22. February 2009 by Azat.

I ave not had wine for few days(this will change tomorrow as Im going to AOC with couple of friends) but I did go to a great restaurant for the 3rd or 4th time last Monday.  That restaurant is the Pizzaria Mozza but celebrity chef Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton who is the famous chef owner of La Brea Bakery

The interior of the place is warm and welcoming.  Maroon and mustard walls, very high ceilings and  a constant buzz from the diners is the ambiance from this place.  There was 4 of us so we ended up eating/tasting few things this trip.

For starters we ordered the deep friend squash blossoms filled with burrata cheese I believe, deep friend fingerling potatoes with sage and oregano and fried garbanzo beans, and the last starter was the mixed salad.  They were all cooked to perfection.  Highlight was for sure the squash blossoms.

For the second course we ordered 3 pizzas goat cheese, leeks, scallions & bacon pizza, the Margarita pizza the radicchio potato pizza.  I did not try the goat cheese pizza as it had bacon and Im a vegetarian but the other two were incredible.  Im told that te goat cheese was the best pizza my foodie friends had ever tried.  I can personally vouch for the margarita as being the best pizza I have ever had all over the world.

This is a great place to go unfortunately the wait is very long if you walk in with no reservations and to get a reservation during normal eating times is about 3-4 weeks

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15. February 2009 by Azat.

2004 Cantonella Cervoles Tinto (Spain, Costers del Segre): Ah, Espana.  My coworker is at Barcelona and I was reading her facebook and made the decision that today we are going to have a nice Spanish red.  Spain the land of tapas, gambas alla plancha, and sexy citizens and GREAT Tempranillo. Some of the new superstars of the wine grape world are also coming from Spain. Cervoles Tinto is a blend of Tempranillo, Cab, Garnacha and Merlot is an inky pool of forward and full-bodied fruit and smoke that is a rave of Old World restraint and New World gluttony.  The wine is a dark and deep color and an attractive nose of black berries. On the palate, it is juicy with a rich and velvety texture followed by a well-balanced finish.  A absolutely fascinating bottle of red wine.  Robert Parker gave the wine 92 points, too.(prior year 94) And you can still find them in the 20-25 dollar range

Tasting notes from The Wine Advocate:

“Wow! What an amazing, reasonably priced wine. This 1,000-case cuvee, aged 12-14 months in French oak, from one of the appellation’s highest altitude vineyards (it borders Montsant/Priorat), is a blend of 41% Tempranillo, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Grenache, and 11% Merlot. Fabulously fragrant, with notes of crushed rock, black raspberries, blueberries, and cassis, this inky/purple-colored wine boasts great fruit, medium to full body, fabulous texture and purity, and a long, heady finish. This is a compelling as well as provocative wine to drink over the next 7-8 years.”

I would rank this wine a 3-3.5 stars and its very reasonable priced

And by the way, happy Valentine’s Day!

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8. February 2009 by Azat.

First let me say that on the top of my list of wine varietals is Chateauneuf du Pape.  In the past 10-15 years they have become favorite wine of many who like classic/old world wines.  Robert Parker is a big fan of them and CDPs consistently make the top of his list year after year.  One would think he was an honorary citizen of Chateauneuf du Pape.

Lit me give you a brief history of the town in France nad the type of grapes grown there from Wikipedia.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape is a town and commune in the Vaucluse département in Provence, in southern France. Its name derives from a castle built by the Popes when they ruled from Avignon.

The village and three other surrounding communes produce wine, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape is an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in the southern Rhône wine region. Unlike its northern Rhône neighbors, Châteauneuf-du-Pape permits thirteen different varieties of grape; the blend is usually predominantly Grenache. Other red grapes include Cinsault, Counoise, Mourvèdre, Muscardin, Syrah, Terret Noir, and Vaccarèse. White grapes include Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picardin, Roussanne, and Picpoul. In recent years, the trend has been to include fewer (or even none) of the allowed white varieties and rely heavily (or solely) upon the Grenache, Mourvedre, and Syrah. One may suspect that this is a response to international wine-market trends and the desire to have this sometimes-rustic wine appeal to a broader commercial audience.

Before wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. began promoting them, the wines of Châteauneuf were considered rustic and of limited appeal in the U.S. However, his influence increased their price more than fourfold in a decade. In gratitude, the Châteauneuf Winemakers Union pushed for his becoming an honorary citizen of the village.

Now lets talk about one of the best to come from CDP at a semi reasonable price of 65 dollars.  I know its a bit high but its a good wine.  In the future I will list others that are much lower but today we will start with 2006 Vieux Telegraphe CDP.

Vieux Telegraph Chateauneuf 2006

The 2006 Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape, which is aged only in foudre and bottled with minimal clarification, is a more masculine, muscular effort than most 2006s. Its dark ruby/purple color is followed by notions of the sushi seaweed wrapper, nori, interwoven with incense, lavender, pepper, and copious quantities of black cherry and raspberry fruit. Medium to full-bodied, with moderate tannin, and good structure as well as depth, it will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age, and should keep for 15 or more years.

93 points Wine Advocate (Robert Parker)

I had  this wine few weeks back.  While the wine was still very young and can for sure benefit from another few years in the bottle it was an exceptional wine.  Big, crisp and spicy with peppery blackberry and blueberry fruit.  Hints spices like vanilla, clove and cinnamon can be tasted in the mouth.  Lots of sweet tannins which should help withe the aging of this beauty.

I would give this wine 4 stars and at 65 its not cheap but the quality for price ratio is very high.  This should be a great combo with grilled lamb or even pork chops

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8. February 2009 by Azat.

