Brief Notes from a Tasting

[dananne]

A new wine bar/shop opened in Atlanta and I went to an inaugural tasting yesterday afternoon. I took pours from a flight of 8 wines: 2 white, 5 red, 1 dessert. As no place to spit was provided, by the end I can't be too sure of my opinions [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img] Also, I didn't have anything handy to take any detailed notes, so what follows are essentially only some detailed comments about wines I liked and purchased.

We began with two pours of New World chard. The first, from EOS, had that oaky/buttery thing going, which I'd personally rather not have in my chards. The second, which I don't remember at this point, was better, but still by no means oak-less.

After the whites, we moved to a pinotage from Australia (yes, Australia) which tasted so woody that my wife and I couldn't help but think it was fermented in cedar barrels. Or, perhaps, that old chest in which we keep sweaters we don't wear anymore. At any rate, we quickly moved on to a chianti, which was fine but not memorable.

After the chianti came a wine that we both really enjoyed and ended up purchasing. It was a red blend from Folie a Deux, 1999 Petit Folie Menage a Trois (interesting name, derived from 48% cab, 48% merlot, and 4% zin). It was fantastic, especially at $9.99 a pop, before the case discount. It had a ripe, clear cherry-berry core with decided euclyptus/mint flavors that were also present on the nose. That mintiness was kinda addicting, and we couldn't help coming back to it. It was all I could think about when I got home last night, so I popped a bottle in the evening, too!

From there, we moved to another cab, which we found non-descript and which I didn't take any notes on (it was a 2001 from Australia, FWIW). After that came a 2001 Cali pinot noir from Los Carneros which they had seemed to have hidden behind the bar. It was from Leaping Lizard and ran $10.99. Good varietal character, very clean, and a great bargain pinot buy -- we brought some home to serve as another midweek pinot option (it gets hard to justify opening a $30 pinot just because it's Tuesday night). Also, I can't afford to serve those more expensive pinots when I'm entertaining [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

The last wine was an EOS late harvest zin port. It tasted like liquid blackberry jam and was tasty, but we didn't come home with any.

In all, we were able to put together a nice mixed case of wines, none over $13. That was the real pleasure yesterday. Of everything, the one we preferred most was the Folie a Deux.

[wondersofwine]

Thanks for the notes. I'll have to look for that Menage a Trois.

[Innkeeper]

Somewhere back amonst the cobwebs seem to remember that this brand is one of those created by one of the "big guys." Could be wrong. Also doesn't mean there is something wrong with the wine if true. Will look for it myself.

[dananne]

As an informal rule, I try and look for the smaller producers as opposed to the "big boys" -- along the same lines, I shop my local, family-run stores as opposed to, say, Wal-Mart. However, some of the larger producers make some nicer wines, and because of their volume, one can get decent P/Q, generally-speaking (I like the Julia's Vineyard pinot from Cambria, for example).

I'm not sure about the Folie a Deux, but I did a quick web search and it looks like a smaller operation. Here's their link:

http://www.folieadeux.com/

At any rate, whether big or small, I really enjoyed that wine. I finished that bottle, which I had opened Sat. evening, last night. Am already thinking about opening another tonight -- and, at $10 a pop, I just might do that [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

If anyone else tries it, let me know what you think!

[realestateguy]

I'm actually new to wines and had the Menage a Trois recommended as a great starter red at a great price. I have to agree this wine has great flavor yet a smooth finish. I would definetly recommend this wine. I have since tried quite a few other wines but so far this is my favorite.
If anyone knows of a similiar wine to this 1 let me know. This board is also a great find as far as I'm concerened. Thanks for all of the great advice and input.
RealEstateGuy.

[winoweenie]

I must have missed this post originally. Will see if my pusher has this lil' jewel. Sounds like my kinda' juice. WW

[dananne]

Hi, all. Wow, old post! Welcome to realestateguy!

The '99 was great, but I've been less impressed with the '00 and the '01. The '01, which is what I'm seeing on the shelves right now, was drier and lacked that distinctive euclyptus flavor that I so enjoyed. I know others who like it, too, so maybe I've been a little on the high side with my expectations since the '99.

Also, the %ages have flip-flopped almost completely, and it is a Zin-predominant wine now.

In short, it's not going to set you back to try it, but I've not had one since the '99 that really wowed me.