Rich, Powerful, Full-bodied Red Wines

What’s your Red Wine Personality or Mood for Today?

In my last post I talked about the notion of wine personalities and covered the white wine personalities. In my next few posts we’ll talk about reds – big reds, fruity reds, earthy reds and spicy reds.  You can decide whether you’re a playful and light red wine personality, a full and fruity personality, a bold and spicy type or maybe you’re a rich and powerful red wine personality.

I’m sure most of us enjoy all of them depending on the mood and occasion.

Knowing your wine personality or mood for the moment can help you make the right selection at the liquor store or from the wine menu at dinner. 

Let’s start with the big reds – the rich and powerful personalities:

Rich, big and powerful are terms used to describe full-bodied red wines. These are the wines that feel heavier and denser when you drink them. They can often leave a coated, sometimes leathery feeling in your mouth resulting from the tannins in the wines and they are best enjoyed with food – especially roasted and grilled red meats. 

About Tannins

Tannins are the amazing antioxidant compounds found in the skins, seeds and stems of red grapes that along with the alcohol content give the wine it’s full-bodied and bold characteristic.  It’s the tannins in wine that coat your mouth and leave a pucker and leathery, almost dried-out feeling.  They’re present in the wine because during the winemaking process the grapes are crushed and the skins, seeds and stems are left in contact with the wine juice to impart colour and flavour to the wine. The longer the skins are left in contact with the juice, the more complex the wine can become and the higher the tannin content. As the wine ages in oak barrels and then in the bottle, the tannins settle. Depending on the type of grape and wine, the longer the wine is left in the bottle, the smoother it can become. Additionally, if you open a bottle and the tannins are too pronounced, decant the wine and allow it to breathe – the oxygen will help soften and balance the wine.  Drinking the wine with a meal (red meat and cream sauces) will also help neutralize the tannins.

Aromas and Taste:

Rich and powerful red wines often taste of dark red fruits like blackberries, black cherries, plums, prunes, cassis and raspberries. If you really savour the wine and taste a little further, you might find some earthiness, tobacco, oak, licorice or anise, and even cocoa or chocolate. These are the secondary flavours and aromas that develop as the wine ages in the bottle.

Examples of Wine Regions and Grapes Used:

Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/ Bordeaux

Cabernet Sauvignon is the primary grape used to make red wines on the left bank of Bordeaux also known as Le Médoc. You’ll recognize village names like Margaux, Pauillac, and Saint Estephe.

Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with higher concentrations of the Merlot grape on the right bank of Bordeaux also known as Libournais from villages including Saint Emilion and Pomerol.

Bordeaux wines can be aged for years due to their generally high level of tannins. They are big, rich, heavy wines with layers of dark red berry fruits. As the wine ages more in the bottle, the fruity flavours can give way to secondary aromas and flavours of tobacco, cigar, leather, spices, and leafy (like the smell of wet leaves in fall) and earthy aromas. 

As a generalization, Médoc Cabernet Sauvignon wines taste of blackberries, black cherry, vanilla (from the oak barrels), spice and sometimes licorice. 

Red wines from the right bank of Bordeaux, dominated by the Merlot grape, will have flavours of black cherry, plums, blackberries, prunes, blueberry and jam. I love the decadent fruitcake taste of these delicious wines. You might also taste chocolate and licorice and as they age, along with spices and tobacco. These are my number one favourite wines!  If you also like that fruit cake taste, you might like to try straight Merlot wines.

The good red wines from the Châteuax in Bordeaux are expensive and can cost anywhere from $60 up to hundreds of dollars!!  I find the less expensive Bordeaux wines ($20 - $30) to be lacking in weight and richness so they’re not my go-to wines at that price point. On that budget, I’d rather choose a GSM wine (a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mouvèdre), a Spanish Tempranillo or an Italian Ripasso. I also love Shiraz/Syrah wines and I’ll cover those wines with Malbec reds in a separate post on bold and spicy wines. 

If you like Cabernet Sauvignon you might like Sangiovese/Chianti from Italy which is more medium-bodied with similar flavours and Tempranillo wines from the Ribera del Duero region in Spain.

California Red Blends

If you look in the California Reds section of our liquor stores you’ll notice a number of red “blends” wines or “winemakers blend” from producers including Apothic, Cupcake Red Velvet, Ménage à Trois, Dreaming Tree, Hess, Beringer and others. The idea was for these blends to replicate the rich, heavy and fruit jam flavours of Bordeaux wines. The grapes blended are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and sometimes other red grapes including Zinfandel are included.

