A great day of some GREAT wine

Last Sunday, while enjoying a day of NFL Playoff football, we enjoyed three quite spectacular bottles of wine. Pairing with a fabulous Prime Rib with Red Wine and Thyme au jus (containing some of the first bottle) and Parmesan Yorkshire Pudding. What a meal. First up was this one:


Church & State 2011 Coyote Bowl Syrah ($34.99)

I previously review this here, when we tasted it at the winery last June. I liked it then, I liked it even more this past weekend. The extra time in the bottle smoothed out the peppery notes, changing them to beautiful flavors of black fruit. The pepper didn't disappear, but it lingered in the background. Fabulous. 94.





Then we switched over to a totally different bottle of the same varietal from a totally different part of the world.



Barossa Valley Estates 2007 Ebenezer Shiraz ($39.99)

Beautiful notes of blackberries and a touch of mint on the nose. A tiny bit of black olive and chocolate on the palate. Finishes forever. An absolutely beautiful wine that could probably age another 4-5 years and get even better. 93.






And now for something completely different, an oldie from the Old World:

Cantina della Porta Rossa - 2000 Bricco Ambrogio Barolo ($89.99)

 Age has coloured this to a orange/brown colour. Very complex on the nose and palate. Black cherry, tar, and leather. After a night in the decanter, the wine was still excellent and changed slightly to bring in a bit of tobacco. Chewy tannins and a very long finish. Very nice example of what this varietal can do with proper aging. Paired absolutely brilliantly the second day with a charcuterie plate. 93.





When a nice $90 Barolo is the third best bottle of wine you get to enjoy in a day, you know you've had yourself a pretty damn good day of wine-ing. Here's to many more days like that!!