When there’s not enough time and/or money to travel to an undiscovered (by VinoDuo, that is) wine region, the next best thing is visiting a wine bar with an interesting selection of lesser-known wines. In late spring we were fortunate to land in Weston, Florida to celebrate cousin Jordann’s bat mitzvah.  By coincidence, we were also celebrating our anniversary, when two aging Unos became VinoDuo, forever united in our love of wine. Never ones to miss an opportunity to continue a celebration, we found our way to Libation that evening to toast Jordann and 12 years of marital bliss.

Libation is a hybrid wine bar and wine shop. All of the wine for tasting is housed in automated dispensers, where you can fill up with a 2-ounce taste, a half glass, or a full pour. Organized by country and region, the offerings were heavy on Spanish and Italian varietals with a good selection of wines from Latin America. The short but nicely edited Tapas menu included an olive medley, smoked salmon, and garlic shrimp. Well fed after the bat mitzvah, we ordered a simple cheese plate to complement our wine flights.

What We Tasted
Libation offered no suggested flight pairings and no tasting notes for any of the offerings—two strikes, in our opinion.  So we were on our own and selected tastings we thought might go together well. Our pairings were not terribly successful, but two wines emerged as favorites, one white, one red.

Lisa’s Flight – Whites

• Valdelainos Verdejo 2007 — This pale, straw-colored wine from the Andalusia region of Spain got a big thumbs down from Lisa and Gary. “Wine flavored water,” was Lisa’s assessment. “Wet rocks,” grumbled Gary.  And yet the Wine Enthusiast gave it 90 points—go figure.
•  No Time Viura-Chardonnay 2007 — 80% Viura and 20% Chardonnay, from the In Navarra region of Spain.  Light pale straw in color with honeysuckle and melon on the nose. Very light and flavorful.

Lisa’s Flight—Reds

• Cigarzin,Cosentino Winery, Napa 2006— Made from 80% old vine Zin. The name is a little precious and, in fact, the nose is not so much cigar as light pipe. This was a rich, zingy, chocolate flavored Zin not peppery, but not bitter either. Plenty of deep red fruit.
• XYZin, 2006 —  Compared with the Cigarzin, this is a real Zin; super jammy with deep red fruit and a hint of smoke.

Gary’s First Flightt

• Vina Chocalan Carmeniere, 2007 — From the Maipo Valley of Chile; this had a spicy, blueberry nose with chocolate and blueberry flavors, highlighted with caramel and cocoa. Nice long finish. Lisa’s comment: peppery nose x three; taste of caramel and cheesecake.  Clearly a winner in our book.
• Achával Ferrer Malbec Mendoza, 2007 — Yet another Malbec from the Mendoza region of Argentina.  An intense nose with blueberry and blackberry, but a disappointing taste. The ‘07 is not ready and needs another year or so in the bottle to gain balance

Gary’s Second Flight

• 14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington 2006 — Grapes were sourced from vineyards throughout Washington State.   Earthy nose, some herbs and a hint of caramel.  Taste of caramelized cherries and chocolate, without the sugar overload.
• Domenico Clerico Barbera D’Alba Trevigne 2005 – Aromas of anise and leather.  On first taste we found it very full flavored, with earthy overtones and bright cherries.  Dry finish, which disappointed Gary.  Good balance of fruit and tannins and could age well. Lisa thought the wine had a nice clean nose, with depth of flavor and hints of leather. After sitting in the glass for 20 minutes, the wine opened up and was more rustic, but refined.

Eight tastes, two winners: Vina Chocalan Carmeniere and the No Time Viura-Chardonnay.

Libation, The Love of Wine
Weston Town Center
1722 Main Street
Weston, Florida