If the wine is too hot, then cool it down

I was a huge fan of Rosenblum wines. The 2001 Richard Sauret remains one of the greatest Zins I have ever tasted across several bottles. But over the last two years, some of their 2003s, their 2004's and some of the 2005's are overly ripe and are just too "hot", which is wine parlance for unbalanced and excessively alcoholic. The Rosy Zins weigh in at 15 to 16+% alcohol which is extremely high by historic standards. Zins often have very high alcohol levels, as many produces wait until the taste profile is ripe, meaning grape sugar levels are very high, leading to high alcohol wines.

However, I was reading corkd.com, in which many, many users share their views. I looked up the Rosenblum "Sauret" and several people explicitly said that this wine was wonderful at 60-65F. Maybe that's the trick. For hot wines, drink them cooler.

If the wine seems a bit alcoholic and the tempurature is warm, I just stick the bottle in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, which knocks off 5-10F. And I can enjoy the wine at 60-65F.

Blind Guessing Aug 2007

I seem to be getting better at this guessing game, where my wife picks a bottle randomly (eeeny meneey, miney moe is how she puts it) and I have to guess the wine. I know the 10-14 bottles from which she chooses.

8/8/07 - 10 bottles to choose from and I nailed it as a Austrailan Shiraz. Marquis Philips 2005 Shiraz? Nope. Mollydooker 2006 Two Left Feet? Yes. Fruity with some spice. Initial umph that then fades gracefully. It seemed like it should be so much bigger, but was reticent. (Yes, I'm using this to describe a wine.) Nicely balanced and just easy to drink. I'd give the wine an 88. Guessing score: B+.

8/9/07 - 12 Bottles to choose from. Had a bit of that loamy (?) funky Chilean smell with dark fruit but it wasn't charismatic enough to be the Montes Alpha Syrah. So I guessed the other South American wine: Bianchi 2001 Cabernet? Nope. That was my first and best guess. I pondered for a while, smelling some more ruled pretty much everything else out. I tasted Syrah, so I guessed the untasted Vino Robles R4 which is 60% Syrah? Yes! The wine had spice, leather and a nice body. Great by itself or with a hearty meat dish. I'd give a 89. Guessing score: A-.

As 8/15/07, I reset the box to be a bunch of wines Sarah would like, as well as a diverse set.

1. Chateau St Michelle 2004 Indian Wells Cab
2. Cameron Hughes 2002 #10 Cabernet
3. Rosenblum 2003 Richard Sauret Zinfandel
4. Thorn Clarke 2005 Importer's Reserve Cabernet
   
5. Seghesio 2004 Marian's Reserve Zinfandel
   
6. Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah
7. Kangarilla Road 2004 Zinfandel
8. Quivera 2003 Wine Creek Ranch Petite Syrah
9. Marquis Philips 2005 SE Australia Shiraz
10. Hahn 2004 Meritage
11. Ridge 2005 Cughignani Ranch Carignane
12. Columbia Crest 2002 Two Vines Shiraz

8/19/07 - Purplish with a soft fruit, a hint of sweet spice and some loamyness (what I call Chilean funk) and minerals on the nose. Sweet ripe berries on the palate.. somewhat alcoholic with a smooth finish that's more rich alcohol texture than flavor. I'm guessing a Zinfandel. Seghesio Mariani's Zin? Nope. Kangarilla Road Zin? Nope. Now I'm stuck. It's not: Rosenblum, Montes, or the Marquis. I can't believe this is the Ridge, the Cameron or the Columbia Crest. The flavor doesn't taste like Cabernet, but the texture could be the Ste Michelle. I guess in quick succession Ch. Ste Michelle Cab... Thorne-Clark Cab... Quivera Petite??? No, no, no. (The fact that I kept guessing was a clue to the reader I kept guessing wrong). Crap! Marquis Philips? No. Hahn? No. Ridge? Yes.. finally. And then in a new twist. Sarah expressed surprise that I couldn't detect the obvious Carignane-ish super raspberry flavor, esp as we had just tasted this 5 days ago (when I was slighly ill and really wasn't tasting much). Wine: 90 (see next) Guessing score: F.

The Ridge Carignane is much richer and bigger than I expected a Ridge to be. And more complex with wisps of sharp sweet spice, loam, mineral, and browned spices among the bursts of sweet raspberry. Opened up nicely over the next 3 hours. A delightful wine throughout the whole bottle. Wine score: 90.

Well, the rest of this box should be interesting.

