Wine Review: James Charles Riesling 2017

May is Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net!

Bogati Family Winery is back on the blog, baby! When Riesling Month came together I had to get in contact with my favorite  guys in Virginia to get their James Charles Riesling involved! So here it is, and it's closing out an entire month of Riesling rated reviews!

Bogati Family Winery has four labels: Bogati Bodega, Veramar Vineyards, James Charles, and the winery exclusive Justin Bogaty Winemaker Selection. To read the other reviews I've written on all three of their labels, check out their very own Bogati label for the blog (yes, I've reviewed that many of their wines for them to have their own label).

This is a dry style Riesling from Virginia inspired by German Trocken. It was fermented and aged in stainless steel with an 11.2% ABV and 0.28% residual sugar. I really don't know anything else about this wine so I'm just gonna go ahead and drink the shit out of it. Sound good? Let's go!

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Saké Quickie: Gekkeikan Nigori

Another Gekkeikan Saké from California! Filtered through a broader mesh than normal and with zero carbon filtering, the Nigori  style of Saké is cloudy from rice particles that remain with the Saké instead of being completely filtered out. This one is full bodied and chalky and it's got a simple profile of melons and bananas. The acidity is kinda out of balance and it's not as good as the other Sakés that I've had these last few months, but overall it's okay and I'm not complaining. 

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Wine Quickie: Inurrieta Cuatrocientos Crianza 2016

This Crianza from Navarra, Spain, is 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6% Syrah, and 5% Graciano. It was aged for 14 months in French Allier and American oak barrels. And at first  it was just flat and didn't show much character at all. But then I let it sit for a bit and it started to come out. There’s dark fruits, mocha, black pepper, dried herbs, and lots of graphite. I'm still a little iffy on the midpalate but the nose is fantastic. The tannins are big and astringent once they realize they need to wake up, and there’s a piney / sappy flavor along with them on the finish. Simply put: this makes for a good a steak and potatoes wine. By itself? Meh.

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Wine Review: Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 2016

May is Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net!

Dr. Peter Pauly is the grandchild of Zacharias Bergweiler, historically one of the most esteemed Moselle winemakers. Already during his early studies at Geisenheim, the only German institution to award higher academic degrees in winemaking, Dr. Peter Pauly worked on the family wine estate before completely taking over the winery in the year 1959. In the year 2006, Dr. Peter Pauly transferred the operation of the wine estate to his son, Stefan Pauly. Stefan now not only carries forward the work of his father, but he also has achieved significant new success on the international wine market.

This is the second of two wines by Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler that I'm reviewing for Riesling Month., and it's the last from Germany. From their website: "Wehlener Sonnenuhr" (Sundial of Wehlen) is a vineyard located in the heart of the Middle Moselle wine region, directly opposite the well-known wine village of Wehlen. The small south-southwest-facing terraces reach up to 250 meters above sea level. Bluish-grey, primarily stony slate from the Devonian Period forms an especially good reservoir for heat, storing the heat during the day and releasing it to the vines during cool nights. Deposits of loess and quartzite bring additional mineral components to the wine.

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Wine Quickie: Castillo Monjardin La Cantera Garnacha 2018

This is 100% Garnacha from seventy-year-old vines on Castillo Monjardin's estate La Cantera vineyard in Navarra, Spain. The wine is fermented in stainless steel and then spends one year in French barriques. The color of the wine is a vibrant garnet and the nose is explosively expressive with black cherries, strawberry jam, violets, chocolate, and toasty oak. It just smells so good! It's light to medium bodied with a silky smooth mouthfeel, tart acidity, and soft dusty tannin. There's flavors of raspberries, strawberries, cherry cola, and Smarties candies. It's a solid Garnacha for the $12 it'll cost you and it would serve you well as an affordable light and fruity summer red.

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Wine Quickie: Rodney Strong Rosé of Pinot Noir 2018

I was fortunate enough to be invited to this month's #PinkSociety chat that featured this wine. And although it was full of cool people and conversations, I was not all that much of a fan of the wine itself (which surprises me because I really do like Rodney Strong). Everybody else seemed to like it, so don't take my word for it. There's aromas and flavors of watermelon, white peach, and white pepper. Overall it didn't do much for me, but what I DID like was the white pepper on the midpalate and little bit of astringency on the citrusy finish.

FOLLOW UP: I have since learned of several reports of bottle shock for this wine through a distribution rep, and one of the bottles was his own. He opened up another bottle and it was tasting great. I will be revisiting this one soon.

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Wine Review: Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler Noble House Riesling QBA 2017

May is Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net!

Dr. Peter Pauly is the grandchild of Zacharias Bergweiler, historically one of the most esteemed Moselle winemakers. Already during his early studies at Geisenheim, the only German institution to award higher academic degrees in winemaking, Dr. Peter Pauly worked on the family wine estate before completely taking over the winery in the year 1959. In the year 2006, Dr. Peter Pauly transferred the operation of the wine estate to his son, Stefan Pauly. Stefan now not only carries forward the work of his father, but he also has achieved significant new success on the international wine market.

This is the first of two wines by Dr. Pauly Bergweiler that I'm reviewing for Riesling Month., and it's from their "Noble House" label. Here's their little blurb on the label: Noble House was named in honor of the Prince Elect of Trier, the oldest city in Germany. He built this distinguished Noble House in 1743, where his grapes were pressed and his wines were made. Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler bought the house more than 100 years ago.

The day that I'm writing this (May 16th; my rated reviews are usually done a week prior to publication) is marking a beautiful moment of the year, because finally it appears that I can start taking pictures of the bottles outside again. The sun is out and it's actually warm! See that wood? It's wet, like everything else around here. Cape Cod has been nothing but dark gloomy overcast and rain for the first half of 2019, but there is a ray of hope that we'll finally get out of it for a little snippet of spring and maybe let summer in for a minute.

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Saké Quickie: Gekkeikan Black & Gold

Saké is pretty limited here on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and most of what you'll find is by California's Gekkeikan rather than Japanese Saké. Because I'm just starting out in my Saké journey I'm fine with this because it seems to me like Gekkeikan produces some good stuff when you take price into consideration. And, really, Saké overall is a category where you get a hell of a bang for your buck. Gekkeikan's Black & Gold is a blend of two different Sakés, and man is it smooooth on the midpalate. Barry Manilow smooth. There's melon and kiwi and lime peel and almonds, but the finish is really where it's at because it sees a real uplift in spirit and character, as well as a warming ethanol burn to contradict that smooth midpalate. $13 for a 750ml bottle? Any day, son. This is a wise choice for your home's house Saké.

If you would like me to taste your saké in a full review or a quickie, email me at joeycasco80@gmail.com.

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Video Unboxing: Forbidden Geek DC Comics Mystery Box #1

Check out Forbidden Geek at ForbiddenGeek.com

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Wine Quickie: Ochoa Calendas Tinto 2017

You know how much of a nerd I am and that anything space related gets me excited, especially when it's on a wine bottle, so I gave a little cheer when this showed up on my doorstep. I love that label. The Roman New Year was Calendas of March, which is also when the vines in Ochoa's vineyards come back to life. Their motto is "the moon is always there, even if we can't see it."

Ochoa Calendas Tinto is 70% Tempranillo and 30% Garnacha from Navarra, Spain. Even though this is light bodied it has some good structure with tightly grained tannins that are there but not too big, and it has a slightly tart acidity that brightens up the fruit. Strawberries and raisins run the roost in profile with black table pepper and tobacco. For $12 it'll do you just fine, but I suggest giving it a slight chill to really bring out its full potential.

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