Amazing world class wine for 20 dollars a bottle.

Testing, testing, as this blog has been down for a while

2011-10-14T12:46:00.001-07:00

I keep getting an error when I try to access this particular blog of mine.

Best wines of the last 2 months

2011-02-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

I recycled the bottles from last 2 months, and these were the most memorable, aka the best ones. As usual, scores and price had little correlation with what I liked.

Sebastiani 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma (WS 83, $11?). I had had a magnificent 2001 about 3 years ago and had been saving this. And boy did it reward. Smooth classic cabernet flavor, perfectly balanced. At it's peak and just lovely. My score: 92
Razor's Edge 2006 Syrah Grenache (WS 90, $8 CC). Ironically, there were two bottles in the bunch, but it was the last bottle that blew me away. Like a fine Rhone wine, there was a purity of red fruit with a touch of minerality. Previous bottles have not been nearly this good. My score: 91.
Domain Roche 2005 Fitou. This Southern France Grenache-Carignan blend was stunning with red fruit purity with saline notes. The last few bottles have been off (too ripe) but the last bottle of this reminded me of its previous glory. So pure, no saline, medium weight, truly delightful. My score: 92.
Montes 2006 Syrah Alpha (WS 91, $16 CC). This was tasting and smelling beautifully. Still one of the nicest noses of any wine. (Surpassing the recent 2005 which I thought was the better wine). My last bottle and a wonderful way to send it off. Still flavorful but without the youthful edges. My score: 91.
Neyers 2005 Syrah Old Oakville Road (WS 86, $20+). This former brute reminded me of a Rhone wine, and mostly grenache at that. Nice red fruit. Very enjoyable. This was much better than the 2006 bottling of the same wine, which I had a few nights later that got a WS 93.

Hewing my purchases to conform to a budget

2011-02-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

My wife tallied up our 2010 expenses broken down meticulously as usual. And my wine expenditure was simply excessive. In that I spent more than we would consume in a year times the average price per bottle I expect (about $14).

So I've put myself on a wine budget of roughly $2500. Our cellar is too big, so we should drink into it. We are already members of 3 wineries which is roughly $800 annually, so that's roughly $1700 a year. Or $140 a month. For someone who buys a case somewhat freely that's a brutal level.

But it is working.

I was at the (very) local BevMo today and they have another of their 5 cent sales (the second bottle of select wines is $0.05, after they mark up the first bottle). I manage to escape with just 1 pair, the Bertrand 2007 Côtes du Roussillon-Villages Tautavel Grand Terroir (WS 91) at $20.

It turns out I've spend more than my Jan allotment, which was before I instituted the budget, on the following

Schild 2007 Shiraz Barossa (WS 92, $15.50 CC)
Schild 2008 Shiraz Barossa (WS 94, $20 ArtisanWineDepot)
Montes 2008 Shiraz Alpha (WS 90, $16)

What I want to buy (and just did at 6+ bottles) is the Ch de Macard 2009 Bordeaux Superior (WS 90, $11 WC). This is ready to drink now, and will make a lovely gift wine.

But the bottom line is I'm having to think about every bottle I purchase. Which is a really good thing.

Wines of the year 2010

2011-01-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

It's time for the annual ritual of all important wine publications and writers to post their top wines of the year, due in no small part to the wildly popular Wine Spectator Top 100.

Here are my top wines, listed in no particular order. I'm doing this partly so I can recall years from now what I was enjoying the most this past year. Not unexpectedly, Washington/Aussie wines dominate.

Columbia Crest 2005 Washington Red (WS 87?, $5, BevMo on sale). A medium bodied, super smooth drinking wine. Reminds me of the Monte Antico 2006 Toscana which was a WS top 100 for 2009 (which was a fantastic wine when I tried it back then after 30 min of air, but the last 4 bottles have lost their freshness/complexity). But this is better with more fruit density, yet equal amounts of floral, oaky, spicy complexity. At its best, an amazing, super friendly wine by itself or with food. I was stunned and bought 2+ cases. Probably the greatest wine value under $10 I've ever found. My score: 92.

I tasted their latest release at the winery (I think it was 2007). It was a different blend but also extremely compelling. So this is a wine to look out for.
Columbia Crest 2007 Merlot Horse Heaven Hills (WS 91, $12 various). This was initially overshadowed by the stunning Cab Sauv H3 from CC for 2007, but over time the Merlot has won out as the better wine. Super polished with dark berry, it tastes oh so refined, with floral and spice notes creeping in if I let it breathe long enough. My score: 92
Marquis Philips 2008 Shiraz (WS 88, $10-12 Costco). Probably my wine of the year back in Sept. It is a major fruit bomb, but the flavors were perfect and it was so delicious. Sadly the last bottle was a bit unbalanced tasting too ripe. My score: 92

The winner is the wine I most wish I could buy another case of. My wine of the year:
Columbia Crest 2005 Washington Red

Back to a region that has been berry good to me

2010-07-04T17:52:00.000-07:00

After wandering the world of the wine yet again, I'm coming back to a tried and true region. It is known for it's outstanding value or QPR (quality to price ratio). Ironically, I'm attracted to the quality, but uh, the prices, not so much, as much as they have risen slightly but consistently across the board. I have greatly lowered my buying from this region in the last 2 years, which is not terrible as my cellar of 2004-2006's are starting hitting their peak now.

The region? Australia. Yes, I'm referring to pretty much an entire continent as a "region". Why the renewed attraction? Because their wines are reliably good. Not just to me but to my wife.

Of late, I've noticed a new style of red. I'll call "intense berry", as they taste like fresh berry juice with the attendant acidity and a subtle complexity backing them up. These wines are moderate in body with not a lot of richness. But boy are they refreshing. The tannins are moderate but the acidity hides it. Since there is no flabbiness, they could age for a while. Some recent examples are

D'arenberg 2008 Shiraz The Stump Jump ($7.50 Costco (Sunnyvale), WS 90, #58 in WS Top 100). Lovely red and black berry. Pure, focused (aka good intensity), nice acidity in a medium body. Still fruity the next day, after a warm Calif night, indicating this can age nicely. I bought 8 bottles upon rediscovering this, as I bought a single bottle and was blown away a year ago. Only 5000 cases imported. And this price is a amazing. My score: 91.
Penley Estates 2007 Shiraz Hyland Coonwarra ($20 for 2 at BevM0; WS 90). Intense dark and red berry flavor with good acidity. Some minty and coffee notes. Nicely integrated, this tastes classy. Very good the first night; less good the second night but the herbal flavors come out, which can be interesting. Only 5000 cases imported. My score: 91.
Jim Barry 2005 Shiraz Lodge Hill ($12, WS 90). I've mentioned his several times, but it was the leader of the pack of "pure berry" Aussies as I found it over a year ago. This is fresh blackberry and sour ollalieberry. Still have a few bottles.

In contrast, there are still the big or rich Aussies fruit bombs. And if done right, aka to my liking, they are as good as it gets. My last great bottle was last week.

Tait 2008 Ball Buster ($16, WS 87). Wow, this was reminiscent of a super bottle of the 2005 I had several years ago. I've had more of each the vintages since, but I've been disappointed. Trying the 2007 and 2008 side by side at F's many months ago, and the 2008 was decidedly better. (The 2007 had done nothing for me previously.) So I bought a few bottles at the Wine Club. It was everything I could have wanted. Rich ripe plum with nicely integrated spice, and chocolate notes. It's the plush texture that gets me. My score: 93.

91 is the new 90... and 17 is the new 20

2010-06-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

Wine makers practice better vinification than ever before. Even in stodgy old Bordeaux, the top wineries, which get all the press, but account for less than 3% of production there, have made serious upgrades to their equipment and their methods. The result is that there is more good wine being made than ever before.

The world wine economy underwent a significant recession in 2008 and is still slowly recovering. Wine priced under $20 sells decently; wine over that price has been hammered in the market place. In many, but not all, cases, wine prices have fallen to better align supply and demand.

The upshot is that 91 points is what 90 points used to be. And $17 is the price point that $20 used to be. Put another way, a 90 pointer for under $20 was a good bargain a decade ago. You had to hunt a bit if you wanted to find variety but it was doable. Now, finding 90 points for $20 is like shooting fish in a barrel. The modern version is 91 points for $17. (Or if you insist on staying at 90 points, I'd say find 90 points at $13. ((Or if you want to stay at $20, uncover 92 points at $20)).

Here are some recent finds in this mold

Columbia Crest 2007 Merlot (WS 91; $12) - it scores even better than its Cab Sauv twin, which a tad ironically is actually the better wine (and my likely wine of the year).
Yalumba 2008 Viognier (WS 92; $13) - what ripe Viognier should taste like. Pure, fruity with a lovely floral nose.
Zaca Mesa 2006 Shiraz (WS 93; $17 CC) - Their 2005 was 92 points and the 2006 should be just as compelling. Snatch this while this 5000 case production lasts if you like Central Coast Syrah with it's big, meaty style.
Hall 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (WS 96, $45) - A Napa cab scoring over 94 points for under $75!? This world has gone mad, I tell you!

Great buys on sub $10 wines

2010-06-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

I've been loading up on these bargains all under $10 bottle, listed in order of goodness. The BevMo deals are due to their current 5 cent sale where you get a 2nd bottle of select wines for $0.05. All of these have production of 30,000+ cases, except the first.

Penley Estates 2007 Shiraz Hyland Coonwarra ($20 for 2 at BevM0; WS 90). Intense dark and red berry flavor with good acidity. Some minty and coffee notes. Nicely integrated, this tastes classy. Very good the first night; less good the second night but the herbal flavors come out, which can be interesting. Only 5000 cases imported. My score: 91.
Sterling 2008 Chardonnay ($6 Costco with $2 discount; WS 88). Good ripe yellow fruit with toasted oak (I get a hint of Cheerios). A solid by at $8, so a super buy at $6. I got case. My score: 89.
Paringa 2008 Shiraz South Australia ($12 for 2 at BevMo; WS 89). This is a rare wine under $12 that actually needs to breathe a good bit, as in overnight. The roughness and restraint disappears by the second night and it was still good the third night. Bold berry with some spice. Not as well integrated as the Penley's but still a very fine wine at $6. My score: 89.
Brancott 2008 Sauvignon Blanc ($7.80 Costco; WS 89). A solid New Zealand SB at under $8 is getting very rare. It is a bit lighter than the best NZ SBs I'm used to. It has got interesting green peach, lime and guava flavors. Very dry. Not as good as I expected. My score: 87.

Top wines of the first quarter of 2010

2010-04-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

It shouldn't be a surprise as my top wine has to be a something I've mentioned. But there's the list:

Columbia Crest 2007 Washington Red ($5, BM, WS 88). I just love this wine after 30 min of breathing. Consistently very good to outstanding. I bought 2+ cases.
Columbia Crest 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Horse Heaven Hills (WS 90, $11, WC). I also bought 2+ cases of this. A high-end Cab flavor and body for a pedestrian price.
Four Vines 2006 Zinfandel Biker (WS 92, $20) - drank my only 2 bottles in quick succession. Very lovely ripe red cherry and berry with spice.

I should finish this but if I don't... well I need to get something out as it's been a month.

Getting hooked on Riesling

2010-03-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

If you survey wine people, especially sommeliers, perhaps their most favorite grape is riesling. A white, to boot.

Why? It pairs well with more foods than just about anything else with it's nice acidity, fruit, yet it has a nice structure to it, often with good minerality. Plus, it is not an excessively expensive varietal. It can be made sweet, off dry, or straight out dry, which is becoming increasingly popular. It can be reasonably inexpensive at under $10 or be over $100.

I've always liked, but never loved Riesling. Oh sure, I keep trying it as a good general match to Asian food and a nice white with cheese and crackers. But I've never had a hankering for it. Until now. Ironically, I've been hooked while drinking non-premium Rieslings where I hoped to find a good value. But the taste just all came together at this time.

These are all from Chateau St Michelle, the large Washington winery which has largely corrected the quality issues they've had in the past few years. The good thing is production is large year in and year out and there will be sales off and on. I got all of them from the recent BevMo sale on WA wines.

2008 Dry Riesling Columbia ($8) - very solid, reminiscent of riesling from Germany with a bit more citrus fruit and less minerality. Good acidity and length. I bought 4 more. My score: 89.
2008 Riesling Columbia ($8, WS 87) - similar to the Dry Riesling, but perhaps just a tad less intense. Still very nice and drinkable. My score: 88-89.
2008 Late Harvest Riesling Columbia ($6 BM) - I only got one bottle and don't remember that much but it was solid. At $6 I'd get more, if the sale were still on and they had more. My score was likely a 88-89.

The other region, besides Germany/Austria/Alsace for good rieslings is Australia, of all places. One of my wine deals of 2008 was the Leasingham 2007 Riesling Magnus (WS 91) for $7, by the case. Citrus with lots of lime over mineral/steel. I think I've got 8 bottles left and I'm slowing down on it to let some age. Another is the St Hallett 2008 Riesling Eden Valley (WS 91, $12), which also featured citrus over a minerally finish. Not quite as rich as the European versions.

Two that were not so good, as previously blogged, were the Yellowtail (WS 88) and the Columbia Crest.

The $5 buy of the year. Wow.

2010-02-28T14:20:00.000-08:00

(Originally posted on 1/23/2010). Through 2/8/2010, BevMo has the Columbia Crest 2007 Vineyard 10 Red (WS 88) for $4.97. I simply cannot say enough good things about this wine. Made from an unusual blend of Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese, it is an elegant, medium bodied, smooth red that reminds me of a mildly-fruity Bordeaux with gentle hints of tobacco and earth, likely from the Sangiovese. It drinks beautifully now. Lovely on its own or with food. My score: 91.

Last night, I had the Chateau Petit Bocq 2005 St Estephe (WS 89-91, $16), a Bordeaux from the famed 2005 vintage, and I prefer the Colubia Crest red. That's how good this wine is. At $10, I would buy 6 bottles, but at $5, I'll get at least 2 cases, if just to give some away. Easily the best under $6 value I've seen in the past 12 if not 24 months. [Update, I've since had this 3 more times and it's a great wine. It needs 15-30 minutes to open but it is so reliably excellent.][Update 2: I've had this wine yet again, and it continues to impress. It really needs 30-45 minutes of breathing to open up. A serious candidate for wine of the year in 2010 for me. I am upping my score: 91-92.]

I don't like all Columbia Crest wines, shocking as that might seem...

BevMo also the corresponding white, the Columbia Crest 2007 Vineyard 10 White for $5, but I find this a bit too sweet. A mix of Chardonnay, Sav Blanc, and Semillion, it tastes a bit disjointed and flabby. I'm going to pass. My score: 84.

Similarly a Columbia Crest 2007 (?) Riesling Grand Estates was also too sweet with not enough acidity. It too tasted flabby. My score: 83.

Finally their 2007 (or 2008) Chardonnay Two Vines (WS 86-87?, $6 Safeway) was too sweet and not oaked enough for my test. No more of that. My score: 85.

European wine deals at Costco, late Feb 2010

2010-02-27T19:41:00.000-08:00

Two from France, and a Tokaj.

1) Another Costco screamer is the Domaine Pichot 2008 Vouvray (WS 90, $13).

Vouvray wine is from the Loire Valley in France in the region of Touraine. It uses the much abused chenin blanc grape, which in previous decades has been the term used for bulk white box or jug wine. In this region, chenin blanc is used to make wonderful wines, from dry to sweet, even botyrized, that can age for decades. Costco has carried previous vintages of this in the past, but the 2008 got 90 points, finally! :), and being in the midst of a wine class that just covered the Loire, I bought 6 bottles.

Pale yellow. Good acidity (aka "racy"), with a gentle nose of unripe peach, citrus and mineral. Off dry and a similar palate with some grapefruit peel coming in, and the acidity coming through at the end. Well balanced. Hard not to like. My score: 90.

2) A solid CdR (Cote du Rhone) for under $10. The Perrin & Fils 2007 Cote du Rhone Villages (WS 90, $9.59 CC). This 50/50 blend of Grenache and Syrah was flavorful, with good intensity, but nothing exceptional. A good example of a CdR. From memory, my score: 88.

3) The landmark sweet white Tokaj from Hungary, centuries ago considered one of the greatest wines on earth, the Royal Tokaji 2005 Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos (WS 94, $26). I had a taste of this sweet botrytized rich white about 3 months ago and it takes some getting used to. Imagine a Sauterne with iodine and briny notes. I wasn't really in the mood after a long and filling dinner, but it was still noteworthy. But really now, this can age for 15-20 years easy, and it's a classic for $26. Why not explore a unique part of the wine world? My score: 90 (now) but could be a lot more a decade later.

A shockingly rich Pinot Gris

2010-02-27T18:41:00.000-08:00

I picked this up in late January from Costco for $16, the Domaines Schlumberger 2005 Pinot Gris Alsace Grand Cru Kitterle (WS 91, $40). I had no idea Pinot Gris could be like this.

The color was deep gold. The nose was reticent with aging flowers and their associated astringency. Off dry, but appears sweeter. The palate was surprisingly rich and thick with honey, and notes of dried apricot, and ripe tropical. Clean but ends very long, with an intriguing bittnerness (WS said bitter orange peel and I think the tasting notes are spot on) and mouthwatering acidity that kicks in and lingers until the next inevitable sip. It tastes older, like a 2003. My score 93.

Wow. I need to get more of this.

Domaines Schlumberger Pinot Gris Alsace Grand Cru Kitterlé

Trying the Aleatico varietal

2010-02-23T22:04:00.000-08:00

L and I exchanged wine and I got Jacuzzi Family Winery 2006 of the Aleatico varietal.

A few days later, I poured this pale ruby wine. No nose initially, but it shyly opened to raspberry jam and some spice. Sometime later a floral flash reminiscent of the Muscat white grape of which this is related.

The palate is similar. Reticent with red fruit, floral, spice, and tree branch. Like a mutant pinot noir. A surprisingly heavy body for such a low intensity wine. Moderate acidity and no tannins. An overall impression of smoothness. It finally occurred to me to view this as a dark rose, not a red.

