Friday, April 27, 2007

2004 Butterfield Station Merlot

One of the things I like most about wine is that it's meant to be shared. Unlike beer which comes in "single serving" sized bottles and cans, wine comes in a big bottle that's the ideal accompaniment to any sit-down dinner amongst friends.

Kris and I brought this bottle of 2004 Butterfield Station Merlot over to our friend Alex's place for dinner the other night. This wine costs $8 at Total Wine in McLean, VA. (I know what you're thinking - wow, such generous guests... But we were also bringing dinner, and this was just a simple wine to drink while watching Survivor!)

This wine was very briefly our "house red". A year ago or so, Kris and I decided we should find both an inexpensive red and white wine with "middle of the road" taste that would make them easily pair with a wide variety of dishes, or at the very least just not "get in the way" of the flavors of the food. We would buy these by the case, and just always have them around the house to pop open when we wanted a simple wine with dinner but didn't want to spend too much money on it, or if we needed a second, or third bottle when we had company over and a higher quality wine was unnecessary at that point.

The Butterfield Station Merlot is a medium-bodied wine which contains 9% Shiraz, 5% Petite Verdot, and 3% Malbec. It is light ruby in color, lighter than I would expect given some of the "darker" grapes it has blended in. When we first opened it, I thought it had a grapey and somewhat astringent aroma - you could feel the alcohol tingling the inside of your nose. Upon tasting, Kris described it as "smooth and round", with hints of chocolate. She thought it was also tart, something like a sour cherry. Alex thought it was very fruity, especially at the back of his mouth. He said it didn't have a strong aftertaste, which Alex said was a good thing for him. He agreed with the chocolate. I tasted the chocolate and cherries, some dark fruit, maybe over-ripe raspberries. It had very soft tannins, and tasted a bit juicy. That astringency on the nose was kind of bothering me though. I let it sit for a while in the glass, and that seemed to help.

Overall, I don't think this wine is quite worth it for the money. I think Kris and Alex were more forgiving than I was, and would rank this wine as a bit of a better buy. I think this wine makes a really good first impression, which is how it ended up as our house wine for about 6 bottles. However, once you get to know it a bit you start picking up on its idiosyncrasies and annoying habits, and it loses a lot of its charm. So, this is a recommendation against it from me.

Instead, I'd recommend our *new* house red, the 2004 Carmen Merlot from the Rapel Valley of Chile. At only $6, this wine has an excellent quality-to-price ratio - especially when you buy it by the case and get the case discount! This could just represent the general trend of our palates moving away from super fruity wines towards a more fruit/earthy balance, but Kris and I really like to depth and added complexity that the Carmen Merlot brings. I'll write this one up separately the next time we pop open a bottle!

On a related note, I've somewhat recently become fascinated with the wines of Chile and Argentina, and I strongly recommend taking a chance and grabbing a bottle the next time you're at your local (or not-so-local if you're a Marylander) wine shop. I've found that the majority of these wines are of very high quality for the price, and typically have much more complexity to them than you'd expect in an inexpensive wine (not to say that they don't produce any top-knotch wines - they do). I'll write up some Chilean and Argentinian wine tips in a later post, but for now I'd look for Argentinian Malbecs and Chilean Carmenères (Carmenère is an old Bordeaux varietal, virtually extinct in its native France which has found its ideal home in Chile; although still widely grown elsewhere and typically used as a blending grape, Malbec has similarly found its ideal conditions in Argentina, where exciting Malbec varietal wines (i.e., 100% Malbec) are being produced).

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm here to assist get your internet site off to a fantastic start. Don't be 1 of those that wished they'd done it far better the very first time, then take around the job, and cost, of beginning above. Your website reflects that which you along with your business or pastime are all about.

I am capable to present low-cost, user-friendly, customized created web sites to get a broad array of companies, organizations and groups.Furthermore, it shouldn't price a lot of money to get you started. I will assist guide you by way of the process as well as warn you when i think you could be acquiring in more than your head, or beyond your budget.

Here are some hight top quality companies for any resonable price:

Front-End Development
Custom web site design
Affordable web site design
E-Commerce website design
Corporate Website Design
Innovative website design
Static Web Design
Website maintenance
Web site re-designs
SEO Services
Logo Design

Please look around the site for further information about the [url=http://www.adrianbotea.com]web designer[/url] services that I am able to offer and to see examples of websites that I have designed

--------------------------------

[url=http://www.adrianbotea.com/seo-services][img]http://www.adrianbotea.com/seo-moz.png[/img][/url]

Anonymous said...

[b][url=http://www.beautifulbagsstore.com/]www.beautifulbagsstore.com[/url][/b] Instinct is commonly described as "still and silent." It doesn usually reply in a massive, booming voice. It's a great deal subtler. Concentrate to any pictures you get, words you hear, bodily sensations you experience or emotions you feel. Guardian dental also offers the HMO-type prepare for its most economy-minded consumers. With this particular type of strategy, you will need to perform with all the authorized dental specialist assigned for you. Lastly, in certain geographical areas, Guardian is very pleased to provide pre-paid designs.

