'Tasted: Spanish Reds'

An Evening of International Delights

HerPosted by Her on July 12, 2010

Date night: a meal (pseudo-Indian), a movie (Italian), and a bottle of wine (Spanish).

To stay in or go out? Despite the innumerable options in Our fine city, We chose the former, opting for an evening at my sweet Hollywood home.

What to eat? In my scrappy home-chef kind of way I opened opened the cupboards, riffled through the refrigerator, plucked some things from the garden, and got to work. Onions, carrots, and cherry tomatoes, cumin seed, and thyme were sauteed in olive oil. We added leftover Indian take-out (Rajma and Dal Makhni), grilled sausage-less sausages, jasmine rice, fresh corn from the garden (whose cobs looked like a hillbilly’s teeth), and a box of vegetable stock (a staple I always have for these “I’ll just make soup” occasions). The result was an amazingly fragrant stew.

What to drink? Something rich and red seemed appropriate. We received a random sample a couple of weeks ago: a Tempranillo by Campo Viejo. We popped open the bottle while the stew was stewing. He took a deep sniff and declared His love for the grape. “This is one of those wines I can tell what it is just by smelling it.” I love this. For a novice wine drinker I think being able to differentiate between grape varieties is a wonderful “aha” moment. We poured a bit into the stew, served it up with a dollop of Fagé yogurt and headed to the sofa.

What to watch? Netflix had delivered L’Eclisse to my door that day, a film I had last seen as a moody teenager. The specifics were gone from my memory, but I remembered thinking Antonioni’s world was one I wanted to live in, despite its despondent themes (lovers exhausted in their relationship, the stock market crashing, urban isolation). It is beautifully shot, emphasizing the stark landscape of Rome’s modern architecture. Monica Vitti is a stunning beauty and wears a perfect little black dress. Longing looks, platinum hair, and the deep dark eyes of Alain Delon. Yes, please.

We feasted, We sipped, We watched. Before delving into, er, dessert We jotted a few notes about the wine:

Rioja, Campo Viejo 2006 (sample, retails for about $8.99)

She Said: Deep rich ruby color. On the nose an earthy woodsy-ness, red fruit, some vanilla. The flavors remind me of a blueberry bush and the earth it’s planted in: funky a bit sweet. Dusty tannins, and a sharp acidity which leads to a warm, rather flabby mouthfeel. Enjoyable, but not great. For the price (the $8.99, not the free sample price), seems like a good bargain. But I would go for a young Bordeaux with more structure, tannin, and fresher flavors.

He said: Very nice nose of dark fruit, spice and light vanilla. Earthy, spicy and flavors of dark fruit in the mouth. It has that certain spice that I am really starting to associate (and love) with Spanish reds. The finish is long, creamy and the vanilla shows up again. Medium-bodied with wood throughout and tannins that were a bit much in the first few sips but mellowed as the wine opened up. My love affair with Spanish wine continues and this bottle is a great value for $9.

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Silverlake Wine Blue Monday

UsPosted by Us on February 3, 2010

On Monday night we met our pal Corina Weibel, chef of Canelé in Atwater Village, for Silverlake Wine‘s Blue Monday tasting. (When your favorite chef has the night off and invites you to join her at a wine tasting, well, of course you say yes.)

Silverlake Wine is our neighborhood wine shop so we’re frequent patrons, but it had been quiet a while since we participated in a tasting. In fact, the last time had been at the invitation of Valerie and Stanley of Valerie Confections (geez, we have some talented friends). SLW put together a terrific lineup to compliment VC’s sweets on a Sunday. It was a fun and tasty afternoon with some antics thrown in. Between sips we got a few of the tasters (including Val and Stan) to play a little game: Just an Eyeful. (Read what it’s all about and see the whole series of pictures here.)

Unlike the vendor specific food pairings on Sunday afternoons, on Monday nights SLW offers three wines, a selection of farmhouse cheeses, olives, and La Brea Bakery bread in an atmosphere SLW’s website describes as “blatant low-key relaxation.” The shop’s  Tweets and Facebook updates about this particular Monday night’s line-up, however, were anything but mellow:

Really, a $20 bottle of wine. Although this may not sound too expensive, Blue Monday’s tastings cost only $12 for three generous pours of three different wines and lots of delicious snacks, so having a $20 bottle poured makes for a great deal.

We were also super intrigued about the “perfectly perfect” label art of their new proprietary wine. Could it be by the “Awesome Bears” artist Phil Lumbang? The happy bears have popped up all over the Silverlake, waving hello, smiling, giving a wink. They feel like as much a part of the neighborhood as SLW is. The wine shop is a huge fan of the bears…so much so they got Lumbang to paint their bathrooms. What could be more “perfectly perfect?”

