2007 Domaine C. Ducroux Régnié

Type: Red
Producer: Domaine C. Ducroux
Variety: Gamay
Country: France
Region: Burgundy
SubRegion: Beaujolais
Appellation: Régnié
Price: $14.99 from Chambers Street Wines



Night One

Minerals and strawberries, plus a single spray of oil from one twist of key lime rind, blend together beautifully on the nose. On the palate it is surpisingly rich and dark. The palate opens with a quick startling flavor of beef fat and dark berries. Strawberries and plums are on the mid-palate, along with strong minerality that lasts through the finish. This has a velvety richness that would shock so many who think "Beaujolais" is synonymous with "Beaujolais Neuveau," and who turn their nose at the whole region. On second thought, don't tell them. That will mean more for us.







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N.V. Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Brut

Type: White - Sparkling
Producer: Chartogne-Taillet
Variety: Champagne Blend (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay)
Designation: Brut
Country: France
SubRegion: Champagne
Appellation: Champagne
Disgorgement: 4/20/08



The Wooden Guys are amazed at all the apples in this wine.

Night One

The color is pale straw, with a very slightly copper-colored tint.

The nose is apples. No, make that APPLES!! Not fresh tart green apples, but more like one of those half-baked without any sugar or spices. Once it cooks, add just a teaspoon of warm caramel, and that is what this wine smells like.

The palate is interesting. Imagine lining up every apple you ever ate, from tartest to sweetest, then back to tart again, and quickly taking a bit out of each one, and you get what happens from attack to mid-palate. It's dry, don't get me wrong, but the impression of apple is there the whole time.

Night Two

Like Night One, the nose is huge with apples, apples, apples, and a little dollop of caramel.

And like Night One, the palate runs through a bite of every apple you ever taste, though now the tart ones are more pronounced. Still, the only possible impression of this wine is APPLE. The mid-palate adds just a bit of baguette, but mostly, it's still apples.

This is also a good time to answer the obvious question- how did I make champagne last two nights? It's called a champagne saver, and a picture of mine is below. It pushes down into the bottle to make a seal, then the wings fold down over the lip of the bottle keeping it tight. The next night it opens with a "pop!" and you can't tell it had been opened the night before.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #51- Bodegas Hidalgo Manzanilla La Gitana N.V.

Today's post is brought to you by Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted this month by 1 Wine Dude, who is not only a great wine blogger, but also the only one who tops "2 Days per Bottle" in link lists. The topic this month? Baked goods:

"Baked Goods" - wines that are deliberately heated, or Madeirized. According to the way-cool wine glossary at RedWineBuzz.com, Madeirized wines describes the "intentional oxidation of grapes in an estufa (hothouses used for this purpose in Madeira, where these wines are made). The resulting wines (typically whites) are sweet and caramelized in taste."

These wines often also have nutty aromas, a honey-like mouthfeel, and distinctive bronzed color. Yumminess! Examples include (of course) Madeira, but also wines in other parts of the world such as Australia's Rutherglen Tokays.

Now, Lenn and I do realize that these wines are not always easy to come by, so we're also allowing sweet Fortified wines into WBW 51(WineDude), which should provide enough options for everyone to contribute.

Bodegas Hidalgo Manzanilla La Gitana N.V.

Vintage N.V. Label 1 of 4
Type White - Fortified
Producer Bodegas Hidalgo
Variety Palomino Fino
Designation Manzanilla La Gitana
Country Spain
Region Andalucía
Appellation Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda
500 ml
$11.95 from Chambers Street Wines

Night One

The color is a very light bright yellow straw.

The nose on this is bright and delightful, fresh apple peel, nuts, and the frothy salty tops of waves on an Atlantic beach. On the palate it is very crisp and tight. The taste on the initial attack is very fresh tart apples dipped in kosher salt, followed by lightly toasted salted almonds. The finish lingers for a long time.

Night Two

The nose has not changed from Night One to Night Two. On the palate it is just as salty, with less fruit and some liquid smoke and toasted nuts. This is incredibly flavorful, but the flavors are unusual in a wine, even a fortified wine. Salt is really the predominant flavor, so if you are not a greek olive and feta fan don't bother. The finish is different, fruity with apples as an aftertaste.

I don't really love this wine. I am, however, quite fascinated by it.

UPDATE- a hat tip to Alex of Eating Leeds for the reminder, for Manzanilla is most definitely a food wine. I drank think with mixed salted nuts and dried fruit (almonds, pistachios, cherries, raisins). Even with the salted nuts this was too salty for my personal taste, but that is most definitely a personal palate observation, not a criticism of the wine itself.