If you're expecting something moderate or big, it's disappointing. But as an elegant, restrained but surprisingly thick wine, my score is 89 points. Thanks L.

Portugal 2002 and France 2004: both winners

2010-01-23T18:09:00.000-08:00

Over break before Christmas in San Luis Obispo, I spied the Casa Ferreirinha 2002 Vinha Grande (WS 88, $10). How often do you get a chance to try a 2002 wine for this price, so I bought one. I've been disappointed with Portuguese reds with high scores, but this was an exception. Smooth, with raspberry, cherry and kirsch in a medium body. Drinking very nicely. My score: 89-90.

I've since bought another bottle at Cost Plus and it was identically nice. But their practice of entering your birthday (they ask for ID to ensure you can buy alcohol) to "unlock" the register is extremely invasive. If you purchase by check or credit card, they have both your name and your date of birth in their system. I will not shop at Cost Plus any more.

I have also shared a bottle of the Perrin & Fils 2004 Vacqueyras Les Christins (WS 92, $15). It was still dark, with big fruit in the way that Cote du Rhones have (which is not big by new world standards). Could last another 4 years easily. But drinking nicely with some minerality and spice. My lunchmates liked this a good bit. My score: 90.

A week of 90+ pointers

2009-11-29T18:10:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately... telling my my wife Sarah, "This got 91 points from Wine Spectator.. and was a Top 100", results in a response so blaise that I don't get any response most of the time. But her response is justified. Here are the wines we had that I can remember in the last 10-14 days (back in Nov):

Fox Gordon 2004 Shiraz Eight Uncles (WS 91, $16). Bought this 3 years ago. Intense juicy berry (raspberry, blackberry) with some dust and a touch of earthiness. Medium to full body. Drinking well now. A lot like the Jim Barry 2005 Shiraz Lodge Hill, but a touch bigger. My score: 90.
Monte Antico 2006 Toscana (WS 90, $8 Costco). One of the wines I bought over a case of recently. My score: 89 (the most disappointing bottle out of 4)
Beringer 2007 Chardonnay Sbragia (WS 92, $6 special closeout sale). Lived up to the WS review and a typical Beringer Chardonnay. Very ripe almost tropical fruit, tons of smoky oak almost bordering on bitter, thick and rich. This got better after being open for a few days as the bitter smokiness faded and the richer, spicy elements came out. My score: 89-92.
Columbia Crest 2007 Cabernet Horse Heaven Hills (WS 90, $11). I bought two cases of this. Possible wine of the year for me. My score: 90-91.
Provenance 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Rotherford (WS 91, $15, Top 100). Nice sour citrusy flavors with a hint of sweetness and guava. Lively acidity. My score: 90-91.
Yalumba 2008 Viognier Eden Ranch (WS 92, $14, Top 100). After warming up and given some air, rich tropical fruit with some floral elements. My score: 90-91.
Norton 2006 Malbec Reserva (WS 90, $10 Costco). Not nearly as comlex as I expected. Straightforward pure berry and grape flavors with a hint of mineral in the finish. Once I knew what to expect, it grew on me. Was still good two days later. My score: 89-90.
Yellow Tail 2005 Shiraz Reserve (WS 90, Top 100). Medium bodied with pure blueberry and blackberry. Touch of spice, oak and mineral in the evolving finish that goes down nicely. My score: 90.
Le Vieille Ferme 2007 Cote du Ventoux (WS 87, $9 magnum). I bought this to cook coq au vin, but being a magnum there was a lot left over so I had it while cooking. I expected more tartness but it was a remarkably "bland" wine, with smooth fresh cherry and red berry in a silky finish. Touch of minerality. Next thing I knew I was downing this like water. Do magnums always taste better? Really very nice. My score: 89.
Roederer Estate NV Anderson Valley Brut (WS 91, $18 - 2.50 Costco). Nice sparkler with crisp apple. Balanced. Not too "sour". I am not a big fan of sparklers but this was nice. My score: 89.
Thorn Clarke 2005 Shiraz Shotfire (WS 91). Dno't really remember this so it wasn't that special.

Two case worthy buys and possible wines of the year

2009-11-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

I just bought 15 bottles of one and two cases of the other. Both are medim bodied, a bit complex with a sweet but not overly ripe or overpowering fruit. Both have wonderful balance. And both are (were) under $11. And I bought over a case of each.

First, the Columbia Crest 2007 Cabernet Horse Heaven Hills (WS 90, $11). A higher-class wine with elegant currant and purple berry. So smooth with a hint of sweet spice. I bought a case unseen and then tried it and bought another case. It tastes like a higher end cabernet. Drinkable now, despite WS saying wait until 2011. 30,000 cases. [Update: I've two more bottles and everybody who tastes this agrees this is super nice. My score: 90-92 very consistently across all bottles, which is astonishing.]

Monte Antico 2006 Toscana (WS 90, $8 at Costco, $10 list). Smooth red berry, cherry and strawberry, with spice, vanilla, a wisp of dusty earth and more on the elegant finish. Not at all earthy. Could almost be an alluring Pinot, it is that light. Goes well on its own and with food. Just lovely. 80,000 cases. [Update: I've had 4 bottles now. It varies from nice red cherry and berry (first opened) to gaining some earthy notes (after some breathing, sometimes) to having a sublime vanilla, sweet brown spice, oak note (2 of the 4 bottles). It remains medium light in body with nice balance and acidity. My score: 89-93.

Costco and the Wine Spectator 2009 Top 100

2009-11-18T21:23:00.000-08:00

The WS published their Top 100 wines on Monday for those who have online membership. There was a pronounced emphasis on value in part due to the economic downturn, which affected pricing as well as purchasing power. As usual, I had managed to obtain a decent number wines on the list.

Today 11/17, I went to my local N Calif Costco today, and found the following wines on the Top 100 list.

Catena 2007 Malbec Mendoza (WS 91, $17): Consistely at 90 or 91 points over the past 3 years, this is the first Catena I've ever bought.
Neyers 2007 Chardonnay Carneros (WS 93, $23): A very ripe, heavy, smoky, oaky, on occasion bitter wine. Didn't care for one bottle and loved the other. You'll likely feel the same.
Provenance 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Rutherford (WS 91, $15). A 91 pointer from Napa... I had to try this. Didn't know it was a Top 100.
Juan Gil 2006 Monastrell Jumilla (WS 90, $11.89). I've liked 2 of the 3 bottles I've tried. Like a lovely ripe grenache when it works.
Tohu 2007 Pinot Noir Marlborough (WS 91, $18). Intense but not heavy red cherry, with rose petals and some spice. Balanced. Some acidity. Typical of a fine New Zealand Pinot.
Monte Antico 2006 Sangiovese blend Toscana (WS 90, $8). I bought a bottle and fortunately tried it this past weekend. Medium light bodied with red fruit with a beguilingly smooth and gently complex finish of spice, vanilla and chocolate. The second great bargain I've found in the last 2 weeks. Wow.
Lehmann 2006 Shiraz Barossa (WS 91, $13). Decent ripe shiraz, but a bit hit or miss on the 2 bottles I've tried. (Much better than the green flavored 2005 which also strangely got a WS 91).
Yalumba 2008 Viognier (WS 92, $13.50 sold out last week). The 2007 also made the Top 100 last year, but the year is even bigger and richer. A very nice wine.

I bought all of these wines except the Lehmann and the Yalumba, including more than a case of the Monte Antico, which was going fast.

A couple of other value buys with the ongoing wine coupons are

Norton 2006 Malbec Reserve (WS 90, $12 - 2 = $10). Couldn't resist with the coupon. The Norton Malbecs have not done much for me but at $10 who can resist?
Roederer NV Brut Anderson Valley (WS 91, $18 - $2 = $16). What a buy on a sparkling wine. The 2009 WS tasting notes are intruiging "A rich version, loaded with spicy cinnamon notes. Bold apple aromas, with a whiff of yeast, lead to complex, layered pear, crème brûlée and baked apple flavors that linger. Drink now. 80,000 cases made." With that production, it should not be hard too hard fine.

A couple of not so young Aussies

2009-10-31T18:42:00.000-07:00

The first was the Lehmann's 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Barossa (WS 90). It took a while to open up, initially smelling like pine, pinesol, mint, mineral with some black and purple berry. But after 45-60 minutes, it was a lovely with blueberry and currant in a medium light frame with some eucalyptus and mossy tree trunk. At its peak now. Very similar to the WS review. My score: 91-92.

Several nights later, I had the Pirramimma 2003 Shiraz Mclaren Vale (WS 92, $23 list). I don't remember drinking this so it was not particularly uh, what's the word... memorable.

Just this past weekend I had the Yellow Tail 2005 Shiraz Reserve (WS 90, $12 list). Yes, Yellow Tail. And double yes, 90 points. It took a while to open up with moderately complex blueberry, currant and just a hint of mineral. Very nice. My score: 90-91.

A bargain Riesling

2009-10-27T14:58:00.000-07:00

It is not easy to find good Riesling on the cheap. The (really) good stuff is from Germany or the Alsace and it will be $14 at a minimum if you know what to look for. I did a WS search for 87+ points costing at most $10, with at least 10,000 cases imported made in 2005-2008.

There were a total of 12 matches, 8 which got 87 points and the remaining 4 scored 88 points. Three of the 88 pointers were from Washington State.

But I found the other non-Washington 88 pointer, and bought it yesterday. It has a huge production of 200,000 cases, so you can pretty much find it, if you are willing to get off your couch.

And it was under $6.

At Safeway. (Which is having a big sale. Combine it with their 10% off 6+ bottles discount, which I did.)

But the final kicker is that it is made by

Yellow Tail. That's right.

Here's the WS review: Yellow Tail 2008 Riesling South Eastern Australia, (88 points, $8 list) Light and tart, with a fresh-baked bread edge to the pear and kiwi fruit flavors. Drink now. 200,000 cases imported. --HS

Now go out and get some.

Update: I've tried it and it is a difficult wine. It is often a bit thin, meaning it has less intensity than a really good riesling, and most of the time the complexity is missing and the flavors are muted. But every once in a while it really shines. Don't serve cold and let it breathe a tiny bit. My score: 84-89 points.

Some $10 and under reds for Jez

2009-10-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

As my wife chats with her pal Jez on Google Wave (not generally available, those lucky two) about wine, and asks for my recommendations, I thought I'd summarize what I said to her.

First, remember the cardinal rule: drink what you like and try not to pay more for it than you have to.

Jez tried two $6 Aussies: Black Swan (shiraz/merlot) and Yellowtail (shiraz/cab). She liked the Black Swan better but her favorite was an Italian, Luna di Luna (merlot/sangiovese).

Italy

The Italian blend is likely to be less fruity and more earthy, than the fruit-driven Aussies so I recommend she try the following:

Fontanafredda, Barbera Piemonte Briccotondo 2006, 2007, 2008. The 2006 and 2007 got 90 points from the Wine Spectator and the 2008 is equally nice. Can be tough to find once the 4 week release window has passed. (Costco carried the 2007 and then 2008 recently). It is hard to find a good Barbera (the grape varietal pretty much only from Italy) for under $25 so this is a real buy.
Falesco, 2006/7/8 Umbria "Vitiano" ($8-10). This is has been an up and not-so-up blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, and Cabernet over the years, with some tremendous bottlings and some others that were more average. The recent 2008 bottling got a very solid 88 from WS. It is widely available and has the earthiness of an authentic Italian Tuscan blend. These can be a bit rough initially and will taste fine for 4-6 years.
Monte Antico, 2006 Sangiovese-Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon Toscana ($9-12). This also got 90 points from the WS and with 80,000 cases made, it should be findable with a bit of a search.

It is not easy finding pure Sangiovese for under $12, so I've gone with blends. I find Italian wines are not priced cheaply so it pays to experiment with what you can find.

Australia

Here are some Aussie wines to try. They will all be fruit driven with controlled acidity and minimal tannins.

Yellowtail, Shiraz ($6): Their secret is to make sure their wines, both red and white, taste a bit sweet. I liked their 2005 (?). It's the most famous of the Australian "critter" wines.
Rosemount, Shiraz or Shiraz/Grenache or Shiraz/Cabernet or Cabernet or Merlot. A decade ago, the $8 Rosemount was one of the best value buys of the world, regularly getting 88-90 points. Times have changed with production of this going up 3-5X, and the rest of the wine world catching up by making better wines across the board. But it's still worth trying the $6-9 "Black diamond" Rosemount Shiraz. The Shiraz/Grenache blend about 6 years ago was one of my favorite sub $5 wine at Trader Joes. The 2005's scored well at WS but they are probably hard to find now.
Jacob's Creek, Shiraz or Cabernet Reserve ($8-11). Get the "Reserve" level ($2-3 more than the $6-8 non-reserve). This has been consistently good over the last 5 years. The 2001 Shiraz was stunning with some age, with sweet blueberry and spice. Unfortunately these wines are unusual for a sub $12 bottle in that they will improve with some bottle age; they will likely be tannic if drunk within 18 months of purchase. If you must open a recent bottle, let it breath in the glass for 15-30 minutes, sampling it every so often to see how it changes.
Penfolds, anything under $10 (3-8 types). Robert Parker consistenly likes their "Koonunga Hill" label Shiraz very much; I didn't find it to be that special. But their wines are big and fruity and worth a try. I had a few wonderful bottles of the "Rawson's Retreat" label ($6-9) about 5 years back.
Lindemans, anything for under $10. A very consistent never great, never bad, red wine. Worth a try. Think of it like a very well run chain restaurant... consistent.

France

These are all from the Cote du Rhone region (this link takes some zooming out to get the context) near the France-Italy border at the southern end of the Rhone river valley. These wines are very different from other French regions, so these wines do NOT represent all French wines. Each region (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire, Rhone, and more) has its fans; I'm especially partial to the Rhone, which more often than not makes a diverse variety of blends from the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault grapes. The wines are fruity, but lean, and are balanced by acidity and/or some minerality.

Le Vieille Ferme (with a hen on the label), any of their $6-$10 wines including white, rose and their red "Ventoux". Good clean fruit with nice acidity giving the wines a nice crispness. A great buy was a 1.5L (double bottle) at Costco for $9.50 of the red. These are a perfect example of an authetic local Cote du Rhone that people might drink with many a meal.
Perrin et Fils, Cote du Rhone Reserve ($8-11). Similar to the Le Vieille, a wonderful widely available, esp at Trader Joe's, cote du Rhone.
Any Cote du Rhone wine for under $8 or $10. If possible find a few wines based on the Grenache grape. I've bought these blind with relatively good luck.

Top wines of late

2009-10-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

Let's review some wines I've had lately that stick in my memory in no particular order. Also, while it is easy to be blase about the scores, it has taken the recent economic meltdown and the continued improvements in wine making to allow this. Prior to 2005, I could count the number of 93+ pointers I had tried on my fingers.

Rosenblum 2005 Syrah Kick Ranch (WS 94, $23 list $45). This is what I'm drinking now. I've been saving this, but we needed a wine to open and I finally decided it was time. And it is good. My wife gives it an "A" (aka 93-95 points) which is pretty darn rare. I've decided she agrees with James Laube of the WS when it comes to Cali Syrah. It's a classic complex, meaty, leathery, California Syrah that is thick, intense and has dusty fruit flavors and a hint of tannins backing it all. This has opened up nicely over the last hour. It had the Rosenblum drying tannnins at first but now I'm impressed. I can see how it got 94 points (which is huge), but it's not that much my style. My score: 92-93 (this is going up as I write this and find more flavors...yum).
Landmark 2006 Syrah Steele Plow (WS 94, $30). While we are on the topic of Cali Syrah's here is another one. I brought this to the Artisan restaurant in Paso Robles recently and while I didn't drink too much of it, it was very smooth, rich and had those hints of beef and dusty fruit. Everyone else really liked it. My score: 91-92.
Paraiso 2007 Pinot Santa Lucia Highlands (WS 92, $16). Every so often a Pinot blows me away. This was almost one of them. A big pinot that was rich, smooth, and balanced. Fruit, some spice. It just went down really nicely. This was also brought to the Artisan dinner. My score: 92.
Montes 2006 Syrah Alpha (WS 91, $16). This will likely be my wine of 2009. Consistenly very good to excellent, and this last bottle was just that. The most complex nose of any wine in 2009 at its best. This last bottle did not quite have that, but still just a lovely wine. I think I bought over case. The last bottle, my score: 90.
Seghesio 2007 (?) Pinot Noir ($28?). Had this at a restaurant Poc Chuc with no corkage. A bunch of shared this and it was very fruity, but not as big as I expected with more red raspberry and purple fruit than black. Smooth, but not too complex. My score: 90.
Sebastiani 2004 Cabernet Alexander Valley (WS 88, $23). This is the wine that reminded me via a gentle slap, that I need to drink more Cabernet. Elegant with that high-end California unmistakable cabernet taste. Smooth, with some complexity. Lovely. My score; 91-92.
Columbia Crest 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Estates ($8, WS 88). My wine of the year for 2008. This was probably my last bottle. After having the Sebastiani a few days before ... it had that same classic cabernet taste. The oak had died down and it was a lovely, somewhat one-dimensional wine that was just starting to fade. My score: 90.

Back to basic, lessons from the last year

2009-10-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

It is time to come back home. I have traveled the world and sampled its bounty of terriors and varietals. I'll admit I cheated in my travels since I mostly went to local wine shops and headed to the foreign aisles. The main insight was European wines are largely miss with a few hits. I can stop buying these randomly, eager to discover how a wonderful famous region or varietal tastes.

