El Supremo Malbec

El Supremo Malbec is an exceptional value when looking for an everyday wine with weight and substance!

Aromas of earth with the taste of black currants, hint of cacao, with a long and intense finish. This wine is perfect for the winedrinker that likes wine on the "surly-side!"

Ideal with:  carne asada tacos / cheddar bacon burgers / simple grilled lamb chops / 

Chimichurri sauce friendly flank steak

*  1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
*  2 Tbsps fresh lemon juice

* 2 Tbsps apple cider vinegar, red wine or sherry vinegar
* 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, washed and dried
* 1 cup cilantro leaves, washed and dried

* 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
* 1/4 cup oregano leaves, washed and dried
* 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
* 1/2 shallot, roughly chopped
* 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red peppe

Arrogant Frog Winery

With so much pomp and circumstance still in the wine world today. It is refreshing to find fun/approachable wines from a country known for selling us wine on a pedestal. And this French wine does not require a geography lesson for us to know what is in it.

1. We will always be, to some degree, a varietal driven culture and these guys get it. Varietal is right on the label!

2. We want reasonable everyday fun drinking wines

3. "High up on the mountainside," "old vines," "Only 5 hectares," "Highly rated," "only made 5 cases." "it is from this side of the mountain," "geography lessons" etc. are just sales tools! Is this my wine? Will I like it?

4. If you hear the words "This is my favorite!" RUN AWAY! You do not love everything that even your spouse/lovers loves; why in the hell would ALL of you love something as personal as taste?

For many of you, YOUR WINES ARE HERE!

Arrogant Frog White...

85% Chardonnay, 15% Viognier

Vinification

De-stemmed grapes are vinified separately, without skin contact. Low temperature racking at 8̊C followed by three weeks fermentation at 17̊C. 10% of Chardonnay undergoes malolactic fermentation. [<<

With a aromas of elegant aromas of tropical fruits, with peach and white flowers and hints of vanilla. Tastes of fresh and mellow apple and melon with a long persistent finish
Serve lightly chilled with seafood and fish; will also complement sushi, white meats, blue cheese

Arrogant Frog Pinot Noir...

100% Pinot Noir

Vinification

De-stemmed grapes are vinified separately. Skin contact at 10̊C for three days. Skin contact at 10 ̊C for 3 days prior to 6 days fermentation at 24/26̊C with daily pumping over followed by a 9 day maceration. Only the first presses are reincorporated into the wine. 50% of the blend is aged in new oak barrel for 7 months. The other 50% are matured stainless steel vats. After taking the wine off the barrels we have aged it for a further 2 months in vats prior to bottling.

Bright and lovely light garnet with aromas of  strawberry, cherry, and soft spices and vanilla. Nice body with ripe tannins and acidity; develops very delicate aromas and a long lasting finish. Not sweet, just ripe and drinkable! Serve with ALMOST ANYTHING! Save red sauces for the other wines.

Arrogant Frog Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot...

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot

Vinification

De-stemmed grapes are vinified separately. Skin contact at 10°C for two days. Six days fermentation at 24 to 26°C, followed by 17 days maceration. Aging before release 55% in concrete vats for 6 months, 45% in barrels for 6 months, additional 3 months in bottle before release.

Deep purple with hints of ruby. Nose of  blackberries, truffles, mocha and jam with a hint of 'nilla!

Well balanced and smooth long finish hugged by notes of plum.

Ideal with pastas, barbecue, poultry, game, terrines, and medium to strong cheeses, as well as chocolate desserts.

Champagne [Sham-Pain]

“Sham-Pain”
Current “rules of disgorgement” state that champagne and sparkling wines are “celebration only” wines. Served with the purpose of commemorating something and not to be enjoyed for what they themselves are…really good wine, yes wine.

With all of this ego and pride “flowing” it is no wonder that we only want to decide once a year what bubbles to purchase! Complicated by the fact that the “confused consumer” has dictated what is available for purchase. Extra-Dry, which would better match our American sweet tooth [since we drink colas like water] is very hard if not impossible to find. Why, we never bought it so they stopped shipping it; not to mention many people liked Brut better because Extra-Dry was “too dry.” Dam dam dam those labels! Think I am kidding, why you think they have animal wine labels, because they taste soooo cute! It is simply the power of suggestion. Also, our confusion and lack of consumption of Champagnes has kept others from entering the market. Australia for example has the French involved in producing great products in their country but they will not ship to the U.S. because they became worn-out just trying to get us to drink Shiraz!

Why drive a formula 1 race car in rush hour traffic? Going by sheer taste, it is hard to justify spending up to 5 times more for a producer’s cuvée de prestige versus a Non-Vintage. Non-Vintages are a blend on different years that enables each Champagne house to maintain its style or flavor on wine. The middle tier and harder to find but worth searching for is “Vintage” Champagne, made from a single year, this wine offers refined flavors for half the price of the cuvée de prestige or cuvée spéciale and tete de cuvee.

