Even though this is the 1st of April, there is no fooling around here! In fact, Jelu Estate has been producing seriously great wine since 2002. Based in Mendoza, Argentina, Jelu Estate manages several wine projects including: JELU, Mayu, Caitec and Viña Delia. We will be focusing on the JELU line itself.

As you may have guessed, we are featuring Jelu Estate as a whole. They have five non-reserve wines(torrontes, malbec rosé, pinot noir, shiraz and malbec) and two reserve wines(shiraz and malbec). I’ve had four of the five non-reserve wines and the QPR CANNOT be matched!!! I’m sure the pinot is just as amazing . I’ll be tasting it soon, I’m sure…but I have to reiterate the fact that the quality of these wines reflect $20-30 bottles. Guess the price that one can EASILY find them retailing for… That’s right, $10-13 per bottle. No, they are not substitute bottles for classic wines from Cahors, the Rhone or Burgundy and they are certainly not 94+ point wines, but they are wines that many more consumers should be purchasing instead of most similarly priced competitors(and even quite a few of the $15-20 competitors).

The best part is that their wines are extremely well distributed. One shouldn’t have to look TOO far to find a tasty bottle of Jelu wine! ;-D

I will say that the 2010 vintage seems to not “have it together” like the 2008 vintage does in my eyes. This might simply be the fact that the ‘10 vintage has had less time in bottle to come together as the ‘08. We’ll see, won’t we? I wonder if the growing season was better in ‘08?

Any who, lets begin with the ‘10 JELU torrontes!! The bouquet initially DOES give off a hint of heat, luckily it is all up hill from here. Gorgeous lemon-lime aide mixes with buttered green apple and peach to offset the more generous oak notes. Then one comes across the REALLY interesting part of the bouquet. A delicate sense of celery stick or iceberg lettuce makes an appearance and a super intriguing hint of sweet olive brine brings some interest past simple fruit and oak. I know olive brine sounds like a bad thing, but it is über subtle. As for the palette, the bouquet transfers very well to the flavor profile and there is an addition of lychee and absolutely stunning mandarin oranges picked fresh from the tree. Quite a bit of depth for a torrontes. Well balanced. Firm acidity balances the hint of sweetness and mouth watering fleshiness. 89+ to 90 points!

Rosé…. I don’t know what to think of it as a category (please keep this in mind). JELU’s ‘10 MALBEC rosé is one dark little sucker. It could even be confused for pinot in dimly lit settings! Immediately, one comes across tart dried cherry, strawberry candy and creme fresh. It is simple and there is no mistaking this wine. Light to medium body, offering subtle herbs, cherry and strawberry with focused acidity, creamy mouthfeel and a finish that lasts for months. A fairly decent wine, clearly my least favorite, at 87 points. (I may have been a bit hard on it too)

Malbec and South America is hot right now. As are people from South America and those with South American roots (mainly, me). Back to malbec, right. It is absolutely delicious 99% of the time when produced in S. America. Fruit forward, not overly tannic and food friendly. Of course, I just described JELU’s ‘08 malbec. The bouquet is loaded with dark fruit such as cherry and cassis/black currant. Fresh ground pepper, oak and a green aspect along with a barnyard-y/animal butt note give this nose polish and interest. Again, the barnyard is SUBTLE and provides a little more depth. Dark chocolate covered cherry sings clearly above more ground pepper, barnyard and hints of oak and crumbling rock. The finish is long with tart cherry dominating. Solid acidity and structure. The heat is not entirely contained on the back end however, this will clearly calm down with a bit more aging. 91 points!!

I have tasted the Jelu ‘08 shiraz, though I felt that I wasn’t able to take any tasting notes at my girlfriend’s parents’ dinning room table… I know, crazy, right?…. Lol, well, what I remember of it was intense dark fruit with some lighter red fruit complimenting a touch of oak and fresh spice attributes. I DO know that I rated it a 90+. I have not had the pinot YET as I mentioned earlier, but it’s on my bucket list.

Overall, the JELU wines are on fire right now and I, Ryan A. Sewell-Perez, implore you to seek one out the next time you buy wine. Definitely a must have if you usually purchase wine in the $7-14 range. Trust me, you will be getting significantly better quality than 97% of the other wines in that price range in this style. For more details visit the Jelu Estate web site: http://www.jeluestate.com/

-Ryan

That’s right ladies and gents! The 2007  cab sauv from Viña Peñalolen has stolen the show and my heart =D! This wine from the Maipo Valley in the Valle Central area of Chilé has been consistently a favorite of mine!

My first experience with this wine was one of utter awe and belittlement. I REALLY wasn’t ready to understand the depth and complexity this cab has to offer, and I knew it.

Decant this wine. DECANT this wine. Decant THIS wine…..DeCANT This WIne!… Oh, you need me to say it one more time???? DECANT THIS WINE!!!!! What a monster this bottle is! Huge tannins that need at LEAST 2 - 3 hours OUT of bottle in order for the heavy tannins to break down, round out and the wine to open up.

Now, on to the tasting notes.

