Hola Y’all,
So, I thought it was only a week or so since I published the last entry in my blog. I was sooooooo damn wrong. Now, I will continue the awesome meal that we had the other…month.
In case you don’t recall, we had 3 different wines over a 4 course, multiple hour meal. We cooked:
- Appetizer 1: Zucchini butter on whole wheat crackers.
- Appetizer 2: Fried calamari with a rustic tomato dipping sauce and a pepperoncini aioli.
- Soup course: Lobster bisque.
- Main Course: Baked whole red snapper with lemon and rosemary. Served with handmade linguine, burst cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and Parmesan.
Today, I’m going focus on the wine that we paired with the second appetizer. Because what says fun like pairing wine with some fried, small squids?
Alcohol by Vol.: 13%
Price: $11
(Price can vary on state, taxes, the store’s mark-up, and if you believe the heart on Pluto is because it’s trying to make up with Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Come on Neil, you know he loves you…)
While I may not have committed 19 crimes, I have some crimes of my own regarding this wine. So I’ll bring those up as I do this review.
Crime 1: I screwed up opening the bottle.
Me: “Yes, I know that this happens sometimes, but I got a little over zealous in getting this bad boy open. I had to use my massive engineering skills to leverage common kitchen utensils to get the cork out. Geez cut me a break!”
Prosecutor: “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I’ve heard a lot of screwed up and half-assed excuses over the years but this one has got to be near the top. For all that’s holy, this IS a Cabernet Sauvignon!”
Judge: Shakes his head and looks really disappointed…
Crime 2: I was skeptical about the wine because of the label.
Me: “I have had a hit and miss experience with wines that have criminals on the front of the bottle. I don’t know if it is a fad or because people want to tout pictures of their great extended relatives, but I’m kind of ready for it to end.”
Prosecutor: “Do you realize how preposterous this sounds? Why would anybody believe that a picture of some guy’s mug shot affect the flavor of the wine?”
Me: “Maybe the pictures pull the spirit of their ancestors into the bottle to change the flavors?”
Judge: Shakes his head and looks really disappointed…
After I was able to corkscrew and fork the bottle open to pour the glass. The color was a dark ruby and on the nose, I got big, rich, fruity accents. Overall, there seemed to be a lot going on with the aromas. The dominant smell was of blackberry and strawberry. The notes of the wine were balanced, which was a good starting sign.
Crime 3: I think that some Australia wines are too hard.Prosecutor: “Why do you libel the Australian wine country?”
Me: “I don’t. However, I believe that some places that sell outside of the state try too hard in making their wine do something uber unique. They should focus on just making it good.”
Prosecutor: “So, how did this wine taste compared to the others?”
Me: “Well, I took my first sip and said, “WOW!”. It was pretty well balanced with cherry and blackberry highlights. Extremely soft tannins, a hint of black pepper and a smooth, dry finish. You don’t really need to pair this wine with anything but good company.”
Prosecutor: “Oh really? You don’t need to pair you say… Your Honor, I present exhibit A: Fried Calamari with a rustic tomato dipping sauce and a pepperoncini aoili!”
Prosecutor: “So what do you have to say about that!?”
Me: “It was friggin’ delicious.”
Judge: Shakes his head and looks really disappointed…
I have to say, that this wine was beautiful with the calamari. I really hope that I can do this pairing again in the future but with 10x the portions because ‘Murica.
Judge: Takes glasses off and rubs eyes in frustration. “The prosecution can rest. What would the defendant rate 19 Crimes?”
Me: “Enjoy again, your Honor. The wine was Fan-fucking-tastic!”
Judge: “Then I’m going to throw out this case. The only real crime that we have seen here today was the fact that this review went on forever when you could have TL;DR’ed this thing. Please keep this in mind for the future, this is your last warning.”
TL;DR: This is a good wine and you need to go buy a bottle of 19 Crimes now.
Also, as a side note, their website is awesome! You need to go to this place and check it out.
