Grape Madness – Round One, Part Two

Editors Note:  My scoring system for Grape Madness is meant to resemble basketball scores, not globally recognized wine critics who write newsletters or publish in major magazine’s scores…

The upper tier of our Grape Madness brackets have been completed and immediately there’s been some controversy.  We had comments from people (and when I say people, I mean one person) – but I’m thrilled someone is paying enough attention to call out the Ombudsman on us humble wine bloggers.

Yes, the first round brought some surprises, lower than expected scores, in my case upsets, but that’s the nature of blind tasting.  And it’s what I find so amazing when reading wine reviews by the aforementioned experts.  No doubt they’ve got better palates than I do, know more about the process of taste and proper criticism, yet I’m often mystified that the wines on the surface you’d expect would get monster scores all seem to deliver on the page.  Hmmmm.

But take heart sports fans (and if the girls in this photo are reading my blog please say hello – as a fellow Eagles fan I know exactly what you’re feeling.)  If your favorite wine lost, suck it up and look forward to next year.  That’s what us Birds fans always do…

(Cue ESPN music):  But now it’s off to the hardwoods for some more Grape Madness action from last night:

(2) 337 Cabernet Sauvignon ($10.00) versus (3) Bodega Norton Malbec ($8.00)

After the low scoring in the first set of match-ups (and by low scoring, I mean in basketball terms, Danny), these next two games offered the hope of some serious chucking from three point land.

I’ve really been impressed with just about every Argentine Malbec I’ve tasted in the past few years, everything from the $2.99 La Boca (found at TJ’s) to more expensive versions of this big varietal.  Then again, I also know first hand what the 337 grape clone can do in the glass so I had high hopes for the Lodi appelated wine that uses it as its name.

Both wines exhibited fresh notes on the nose, the Malbec, raspeberries, the Cab a minty chocolatly thing not unlike the Girl Scout cookies I was strong-armed into buying last weekend.  But where the wines parted ways was on the mid palate where the 337 did not offer up much in the way of fruit (something I look for – your mileage may vary), while the Argentinian, not lush by any means displayed a balance of fruit that created a more satisfying finish.

Norton 82, 337, 76 (and by 82-76, I mean a basketball score, a close game that could have went either way but in the end, free throws made the difference)

(2) The Show ($13.00) versus (3) Talia Rosso ($7.00)

The last time the US and Italy met was the 2006 World Cup in front of 46,000 at Fritz-Walter Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany.  That match ended in a 1-1 tie (and the world wonders why we don’t like soccer).

This match up, drank before four fans in Encino, CA held much more excitement I assure you.

The Show lived up to it’s name and came out very strong, with a smoky, bacony nose that I must say was pleasing to this fifteen year veteran vegetarian.  I don’t normally like the smell of frying swine but I enjoyed this.  And yet the Rosso pressed back with some smoke of its own.

Both wines were a bit tight and tannic with nicely balanced finishes and headed to the locker rooms tied at the half.  But after a little bit more time in the glass, The Show, perhaps with a slightly conscious evaluation that it was a more age worthy wine, came out on top.

The Show 74, Talia Rosso 69

So the Cost Plus First Round bracket ends with some upsets and some higher seeds advancing.  Nothing to complain about there.

The Next Round looks like this:

(4) Aaku Cabernet Sauvignon versus (3) Bodega Norton Malbec &  (4) Pinot Evil versus (2) The Show

Hope you’ll all stick around for next week!!!