Madness, Spanish Deals and Plagiarised Wine Talk!

March Madness takes mental energy and concentration. Posting a wine blog during this phase in the annual sports calendar must be what it feels like to guard Jimmer Fredette of BYU. You have to dig deep. tBoW feared he had less in the tank than Tennessee did against Michigan which might explain unattributed borrowing from other sites. [ed. Vols shot 15 for 43, lost by 30.] We found some notes on the cellar floor along with some images on the web and came up with a couple of interesting Spanish U20 wines. Add a map showing the Ribera del Duero, which along with Alta Rioja, is one of the two most widely known wine regions in Spain, and BOOM instant blogpost. Vamonos muchachas y muchachos!! Tenemos trabajo!![gmap]

2001 Fabre Montmayou Grand Vin $35: Top SoCal merchant High Time in Costa Mesa features Argentine wines this week. They are great with barbecued meats so timing is good. This is a Bordeaux blend tasted end of last year. Only 1800 cases produced which is tiny for a Mendoza producer. Usually have to add a zero to get noticed. At 10 years old it is perfectly aged. Wonderfully balanced. The expected fruit bomb has mellowed. A very nice blend. This is a good producer that can be found in decent wine shops.

From the winery’s oldest vineyard, planted in 1908, the grapes in this blend of 85% Malbec 10% Cabernet and 5% Merlot were hand harvested and the wine was finished for 16 months in 100% French oak. The wine is a beautiful deep red color with aromas of violets, oak, dark fruits and spice followed by a palate filled with concentrated dark fruits with savoury notes. A lovely smooth mouth feel gives way to a long finish..

OK. I lifted the last section entirely from the Internet. The part I find useful for readers describes the way the wine was made. The descriptions of smells and tastes is standard wine writing fare; i.e., boring. Is it wrong to lift this bit? Dost I plagiarize? [ed. dude, pretty sure you mean “dast I” don’t you?] First, it is highly likely what I lifted was lifted from elsewhere. One of my first tBoW posts was a completely original review of a book on the Gallo brothers. Wasn’t I surprised and even pleased to find it lifted on several other wine sites without credit to me for writing the review. Am I lifting as a kind of payback? Malcolm Gladwell’s story about a serial killer profiler was included verbatim in a successful Broadway production. Gladwell got a bit emotional about it as did the profiler herself whose content her own books on criminal profiling became more than just the basis for the play. “What the Dog Saw” is a collection of Gladwell articles for the New Yorker. The collection is outstanding. The piece on plagiarism distinguishes between private property and public interest along with how quickly certain ideas become part of the common social dialogue. The wine is a pretty good buy for 10 year old premium. However, for half the price I would buy the book. 14.5%

2007 Rejadorado Tinto Roble Toro $10: Spanish cheapo. One of the BIG D_E_A_L_S coming out of Palate Wine Merchant. Medium weight. Dusty. Can taste the alcohol. Intense with cherries and pomegranate. A U20 deal courtesy of Steve Gulden. 14.5%

2008 Tinto Figuero Ribera del Duero $10: Medium, lightweight. Like that. 100% Tempranillo. Tomato and beets in the nose. Sweet beets. Is it veggie? No. Just not a fruit bomb. Would not expect one from Spain. Another U20 worth trying. All over the Internet for $20+. Steve got another deal. 13.5%
e

4 Comments

  1. Wavatar
    MOUSE says:

    In the tiny little state of Connecticut, we have the powerhouse of college hoops. The bitches (Lady Dogs) win every game they play. The men survived U of A in the regional final, and will make mincemeat of either Kentucky or NC this Saturday. The Kansas-UConn final will be epic. Jeremy Lamb is the next Ray Allen. Will Kemba’s game translate to the NBA? Who knows? Who cares? Did Derrick Williams even play last night?

  2. Wavatar
    Bacchus says:

    Huskies standing out like a Chenin Blanc at a Chard party. Who knew shit was this good? Best Final 4 in decades. Huskies my only pick to make it this far. But I thought they would be tearing up the Dookies.

    • Wavatar
      MOUSE says:

      I was hoping Duke would beat Arizone, for Duke was over rated maxxx. That team had no more upper body strength than . . . me.

      • Wavatar
        Bacchus says:

        Attempted to watch Final Four yesterday. Second game dissolved into wine fest. Selections and responses to be posted soon. New team taster Krisses (Cris and Kris married) brought a very interesting and unknown wine Cour Cheverny. Going up next post. Hold your reply!

Wavatar
Leave a Reply to MOUSE Cancel reply