Terra Rosa, on the Cape!

This summer I was lucky enough to spend a wonderful weekend on the Cape and in Rhode Island.  I got to try several wines over the weekend and more importantly, I got to attend the Newport jazz festival!  If you don’t know this about me… wine + jazz = happiest me.  (Oh, also my other favorite Jazz made an appearance… see below).  Because it was delicious and enjoyed amidst a beautiful Cape evening, I’m focusing this review on Terra Rosa- a delicious Malbec from Argentina.

I’m going to make this short and sweet… the pics tell the best story anyway.

The first thing I noticed about this bottle was actually that silly stamp- it says “Genuine.”  What?   Seeing as the grapes for this bottle are grown in Argentina, then bottled in California, has 14.5% alcohol and a screwcap… I’m still wondering what they intended by that… must be the glass bottle.  It definitely felt like glass.  Anyway, beyond semantics, this was an interesting wine.

Taste: This wine opens BIG.  Upon uncorking, I noticed a really strong aroma of blackberry and smoke.   There’s also a hint of wood and cinnamon.  It’s a big variety of flavors, so I poured a few glasses (not all for me!)  and let them breathe.  I don’t know the science behind letting a wine breathe; I do this when I can smell several flavors or very few because the aeration enhances and clarifies or streamlines the flavor by letting it settle.  I’d always suggest doing this if you don’t like the initial sip of any wine… or if you’re a patient person, but I don’t blame you if you’re too excited to wait 🙂

First sip was really good!  It’s bold, spicy and still had a lot going on, even after a breath.  I think this would pairs best with a serious dish– we were having a seafood linguine and sides of spicy, sauteed spinach (alliteration not intended!) and a fresh salad.  Altogether, it was delicious, not the best wine I’ve had, but lovely for the occasion.  I’m going to leave you all with a fun set of pictures from the weekend and my overall take–

JuliaUncorked says: 7.5/10–  pretty tasty- a fun wine for dinner settings — most people will enjoy it.  I don’t think it’s the clearest, finest wine- but it was smooth and dynamic.  It’ll impress your date, but I wouldn’t say you could pair this ‘perfectly.’  Definitely a good choice though.  $15- a little pricey, but not bad considering it’ll go well with almost anything you serve!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The family with “Jazz” at the Newport Jazz festival!