France. It maybe the wine capital of the world, but except for the Rhones and Languedocs, I don't need to buy these. I'll admit, the Loire is still an open case. But, are you listening Bordeaux and Borgounone (Burgundy)? And most of my wine heathen peers feel even less generous toward French wines, not caring for them much at all.
Italy. I've tried numerous fine Sangioveses and sadly found I don't care for it. There are some Italian Cab or Merlot blends which are fine but Italian wines are not bargains, so I will stop actively looking. Too many Italian wines taste dusty or barnyard/leathery to me. The wines of Piedmont (barolo, barbera, nebbiolo) are too expensive for me and I'm not that fond of them to boot. The one good exception has been Primitivo (zinfandel) which is less ripe and more floral than the California counterpart.
Spain. Unpredictably hit or miss. Sometimes corked, sometimes too funky and sometimes amazing. Spain is the real conundrum, since even knowing the varietal I cannot predict if I'm likely to like the wine. I've had lovely Monastrell and Garnache; and some I didn't care for at all. Some of my favorite producers are Juan Gil, Luzon and Can Blau. Albarino is a white I've liked, but it is hard to find for under $10.
Portugal. Despite what everybody says about great red bargains coming from here, I have not tasted it, over 5 or 6 inexpensive reds, including a few 90+ pointers.
Isreal and maybe Lebanon. This was a surprise as the few reds (cabs, merlot) I've tried have been good. A bottle of the Golan Heights ($16?) I bought was quite good.
Greece, Turkey, other small countries. Nothing sticks out.
Argentina. This is mostly a miss. Perhaps 1 in 6 bottles is great. I still don't know what Malbec is supposed to taste like, since it seems to taste different everytime. Torrontes is the one find I like.
Chile. This was my next great white hope. Actually red hope, since the whites are not that special. For a bit, I had found some wonderful reds (an $8 Carmenere, the $16 Santa Rita Cabernet Reserva, some Santa Ema Merlots and Cabs, Montes Alpha Syrah). I even proclaimed Chile as perhaps my favorite new wine region. And as I am want to do, I bought them. By the partial case. And I've been drinking them. There not bad, but they just don't thrill me too often, as I had hoped. With the Montes Alpha Syrah 05, 06 and 07 as exceptions. Perhaps my expectations are too high. But I'm cutting back. A little bit. And it is not the savior I had perhaps thought it would be.

So what is a gal, who is actually a guy, to do? Back to the basics. Back to the fruit-forward new-world wines of old. (Notice how I worked in "back", "forward", "old" and "new"?) Back to Washington state, Australia, not-too-pricey California and some Oregon.

My wife loves this style, too, particularly Washington and Australian. These days, when I try to find an inexpensive bottle to open, I struggle a bit as all I have is higher-end stuff she'll like, and European wines she won't necessarly like. So embarrasing. I expect to load up on tried and true sub-$13 favorites including Columbia Crest, Jacobs Creek, Lehmanns, Jim Barry, Marquis Philips, Leasingham, Penfolds, Razor's Edge, and maybe even some Rosemount.

They say your wine tastes evolve toward more elegant old-world wines as you get older. Mine are; just not that fast.

What you can't get in a $10 wine

2009-10-02T23:42:00.000-07:00

I espouse inexpensive wines. I claim you can get great wines for under $20. And you can.

But there are certain "rides" that where $10 just won't cut it.

Let's call this ride "intensity" or "focus" or "concentration", since naming something defines it.

Case in point: the Denner 2008 Viognier from Paso Robles, which I visited a few weekends back. Denner owns a huge amount of acres of vineyards and grows 18 varietals of which they've sold many of their grapes in the past, but are starting to make more wines from their own grapes. I liked their wines quite a bit, but they are a mid-high end producer and so my strict pricing rules got in the way. But their $30 viognier was a bit of a revelation. Bananas, pineapple and other rich tropical fruit. The deal was buy two bottles and they waived their tasting fee. Sold!

I opened a bottle last night and the concentration and intensity were obvious. This level of ripeness and flavor costs money. At $30, I consider it a bargain.

I need to drink this wine cool, not cold right out of the fridge to really appreciate the full range of flavors. It's thick, rich, sweet and intense. My score: 93.

The best rose I've ever had.... and you'll probably hate it

2009-10-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

I went wine tasting a few weekends back in the Paso Robles area. One place we stopped at on the east side of 101 was Barrel 27 as they had some very nicely rated Syrahs by the WS at nice prices. I liked their wines alot, but the wine that caught my attention was their 2005 (!) Syrah Rose. It is a very big rose in that it has an edge of tar, smoke... and if pressed, I'll admit the slightest hint of burnt rubber along with slightly darker fruit flavors than I've found in any other rose.

I was tasting with friends and two of them had to spit this wine out, they disliked it so much. And this was the only wine they spit during the entire trip. My wife doesn't care for this much either. And the funny thing was this wine was $13 but if you bought a case, it was only $7 / bottle. So I thought about it long and hard for 2 minutes and prudently only bought 12 bottles.... aka a case. Talking to the servers at another winery ("where have you been?" "Barrel 27.. an this rose!"), they knew of this and thought it might have brett. Well that really sunk my boat as I had already bought the case. But you know what?

I am so glad I bought a case. Pretty much everyone on the tasting trip hated it, except for D who thought it was interesting. But I love this crazy wine. My score is 93 points. Some nights I wonder what to drink and this is at the top of my list. Warmed up a bit, it has notes of tobacco, tar, smoke, a bit of mineral and a wisp of steel all in a somewhat big rose body. I mean how can you like this? Yet I do. Holy crap.

A great buy a bit over a year ago.

2009-09-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

Like everything in life, you can only a great buy when you take some risk.

It was the Leasingham 2007 Riesling Magnus that got a WS 91. And made the WS Top 100 list. The Wine Club offered it for $9.99 a bottle but if I bought a case, it was $6.99 a bottle. Heck, that's barely $84 for a whole case I thought. That's like 5 $17 bottles. So I bought a case.

It's an Aussie riesling so it has a bit more vibrancy (acidity and citrus) and less floral than a German riesling. It has a pure beam of lime once it breathes and warmes up a bit. Some minerality and it tastes like a riesling should. In short, it's superb. My scores over the 4 bottles I've had are 89-93 points.

If only I had bought 2 cases. :)

A lost case

2009-09-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

A few months back, I packed up a case of wine as a gift but in storing it at work in an obscure location in the basement, somebody stole it. I think I lost 11 bottles. The dollar values was not too bad, since you know my price range. It was probably $160-$180. More galling was the wines I lost. Based on recollection they were:

Souverain 2007 Chardonnay (WS 90, $10 CC) - I have two cases, so not a big deal.
Yalumba 2007 Viognier (WS 91, $12 CC) - A WS Top 100 wine of the year, but I have 4-5 more bottles.
MacMurray Ranch 2007 (?) Pinot Noir (WS 89, $14 CC) - there's pretty good production so I can get more. I also have 2-4 more.
Janasse 2006 (?) some Merlot based Cote du Rhone - only bottle I had.
Devil's Lair 2006 Chardonnay (WS 92, $26) - this may have been the "best" bottle that was stolen. I have 4 more but this one pisses me off.
Fitou 2006 - ($8 WC) one of my favorite everyday French wines with a lovely purity and minerality.
... well that's all I remember for now ...

An ideal pairing with a Malbec Rose

2009-09-05T00:08:00.000-07:00

This summer Costco had a Crios 2008 Malbec Rose for $9. Parker gave it 90 points, so I tried it, liked it and bought a few bottles. It was a typical nice rose. Refreshing with nice acidity and some sweetness among the light strawberry and watermelon notes. It's now Sept and we've had some hot days. So my wife opened the rose.

And I've just found the pairing to make this rose sing. I get aromas of caramel, lightly roasted coffee, and sweet tar notes from this rose. It really smells like a red. And it tastes almost like a red in the finish. Very interesting. What is this magical catalyst for the rose?

A Spanish granache.

The Montgo 2006 Garnacha Calatayud Flor del Montgó Old Vines (WS 87, $10 WC) which has the taste I like. Namely it resembles a Cote du Rhone in a style I like with purple fruit, a bit of acidty and a hint of minerality.

And what the granache giveth, the malbec taketh. After having the rose, the Spanish granache tastes a bit flabby. But it's a worthwhile sacrifice, as a rose has never tasted better and has a complexity I've never had in a rose before.

And now I'm sipping one wine, just to make another wine taste better. That's a first.

Blind tasting scotches any ideas of reputation

2009-08-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

I love drinking wine.

And I love buying wine.

I don't love drinking scotch.

But I still love buying scotch for my scotchy wife.

And so it came to a blind tasting. Motivated by Costco's $10+ coupons back in the late 2008 for Johnny Walker (JW) Green and Gold we got some bottles as gifts. And it is perfectly fine to gift to yourself! [JW product roundup: they sell blended scotch whiskeys. Moving up the chain, they make Red ($10-15), Black 12 yr ($20-$30), Green 15 yr ($40-$50), Gold 18 yr ($50-70) and Blue ($$$). I think of Black as comparable to Chivas and Glenlivet 12 or Glenfiddich, as they are all fine $20 bottles in the late 90's]. And then a week ago at the San Luis Obispo store, they had the Green for $32. No way I'm passing that up.

And so it was JW Green versus JW Gold versus Grants, a bargain blended whiskey from Trader Joes for roughly $10.

The tasters: my wife, her brother Paul and his wife Lynn.

The pourer was me.

I gave them each scotch A and then scotch B in their own glasses. Then finally scotch C.

The consensus was scotch A was a bit harsh, B was the smoothest and C was somewhere in between.

The bottom line:

Best scotch was (B). The Grants for $9... well actually $12 for a 1L bottle.
The Gold (A) and the Green (A) were second and third.
Price was not at all correlated with preference.

PS I said I love buying wine... as witnessed by the 2 more cases I just got today. (My wife will be "Fitou" to be tied... since I got 6 bottles of this briny $11 French beauty (see a previous post))

Arranmore 2005 Shiraz Last Row

2009-07-24T00:29:00.000-07:00

Unlike many wine reviewers, I try not to post about wines that you cannot purchase because

the winery is sooo small you have to visit it to get wines
the production is soo small ... it is not clear if there is any left after the wine maker gets his/her allocation there is any left
the vintages is long past so nobody, not even the winery has it any more

And yet, this is one of those wines. We got it on our trip to Australia on a wine tasting tour. It's a small operation run by an "old guy" who makes wine in his garage in the Clare Valley. He let me press some of the grapes and I felt obliged to buy a wine of his... the 2005 Shiraz Last Row, which was the best tasting wine he had of his four or five available for tasting.

It's been 2+ years, since I bought it, and it was time to open it. My wife said she wasn't in the mood to "scale such a monumental red". Ironic, as I thought it was a rather small wine, almost reminiscent of a Pinot (Noir) on first opening.

The wine was very interesting. It was flavorful and had a richness in a light body... much like the best Burgundies (or so I'm told).

As the evening wore on, the wine got bigger. More subdued rich dark fruit with some earthy spice in a small frame, with a richness nonetheless. Not tannic but a touch of acidity. The combo made a nice food wine and also a nice solo wine. Quite nice. My score: 90.

Just don't try to find a bottle.

A Beringer tasting

2009-07-23T23:54:00.000-07:00

I was able to taste some high end Beringer wines and this reaffirmed what I already knew. Namely, (i) price is not related to what you like and (ii) what you like is not necessarily related to what others, esp critics or wine makers, like. Based on memory here is what I tasted with rough notes

2007 Chardonnay Reserve ($35 ish): this is my style - big, oaky, ripe and .... the initial nose and first sip lived up to its reputation, on subsequent tastings it lost much of it's flavor.... Perhaps this is a great "scoring" wine but not an enduring wine over the course of a bottle. My score: 92 initially and 87 subsequently.
2003 and 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve ($120 ish): This is one of their top end wines and they tasted smooth and silky and arguably "elegant" and ... not much else. It was hard to get anything on the nose or palate. Perhaps this is what "high-end" Napa wines taste like but I'll pass. My score: 87-88.
2005 Merlot Bancroft Ranch ($75): the wine of the tasting by far for me. The first half glass was very nice with rich chocolate and fruit (90), but I got a glass of this "to go" and every small sip was velvety chocolate and dark fruit in a big rich, non tannic non acidic body. Perhaps it was savoring this last small glass but it was impressive. Final pour score: 92-93.
2005 Cabernet Quarry and another single vineyard Cab ($90 ish). Better in that one had some tannic and acidic backbone, but still not something I would seek out. My score: 88-90.

The bottom line was I liked one of the least touted and least expensive high-end wines by a country mile. Trust your own preferences.

White wine of 2009?

2009-07-21T23:24:00.001-07:00

I've mentioned this wine in a few previous posts, but my likely white of the year is the Souverain 2007 Chardonnay Alexander Valley. This $17 retail wine had this 90 point review from WS:

Complex aromas of citrus, pear, apple and honeysuckle, with touches of toasty oak. Full-bodied, rich and elegant, with a long, lingering finish. Drink now through 2011. 35,000 cases made.

I found it to have lots of sweet fruit with pear and apple with some spice and oak in a long lean finish. Wow, 92-93 points. As I mentioned, I inhaled the 2 bottles I got from the San Luis Obispo Costco for $10 a few months ago. I've been looking for it with little luck. I found it for $15 at the Wine Club and even more at Beltramos, but it wasn't at any local Costco or Trader Joes.

With bated breath I revisited the SLO Costco and thank goodness they still had it in stock (as well as the Jim Barry 2005 Shiraz Lodge Hill, another top 10 deal of the year). I had a few bottles with family and friends down in the SLO region, but it wasn't until I got back home that I was able to drink it in the quiet of home and put it through its paces.

Verdict: still amazingly good, with more toasty oak than I remember. I bought 20 more bottles and I'll likely buy more this coming weekend when I'm down there again at $10 a pop. A whole new style of Chardonnay to love. The first Chard to rival the landmark 2002/4/6 Columbia Crests. A few months back, I had gone to a higher end Chardonnay tasting of well regarded $30-60 wines and I'd take the Souverain over all of those (Landmark, Ridge, Neyers, Far Niente, the WS 93 Rodney Strong, and more) irrespective of price.

My vow to spend $13 on average per bottle is holding up pretty well and without compromise.

Great wines of late for less money than ever

2009-07-07T00:22:00.000-07:00

Here's some nice wines I've found in the last 3 months in no particular order.

Souverain 2007 Alexander (?) Chardonnay (WS 90, $10 CC, $15 elsewhere). The best chardonnay I've had in the last 4 months, and it's not especially oaky. A great, complex sweet fruit taste. Inhaled 2 bottles. My score: 92. I hope I can find more of this at my $10 price point (Costco San Luis Obispo).
Sterling 2008 Chardonnay ($8 Costco, $6 with coupon). The 2007 was a WS 88 pointer but this was not available, so I took a chance and picked up 3 bottles of the 2008 and it is quite nice. Lemon and some oak. Flavorful, slightly rich in a medium body and medium intensity. At $6 I could drink this all day. My score: 89.
Montes 2006 Syrah Alpha ($16 Costco, WS 91). This is/was my wine of the year 2008 and I had two bottles recently. One was very good and one was great. One of the most complex noses of any red and a complex palate of ripe sweet berry, hint of tobacco and spice. Smooth and rich but not too heavy. My score: 93-94 at its best.
Fitou 2005 (?) South France Red ($8?, WC). I'm not sure of the region, but it is likely the Languedoc (south France coast, west of the Rhone). This tasted like a salty Rhone made with fresh dark-red fruit. Very refreshing. My score: 90-91.
Zaca Mesa 2005 Syrah Santa Ynez Valley ($17 Costco Alhambra or SLO, WS 92). There is a new style of Syrah from Central California: big with notes of beef and/or a dusty ripe berry. It's a profile WS reviewer James Laube really likes, but I'm not that fond of it. My wife quite liked it. Here's the WS review:
"Tight and beefy, with focused blueberry and wild berry flavors that are spicy and complex. Full-bodied, with a hint of stewed plum and wild berry peaking through on the finish"
Can Blau 2007 ($15, RP 91). Needs some time, as the bottles I tried months ago weren't as nice but recently a solid red berry with acidity and some spice. Syrah and Grenache. Not minerally at all. My score: 89.
Jim Barry 2005 Shiraz Lodge Hill ($13 Costco SLO, WS 90). Consistently one of the purest expressions of tart red raspberry with some sweet black berry. Some spice and oak, but it is the berry that knocks me over. Nice acidity in a medium body. My score: 91.

Resetting your price points

2009-07-06T21:42:00.000-07:00

The old price points which went something like

$5: basic wine, when you just want something called wine, can sometimes find good wines
$10: might be able to get something good, but not likely. If you hunt, can find something very good.
$20: if you know what to look for you can get something pretty nice and rarely something very good to excellent.
$50: lots of very good wines and lots of not so very good wines are available, outstanding wines if you obsess and hunt for them
$100: if you spend some effort, very good to outstanding wines.
$100+: why the heck are you reading this blog anyways?

But two factors have conspired to lower these price points. One at least temporarily and the other somewhat profoundly.

First, we are in world wide economic slump, aka recession. And high-end wine being is a luxury item, takes a big hit. People who used to spend $15-35 are now spending half that. The market knows this and so prices have fallen. Apparently wines over $20 are in a no-man's land and don't really sell, unless there is well-established brand behind it. And during the boom, may insta-millionaires opted to open wineries and plant grapes and now they have to sell their product.

Second, the entire level of wine making has been raised with all these new energetic wine makers entering the market and all these new energetic countries entering the market. If the standard $10 wine is say an 84 points, and you are a new country with new wine makers and cheap land and labor, why you make a $10 wine that is 86 points. Let this news spread and pretty soon the whole world is making better wine. From 2002 to 2008, the tolerance for poorly made wine has pretty much disappeared from $10+ wines. All the big wine making operations are turning out clean wines without any obvious flaws, besides being somewhat "boring".

Say what you want, but all the low end Chilean and Australian wines are cleanly made. Even "Two Buck Chuck" is cleanly made, though not terribly interesting to my tastes. Granted these wines may not excite you, but a $3 wine today is much better on average than a $5 wine from ten years ago.

So what does this all mean? As a Wine Spectator score monger, I've noticed that if you know where and when to look, I'm seeing better than ever wines for lower price points. Such as numerous 92-93 points wines for under $25 and many wines hitting 94 or even 95 points for under $50. This was pretty much a rarity 4 years ago.

