Opi Malbec (2008)

June 26, 2009 — Tom & Melody

Tom chose this lusciously delicious Argentinian Malbec for our Friday evening. Malbec happens to be one of my favorite all-time reds and this one does not disappoint.  The color is deep and opaque and the nose makes me think of ripe, concord grapes. The taste is sumptuous: dark chocolate, plums and pepper. I am enjoying this wine very much.

For dinner tonight, I made homemade tacos. We haven’t had them for a long time and I had a pound of ground beef to use. I browned the ground beef and added onions and peppers and pinto beans, along with cumin, oregano, and  chili pepper. The toppings included chopped avocados, chopped onions, chopped lettuce (yes, of course from my garden), shredded cheese, sour cream and salsa.

A fun meal for a fun, Friday night!

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Ramirez de Velazco Malbec (2008)

May 22, 2009 — Tom & Melody

This Argentinian Malbec is an unusual wine.  I have to work hard to describe it because it is not your ordinary Malbec. Initially, the wine is a bit overwhelming on the finish but with decanting it mellows. The nose is strong vanilla and spice. The first taste is quite fruity but the finish is. . .vanilla taffy. That’s the best I can do. I am not terribly fond of this wine but I imagine it will be better tomorrow after it opens a bit. It’s not bad wine; it’s just not to my particular taste.

It is Friday night and Memorial weekend! What fun! I didn’t feel much like cooking tonight when I got home from work, but I had a pound of ground beef in the fridge so I went searching for an interesting recipe. I ended up making something that is smelling quite yummy. The basic gist is this: I sliced 6 golden potatoes (skins on) and mixed with cream of chicken soup, milk, sour cream, onions and parmesan cheese; I browned the ground beef and added garlic, onions and seasoning. I put the potato mixture in a casserole dish, topped with shredded cheese and then the ground beef mixture. I covered it and it has been baking for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. I am going to remove the cover and continue baking another 20 minutes and serve with a salad and a vegetable. Comfort food for the start of the weekend. Cheers!

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Arkel Malbec (2008)

April 9, 2009 — Tom & Melody

It is a Thursday evening  – but seems like a Friday evening – because I have tomorrow (Good Friday) off from work. Woo hoo! After work, I went to my yoga class and came home feeling stretched and peaceful — what a great combination.

I started thawing chicken breasts for dinner. And got out a bag of fresh spinach and some asparagus for stir fry. . .but. . . confession. . .after our martini I said (apparently not very enthusiastically), “wow, I need to go make dinner” and Tom said, “no you don’t; put that stuff away; you can make it tomorrow.” See. this is one of the many reasons why I love him! So, I did put away the food for tomorrow’s dinner, and I picked up the phone and ordered a pizza. So, now I am relaxing with a glass of wine while someone else makes the dinner for us. What a treat!

This wine is exceptional; definitely our kind of wine. Grippy tannins, dry,  and full of berry flavors, this wine is dark red with an earthy finish. I love this wine. I need to buy more. This will be great with our pizza. . .

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Las Perdices Malbec (2006)

March 16, 2009 — Tom & Melody

I bought this las perdices Malbec at our local grocery store. It was on sale for $13.95.  Las Perdices Malbec is delicious and elegant. The value of this wine is tremendous; the quality is excellent. Dark-fruited and powerful, the nose is chocolate, blackberries, and cranberries. The wine is the fabric of Argentina but with the sophistication and intricacy of a French Bordeaux.

It is Monday evening and I am roasting a pork loin for dinner. (It was something I pulled out of the freezer yesterday.)  It was a beautiful day in Michigan; winter is not over but we have had a glimpse of spring!

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Arkel Malbec (2008)

March 11, 2009 — Tom & Melody

It is Wednesday evening and I am back from an out-of-town trip for my job. It is good to be home, having a glass of wine, reading the paper with dinner on the stove, and music on the Bose.

Tom opened this bottle for us tonight. This is an Argentinian Malbec from the Mendoza region. According to Karen MacNeil, “. . .the wines made from Mendoza malbec have a grip, structure, and density rarely found in wines made from malbec in Bordeaux.” I would say this is an accurate description of this Arkel malbec. Full of berry flavors, this wine has a deep red color. The taste, in addition to berries, is dry and earthy. We both agree this is our kind of wine. It will go well with the pot of chili I prepared. I also purchased a loaf of sourdough bread and some sharp cheddar for our meal tonight.

