Tom and Melody’s wine blog

I bought this Francis Coppola Celestial Blue Label Malbec 2005 as a gift for Tom for Christmas (along with a variety of other South American wines). Although this is a grape that is known for its Argentinian roots, Francis Coppola has found a way to grow these grapes in California. I have been keeping all of these wines downstairs in our “secondary” wine rack and I decided it was time to bring a bottle up tonight.

This is a fabulous wine and I can’t help think of our son Tony, who spent 99 days in South American (including Argentina) last summer between his junior and senior years of college. He would love this wine. He has his mother’s taste in bold and assertive red wines.

The nose is ripe with plums and minerals — the minerals remind me of our well water in tin glasses that I had a girl growing up in northern Michigan. The color is velvety violet — it has almost a creamy texture in the glass. The taste is acidic with black fruit and tannins.

I am serving this wine tonight with hamburgers on the grill with a side dish of penne pasta tossed with fresh sauteed broccoli in olive oil. We are so excited to have spring weather and I can’t resist a grilled burger to celebrate!

Tom: This Francis Coppola Celestial Blue Label Malbec 2005 is delicious: chocolaty, with a fruit taste of blackberries and a bit of cherries. Mild-medium tannins. Excellent. Who knew Malbec could do so well in California?

We are enjoying this Red Heads Studio The Red Sedan 2006, a blend of Shiraz and Malbec, on a Monday evening. This is the third time we’ve tried this delicious wine from Australia. Tonight we will have this with sauteed chicken, brown rice, and a green salad.

It is a very cold night in Michigan and we are thankful to be warm and cozy. This red blend is big and fruity with hints of woods and a lovely, long finish.

This Alamos Malbec 2006 from Argentina is one of several wines that I bought for Tom for Christmas. Tom is a Malbec kind of guy. In the glass it is purple and violet. The nose is vivid with pleasant spices, violets, and fruit. The feel in the mouth is graceful and supple, with black cherry and blackberry flavors along with black pepper and a hint of leather. The finish (with soft tannins) lasts a long time.

I chose this wine for our Sunday night dinner of homemade spicy spaghetti sauce (with pasta) along with steamed spinach and salad.

And since this wine is a Malbec, this would be a good spot to post this photo of our son Tony and his good friend George as they tasted wine (Malbec of course) in Buenos Aires this past summer.

And here is a photo of Trigger relaxing with us as we taste this Alamos Malbec 2006.

This Red Heads Studio The Red Sedan 2006 is a blend of Shiraz and Malbec from the southeastern region of Australia. This is our second bottle of this wine. We had this last month and I loved it. Who wouldn’t love a blend of Shiraz and Malbec? The color is purple and dense. The taste is very fruity and rich with hints of woods and shrubs and the finish is long.

It was -9 degrees (F) this morning and not much warmer tonight. I have the leftover beef barley soup heating on the stove. This wine will pair perfectly with soup, bread, and cheese and will warm us from the inside out.

Happy New Year! It is January 1, 2008. We are celebrating a new year with a glass of Altos las Hormigas Malbec 2006 from Argentina. This is one of the wines that Tom bought me for Christmas. This wine is plummy with a taste of wood. It is very dry. Absolutely delicious. Worthy of a toast to the new year.

Today we spent the morning shoveling our driveway. We had at least 10 inches of new snow blow in overnight. I took some pictures that Tom will post. It’s beautiful! In the early afternoon, with our appetites stoked by all the shoveling, we walked over to our neighbors, Brad and Michelle Bowersox, for a lovely New Year’s brunch. Michelle is a wonderful cook. We are lucky to have such wonderful neighbors!

This Nuevomundo Cabernet/Malbec Reserva 2005 has a nice balance of fruit, spice, and black dirt. On the nose, blackberry and strawberry fruits blend beautifully with spice and smoke. On the palate, blackberry is mingled with vanilla and oak. The finish is delectable.

Tom bought me this wine for Christmas (along with about a dozen other fascinating bottles)! I chose this wine for our Saturday night dinner of homemade beef-barley soup and a loaf of freshly-baked whole-wheat bread (which is in the oven and smells good). One swirl of this wine and I knew it would be good. I am loving this wine. This is wonderful.

Tom: This Nuevomundo Cabernet/Malbec 2005 is a treat. It is very rich and dry, very chocolaty; the fruit is blackberry. An impressive, delicious wine.

This Red Heads Studio The Red Sedan 2006 is a blend of Shiraz (77%) and Malbec (23%) from the southeastern region of Australia. I was excited to taste this wine because it is a combination of two of my favorite red varietals. Sure enough, I am not disappointed. This wine is fruit forward and filled with brush- and briar-tasting wood flavors. The finish is long with a spicy, coffee-flavored savoriness.

For dinner, I have brown rice simmering. I have two boned chicken breasts (which I have cubed) to stir fry in my trusty cast-iron skillet with fresh broccoli. I will mix this all together for what I hope will be a tasty and nutritious meal.

On Saturday night we attended a party at the home of Tom Crawford. His home was decorated absolutely beautifully! And he had prepared delicious food. I was so impressed with his cooking skills. He is a superb host. He also had many lovely red wines on hand. He is the host extraordinaire. It was an absolutely enjoyable party! It was fun meeting Lisa and Frank, Karl, Boyd, and Brian! I hope we will see them all again.

Tom: This Red Heads Studio The Red Sedan 2006 is a fruit-forward blend tasting of chocolate, coffee, and berries. It’s very appealing and drinkable, on the soft side with noticeable fruit.

This Barrio La Boca Malbec 2006 is a pearly, opalescent purple in the glass and a fresh and spicy nose reminiscent of cherries and cured meats. It is a dry and tannic, yet quite fruity. The wine has a sharp mouth feel with a smooth finish on the palate. The taste is plums, vanilla, and cherries. The finish is chocolate-covered cherries.

We had reviewed this wine previously but it was the 2005 version. This is the 2006 and it is delicious. What an excellent value. I can’t imagine a red-wine lover that wouldn’t approve of this wine.

I have meatloaf in the oven and it smells yummy. Snow and sleet are hitting the windows. I will make some side dishes shortly to go with the meatloaf. It’s only 8:00 p.m. What’s the hurry?

Tom: We have often enjoyed this inexpensive but delicious Barrio La Boca Malbec. It tastes of cherries and vanilla. It’s fruity but still dry. Very drinkable.

This Barrio La Boca Malbec 2005 is a medium purple in the glass and a fresh and spicy nose. It is a dry and tannic red with a smooth feel on the palate. The taste is plums, vanilla and cherries. The finish is chocolate-covered cherries.

This is a great value (Tom purchased this wine at Trader Joe’s for under $5). I chose this wine because it is Tuesday (and I wanted to have a good value versus an expensive wine)! We will drink this wine with our dinner of fresh-grilled kielbasa, sauerkraut, potatoes, and salad.

This Trapiche Malbec 2006 is purple and medium bodied. Tom purchased it today at Trader Joe’s. (He also purchased 17 other bottles - yay! And, our wine club box of four bottles also arrived so we are happy to have some wine in stock again!)

This medium-bodied red has a round and supple feel on the palate. This is a fruit-forward wine with plenty of cherry and plummy fruits but I like it because it is not syrupy and it has grippy tannins to offset the fruitiness.

I am reheating our leftover soup because I had a big, big day. This will go well with the beef-barley soup and wheat bread. Cheers!