Another deal at wine.com. Until January 15th if you use the promotional code GIFT10 you'll save $10 off your order. The best part is there is no minimum. Now, it appears their minimum shipping for orders is $9.95, so you are, at best, getting free shipping. Unless you happen to know about any free shipping deals.

I'd like to introduce you to Stephane Derenoncourt a Bordeaux "rebel" and creator of right bank garage wines (much like one of my favorite left bank wine makers).

What are the results of Derenoncourt's style? Check it out for yourself.

Why the interest in Derenoncourt? He is the winemaker at a new winery in Middleburg. One that has set out to make wines similar to those in Bordeaux.

We visited the Boxwood Tasting Room on Saturday, and it is impressive. The centerpiece of the Tasting Room is an Italian-imported tasting station that features a variety of left bank and right bank Bordeauxs as well as Boxwood's Topiary. Being able to sample their Topiary against a sampling of other Bordeaux wines really helped put it into perspective.

How does it stack up? Well, it is a medium-bodied Bordeaux that is a blend of 49% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot. It has a deep color with hints of cherry and a subtle tobacco aroma. Considering that it is a 2005 it has soft tannins and a smooth finish. The Merlot does a nice job of offsetting the pepperiness of the Cabernet Franc, but making Cabernet Franc the primary grape gives it a unique taste and a strong flavor.

The tasting room is a very pleasant experience, and a great opportunity to sample a wide variety of Bordeaux wines in one place.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers, and happy Thursday to everyone else :). If you are looking for some tips for wines to share with your Thanksgiving dinner there are a couple of good articles here and here.

My comments on Thanksgiving pairings can be found here.

And, if you want a Thanksgiving laugh, you can read all about beer pairings

Don't forget tomorrow is Beaujolais Nouveau! If you are in the DC area you can head out to the Park at 14th and celebrate with free wine. I'll be there as well...please feel free to look me up if you come out.

Wine: 1998 Chateau Margaux



Review: This is the grand-daddy of of the Bordeaux's (at least in my opinion). Something about the wines in the Margaux AOC really hits home with me, and, of course this is the premiere estate. The Margaux estate has been producing wine since the 1400s and its vines have an average age of 35 years. The estate produces approximately 12,500 case of its premiere wine each year.

I ordered this wine through WineBid in June and received it last week. I could not wait to try it, so I bought a decanter into work and when it arrived I popped open the bottle to share with my co-workers (hey, why drink something this good alone :)). it was very cool to have the aromas of berry and leather fill the office and a great prelude to drinking.

The 1998 vintage of this wine is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc. This is a subtle wine that has smoothed out over time. It had hints of blackberry, cinnamon and other spices. Overall, a well-rounded wine with lots of body...and a very enjoyable experience.

Price: $180

Grade: 100

Wine: 2000 Chateau Canuet Bordeaux



Review: I've often thought about getting a list of all the Chateau in the Margaux region and checking off which ones I have tried, then using the rest to create a shopping list. Chateau Canuet is the second growth of Chateau Cantenac-brown (well, was, they have since renamed it to Brio du Chateau Cantenac Brown).

The 2000 vintage of this wine is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. This is a complex wine with a deep purple color and strong tannins. Hit had aromas of blackberry and a strong peppery taste. It lasted a long time on the palette with a surprisingly smooth finish. A very good wine.

Price: $40

Grade: 90

Wine: 2005 Da Vinci Chianti



Review: Chiantis are one of my guilty pleasures. They are a great food wine, they pair well with a wide range of dishes, and they are generally inexpensive.

This is a bright red, light-bodied wine with very little tannins. It has hints of plum and a slightly earthy taste. A really good value for the money.

Price: $12

Grade: 85

Wine: 2005 Cardinal Point Cabernet Franc



Review: About a year ago I attempted to review the 2004 Cardinal Point Cabernet Franc. This wine was a lot better, especially considering that, generally, I have not been a big fan of the 2005 Cabernet Francs.

This was a deep red with a medium body. It had nice betty aromas with a light, peppery taste. Not the usual style of Virginia Cabernet Franc, this was a much lighter, less tannic wine. Good, but not the usual style.

Price: $16

Grade: 85

Over the weekend I got 40 comments telling me how great my writing is. Oddly, all of them were also advertising Viagara knock-offs. Needless to say, they all got rejected. The sad thing is this blog gets, on average, 25 hits a day so even if I did let the comments through chances are, no one would see them :).

The wine club recently went to the The Winery at La Grange. The winery at La Grange is one of Chris Pearmund's properties and has been around for about a year.

This is the only winery in Prince William County. The tasting room and the grounds are impressive, it is obvious that a lot of thought went into the user experience.

Because the winery is so new none of the wines are made from grapes grown at La Grange, instead the grapes are imported from all over Virginia and made on site.

The winemaker's focus is definitely on the reds. While they do make a good Pinot Grigio, the wines that shine are their 2006 Cabernet Franc, the Claret (a blend of Graciano, Tannat and Touriga Nacional) -- which is a great everyday wine, and their Meritage is absolutely fantastic.

My aunt, who is not a big drinker, wanted to visit a winery. She was actually more interested in the whole process, how the grapes grow, how the wine is made, bottling etc. Rather than try to fumble my way through something she would like, I contacted Virginia Wine Adventuress with a very specific request: We want a full tour of one vineyard.

Deidra and I exchanged several emails and we finally decided on Tarara, and we were not disappointed. We started the day off in the vineyard as Deidra explained where the different varietals were grown, how they are harvested, the steps the winemaker takes to ensure the vines are protected without endangering humans (to prove this point, she popped a grape off the vine and ate it :)).

The next step was the cave. I've been through the cave before, but Tarara has since closed it off to tours, Deidra managed to get us in and we got to watch some of the harvest being processed, which was very cool.

After the cave we did the standard tasting and then retired to the patio for a really nice lunch Deidra had prepared for us.

Overall, it was a great day and everyone had a lot of fun. I realize that our tour was not typical (in fact, next week when the wine group was at La Grange we ran into Deidra again, this time with a bride and her bridesmaids out on a tour), but it was still a lot of fun.

Unfortunately for us, Leah has moved from DC to San Francisco. The good news is she is keeping up the good blogging work at Slow Food, Taste Life. Check it out.

The Bordeaux Harvest Festival was the second wine festival put on by the French Wine Society I have attended. I have to congratulate them on knowing how to put on a festival. There was a good mix of both food and wine tables and the wine tables were spread out enough that the lines never got too long.

Overall, it was a good evening. Some of the highlights for me were the 2003 Chateau Magdelaine (I know it is not a Margaux, but it is still one of my favorites), and the 2003 Chateau Monbrison which is a very affordable Margaux.

The pourers were, for the most part, very knowledgeable and it made for an enjoyable evening.