Prologue: As with the last wine commentary, some of the words in here are linked to more information about that word, for your research convenience. 

Hello again. Last wine post we spoke about an Argentinian white, but at this point,  I am going to share a secret with you. I like white wines, and indeed I am learning to enjoy them more than before, but i LOVE red wine. The color, the smell the flavors, its just, well, a red. In fact, the first wine I ever had, at an opera ”meet and greet”, was a red. 

I was standing by the table, trying to stay out of everyones way, while the opera members were walking around meeting everyone, and I was tapped on the shoulder. White or Red the man asked. well knowing I was younger than I obviously looked I said with a slight laugh, “white or red WHAT?!?!?!” he smiled a small smile and said “wine of course”. Well I thought… here I am, in a suit, at an opera, a larger young man, one glass will not hurt at all, certainly not enough to get drunk (the one time I got drunk in my life was actually a few years later), so if he is going to offer, why not? So I smiled and said RED!

can’t really remember the taste… a simple house red of course, and certainly did not analyze it like I do now with wines, but it was a great night, I met my favorite opera singer (local though, no one anyone would have heard of yet), and it was the first time, the very first time that people who looked more comfortable in a suit than me, (a street kid for the lack of a better term,) did not look down on me, but met my eyes when i looked at them, apologised instead of sniffed when I said excuse me to walk by, treated me like a person, instead of some litter. It was a good night. Even the opera singers were so down to earth, we’re polite and friendly, and THEY were the ones with money AND TALENT. sigh… a GREAT night.

We now interrupt this journey down memory lane to bring you our feature presentation, already in progress

So today we are talking about another Argentinian wine, a Saurus Malbec 2004.

Saurus is a wine produced by the Schroeder Family in Patagonia. They chose the name “Saurus” Because of the fossilized Dinosaur bones that were uncovered on the property while construction of the winery took place.

The first surprise in this wine was actually the packaging. Believe it or not, this is the first wine I have had personally (in my home, I don’t know about restaurant wines) that actually used a cork cork. Most wines I have had to date have used a synthetic cork… This was indeed a pleasant surprise. For me, it gives it a really authentic feel.

Upon pulling the cork out, I noticed that the wine had almost infused the tip of it… i could not help myself, I had to smell it, and then smile. This was going to be good. Even now, it still smells good (I say even now because I bought this 2 weeks ago, and the wine is now gone… I am writing about the last glass specifically)

I poured this into a glass shaped almost like a bubble, about half full, giving the surface of the wine a very large space to breath, after chilling it in the fridge for about 10 min to bring it down to the appropriate 70 degrees or so.

Even half full it was impossible to see through the wine except on the edge, the color was a deep purple with just a hint of ruby.

I found it harder for some reason to swirl the wine in this kind of glass than I did for the white wine. Not sure why, obviously it is a different shape, but it shattered my preconceived notion that it would somehow be easier to swirl.

The smell is wonderful. a full bodied red, with definite overtones of cherry. The more I smell it I can also detect very minor traces of vanilla, and a slightly more pronounced caramel. The grape smell through it all is almost the smell of a grape candy, but don’t let this deceive you, it is not a very sweet wine.

Let me mention a bit here about tasting wine. Firstly, you should never judge the first taste. I was at Olive Garden last night and right over the wall from me was this couple, who accepted the offer of a free sample of wine. I saw it coming. I just knew it would… almost like watching 2 trains coming toward each other on the same track. This lady took a small swallow into her mouth, her face contorted a bit and decided it was not good after swallowing it, handing the glass back to the waitress. This was a perfect example on how not to taste wine, Red, White, Rose, any kind of wine. The problem is this. The mouth is a sensitive area. Thousands of taste buds are there and alcohol is a shock to them. If you go right from zero to taste, it will not be a pleasant experience for anything except an alcoholic fruit juice (like a wine cooler, they mix some wine with some fruit juice, or flavor, but in my opinion, this is not real wine… a cocktail at best, which can certainly have its place as an enjoyable drink, but not the same place true wine holds).

Here is how to do it. You pour, swirl, (to let the wine breath, and disseminate its smell), look,  smell, (the mouth can taste 4 classes, sweet, salty, sour and bitter, the smell can pick up on thousands of variations, so especially in wine, smell is very important), and then take some into your mouth. Let this little bit coat your mouth completely under your tongue, cheeks, everywhere, make sure all the taste-buds are attuned. This (depending upon the alcoholic content of the specific wine) can be a slight shock, which is why we are doing it this way. now… wait for about 30 seconds and pass no judgement on what just happened. think about the smell, the color, your dog, whatever. After about 30 seconds the shock should have worn off, but your taste-buds will still have memory of the alcohol, so it will not be a shock. NOW you taste the wine. take another sip. you will taste fruit, subtleties, perhaps some wood, or tannin, or both, and sure you will taste the alcohol a bit, but if it is a good wine, it will not be overpowering like the introductory sip was. Swirl this around your mouth as well, and decide (over the course of at least a minute after you swallow,) if you like it or not. Again… a good wine is simply defined as a wine you enjoy drinking, i bought a $3 Walmart Merlot once and it was good, I have never spent $200 for a bottle of wine, but it could be good, or bad… it is all about taste, no right or wrong answers :).

So, on the second taste of this wine i could tell that this was indeed a full bodied, very slightly sweet, defiantly tart wine. The sensation of sour cherry was very apparent. it is indeed a bold wine.

The savor (aftertaste) was where the show began. the slightly sour cherry taste comes to the front, and then dissipates rather quickly leaving a pleasant slightly bitter grape flavor. The alcohol is strongest in the first 15 seconds, but wears almost completely away after that. 16-30 seconds shows a nice tart fruit flavor, cherries, grapes, and a bit of plumb mixing very nicely. 31-45 seconds begin sharing the fruit flavor with some tannin, and a slight oak flavor (by the way, in my last article about the Finca Los Primos, that indescribable flavor and smell, was oak. I had never experienced it before, so I was unsure what to call it, but I asked Mike at the wine shop and he advised that indeed is what it was). The enjoyment of this went well past the 1 minute mark (like I said, take at least 1 minute to contemplate to see if you like it). The longer the flavor lingers, the more (very gradually) the sensation of plumb is evident.

When it comes to pairing, the first thing that jumps to mind is a memory I have of dinner at a french restaurant in town.  I had New Zealand lamb rack, medium rare, the sauce was almost like a Marsala and mushroom gravy with a hint of various spices. This wine would be exceptional with something like that. If that is not easy to come by, ( I jest, i have myself only had it once in my life, though I would love to duplicate the experience with this wine), any strong red meat with a good flavorful slightly sweet sauce would pair well with this. I would also recommend mushrooms with the meat to give it that extra flavor.

My overall rating for this Saurus Malbec, 2oo4 would be 4 out of 5 stars.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it

~Salut~

Trackback URI | Comments RSS