"What the hell?" you might be thinking. But partly by educated guess, partly by good luck, my advisor and I tasted side-by-side two wines that were uncannily similar in many ways, despite one being from an island in the Aegean, and the other being from, well, about as far from that as you can get. But read the notes, and I think you'll see what I mean.
St. James Winery, Cynthiana, Ozark Highlands 2009
Dark ruby-purple. Nose of heady cassis, with blackberry, tart cherry, flowers, fig, and tar. Smells almost exactly like a Cali Merlot. Some rich vegetal undertones. Big and intense on the palate, but also wondefully rich and lush, with notes of tart black cherry, tart blackberry, loads of cassis, plum, and some exotic apricot notes, with hints of flowers, tar, mineral, hints of fig, and some succulent vegetal notes. A savory, almost creamy quality to the fruit. A wonderful wine by any standard, and a screaming-good value at $10. Should age gracefully for at least another 5 years. *** [1/12/12]
Domaine Sigalas, Mavrotrango, Santorini 2008
My first Greek red. Dark ruby. Excellent, dense, heady nose: juicy red fruit, black currant, a hint of roses, ashy mineral (volcanic), and brown spice. Aromatic, and somewhat lovely nose. Similar notes on the palate: tart red currant, hints of ashy rock/mineral (volcanic), flowers, orange rind, and brown spice. Full, almost intense body, huge tannin, very tough and spicy, and yet rich and appealing. Excellent tone, with a bit of pleasant tartness. Perhaps some dark chocolate and fig emerging a bit later. Wonderfully succulent. Oddly enough, this is rather similar to a Barolo. Approachable, but will benefit greatly with time. I like it very much - quite a wonderful introduction to Greek reds. This will improve for at least the next 5 years, and might very well be doing well in 10. **** [1/12/12]
I sampled the following wine, as a bit of an afterthought, toward the end of the evening. Also had a taste of the Glenrothes 1998 (bottled 2010) - an exceptionally nice, rich Single Malt that. I'd say one of my top 10 or so Scotches to date.
Treana, Marsanne-Viognier, Central Coast 2008
On the nose and palate, a personality of ginger, nutmeg, nectar, orange blossom, citrus rind, and ripe, fat, oily fruit: pear, peach, and apricot, with celery, and a hint of stone/mineral. Remarkable wine. 55-45 Marsanne-Viognier. *** [1/12/12]
