December 14, 2013 – Wines for trimming a tree

I have a few friends who, for whatever reason, do not trim a Christmas tree.  I thoroughly enjoy trimming the tree, so I like to share the activity with a few friends.  This gives my friends an opportunity to participate in what I consider a relaxing moment, and I open some nice wines.  This time, the wine that out-performed was the least expensive.

2008 Savannah-Chanelle Coastview Vineyard, Monterey Syrah

This wine outperformed the others.  And thanks to a clearance sale at a local wine merchant, I was able to get a couple of bottles at $14 each, making this a superb wine for the dollar.  This wine is smooth and slightly rich, with good black fruits and a nice black pepper quality to it.

2007 Provenance Cabernet Franc

This has long been the wine I can count on to please at any gathering, and when it was on sale for about $21, that made it a great wine to bring to a party as well.  This wine has more structure than the Syrah and the palette is a little less elegant, but remains balanced and delicious.  The flavors retain their vintage-typical expression of blue and black fruits along with good mineral development.

2009 Norton Reserva Malbec

This wine was brought by one of the guests, so I do not know its price.  A quick search of www.wine-searcher.com suggests the price is similar to that of the Syrah.  When the cork was just pulled, this wine was completely smooth and a little one-dimensional.  After about 45 minutes the typical Malbec characteristics (like pepper) featured more prominently as the wine offered up more structure.  The wine drank beautifully for the first two hours or so, but it developed a subtle funk after three hours.