Welcome Back!

 
Kung hei fat choi!  I hope you all had a wonderful and restful Chinese New Year!  We're all back from our various excursions (Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia) and ready for the year of the black snake!

Here's a little glimpse into what we've been drinking this year.

Chateau Tertre de Belves 2009

 Cotes de Castillon, Bordeaux

 I won this from the wonderful people at French Moment via an online quiz about Bordeaux wine.   It surprised me that this was 100% Merlot, but once I opened it I could tell.  If I had blind tasted this I probably would have guessed it was from California.  It was really ripe with nice chocolate notes on the nose and palate.  This is my kind of Bordeaux.  And look at all of those medals!

Chain of Pond's Pilot Block 2008

McLaren Vale, Australia

 

I absolutely loved this 100% Shiraz.  Perhaps because of it's price, and perhaps because I wasn't expecting too much because of it's price, this was really a shocker.  It is a really good example of a wine that you don't need to fork out $200 to find quality and complexity.  Thanks, Tim!  (Available here)

 Rogue Santa's Private Reserve

 Oregon, USA

Available at the Globe, and I would imagine only a shortime longer, this is a delicious winter (which luckily we seemed to have skipped this year) beer. Hoppy, hoppy, hoppy, this is no Tsing Tao!  Red, with intensity on the nose and palate, this is a stand alone beer.  What does one pair with a heavy amber??  Suggestions?

Anjou Pur Breton 2006

Anjou, Loire Valley, France

This is my first take home natural wine, and I must say it won't be my last.  This certainly isn't your ever day wine, and it probably wouldn't be a crowd pleaser.  But if you're into wine and want to try something different, this is it.  Reminiscent of magkeolli (Korean rice wine), it's a tad chalky, cloudy, and thick.  What really wowed me was the blatant olive on both the nose and palate.  A totally different wine experience.  Thank you Adrien for steering me in its direction!  Available here.

What did you enjoy over the holiday!?  Anything crazy, interesting, boring, satisfactory, lame, amazing, blow your brains out delicious?