Living up to the hype, when we arrived at 7 p.m. the place was packed and lively, full of happy people nibbling on cheese and lucques olives and sipping wine. We made our way through the crowd to the bar for the first pour. It was a delightful, perfumey Torrontes with a hint of sweetness in the finish that complimented the rich blue on the cheese board. Corina joined us and quickly caught up. We all agreed the wine was a bargain for just $10. Next up was a quenchable Tempranillo, also reasonably priced at $15.75. So what was this $20 bottle going to be?

Well, it turns out there was no $20 wine (it really was just hype), but the third wine was a treat: Para Silverlake Red from Monterey Country, featuring on the label…an Awesome Bear. The jubilant wine pourer explained it was a Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet and Merlot. It was a soft, friendly wine (just like those lovable bears). As we finished our last sips of Para Silverlake, the shop continued to buzz. We all remarked on how great it was to have SLW in the neighborhood and to see so many happy faces at the tasting. It was a truly delightful way to spend a Monday evening. On the way out grabbed a bottle of the bears and Tempranillo, thirsty for more. We headed up the hill to Corina’s to continue our tasting ways, vowing to be more serious and take some notes this time.

First up was a bottle of L. Preston Red which Canelé has just started to pour it by the glass. Corina explained she had been looking for a replacement for the popular Donkey and a Goat Rhône style red they had been pouring. “I wanted a Rhône style wine, but not something that was 100% syrah or French…I like the jamminess that the California wines offer.” She recommends it with the lamb with roasted eggplant, capers, olives, and garlic they serve at dinner. Sounded good to us.

There was really just enough for a serious sip left in the L. Preston, which had been opened the night before, so Corina decided to pop open a bottle a friend had left at her house. We did not protest. The Murtas, San Michelea Torri was an older vintage: 2001. The generous friend who left the bottle was on a “peak frequency” diet, which has something to do with old wine and enzymes. Our bewilderment was erased by the delicious wine.

Not quiet ready to call it quits, and because we did want some notes about at least one of the wines we tasted at SLW, we popped open the Tempranillo, Ardales we had picked up on the way out.

In between discussions about Awesome Bears (She had seen one during our trip to New York), movies (“the story was insulting…they should have been more responsible…”), and music (“Maps is a way better song than Sweet Child O’ Mine, but Modern Romance is still the best…”) we jotted down some notes.

L. Preston, 2007 (Healdsburg)

She said: The nose is raspberries, candy, and some earthiness. For being open a day it still has a lot of heat. Flavors of cola, pepper, and mixed berry jam. It has a really lovely mouthfeel; not too rich but intense with refined tannin and a kind of freshness. Does that make sense? It is both richly flavored and austere. Completely agree with Corina that it would go great with lamb.

He said: First things first, love this label design. Cherry and raspberries on the nose and very earthy. Taste is strongest in the finish. Medium bodied, I agree it has a great “mouthfeel” but that term still gives me weird brainfeel. Front of tongue feels it right away and it’s dirty with some spice. Some heat in the finish. A little tart, but I really like it.

Murtas, San Michelea Torri, 2001 (Tuscany)

She said: Very little fruit on the nose, rather it is minerals, salt, and a bit of earth. Drinks like a large, refined Chianti. Lots of bright cherry fruit, high tannin, and very dry finish. Very elegant and quenching. Could stand up to all kinds of food, including strong flavors like bbq–are those foods allowed in the “peak frequency” diet? Whatevs…it’s delicious.

He said: My notes are bad, wait, I mean they don’t exist. I was busy making my point that Maps is to the 2000′s what Sweet Child O’ Mine was to the 1980′s. And then Corina told me that Karen O is a regular at Canelé and I was like “whoa.” Because as I have said before, if She were to die in a tragic wigwam accident, I would want Karen O to be my girlfriend. Back to the wine, I wrote “some heat.”

Tempranillo, Ardales, 2007 (Spain, $15.75)

She said: Soft tannin, cherries, youthful acidity…similar flavors to the Murtas we tasted earlier, but not quiet as refined. Enjoy Tempranillo and this is an example, truly lovely and at fifteen bucks, a bargain. I’m buying more. (the price on the bottle includes the tax…this is how SLW does their pricing).

He said: I got nothing. Was I even there anymore?

We decided to save the Para Silverlake for another time…enough bottles had been popped for the night. Before we left Corina’s house we vowed to come to Canelé soon for dinner. Must try the L.Preston with the lamb.


(The Awesome Bear spied near Cooper Union in New York last week.)

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