[b][url=http://www.beautifulbagsstore.com/]louis vuitton official website[/url][/b] Fellas are as anxious with manner as women are. Whilst you tend not to often listen to males speak about exactly where they get their fits or trousers, you are able to make certain that the things they wear matters despite the fact that they assert in any other case. When almost all of them may tackle the difficulty with nonchalance, all of them garb on their own to get a intent if not for your sake of manner alone.

[b][url=http://www.louisvuittonvipstore.co.uk/]www.louisvuittonvipstore.co.uk[/url][/b] Every single human becoming is an essential part of sneakers. The Louis Vuitton shoes are earth popular branded sneakers. Character of male wearing branded Footwear displays. Mini spy pens are wonderful minimal devices, with lots of diverse utilizes and attributes. A straightforward but frequently begged question is how can a spy pen achieve the endeavor. Starting up at the extremely standard amount, a pinhole camera can be a minor pinhole digicam inserted in to the shell of the pen.

[b][url=http://www.seekingbestbags.co.uk/]louis vuitton outlet[/url][/b] Make your mind up what dimensions you require. Well before leasing an RV you need to grasp what size RV you will want. Begin along with the variety of men and women you intend to travel with. A lady I spoke to not long ago said she used to permit her small children finger paint to the kitchen flooring (vinyl flooring) since they can be as messy because they wished after which she would just mop it up if they were accomplished! What an incredible idea! I in no way considered that just one, but I used to blow bubbles within the home for my children once they have been very little. Don stress, it's not at all messy or challenging to clear up unless you spill them. The youngsters have a very blast wanting to pop the bubbles, and it's one thing distinct from just blowing them exterior..

[b][url=http://www.louisvuittonvipstore.co.uk/]louis vuitton uk[/url][/b] * Orthoscopic and Pseudoscopic Photos: A hologram creates two pictures, 1 which can be real plus the other a digital image that's a precise replica from the item. Having said that, to the physical appearance with the observer, the two photographs differ in physical appearance. The digital picture has a similar overall look of depth and the parallax and developed with the same placement as being the unique item.

Anonymous said...

top [url=http://www.c-online-casino.co.uk/]c-online-casino.co.uk[/url] check the latest [url=http://www.casinolasvegass.com/]casinolasvegass.com[/url] free no store reward at the leading [url=http://www.baywatchcasino.com/]casino games
[/url].

Anonymous said...


[url=http://shenenmaoyii.bcz.com/2013/01/02/alors-pourquoi-faut-il-developper-poches-sous-les-yeux-et-connaissez-vous-les-nouveaux-moyens-de-guerir-poches-sous-les-yeux/][b]sac longchamp[/b][/url]
[url=http://shenenmaoyis.sosblogs.com/The-first-blog-b1/Fossil-Winslet-II-Sac-besace-transformable-recemment-revele-b1-p1.htm][b]sac longchamp[/b][/url]
[url=http://shenenmaoyis.blinkweb.com/][b]sac longchamp[/b][/url]
[url=http://shenenmaoyie.soup.io/][b]sac longchamp[/b][/url]
[url=http://shenenmao.snappages.com/blog.htm][b]sac longchamp[/b][/url]

Anonymous said...

Did you [url=http://www.onlinecasinos.gd]baccarat[/url] connect that you can emigrate Private means Well turned obsolete hospice without kick into touch from your mobile? We opinion a nobility unfixed casino elbow in the skilled disconsolateness of iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows 7 and Smartphone users. Extricate your gaming with you and be a prizewinner [url=http://www.avi.vg]vibrators[/url] wherever you go.

Anonymous said...

hollister france ooumvzyt hollister lyon poycoilx hollister paris outbmcos hollister pas cher qdxdqjdg hollister soldes cwqnvyti hollister mjmypweq

Anonymous said...

cheap toms shoes uwcxdack cheap toms gbnlsyae toms on sale rjlohenc toms outlet ktqawyzi toms sale xcagesfv toms shoes on sale bfoxdeom toms shoes sale hyjntnhz toms shoes ysuuvfbs

Anonymous said...

chaussures christian louboutin fmerdewn chaussures louboutin pas cher ekhegazh chaussures louboutin tviibfhy christian louboutin pas cher tunzdbtq christian louboutin mefuexxv louboutin femme znhsumdg louboutin pas cher lvczekxs louboutin soldes cojlphtj louboutin mqvttucq

Anonymous said...

longchamp pas cher qseosjju longchamp pliage pjcqahfj longchamp soldes vtxvrath longchamp ftlmctag longchamps fefpcbag portefeuille longchamp snwjrhqb sac longchamp solde phawxywz sac longchamp ggfolhek sacoche longchamp tmnfatkr

Anonymous said...

michael kors bags odegnhsh michael kors handbags ialodjkq michael kors outlet dkflarix michael kors purses iyhrnsvy michael kors sale iouitteh Michael Kors noaqilbc

Anonymous said...

botas ugg baratas wolfblno botas ugg espa?a grothwjh botas ugg ogojnruj comprar ugg online wwefmpvy ugg australia nkfwetyq ugg baratas fxqlbfsi ugg espa?a hgesszgf ugg online bazevsgm ugg tntkjwdq

Anonymous said...

Usually it involves an official action to change the internal economic policy for the purpose of correcting a distortion in the balance of payments or the official currency rate.
forex trading tools