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95 pts James Halliday, 93 points Stephen Tanzer

Penfolds St Henri is a highly successful and alternative expression of Shiraz and an intriguing counterpoint to Grange. It is unusual among high quality Australian red wines as it does not rely on any new oak. It was created in the early 1950s (first commercial vintage 1957) and gained a new lease of life in the 1990s as its quality and distinctive style became better understood.

St Henri is rich and plush when young, gaining soft, earthy, mocha-like characters as it ages. It is matured in old, 1460-litre vats that allow the wine to develop, imparting minimal, if any oak character. Although a small proportion of Cabernet is sometimes used to improve structure, the focal point for St Henri remains Shiraz.

Color: Bright, youthful, red. Nose: Pure, real, unadulterated, honest Shiraz... and 100% at that in this 2007 vintage release! Primarily, freshly-pureed mixed-berries - raspberry, mulberry, loganberry, sitting alongside aromas alike those from candied/toffeed apple. Fresh, vibrant, lively. Palate: A complete wine - fruits, tannins, acid, maturation artifacts... all combine to structurally & texturally deliver. Tannins are even throughout, yet serve to tighten palate in middle, with a singular, central focus. Robe markers - crushed shale (and saltbush/ bluebush?) evident... perhaps understandable at over one quarter of blend volume. Poised, yet still lush, generous.

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"Medium-deep ruby color; complex black cherry, clove and forest floor aromas; rich, ripe black cherry fruit flavors with clove and forest floor notes; sweet oak; silky texture; good structure and balance; long finish. Amazing depth and complex flavors make this a natural for any deep, rich braise."
96 Points!!
PinotReport

For 8 servings:

350 ml Table Cream

250 g REALLY good dark bittersweet chocolate (Scharffenberger)

3 eggs

3 tbsp Espresso (cold)

3 tbsp Kahlua liqueur

Chop the chocolate into very fine pieces. Warm the cream in a pot until almost broiling. Take off the stove and mix the chocolate in until all resolved. Mix eggs, Espresso and Kahlua and add the chocolate cream.

Put into little espresso cups or small pots and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

This dessert pairs wonderfully with a big bold red wine, such as

Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon

Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz

Alexander Valley Sin Zin

1 pound mixed grated cheese (take on of the 3 cheese mixes in a bag)

1/2  pound unsalted butter

1/2  pound white flour

Tabasco sauce

1/2 tsp Chili powder

1 cup Rice Crispies (the neutral tasting ones)

Mix the cheese with the butter (warm butter a little to make it soft), then add the spices (Tabasco to taste), flour and crispies. Use your hands to mix it all very well together, then form little balls, put on a non-sticking backing sheet and flatten a little on top.

Conventional oven 375F for about 15 min - keep checking as time might vary (I am on high altitude - everything is different here!). they should be golden brown and crisp.

Try this with Pinot Gris, Viognier, Albarino or if you like Red - Zinfandel, Shiraz or a Red Blend.

Aspen Wine Show 06/15/2011

Wines tasted:

Gianni Gagliardo Fallegro Favorita 2010

Louis Latour Pouilly-Vinzelles Chardonnay 2006

Witness Tree Estate Pinot Noir 2008

Antinori Antica Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Penfolds St. Henri Vintage Shiraz 2005

My wine story began at the age of about 30, and it started in the lovely city of Madrid, Spain. Before traveling to Madrid, I had trained the son of the owner of a small company in Madrid on some computer equipment. Apparently this training went very well, so I was invited to come to Madrid to set up the equipment and finish the training there. Probably I should mention that my wife was born in Mexico, so I had had the opportunity to learn some Spanish before.

After my arrival in Madrid, the ceremony started. As a big thank you to me, because I had taken such good care of his son, the owner of the company, el patrón, took me out for a dinner. Nobody else, just the two of us. It was a great honor for me. He took me to a beautiful place called “El Meson de Madrid”, one of the best restaurants in central Madrid at that time.

We started at the bar eating some tapas, little snacks with ham, olives, and lots of other good things. My patron didn’t even ask before he ordered some Rosado wine with the tapas. So here I was, in one of the best restaurants of Madrid with a very nice and grateful host, and I didn’t drink any alcohol. I somehow worked around this, though. The tapas were excellent, and the flower next to me looked a lot happier after some Rosado from my glass. At least to me. My mood started rising, I thought I had mastered all cliffs already.

Well, not really. We sat down at a table, again my host ordered everything. I didn’t object, because he wanted to present me the best things this restaurant had to offer. It was around Easter time, so he ordered “Cordero a la parilla”, grilled lamb. And, of course, red wine. Today I don’t remember the name of the wine anymore, however, it was from the Rioja region, and two servants lined up to open it, so it must have been a special wine.

I was close to dying. There was no choice; I couldn’t break my host’s heart by not drinking the wine. And how would I explain my problem to him? Wine is a basic part of daily nutrition in Spain, not “alcohol”.

So I tasted the wine, and I was surprised. I had never tasted any comparable wine before, and I liked it. The lamb was just outstanding, a house specialty. From sip to sip I could hear my Spanish improving. After two glasses of wine I felt like I could discuss Don Quixote’s adventures in his mother language. My host was pleased to see me enjoying everything that much. Fortunately, there is mercy in this world, and the bottle ended early enough for me to survive the evening.