It is great to be home; cheers!

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Ramirez de Velazco Malbec

February 2, 2009 — Tom & Melody

ramirez-de-velazco-malbec-2008We are having a glass of this Ramirez de Velazco Malbec 2008 on a Monday night. I have meatloaf in the oven for our dinner tonight. I think that this wine has all the qualities of a good wine; I just don’t happen to love it  like I do most of the red wines we drink. The problem for me is that both the nose and the finish have a sweet-ish, flavored coffee-like taste and aroma. I think some wine drinkers would really like this, but I do not.

It’s very unusual for me not to love a Malbec. But, I wouldn’t go out of my way for another bottle of this (although I believe we have one more bottle in our stock).

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Ramirez de Velazco Malbec 2008

January 30, 2009 — Tom & Melody

ramirez-de-velazco-malbec-2008We’re have this Ramirez de Velazco Malbec 2008 and recovering from a long week.

It’s quite nice. It tastes of vanilla and light blueberry-ish fruit at the front and of mint at the back. Pleasantly dry and tannic.

Melody is cooking a pasta-and-chicken dish. It smells wonderful. The medium body will go nicely with it.

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Trapiche Malbec (2006)

January 10, 2009 — Tom & Melody

trapiche-malbec-2006It is a blizzardy weekend in Michigan. Tom and I ventured out this afternoon to attend a sporting event only to be forced to turn around. The visability was nearly zero and the roads were extremely slippery. We were glad to get back home. It has been snowing, and snowing hard, for over 24 hours.

So, here we are, Saturday night, listening to Kenny G on the Bose and hunkering down for a cozy night at home. I have a pot of chili on the stove and a loaf of whole wheat bread in the oven. We just finished a crossword puzzle.

I chose this Trapiche Malbec 2006 because I knew it would hold up to our spicy dinner. If I remember correctly, Tom bought this wine at Trader Joe’s in Ann Arbor for a very reasonable price. In the glass this wine is a deep purple with a nose of leather and burnt fruit. The taste is earthy. I think the best is yet to come, as I have a hunch this wine would benefit from decanting. I’ll keep swirling in my glass and see. . .yet, even without time to breathe, this is quite delicious; a long and pleasant finish. A great choice for a cold night!

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Ramirez De Velazco Malbec (2008)

January 3, 2009 — Tom & Melody

ramirez-de-velazco-malbec-2008We are finishing this bottle of Ramirez De Velazco Malbec  2008 from Argentina tonight after opening last night. A beautiful color: intense ruby and violet. Interestingly, the last time we had this wine I was not particularly enthralled because I found the finish to be sweet — like vanilla taffy. However tonight is different because this wine has been opened and has been breathing. Tonight the aroma is spice and blackberries. The taste is plums along with a woody thicket covered in chocolate! The finish is chocolate-covered cherries with hints of oak.

We had a fun and productive Saturday. We both went for short 3-mile runs and did errands and things around the house (including taking the Christmas tree and decorations down and cleaning up the pine needles). Now we are listening to a “Phantom of the Opera” CD and reading the Wall Street Journal. Dinner is in the oven . . . life is good.

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Valentin Malbec (2008)

December 12, 2008 — Tom & Melody

valentin-malbec-2008It is Friday night; dark, cold and did I mention dark?  We have both worked hard this week. Our weekend doesn’t hold much free time, either. Welcome to the season, right?

I am reheating a pot of the turkey soup that I made this weekend. My refrigerator is about as bare as I have ever seen it. I desperately need to go grocery shopping. Thankfully, I had this flavorful pot of leftover soup to put on the stove tonight because as I drove home from work  my car wouldn’t let me stop at the grocery store; it drove me straight home.

This Malbec is very good.  This wine came to us in our Wine Insiders wine club package. This wine is velvety on the palate with firm tannins. It’s lovely; I would get this again in a minute. We actually opened this last night so this is the last of the bottle. I hope we have more!

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