Wines we drank on Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! One of the few days in the year that we are not counting calories. Good food, good company and a day off, what else can we ask for? Well, on this day, to complete a perfect meal, some folks insists on drinking American; some folks insist on perfect food and wine paring and the other simply want delicious beverages to go with that turkey and the side dishes.

In our household, a lot of alcoholic beverages were served on thanksgiving day including beer, wine and even cocktails. With all the alcohol consumed throughout the day, it is essential to keep the alcoholic content in-check so our guests can get home safely. So, in the wine department, we decided to drink the following wine, all with ABV no higher than 13%:

2003 Marqués de Gelida Cava Brut Exclusive
1996 R. Lopez de Heredia Rioja Viña Gravonia
1997 Trimbach Pinot Noir "Réserve Personnelle"

2003 Marqués de Gelida Cava Cava Brut Exclusive

ABV: 11.5%, Price: $12

Packaged in an unique and interesting plastic yellow label that wraps the entire bottle, this cava is a blend of 35% Macabeo, 30% Xarello, 20% Parallada, 15% Chardonnay. It is produced by El Cep, S.A and is aged for 3 and half years before release. It is simple yet pleasing to the palate which makes a perfect inexpensive sparkling wine to serve as aperitif.

Color: Pale straw
Nose: Mostly green apple and lemon, with a light touch of yeast.
Palate: Very crisp and fairly dry. With air, it becomes quite creamy and eventually yields a touch of sweetness. Flavor mostly refines to apple and citrus.
Body: Light. The bubbles are fairly large and slow.
Finish: Clean, long and inviting for the next sip.

1996 R. Lopez de Heredia Rioja Viña Gravonia

ABV: 12%, Price: $23

This traditionally made Rioja is made from 100% Viura. It is the 'youngest' wine currently released from the winery (released after 10 years of aging in oak cask and then the bottle). Although not particularly powerful, this wine possesses both elegance and freshness. In the few hours we drank the wine, it slowly opened up more and more. Fascinating stuff and a true beauty at this price range. Great match with the pumpkin soup we served.

Color: Deep yellow

Nose: Pear, roasted hazelnut and a touch of coconut.
Palate: Very dry with flavors of lemon and orange peel, showing a touch of muskiness (probably from oxidization in the aging process) and smoked wood. As hours went by, the flavor of citrus changed to preserved Chinese Ume.

Body: Medium to full.
Finish: Long with notes of honey and citrus and nuts.

1997 Trimbach Pinot Noir "Réserve Personnelle"

ABV: 13%, Price: $19

F.E. Trimbach is more famous for their whites but they do make a small amount of Pinot Noir. In good vintages such as 1997, they also make a "Réserve Personnelle" using ultra ripe grapes resulting in a more concentrated Pinot. If you are used to Pinot Noir from California, Oregon or even Burgundy, this flinty and lighter style pinot may not be your liking. However, this wine does exhibit the true character of thegrape with expression of the Alsatian terrior. At age 10, the "Réserve Personnelle" is surprisingly youthful and fresh.

Color: Clear medium ruby.

Nose: Explosive aroma of riped cherry and brown sugar. Hint of moss (or fern) .

Palate: The tannins is totally resolved. Velvety texture supports a mouthful of red fruits. Flavor is mostly red cherry with hints of vanilla and mushroom. Very flinty. Very balanced.

Body: Medium.

Finish: Long and clean. Mostly cherry and black pepper with a hint of mushroom.

Descendientes de José Palacios Pétallos, Bierzo

I initially learnt about the Mencía grape, an indigenous red variety of Northwestern Spain, by reading Eric Asmov’s Wines of the Times article ‘Bierzo, a New Taste of Spain’ last year. Unfortunately, there were so many other wines to be tasted and the effort of trying a wine composed of Mencía has been put off until now.

Browsing through the racks of Tinto Fino, a tiny but well organized wine shop in the East Village that specialized in Spanish wines earlier last month, I noticed one of the wines Eric mentioned, the Descendientes de José Palacios Pétallos, placed in the Castilla y León section, and I decided to pick one up and see what it taste like.

Doing some research via Google, I found out that Descendientes de José Palacios is a joint venture created in 1998 between Ricardo Perez and his uncle Alvaro Palacios who is of course famous for the "L’Ermita" and "Finca Dofi" from Priorat. The name of this project is created in honor of Alvaro’s father and Ricardo’s grandfather, José. The Palacios lineup contains four more expansive ($75-125), ‘cru- level’ cuvees: Las Lamas, Moncerbal, Fontelas and St. Martin and two lower-priced regional cuvees: Villa de Corullón (~$50) and Pétallos (~$20). The grapes of all these cuvees come from vineyards in Corullón and surrounding towns where the soils are composed of mostly schist over chalk. The age of the vines is generally between 40-90 years old.

ABV: 14%, Price paid: $21

Tasting Notes:

Color: Inky purple, tight rims.

Nose: Initially very tight only showing herbaceous notes (reminds me of a young Cab.Franc). After 15 minutes, aroma of plum and dried cherry pops out with hints of cooked meat.

Body: Medium to full. Very balanced.

Palate: Lush and extracted with bright dark fruit flavor. Quite thick and creamy (feels like melted milk chocolate). The wine is bit chewy and chalky with hints of oak. Smooth tannins balanced by adequate acidity. However, the fruit profile is not particularly focused and the wine show a little bit of heat at the back palate.

Finish: Medium at best. It is quite dry with notes of black pepper supporting the dark cherry flavor.

Comments:

The Pétallos is a nice effort in exhibiting the characteristic of the Mencía grape. Being aged in 2-3 years old oak barrels, the wine is made in the new-world style but does not present itself as a fruit bomb or overly oaked. This is a middle-of-the road wine that is very pleasant to drink but will not 'wow' anybody. It is also a bit thick as a standalone sipper but pairs well with meat dishes or saucy food.

2005 Espelt “Sauló”, Empordà

Espelt is a young Spanish winery that was founded in 2000 on a family property in Vilajuïga in northeastern Catalonia, led by the eldest daughter Anna Espelt who studied oenology in the US. The vast majority of their vineyards are located inside two natural parks in the area, producing wines from mostly local varietals. This winery produces a wide range of wines, including red, white, rose, sweet and caves. Their best red is the Comabruna, a blend made from estate grown Syrah, Carinyena and Marselan. Quinze Roures is the winery best white made from a blend of white garnatxa and macabeo.

Unfortunately, Espelt’s wines see a very limited distribution in the North America. Lucky for us, Eric Solomon does import Espelt’s entry level red, the Espelt Sauló into this country. It is a blend of 60% Garnacha and 40% Carineña. This wine comes from the Empordà region that lies just south of the French border on the Mediterranean coast. The soil there is mainly decomposed granite soils (locally known as Sauló) that force vines to struggle for nutrients.

ABV: 13%. Price paid: $11.

Tasting Notes:

Color: dark ruby.

Nose: Aroma of dried cherry, a whiff of alcohol and a hint of oak.

Palate: Supple fruit, consistent cherry flavor with notes of plum. Decent structure with grainy tannins. Round and soft mouth feel.

Body: Medium.

Finish: Short with notes of cherry. Drying tannins is still slightly harsh.

Comments:

The Espelt Sauló comes with a synthetic rubber cork. It is a straight forward wine that goes really well with wide range of casual dishes. Although this wine is meant for immediate consumption, all the components 'may' come together better if we give this wine a year or two in the bottle. However, with all the lush fruits and the easy drinking style, who can wait?