Case in point, I bought the 95 point Two Hands 2005 Bella's Garden for $60 at Costco a few years ago as this was one of the lowest priced wines at this score. Now I can find several 95 point Aussies at this same price. Second case in point, I'm seeing many 93-94 point California Syrahs and Chardonnays for under $40. This would have been unheard of 5 years ago.

And for the bargain shopper, $15 gets you some pretty decent wine these days. I've also gotten more into Chardonnay of late and the wonderful 2007 Calif vintage is producing some very nice ones at high production levels.

To summarize, the new price points go something like

$5: basic wine, when you just want something called wine, can sometimes find good wines
$10: can get something decent if it is the right varietal or the right country might be able to get something good, but not likely. If you hunt, can find something very good.
$20: if you know what to look for you can get something pretty nice and rarely something numerous oppurtunities abound to get very good to excellent wines
$50: lots of very good wines and lots of not so very good wines are available, outstanding wines if you obsess and hunt for them
$100: if you spend some effort, very good to outstanding wines.
$100+: why the heck are you reading this blog anyways?

One great glass

2009-05-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

That's about all you get, even from an outstanding bottle of wine. Worse still, it is all you can expect.

Much like a tremendous dish, say ripe tomatoes with fresh mozzarella or a smokey bacon cheeseburger, you get a few initial great bites and the rest is all down hill. A very enjoyable slowly sloping downhill mind you. With food, the first tastes are the best, as the palate fatigues and the hunger subsides.

In contrast, wine is a crapshoot on when the best glass will be. The wine evolves and your palate and nose chase these fleeting nuances to tire of them before they are gone. I have sampled the gamut of great tastes of the first glass to draining the last glass of its finally great drops.

I tried a bottle that F recommended as "the taste of Napa Cab I am looking for (in a sub $40 bottle)". The Fisticuffs 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa (the 2005 was WS 91, $26, Beltramos), opened slowly. But I had one great glass, with classic Napa fruit (cassis?), that root beer note I've decided many Napa cabs have and I like, with sweet spice and oak. Medium rich with low acidity and tannins with nice balance. Very nice. My score: 91-92.

It was the third small glass that was great. The previous glass was good and getting better. The much anticipated next glass was pedestrian. Ah well, at least I got my one great taste.

How wines should be reviewed

2009-05-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

In reading wine reviews from the major reviewers, it seems like the goal is to pull out at least 6 unique "flavors" (or notes) with bonus points for hyper-specificity. Compare "red fruit and mineral" with the much more definitive and regal "sweet rainer cherry with ticonderoga #2 graphite and lime and chalk mineral, blah blah.... 91 points". Yes, I made some of this up, but you get the point.

Other reviewers go to the opposite end and just describe broad impressions but don't give points but give summaries like "bright red fruit in a light frame". The problem with not giving points is I (in the role of a reader, not the writer of this blog) can't tell the bottom line. Do you love it or just like it? So give me the points!

In drinking a delightful Bastide Saint Dominique 2005 Chateauneuf des Papes (CdP) which I will rate below as a running examle, I realized (not for the first time) that the dimensions of describing a wine could (or should) be something like:

flavor notes. (Sweet red fruit with obvious mineral) Very subjective, as different reviewers come up with different descriptions... it is almost amusing to compare different reviews of the same wine.
intensity or concentration (3 out of 4, 4=very intense) A broad generalization: old world = low scores, new world = higher scores.
acidity or crispness or "racy" or "juicy" (3 out of 4, 4=very acidic) Whites tend to be more acidic than reds, which is why they pair well with more foods (not the same foods though) than reds. Some wines should be acidic (sauvignon blanc, riesling) and others should not (cab sauvignon, zinfandel).
tannnins (2 out of 4, 4=too tannic to drink) Very subjective, as there are many types of tannins and sensitivities vary dramatically to different kinds.
body or richness (2 out of 4, 4=super rich)
finish or length (3 out of 4, 4=can taste it for a long time afterwards)
complexity (3 out of 4) this is a catch all coverting intangibles about the nose and palate
balance (3 out of 4, 4=everything feels impeccably right) Even a 2 here can be fine, depending on the wine.
score (91 out of 100). This is crucial as it summarizes how much you liked the wine.

I decided a 4 point scale (1-4) was better than a 5 point scale (1-5) as too often the middle value would be used in the latter, whereas in the 4 point scale, the reviewer is forced to choose between above or below the average in every case.

Here's the WS review of the La Bastide Saint-Dominque 2005 CdP (90 point $30 wine):

Bright and racy, with lots of red and black cherry fruit, graphite, licorice and sweet spice flavors. The long, lingering finish shows sweet fruit and mineral notes. Best from 2008 through 2022. 2,800 cases made.

I agree with this writeup quite well. But more importantly this wine hits the right notes for me. This wine is better than other wines from the same region with a similar style reviewed by the same reviewer that got higher scores (Domaine Mourchon I'm looking at you). The flavors are vivid and the balance work wonderfully for me, and while there is a slight tannic pucker at the very end, I almost like this type of juicy tannin. I'm looking forward pairing this wine with the steak, mushrooms and carmelized onions I'm about to cook up. My score: 91, perhaps 92.

BevMo

2009-05-20T09:55:00.001-07:00

In wine circles, there is little mention of BevMo! or Beverages and More as they used to be known. This chain has 100 stores in Calif and Ariz, each of which is around 10,000 sq feet (guess who visited the "About Us" page). The NorCal stores I've been to have solid selection with perhaps 500-1500 different wines to choose from. In this competitve wine market, their regular prices are non-compelling for a major wine distributor, but their sales can be very good, but you have to be on your toes to catch these.

So why isn't BevMo! a serious wine contender? Let me count thy flaws.

Prices are high, considering there is Costco, Trader Joes, and many wine specialists including The Wine Club, K & L Wines, Beltramos, to name some of the major ones, all with better prices. Their sales prices can be very good, but there is game playing sometimes. BevMo has a 2 for 1 sale periodically (technically get the second bottle for $0.05), but they jack up the price of the first bottle by a bit.

Wilfred Wong or WW. He is their resident wine rater, and his scores seem dubious. There is no mention of how he rates the wines, namely does he taste blind. His scores are regularly 2-5 points higher than the Wine Spectator and worse still he rates some mediocre wines qute highly. E.g. the Snoqualmie 2007 Riesling Columbia is WW 91 and WS 88. The Zolo 2008 Torrontes is WW 92 and WS 84 (I'm not 100% sure these are the exact same bottlings).

They lie. They list "retail prices" and then their discount price. But the retail price can be made up. Case in point, the Palo Alto 2007 Red Blend Muale Valley is listed at $20 retail and $13 at BevMo. But $13 is the suggested retail price. BTW, WS's Matt Kramer and others liked this wine quite a bit.

Wilfred Wong's rating scale is completely whacked. Here is how the latest postal mailing explains his 100 point scale:

93-100: Ageworthy, with the potential to improve over 20 years
90-92: Exemplifies precise varietal character, tremendous concentration and superior balance
87-89: Shows excellent varietal character
85-86: Shows very good varietal character
80-84: Shows very good varietal character, but lacks some concentration

First, age worthiness is conflated with quality. This scale makes the moronic assumption, that anything ageworthy is better than anything not. But really, which is better a 93 point ageworthy bottle or a 90 pointer, by this scale? Or if there is a tough, tannic wine that will get better over 5 years to become mediocre, then this gets 93+ points, right?

And what's with this varietal character bit on everything. If there is a rich plush pinot noir as some of the top cult pinot's are, then it gets an 85 or less, because it doesn't express classic pinot varietal character.

The bottom line is his scale does not represent the bottom line quality of the wine. A higher score in the below 92 point range just means more "varietal character", whatever that means. I'm not sure how complexity, spiciness, earthiness, acidity or tannins would fold in.

Because BevMo is a big chain, they don't carry many lower volume wines, with say less than 3,000 cases. So it's hard to find those interesting wines.

The emphasis is on US wines with a pretty decent domestic wine selection. The sections on French, Italian and Australian is poor with only big volume names. The Spanish and South American sections are as good as the competition.

Chateau Souverain 2007 Chardonnay Alexander Valley

2009-05-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

Picked up a couple of bottles of this WS 90 pointer for $10 at Costco in San Luis Obispo.
I'm normally skeptical of James Laube's high chardonnay scores as he likes a very ripe chardonnay with a smoky touch, which often has a sour acidity (like honey does) I don't care for.

But this is a lovely wine with ripe sweetness and striking citrus and apple in a flavorful, yet medium-thin body. Noticable oak with a touch of vanilla. A bit of acidity. Delicious. My score: 91-92.

Gordon Brothers 2005 Merlot Columbia Valley

2009-05-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

Brought this to dinner at an Italian restaurant, Celestino, as corkage was $10. This bottle was in the cellar for a few years, and then went on a somewhat hot car ride from N Cal to S Cal, where we used of the A/C off and on. It was lugged up to the hotel room and then lugged to the restaurant a day later.

Wow. Rich, lucious blueberry and ripe blackberry from the first sip to the end of the bottle. Hints of coffee and toffee and a touch of earthiness that went away after 15 minutes. Minimal acidity and tannins. WS gave this $15 bottle a 91, but I disagree. My score: 93.

One of the nicest bottles I've had lately.

A $12 Merlot from Washington that needs 6 years of cellaring

2009-04-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

It's extremely rare for a US made wine under $16 to require bottle aging beyond 3 years of the vintage date. But I have noticed one winery whose early 2000 reds were consistently hard or closed even afer release. And some of them were dumped at Trader Joes for one third their list price. So here I am with a $6 wine from the 2002 vintage that finally tastes drinkable.

It is the Hogue 2002 Merlot Genesis (WS 90, $15). Even WS whose editors who largely enjoy their wines young, said this needed until 2007. And other bottles of the Hogue Genesis line were pretty closed. How is it right after opening? Only OK... muddy tart blueberry and purple berry in a medium body with minimal acidity and mouth coating citrusy tannins. My score: 85.

Most people into fine wines think putting down a bottle or cellaring it is good. But modern wines are largely made in a style that is ready to drink sooner, so few wines require more than a year of aging after release. Winemakers largely recognize that only serious oenophiles have the patience and resources to actually store wine. So I'm trying to dig through my wines and start drinking some that I thought needed aging. Because the only thing than worse than drinking a wine too early is drinking it too late.

Reference wines

2009-04-13T00:21:00.000-07:00

At a dinner recently, I had to play pin-the-wine-on-the-dinner blindfolded. I wasn't sure what was being served and I wasn't sure what wines would already be there. I knew another guest F was bringing two of her much vaunted wines, the Quilceda Creek 2002 Cabernet (WS 93, WA 100) and Ridge 2005 Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains (WS 95, #2 in top 100).

What to bring? My standard Aussie shiraz's seemed so pedestrian. Sure I could have dug something really nice out, but it would still be just shiraz. And what if the food was chicken or fish? A white was out of the question. I can't afford to tarnish my reputation so badly at this point.

And so it was a return to the classics. A Pinot. Nobody can really complain about a good pinot. As I dug through the collection, which are more like the stacks, as in a messy library, it came down to what I could find. An Oregon (Cardwell Hill) or a Carneros Creek pinot? Both were new to me and I felt both could use a bit more bottle time, at the 12 year drinking window on both had just opened. As I pondered this.... I had a bolt of insight. I would bring one of my much un-vaunted Columbia Crest Merlots. The Grand Estates line that I love. Only this was from 1997. A twelve year old bottle, which is likely older than half my readers. Probably best drunk by 2002. Seven years past its prime. Fortunately, I had two of these babies, so I could afford to waste, I mean, share one bottle with friends as a surprise wine.

Back to the Pinot decision. A last minute closet search turned up the Nautilus 2006 Pinot (WS 91, $19) from New Zealand. Perfect. I've wanted to try this as the few NZ pinots I've tried can be very nice.

The appetizers were chicken and lamb and pickled veggies. The attendent wines were a GS (as in GSM) rose (aka blush wine) from Paso Robles and a sparkling rose. The hosts also opened up a German reisling, name forgotten. It was quite aromatic but not especially flavorful on the palate. Others said it wasn't very sweet, but I detect a hint of sugar against the rich texture. (My score: 88).

Near the end of the appetizers, we opened the 1997 Merlot. Wow. Everbody recoiled a bit upon smelling it. Very rough, a bit like a kitchen cleaner, hiding the fruit. F would not even get near this. But the host M tried it and said it was like a Pinot. And he liked it. Hmm.. I had to agree a bit. Over the hill, so it was smooth and dilute with dried cherry fruit and had flavors of an old non-earthy wine. And an unmistakable strong note of pine oil or pine resin (like retsina). And the smell of wet paper did start to come about. Some liked it, some despised it. But it was a nice wine to try and learn from. My score: 87 or a 65.

The main course for the evening was salmon wrapped in filo dough so it almost looked like a burrito. The hostess, K, would brush lemon butter between the sheets and on the raw chunk of salmon. Throw some vegetables before wrapping, bake and that was it. There was a simple salad on the side. And by the way, the salmon dish was magnificent. The fish was perfectly cooked, the lemon and butter flavors persisted beautifully and the filo dough was lucious. I want this recipe. Wow.

K and F had a last minute wine change, as the recipe specifically recommended the Sea Smoke 2005 Pinot Noir Southing (WS 92, $40) which F had. So no Ridge. And now we had two pinots. Both of which were excellent. (And I discovered at dinner that C who is normally quite reserved, "just hates pinot!".. so much for nobody can complain about good Pinot).

The Nautilus was pinkish in color and not especially big, with cherry, a hint of rose and gentle spiciness. A bit tart in a nice way, esp compare to the Sea Smoke. But it was the texture that won me over. Rich and tongue coating, despite the only moderate flavor. Interesting. This probably is what is meant by the silky texture of Pinot. A lovely wine. My score: 91 or 92.

The Sea Smoke was a dark beauty. Complex, with a sense of gently smoked or roasted spices (anise, five spice, perhaps ginger) backed by moderate black berry. Nice round, rich smooth texture. Wow. This seemed to be 2 or 3 points better than the Nautilus. I had no idea any wine, let alone a pinot could taste like this. Definitely another reference point in my mind. My score: 93-94.

And what about the 100 point Quilceda Creek? Disappointing and no one was more vocal than F about this. She even bemoaned how highly rated wines were always so disappointing lately. (My message is secretly spreading.) This wine had moderate flavor with refined purple berry and gentle spice and oak. Smooth, easy to drink. It tasted high end but was just too restrained to be great. My score: 89-90.

Should you join a wine club?

2009-03-31T17:13:00.000-07:00

Someone at work asked "Should I join a wine club (where they ship you wine every month...), but as I've never been a member of one ... any particular favorites you could recommend."

Being the wine person I am, of course I suggest trying to buy/find/explore the wines yourself.

- if you drink a fair bit of wine, you can determine what you like and joining a club or two of favorites should come naturally. I don't think this is you.
- if you are drinking not much more than 2-4 bottles every two months then a club will keep you supplied but you'll be drinking only the club wine... which is extremely limiting.

As you mentioned, getting wine in the mail can get complicated:
- you have to have a reliable delivery routine.
- during the hot months, I never have wine shipped as even 6 hours at 90+F is pretty hard on wine, especially nicer wine. Personally, I never have wine shipped.
- it is somewhat costly, at least at the price points I normally pay per bottle.

A wine club from a good wine shop (K&L, Wine Club, Beltramo or specialty retailers like Kermit Lynch or Vin Vino Wine) is better as you get a broad variety of wines. But I find them expensive, especially if they are sending you random selections. It's one thing to find out you don't care for Sangiovese; it's another to spend $50 ($40 + tax + shipping) to discover this.

But if you have a bit of time and energy I suggest getting a good wine book that simplifies wine and do your own shopping. For example, the book
Great Wine Made Simple: Straight Talk from a Master Sommelier by Andrea Immer is excellent (it's the book I wished I could have written but better) as it covers wine from a learn by tasting now perspective with specific broad recommendations. And you don't have to pay a whole lot to discover the varietals/regions/style you like or dislike.

Buy your own from a decent store (K & L, Wine Club, Beltramos, ....), if possible and if asking for recommendations don't be at all afraid to keep to your budget, since they will always have a wine that is 30% more but even better. If these stores are too inconvenient try Whole Foods, Cost Plus or BevMo (though it's hard to find good wine unless you know what you are looking for at BM and to some WF).

My personal favorite is Costco, which has unbeatable prices and consistenly high quality wines. I really don't know how they get some of their limited production wines given their volume. Often times Costco is the only place I'll find a specific wine I'm interested in. If you were to blindly sample their wines you'd get an excellent of idea of what you like and dislike.

Tahoe tasting

2009-03-12T00:39:00.000-07:00

A bunch of us had a bunch of wines between bunches of snow. How were they?

Kaiken 2005 Malbec Ultra (WS 88) I'd been saving this as the previous bottle took a long time to open up and this was worth the wait. One of the first wines I had, so my palatte wasn't fatigued, it was birg, rich, fruity and smooth. Ripe red and black berry. My score: 92
Terradora Dipaolo 2006 Greco Di Tufo (WS 90?) JB only wanted white so it was a good I had brought along 2 whites. Very nice with some stone fruit and citrus with a nice acidity. My score: 90.
Antiori 2004 Chianti Classico Peppoli (WS 90, $19). A smaller wine than the others we had with it so it suffered by comparison. Quite smooth with none of the funky Sangiovese flavors I don't care for. I wish I'd had this bottle on its own to appreciate the elegance. My score: 88-89.
Fairview 2006 Goat Roti. An interesting wine with some barnyard and dirt with the fruit in this flavorful wine. I don't remember loving it but there was nothing wrong and a lot to like. My score: 88
Seghesio 2001 Zinfandel Sonoma (WS 88, $18)
Seghesio 2007 Zinfandel Sonoma (WS 93, $19) - - I had though the 2001 was a 90-91 pointer from memory but it was the '02 that got the 92 points. This was the big blind tasting, as M loves all things Zin, especially Seghesio. The 2001 might be nearing the end of its drinking window. D did the pouring, and threatened that he might not even pour us the same wine first. Anyways the first wine had nice richness with balance. The second wine was just a bit rougher and a bit more rustic. Both were fruity and quite nice. I "cheated" and notice the second wine was much lighter in color so it was the 2001. M who always get these things wrong, did not dissappoint. My score: 91 (2007) and 90 (2001).
Cristom 2006 Pinot Noir Jefferson Cuvee (WS 86, $22) - The first bottle a month ago was thin and tasted overly ripe with sweet jammy notes (say an 84), but the second bottle was a solid ripe pinot (88-89) with rose and red cherry. This was not quite as good but nice. My score: 87-88.
Rosenblum 2004 Petite Syrah Rockpile Ridge (WS 89, $22) - At this point, I had had a good bit of wine. I like this big fruity Rosy, but it didn't really stand out. My score: 87-89.
Neyers 2007 Chardonnay Carneros (WS 93, $22 CC) - Past bottles have had too much overly smoked oak with a sharp acidity I didn't care for. But this bottle was richer and the oak was more subdued. JB loved this and I largely agreed. My score: 90-91.
Pezzi King 2007 (?) Zinfandel Riley's Red - this was opened very late in the game. Nice fruity zin, but I didn't really take mental note. Somewhere between 86-90.

