The following is the flight list I made for the party tomorrow. I thought I would provide a little preview for those that are coming.
Welcome to the 5th Annual Kovacs Wine Party
Lauren and I are so happy you could join us today as we celebrate 5 years of living in Raleigh and having this great party with wonderful friends. We enjoy wines from all over the world and have selected some from our favorite wines, locations and vintors to share with you. This year we are providing this list of the featured wines so you can note which wines you enjoy the most and seek them out. All of these wines are available at Total Wine. Sit back, relax and enjoy!
The Reds
2006 Bridgman Cabernet Sauvignon – Yakima Valley, Washington
Notes: Ruby/garnet in the glass. Powerful nose of cassis and cherry/plum. Powerful, intense flavors of fruit — cassis and plum, primarily. A bit of cedar on the midpalate, with a touch of tannin and spice on the finish. Balance is just about perfect. with a long finish. Kris’ Note: I’ve noted that I’m becoming partial to wines from Washington State. The Columbia and Yakima Valleys make incredible wines. Look for Bridgman, Apex, and Chateau Ste. Michelle they are all from this region and they may great wines.
2005 Montoya Vinyards Cabernet Sauvignon – Napa Valley California
Notes: Dark berry color in the glass. This Cab has a freshly rained on soil smell with plummy and elegant oak on the nose. It has generous blackberry, plum, currant and berry flavors with a nice lingering smooth film of oak that nicely envelopes the smoky blackberry soft tang. Kris’ Note: Montoya is consistently a good wine and frequently shows up on resturant wine lists.
2007 Terra Barossa Shiraz – Austrailia
Notes: Purple, highly aromatic, showing raspberry, smoke — lots of smoke — and spice in the nose. Powerful, concentrated flavors of cherry, raspberry, smoke, baking chocolate, and oak notes on the finish. Balance is near-perfect; the wine is quite large, but there’s enough acidity and tannin to balance it out most of the way. It’s a little topheavy. Finish is everlasting. Kris’ note: This is the wild card. I asked for a Shiraz recommendation and this is what they recommended.
The Whites
2007 Bodega Catena Zapata Chardonnay – Mendoza, Argentina
Notes: It is the most well known winery from Argentina. Nicolás Catena is like Bob Mondavi from South America. Straw yellow. Shows gorgeous aromas of exotic fruits (mango, passion fruit, pineapple), butter and sweet oak. Mid-full bodied, with very rich sweet fruit, nicely integrated oak and balancing acidity. Long finish. Kris’ Note: I really like the strong bold reds from Mendoza – Argentina so I thought we should see what they can do with white wine.
2007 River Road Chardonnay – Sonoma County, California
Producers Notes: Our Sonoma County Chardonnay is fermented in stainless steel tanks and exposed to minimal oak contact after fermentation. This approach retains the bright, clean citrus and apple flavors.
2008 Villa Lanata Moscato D’Asti – Piedmont, Italy
Notes: Lemon-yellow in the glass. Inviting nose of apricot and nectarine. Slightly fizzy. Bountiful flavors of apricot, nectarine, and some orange zest, nice. Fairly sweet (at 5.5% ABV, not a surprise), moderate acidity, well-balanced. Kris’ Note: This is a previous Kovacs Wine Party Hit. In fact, this wine has celebrity status in our house during the holidays.
2008 Bidgman Riesling – Yakima Valley, Washington
Notes: Ripe pear, green apples and lime up front with honeyed peach on the finish. Kris’ Note: Yakima Valley again, sorry I just could not help myself.
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