Wednesday, January 20, 2010

A Little Wine A Little Snacking A Little Talking

We hadn't seen our very good friends Justin & Amy in quite some time. Well at least it SEEMED like a long time & that is good enough. There shouldn't really be a reason to see close friends (actually at this point they are family, not friends) aside from wanting to. Kelly grabbed some cheeses & olives from the store as I poked through the wine fridge to see what we should open. J & A showed up with a Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 Napa Valley. Damn! This was such a nice surprise & what a treat. I thought that I should open something that would balance the cab out. Something spicy, something old world. Sooo I brought out a Domaine Les Aphillanthes Vielles Vignes 2006 Cotes du Rhone-Villages.



The Darioush was luscious & soft. At first it was almost zin-like with a jammy fruit note & a sort of blackberry, raspberry kind of thing going on. But after a bit of time it got bolder & bigger. The tannins became more pronounced but never got abrasive. They remained soft & supple. It was delightfully unique!



The Aphillantes was heady with spicy aromas of oil cured olive, clove, earth & dark red fruit. It had a lovely dark core of fruit on the palate & a round voluptuous texture. Absolutely gorgeous! I wanted that glass of wine to last forever.

5 comments:

Samantha Dugan said...

I've not had that Cotes du Rhone Villages in a few years but it has always tickled my fancy if you will. Seems to offer that middle ground between Old World structure and New World fruit, lovely wine.

Michael Hughes said...

Well said, Sam. Deeee-licious

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Petya K. Grady said...

I love your descriptions of various wines. I could almost taste it!

Michael Hughes said...

Thanks Petya!