But the surprise of the evening was a bottle of red (meritage) that B had aged for 2 years. In the trunk of his car. Which during the summer would routinely break 90F. Ouch. I faced this with trepidation but it was much better than I expected, which was beyond ruined. I could almost see someone liking this... and in fact B did... in fact he drank it and said he preferred it to the Peppoli.

What I'm drinking part III

2009-03-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

You're not reading this for meaningless chatter so let's get down to the reviews

Castoro Cellars 2006 Cabernet Paso Robles (WA 90, $9 CC). My wife liked this a few months but I wasn't that fond of it, but it was a cheap bottle I could open for her. After 30 minutes, this opened up. Big obvious good cassis flavor and lots of brute oak. It tasted chunky as the flavors weren't well integrated... with fruit and then oak. Reminds me of a very good low-cost chilean wine. By the end, once my expectations were set, I liked it. My score: 88.
Thorn Clarke 2006 Shiraz Shotfire Barossa (WS 91, $20). The 2004 and 2005 got even higher scores, but have been erratic for me. Very dark berry, some oak with a less fruity style, more earthy style than I expected. Some acidity not much tannins. Not as rich as I had hoped. My score: 88.
Razor's Edge 2006 Shiraz Viognier (WS 91, $10 CC). One of the cheapest 91 pointers out there ... was still at the Sunnyvale Costco as of Jan 2009. Quite reliable. Dark and some red berry in a medium lean style with acidity and a wiff of minerality on the finish. A bit like a fruity Cote du Rhone. Too lean to get the really big score, but hard not to like. My score: 89-90.
Jim Barry 2005 Shiraz Lodge Hill (WS 90, $13 CC). One of my top wines for 2008. Intense red cherry and raspberry in a pure style. Medium bodied with some wood and just a wiff of spice. Good acidity and no tannins in this fresh wine. My score: 90-91.
Norton 2004 Malbec Lujan de Cuyo Reserva (WS 91, $16 CC). The WS review said "very creamy" which is an odd flavor for wine. But a previous bottle (my score: 87) was indeed "creamy", but lacked intensity. This bottle suffers too. Not much on the nose or the palate. Redoubling my tasting effort (aka closing my eyes), gives dark red berry, dried cherry with hints of tea and yes, cream. Smooth. Grading it as an elegant wine, my score: 89.

Wine scores: a score whore's view

2009-03-03T23:55:00.000-08:00

When I excitedly tell my wife, my friends, my co-workers and even my co-workers who are not my friends the score of a given bottle, they nod politely and then turn away and resume their conversation with the person who is not me. I can tolerate this injustice most of the time. But there is a limit, and the worst is when I exclaim, "WS gave this 93 points", and the "listener" blithely resumes their life a fraction of a second later.

Why is this so exasperating? Because you don't understand how hard it is to get 93 points.

Ninety three points is high enough that if you don't know wines reviews, but still enjoy wine occasionally, you might never drink a wine that scores this high your entire life.

Ninety three points would have been the highest rated wine I would own in my first 6 years of collecting. Granted I wasn't spending much, but you just can't get a 93 pointer when you only spend $20. Even in 1990 dollars. (Well this wasn't quite true. In the 2005 vintage, there were a grand total of 5 wines scoring 93 costing less than $20 in WS. Three were obscure German Rieslings; the other two were Sauvignon Blancs).

Ninety three points is higher than ninety two points, which is my current threshold for really, really well reviewed wines. At 92 points, the reviewer loves the wine. Anything higher is just frosting, usually due to enduring length, crazy complexity or super intensity.

Ninety three points is so high that if you averaged drinking wine this good every time, you might be the person drinking the best wine in the world. On average. But in the whole world.

Ninety three points is high enough that if you walk into a decent sized grocery store with 500+ different bottles, it's possible no wine will score that high. (Here in Northern Calif, the large super market chains have half to a full store-length aisle devoted to wine, which is my reference.)

Ninety three points is high enough that in a non-stellar vintage, an entire region might not have a single wine score this highly.

Still not getting this? Here's a different tact. Math.

It's a simplification, but think of each additional point as reducing the playing field to a third, once you get above 89, which is good wine indeed to start with. So if 91 points is rare, then 93 points is about one in ten of those.

Now perhaps all this ... still hasn't convinced you. Then let's get down to business. Price.

From 85-89 points, it doesn't make sense to talk about price because wines of all price ranges can fall into this bucket. $6 wines. $16 wines. And even $56 bottles. And the thing to realize is that at 88 to 89 points, the wine can be absolutely the perfect wine for many occasions. As in just what you wanted. (Reading WS reviewers blog about what they drank in real life situations makes this clear).

Once you hit 90 and above, prices start to settle out a bit more with the minimum prices starting to become a bit more predictable. (Keep in mind price and wine aren't really strongly related.) To get 90 points, you typically need to spend $16, even if know what you're doing. And with patience, you can find it for $12 or even $10. So let's say that 90 points a $10/16 low end limit.

And now for the tricky part. I think each 2 points is a doubling of prices. So that means for 92 points, expect to spend $32 given that you are aware of wine scores and you will be hard pressed to find a 92 pointer for less than $20. Of course there are exceptions but you have to be lucky to break $20.

At 93 points, we're now talking $44 a bottle as a reasonable lower limit on the price, assuming you follow the reviews and know what to look for. The "average" price of a 93 pointer is probably a lot higher, say $100-120. And in a restaurant this means a 93 pointer is going to put a dent in your wallet. So I hope you have a bit of respect for 93 pointers.

But if you really really want to annoy me, turn away after I say, "Now, this got 94 points".

What am I drinking II

2009-03-01T23:18:00.000-08:00

Just a dump of things I had, with yet another bordeaux-ish wine from Washington. All from memory over the last few weeks.

Jim Barry 2006 Cabernet Cover Drive (WS 88, $15). Something I've liked and occasionally loved. This bottle was a bit thinner and simpler than I had hoped. Of course, the very last glass finally had a chance to breathe, and nice cherry flavors backed by some wood came out for ... my score of 88.
Sebastiani 2005 Cabernet Sonoma County (WS 87, $13 CC). Oh, Sebastiani Sonoma County labelling, how you've abandoned me of late. You used to be a wonderful $14 bottle, but then the last two years, you were AWOL. Sigh. The 2001 was magnificent on occasion. My expectations were lowered and this wine met them. That wonderful unique Cali cabernet flavor in a bold, slightly simple, but rough body. But as I continued to drink this and got to the last half glass, I realized I was going to miss having more. My score: 88-89.
Thorn Clarke 2005 Cabernet Terra-Barossa Importer's Reserve (WS 90, $15 WC). Decent fruit with a slight green peppery note. Not as rich as I remember or had hoped, so this is starting to age a bit. My score: 86
Columbia Crest 2001 Merlot Grand Estates (WS 90, $7). This was one of the first wines I bought 18+ bottles of. At its best upon release, a glorious wine. But since 2005, good bottles from the cellar have been hard to encounter. This had picked up an herbal and almost tobacco ish note to go along with the red berry. Similar to the Columbia 1999 Cabernet Otis Valley I tried recently, it had a medium thin body with aging tannins but still a touch of acidity. Not my cup of tea but I still had 2 glasses. My score: 86-87.
Robert Oatley 2007 Chardonnay Mudgee (WS 90, $14). Crisp and clean with a touch of oak along with the standard chardonnay "yellow" flavors (apple, pear, whatever). Well balanced. My score: 88.
Domaine de Durban 2004 Beaumes-de-Venise (WS 89, $16). A case of this Cote du Rhone was a gift (thanks A and S). It's 70% Grenache with 25% Syrah, and the Grenache is very clean. Almost like a big Pinot, with smooth red cherry, not tangy, and just a hint of mineral. Super drinkable. My wife who isn't a CdR fan at all, likes this alot too. My score: 89-90.

What is your favorite wine?

2009-02-23T21:29:00.000-08:00

I have new twist to this question. If I offered to give you an unlimited amount of one wine label for the next 15 years free of charge (with the current vintage on the market being given out), what wine would you choose?

And of course, the wine has to be for your own consumption. No selling or trading it. And at the end of 15 years, whatever you have left, you give back. And you can't build up more than a case. So this is truly your favorite wine to drink with a small capacity to age some. And OK, if your choice takes another 6 years to be ready to drink, I'll split the difference and give you the vintage that hit the market 3 (that's 6 over 2) years ago. If the label you choose is no longer made, that's too bad.

As an example, a Zin lover could choose the Seghesio Zinfandel Sonoma Valley.

Would you choose a first growth Bordeaux? Or a highly regarded Burgundy? Would you make your wine something you could drink with some regularity?

My own choice was easier than I expected. And long time readers shouldn't be too surprised. It's not too expensive and it's widely available. And it is what I drink more of than another other single wine.

My second choice would be the Montes Alpha Syrah ($20). The 2003 was very good and the 2005 and 2006 were some of my hands down favorites.

But the winner is the Columbia Crest Chardonnay Grand Estates, under $10 pretty much everywhere. And a white, no less.

What am I drinking?

2009-02-21T18:10:00.000-08:00

For years I've wanted to know what the big-name official wine critics drink on their own with their own money. It's one thing to talk about wines at a fancy tasting run and paid for by someone else, but it is another to know when push comes to shove what these people actually choose to spend their money on.

And lo and behond, WS (Wine Spectator) has quietly (since they didn't tell me) introduced a new features called what we're drinking now that is (almost) exactly what I wanted. All the senior editors (reviewers) have short write ups on a wine they had recently, every few days. The main problem is that most of the writeups are from restaurants where the author was having to choose from a limited wine list. Still it's interesting to see the choices and to read about how a wine fit the expectation perfectly with acidity and fruit and went with the food and it was all of .... 87 non-blind. Which really means the right "87" can be a very enjoyable wine. Which is what the WS says about 85-89 as "very good wines" and it is really good to know most of the reviewers feel that way, too.

OK, now it's my turn. Here's some of the wines I've had in the last week.

Concha Y Toro 2003 Merlot (WS 90, $17). This was almost port. To pruney for me, but my wife liked it just fine. Were there storage problems? My score: 83.
Hayman Hill 2006 Pinot Noir Lucia ($11). I've enjoyed this as one of the best budget Pinots in the past, but this bottle was off. Tasted stale and a bit oxidized. I had a partial glass and that's it. My score: not good.
Small Gully 2002 Shiraz Robert's Block (WS 89, $17). I've held this for a good while as WS said after 2008, and that's now. Decent Shiraz flavor in a tangy fruit style with some vegetal and earthy notes. Not as ripe as I'd have liked. My wife didn't care for this much. My score: 86.
Marquis Philips 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon ($13). Ripe fruit but it is not clear it's a Cab or a Shiraz or ... ? My wife liked his of course (as I opened this for her). My score: 87.
Hess 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Allomi (WS 88, $20). Very disappointing as I had one truly great glass of this (at a Ruth Chris in Charlotte, NC) and several less than stellar bottles. This has the cab flavors but was still too tannic and acidic with no smoothness. My score: 86.
Devil's Lair 2006 Chardonnay Margaret River (WS 92, $22). More smoky oak than I'm used too in this perenially highly rated wine. I also loved the 2005. I drank this too cold so the flavors were muted much of the time. Good fruit with balance and acidity in the last half glass that finally warmed to near room temp. A tad more sour than optimal. I drank this over several days and it held up well in the refrigerator. Ironically, this is a white that might need a bit of time. My score: 86-90.
Columbia Crest 2006 Chardonnay Grand Estates (WS 90, $8). The latest vintage of this wine that never disappoints. (The 2002 and 2004 were the previous) Rich with a nice butter, oak and acidity with the ripe fruit. My score: 89-91.

Like all bloggers, I hope this will turn into a regular column, but like all bloggers I'll be lucky if this lasts more than 4 entries in the next 3 months. Time will tell.

Disillusionment with high scores yet again

2009-02-19T16:35:00.000-08:00

After our previous get together with F, where she discovered the much loved Schild Barossa Shiraz I served was not the much vaulted 96 point 2004 but the lowly 2006, she demanded that I "make it up to her". She also was curious about the recent 94-point Neyers 2007 Shiraz Old Lakeville Road $33, as was I.

And that seemed like a perfectly good reason to try these two "giants of WS points" over dinner.

I was at Costco that afternoon to pick up broccoli to go along with the takeout Italian food F would bring, but I got fairly excited at the food choices surrounding me. And I realized I had some yummy spaghetti sauce made a few days back... it seemed a shame not to use that up and while at it, not to cook up the whole darn meal. A quick phone to F to call to cancel the takeout and I was in my happy place, all set to make dinner of my choosing and standing in the middle of Costco.

I picked up some more of the Martha Stewart meatballs with lemon grass and habanero, in their bright green package with orange trim. They are quite good and super easy to warm up. They will stay in the refrigerator for several weeks and if you do freeze them, they thaw quickly. Also I got lots of produce. I was glad to see this Costco has brussel sprouts, finally. And I ended up buying some wine at Costco, but not as much as you might have expected. This is detailed in my previous blog, about Italian wines.

There were six of us for dinner, which consisted of home-made fettuccine with two different meatball tomato sauces. The vegetables were blanced broccoli with a soy sauce vinaigrette. For wine, I figured three bottles possibly going to four. Especially if one bottle was bad. And so the disappointment began.

The first was a bottle from Costco. The Fontanafredda 2007 Briccotondo (WS 90, $10). It was pretty much as I remembered it. Fruity for a Barbera with tangy plum and red berry. A perfect cooking wine too, as I used some in the sauce. But nobody loved it. And a few put it at the bottom of their list. Sigh. My score: 89. (See another review of this wine)

Next, Neyers 2007 Shiraz Old Lakeville Road (WS 94, $30), tasted thick and flat. It had the characteristics I've come to expect from James Laube's 92+ pointers, which is a rich wine with purple berry, some unusual notes and a medium finish with not a whole lot of acidity or tannins. After a bit this wine opened up and I got some interesting flavors of beef stock and a beam of soy sauce. Interesting yes, but not especially appealing. Nobody else really seemed to like this either. My score: 85.

Then, one of the highest scoring wines I've had the pleasure to try, the Schild 2004 Barossa Shiraz (WS 96, $22). And it was a good but not great wine. Not nearly as rich or thick as the 2006 (WS 88), the 2004 was medium bodied with some richness, and it had more unusual flavors than the 2006, but again they were not flavors wow'ed me. I can see a 91, but that's about it. Most people liked this. My score: 88.

Finally, F screamed that I wasn't even going to open a Cabernet, so I relented. This was a bottle the Wine Club had recommended when I was looking for a good $15 cab about 4 months ago. Of course this was closer to $22, but I've learned wine people all have a hard time hearing price limits. It was the Waterstone 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (WS 82, $22). I hadn't seen the review until just now (as I'm typing this) and it was exactly what the WC said it would be. A nice Napa Cab. Not especially big, but sweet and smooth with refined fruit, spice and vanilla. The favorite of most people. My score: 89 to 90.

Finally, a few days later, I cracked open another highly rated wine that I have been saving for 4+ years. The Columbia Winery 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Yakima Valley Otis Vineyard Signature (WS 92, $22, #55 in the top 100 of 2004). I'd tried this bottle before and always found it thin and herbal, like green tomatoes. And this bottle was no different. Thin and dilute with a green tobacco and green pepper notes along with purple berry. Touch of tannins and acidity in an elegant body. Almost Pinot Noir like in feel. Or like a fine European Bordeaux in body. Well this is my last bottle so I won't be wondering if will get any better. It won't, though my like for it varies on my mood. (While I never loved this, it lasted a couple of days after opening, showing it was not a fruit bomb. And it had light elegance I could see someone else falling in love with). My score: 84 to 88.

Smooth and polished, an elegant red with depth of flavor that sneaks up on you. Currant, blackberry, smoky spice and dried tomato flavors compete for attention, building in intensity as the fine tannins subside on the long finish. Best from 2006 through 2015. 2,380 cases made.

I realize I'm probably having my wine period where nothing tastes great, but I think I'm finally realizing deep down, at a core level, that the super high scores, say those above 92, have little to no correlation with how much I will enjoy a wine. So, except for the prestige factor to yammer about buying or anticipating or trying wine X, why am I trying to get these wines again?

These days I'm now most excited when I see a new world wine getting 88 or 89 pointer for $11 with wide availability. That's something you can yammer on about and drink tonight.

Vindicated on a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

2009-02-18T21:33:00.000-08:00

This is an Italian varietal and region that produces fresh, delicious, slightly juicy reds of medium body. If you want to get sense of the appeal, think of Cote du'Rhone but without the earthy minerally Rhone-ness that isn't appealing.

In a previous blog I mentioned the Cantina Zaccagnini 2004 Montelpulciano d'Abruzzo "dal tralcetto" a $14 bottle I had found that I loved in NY. There was a purity of red berry, ripe cherry and even a cranberry-ish freshness. Nothing too complicated but just hard to put down... my score was a 91. And now Kim Marcus of the WS agrees giving this same wine a 90 (non-blind).

