Do You Like Red Wine Blends? Have You Considered a Bordeaux?

Image - Decanter.com

Red wine blends have become very popular. There are several very popular and inexpensive red blends with catchy names on the grocery store shelves and on menus at restaurants. If you enjoy these red blends, let me introduce you to some that are even better. Much better.

Bordeaux, in France, is one of the greatest wine producing regions in the world. Its 60 appellations include two widely known regions referred to as the "Right Bank" and "Left Bank" depending on which side of the Dordogne River it is located. 

Different dominant grapes used in each of its wines also define the two banks.  In Bordeaux, the name of the game is red blends not varietals. So, it's the combination of the grapes, soil, and climate (terroir) that defines the wines. 

In Bordeaux, wines do not identify the grapes used in their production on the label. Rather, it lists the appellation where the grapes are grown.

Each of the two banks of Bordeaux focuses on different grapes as their primary component. On the Right Bank, the dominant grape used in their red blends is Merlot, but they will also include Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. On the Left Bank, the dominant grape is Cabernet Sauvignon but their blends also include Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenère.

The white blends of Bordeaux much rarer, but are predominately based on Sauvignon Blanc blended with smaller percentages of Semillion and sometimes Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris.

So, if you've found yourself tiring of some of the popular cheap American red blends, step up your game and give a Bordeaux a try. They aren't all expensive. You can actually find some great values from Bordeaux.

Next time we'll look at another famous region in France known for its blends - The Rhone Valley. Until then, Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

2016 Amalaya Malbec ($16)

Amalaya wines was founded in Argentina in 2010 by Donald Hess of the Hess Family Wine Estates. The grapes are grown in the Calchaquí Valley in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountain range at altitudes as high as 5900 feet. This high altitude provides intense sun in the day and cool nights to produce concentrated fruit.

More than 75% of the world's production of Malbec comes from Argentina. This one, from Salta, is made from 85% Malbec and 10% Tannat and 5% Petite Verdot. One-quarter of the wine is aged for 8 months in French oak barrels. This lets the fruit flavors shine through with only a touch of oak flavors there to enhance the fruit.

This Malbec is a deep ruby red in color with nice dark fruit aromas of plum and black cherries. Cherry and Black Cherry flavors come right through along with a bit of peppery spice, moderate tannin, and a nice finish.

If you enjoy full-bodied red wines but prefer a bit less tannin, Malbec is for you. And this one from Amalaya is a fine one to choose!

---

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission:  I received this wine at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Donna White Communications

Ever Wonder What 'Expedition Liqueur" Is?

While recently reviewing a sparkling Rosé Brut from Chile, the tech notes mentioned the addition of 'Expedition Liqueur" after fermentation. It might come as a surprise to some that 'liqueur' is added to sparkling wine. But, it's actually a common practice used in the making of Champagne and other sparkling wines.

So first let's do a review of the making of Champagne and sparkling wine. Both begin like all wines, with traditional fermentation of the juice of the grapes to produce a still wine.  After this first fermentation is complete, the wine is bottled and a small amount of yeast and sugar are added to the bottle.

In the past, this process was referred to as the "Champagne method" or "Méthode Champenoise". But these terms were outlawed in 1994 for all wines other than those produced in the Champagne region of France. Now, if this process is used anywhere outside of the Champagne region of France, it must be referred to as the "traditional method". You may also see it referred to on labels as "méthode traditionnelle", "méthode classique", "classic method", or simply "bottle fermented".

Regardless of what it's called, this addition of yeast and sugar to the bottled wine leads to a second fermentation, this time occurring in the bottle. Because the bottle is tightly sealed, the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced during fermentation remains dissolved in the wine. This gives the wine its carbonation.

Once this second fermentation is completed, the bottle is unsealed and the dead yeast is removed (disgorged). But just before the bottle is sealed for the final time with the traditional Champagne-style cork and wire cage (muselet [myz-le]), a small amount of sugar and/or alcohol is added to the bottle.

The added sugar can come in several different ways. Typically, it is in the form of a sweet wine, but it can also be a mixture of sugar and wine. It's a rare practice, but if the sparkling wine needs its alcohol level raised a bit, additional alcohol may be added from a spirit, such as Cognac. Regardless, this final addition of ingredients determines how sweet the final product will be and its final alcohol level.

This final addition of sugar, and sometime alcohol, is most commonly known as 'dosage,' but the added liquid may also be referred to as expedition liqueur (or Liqueur d’expédition in French). So, yes, your Champagne, or sparkling wine, will have 'liqueur' added to it if is made in the traditional method. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

2016 Amalaya Blanco ($12)

Amalaya wines was founded in Argentina in 2010 by Donald Hess of the Hess Family Wine Estates. The grapes are grown in the Calchaquí Valley in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountain range at altitudes as high as 5580 feet. This high altitude provides intense sun in the day and cool nights to produce concentrated fruit.

Amalaya Blanco is a blend of 85% Torrontés and 15% Riesling. It was cold-pressed, allowed to settle for up to 48 hours before being racked and fermentation started. After fermentation it was again chilled to prevent malolactic fermentation and then aged in stainless steel for up to 120 before bottling.

The Amalaya Blanco starts with fresh aromas of grapefruit and citrus and has bright, fresh, crisp and refreshing flavors with good acidity and just a hint of minerality. It is light-bodied with delicate flavors. Great to enjoy alone by the glass or with sea foods. 

Amalaya wines maybe relatively new to the wine scene, but Donald Hess of the Hess Family Wine Estates has got a very good thing going with this wine.  The label may say "Esperanza por un milagro" (the hope for a miracle) but none is needed with this one. And, as always here on Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week, this one's a great value! Give it a try!

---

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission:  I received this wine at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Donna White Communications

How to Reset Your Sense of Smell When Wine Tasting

While our tongue is only able to detect five basic tastes, our nose is capable of detecting millions of different aromas.

When wine tasting, one of the Five S’s is smell.  You stick your nose into the wine glass and take a sniff. You can get a very quick idea of what the wine will taste like and you may even detect some of the fruit aromas. But very quickly, after just about two sniffs, your nose tends to switch off and become insensitive to further sniffs of the same aromas.

One way wineries and wine tasting rooms will address this issue is to re-set your olfactory system by having you smell coffee beans.  This shifts the receptors in your nose and brain to something completely different. That way, when you sniff your next wine, your sense of smell is reset and once again heightened.

But you may not always have coffee beans with you when you are tasting wines. The one thing that you always have with you is your arm. And it can come in very handy when wanting to reset your nose. Just take a quick sniff of your arm (preferably while not wearing any scented lotions, sunscreen or other scented products). This quickly resets your nose and allows you to get back to smelling the intricate wine aromas.

So, here's to smelling your arm!  And, to being better prepared to experience all the wonderful aromas that wines have to offer  Cheers!