Spinning off my AXIS
Happy Monday, my dears! I am very happy today. Not because it’s Monday, obviously, but because I have a wine that I am SUPER excited to tell you about. My favorite new wine in a long time. I mean really, really long time. Acting upon the suggestion of the always dead-on Monique (adorable, eccentric little French lady at my local wine store), I picked up a bottle of 2007 Zinfandel from Axis. Oh. My. Goodness. I love this wine because it has the bold flavor of a Zinfandel but it is delicate at the same time. We paired it with balsamic glazed rosemary lamb chops and it complimented the meal perfectly. Anyone who is a fan of Cabernet would like this wine – powerful yet very smooth. Definitely more potent that Wily Jack, another Zin I recently reviewed, but I think Axis would be a good next step for someone who wants to get into Zins, or just change up their normal red routine. The bottle was on sale, 2 for $25, so a bit more than I normally like to spend on everyday wine, but I have already purchased more and can tell you that it’s well worth it. Would it be overkill to grab another bottle for tonight? It is Monday after all… Cheers!
(photo credit: prestigewineimports.com)
How have I not talked about this wine before? I used to buy Las Rocas all the time from a liquor store near where I used to live. They don’t carry it where I am now, but I ran across it in another store and the nostalgia swept over me like a wave. I need to share the news! Although the price has certainly gone up in the past 6 years or so since I’ve started drinking the wine, Las Rocas garnacha (or grenache) is an affordable, consistent Spanish red that I would recommend to anyone. I used to be able to find it at the Whole Foods in Vegas for under $8 a bottle, but you can still find it for around $10 today. I like Las Rocas because it has the floral nose and the berrilicious, spicy flavor of a fancy-schmancy wine, but it is made in Spain from grenache grapes so it cheaper to produce and thus a lot less money! One note – there ALWAYS seems to be sediment at the bottom of the bottle so don’t tip it upside down to get out the last drop! You can decant it if you’d like, it is always fun to have an excuse to break out that massive glass play-thing and class up a mundane weeknight dinner. So if you see it, grab a bottle of Las Rocas and make sure to share your thoughts!