The only problem is locating this wine or even this varietal.

Coming to grips with Italian Sangiovese and a great find

2009-02-17T20:55:00.000-08:00

At Costco the other day, I checked out the wine section of course and despite my desire to not buy any more wine, they had a remarkable find, the Fontanafredda 2007 Briccotondo (WS 90, $10). Good authentic Italian wine is not cheap. And wine from the Piedmont is especially hard to get cheaply (think Barolo which routinely breaks $50). But I find this Barbera to be quite good and at $10 is a steal. So I bought 4 more bottles. And that was the only wine I bought.

I've discovered I don't care for Italian Sangiovese much which is a shame as it is the basis for Chianti Classico and for the "king" of Italian wines, Brunello di Montepulciano. The Sangiovese is too tangy with more earthiness and acidity than I prefer and the fruit profile is not one of ripe berry or cassis, but more tangy plum. Altogether it is just not my cup of tea. I learned this the hard way having had several bottles of very good Chianti Classico, including

the Castello di Monsanto 2004 Chianti Classico Riserva (WS 91, $20), my score: 85
the Frescobaldi 2004 Chianti Rufina Castello di Nipozzano Riserva (WS 91, $20), my score: 86.
the Rocca delle Macie 2004 Chianti Classico Riserva (WS 90, $20), don't really remember being that thrilled with it.

In contrast, the Piedmont varietals of Nebbiolo and Barbera, if done nicely sit at the cross roads of Italian Sangiovese with less tangy approacability. The Fontanafredda is a perfect example. It has that Italian terrior to it but is also very fruity. My score: 89-90.

The kicker is that nobody else seems that fond of this wine. My wife? Nope. The other 4 at a dinner party the other night? Nope. Some co workers who tried it 2 months ago.. nobody else was loving this as much as I did.

But if you want to try an authentic Italian wine for a song, you know what to get. Supplies should last about 3 weeks at the Mountain View Costco.

Rich apple with mineral and salt

2009-02-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

What do you think I'm referring to? A nice desert? A bath salt? Or a wine?

Yep, a French white from the Irouleguy region at the very south, wester tip of France bordering Spain, in the Pyrenees. The WS wine review (88 points, $18) said as much of the Herri Mina 2004 Irouleguy:

Concentrated, rich and well-structured, with good definition to the apple and citrus flavors, which are flanked by rich spice and butter notes. The crisp finish shows mineral and sea salt. Drink now through 2015. 275 cases imported.

I've had this bottle for at least 3 years and it tastes a bit corked, but I'd describe it as slightly stale (think of the way an old sherry is) apple cider with a bit of richness in the middle and a hint of saltiness at the end. And oh, yeah, it's a wine. A bit dilute. I'm not that fond of it, but it's not your run of the mill white at all. My score: 84.

And how many 84 pointers get a whole blog post?

The world of beer, the anti-wine

2009-02-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

The blog entry "Supermarket Nation" by James Sucking described his holiday odessy (or captivity) in Southern California and focused on the deplorable wine selection at local supermarkets. The phrase that bothered me the most was

"the wine selections are dismal. It seems that they have all the same wines, mostly agro-industrial whites and reds from California and Australia, with a few imports such as Bolla, Dubeouf and Louis Jadot"

Firstly, what's wrong with agro-industrial wines? Quite a few mass-volume wines are very good. Columbia Crest, Cht Ste Michelle, Hogue to name a few Washington wines. Many of the big Australian producers such as Rosemount, Penfolds, Yellow Tail and Jacob's Creek make very nice $8 to $11 wines. And at the one million case levels. Some of the Chilean wineries such as Concha Y Toro or Santa Ema have made mass produced wines I've loved. And most of the New Zealand wineries might be considered agro-industrial, yet they make arguably the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world. You have to be a wine snob not to like these wines.

Secondly, what is the alternative to agro-industrial wines? Most of the produce we eat is from agro-industrial corporations. How else are you going to feed a few hundred million people. And the same holds true about wines. If you want to make a wine that people can reliably buy at a reasonable price, you need to make 500,000-1M cases of it and that means it is agro-industrial.

The comments to the blog echoed the distaste for agro-industrial wines. And I figured out these snobs want the stores to carry low production "craft" wines. But if you were the store owner, would you carry unknown craft wines? Or put in another context, would you carry "craft" chicken eggs or purely organic lettuce, dandelion greens and oyster mushrooms? If I were the store, these craft wines would be a poor financial choice. They are expensive and they can sit on the shelf. After all who has heard of that small Santa Cruz winery? Are you willing to spend $32 on a winery you've never heard of?

The wines Sucking and followers (I'm omitting the obvious pun on sychophants) want are interesting wines. Namely they reflect the terrior, so you have to spend time studying the region. And small wineries want to be distinctive, so you have to study the winery itself. And then the real kicker a "true" winery will have wines that vary year to year. So you can't even find a winery you like and rely on them, as you have to know the vineyard and the year, too. In short, these people want to make wine complicated. Really complicated.

So what is the problem with these mass produced wine? They are inexpensive, have a clean fruit flavor which is refreshing and palatable to most people. And they are reliable. You know exactly what you're getting with these wines. And it hit me, this is exactly what people want with beer.

With beer, you want the same taste everytime. You aren't expecting bottle variation. You aren't expecting terroir. You aren't expecting a surprise or taste adventure with every bottle. You don't want to buy it and then have to let it sit in temperature controlled storage for years. You aren't expecting the beer to evolve as it sits on your shelf. Or as it sits in your glass. You don't want to have to let it breathe or swirl your glass. You don't want a narrow temperature range of where it tastes best. You don't care if you finish the bottle (or can). What you want is a predictable, reliable, refreshing, not overly complicated beverage. And that's what you get.

Beer the ultimate agro-industrial beverage.

My harshest critic

2009-02-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

As a I said before, my wife likes wine a lot but only has 4 grades.

Lowest is Bad or "toss it". This doesn't happen too often, since the fact I'm writing this wine blog means I don't purchase bad wine. But occasionally I open a wine that isn't here style. Say an Italian Nebbiolo or Barbera. A few Malbecs have caused a bad reaction from her.

Next is Tolerable or "there is nothing wrong with this but not much good or I can tolerate the flaws". This is usually a cheap wine or something from France (Bordeaux or some Rhones). She's not into sweet whites much either so Riesling, Gewurtraminer and some Chenin Blancs are here.

Then we have Good or fine which means "there is nothing wrong and some good notes". This is the vast majority of the wines. Which is rather anti-climactic. Lovely wines. Award winning wines. Wonderful diverse wines representing the world of wine. And all I typically get is "it's fine". In a grading scale this is a "B". Some wines are a B- and others are a B+. Like last night, we had a Kaesler 2004 Shiraz Horse-something. Parker 93, Tanzer 91, WS 88. And it was just too tangy with blueberry notes. A B- for her (and me).

And then there is Great. The equivalent of an "A". I live for Great. But we don't find Great very often. As in once every 18 months. I usually hear something like "Oh this is gooood." The last bottle I remember was the Columbia Crest 2004 Cabernet Grand Estates and before that it was the 2001 of the same wine.

And at the high end of Great, there is the rarest of creatures. There is "I want to bathe in this". Which has happened all of twice in the the last 6 years. The Justin 2001 Cabernet Paso Robles was the first. Truly a magnificent wine; rich, smooth, just delicious. It was very expensive at the time ($24), but I bought a case. We had seven of the bottles in the next year and most were super. A classic wine I'll never forget. My score: 95. And this past week, the Schild 2006 Shiraz Barossa produced a "Oh my god, this is good. My mouth is exploding with flavors."

It's the rarity of Great that makes it all the more satisfying.

Langmeil versus Schild

2009-02-08T17:12:00.001-08:00

The way to appreciate this title is as a variant on a classic showdown. Akin to "Alien vs. Predator." Or "Godzilla vs. Mothra." Perhaps "Ali vs. Frazier." Or Bud versus Miller.

We have to go way back to 2006 when I ran across two astonishing deals in Australian Shiraz.
Because these were two of my best buys that year, and they were both Barossa shirazes I tend to conflate them a bit, only adding to my anticipation and intrigue.

In corner one is the Langmeil 2004 Shiraz Barosssa Valley Floor. 94 points WS. For under $18. This was pretty much unheard of. I consider gettting a 92 pointer for $18 a very good deal. And each additional point is expensive, perhaps a 1.412 X increase in price (this is the square root of two, if you didn't recognize it). So, every two point jump is a doubling in price by my math. And the choices under $18 are limited. So I jumped at this and got a case. Unfortunately, the reviewer said to wait until 2008 to try it, and so it sat.

In corner two, was the deal of the year, if you trust the ratings. The Schild 2004 Shiraz Barossa. 96 points. Under $25. Come on. That's like finding a 92 point ine for $7. Or a 90 pointer for $4. I was foolish and only bought 6 bottles. And like the Langmeil, it would be best after 2008.
Since then, the 2005 Schild came out and I also bought 6 bottles, thought it scored a "measly" 93 points. And the 2006 Schild came out and I got 4 bottles and to my chagrin it fall from grace getting 88 points.

The WS reviewer for Australian wines is Harvey Steiman and like most of the other WS reviewers, he doesn't blindly believe wines get better with age. Yes, they change with age but it doesn't mean they are better, just different. So when he says wait 2-3 years, and then the wine will drink well for 8-12 years, I tend to trust him, since he also appreciates youthful fruity wines.

Under full disclosure, I had tried the Langmeil in 2008. And it was a style I expected which is a flavorful plum, berry and spice with good acidity. You won't get 93+ points from the WS without some acidity and complexity. The Tait 2005 Ballbuster is a good example of a powerful Barossa Shiraz without the acidity; Parker loves it but Harvey not so much.

But back to the present. A friend in need (of wine) was over and we were opening some nice bottles. I started with a Finca Luzon 2005 Altos de Luzon. A previous bottle was a 93 but this was a bit more muted. It eventually opened up with fruit and spice in a medium body with a smooth texture. I'd say a 90.

Next was the Schild. Enough waiting. We screwed the cap open and found an intense ripe sweet berries and plum with spice and oak in a long smooth finish. It didn't have the acidity I had expected. I'd give it a 92.

And then my wife tried it. BOOM! My wife loved it. And she said so at a high volume. This is the woman who likes wine a lot but only has 4 grades. Bad. Tolerable. Good or "fine". And Great. We don't find "great" very often. As in once every 15 months. At the high end of "great" there is "I want to bathe in this". And this is where we were. How many cases would I have needed to buy to fill that bathtub? I'll cover this topic more in a future post.

Eventually I opened the Langmeil. It was how I had remembered it. And in side by side tasting, it was clear the Schild was a much sweeter and slightly richer style of fruit. The Langmeil had a bit of a classic build, tasting a bit more sour (like a tangy plum) and more acidity. I'd give it a 91. Both were equally complex. But overall the Schild was the winner.

But the kicker is this was the 2006 Schild. The 88 pointer. Wow. I can hardly wait to try thte 2004.

PS I gave away the surprise to the wine geeks, since they would know the 2004 uses cork but the 2006 uses a screw cap.

The problem with beer

2009-02-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

As a wine lover, people sometimes ask me "do you like also like beer?" , as if there is something not quite right drinking wine almost all the time. On rare occasions, the conversation leads to "why don't you drink more beer?"

Which got me thinking about "the problem with beer" several months ago and which I am only sharing now. Let me list the ways.

Beer is a problem because it is relatively cheap compared to wine. You can reliably get very good beer for $12 a six-pack which is less than the average bottle I drink. And you get more to drink by a long shot: 6 bottles = 72 oz, while a bottle of wine is around 25 oz.
Beer is reliable. You do get an occasional bad batch (metallic or flat tasting) but by enlarge, you can rely on beer. Especially the cheaper stuff, which rarely disappoints. I mean how can it, at $0.33 a can?
Beer is refreshing in a way wine can only hope to be. Which means it goes well when you're hot and tired, say after a great workout. There are times when only a beer will do.
Beer goes well with all food. So it goes great with spicy foods (Asian, Indian, BBQ, etc) that can be difficult to pair wine with.
A good beer is good indeed. I find trappist Belgium beers to be as nice as many fine wines. And because it is less alcoholic I get to drink more. And it's cheaper.

And so you see the problem with beer. I don't know why don't I drink more of it?

Fortunately, beer does have some problems.

I don't like a lot of beers. Wheat beer? Not good. Hoppy, bitter beer (Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam)? I shy away.
I especially don't like the more "interesting" beers that beer connosiers like. I avoid craft beers since they rarely float my boat.
I largely like boring beers. Two of my favorite lagers are relatively clean: Spaten Premium and Becks. This is like saying you like Pinot Grigio since it's not so strong.
I like Bud. Which automatically disqualifies me from any conversation with a beeer lover.
About the only respected beers I like are Trappist Ales and some more fruity, thick beers (some bitters, some double bocks). How can I consider myself a beer person in this case.

But the bottom line is when I ask myself what I want, it is wine not beer.

Christmas wines

2008-12-25T12:53:00.000-08:00

Visiting the in-laws for a week, we expected a large party or two but it looks like it's mostly the four of us most of the time. Nonetheless I brought down nearly 2 cases. Here's what they were and tasting notes if we opened it.

Mollydooker 2006 Shiraz, The Boxer (WS 90 $20). An intense, rich fruit bomb. Almost jammy with blueberry pie filling, ripe red and black berry. Balanced from beginning to end. Drinking very nicely. Medium finish. No acidity or tannins. My score: 91.
Montes 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Alpha (WS 88, $16). (On of my favorite wines of 2008). This was the third bottle and as my wife noted, it had an unexpected bell peppery (green) note with less obvious fruit/vanilla. A bit more Bordeaux-esque and thinner than the previous bottles. Balanced and smooth. My score: 89-90.
Robert Oatley 2006 Chardonnay (WS 90, $13). Vibrant and fresh with citrus and white fruit notes in a zingy (some acidity) body. Reminds me of Sauvignon Blanc in some ways. My score: 89-90.
Juan Gil 2006 Jumilla ($16). This Monastrell blend is a modern style, with clean, sweet, ripe plum and purple berry with some spice and floral aromas. None of the tobacco, leather or other earthy notes most Spanish wines have. Smooth with a touch of acidity. If it softens a bit, I'd give it another point, but for now it is a 89. My score: 90.
Rossojbleo 2006 Nero d'avola Gulfi (WS 82, $16). Not sure where I got this. I needed some red wine to make a beef gravy so I opened this. Good choice. This was simple and rustic with an off flavor. (I don't believe the quality of a wine you cook with matters too much, despite what a lot of people say.) My score: 80.
Yalumba 2007 Viognier Eden Valley (WS 91, $12). A bit of sweetnss with the refreshing fruit. I wasn't in much of a mood to appreciate it. My score: 87.
Domaine Pichot 2007 Vouvray (WS 87, $14). This is a semi-sweet Chenin Blanc and I pretty much drank the whole bottle over 2 (or was it 3) nights. It had nice white fruit (I'm not good at picking these out) and just went down very smoothly. Yummy. My score: 89.
Chateau St Michelle 2004 Cabernet Indian Wells (WS 88 $14)
Ercavio 2005 Tempranillo Roble ($8). This was one of many bottles on 12/26 and we didn't finish much of it. I did use it for cooking short ribs 4 nights later and it was still somewhat fresh. My score: 87.
Steate Landt 2006 Pinot Noir Marlborough (WS 91, $22). Red berry, rose petals and a hint of spice. Medium intensity and body for a pinot. Very well balanced. With a bit more complexity and richness this would have been outstanding. I'll let the next bottle age a bit. My score: 90.
Fontafredda 2007 Barbera Briccotondo (WS 90, $10). Gave this away as a gift.
Neyers 2006 Syrah Old Lakeville Road (WS 93, $26). Smooth with nicely ripe almost sweet berry flavors. Some mineral and subdued spice but the real star is the velvety texture and seamless balance. I can see how this scored so well. My score: 90-91.
Clos L'Oratoire 2006 Chateauneuf du Papes (WS 91, $26). Lean with some red fruit. I found a funky moldy mineral smell initially. Not nearly as good as the previous bottle I tried. My score: 83.

At the local Cost Plus, I bought the following wines.

Columbia Crest 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Horse Heaven Hills ($12) The past year got a 90 so I was excited to find this. This is their 3rd tier from the bottom. Their leves: Two Vines = $6-8, Grand Estates $8-11, which is my perennial favorite and now this H3 $11-17, of which they make roughly 5,000 cases or so of each varietal. I opened one of the two bottles and there was rich, smooth red berry in a medium body. Nice creaminess at the end. I would have some spice. Drinking nicely now. My score: 90.
Columbia Crest 2007 Chardonnay Horse Heaven Hills ($14). The past two years got 91 WS. Not tried yet.
Columbia Crest 2006 Chardonnay Grand Estates ($7, WS 90). I was happy to see my favorite chardonnay on sale.
Fetish 2006 Shiraz The Watcher ($17, WS 91).

The following wines remained upopened, that I brought down.

Small Gully 2002 Shiraz, Robert's Formula (WS 89, $14)
Santa Rita 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Medalla Real Special Reserve (WS 91, $19)
Alamos 2007 Malbec Seleccion (WS 91, $13)
Rosenblum 20005 Zinfandel Lyon's Reserve (WS 88, $45)
Montes 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Alpha (WS 88, $16).
Chateau Caronne 2005 Ste-GemmeHaut-Médoc (WS 92, $14). Yes, if you believe the WS review, this was the deal of the year. A 2005 Bordeaux for under $15.

The San Luis Obispo Costco has a wide selection of local wines, esp from Paso Robles, which I sampled and will cover in my next posting.

The most unwelcome guest of all

2008-12-13T23:00:00.000-08:00

I met Chris, one of the four regular readers of this blog at our company holiday party and because of my past postings, he immediately asked me what I thought of the French Laundry, considered by many critics to be the best restaurant in northern Calif and possibly the West Coast. I said it was good and it was fun but it wasn't great. Chris, a fellow foodie, had also been there and agreed it was nice but not awe inspiring. And we both agreed that it was unlikely we would have been wowed, because expectations were too high.

