just got back from Bozeman, one of my favorite distributors held a wine tasting for those of us who buy his wines - new products and new vintages of old favorites were opened - around 60 of us attended from all over the state - here's why it's fun to be in the wine business
they held it at a new restaurant on Main Street called the Blackbird Kitchen - fun food, great cheeses none of us have ever heard of, toasted bread from their homemade wood burning oven - lamb skewers and roasted red peppers - yep, perfect stuff for showing off wines!
in order of my favorites - here are some of the wines they popped:
a Spanish red from Ribera del Duero, had the old country nose but lots of lively fruit on the palate and finish - if you've not had a really good Spanish wine you should - if done well they define "unique" as compared to any other wine region in the world
the Vieux Telegraphe from Chateauneuf du Pape in Southern France - one of the legendary wines of the world, we tasted the '08 - that vintage had to follow the '07 which many people in the wine world are calling the best in our lifetime for the Rhone - I liked it - in talking with the owner of the distributorship the next day we agreed that it is probably more drinkable now than the '07 - great fruit and balance but it should be drunk now - we should be cellaring the '07 for a decade and then ... watch out!
an inexpensive little Pinot Noir from Chile from a pretty large producer called Montes - as you know from last weeks blog I try to shy away from large producers but this one actually stays true to its varietal - you know, exceptions make the world go round
a really interesting white from the Piedmont from the importer Kermit Lynch grabbed my palate - fresh and sparkly but not sweet - a perfect aperitif, a great match for foods on the lighter side and gosh darn it, just a fun wine to drink
a Sauvignon Blanc from Napa - never thought I'd say that I'd really like one of those but it was from a really well respected winery - Spottswoode - I brought a bottle back for a customer who, like me, is partial to Sav Blanc's from the Loire Valley in France - this one will be in my wine 'fridge from now on
and lastly, a pretty sweet (in both meanings of that word) Riesling from the Columbia Valley - in the $13 range with lots of clean to it - perfectly balanced where the sweetness is a complement, not the focus - I know it's not cool to like a sweeter wine but I've never been that cool anyway - I liked it and will serve it with my Thanksgiving Dinner - well unless I decide an Italian dinner makes me give more "thanks" than the traditional
so ... here's the fun part for you! I have access to all of these wines - the Spanish is from the '00 vintage and is semi-limited, the rest are all available regularly.
you know ... I am always doing what I can for the wine lovers of Great Falls - I'll keep you posted on what I'm drinking next!
your pal,
mt
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