Monday, September 13, 2010

Yes, I Bought It Because of the Name...

There are many reasons to buy wine. You like the producer. You like the grape. You like the label. You like the designation--like the time last year I splurged wildly and bought a wine simply because it was the "Plague Doctor's Cuvee."

And yes, sometimes you buy it because of the name of the vineyard. Because with a name like "Jurassic Park" it has to be good, right?

Thankfully, the answer is yes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2008 Field Recordings Wine Chenin Blanc Jurassic Park Vineyard (domaineLA, $15; available elsewhere for the same price) This lovely, unfiltered Chenin Blanc was a touch cloudy in the glass. It had pronounced aromas and flavors of lemon curd, touched with mineral notes and a bit of freshly mown hay. The overall impression was a well-balanced mix of citrus, stone, and grass that was refreshing and impressive for the price. Excellent QPR.

(And the label isn't half bad, either...)

A wine with this much balance can handle almost any food. We are drowning in Thai basil at the moment, and so made some Thai-influenced grilled chicken breasts. The strong herbal flavors were a nice counterpoint to the lemony aspects of this wine, and picked up the grassy notes, too.

4 comments:

Till said...

Now that sounds tasty! Really like Chenin Blanc with so many foods. Thanks for the tip - hope to find it for next dinner party.

Allison said...

Cupcake has one of my favorite labels, and the Chardonnay turned out to be excellent and the Cabernet was good. Bohemian Highway was another label pick and the chardonnay was not bad.

Dr. Debs said...

I do like Cupcake Chardonnay, too. Looking forward to trying their new Shiraz from the Barossa Valley!

Unknown said...

Glad to have found this blog! Will have to try this, I also agree about the Cupcake Winery - I love their SV