1. Chateau St Michelle 2004 Indian Wells Cab
2. Cameron Hughes 2002 #10 Cabernet
3. Rosenblum 2003 Richard Sauret Zinfandel
4. Thorn Clarke 2005 Importer's Reserve Cabernet
   
5. Seghesio 2004 Marian's Reserve Zinfandel
   
6. Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah
7. Kangarilla Road 2004 Zinfandel
8. Quivera 2003 Wine Creek Ranch Petite Syrah
9. Marquis Philips 2005 SE Australia Shiraz
10. Hahn 2004 Meritage
11. Rosenblum 2003 Rockpile Road Shiraz
    
12. Columbia Crest 2002 Two Vines Shiraz

After finishing the Ridge, we had another round.

8/19/2007 - no nose, but with a vegetal, bell-pepper tomato note amongst the dark berry in a thin but flavorful body. Purple hue. Not alcoholic nor acidic. Drinkable now. Columbia Crest? Nope. Ouch, that hurt.. that was my best guess. Hahn? No. Thorn Clarke? No. Cameron Hughes? No. The wine is very drinkable, going down very smoothly. Quivera Petite Syrah? Nope...Ch Ste Michelle? Nope. I was in agony, but then Sarah rechecked.. and it was the darn Thorn Clarke Cab. Despite the green flavor, it was smooth and enjoyable the whole time. Wine: 89. Guessing: A-.

1. Chateau St Michelle 2004 Indian Wells Cab
2. Cameron Hughes 2002 #10 Cabernet
3. Marietta NV Old Vine Red Lot 43
   
4. Gordon Brothers 2005 Merlot
   
5. Seghesio 2004 Marian's Reserve Zinfandel
   
6. Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah
7. Kangarilla Road 2004 Zinfandel
8. Quivera 2003 Wine Creek Ranch Petite Syrah
9. Marquis Philips 2005 SE Australia Shiraz
10. Hahn 2004 Meritage
11. Rosenblum 2003 Rockpile Road Shiraz
    
12. Columbia Crest 2002 Two Vines Shiraz

8/21/2007 - a musty, tired smell, with dirty mushroom and a green edge. Tastes slightly stewed with green edges and some soft fruit. Past its prime. Nothing in the above list should be remotely this tired, except the Columbia Crest 2002 Shiraz. Yes. Wine: 78. Guessing: A.

I replaced the Shiraz w/ the Rosenblum 2003 Richard Sauret and will replay the game, since that wine was so bad.

8/21/2007 - hints of toffee in a thin body with light purple fruits. Not acidic and the tannins arise gently after a while. Cameron Hughes Cab? No. Ouch, my best guess down the tubes. The Gordon Brothers Merlot? No. After a bit of pondering... the Ch Ste Michelle Cab? Yes. I had remembered this being a much bigger, lush wine.. and as I type this 15 minutes later it has started to open up...

1. Cameron Hughes 2002 #10 Cabernet
2. Marietta NV Old Vine Red Lot 43
   
3. Gordon Brothers 2005 Merlot
   
4. Seghesio 2004 Marian's Reserve Zinfandel
   
5. Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah
6. Kangarilla Road 2004 Zinfandel
7. Quivera 2003 Wine Creek Ranch Petite Syrah
8. Marquis Philips 2005 SE Australia Shiraz
9. Hahn 2004 Meritage
10. Rosenblum 2003 Richard Sauret Zinfandel
11. Rosenblum 2003 Rockpile Road Shiraz
    
12. Costco Roogle 2004 Shiraz
13. Root1 2005 Cabernet

A very woody cedary wine according to Sarah. I wasn't getting much from it. It kept changing. A big note of plum. Now it's smoky. A constant dull woodiness persists. Some heat (alcohol), then not. This was going to be a challenge. Gordon Brothers? No. Rosenblum Shiraz? No. Costco Roogle? Yes. This wine is a joint venture between Costco and Marquis Philips, one of my favorite Austalian producers. This McLaren Vale wine had more dark fruit and more restraint than what I'm used to from them. It had opened up nicely the next night after sitting on the counter. Wine: 87. Guessing: B.

1. Cameron Hughes 2002 #10 Cabernet
2. Marietta NV Old Vine Red Lot 43
   
3. Gordon Brothers 2005 Merlot
   
4. Seghesio 2004 Marian's Reserve Zinfandel
   
5. Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah
6. Kangarilla Road 2004 Zinfandel
7. Quivera 2003 Wine Creek Ranch Petite Syrah
8. Marquis Philips 2005 SE Australia Shiraz
9. Hahn 2004 Meritage
10. Rosenblum 2003 Richard Sauret Zinfandel
11. Rosenblum 2003 Rockpile Road Shiraz
    
12. Root1 2005 Cabernet

A restrained wine. Some coffee and toffee with sweet berry. I think a cab.. the Cameron Hughes? Yes. This wine needs some time to open. Wine: 87. Guessing: A.