Inky black doesn’t begin to describe the dark, supple color. 

The bouquet offers heavy spice and coffee/mocha with slight black licorice peeking in and out. Also, minerality, like crumbling rocks, lead  and dirty metals make their impression here. The fruit is as dark as my soul (just kidding!). But seriously, ripe plumb, black cherries and deep red grape make your mouth water. 

The flavors run JUST as deep and the best part is the immaculate integration of each element!!! Tobacco, minerals and cacao with coffee bean will not be denied here! The licorice does not make it on board in the mouth (but that is ok because I’m not a big licorice person).. To be honest, I expected a very old world, gamey wine…surprisingly, that is not the case! Dark fruit weave in, out and ALL around these more “terrior-driven” flavors of smoke and lead. It was like the Harlem Globe Trotters were doing some tricks on the court in my mouth! (don’t get outrageous)

Be forewarned, the tannins are huge and stiff! However, there is pure elegance, immaculate structure and a RIGID back bone to this wine that makes each bottle WELL worth the $18-22 (plus shipping)!

This is a MUST try and a solid 93 point wine in my book. One day, I am going to travel to Chilé and high-five every person I see!No lie.

Enjoy this bottle with medium to sharp white goat and sheep cheeses. Then move on to a nice juicy 15lb spiced steak with potatoes and other heavy and rich veggies. Seriously, I don’t think you have to worry about any food over powering this wine. If anything, I’d worry about the opposite happening! Food is this wine’s BEST friend! =)

-Ryan Sewell

So, we know how Celeste and Peñalolen have entirely stolen my heart from earlier blog entries.. Unfortunately, this little love triangle has gone stale. My new ride or die left a HUGE impression on not only myself, but most wine media aswell!!

Our new best friend, the 2007 Ruffino Modus is spectacular! At 50% sangiovese, 25% cab sauv and 25% merlot, this wine comes HARD with incredible complexity, austerity and gripping character all at the same time. This Tuscan beauty comes with a hefty price tag, however. Though a bottle will roll in somewhere around $32 at most retailers, you can find great deals (like a $28 price tag at Prestige Wine & Spirits in S. Buffalo)!

I have never seen a wine that has looked more convincingly like black ink than this wine. I mean, DARK like space or…black ink, I don’t know. A nice, skiny, dark-ink red ring skirts the bottomless pit that forms the core.

When I say that I could look at this wine all day, I should preface that by saying that I will be smelling this wine all week! It is elegantly complex with a TON…….T.O.N. of subtle nuances, so I’m sure I won’t cover them all. Leave a comment if you find/have found anything else! ;-D

The bouquet kicks off with obvious first, second and third tier layers. Truely, my initial though wasn’t “Oh, oak.”, but rather “holy crap, what depth!”. On the surface, there is a lingering cedar box stuffed with loose leaf tobacco, smothered in fresh basil and thyme. Also, a lingering sweetness akin to cherry tomatoes is very evident. Might I mention now that the layers are immaculately (finally, the correct usage of this word!), yes, immaculately integrated. Now, on to the second tier…which held my favorite scents in this wine. Once you brush away the top soil, past the cedar, you are rewarded with deep, dark-red fruit. Cherries, plumb and black berries spill out of the glass and no one can stop them! This is all accompanied by a beautiful sense of glazed walnuts and brazil nuts. If you’ve never had a brazil nut, go now, right now, and find one. Insert it in your mouth (don’t get crayzay) and masticate. Aw yeah.. If you have found your way this far on the journey that this bouquet has to offer, join me one level deeper into the belly of the beast. Here is where the courageous traveler is highly rewarded! No there is no magic sword or shield, but there IS tertiary nose profiles of smoked venison jerky, some nice mocha/cacao and a super, nay UBER miniscule hint of vanilla extract.. Was it worth the trip? I’d say so…. 

What this bottle has to offer the palette is similarly structured, yet very different. Three distinct layers, one is interesting, in the wine nerd way, but we’ll get to that later. Right off the bat I found a humungo (sp?) flash of vanilla accompanied by the most delicious fruit in the world. A bold statement, I know. True blueberry preserves, fleshy, fresh black berries and an oak box filled with spices and herbs (some fresh herbs, some dried herbs and brown oriental-like spices came to mind). There are several transitions which occur at different times. The immediate flash of vanilla transitions smoothly into a bitter taza (cup in spanish) of espresso topped with steamed milk froth. This espresso, that I long to be drinking at this very moment, lies just beneath gorgeous tart black cherries and plumbs which develop from the sweeter fruits mentioned earlier. The acid on the palette is very reminiscent of a top quality balsamic vinegar and contributes a huge helping of both freshness and concentration. Absolutely stunning! The back end flavor profile displays mouth watering dark leafy greens and herbs along with the balsamic note, still persisting.

Remember the interesting and nerdy layer I mentioned before? Ever smelled or tasted whiteout? The liquid, not the other strip that you apply with the fancy dispenser…thing? Right. Well, yes, I AM indeed saying that whiteout was the tertiary flavor and it rode out on the ENTIRE flavor profile. From the attack to the back end of my palette I distinctly tasted whiteout. The funny thing is, I didn’t mind one bit. It is in the backdrop and most people wouldn’t even notice if you didn’t tell them.

