2009 Robert Mondavi Chardonnay Private Selection

From Central Coast (California) this Robert Mondavi Chardonnay  was good.  I bought two bottles of this one and I actually enjoyed the first one more than the second one, which I opened tonight. Comparing the two, the first one had a rich buttery flavor with a strong almond finish (I believe is a Chardonnay characteristic).


Tonight it was quite different.  The initial aroma reminded me of pineapples; however the taste was not as buttery, nor did it have a strong almond finish like the previous bottle (a bit of lemon/citrus flavor tonight).  I decided to let this one open for about 45 minutes to see if it changed at all and the nutty/almond flavor did come out a bit more, but the acidy was still quite strong.  Overall, it is still a decent bottle of wine. 


I am going to rate tonight's bottle 2.5 stars; however had it been the flavor and texture like the first bottle I think I would give it 3 stars.  Costco is the place to buy this one as Rakuten is selling for Y2,200 (huge mark up)! 


Summary: Good Chardonnay. Please read the review above as I had two samples of this wine.  I enjoyed the first bottle better.
Rating:  2.5 Stars (Second Tasting)
Purchase Cost: Y1,050 (Costco)
Other Japanese Retailers: Y2,205 (Rakuten website) 
USA Retail Price: $11.00
Food: Cream pasta

2009 Jaffelin Macon-Villages

Tucked away in southern Burgundy, I believe this vineyard uses a Chardonnay grape.  Overall very pleased with the acidity and flavor (This wine had some similarities to a Sauvignon Blanc).  It is dry; however has a hint of cantaloupe or honey dew flavor.  After letting the wine open for about 30 minutes the flavor of the wine improved. 


Priced at Y980 at Costco, I am going to rate this one with 3 stars.  A good value and everyday table wine.


Summary: Good acidity and nice balance.   The wine is dry; with some citrus flavors.   A hint of cantaloupe aroma.
Rating: 3 Stars
Purchase Cost: Y980 (Costco)
Other Japanese Retailers: Could not find another retailer 
USA Retail Price: $16.99
Food: Japanese vegetable Nabe (hot pot)

2009 Clefs des Murailles Vacqueyras

From the Rhone region, the 2009 Clefs des Murailles was quite pleasant.  Although it was difficult to pinpoint distinct characteristics of the wine, everyone seemed to have enjoyed the balance and texture (brought to a dinner with my in-laws).  Personally, I smelled some oak; however others could not. Apparently the wine is 70% Grenache, which surprised me because it did not have that typical berry/cherry taste. My in-laws joked as they recently read my posting about wine glasses and mentioned that perhaps it was the wine glass and nothing else.  


For the price and overall balance of the wine, I am going to give this 3 stars.  I want to try this one again, as I think I might be underrating this wine.   Purchased at Costco for Y980 I think it was well worth the price.  


Summary: Good balance and texture; however distinct characteristics were difficult to identify
Rating: 3 Stars
Purchase Cost: Y980 (Costco)
Other Japanese Retailers: Could not find another retailer with the same vintage
USA Retail Price: $17.99
Food: Rolled cabbage, vegetable tempura, fruit salad, and Japanese rice (lovely food!)  Thank you!

Wine Tasting / Wine Glasses

I went to a wine tasting event today, but it was more of a wine glass seminar, hence where it was held (Riedel Wine Glass Store in Aoyama 1-chome).  For Y4,000 you're able to sample 2 white wines (Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay), 2 reds (Pinot Noir and Cabernet) and at the end you receive a free Riedel wine glass of your choice.  

During the wine seminar we were given one typical "izakaya" style wine glass and 4 different Riedel glasses (1 Sauvignon Blanc glass, 1 Chardonnay glass, 1 Pinot Noir glass, and finally a Merlot/Cabernet glass). Tasting the same wine in the various glasses given there was notably a big difference.   For example, we poured a Chardonnay wine in the Riedel Sauvignon glass, the Riedel Chardonnay glass, and the so-called "izakaya" glass and it was quite amazing on how different the flavor and the aroma was in each wine glass (the Chardonnay glass was the winner in this test). 


Wine glasses actually matters.  I am not suggesting to go buy a full set of  Riedel wine glasses; however if you are going to pick a Riedel glass as your primary source, the representative did mention that the most popular is the Sauvignon glass as it is the most versatile (rose wines, both Sauvignon and Chardonnay whites, and some sparkling wines work fine in their Sauvignon glass). After this experience I realized that the shape of the wine glass is very important.   In conclusion, if you want to enjoy a wonderful bottle of wine then don't kill it by using a glass which you bought from Don Quijote or from the nearby 100 yen store.  Just invest a bit and buy a glass that looks and feels like a wine glass.


Summary: More about the wine glass, than the wine, but still good overall
Rating: NA
Purchase Cost: Y4,000 (1 hour seminar, 4 wines, plus a free Riedel glass to take home)
Other Japanese Retailers: NA
USA Retail Price: NA
Food: Be sure to eat something before you go because the wine sampling is generous.

2004 Marques de Caceres Rioja Reserva

Tonight's dinner was a special one as it was my mom's birthday dinner. I picked a 2004 Marques de Caceres Rioja Reserva (Spanish wine) to go along with our Italian meat sauce lasagna (no offense intended there...yes, next time I will pair with an Italian wine).  

The wine was very good.  First sniff was tough, but we definitely smelled berries and some type of wood (maybe cedar?).  First taste-- it was a full-body, rich red wine; the berries were definitely prominent in the first swirl.  We decided to take a second sniff; this time we smelled blackberries. The wood smell was still hard to define, but it was definitely present.  Now to the second taste-- even better.  The wine is very balanced and has a deep texture. The finish was probably the most notable.  Through the complexity of the wine it finishes with a distinct taste of (creamy) vanilla. I was quite impressed. 

