From the Cellar
Mexican Night: 9 Wines - No One Left Standing
17 Aug 2014- Details
- Category: Uncorked Tonight
(July 5, 2014) ... Our neighbors declared it to be Mexican night complete with a fajitas dinner, Sol and Corona beer and salsa music, ponchos optional. For this occasion and this occasion only I must had been storing 4 bottles of Mexican wine in my cellar ... I can't imagine why else I would have so many (forgetfulness also ranks up there as a reason). Four bottles with the latest date being 2005 ... Ay caramba!
Kicking things off with a Casa Madero 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, which turned out to be surprisingly drinkable: dried fruit mainly red but still with gentle wood tannins and touches of cinnamon and spice, for 14 years old it was a pleasant surprise, and I would say that no matter where it was from, but being a Mexican wine even more so. Next on offer was a 2003 L.A. Cetto Petite Sirah, talk about surprises, this one took the cake. Incredible raspberry jam-like notes with essence of vanilla bean, wow, there is no way I could have predicted this one being the Mexican wine of the night. My 2004 Vinos Domecq XA Valle de Califia Cabernet Sauvignon was an oxidized mess, while the L.A Cetto 2005 Zinfandel proved to have a little life left in the form of vanilla and cassis, along with spicy wood tannins and some freeze-dried strawberry; but the '03 Petite Sirah had the wow-factor.
Having exhausted my Mexican wines I pulled out two more bottles a Brampton 2004 Shiraz as my first non-south-of-the-border red and it flexed its muscles beautifully showing off cocoa, coffee, and cassis all while hiding a rather robust 15% alcohol (which was hardly noticeable at all). It also had nice a tannin backbone and a silky, if not smoky, finish of blackberry and spice. Then I invited an old favourite to the table in the form of a Thorn-Clarke 2005 Terra Barossa Cuvee, a blend of Shiraz, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Pure red fruit, chocolate, and vanilla ruled this one ... What a beauty! I'm a Thorn-Clarke fan and its because of wines like this that I am.
With those two wines exhausted it was time for two more to make an appearance ... But with these two I was not as lucky as with the previous wines. A Cavit 2001 Merlot proved to be too earthy and with too much in the way of dried prune to really be enjoyable ... Though you just know, at this time in the evening, someone would enjoy it. And finally, a bottle of 2002 Angove's Red Belly Black Shiraz proved to be even more undrinkable than the aforementioned Vinos Domecq Cab ... An absolute horror show.
Those keeping count and/or those who are observant will notice 9 wines in the title but only 8 wines on the page ... Good for you, not sure anyone seated around the table that night could count that high by the end. The one wine I left off was served earlier in the evening and paired well with the fajitas, a 2011 Rockway Vineyards Small Lot Meritage ... Which I have reviewed in both written and video form ... Feel free to have a look at either or both.
