Who Knew?

So yesterday was a day for experiments. Every once in a while, we need to try something new. In our case, it’s pretty much every day. No big deal. We went out on a mission to find 2 bottles for under $30. These are the bottles we came home with for $29.21.

First up was a bottle of Chateau Roques Mauriac Classic 2008 White Bordeaux from Vincent Levieux. White Bordeaux is under appreciated in our opinion, but we’re pretty big Sauv Blanc and Semillion fans. This bottle is a blend of the two, and at $13, it was worth picking up. There’s a lot going on with the nose, which was quite pleasant. It pops with a ton of grass and grapefruit that leads into lemony, mineral aromas. On the end, there’s a bit of saw dust and a slight touch of diesel. Great nose! The mouthfeel left us a little disappointed after that nose. It was a little salty, and there was a wet hay or fresh parsley aspect that went directly into lemons, grass and unripe cherry. Overall, the wine was correct, just not that impressive. We scored it 83 points due to its ultimate lack of complexity, and follow-through with all of its components.

With dinner, which was a pork loin served over garlic and herb infused rice, we had a bottle of 2002 School Block Shiraz from Scarpantoni in McLaren Vale, Australia. It’s a blend of 60% Shiraz, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Merlot, and weighs in at 15% ABV. This was an absolute bomb of Currants! Currants! Currants! In addition, there was plenty of plum, dark berry (black and blueberries) some dark chocolate, and pepper on the nose. As if the nose hadn’t sold us on this wine, it had plenty of body, and soul. Everything about it was pleasant, and correct. It finished incredibly well, and all in all was just a very good wine. Much to the chagrin of our White Bordeaux from earlier, this wine earned a whopping 93 points! This is a cellar sleeper, and probably has a few more years left in it with continued improvement. All this comes with a $14 price tag. Not bad.

Cheers!!!

Zak & Olena