QCR (Quick Cider Review): Great Shoals Spencerville Red

Kinda on the fly and in a hurry, but here goes…

Origin: Princess Anne, Maryland, USA

Composition: 100% Heyser Farm Spencerville Red apples

Appearance: foggy green-tinged straw yellow

Nose: ripe red apples, ginseng, honey

Palate: same as nose, super-clean, dry, and crisp

Mouthfeel: round front-palate with a lean, but long and fruitful finish

This is a cider I have been in love with for a couple of years now (a consistent gold medal winner at the Maryland Governor’s Cup wine competition). Not easy to find, even in our immediate market, but well worth going out of your way for. Crisp and refreshing for the Summer, but not un-shy at 8% alcohol. A fine breakfast cider that pairs well with a mixed-veggie frittata and potatoes.

QWR: Henschke “Henry’s Seven” 2006

That’s how you spend a day off.

 

 

Origin: Barossa, Australia

Composition: 66% Syrah/19% Grenache/8% Mourvèdre/7%Viognier

Appearance: ruby-violet with a black core and slightly bricked edges

Nose: eucalyptus, brambly blackberry, licorice

Palate: ripe mixed berries, tobacco, espresso bean, menthol

Mouthfeel: medium-full bodied with mouth-filling richness up-front, overall silkiness, wee mid-palate acid, and chalky tannins

Knew I was grilling a sirloin steak and wanted a wine built to handle it. Stopped by my old shop and found this bottling that I brought in a couple of years ago and pegged it as just right (also, at a price I was willing to spend $40–sorry St. Joseph, top-shelf Argentine blends, and vintage Rioja Reserva).

Twisted the screw-cap, set to grilling, and waited. About an hour later, sirloin topped with blue Stilton; grilled radicchio; and grill-sautéed green peppers, onions, and baby bella mushrooms were on the table next to a deep, dark glass of this Aussie classic.

Taut upon release and hiding under Stelvin closure, this wine has really come around. The nose and palate showed an almost Port-like something that had me a touch worried in conjunction with the slight bricking, but it turned out to be just the stewy fruit common of Barossa. The crush of ripe berry fruit was kept in check by a delicate mid-palate acid and the cooling menthol edge on the finish. At a stated 15% alcohol, this could have easily been boozy, but was quite well-balanced and surprisingly light and drinkable.

The pairing was on the money, too. The balance was apparent in not dominating the (admittedly, strong) flavors on my plate. The fruit and acid played beautifully off the fattiness and char of the steak and intense flavor of the Stilton. The radicchio and mixed veggies brought out fruit sweetness in the wine.

Next thing I knew, the wife and I had killed the bottle as we cleared our plates. No palate fatigue. No fullness after a glass. No concern about paying the price of over-indulgence. Just pure satisfaction.

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Fine Wine?

A portion of my comments from a forum question about what constitutes “fine wine” on LinkedIn. This pretty much sums up my general philosophy on wine appreciation and belongs here as much as anywhere.

Fine wine doesn’t try to cowtow to our basest desires–it is what it is without compromise and doesn’t really care if you like it. A fine wine knows it is not for everyone but that it is for someone. It understands that its place is nestled on a retail shelf or wine list amongst myriad other products that exist under the same conditions just waiting for someone to chose it, love it, and cherish the memory of it long after it’s gone.

What is “fine wine” to you?

All fine–all prices and styles