Expectation. The most unwelcome guest of all. Little good and much unhappiness has come about because it. Countless wonderful meals and wines have been ruined because of it. And it isn't just restricted to food and wine. It is the most general of destroyers. It is widely known the key to happiness is lowered expectations.

And this is so so true when it comes to fine dining, including wine and eating out. How often has a much anticipated, superbly rate meal been spectacular? For me, almost never. How can it? The bar is too high. Unless they give me the Nobel Prize for something after the appetizer, I'm likely be to midly disappointed.

In wine, the worst is an expensive, exalted wine I have kept for years that I only have a single bottle of. It is pretty much a guarantee I'll be grandly disappointed. And I already have the perfect bottle in mind for this bleak occasion. It was the Wine Spectator #1 a bit back and I have exactly one. It's not ready yet, but when it is, oh the let down should be exquisite.

I have abandoned buying more expensive (and hence even more highly rated) bottles largely for this reason . I rarely enjoy them more. How could I, under such pressure? Back in 2005, my happiest score range was 88-89. It indirectly meant the wine was affordable, it was very good and I didn't have any expectation. Back then, a 92+ pointer was death; I never enjoyed these expectation ladened wines.

The keys to banishing expectation? Any of the following will do.

Keep the price in reason. Whatever your normal price point is, be it $7, $12, $20 (me), $35 or $80, it's hard to get worked up over a normal bottle. And when the price is reasonable, you can also ...
Buy more than one bottle of it. Nothing calms expectation like having a second or third bottle. If it is great, there's another, which is of course ruined by the expectation from the first bottle. Of course every so often the last bottle alone is spectacular, but here expectation wasn't the issue.
Don't let some high score get to you... This is easy; know little to nothing about the bottle or don't be a score whore. Which I am. And the problem occurs when I try something so highly rated that it is a once a year event, I can't suppress expectation.

Now I keep to a steady flow of sub $20 wines with an occasional $28 bottle thrown in. Truly fabulous wines at that. With expectation in check. With global wine quality at an all-time high, 90-91 pointers are my new relaxed zone. And 92 points? It's no longer a huge deal. Though most of the time I'm still mildly disappointed. E.g. I had the 92 point Norton 2006 Privada Mendoza ($20) today. It opened up after an hour and had nice red fruit with spice but it was only a 90 in my book. Which is fine, since I have another bottle. And I'm sure to try some even better wines this holiday season.

Costco and its impressive Q4 wines

2008-12-03T01:22:00.000-08:00

In short, Costco carries some outstanding wines at great prices. It feels like many excellent wines are released around now, so there are more great deals than average. An analogy is movies and Oscar release season, in which most of the good films are released in late Q4. I'm certainly stocking up aggressively, against all better judgement.

And surprisingly some of the wines do not have large production. These are often carried at just a few locations and they can run out quickly, e.g. in less than 10 days. I ran into another wine geek at Costco and he indicated that they get their new stock in early in the week so that's the time to check if you're serious.

Selection varies by location, so finding them at your Costco is hit or miss.
As a case in point, there are four local Costcos that I've been to at least twice and one of them has a distinctly superior wine selection (Mountain View). I've found many a low-production wine solely at this location. I also checked out the Burbank Costco and it had an average wine selection, though in two cases (ok, instances) I found a few bottles of "better" older vintages hidden among the new ones. The San Luis Obispo branch in Central California has lots of local wines not found elsewhere as well as the Jim Barry 2005 Shiraz Lodge Hill which I haven't seen at any other wine store. And my sources say the Foster City branch has the Layer Cake 2006 Primitivo, which I haven't seen at any other branch.

The other big attraction is their prices. They are among the lowest you'll see, due to their volume and low overhead. If I see a wine there I want, I buy it as there is unlikely a better price.

Here's what I've found in the last month.

Yalumba 2007 Viognier, Eden Valley (WS 91, WS #55 in their Top 100, $12 CC). Production was only 1500 cases. And I've bought one of them, effectively.
Montes 2006 Syrah Alpha (WS 91, $16, CC). This has decent production but their price is great.
Montes 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Alpha (WS 88, WA 90, $16, CC). Decent production
Neyers 2007 Chardonnay, Carneros (WS 93, $26). Only 5,600 cases.
Neyers 2007 Syrah Old Lakeville Road (WS 93, $26). Only 1,155 cases.
Seghesio 2007 Zinfandel Sonoma County (WS 93, $16). A huge production of 68,000 cases but this will go fast given that WS named it their #10 wine of the year.
Three Rings 2006 Shiraz (WS 91, $16). I'm guessing around 10,000 cases.
Kim Crawford 2008 Sauvignon Blanc (WS 91, Top100, $14). Big production probably in the 50K-100K range.
Chateau Rieussec 2005 Sauterne (WS 96, $65). Guessing around 10,000 cases.
Castello di Querceto 2005 Chianti Classico Riserva (WS 90, $18). 9,000 cases. I've decided I'm not that fond of Sangiovese based Chianti Classico, so I'm passing on this.
Rocca delle Macie 2004 Chianti Classico Riserva (WS 90, $17) 32,000 cases.

Some other nice wines they carried a few months ago included

Pewsey Vale 2007 Riesling Eden Valley (WS 90, $12) 1,500 cases. I wish I had bought more of this.
Tiefenbrunner 2007 Pinot Grigio Alto Adige (WS 90, $13) 30,000 cases. Wow, I had no idea the production was so large.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-01T21:12:00.000-08:00

You've probably read all you can stand about turkey dinners and the attendant side dishes, so I won't repeat that drill. Besides, you come here to read about wine, so here's a Thanksgiving post with as little mention of food as possible.

To summarize, we drove down a case of wine to Los Angeles and fortunately lots of wines tasted wonderful. I wish wine tasted this good more often. I knew we were having prime rib on Thanksgiving... well ok rib eye, but I also knew that most wine is drunk without food on its own typically before the meal. The host likes red and the hostess likes white. I like red, which is what really mattered.

On turkey-day starting before dinner, we had

Jim Barry 2006 Cabernet, Cover Drive ($16). Flavoful berry with nice acidity. Extremely good initially but my palate fatigued on repeated sips. Given the intensity, this should age through 2011, but drinking nicely now. My score: 89.
Yalumba 2007 Viognier, Eden Valley (WS 91, #55, $12 CC). A perfect viognier with floral notes, citrus and pear fruit and lots of freshness. A tiny bit of oak creeps in the end. Everybody liked this a lot. My score: 91.
Montes 2006 Syrah Alpha (WS 91, $16, CC). This is on its way to being my wine of the year. Super strong and complex nose. This bottle was also very flavorful on the palate. Complex dark fruit, smokey holiday spices, tobacco and more. Lean but balanced. Wow. My score: 94.
Montes 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Alpha (WA 90, $16, CC). A modern oaky cabernet, well done. Has obvious cab berry flavors with vanilla and oak. Nicely balanced, smooth and a pleasure to drink. My score: 90-91.
Chateau La Vieille Cure 2000 Bordeaux (WS 88, $16?). A good bordeaux with tobacco, coffee notes. Well balanced and smooth but just a bit underwhelming, as many "elegant" bordeaux are, even with the steak. My score: 89.
Neyers 2007 Chardonnay, Carneros (WS 93, $26 CC). A big slightly smokey chardonnay with ripe fruit. It had a mix of "complex" flavors, but there was a bit of bitterness, which is typical of this style (Beringer's top of the line is like this). It went down fairly quickly. But not worth the price (yes, I'm poo poo'ing a 93 point wine for under $30). My score: 90.

The next night eating leftovers we had

Moon Mountain 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon ($16?). This wine has historic significance as we had a cab from the same winery at Bouchon in Las Vegas two years ago and we all thought this was a truly amazing wine. My brother in law said it was the finest wine he had ever had. I remember thinking "Wow.. this is so so good... say 94-95 points". But I've had bottles of Moon Mountain since then, and none have been amazing. This was the best, with good cab flavor and everybody liked it saying it reminded them a bit of that wine. A good cab, smooth and with a bit of richness. My score: 89.
Concha Y Toro 2007 Carmenere Maipo Valley ($8 TJ). The 2006 was a lovely coffee, toffee wine and I wish I had bought more of it. But the 2007 isn't as nice. Not as flavorful and a dull with occasional hints of the 2006. My score: 87.
Columbia Crest 2007 Chardonnay Grand Estates ($8 TJ). I wanted to try this new year, as the 2006's are starting to dwindle in the supply chain. Note as fruity or creamy but more spicy and lean. I prefer the 2006 but the 2007 isn't bad. My score: 89.

The next night we went to Chinois on Main. I didn't know their corkage, but my brother who made the reservation thought it was $10, which seemed low given that it was $20 a few years ago, but we took 3 bottles. When we got there, we found it was $25, but after a bit of negotiation, we got a bit of a discount. Chinois is a fancy riff on Chinese food, which meant largely seafood, as we had dishes of scallops, calamari salad, cod and a deep fried catfish. Their wine list is not online. Once there, it is a show case wine list. I noticed lots of expensive ($150+) California Cabernets that wouldn't actually go well with much of the food. There was surprisingly little for less than $45 a bottle.

So we went with the wines we brought, which were surprisingly good.

Dr Loosen 2004 Riesling Spatlese Erdener Treppchen Mosel-Saar-Ruwer (WS 91, $19 WC): I only got a taste as many others wanted to try this. I don't think I distinguish rieslings very well, as they all taste pretty good, but never amazing to me. A bit more restrained than I expected with lots going on. Well balanced with mild sweetness and acidity. My score: 90.
Meridian 2003 Pinot Noir Santa Barbara Reserve ($9): I'd been saving this cheap pinot much too long. (Cheap pinots are almost never age worthy). But this seemed like an ideal dinner to try this. Very funky and dirty upon opening, I was ready to toss this. But after an hour it had cleaned up leaving an acceptable damp earth with cherry with a tart body. Our wine server liked this. I found it interesting and educational, but I didn't love it. My score: 73 becoming an 87.
Rosenblum 2002 Syrah England Shaw (WS 93, $26?): The wine of the night. This huge beast had mellowed wonderfully into a smooth, rich wine with equal parts dark berry and coconut with leather and spice and oak. Just seamless. What a wine at its aged peak should taste like. Our wine server loved this, as did I. My score: 94-95.

I have a bottle or two of the Rosenblum 2003 Syrah England-Shaw and I can't wait to try them now.

I also noticed I was drinking wine in warm situations, and things tasted much better.... perhaps at home it is too cold for maximal enjoyment. Maybe it isn't the wine, but it is me who is too cold.

This winter, I need my hot wines even hotter

2008-11-25T20:15:00.000-08:00

A common bit of advice from wine experts is drink your reds at a cool 65F (20C), which is slighly above the temperature of a wine cellar (you know that large room you enter after you walk down the stone stairs starting from the first floor). But in the winter, we keep our place pretty cool. Often cooler than 65F. And when I'm having a big fruity spicy red, I want it to taste that way. I want the flavors to explode, not sit dociley behind the cool curtain.

So I'm trying to drink them warmer. I've debated heating the glass up, but haven't resorted to that. Instead I just swirl them in my hands hoping to warm them up a bit.

The same goes for big oaked whites. Have them warmer... say just below room temp for maximum impact.

A successful hunt: Finca Luzon 2003

2008-11-23T15:50:00.000-08:00

I got a bottle of this a long time ago. A super bargain at WS 93 and only $16, it was fantastic at a Spanish wine tasting I ran back in early 2008. Most people thought it was the best wine there, including me. Fruity and ripe and rich with complex wood and spice notes that went down smoothly. Of course, since I only had a small glass (since the one bottle was shared among 15 people), I wanted more and it tasted even better because of the scarcity. Sigh. In my mind it was a 95 pointer.

But this wine isn't easy to find as only 1,500 cases were imported.

But visiting NY this past August, on my way to work I walked by a small run down liquor shop in the Chelsea, that seems so typical in a typical Manhattan block. And lo and behond, 2 bottles of the 2003 Luzon. Collecting dust in the sparsely furnished "good wines" section of the shelving. There was a special deal on getting two bottles of the same type. After a double check back at the apartment, that this indeed was the wine I wanted, I bought them both for $14/ bottle.

And they've sat in my wine fridge for 4 months. Trying to temper expectations. How well where they stored in that ratty liquor store? How well would this wine age?

But I've realized I can't hold this thing forever so this bright and sunny late November Sunday, I opened a bottle. And it's still fresh and lively. Nice with red berry and some plum, spices and woody tannin notes. Yet... while it is very good ... it's not great. I'm drinking it slowly, pouring very small glasses to let each one breath and come up to room temp, but I still haven't re-found that hauntingly good memory. My score so far: 90.

All in all though, this bottle has been a success...

Recommended wines of 2008 Q4

2008-11-23T15:16:00.000-08:00

Here is my not so regular quarterly update of current favorites.

Reds:

Layer Cake 2006 Primitivo $13-16: a delicious, lush, fruity zinfandel with some interesting side notes of spice and wood ..I get cedar, others get something I can't remember. It goes down very easily. It is hard to find now (Nov 2008) but was available at some Costcos, BevMo and wine stores. I've never had a bad bottle, though it hasn't always lived up to my growing expectations. Needs to be warm to open up. Probably my red of the year. I've bought 15 bottles of this over time. My scores: 90-94 (different bottles).
Montes 2006 Syrah Alpha $16, WS 91: I initially recommended this based on one bottle, which is a bit exuberant but it had one of the nicest aromas I've smelled in a long time. I've now had 3 bottles and this is a fantastic wine. Very fragrant with a complex nose of red and dark fruit, spices and sandalwood. The flavor intensity doesn't always quite live up to the smell, but that's not a knock. Very balanced and flavorful with some acidity in a medium body with a long finish. Just a knock out. This is slightly better than the 2005 (WS 92), which was one of my top 5 wines of 2007. I have now purchased 14 bottles of this. A good candiate for my wine of the year. My score: 92-94.
Jim Barry 2005 Lodge Hill Shiraz $14, WS 90. A burst of fresh berries with a nice raciness (acidity) to balance it. Some wood and a hint of spice. Hard not to like this. My score: 90.
Montes 2006 Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon $17 (CC, and more), WS 88, WA 90. My favorite cab of the year. I just tried a second bottle to confirm. Big classy cab fruit with oak and spice and vanilla. Smooth. Drink now. My score: 91-92.
Pope Valley 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon $8 (TJ). One of the purest expressions of fresh berries in a wine I've had. Similar to the Jim Barry Lodge Hill but with more fruit and less wood. Hard to find as this sells out quickly. My score: 90.
Concha Y Toro 2006 Carmenere $8 (TJ): The WS 88 rating got me into this fruity red with big notes of toffee and coffee and chocolate. Oh how I wish I had gotten more. Not the most complex wine, but quite yummy. My score: 90.
Marquis Philips 2005 and 2007 Syrah ($12, CC): I read some previous tasting notes of mine of the 2005 Syrah where I was blown away, and found another bottle of the 2005. I was blow away again with its plum with raisiny hints (not normally such a good thing) with vanillla in a very ripe rich body. Very well done. Not especially complex, but just yummy. I then found the just released 2007's at Costco. Not as good as the 2005 as it is a bit more restrained. Perhaps it could use a bit of bottle age. My score: 92 (2005) and 90 (2007).

Whites:

Columbia Crest 2006 Chardonnay Grand Estates: I know this is predictable, as it is my favorite white of the year, largely year in and year out. The 2006 is fruitier than in the past with sweet pear and apple and not quite so over the top with oaky buttery notes. Also a WS 90 points and only $8 at Trader Joes; production at 60,000+ cases. What's not to like? The 2007's have just come in, so I'm scrounging through the bins for the 2006's. I've easily bought 15 bottles of this over the year. My score: 91.
Kali Heart 2006 Chardonnay $9: an over the top, thick, sweet, almost honeyed chardonnay. My wife loves this more than me. I like this wine warm, almost room temp, else I can get a slightly off tastes of moldy cork. My score: 90
Crios 2007/20008 Torrontes $13- the 2007 was very refreshing with fruit and some gentle acidity. Easy to go down. The 2008 which is available now is a bit softer, missing some of the acidity, with floral and citrus hints. My score: 2007 = 90-91; 2008 = 89.
A Spanish Albarino of winery unknown (I could look at pictures, but that would be work) with a green label and big orange type. $12. Very fruity and refresing and goes down easy. This wine introduced me to the albarino and I was impressed. My score: 90.

Wines of the French Laundry, part I

2008-11-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

The French Laundry. Easily one of the top five restaurants in California and arguably the best in all of the state. They fill up instantly two months in advance. Merely mentioning that you will be eating there gets you a knowing nod. But enough about their food.

Let's talk about their real strength, namely their wine list. And its ability to make you feel unqualified and well just completely out of your league. For starters it is 100 pages. And because it is a wine list, it only lists wine. For 100 pages. Did I mention that? Their Bordeaux section alone is longer than most high-end wine lists in their entirety.

How "good" is this list? Wine Spectator bestows their highest level of achievement on their list, which only 8 or so places in the US get. This means they have the best wines on the planet and a lot of them to boot.

And of course, one of the truest, crusty definitions of goodness in the sophisticated wine world is oldness. Young is so unrefined. Old is good. Really old as in older than you is great. Back to the list. Those new world world wines don't necessarily age well, and besides many of them weren't even produced before 1985. But we do have some Beaulieu Calif Cabs from the 1970's and even the late 60's. That's nearly 40 years old. Nice. But for the real goods, take a quick trip to the Europe section. A couple of Barolos from the 60's. Solid. And Spain gets a few 1960's and a 1947 Rioja. Sweet. The French Burgundies strut their stuff with some 1970's, 1960's and even a couple of 1950's. And then on page 77, we find some 1940's and a 1931 Pommard. That wine had a driver's license before I was even ... er, ok my point has been made. And finally the Bordeaux, with more than a few 1940's. And two 1929's! Oh my lord.