1. Marietta NV Old Vine Red Lot 43
   
2. Gordon Brothers 2005 Merlot
   
3. Seghesio 2004 Marian's Reserve Zinfandel
   
4. Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah
5. Kangarilla Road 2004 Zinfandel
6. Quivera 2003 Wine Creek Ranch Petite Syrah
7. Marquis Philips 2005 SE Australia Shiraz
8. Hahn 2004 Meritage
9. Rosenblum 2003 Richard Sauret Zinfandel
10. Rosenblum 2003 Rockpile Road Shiraz
    
11. Root 1 2005 Cabernet

8/24/2007 - light purple. Not much nose. Tastes like a restrained Barossa Shiraz. I was at a real loss as the only Australian Shiraz was too big and was much spicier. So I limped in with the Marietta Old Red (which is a Zin blend)? Nope. Uh, the Marquis Shiraz? Nope. So my choices were bad and worse. But I remember how some Australian wines don't taste like the varietal. Soo.. Kangarilla McLaren Vale Zin? Yes. Ripe plum and increasing sweet raspberry with a hint of spice. I wasn't especially fond of it at first but the raspberry note is intriguing. Well balanced, you'd never know it was 16% alcohol. This wine was a gracious gift from Noel Gordon, when I visited the Australia office of our company, and he found out I liked wine. I've been anxiously awaiting to try this wine, when it's "turn" came up, since non-California Zinfandels are a very rare beast. And I've never had a zin like this before. A pleasant surpise. Wine: 90 upgraded from an 88, due to the singular raspberry note in this tasty wine. Guessing: B+

1. Marietta NV Old Vine Red Lot 43
   
2. Gordon Brothers 2005 Merlot
   
3. Seghesio 2004 Marian's Reserve Zinfandel
   
4. Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah
5. Kangarilla Road 2004 Zinfandel
6. Quivera 2003 Wine Creek Ranch Petite Syrah
7. Marquis Philips 2005 SE Australia Shiraz
8. Hahn 2004 Meritage
9. Rosenblum 2003 Richard Sauret Zinfandel
10. Kaiken 2005 Ultra Malbec
    
11. Root 1 2005 Cabernet
12. Las Rocas 2005 de San Alejandro Garnacha
    

8/27/07 : nice stony berry with some plum, with a luxurious complex spice. A bit of barnyard. Later, notes of cola. Then smoky notes. I thought it was a Grenache at first but after reviewing the list I guessed the Quivira Petite Sirah? No. Hmm.. Gordon Brothers Merlot? Yes. A complex evolving wine. Score: 91. Guessing: B+/A-.

1. Marietta NV Old Vine Red Lot 43
   
2. Seghesio 2004 Marian's Reserve Zinfandel
   
3. Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah
4. Thorn Clarke 2005 Barossa Cuvee
   
5. Quivera 2003 Wine Creek Ranch Petite Syrah
6. Marquis Philips 2005 SE Australia Shiraz
7. Hahn 2004 Meritage
8. Rosenblum 2003 Richard Sauret Zinfandel
9. Rosemount 2002 GSM
   
10. Root 1 2005 Cabernet
11. Las Rocas 2005 de San Alejandro Garnacha

8/28/o7: A smooth plummy wine with complex sweet spice. Thorn Clarke? Nope. Rosemount GSM? Nope. ... Quivira Petite? Las Rocas Garnacha? Nope. Marquis Philips? Nope. Hahn Meritage? Nope. Hahn? Nope. Marietta? Nope. Root 1 Cabernet? Nope. Seghesio Marian's Zinfandel? Yes. Now, in my weak defense I had not realized the Seghesio was not a zin, so I did not guess it earlier. But nonetheless, a poor job by me. The wine was super at first but faded as the night wore on. Wine: 88 (91 -> 86). Guessing: F.

8/29/07: Thick Plum with spice in a smooth package. Thorn Clarke Barossa Cuvee? No. Marquis Shiraz? Nope. Quivira Petite? Nope. Hahn Meritage? Yes. Wine:88. Guessing: C.