These wines taste rich, velvety, heavy and smooth with very balanced tannins and lots of dark jammy fruit, oak and vanilla. They tend to have a higher sugar content which you will recognize as part of the rich and delicious flavour.  Personally, I find these wines delicious at the first few sips but so rich that they’re almost like drinking a chocolate mousse dessert! I’d love to hear your thoughts on these wines too. They’re sold in the LCBO at the $16 - $24 price point and at that price range, I still prefer the authentic taste and smooth full-body texture of a GSM, Tempranillo or Ripasso.

Amarone/Valpolicella in Italy

Amarone is the name of the style of wine making and not the grape or region. Amarone wine is produced in the Valpolicella region of northern Italy using partially dried Corvina grapes. The grapes are harvested and then placed on straw mats or in special drying cellars to dry and shrink the grapes and concentrate the juice, flavours and sugars in the grapes. It’s this drying out or Appassimento process that makes these wines so special. The drying process lasts up to 120 days. Once the grapes are dried, they are crushed, slowly fermented and aged in oak barrels.  

Because of the drying out process and concentrated sugars and flavours, Amarone wines have a powerful, full-bodied, big mouthful taste of prunes, raisins, figs, black cherries and stewed fruits – I find these wines almost taste like port with their higher alcohol content and rich flavour. And I love the secondary flavours and aromas of leather, cigar and oak, coffee and spice.

Producing a bottle of Amarone requires greater time, labour and more grapes than traditional wine-making methods. Good Amarone wines are expensive and a huge treat for special occasions. Try Amarone from producers including Tommasi, Zenato, and Masi.

Amarone is perfect with pasta, sausages, risottos and cheese.

Ripasso

Ripasso wine is like Amarone’s baby and also known as “poor man’s Amarone”!!  Like Amarone, Ripasso stands for the wine-making process and not the grape or region. 

Ripasso wines are made using Corvina grapes picked and pressed based on traditional methods but that are passed through a secondary fermentation mixed with Amarone Pomace. Pomace is the leftover pulp, stems, seeds and skins that remain after grapes have been pressed and the juice extracted. The name Ripasso comes from the process of re-passing the wine through a second fermentation with the Amarone pomace (which remember, is the left over mush from dried out and very concentrated Corvina grapes per the Appassimento process).  Re-passing the wine over the Amarone pomace gives Ripasso wines more flavour and texture without the costly labour intensive process of making Amarone. They are less expensive than Amarone wines and carry similar flavours – just with less intensity.

Ripasso wines are bold and full of dark berry fruit and dried prune, spice and leather flavours drawn from being in contact with the dried out Amarone pomace. They’re textured with firm tannins and pair well with BBQ or grilled red meats, pastas, risotto and aged cheeses.

Try Tommasi Ripasso, $22.95; Tedeschi Ripasso Valpolicella, $21.95; or Zenato Ripassa Valpolicella, $27.95.

GSM: Grenache, Syrah, Mouvèdre

When I’m in the mood for a decently priced, full-bodied, flavourful and smooth red wine, I often go to GSM blends. GSM is traditionally the blend of grape varieties used wines from the Côtes du Rhône region, Châteauneuf du Pape, and Languedoc-Rousillon region in France. GSM wines are also produced in Priorat, Spain, the Barossa Valley in Australia, California and Washington. The GSM wines from Australia tend to be spicier than the blends from France and I will cover these wines in the upcoming bold and spicy post. The blends from Priorat in Spain are fantastic but more expensive at around the $40 mark. For $20 or less you can find some excellent French GSM wines. 

Syrah wine alone is a powerful peppery and spicy wine with dark fruit flavours – see my post of Shiraz versu Syrah wines.  Grenache brings candied fruit flavours, raspberry and cinamon and Mouvèdre brings added tannins. 

Wines to Try:

Gérard Bertrand GSM Corbières 2014, $18.95

Tessellae Old Vines GSM Côtes du Rousillon 2015, $18.95

Château Cazal-Viel Syrah/Grenache 2014, $16.95 (made by an excellent producer, Laurent Miquel – this one might be a spicier wine but delicious)

Let me know if you try and of the grape varieties and wines I have recommended.  I really enjoy your feedback!