Wine Club 69

Date: May 2nd, 2015
Host: Christine
Served: carrot and parsnip soup, fig and red onion pizza, rhubarb crisp
Bonus bottles!

Six Hats Shiraz 2013 (South Africa) 14.5% alcohol

Andrea says (18): Nearly opaque, dark purple with long legs. Smelled great! Earthy and fruity. Tobacco, brown sugar and floral with fig, cherry and grape. A sweet surprise! Nice tannins, very smooth. Juicy and jammy with slight acid streak. A winner for me.



















Juan Gil Red Wine 2011 (Jumilla, Spain) 15% alcohol

Andrea says (14): More transparent than the Six Hats but still thick. Dark brick red  with long legs. Had a strawberry, brown sugar smell with some herbal notes. Mint or eucalyptus. The taste was sweet. Light tannins and a little thin. Sort of tasted like cloves. Great with the soup! Probably deserved a better score than I gave it.

Andrea says: Thanks Christine for the adorable measuring cups!

 

           Dessert...                                                            and the aftermath...

     Andrea says: I literally hiked to the top of Mount Vesuvius for this bonus bottle!    
Bonus bottles... and lots of 'em!

♥ Wine Club 14: Conquista Malbec, Elderton Shiraz

Date: May 31st, 2012
Host: Andrea
Served: Chicken Enchiladas, Rice and Beans, Gelato

Conquista Malbec 2010 (Argentina) 13% alcohol, $5.99 at Otto's Wine Cask

Andrea says (16): I enjoyed this Malbec. It was very smooth, dark and rich. It had very noticeable legs indicating high alcohol content. It smelled and tasted like raspberries.

Kim says (14): Well, this was a technically strong wine with the exception of Aroma and Bouquet, although I have come to the conclusion that is not necessarily the wine's fault. I seem to have difficulty discerning particular aromas... case in point, I apparently smelled "berries" with this Malbec.

Christine says (15): Deep dark claret; looked like a young wine. Lots of legs. Smelled like cherries and raspberries. Medium-dry taste; pleasant; not too fruity. Short finish, but good. A nice and simple wine...I liked it with the chips and salsa we had before dinner.

♥ Elderton Shiraz 2005 (Barossa Valley, Australia) $24.99 on sale at Otto's Wine Cask
 ♥ Love love love ♥ : This wine scored 18 or higher with each of us.

Andrea says (19.5): This wine was delicious and technically superior! The color was a pretty, dark red/brown. The only half point that I took off was in the "overall" column. The bouquet was fantastic! I could smell and taste mostly strawberry and chocolate. I think this would be great with dessert, and went well with the gelato.

Kim says (18.5): These are the first wines I've scored using the third version of our rating form and what great timing! Smelled faintly musty (not in a bad way) and for lack of a better word, deep, pleasant and of general spices. Amazing body... I had to resist the urge to actually chew it! Thoroughly enjoyed this wine and am glad that the very helpful woman at Otto's laid her hand on the bottle, said something along the lines of, "Now this bad boy..." and highly recommended it. Too bad it was the last one. Well worth the price!

Christine says (20): Very dark brick color. Awesome smell! It reminded me of Amarone. I picked out chocolate, oak, tobacco and dried strawberries in the bouquet. Taste was ripe dried strawberries; smoky; complex and good, with a long finish. This impressive wine was amazing with the enchiladas. I also thought it would be great with chili-rubbed steak, lasagna, bacon, blue cheese, figs and more. If only the budget allowed, I'd find a lot to eat with this winner!


I made the enchiladas from Tyler Florence's recipe from Food Network.com. They went over very well, and went well with the Gelato from Paciugo at the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa.