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+--- Thread: Tannins and fruit (/thread-16283.html)
- jmaaan - 01-23-2006
Hello all,
I've been drinking wine for quite a while without any real knowledge of the structure of wine. So I've never been able to systematically try wines and really define my tastes. As I begin to educate myself, I am finding the major distinctions that are beginnig to guide me down the first wide path.
Up to this point I've found myself liking the lighter red wines, like Chianti or meritage wines that are more readily "drinkable". Despite the sweetness, I'm finding lately that I like whites more and more. I even really enjoy some white desert wines like Inniskillin and Royal Tokaji.
But I'm not so sure it's the fruit I like best but that I really dislike tannins. I don't know if I'm overly sensative to it but I find many red wines tough to drink because of it. Especially the wines they make here in California, the Zins and Cabs.
I'd like to enjoy and continue to expirement with various reds. From what I've done to this point, I tend to like Spanish wines but I've had French I like and even an older American wine or two.
I guess I'm stuck because I'm not sure how to further sort my tastes. I want to like red wine but I don't like the strong tannins. Do I like the oak? I don't know because I can't get through the tannins. Do I like it aged in oak longer or shorter? French Oak or American, filtered or unfiltered?
I can't get to any of these answers until I get past the tannin problem I think. So, I'm looking for suggestions to help me move past this issue.
Are there certain varietals anybody would suggest that might help me? Is it the age of the wine? Quality of the wine? Country of origin? Style?
- winoweenie - 01-23-2006
Hi Jmaaan and welcome to the board. I suggest you try some of the Merlots from volume producers as they are structured for immediate consumption. Try Blackstone and check out the Merlot thread and go back a year. You should fine lots of answers. Good drinking. WW
- jmaaan - 01-23-2006
Thanks WW, I'll try some of those suggestions.
In the past I've not had an affinity for Merlot because the ones I've tried seem almost flat. I don't mind tartness but I dislike astrigent.
I bought a Malbec today, I understand that's a bit mild like a Merlot....
- wondersofwine - 01-23-2006
I'm a Pinot Noir/Burgundy fan. While P.N. can be quite acidic, it doesn't show as much tannin normally as the Cali cabs. (I also like Zinfandel). Well-made California cabernet does mellow out in time. Winoweenie who is the board expert on them starts tasting his after several years of storage in good cellar conditions and drinks most of them at least ten years after harvest. They can be heavy on the wood treatment. You might try a Saintsbury Garnet to see if you like that style of Pinot Noir. Castle Rock makes a decent inexpensive Pinot Noir also. Have you tried Seghesio Zinfandel? That is a wine that some of us have enjoyed. Let us know what you try and your impressions of them.
- jmaaan - 01-25-2006
Thanks W.O.W.! I'll try the Pinot and get back to you. I don't have the proper celler conditions to hold wine for 10 years, although I've thought off and on about a wine fridge/humidifier. Perhaps it makes sense for me to purchase a 10 year old cab that's been cellered and see if I enjoy it after the tannins have mellowed. Any suggestions on a vintage cab that would fit the bill? I'm sure I could order one through one of the online wine merchants.
Thanks!
Jason
- wondersofwine - 01-25-2006
Jmaan,
You might take a look at this website:
http://www.hesscollection.com/wines.cfm
The Hess Collection Winery in Napa has three designations of wine from the less expensive and approachable earlier (Hess Select) to the mid-grade in price and quality (Hess Estate) to the most expensive and worthy of aging (Hess Collection). Vintage Wines in San Diego (one that Winoweenie has recommended to me and others on the board) has a 1999 Hess Collection Cabernet Sauvignon Estate listed for $19.99 which might be drinking well now. Some of the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon (generally a very good vintage) would probably be about ready to drink but the more prominent ones are hard to locate or expensive. For example, Robert Mondavi C.S. Reserve from 1997 shows online for around $50 to over $100 a bottle (and you can't always be sure about storage unless a reputable wine shop vouches for their own storage). The Caymus Special Selection for 1997 starts at about $110 a bottle and goes up from there! I've been on the lookout for Cal Cabs that are a little less tannic to begin with like the Simi Cabs from Sonoma and Sequoia Grove from a slightly softer vintage such as 1998.