Yes, Champagne has a purpose and should be enjoyed often, but why not give some others a chance; sparking wines from California, Spain [cava], Germany [Sekt] and Italy [Asti] make great substitutes for Champagne. Offering a refreshing style without the price pressures of supply and demand! Even France has it’s own offering from other parts of the region that offer good value, Champagne-like wines called crémant from d'Alsace and crémant de Bourgogne [Burgundy] are the most popular. Called crémant because they are done in the Champagne style of a secondary fermentation in the bottle, which causes higher pressure and therefore smaller bubbles then you can get from any other methods like adding CO2 to a tank. The Champagne style or Champenois is considered the best and can be emulated by many other regions around the world, usually at a better price. Quality and preference are the other considerations.

I drink champagne when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty. ~ Madame Lilly Bollinger

What to look for...

France
Produces non-champagne sparkling wines called Cremant. Look for:
Crémant d’Alsace- made mainly from Pinot Blanc; may also contain Pinot Gris, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Rosés are made with Pinot Noir. Crémant de Bourgogne- uses thirty percent Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris. Aligoté is added to round out the final blend.
Crémant de Loire- the largest sparkling producer outside of Champagne- uses a blend of the Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc or Cabernet Franc

Italy
Makes several great sparkling wines from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but even more exciting varieties are made with the Prosecco grape and called Asti. Formerly known as Asti Spumante, the name was changed to distinguish it from cheaper U.S. brands. Sparkling wines from the Moscato grape are made in a frizzante style, which has slightly less bubbles.

Germany
Makes Sekt. The best examples are made from Riesling, and their labels state the following: “Deutscher Sekt” [made with German grapes.] The best of the best in this group are made in the méthode champenoise.

Spain
Makes sparkling wines called cava from grapes like Macabeo, Parellada, Xarel·lo, and Subirat. Wines made from Chardonnay were introduced about thirty years ago and add further refinement to these expressive wines. The traditional method must be used which is the same as in champagne, with the second fermentation taking place in the bottle.

United States
Produces sparkling wines made in both the champagne method and the charmont process. The latter is a less expensive style, made in a manner similar to the way soft drinks are made, with the occasional use of a concrete pit. YUMMY! Better versions range from brut to sec, but remember no hard and fast rules apply. If you have a taste for American sparkling wines but not the French, it is probably due to the fact that our version of brut often contains the same amount of sugar that French demi-sec has.

Morgan “Metallico” Chardonnay, Monterey - CA

Un-oaked styles are all the rage these days! Morgan making one of the better examples that exudes the “true flavor” of the Chardonnay grape. Two simple ways to look at making wine, either in the vineyard or by the winemaker. Finally California Chardonnay are being made by the former not the latter.

Green apple, lemon, orange blossoms. The wine finishes crisply with a mineral note and a slightly creamy mouth-feel.

Works well with poultry and other light fare. Perfect warm weather cock-tailer

Graffigna “Centenario” Malbec, Pedernal Valley - San Juan, Argentina

Deep red with purplish nuances. A very complex bouquet, with a reminiscence of very ripe blackberries and the appearance of black pepper. Presents smooth and well integrated tannins [mouth-feel]. Rounded and velvety. Its finish is complex, with notes of coffee, vanilla and toasted.

Nice use of Oak really tames this expressive wine: 100 % in oak (50% in French oak and 50% in American oak) for 12 months. Maturing in bottle: 6 months. Pedernal Valley - San Juan. At. 1.400 mts. above sea level.

Definitely a red meat wine but enjoys spicy Mexican, Cajun, Indian or Italian fare (especially with tomato-based sauces!). Consider giving Malbec a go with barbecue, chili and sausage. Ideal match for barbecues, all types of food with pepper and onion based sauces. DAM-FINE-FOOD-WINE

Volver Tempranillo, La Mancha - Spain

Dark purple black hues.
Aromas of plums, black cherries, sweet smoky oak, tobacco, and funky tree bark. On tasting forward gush of dark fruit that also has some helpful tangy red fruit notes hugged by tobacco, smoke, and freshly tilled earth. Medium-low acid, soft tannins.

Loves to be that all in one wine, good cocktail-er that also loves a good meal. Prefers balanced dishes that have the passion on the plate in the same way that this wine has in the glass!

Airfield Estates Bombshell Red

To me BLENDS are the way to go! Quality and price are almost always impossible to beat.
Classic blends were used to protect a harvest [depending on the weather, certain grapes grow when others to not] Also certain grapes are more expensive to grow and the use of blends keep costs down.

We started with Bordeaux [Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc, Malbec, Petite Verdot / Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle]

And Rhone varietals [Bourboulenc. Brun Argenté. Calitor. Carignan. Carignan Blanc. Cinsaut. Clairette Blanche. Clairette Rose. Counoise. Grenache Blanc. Grenache Gris. Grenache Noir. Marsanne. Marselan. Mourvèdre. Muscardin. Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. Muscat Rouge à Petits Grains. Picardan. Piquepoul Blanc. Piquepoul Gris. Piquepoul Noir. Roussanne. Syrah. Terret Noir. Ugni Blanc. Viognier.

And now, some great wines even use a blend of these regions and more grapes like Sangiovese

Bombshell Red
An approachable blend aromas of oak, vanilla, raspberry jam, and blackcurrants Flavors of dark fruit and toasted oak. Round yet full-bodied Long pleasing finish!
41% Syrah, 35% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Sangiovese, 4% Malbec, 3% Cab Franc
Blends are versatile being many are both food and cocktail friendly and this wine is no exception!


Dedicated to my dog "Cuvee" the ultimate blend! [mutt]