So our son Brad was visiting for winter break and on his last night we took him to the gym with us for our usual Thurs night work out, followed by our customary veggie burgers and martinis at a local restaurant. (We'd eat the burgers and drink the drinks anyway so at least we are getting a workout in before hand)...
Seeing this was Brad's last night we opened up a bottle of 1988 Warre Porto Vintage Quinta da Cavadinha (Douro) celebrating with a port from his birthyear. After letting this open for a few hours it showed those elements that I love from Warre. Excellent structure, ripe but not overly sweet, lots of depth while hiding the spirit underneath lovely flavors. I would have liked to have tried some of this the next day but the bottle was emptied far too quickly. But as port always seems to lead to trouble, we then opened....
Redstone Meadery Traditional Mountain Honey Wine (Boulder, CO) Produced: Nov, 30, 2007. 12% abv. Without a doubt, the best mead I've ever had. This is wonderfully fragrant with orange peel, white flowers that evokes memories of walking through a Florida orange grove at bud break and a hint of wet plaster in the background. It's medium sweet with all the clean honey you would expect yet it has a bit of a wild, funky side that makes things interesting.
It wasn't fun getting up to see him off at 5am.
Other recent openings..
N.V. François Pinon Vouvray Brut (Loire) L06252 Slightly funky but oh so intoxicating with lemony wooliness. Aggressive bead, slightly round in the middle, lots of waxy lemon, and well delineated crispness. $18? back up the truck.
Chikurin Fukumari Depth Junmai (Okayama)
Marumoto Shuzo
Imp: Joto Sake
SMV: +4
Acidity: 1.4
Rice: estate grown Yamada Nishiki milled to 60%
Date: 21 3
This is a fairly rich, up-front sake but it didn't have alot of depth. From this producer, I like the complexity of Chikurin Karoyaka Junmai Ginjo much better. That said, the richness did go well with some simple lime-enhanced pork chops w/ brown rice and sauteed rabe. It's pretty grainy and round with good acidity and plenty of melon fruit. Decent in a utilitarian sort of way.
