure is generally east with many variations, and the soils are derived from the Sonoma volcanics and from Franciscan sandstone. Total acreage is 20 acres with 15 acres planted.
In 1985, after clearing, ripping, and terracing about ten acres, they planted 3,555 bench graft Merlot vines, and 945 Cabernet Sauvignon vines. By 1987, the Richards? recognized their previous absentee landlord role was insufficient to monitor the vines. So, Barbara came to manage things from January through harvest, while Jim would come to help when he could get away from his business as a petroleum geologist. Their first small harvest was sold to Conn Creek Winery. In 1988, they planted another 2,300 Merlot vines in their last five acres of vineyard.
The early ?90s were momentous for the Richards?. By 1993, Barb and Jim had moved into their new home in the vineyard, and Pride Mountain Winery released a 1991 Merlot, made from their grapes blended with Pride?s Cabernet Sauvignon fruit. The Richards? agreed to sell their grapes to the Prides beginning in 1994 and their wine maker, Bob Foley, agreed to make wine from part of the grapes into Paloma Merlot for the Richards? new label, debuting their Merlot-based blend in 1996. Also, Barb and Jim decided to plant a block of Syrah to see how it would do, and by 1996, they started making the wine commercially as well. Unfortunately, they?ve since pulled up the small Syrah vineyard, and replanted with Cabernet Sauvignon.
In 2000, the Richard?s finally decided to construct their own winery on the property. A few years later, their son Sheldon joined them in the business, and to this date the Richards? Paloma Merlot still stands as one of the enduring benchmarks of the variety in California, and indeed the world.
Join us as we talk with Barbara Richards about Paloma ? their early years, and what it was like to basically become pioneers on Spring Mountain, and well as Merlot?s place in Napa Valley.
I don't heart gimmicks (and neither does the Chef), which is why we let the Il Cuore 2000 Rosso Classico (about $11) sit in our cellar for the last year without a second thought.
You see, there's a big heart on the label and a quote to go with it: "A heart can only be held by a heart the fairest setting of the loveliest jewel." Yeck.
The bottle was a present from a friend about the time of our wedding and it came with a disclaimer: "It was a cheapie; I got it for the heart." In other words, appreciate it for the sentiment, not the quality. And we intended to.
In fact, I'm not sure we ever planned to open it, but I'm glad we did. The blend of carignane, zinfandel, grenache, sangiovese and charbono from Mendocino County has an Old World sensibility, plum and cherry fruit, and a well-integrated (13.6 percent) alcohol.
I scraped myself up and out of Hong Kong to go grab the ferry to Macau. I later found out that helicopters are also available and a lot faster, although the boat trip wasn?t that bad, lasting only an hour. The ferries leave from Hong Kong every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, and [...]
It's hard to believe that a year has almost gone by and Christmas Time is here. In getting into the holiday rhythm, I went looking for some music only to find most of it unsatisfying (surprise, surprise). There are exceptions, and here I think is one of them.
December 1965, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was aired and became an instant standard. Most people will remember the Charles Schultz cartoon along with the catchy tunes. Upon listening to the recent 2006 re-master of this album by Fantasy records, I was amazed. This is so much better than coming out of a 14 inch mono TV. Arranged & composed by Vince Guaraldi, there is an underlying quality of happiness and cheer to the music. Perhaps it brings back happy memories of my childhood but I think it is intrinsic to the music. Guaraldi to me, has the lyrical qualities of Bill Evans together with the rhythm and swing of a Dave Brubeck - it is a shame he died of a heart attack at an age of 47 between sets at a jazz club. Thought I would share this one with you, the album code is FCD-30066-2 in case some of you are interested.
Merry Christmas, good health, peace on earth and may joy come over the world.
This is a premium Montenegrin red wine made from the indigenous Vranac grape. The Reserve is produced from particulary good years, in small quantities, aged in barrels for several years. It is also aged in bottles for one year before being released to the market.
This is a dry wine, with a pleasant fruity nose. However, the impressions are far lower than it’s price. If you want to experience the Vranac variety the Montenegrin way, go for a regular Planta?e Vranac or their Vranac Pro Corde. They are much cheaper and the experience is almost the same.
Wines of the Vranac variety are produced throughout the region, apart from Montenegro, you can find them in Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Herzegovina.
Points at Infinity is the second collaboration between the UK?s most infamous doom/sludge metal band, Atavist, and the most prolific and respected act in experimental/drone/doom/ambient music today, Nadja.
The first collaboration, titled 12012291920/1414101 and released last year through Invada Records (owned by Portishead main songwriter Geoff Barrow), was merely an experiment?one that was actually initiated by Profound Lore Records. This second collaboration presents a sound picture with significantly more substance and depth; while still experimental in nature, Points at Infinity exemplifies growth and expansion by both of these enigmatic bands.
PRAISE FOR 12012291920/1414101:
?This collaboration between the UK?s Atavist and Canadian doom mongers Nadja is a rare old treat. Across two lengthy pieces, the bands square up to deliver a disc?s worth of bottom-heavy sludge and floating drones. Far from being a cold-hearted excursion into dark metal, the resultant pieces are a surprisingly warm blend of distortion, glacial chord changes and nebulous atmospherics. Opening with ?Twentyfour:Sixteen,? the collaborators launch themselves into an unexpectedly melodic domain only to soak up more challenging sonic elements as the piece progresses; by about halfway through you?ll hear glistening feedback tones beginning to intrude, and by the time we arrive at the half-hour long second track, ?Twentynine:Thirtyseven,? the bands are bathing their sound in oceans of noise and hollowed-out electronic tones with a distinct emphasis placed on the lowest end of the frequency spectrum. By its close, the piece gathers a sub-bass-driven weight that Stephen O?Malley could be proud of, all cloaked in a sense of warmth usually absent from the genre.? ?Boomkat Info stolen from; Alien8 Recordings
Tecnorati
).
A few were brave enough to taste this and proclaimed that underneath the taint it was exceptional, but I was not willing to try.
I’ve been involved with 
This is a premium Montenegrin red wine made from the indigenous Vranac grape. The Reserve is produced from particulary good years, in small quantities, aged in barrels for several years. It is also aged in bottles for one year before being released to the market.