Tabouleh

Serves: 6
Preparation Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Average

Ingredients:
• 1/2 cups fine bulghour(cracked wheat you can buy from most middle eastern/Armenian food stores)
• 3 lge. bunch parsley, minced fine
• 1 bunch scallions, minced fine
• 3 tomatoes, skinned and peeled, if desired chopped fine
• 1 small bunch mint
• 1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
• 1/3 cup olive oil (pure or substitute)
• 1/3 cup lemon juice salt to taste

Cooking Instructions:
Soak bulghour in the diced tomato for an hour. Squeeze out the water with hands and mix with other ingredients except oil, lemon juice and salt.

Mix with olive oil, lemon juice and salt, using proportions agreeable to your taste.

It is important that vegetables be minced very fine. Serve in a bowl or dish surrounded with Romaine leaves or fresh tender grape leaves. The leaves are used to scoop up the salad. Prepare the mixture early enough so flavors blend.

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6. February 2009 by Azat.

It would be a crime for me not to write about Chateau Musar.  Many times my friends who know I love wine will ask me to recommend a wine or what my favorite wine is and I always try to find out what they like or if its about my favorite wine I tell them it depends on the time of the year and the meal I’m eating, but when forced to select a single wine I always say “Chateau Musar“.  To which the answer is always a dumbfounded look and a reply “Chateau what”?

Located at 1000 meters altitude in the fertile plain of Bekaa (Lebanon), the vineyard of Chateau Musar is composed of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault. A red Chateau Musar is usually characterized by its complexity and plenitude, the result of long aging (7 years) prior to release. Powerful and balanced, this red wine achieves full potential after 15 years.

Musar s a very complex wine.  Many wont like Musar at first as its not like the fruity wines of Spain or Australia or even California.  It has very old world tastes.  I tell people you can smell and taste the smoky earth from Bekaa Vally from the many years of battles between Israel and Lebanon.  There are many interesting stories of how the wine was stored away during the war.

Musar has a very spicy nose and complexity around the aroma. Very earthy tones in the smell of the wine as well as the taste.  Musar is earthy and spicy with a bit of bitter tang and lots of tannins.  One can compare Musar to the very stinky cheeses of France and England. If you love those cheeses you will love Musar.  If you love the simple provolone and think a sharp cheddar is a strong cheese you may get offended by Musar.

I own about 6-7 bottles of this wine from 1995 to 1999.  The 95 would knock your socks off.  They say that 1991 and the 1979 are the premier years for this wine.  Unfortunately I have never had the chance to try them

This is a 5 star wine for me and you can find in in some specialty stores for around 50 dollars if you are lucky

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2. February 2009 by Azat.

Dolma - Vegetarian(sarma)
Serves: 15
Preparation Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Difficult

Ingredients:
•1 cup rice
•½ cup pure olive oil
•2 large onions chopped
•4 cloves of garlic chopped
•1 tbsp. salt
•½ tsp. black pepper
•¼ tsp. red pepper
•½ cup diced green peppers
•½ cup fresh lemon juice
•½ cup chopped fresh parsley
•½ cup chopped fresh dill
•½ cup chopped fresh mint
•6 large tomatoes ground the in the food processor

Cooking Instructions:
In a large pan put the olive oil, onions and the garlic. Fry the onions until they are about to get translucent. Add the green peepers. Mix well, then stir in salt, black and red pepper. When the onions are translucent and the green peepers are just starting to get soft add the rice. Mix and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes. Add chopped parsley, mint and the dill. Add 6 tomatoes and lemon juice. Cook on low heat for approximately 20 minutes. Make sure to mix while it is cooking such that the rice does not stick to the bottom.

If using fresh grape leaves make sure to cook them in salt water for about 10 minutes to make them soft, but you may already find precooked grape leaves from your local grocery store. Using a tablespoon fill each grape leave with approximately 1 tablespoon each(some more some less, you will get the hang of it after your first 4-5 tries). Put the mixture 1 inch from the top edge of the dull side of the leave and first bring the back side on top of the mixture then bringing the two sides in and then rolling the whole thing. Make it a firm role.

Place the stuffed grape leaves in a pan for now. When done, get a new pan and place half the unused grape leaves on the bottom of the pan such that the entire bottom is covered. Now place the stuffed grape leaves in a circular fashion and layer them until all are in the pan and cover all the dolmas with the remaining unused grape leaved. Add a ¼ of water and ¼ of lemon juice to the pan and under slow heat let it simmer for about 15-30 minutes until all the water has evaporated. let it cool for 30 minutes prior to serving(you can serve this entirely cold as well)

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2. February 2009 by Azat.

 2005 Chappellet “Signature” Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

90+ points from Robert Parker: “Revealing a deeper ruby/purple color as well as a classic bouquet of blueberries, creme de cassis, spring flowers, and background earth, the medium to full-bodied, moderately tannic 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon(link to the 2006 vintage) can be drunk now or cellared for 12-15 years.” (Dec. 2008)

I got 3 bottles at the winery last summer and had the first bottle today post Superbowl with some BBQ.  The is an exceptional wine.  Dark garnet.  Black cherry and oak on the nose.  Black cherry forward fruit that takes on chocolate flavors on the finish, moderate acid, moderate soft tannins, long fruity finish.  In many ways this wine reminds me of many of the Bordeaux style wines.  This is a very nice wine with lots of fruit and interesting complexity. It is accessible now and will soften out more with a few years of aging.  Too bad I only have 2 left.

I would rank this wine 4 stars and it is a bit on the pricey side for my day to day consumption at $40 but it is a great wine for special occasions.

On a different note the picture in my intro is from the winery.  If you ever go to Napa you have to make a visit to the winery.  Its beautiful.

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