Michael Martini at Spec's Downtown

     A couple of friends from one of my wine classes suggested we attend a Louis M. Martini tasting at the downtown Spec's last week. Winemaker Michael Martini was there to present five of his wines and regale us with stories about growing up in one of California's well known wine making families.
     We started with the 2009 Sonoma County Cabernet priced at approximately $12. Simple, black fruit with soft tannins.
     Next, we compared the 2009 Alexander Valley Cabernet and the 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet which Mike called his "every night at home drink". He explained that the 2009 growing season had been cooler than normal resulting in higher acids than usual. The Alexander Valley Cabernet had a pronounced blueberry character while the Napa had more of a black cherry quality. They are priced around $25.
     The 2008 Monte Rosso Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon at $65 followed. The Monte Rosso Vineyard is located on the southwest side of the Mayacamas mountain range in Sonoma Valley. I have this marked as my favorite but I did not make a note as to the why so I guess that is a 'lost thought'. We ended the tasting with the 2008 Napa Valley Lot 1 Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a limited bottling (450 cases this year) and it is priced at approximately $120 and it delivers all that you expect when you think of Napa Valley Cabernet.

Comments

"The Zen of Zin" Tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks

On Friday evening, my husband and I attended the Zinfandel wine tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks. My husband gets totally pumped up for any and all things Zinfandel but what I found really intriguing in the line up of wines were the aged offerings. Brent Sloan, managing partner at Houston's premier wine storage facility Nos Caves Vin, had provided Fleming's with four 18 year old bottlings and one 17 year old bottling from his collection of some of his favorites. I found this interesting because 1. I don't believe that I have ever had an 18 year old Zinfandel before this evening and 2. From various wine classes, I had always heard that at best Zinfandel had very limited aging ability. So, I was definitely excited to give these wines a taste. There were also an additional five younger Zinfandel wines that are some of Fleming's best sellers. The entire tasting line up for the evening included: 2009 Orin Swift Saldo - California 2007 Schulz "Lampyridae...

Spanish Wine under a Houston Sunset

I was asked to speak about Spanish wine and to conduct a tasting at the 30th birthday party of Kyla Kennedy on the rooftop patio of her and her fiancé, Jonathan Garrett's home this past Saturday. They invited a great group of friends with a new interest in wine tasting. Jonathan had the idea after the two had watched the movie "Somm" and had become interested in learning more about the wines of the world. For our tasting tour of Spain: Anna de Coderniu Brut Cava * - Guests loved this Spanish sparkler! They found the history of the winery interesting and enjoyed the refreshing style of the wine. The birthday girl named the subtle tropical and citrus aromas like a pro. 2012 Burgan's Rias Baixas Albarino - Guests talked about the fresh peach aromas and the crisp taste. Many felt this could be their summer sipper. 2012 Raimat Costers del Segre Albarino* - Guests were interested in learning about this lesser known area, the innovative winery and how ...

A Tropical Staycation with Spy Valley E Block

After a fair amount of traveling this summer with more still to come, I was looking forward to spending time at home with my family this week. Both of my millennial children have recently moved back to Houston but the home-cooked meals have been few and far between. I had recently received a sample of the Spy Valley E Block Sauvignon Blanc 2017 along with an invitation to participate in an on-line tasting with the Wine Pairing Weekend group (find them online under the hashtag #Winepw), this became the inspiration for this family gathering. I gleefully sent out a group text, "I'm grilling poolside tonight, be home by 7:30 p.m. to eat, come earlier if you want to swim." I am surrounded by funny people as the responses reflect, "Who is this?", "What have you done with my mom?", "Not a good night, Bachelor in Paradise is on." I was undeterred, I knew that they would come. I pulled the bottle out of the wine fridge to investigate what I was ...

Wine Life - Houston

Search This Blog