1. Marietta NV Old Vine Red Lot 43
   
2. Seghesio 2004 Marian's Reserve Zinfandel
   
3. Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah
4. Thorn Clarke 2005 Barossa Cuvee
   
5. Quivera 2003 Wine Creek Ranch Petite Syrah
6. Marquis Philips 2005 SE Australia Shiraz
7. Kaiken 2005 Malbec
   
8. Rosenblum 2003 Richard Sauret Zinfandel
9. Rosemount 2002 GSM
   
10. Root 1 2005 Cabernet
11. Las Rocas 2005 de San Alejandro Garnacha
12. Columbia Crest 2004 Merlot

8/30/07 Plummy with sweet spice and a hint of bacon. The wine is very warm (70F) due to a mini heat wave. Rosemount GSM or Marquis... hmm.. Marquis? Yes. Got it in one. Just a nice wine. And I stuck it in the freezer to cool it down and it remains so drinkable. Medium body, a bit of acidity and a medium finish. Wine: 90. Guessing: A.

What am I buying?

I wish the wine publications and websites would indicate what the reviewers were buying. Because, that is the truest measure of where their (the reviewers) perceived bang for the buck lies. Of course, if the reviewer is well known (Parker, any WS reviewer, Tanzer, etc), they probably get given a lot of wine and/or they maybe reasonably affluent so maybe cost isn't as much of an issues to them as to me and you, the poor reader.

But enough dithering, what have I been buying in quantity over the last 6 months.

1. Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot from Trader Joe's. $7. I've decided I like the 2004 best, with the 2003 only being good (86), and the 2002 tasting leathery and herbacious (83). Roughly a case of all three in total
   
2. Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah from Costco. $15. Bought 10 bottles over 3 instances
3. Beringer 2005 Alluvium White from Wine Club. $12. Six or seven bottles total.
   
4. Razor's Edge 2005 Shiraz from Wine Club. *$8. Eight bottles.
5. Marquis Philips 2005 SE Shiraz. $11. Ten bottles.
6. Kali Hart 2005 Monterey Chardonnay. $9. Eight bottles.
7. Zonte's Footstep 2006 Shiraz/Voignier. $11. Six bottles since that was the min from the Wine Club.
8. Thorn Clarke 2006 Riesling. $10. Eight bottles.
9. Thorn Clarke 2006 Shotfire Ridge Shiraz $13. A case.
10. Tait 2006 Ballbuster $14. Eight bottles.
11. Marquis Philips 2006 Cabernet $12. A case.
    

Because I get early warning emails from the Wine Club and they often have minimums, I end up with 3 or 4 bottles of lots of things.

Four bottles of each of

1. Gordon Brothers 2005 Merlot (WA) $15
   
2. Chateau Mourchon 2005 Cote du Rhone Grand Reserve $18.
3. Thorne Clarke 2005 Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon $13.
4. Domaine des Entrefaux 2005 Crozes-Hermitage $15
5. Frescobaldi 2004 Chianti Ruffino $17
6. Baumard 2004 Savenies $18
   

Among the higher end wines (more than $25 a bottle), I realized if I wanted something really nice to drink in 2-6 years, I needed to start buying the stuff now. So if something really good comes along and it's not too much, say under $70, I'll buy it. Here's what is in store.

1. Two Hands 2005 Bella's Garden $53 Costco
   
2. Numanthia 2003 Toro and 2005 Termes $65 and $40
   
3. Domain de Baumard 2005 Quartes $60
   
4. Clos des Papes 2005 Chateauneuf Du Papes $65
   
5. Yalumba 2005 Hand Picked Shiraz/Viogneir $25
6. Lan 2004 Rioja Limited $40
7. Orwin Swift 2005 Prisoner $35
8. Robert Mondavi 2005 Oakville Cabernet $36

Finishing the unfinished business

It looks like my dilemma of how to keep an unfinished bottle is nearly solved. It is a surprisingly simple yet viscerally unacceptable answer: freeze the wine.

I wouldn't have believed this could work, except I read it in James Laube's blog on preserving the remaining part of the bottle. He said freezing worked very well, so into the freezer it went. The results were

1. Bottle 1 tasted just fine the next day
2. Bottle 2 seemed fine, I don't remember
3. Bottle 3, Marquis Philips 2004 Sarah's Blend was stressed tested. We drank one glass the first night. Freezer. The second night, Sarah didn't wait for it to thaw fully and poured a second glass, which was probably more alcoholic and juicy as that thaws first with frozen water staying solid the longest. Re-froze the rest. The third night it thawed somewhat, I poured a glass, but I was sick and so that glass wasn't drunk. So I poured it back into the bottle and refroze the rest. The fourth day, I let it thaw fully and finally had a glass. It was still fine, with none of the pruney, oxidized flavors typical of day old wine. It may not have been 100% but it was probably 90%, which is much better than leaving it out overnight.
   

A huge success.
James Laube even microwaved a bottle to help thaw it with little adverse affect. I can't quite bring myself to do this yet, but it seems blasting the wine with freezing and microwaves is far less damaging than letting oxygen do it's thing. Strange, but good to know.