Saturday, February 16, 2008

Wine Corner Review #16: Coppola Diamond Claret

Sometimes, no matter how hard I try, I just don't get people. The human race puzzles me. For instance, if I ask a person if they like excellent, value-oriented wines with serious chops and they say yes. I may ask that same person if they like wines with a definite Italian feel (whether or not those wines come from that most ancient of lands), and they again say yes. Then, I ask if said person enjoys the movies of Francis Ford Coppola. Oh yes, they say, often going into exaggerated Brando impressions or flights of ecstasy about The Godfather. Finally, I have no choice but to ask: Dude, then why haven't you tried Coppola wines??? Person in question usually flails about wildly, and stammers to the effect of I Don't Know, I Was Walking the Dog at the Time of Tasting, or some such rot. My point is obvious. If you have not sampled Coppola wines up to this point in your life, such as the Coppola Diamond Claret, your life has been sadly incomplete.

The robe of the black-labeled vino is midnight with intense lavender overtones. The nose may reflect many things depending on the bottle and the tasting (remember that wine is a living creature); on this occasion, I detected sediment and a distinct touch of pencil eraser. (No, it was actually quite pleasant and brought back memories of school.) The taste? A Mike Tyson fist of blackberry that connected a straight right hook to the jaw. Pairings? The URL in question, www.ffcpresents.com suggests Porterhouse steak. Well, of course, as it is a claret. (In case you didn't know, beef and this cabernet-based, Bordeaux-style blend are a match made in heaven.) Oh, and from personal experience, I know that if you were to enter a Studio Movie Grill as of this writing, Coppola wines are featured, as well they should be. Let our filmmaker-winemaker make you an offer you can't refuse, and remember:

LIFE IS TOO SHORT FOR MEDIOCRE FOOD!!!

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