A fruit glazed meaty/gamey component with clear cut LOW-count-cacao dark chocolate and burning bacon fat DOMINATED my mouth on the finish. Ropes and hand cuffs style. Yes, I went there, lol. Man, talk about a long finish, it just wouldn’t give up!

Well integrated tannin structure and wonderful grip!

An easy 95 point bottle. I might have even been a bit hard on this bottle… It brought the heat and I brought some serious critique. The white out thing did end up bothering me after the wine warmed up past room temp (my apartment is stupid hot) or else this would have been  a 96-7 point bottle. Splurge.. Splurge, splurge, SPLURGE! On this bottle because it is WELL worth the price, in my humble opinion, and I’m sure you can find it somewhere on the internet for cheaper!

Modus, welcome to the family =-)

As usual, I hope you and every one and thing you care about is doing well!

Let’s keep our noses out of the air and in our glasses! ;-)

Until next time,

-Ryan Alexander Sewell

2005 Schild Estate, shiraz - Barossa, Australia - $17

Hey everyone! I hope you are all well and if not, just have patience and soon it will all be A ok! 

I’ve been doing TONS of work on the website and preparing for the second wine club of Western NY meeting. Take a look and let me know what you think! http://www.doitbig-wineclub.com/

Australian shiraz at its finest! Well, maybe not…but I TOTALLY understand why this little bottle made it onto the Wine Enthusiast’s top 100 of 2010 list (number 7, in fact)! $17 dollars is a STEAL for this wine, really!

Before we move on, let us take note that this is not a small bottle, at all. I have actually been using it to do curls since finishing off the wine and my biceps are huge! ;-)

But seriously, my biceps are huge.. Enough about my huge ‘ceps, though…(Huge)… This wine was a delight!! Tis bottle was a definite leap above D’Arenberg’s The Stump Jump (along wit another Aussie wine that I recently found to be better was the 2006 Water Wheel). Back to the point, the Schild Estate brought some serious inky black color and some serious complexities!

The two main components of the nose were dried fruits, such as prunes,raisins and craisins, and nuts (pecans, walnuts and almonds). The dried fruits are paired with chocolate, a corroding rock and cherry juice towards the middle of the nose and the back of the nose offers peppered steak, a green aspect and subtle vanilla! An enticing nose, to be sure.

This is, by far, the DARKEST wine I have ever tasted. We are talking Darth Vador(sp? lol), the Joker and the later Harry Potter movies type of dark… This was an eye opener, because Australian shiraz has not been my top choice… However this wine delivered elegance and refinement, which I feel is the missing factor in most wines with shiraz from koala-country. The typical chocolate covered raisins and nuts (almond, hazelnut, etc) reign supreme but accompanied by gorgeous loose leaf tobacco as well as minute amounts of both oak and heat. There is a nice sense of dark tea with a bit of milk and sugar on the back end and craisins come across last just before the smooth as silk finish. SUPREME acidity,balance and structure! The finish lingered with a flash of cherry or pomegranate poma juice (I can’t decide which, and I don’t mind) which transforms into bitter cacao and tar.

Listen, I know what you are thinking, “who wants to have a mout-full of tobacco and tar?” and I get it, I really do… Just do me a favor and keep seeking bottles like this out every once in a while. I am sure that you will soon understand why some people find these flavors soo pretty and intriguing! Call it an “acquired taste”, but once you stretch expand your palette past Mcflurries, pizza and fries you will be come as passionate about wines like this as any crazy oenophile!!!

Getting my nose out of the air and into the glass….you too!

ttys =-)

-Ryan Alexander Sewell

Are YOU Doing It Big?!

flapsupargentina:

The First International Malbec Day 

In recognition of its status as the undisputed world leader in the production of Malbec, Argentina is declaring April 17^th the International Malbec Day.  Celebrations will begin in 2011.  The Wines of Argentina Company has just launched its Malbec World Day campaign whose goal is to organize events around the world on April 17^th every year.  The cities of New York, London and Mendoza were chosen for the celebration of the inaugural year 2011. The festivities will include seminars, tastings, and special events at Argentine restaurants and wine shops where Malbec will be the star.

April 17^th 1853 is considered by many experts to be the most significant moment in the history of Malbec in Argentina.  That was the day that the Governor of Mendoza, Pedro Pascual Segura, presented a proposal to the legislature to create an agronomical farm and an agricultural school in the province of Mendoza. The proposal was approved and renowned French agricultural engineer Michel Aimé Pouget was brought to Mendoza to head the project. One of his ideas was to introduce new vine strains to the region in order to identify the best performers and eventually develop world-class wines.  The most famous result of this experiment is the Malbec.

The rest, both for Argentines and for the many foreign converts to the religion of Malbec, is history.

cheerstoyourweekend:

Cheers to Your Weekend! (by soupatraveler)