The past few weeks the weather had been challenging. We have temperatures in the upper 90’s with high humidity. There have been a few days with a heat index in the 100’s! As I write this blog during lunch, the temperature is already 93 degrees and the relative humidity is 41% (comfortable) and the dew point is 66 degrees. The high dew point tells me the overnight temp is going to be in the 70’s. I am not looking forward to seeing my July electric bill!
Chris has been doing a great job not using the oven in the house while preparing dinner. If the oven is used in this heat the AC will run all night and it makes for an uncomfortable night of sleep.
I am happy our deck is partially shaded during the later hours of the afternoon. So it’s bearable to use the grill.
We have been craving grilled artichokes and had a few in the refrigerator along with a few ears of corn on the cob. Chris decided they would become dinner along with some sliced potatoes and a few jalapeno poppers with bacon pork. As she was preparing another excellent meal I decided I wanted to pair it with a bottle of wine.
It’s been awhile since we have had a wine from Girard and I decided while wandering down to my cellar tonight was a Girard night! We love, love, love the Petite Sarah, so I decided to grab a bottle of a 2009 Artistry. Our first visit to Girard last January was the first time we experienced the Artistry. Both Chris and I loved the style and were happy to receive a couple of bottles in our initial shipment.
With the heat, I wanted to make sure the wine wasn’t too warm. It was close to the perfect serving temperature. For a medium to bold red wine, I like to have it around 65 degrees.
If you do not have a digital bottle thermometer I recommend one. They cost from $25 to $50. My friend Dave and I use ours all of the time and it does really make a difference drinking your wine at its optimal temperature.
Once Chris starts her grilling – she likes to have a glass of wine in hand so it was time to pull the cork. I pulled the cork and poured a small amount of Artistry into her glass and off she went. I grabbed my tasting sheet, poured a glass and started writing my notes…
As I was looking at the 2009 Artistry I noted the color depth was deep, it had a nice Garnet color and there was no sediment that I could see.
Smelling it – I noted that it was very aromatic and smelled youthful and fruity. I noticed a bit of spice and dark red fruit. It was time to give it a taste.
It was slightly tart and it was medium bodied. The tannins were medium and attacked the front of my tongue and then worked its way to the middle of my tongue. The finish was long. I think the most dominating taste was spice. I felt that the 2009 Artistry would be best served with food.
Chris was done grilling so I helped bring in the food. She does an excellent job plating the food. The 2009 Girard Artistry “opened up” somewhat as it sat and it did work very well with dinner.
After we finished eating, we decided to cork the bottle and save it for the next day. The Artistry was tasting pretty good the next day and we agreed that it was not as tart.
We both rated the 2009 Girard Artistry three glasses.
Life is too short to drink crappy wine. Expand your palate and keep trying.
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