CWD: '01 Tinto Pesquera

originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by Warren Edwardes: Just sticking with the C's there are Coriander/Cilantro (fresh or seeds) Cloves, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Caraway, Cayenne, Cumin, Chilli/Chili ...
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I think if you combine all of those into one blend (preferably available in supermarkets) you get 'Asian Spice'.
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One could sprinkle over "Continental Cuisine" to add some zing.

As with wine from more than one region or country.

And why stop at oak chips?

How about adding bags filled with "Asian Spices" to the vats?

Write the TN first and then add cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, "asian spices" ...
 
Oh. So cayenne and chile are Asian now. 'Asian spice' is a usual, obviously conventional wine descriptor (check it out on cellartracker) used by tasters the world over to signal pungent aromatic notes reminiscent of a mix of... well, Asian spices like ginger, pepper, cinnamon or clove. (Cilantro leaves, BTW, are not a spice, by definition.) "Spanish nose", AFAIK, is not a wine descriptor because it doesn't refer to anything commonly recognizable.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
I would take the phrase "Asian spice" to mean "five-spice powder with more or less ginger in the mix".
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5-spice is a pretty distinctive blend on its own.

My 'Asian spices' would be what the Dutch & English sought from the East Indies, namely, clove, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom...

I'd leave peppercorns out of it since how else could we describe syrah without it?
 
originally posted by MarkS:
..
My 'Asian spices' would be what the Dutch & English sought from the East Indies, namely, clove, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom...

...
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Are you indicating that you (or wine tasters generally) can't smell the difference between these?

originally posted by VS:
Oh. So cayenne and chile are Asian now. 'Asian spice' is a usual, obviously conventional wine descriptor (check it out on cellartracker) used by tasters the world over to signal pungent aromatic notes reminiscent of a mix of... well, Asian spices like ginger, pepper, cinnamon or clove. (Cilantro leaves, BTW, are not a spice, by definition.) "Spanish nose", AFAIK, is not a wine descriptor because it doesn't refer to anything commonly recognizable.
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Often used, yes, and I've chuckled at the use of "Asian Spices" even by RP over the years, but it is meaningless to anybody who cooks or eats food with spices i.e. most of the world's population.

I suspect that the olfactory differences between ginger, pepper, cinnamon and cloves (components indicated of "Asian Spices") are more easily discernible to most people the world over than nuances in the nose of any set of red wines - never mind Spanish red wines.

i.e. put crushed ginger, pepper, cinnamon and cloves and any 4 red wines in front of people and which set are they going to guess more correctly?

Yes indeed Chillies came from the Americas and if Columbus et al. had GPS's there wouldn't be chillies in Asian food (via The Portuguese)

One's sweeping generalisations - they all taste / look / smell the same depends on what one is unfamiliar with.

............

PS One of the downsides of being a wineuax is an exaggerated sense of smell. I generated odd looks when I said that I smelt 3 different kinds of marijuana at my niece's wedding near Bilbao last year. I now smell marijuana every day in London's streets and I can't imagine use has increased so much.
 
...I smelt 3 different kinds of marijuana at my niece's wedding near Bilbao last year. I now smell marijauana every day in London's streets and I can't imagine use has increased so much.
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Well this explains a lot. See if High Times is hiring?

I'm damn sure the Koreans would have found out about chilies one way or another, otherwise their national dish would have had to be changed.
 
originally posted by MarkS:
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
I would take the phrase "Asian spice" to mean "five-spice powder with more or less ginger in the mix".
Click to expand...

5-spice is a pretty distinctive blend on its own.

My 'Asian spices' would be what the Dutch & English sought from the East Indies, namely, clove, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom...
Click to expand...

Yes, 5-spice smells mostly of star anise, to me, which is a fairly distinct branch of "Asian spice." To your list, Mark, I'd add cinnamon, unless that too merits its own category.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by MarkS:
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
I would take the phrase "Asian spice" to mean "five-spice powder with more or less ginger in the mix".
Click to expand...

5-spice is a pretty distinctive blend on its own.

My 'Asian spices' would be what the Dutch & English sought from the East Indies, namely, clove, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom...
Click to expand...

Yes, 5-spice smells mostly of star anise, to me, which is a fairly distinct branch of "Asian spice." To your list, Mark, I'd add cinnamon, unless that too merits its own category.

Mark Lipton
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Ah, thanks Mr L. Cinnamon. Knew i was missing another, but couldn't think of it.
 
originally posted by MarkS:

Well this explains a lot. See if High Times is hiring?

I'm damn sure the Koreans would have found out about chilies one way or another, otherwise their national dish would have had to be changed.
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Interesting site High Times.

Back in University days I had some oven dried Coriander leaves stolen and smoked. I was cheekily asked for my source.
 
originally posted by MarkS:
I'd leave peppercorns out of it since how else could we describe syrah without it?
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I use black pepper much more easily as a descriptor for ripe cabernet sauvignon in Bordeaux than I use it for syrah, a variety I know a little about, for which such descriptors as violets and bacon - depending on the wine's age - seem more appropriate. But hey - it's just me.
 
originally posted by VS:
originally posted by MarkS:
I'd leave peppercorns out of it since how else could we describe syrah without it?
Click to expand...
I use black pepper much more easily as a descriptor for ripe cabernet sauvignon in Bordeaux than I use it for syrah, a variety I know a little about, for which such descriptors as violets and bacon - depending on the wine's age - seem more appropriate. But hey - it's just me.
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Black pepper in CS? That's a new one for me. Can't say that I get much black pepper in Syrah, either. To me, it's most often a characteristic of Zinfandel from certain terroirs such as Amador County. White pepper OTOH I get mostly from Grner Veltliners. And that's just me.

Mark Lipton
 
That and lentils, never made any sense to me. Although maybe it's because I don't use much white pepper and always cook my lentils with plenty of onions and ginger.
 
I haven't tried any of my '01s yet, but the '96 Tinto was very tasty last night. No surprise to anyone here how nicely Tempranillo can age. The '91 Pesquera GR was one of my top wines for last year.
 
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