Casa Piedra Alta Malbec Merlot 2011

OK, so have you ever heard of a Malbec Merlot blend?

I'm certainly no wine expert but I've never seen that combination. A big bold Malbec blended with a smooth fruity Merlot - sounds interesting. It was! I found it online at about $15.00. Most of the wines that I buy online are on sale and are in the $15 - $30 range. That usually seems to translate into $60 - $120 restaurant price.

After I had already opened it I found out that Susie was making a great light chicken pasta dish, penne alfio. The recipe is on her blog at http://susiesmonthlyrecipes.blogspot.com/. YOU CAN'T DRINK A BIG BOLD MALBEC WITH PENNE ALFIO - RIGHT?  Wrong!  It worked great (but keep in mind that I could drink a good bottle of red wine with a bowl of Cheerios or a box of Mike & Ikes).

OK so now I'm going to venture into an area of subjectivity. The wine mavens that somewhere along the way learned a different language (e.g. - the nose of this wine is like scorched earth and jungle fruits - WHAT??) would probably say that this Argentinean red was full of very dark fruit flavors softened with vanilla and rounded out with oak. In fact the Wall Street Journal said "For a deliciously different twist on this popular favorite (Malbec), we headed to Mendoza's ultra-fashionable, high-altitude Uco Valley and local star Jose Morales. He married his most sumptuous Malbec to smooth , plummy Merlot. Just wait until you taste the steak-ready results."

To me it just tasted really good even with a chicken dish.

One does wonder what it would be like with a big filet topped with blue cheese. Yum!

Argiolas Perdera

On Friday night a few weeks back we had a date night dinner at Dante’s. Dante’s is a great new restaurant in Omaha featuring authentic Neapolitan (certified “Vera” – whatever that is) pizza and a few authentic pasta dishes. I could write a whole blog on everything that Dante’s does right and I will, but I digress.

One of the many things that Dante’s does right is wine. That night we tried a wine called Argiolas Perdera. I think it was $38 – pretty inexpensive. I have found it online at about $15. It was a great red! It was big and full flavored. It was like any great table wine that we have tried. The grape is a Monica. Never heard of it. Why? – because it apparently only grows on the island of Sardinia off the west coast of Central Italy.

Argiolas is apparently a very well respected winery in Sardinia known for quality wines. The island also produces two other not very well known grapes, Cannonau (an Italian version of Grenache) and a white wine grape Vermentino. If the Monica grape in the Argiolas Perdera is any indication of Sardinian wines I will have to try the other two.

I am told by people that talk like this that “the nose exudes deep, ripe black and red berry fruits as well as notes of earth and menthol.” It gets fuller and more complex as it sits in the glass.

All I know is that my wife and I both thought it was great. It made me want to start singing Italian songs and get up and play Bocce. If I was into those kinds of things I would rate it in the low 90s. The next day I found it online and I now have some sitting in our cellar.