On old favorites....
Tonight I dropped by my usual haunt, the Veranda in St Cloud. It was a long day, tons of backlogged work to catch up on, talked for hours with old friends.
I decided that a few glasses of my "old favorite" wines were in order. My first was the Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel 2005. Bogle is a old standby - my boss at Altria (Philip Morris) used to drink this and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is both affordable and steadily quite good.
Old Vine Zinfandel means that the vines from which the grapes are harvested are at least 40 years old, and we all know how good old things are when it comes to wine :) As Nick (my patient and knowledgeable bartender and friend) likes to say - this is good juice. He opened a new bottle and I immediately immersed myself into layers of vanilla, oak, cherry and spice. It was *exactly* what I needed tonight. Welcome back, old friend.
As I glanced at the clock I realized that Nick and I had carried on for a bit too long and I missed my bus. Drat, I'd pass the time with another classic. This time - a new vintage. Jean GarrGaraudet Bourgogne Hautes - Cotes du Beaune 2005. I had previously tasted the 2004 and written: "Earthy, bold and huge." Not my greatest use of wine vocabulary, but the instant I sniffed I remembered. THIS is a wine for the nose. It is everything I hoped for in an Old World wine. The color - appropriately garnet (for Pinot Noir/Burgandy) but the nose....sublime. Limestone, earth, slowly revealing the ripe fruit that I want from these classic French wines. The glass and I curled up at the end of the bar and had a long, silent conversation.
Have I mentioned how much I love wine?
I decided that a few glasses of my "old favorite" wines were in order. My first was the Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel 2005. Bogle is a old standby - my boss at Altria (Philip Morris) used to drink this and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is both affordable and steadily quite good.
Old Vine Zinfandel means that the vines from which the grapes are harvested are at least 40 years old, and we all know how good old things are when it comes to wine :) As Nick (my patient and knowledgeable bartender and friend) likes to say - this is good juice. He opened a new bottle and I immediately immersed myself into layers of vanilla, oak, cherry and spice. It was *exactly* what I needed tonight. Welcome back, old friend.
As I glanced at the clock I realized that Nick and I had carried on for a bit too long and I missed my bus. Drat, I'd pass the time with another classic. This time - a new vintage. Jean GarrGaraudet Bourgogne Hautes - Cotes du Beaune 2005. I had previously tasted the 2004 and written: "Earthy, bold and huge." Not my greatest use of wine vocabulary, but the instant I sniffed I remembered. THIS is a wine for the nose. It is everything I hoped for in an Old World wine. The color - appropriately garnet (for Pinot Noir/Burgandy) but the nose....sublime. Limestone, earth, slowly revealing the ripe fruit that I want from these classic French wines. The glass and I curled up at the end of the bar and had a long, silent conversation.
Have I mentioned how much I love wine?
posted by Kristian Twombly at 6:54 PM
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