usa Archives : Me, Annie Bee. https://meanniebee.com/tag/usa/ A not so serious blog about family, life & wine. Sat, 05 Mar 2022 17:18:41 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://meanniebee.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/cropped-MABFav-32x32.png usa Archives : Me, Annie Bee. https://meanniebee.com/tag/usa/ 32 32 125685776 Weekly Winedown #23 The Original Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon https://meanniebee.com/2017/10/27/weekly-winedown-23-the-original-dark-horse-cabernet-sauvignon/ https://meanniebee.com/2017/10/27/weekly-winedown-23-the-original-dark-horse-cabernet-sauvignon/#respond Fri, 27 Oct 2017 19:20:53 +0000 http://meanniebee.com/?p=5385 Welcome to the Weekly Winedown. Each week I selflessly drink wine for you and offer a review. Please don’t expect anything professional, I consume a lot of wine but I’m no pro. The only real ‘rule’ I’m putting in place is that the wine is to be under £8 a bottle. #keepitclassy. Last week I abandoned ship again, sorry. I was recording a Sunday Snuggle with The Incidental Parent. It’s our new Sunday live thing on Facebook except last week we did it on Friday. It’s complex, probably more than it needs to be. This week the children were away for a few days so I decided I would be really organised and get on top of everything I needed to do, as a good blogger should. Besides, our house is starting to look like an Amazon warehouse. In the name of productivity I watched; So many American Horror Stories back to back that I made myself feel physically ill. Both Pitch Perfect films. A New Life in the Sun. Monday was a write off. It’s a good job I have children as I’d just waste my life watching crap TV otherwise. Onwards and upwards eh? This week I’ve accidentally got an American wine again. It’s a wine Erica was drinking last week and I thought the label looked nice so I ordered it. I neglected to see where it was from or what Erica thought of it. Schoolboy error. Let’s say Hey to The Original Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon £7.50 a bottle. The Label The label is smart, silver with a horses head in black and black writing. Not a threatening The Godfather horses head, rather an artistic representation. It’s got a bit of a dark vibe to it. Not too dissimilar to the Diablo logo on the Cassilero del Diablo brand. It’s simple and effective. The Blurb “A bold wine with a big personality, this Cabernet is driven by flavours of blackberry and black cherry, supported by firm tannins and a hint of spice – all leading to a complex finish of dark chocolate espresso.” This sounds pretty exciting, bold with a big personality? Me in a bottle! I jest, can you imagine the size bottle you’d need to fit me in? Dark fruits and spice with a chocolate espresso finish? It sounds immense! Like it’s going to be a good, thick mouthful. Let’s see if this wine is going to be a dark horse! The colour is rich, the scent is like cherry and spiced vanilla. Like a dessert, the kind of dessert you only get at Christmas or special occasions. It’s a little thinner than I would hope not so thin that I couldn’t enjoy it. It is really smooth on the palate, and the bitter sweet chocolate and coffee finish is just amazing. I would absolutely drink this wine again. And again. Name – The Original Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon Price – £7.50 Colour – Deep, velvety, rich red. Smell – Cherries and spiced vanilla cream. Taste – Smooth with an amazing chocolate & coffee finish Goes well with – Fancy meals or alone because then you get more. Overall score- 4/5

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]]> https://meanniebee.com/2017/10/27/weekly-winedown-23-the-original-dark-horse-cabernet-sauvignon/feed/ 0 5385 Weekly Winedown #22 Bioletti’s Block Pinot Noir. https://meanniebee.com/2017/10/13/weekly-winedown-22-biolettis-block-pinot-noir/ https://meanniebee.com/2017/10/13/weekly-winedown-22-biolettis-block-pinot-noir/#comments Fri, 13 Oct 2017 18:46:02 +0000 http://meanniebee.com/?p=5287 Welcome to the Weekly Winedown. Each week I selflessly drink wine for you and offer a review. Please don’t expect anything professional, I consume a lot of wine but I’m no pro. The only real ‘rule’ I’m putting in place is that the wine is to be under £8 a bottle. #keepitclassy. Last week eh? The wine was awful but the ‘live’ was good fun. Erica and I really enjoyed doing it and I learnt a few things. 1) I need a time frame and a loose agenda. 2) I must not treat it like a night drinking with a friend! I’m afraid you can probably expect more in the future! For today, let us say ‘Hi y’all’ to Bioletti’s Block Pinot Noir. “But Anna” I hear you cry, “You’ve already done this one!” I forgive you for thinking that but no dear reader. In week 15 I tried the Bioletti’s Block Merlot. I went into it a cynic and came out of it a convert. Despite my reservations about American wine, my mind was blown. When I saw the Pinot Noir was half price I thought I’d give that a go, it’s got to be equally as amazing right? Just putting it out there Pinot, you’ve got a lot to live up to. Pressure’s on!   The label Nice and simple in black, white and red-my palette of choice. It offers the maker, the name and vineyards with birds in flight. It is entirely unoffensive. Unless you’re a farmer (which I am not) and the birds have trashed your crops (which they have not).   The blurb “This Pinot Noir is deep ruby red in colour, with intense aromas of ripe black cherries and flavours of ripe juicy plum with a subtle hint of cinnamon. This wine is well balanced, with a soft silky finish, a perfect match to a roast pork loin.” Cherries, plum and cinnamon, like winter in a bottle. At least I hope so. The claim that this pairs well with pork, suggests to me that it’s a big flavour. Hopefully not as sweet and insipid as some can be. If you’ve been following my Winedowns you’ll know Pinot Noir isn’t a favourite of mine. Traditionally thin and sweet, it’s the exact opposite to what I like. I’m hoping that this offers something slightly different. Sooooo. Expectations we high. Probably a little too high. No ones fault but my own. The smell was lovely, cherry and spice. Perfect. Like a disappointing date with Julio, it offered abundance but didn’t live up to the hype. The taste was tart plum, the finish was warm but not enough to pull it back. You can certainly ‘taste the sun’ but it has no place in this bottle. It wasn’t the worst Pinot Noir I’ve had but it certainly wasn’t the best. America, you make a good Merlot, stick to that. Name – Bertolli’s Block Pinot Noir Price – £5.99 (should be £11.99) Colour – Ruby Red Smell – Cherries and spice Taste – Tart plums. Goes well with – Salted crisps I should think. Overall score – 2.5/5        