Tasting this fantastic Rioja today I must say that Spanish wines are still among my favorites, and I can’t have one without thinking of this evening with El Patron.

I used the rest of that week to drink wine at lunches and dinners. I wasn’t a wine drinker then, but I started to detect a universe unknown to me before my trip to Spain. And I enjoyed it.

To end the story, my wife flew to Madrid for the weekend to join me there. She found her husband speaking Spanish with a surprising lot of Madrileño accent and drinking wine. My wife is the greatest of all wives, so she thanked God that I finally had detected wine, and since that day in 1986 we have enjoyed a lot of wine together. She insisted that I lose the accent, though.

My Rioja is coming to an end, and so is the story. The tasting notes for the Marqués de Riscal:

Marques de Riscal Reserva wines are predominantly made from grapes from Tempranillo vines over 15 years of age, grown in the best clay-limestone soils of the Rioja Alavesa. This variety withstands oak- and bottle aging well thanks to its good balance of acidity and fine tannin. A dark cherry color with good depth. Balsamic aromas with hints of ripe fruit, complex and spicy. The attack is fresh and light, with soft, rounded tannins. The finish proves persistent with some reminders of toasted oak. Its passage through the mouth is pleasant and elegant, fresh and easy to drink.
This wine pairs well with ham, mild cheeses, casseroles which are not too spicy, pulse dishes, poultry, red meat, grilled and roast meat.

Salud a todos!

The internet is full of wine tasting notes, like the following ones:

“Cassis, violets, blackberry. Wet stone, espresso, notes of sweet oak. On entry, ripe mountain fruit, licorice, complex minerals. Youthful and lively, with firm acid and elegant chalky tannins. Captivating finish.”
(Ridge Winery about Montebello)

or

“Tasted twice Deep garnet-purple colour. The nose begins a little mute with a suggestion of freshly crushed blackberries and blackcurrants, forest floor, cinnamon and a touch of loam. The palate is wonderfully concentrated with layers of macerated blackberry, cloves, vanilla and dark chocolate. A medium+ level of acidity and medium to firm fine and ripe tannins give excellent structure to the richness of flavours. Very long finish. Drink now to 2030. Tasted April 2009.”
(Wine Advocate about Opus One)

Wonderful, just wonderful. I’m actually drinking a Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel while I’m writing this. It is not quite the Montebello Cab, however, I have been trying for a while now to remember how wet stone tastes. Unfortunately, I have no fresh wet stone in my fridge to compare. Likewise, what would forest floor taste like? I have to admit, that my experience with forest floor, be it dry or wet, is quite limited. Enormously limited.

Over the years, I have read a lot of these tasting notes, and I have all the respect of the world for the folks who possess built-in tasting instruments to help them detect all this fine detail. Somehow, it never has worked for me this way.

So I have developed clear principles when it comes to wine tasting and drinking, and one day the world will recognize that my idea could simplify tasting notes a lot. It is very simple:

There are two classes of wine in the world, the ones that I like, and the ones that I don’t like that much. It’s a bit of a Facebook approach, you “like” or you don’t. No other choice.

Sounds too easy? Seriously, this is how I’ve approached wine over the past 20 years. Forget about the label, forget about the vintage, forget about points from whomever. There is only one thing that counts: Do you like the wine or not?

If not, what does it help you to read about 120 points of some publication? Nothing. What does a big label help you? Nothing.

I remember a wine tasting with a top-5 grand cru from Bordeaux from 1982. Everybody tasted the wine, everybody knew the label. After some silence and expert head moving around the table I couldn’t help but say “I don’t like it, sorry. It doesn’t taste like the grand wine that it is supposed to be.”

It didn’t take more than a split second for everybody to agree. Nobody wanted to be first because of the big name. But in fact, the bottle was no good, and that was it.

Why do I tell you all this? Because I suggest you detect your own taste. Try wines, if possible, ignore the label in a blind tasting. Trust your palate. And don’t say “this is such a great wine” if you don’t feel like it.

The Lytton Springs from Ridge is my favorite Zinfandel. Made from more than 110-year-old vines, this wine has an impressive nose and palate. Here are the winemaker’s notes:

“Ripe nose of raspberry, plum, pepper and chapparel. Blackberry, mineral and vanilla notes dominate the palate. Well integrated tannins typical of this classic vineyard add to the long finish. EB (6/10)“
(ref here)

Try it, it's well worth it. And find out yourself, whether you like it or not.

So here we go. My name is Dieter, and my profession is brother. First of all, it is not Dieter like this kind of a dieter (see here). The name is pronounced Deeter.

Now to the business of being a brother: Sigrid, the owner of winepiper.com/WineTime LLC, is my sister. It is not uncommon to have a sister these days, however, this is a sister who has asked me

“Wouldn’t it be great if you could write something for our website?”

Yes, it wouldn't.

So, now that you know who I am – and I am German, as you can easily tell by my horrrrrible accent – I can start writing for this website. To be honest, I had no idea where to start, but would you disappoint your sister? Certainly not, especially as long as there is hope that I’ll get paid in wine.

I will just tell stories here. Not the big tasting notes, rather the stories that go through my head when I drink wine. So please relax and have a glass of wine. And don’t take anything for serious here.