friday night fixin' s

Saturday morning, enjoying my coffee, listening to CBC, contemplating doing some laundry, procrastinating by posting to blog.

After a mini-long week we decided to stay in last night and relax. Which wine to drink? Popped by one of Wpg.'s private wine merchants and picked up a bottle of Casa Silva's Dona Dominga Single Vineyard La Hijuela Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon 2005. Long name for what I would describe as a great wine with an outstanding price. We also grabbed some avocados, fresh local tomatoes, a purple onion and made some chunky guacamole to snack on while we made dinner.

When poured, the wine glowed with brilliance in the glass. The aroma also jumped out - fresh pear, peach and a hint of honey. All of these flavours followed through on the first taste, the wine was crisp with a delicate acidity. I thought detected a bit of citrus towards the back. The finish was clean. I also enjoyed the feel of this wine - it had a creamy texture without the creamy flavours.

I checked out the website this morning and was impressed by what the winery stated. The website was easy to navigate and had a soothing background music (which I turned off as I was listening to CBC). What did I discover? Well, the tasting note for the 2005 is not up yet so I peeked at the 2004: 50/50 split between Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon; 100% hand harvested; hand sorting of grapes; stainless steel fermentation. There is nothing wrong with machine harvesting, though there is some debate on if it damages the grapes or not (future blog topic?). I also learned a lot about the winery and their commitment to their vineyards and their appellation. One of my favourite parts was the location map, it shows vineyard location within the region.

Casa Silva appears to be a winery with a commitment to making good quality, easy drinking wines. I love the fact that this wine was hand harvested, single vineyard, single appellation and affordable, you can taste the difference care makes, even in wines under $20. It was priced below many of the label-driven-wines I try to avoid (see price of wine post in September 2005). I also discovered Casa Silva makes some interesting wines including Chile's only 100% Sauvignon Gris from vines planted pre-WWI, has a Viognier and a Carmenere. I also liked that it was next to a number of reds on the shelf, I will definitely be checking these out in the near future.

So to sum it up...
Casa Silva's Dona Dominga
Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon
Vintage: 2005
Appellation: Single Vineyard - La Hijuela, Colchagua Valley, Chile
Closure: Trad. Cork
Format: Standard bottle
Price: $11 plus taxes
Had With: Homemade Southern Fried Chicken and whipped potatoes; chunky guacamole & tortilla chips; sipped after while reading on the chesterfield.
Recommend: Buy a case, you won't regret it. And don't be one of those ninnys I always end up behind in line and ask for a discount; if you are entitled to one the customer service person will let you know.

The last word...
Day 2 of the Cono Sur Merlot (magnum). Stood tall, the flavours were still there, though the finish softened a smidge, though not a problem. I stand by the assessment of this being a good wine to have on hand. I also think this would be an excellent house wine (hint-hint, nudge-nudge restaurant readers).