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]]> https://meanniebee.com/2017/10/13/weekly-winedown-22-biolettis-block-pinot-noir/feed/ 1 5287 Weekly Winedown #15 Bioletti’s Block Merlot https://meanniebee.com/2017/08/11/weekly-winedown-15-biolettis-block-merlot/ https://meanniebee.com/2017/08/11/weekly-winedown-15-biolettis-block-merlot/#comments Fri, 11 Aug 2017 20:04:34 +0000 http://meanniebee.com/?p=4940 Welcome to the Weekly Winedown. Each week I selflessly drink wine for you and offer a review. Please don’t expect anything professional, I consume a lot of wine but I’m no pro. The only real ‘rule’ I’m putting in place is that the wine is to be under £8 a bottle. #keepitclassy. It’s STILL the school holidays! They’re really dragging it out aren’t they? I am just the WORST parent during the holidays – to be honest they may find me questionable most of the time. I wholeheartedly blame my inability to drive, the thought of getting them both on the bus gives me shivers. This week Aoife went to school holiday club twice. I felt both guilt and relief Guilt that she’d feel I was palming her off, I wasn’t – it was her idea. Relief that she wouldn’t be climbing the walls and she’d get to see her friends without doing the whole ‘playdate’ thing. #slackparenting All she had ever heard about holiday club was wonderful, amazing things – bouncy castles, playing in the park, fun times. Unfortunately it pissed down the two days she was there. They stayed inside, coloured in and watched films. She could have done that here for free. She enjoyed it though. The rest of the week mostly involved a lengthy dentist trip. Seth shouting at the rain to stop. The rain not stopping. Playing out in it anyway. Seriously, I need to learn how to drive. They must be SO bored of me, I certainly am. You probably are too. Tough. Let’s hit the wine, the pain will subside. This week is a bit risky. For reasons unknown, I was feeling a bit ballsy when I completed my online shop. I decided to step completely outside my comfort zone and chose a wine from USA. WHY?? Well largely because it was £5.99 instead of £11.99 is why. So let’s say ‘Howdy’ to Bioletti’s Block Merlot. French or South American Merlot is normally quite a ‘full’ wine. Previous experience has told me that’s not usually the case with American Merlot or American wine in general. It’s usually a bit sweeter. I don’t know what possessed me. I think I bought it hoping that the fact it’s meant to be nearly £12 a bottle implied a better taste….   The label Nice and simple in black, white and red-my palette of choice. It offers the maker, the name and vineyards with birds in flight. It is entirely unoffensive. Unless you’re a farmer (which I am not) and the birds have trashed your crops (which they have not). So yes, it’s harmless enough and even the mixed fonts don’t bother me as much as previous labels have.   The blurb... “Rich scarlet in colour, this Merlot is full of juicy plum and jammy red fruit flavours, with subtle notes of vanilla on the finish and spicy undertones. A perfect accompaniment to a hearty beef Wellington or lamb casserole.”   ‘Plum’, ‘vanilla’, ‘spicy’. It’s definitely saying all the right words but is it like that weird guy on MySpace? You know, the one who likes all the same bands as you and all the same films then turns out to be some weirdo just looking to marry you, get a visa and fleece you for all your money? Oh I miss you MySpace, I might log back into my old account and see how it’s doing! Back to wine! The aroma is blackberries and… I can’t get the and, it’s a really familiar smell. I want to say aniseed but it isn’t. It’s a good smell. A positive start! And so to taste… Well blow me away and call me Dave. It’s good. Not just good. Really actually rather very good! I’m not so much getting plums but definite blackberry or maybe blackcurrant. The vanilla is absolutely there with a spicy after thought. It’s not too sweet at all, if a taste could be sophisticated then this taste is. It’s a soft wine, not a bitter edge in sight (taste). This expensive wine is good wine! I’d buy it in bulk for sure. But only at 50% off, I’m not minted. I’m not going to declare myself a fan of American wine now but I am going to acknowledge it’s the best thing they’ve done, certainly in the last couple of years. And I’m not talking wine – youknowwhati’msayingright!?   Name – Bioletti’s Block Merlot Price – £5.99 (should be £11.99) Colour – Sexy scarlet Smell – Blackberries and … Taste – Vanilla, spice and soft. Goes well with – Me, generally Overall score – 4.5/5 So there we go. I reckon it’s about time I got a wine cellar.   Salut x

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