After leaving the food (w)hole, I jetted on over to Kitty G Bistro to have a light meal and some more delicious wines with Mark. He greeted me with some leftover Koster-Wolf Scheurebe, then we sat down to a wonderful Indian chicken and rice dish that he made earlier in his tagine (word to the wise: one clove goes a long way!). We paired the dish with Dr. Loosen's latest offering, Loosen UP, which sports a pretty nifty label and an even niftier delivery on the palate. The back of the label suggests that this Riesling is 'perfect for a night in, a night out, a first date, a last date, a spicy meal, a special occasion or just to Loosen UP,' and we couldn't agree more.
Next up was the Besllum 2008 blend. These 40 year-old vines turned out to be just the cougars we needed to spice up our evening. The nose was tight right out of the bottle, but after we decanted and gave it a little space, this shrinking violet began to show its personality. I blinded Mark on it, and his first thoughts led to Southern Rhone: grenache, carignan, and mourvedre. If only his neurons had translated French to Spanish, they would have told him that he was 2/3rds of the way there. This blend of 45% Garnacha, 45% Carinena, and 10% Syrah from Monsant is only a stone's throw (albeit a stone thrown by the likes of French strongman Apollon) from the Rhone. Same varietals, different flags. The fact that this Montsant tasted particularly French is perhaps from the use of French oak rather than American. We actually like this very much, because it didn't taste like a ghastly campfire in our mouths. Montsant DO is basically a stepchild of the prized Priorat DOCa, but don't beat this redhead, because it stands on its own and is only a fraction of the price. Lest we forget, little Richie from Happy Days did grow up to become a successful director.
Ok, so how does it taste, you're asking? Well...after the nose opened up, we detected notes of black currant, a little dusty attic, a slight alcohol burn, perhaps a little pine, and some sour cherry that we usually associate with Italy. On the palate we got baby tannins, raspberries, black currant (confirmed), and some alcohol. Overall, it's a great wine, especially for the price ($16.99 at Whole Foods). Drink right out of the gate, though, as it lost some of its charm after being open for a couple of hours.
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