This bottle was purchased at Kinokuniya International (near Omotesando Station); however it was in their sale bin, which had random single bottle wines on discount.  This bottle had a price tag of Y2,500. I am rating this bottle 4 stars out of 5.  The taste of vanilla really pushed this wine to the next rating level, otherwise it would have finished with a strong 3.5.  I think it would be a good wine to bring to your friend's dinner party. 

Happy Birthday Mom.

Summary: Full-body, red from Spain (good color).  The twist at the end made this wine great.
Rating: 4 Stars
Purchase Cost: Y2,500 (Kinokuniya International)
Other Japanese Retailers: Y3,080 (Rakuten Website-scroll down--last one on the list)
USA Retail Price: Around $28.99
Food: I paired with meat sauce lasagna (both the lasagna and the pairing were good!)

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Kim Crawford 2009 Marlborough Pinot Noir

Overall I am a big fan of Kim Crawford's Sauvignon Blanc wines (New Zealand).  Today I decided to try Kim Crawford 2009 Marlborough Pinot Noir -- a first for me.  


The smell reminds me of a sweet strawberry that still has some dirt on the leaves (earthy).  My first whirl/taste; first impact is good, but the flavor tapers off pretty quickly.  It's okay. My second whirl....  Yeah, not overly impressed. It has some berry flavors, but the berries are a bit sour.  It's one of those wines where you think it's a bit young, but even if you let it age overtime it's a wine that wont change a bit.  In other words, it is what it is.  Almost similar to the wine earlier this week (Napa Station), an okay table wine, but not one to bring to a dinner party to impress.  


Again, I purchased this at Costco and it was reasonable (comparing it to Rakuten it is a steal ~65% discount--I would never pay Y2,000).  I am going to give this wine 3 stars.

Summary: Okay Pinot Noir from New Zealand (classic Pinot Noir color -- light red).  Good initial taste, but it did not last to really impress.
Rating: 3 Stars
Purchase Cost: Y1,198 (Kawasaki Costco)
Other Japanese Retailers: Y1,980 (Rakuten Website-scroll down a bit)
USA Retail Price: Around $13.95
Food: I did not pair it with any food today

2008 "Napa Station" Sauvignon Blanc

Monday's are usually never fun-- In fact and sadly enough, I don't even remember the last Monday I have really enjoyed. However, today is different. Today, I am very proud to announce a "Happy Monday!"
Why? Well, being that today is a Monday and secondly because it is the first official wine review on this blog; I can now say that today is a very "Happy Monday."

 In retrospect, I probably should have picked a better wine, like some fancy 2005 Bordeaux to kick off this blog, but like I said I am just an ordinary wine drinker that happens to live in Tokyo.
So here I begin the first wine review and I must say that tonight's dinner meal did not make choosing wine easy. The dinner theme tonight was Thai food. As starters I had some homemade Tom Kai Gai soup (which is basically a coconut based soup flavored with chicken stock, lemongrass, and lime) followed by a spicy Thai green curry with some fragrant Thai rice (again coconut base; however with a ginger and lemongrass overlay). How in the world do you pair wine with this food? Well, I honestly have no idea, so I chose a Sauvignon Blanc.

This evening's choice is a 2008 "Napa Station" Sauvignon Blanc. This wine had a citrus smell (grapefruit) with some accent of apricot or tropical fruit, where the color tone had a crisp, shiny golden hue. The first sip had the classic Sauvignon Blanc taste, but lacked a serious "punch" if you know what I mean. The overall balance seemed okay (good acidity), but the depth to the wine was medium at best. I wouldn't say it was a a great bottle, but it was a good weekday table wine. Unfortunately, the Thai food was a mistake because after eating the curry I basically lost all my taste buds -- not good for conducting an inaugural wine review. Anyhow.

Overall and out of 5 stars, (5 being amazing, 0 being something equivalent to Listerine mouthwash) I would give this 2 and 1/2 stars. Price had an influence on this rating because I did not think the price matched the overall value. This bottle was purchased from the Kawasaki Costco store at Y1,298. If this were maybe Y900-Y1,000 range then I would have rated this with 3 to 3.5 stars.

Summary: Okay Sauvignon Blanc (nice color), but lacked great depth
Rating: 2 and 1/2 stars
Purchase Cost: Y1,298 (Vendor-- Kawasaki Costco)
Other Japanese Retailers: I could not find
USA Retail Price: Around $14.95
Food: Thai Curry and Tom Kai Gai Soup (would not recommend)

The Ordinary Tokyo Wine Drinker

I am just an ordinary wine drinker that happens to live in Tokyo.  I like wine, but I really don't know the science and complexity behind it all.  I'm trying to learn more about wine, but living in a country where the Japanese language is my secondary it has been difficult.  I decided to open this site to not only log the wines I have tried, but hopefully open a new avenue where we can share wines which we have all enjoyed and know where we can find them here in Tokyo/Japan.

I've found some really Sh*ty wine stores here in Tokyo (especially during the summer time, where they leave the cases of wine in the window store front basking in the heat) and I've found some interesting stores where wine geeks frequent; however what I haven't found is an English website/blog dedicated to "the ordinary tokyo wine drinker."  So here I am hoping to fill that void.   

Working and living in Japan where  the Beaujolais Nouveau and Yellow Tail wines are often the highlights of many nomikai's; I hope this blog will help you find some alternatives.