The region choices say a lot. For the reds, France is extremely well covered at 26 pages. Italy gets 4, Spain 2, Australia 1 and a half. Washington gets 1 and the local state gets 15 pages with superb wines from all over especially Napa Cabernets. Every region of the world is listed including Greece. Well, except Argentina and Chile. So the list isn't completely authoritative. Hmmm.

But we've saved the best for last. Price. How better to make you feel outclassed than your inability to pay for even a single sip from a bottle. Now it's not that hard to have one or two really expensive bottles, but can you beat this.... in the Pauillac Bordeaux section (hint: Bordeaux is not cheap) there are 5 bottles from $370 to $620. Ouch. And these are the cheapest 5 bottles listed. Or how about this angle. If you want to spend more than $2,000 on a bottle of Bordeaux, you can. And you'll have 17 choices. Different choices. Not enough for you? Eleven of these are also $3,000 or more. That's right, feed an African village for one year or have a bottle of wine.

The varietals are equally refined. Defined more by exclusion than inclusion. There is no Albarino. Or Torrontes. Or Nero D'avola. Or Malbec, unless you want to get a 3L bottle. Or Carmenere. Somewhat surprisingly, there was a whole page of Zinfandel. Perhaps this being the unofficial California state varietal, it had to be on the list.

Yet, the prices still left me dumbstruck. And concerned. There are many fine sub-$100 choices, but what has the world come to when you look at a $90 bottle as the affordable alternative? Can you believe I was excited to find a Sigalas 2007 Santorini from Greece for a mere $60. I became convinced the true bargain was the $50 Layer Cake Syrah from Australia, which was the same price of the corkage fee. In other words, if I brought in a $6 bottle of wine, after corkage, the Layer Cake would still be cheaper. At some level it's virtually free... No, no, wait. What am I thinking?

After the shock, came the anger. Then the bargaining. "Oh, come on, please, please let me find a nice $38 bottle." Nada. And then finally acceptance. It would be a heavenly experience having them do the pairing. But at least I would bring a bottle or perhaps two, the $50 corkage not withstanding. And I'd try not look like a complete imbecile.

And then anger came back. Why have I been frittering away time and money and my liver to build up my a wine cellar if I wasn't going to use it? And so it was resolved. I'd bring all the wine. Of course, I'd have to break this nutty plan to the others in the dinner group. I didn't expect much French resistance, since they were all so ga-ga about going ("Yay! So excited!!" or "Can't wait!! The thought of this is getting me through this week :)"). They had been distracted by that shiny golden bauble known as the food. Clearly I wasn't going to get any help in my Herculean task; they were useless.

Continued....

Wines of the French Laundry, part II

2008-11-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

We all make impulsive decisions. And quite often they come back to haunt you. Let's buy expensive outdoor furniture and ruin it immediately that winter. Did we need a flat screen TV that wouldn't really fit in our large car? Or truer to home, why am I picking up 5 cases of wine everytime I hit the Wine Club? But on occasion the impulses work out. As in buying decent wine at decent prices from regions and for varietals I'd heard were supposed to be good. And then laying them down for several years. So I'd have respectable wine to choose from.

As I pondered what to select and dug through my collection, I was having more fun than my ga-ga colleagues. I was hip deep in my own red mess and loving it. Mind you, the vast majority of my bottles were too pedestrian to bring. And the good stuff was good enough, but most of it just wasn't ready yet. The good stuff that needs to age usually needs 8-12 years. And I've barely been collecting nice stuff for that long. My earliest Bordeaux's were from 2000, which was borderline. My only pre-2000's were some vintage ports and a few Columbia Crest Merlot's from the late 90's, which I need you to remind me to try.

What I really needed were a few wines to set the foundation upon which I could build. And the obvious place to start was France. This was their Laundry. And their wine list was mostly French, and it seemed like a good idea to respect their overall guidance. And who can turn their nose up at a good French wine? Even the French can't because it is their own wine. Luckily, I started buying French wines a bit back before I even liked them a whole lot. I've been an impulsive sucker for good scores at low prices and this paid off.

And so it was that a Sauternes (a very sweet botyrized honey yellow wine from Bordeaux, that still has acidity (like a fine balsamic vinegar)) was my first choice. I'd loaded up on the 2001 vintage a bit back in one of those impulsive moments, since the scores were so outrageous and the prices relatively low. The trick was finding one that was ready. Most would just be drinkable in 2009 or 2010. But the 2001 Guiraud was "best after 2008" and this was late 2008. Good enough for me. Check. Got this 96 point WS, 94 point Parker for $50 back Sept 2005.

The next was a lovely Italian wine, the Fanti 2001 Brunello Montalcino. It was still a bit young ("best after 2010" according to WS) but I had several bottles and it the #23 wine in the WS 2006 Top 100 wines. This wine was the bedrock of my foundation. It was old, it was European and it was more than good. It was truly an unassailable choice. Except that this exact wine was already in the French Laundry wine list. Curses! (Good thing the Mac PDF viewer has such a great search feature, else I would have missed this.) It was a perfect choice and they had already made it.

There are rules about bringing a wine to a restaurant.

Firstly, it cannot be on their wine list. Period. If it is on their list, then bringing it either means you are cheap (trying to save money) or stupid.
The place must have a corkage policy. Some nice places limit the amount of wine you can bring. For example, Gary Danko limits you to 2 bottles per table. So read up on the policy. Occasionally a place will waive the corkage if you buy another bottle off their list, but don't expect this.
The wine must be appropriate for the restaurant. So Yellow Tail or Fetzer or Woodbridge is out at a lot of places. (My friends always bring up Two Buck Chuck as their example, which shows just how "useless" they are in the world of real wine snobbery.)
Ideally, the wine should have special meaning to you. This is hard for most people. Unless you squirrel away wines as an obsession, wondering when the right moment to open something is. So I was covered here.
If the place is fancy enough to carry multiple vintages of the same wine, then you can arguably relax rule #1, allowing yourself to bring in a wine they have, but not of the vintage you have.

Back to the selection. Next, something from the Rhone region (of France). The obvious choice was a CdP (Chateauneuf-du-Pape). CdP to the Rhone is like Napa to California. I had two magnificent 2004's and after careful consideration chose the Domaine du Pegau via eeeny-meany-miney-moe. Most of my wines are at my "remote" cellar, namely a friend's basement, Only after I got back home did I discover this exact wine was also on the French Laundry wine list. Disqualified, again. Argh. What was I thinking with that "miney moe"?

But the bedrock wine came from an unexpected place. A white. That I had never had before. And had only one bottle of. But like the Fanti, it was an unassailable choice. The Baumard 2003 Savennieres Trie Speciale. A Chenin Blanc, known as a delicious box wine, from the Loire. WS 92 for $30 back in Nov 2005. "Seems bone dry at first, with steely white peach, mineral and quince notes held in check by vibrant acidity. Long, bracing finish unwinds in the glass to show more depth, with hints of orange blossom, lanolin and fig. A backward wine that needs cellaring. Best from 2007 through 2017." This is not a trophy wine. Who wants a bone-dry steely white with notes of lanolin in a white that needs to age. Huzzah!

As I sifted through the bottles finding lost treasures, I dawned on me that 4 or 5 bottles was not enough. Hmmm.. why, I know, I'll bring a case of wine and we shall select what to drink there. I was done being cowed by the wine list. This was my own wine list. I'd have to break this new news to my companions... and despite their ga-ga fever, this seemed a tiny bit dicey.

But back to the selection. What would you, gentle reader, have chosen if you went nuts and were bring a case?

My goals were

3 whites, 7 reds and 2 dessert (sauternes and port)
a variety of styles, including bordeaux, a pinot noir, a Australian shiraz and a zinfandel, since the organizer loves Zin.
emphasis on Europe

(( Warning, BBB (blog becoming boring) alert. I'll grind through the wines I chose until the pictures at the end. ))

The other wines came a big quicker. The only problem was there were too many to choose from.

Baumard 2003 Chaume de Quarts. Another Chenin Blanc from the same Loire producer but this one is semi-sweet and gets outrageous scores (WS 96). And since it was an obvious choice, it was also on the wine list, but fortunately it was the year earlier, the 2002.
I wanted a elegant fruity Australian Shiraz with some acidity that wasn't too big. The Langmeil 2004 Barossa Valley Floor was perfect. WS 94 for $20.
The Pinot was problematic as I didn't have anything really good that was old enough. (One of the greatest Pinot I've had was a 2002 Andrew Rich from Oregon a year ago). So I picked the WillaKenzie 2002 Willamette. WS 90 and $16 (?)
For the Zinfandel, I went for old. A super bottle I'd been saving probably too long. The Rosenblum 2003 Rockpile Ridge. The highest scoring Zin from WS until 2007.
I needed another white. Given the light nature of the food and their likely emphasis on vegetables (and one of us would get the vegetarian menu), I wanted an intense but not overly rich Chardonnay. The Devil's Lair 2005 Margeret River Chardonnay from the very remote southwest of Australia was ideal. WS 92, $17. I wish I had bought more of this.
A friend had given us the Eric Kent 2003 Sonoma Chardonnay. It looked like it could be very nice (subsequent years have had good scores), but at the last moment I decided against it, as it was an unknown. And a gift to us. Me no share gifts well.
A couple bottles of non-Bordeaux French reds. None of my other Rhones seemed right. I'd brought the L'Oratoire 2005 CdP to a couple of other nice dinners so that didn't seem special enough. And nothing else was older than 2004. I had a well rated Couly-Dutheil 2005 Chinon Loire Cab Franc, but I hadn't been that impressed with it twice, so that was out. Struck out here.
Bordeaux. I didn't have many choices as most were too young. But the Chateau Peygueraud 2000 Cuvee George looked promising. I got this WS 91, $20 in Apr 2006 and it that was "Best after 2007". Perfect.
Another option was the La Closerie Fourtet 2000 Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, the second wine of Clos Fourtet. This WS 90, $20 was "best after 2006". Also perfect.
I also debated another Bordeaux, the Siran 2000 Margaux but it was just too young still. And I only had one bottle which I wanted to try. Pass.
I debated if a big bruiser of a wine was appropriate and I remember that their wine list had Screaming Eagle a big Napa Cab and a handful of big Calif Syrahs. OK, the Rosenblum 2005 Kick Syrah should be a perfect fruit bomb, if I recall from a tasting at the winery. (WS 94, $28).
I also wanted a modern fresh fruity red with good balance and acidity. I had a Jim Barry 2005 Lodge Hill Shiraz recently (WS 90, $14 from the San Luis Obispo Costco) and it's got super fresh berry in a zingy body. Tasted 3 times. But as I hunted through the in-house bottles I found the 2001 which was the wine on which I fell in love with this winery's Lodge Hill (Shiraz) and Cover Drive (Cab). The 2001 would be even better with hopefully some spice and mint to go along with the mellowing fruit.
For port, I chose the Graham 1998 Malvedois Vintage Port, which I have not tried, but been storing for a while. Ready after 2000, this should be perfect.
But the Dow 1983 Vintage was excellent back in 1990's. I hoped this bottle was still good as I had some serious storage problems back then.
And I couldn't resist adding a modern fruity wine, since the 2005 Jim Barry was tossed aside. The Morgante 2006 Nero D'Avola. Here's what JS from WS said: "Aromas of crushed blackberry and asphalt persists in the mouth, with loads of fruit. A full-bodied, focused and delicious red, with a great finish. Such purity of fruit. This is a real Nero. One of the best values in Italy. Drink now." How could I not resist this WS 90, $20 bottle.

The only problem was I now had more than 12 bottles. I'd gone from maybe bringing one or two to having too many to fit in a case. So while in the shower I mentally did some last-drizzle juggling and got rid of the Jim Barry and the Graham port. OK, the lineup was set.

Here's a picture of the Chenin Blancs, Sauterne, Ports and Aussie Shirazes laid out before final selection.

And the remaining wines are shown here.

What wines did our party of 7 drink? How did everything work out? Was the sommelier pleased or displeased? Impressed or unimprssed? Which wines if any worked out well?
Continued...

If composers were wine

2008-11-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

While typing another entry listening to Mozart's 38th (symphony, as a moment's recollection reveals he only wrote 27 piano concertos), it was suddenly obvious that Mozart is Riesling. Always welcome with a crystal clarity and lightness. Ageless. Impossible not to like.

And Beethoven is a big cabernet sauvignon. And that would make Brahms as a massive Syrah. Bach? that would be a not too heavily oaked Chardonnay. The heavily oaked chard would be Schumann. Schumann is clearly a white, no?

Let's reverse the view.... zinfandel is Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninov... not always balanced or sublime, but a lot of fun and great at it best. A tart, bracing Sauvignon Blanc would be Prokoviev, but this analogy isn't perfect.

The rest will take some thinking. For example, who is Malbec? And the big one ... is who is Pinot Noir?

What's chilling in your refigerator?

2008-10-04T15:46:00.000-07:00

Disclosure 1: I did not purposely pick these wines for this blog. They just happened to be in there.

Disclosure 2: I realized I had an interesting set of whites, so I did purposefully pick today to record for all posterity.

The wine shelf in the door holds 5 wines, of which I've opened two. They are/were:

Bodegas Godeval 2006 Valdeorras Viña Godeval (WS 90) - an usual grape from Spain. I've had a previous bottle and liked but did not love it.
Tiefenbrunner 2007 Pinot Grigio (WS 90, Costco $11.50) - I'm not much of a Pinot Grigio fan, but I had a wonderful Oregon Pinot Grigio, given to me as a gift by Katie, that had a citrusy core like Sauvignon Blanc, but with Grigio notes. So with renewed interest, I picked up this highly rated bottle. But the Tiefenbrunner is quite (too) restrained with some mineral, floral and unripe peach notes. No acidity. Just tasted flat. My score: 85.
Dominio del Plato 2007 Torrontes "Crios" (WS 82-85 for previous years, Costco $11.69) - nice nose of rich, ripe banana, white fruit, floral and nutmeg. Dryer than it smells with some mineral. Easy to sip. With a bit more acidity would be so nice. My score: 88.
Logan 2006 Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow (WS 90, $18 WC(?)) - a huge favorite of my wife's. A big (ovelry) ripe, rich chardonnay. The 2004 was actually too ripe for me.
Baurmann 1992 (!) Riesling Oppenheimber Sacktragen Auslese ($16) - for some reason the Wine Club is getting the contents of their cellar of old wines. I can't resist getting a chance to taste a wine this old that has been stored properly for such a low price. They had released another fairly old vintage at the Wine Club about 9 months ago, of which 1 of 3 bottles was superb.

So on paper, the wines themselves aren't that unusual with a chardonnay, riesling, pinot grigio among them. But varietals only tell part of the story.

When everything tastes real good

2008-09-18T23:30:00.000-07:00

I'm in that wonderful period where pretty much anything I open tastes nice to wonderful. Granted these are decent wines, but that's no guarantee of enjoyment. So what have I had?

Had a going away tasting for a co-worker at work. Now wines at these work "meetings" rarely tastes good because, we don't let the wines breathe and the drinking is rather hurried. But all 3 wines I brought were quite good (for once).

Ercavio Roble 2005 Tempranillo Mas Que Vinos (WA 90, WS 84, $9). A great wine, partly because I didn't realize tempranillo could taste so rich. Lots going on besides the friendly fruit. Drinking nicely now. At $9 a steal. My score: 91.
Rosenblum 2004 England Shaw Syrah Solano County (WS 92, $28). A big purple fruit bomb with a velvet texture. The tannins were getting under control and the complexity was rising on my last glass. (My stupid coworkers drank way more than I did, leaving me, the provider with not as much as I would have liked). My tentative score: 91.
Frederic Mabileau 2005 Cab Franc, St. Nicolas de Bourgueil AOC
"Les Rouilleres" from the Loire (W&S 91, $13) . Took a while to open up, which was tough for my impatient coworkers who kept saying it was young. But a nice acidity with fresh red berries and a gentle woody earth. It was continuing to soften when the bottle finally ran out. Reminded me of a big pinot in some ways. Great with food and possibly cheese. My score: 90 (but if you like this style a 92).

Lehmann 2005 Shiraz Barossa (WS 91, $13). I finally couldn't take it any longer and opened a bottle. Very decent and drinkable with obvious ripe plum and purple berry, though missing the richness and complexity that makes an amazing wine. My wife had no trouble sucking down her share. My score: 89-90.
Thorn Clarke 2004 Shiraz Shotfire Ridge (WS 91, $16). One of my four pillars of big Aussie Shiraz. A medium bodied balanced wine with moderately strong dark berry fruit and some acidity. A bit of complexity but not much oak or richness. Reminds me of the Jim Barry Lodge Hill 2005 Shiraz. My score: 90.

Sep 2008 bargains

2008-09-14T17:07:00.001-07:00

It's time for my quarterly bargain report, that comes out only two or three times a year. I haven't tasted as much as I would have liked in the last few months as about 40% of the time either nothing has tasted really good or I preferred beer, due to the heat. But nonetheless I did find some great wines that you, my loyal reader (yes, if you're reading this you are the one reader I have (don't be embarrassed)). So cutting to the quick:

Columbia Crest 2006 Chardonnay Grand Estates (WS 90, $8 TJ). This label continues to dominate all others in the number of bottles I've bought over the last 5 years. By this metric it is my favorite wine, bar none. (I am in fact drinking it as I type this.) Among vintages, I'd rate the 2002 a 98, and the different 2004 and 2006 tie, both at 96. When I want a pleasing white, this always delivers and still blows me away on occasion. A friend K independently liked it and so did "snobby" F. So go out to your local Trader Joes (so long as it is not in Santa Clara county as you are treading on my turf) and load up. I certainly have. My overall score: 92.
Razor's Edge 2007 Shiraz/Viognier (WS 91, $11). Screw cap from Australia. Both the 2006 (pure Shiraz, WS 90) and the 2007 are delicious. Balanced, rich with a nice complexity. Low cost and decent production. My overall score: 91.
Pope Valley 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley ($8 TJ, if they have it). At conference in Austin TX, an acquaintance R mentioned this wine to me and I mentally pooh-poohed it (not another lame cabernet), silently of course. But curiosity got the better of me, and I found a delicious wine with some of the most direct fresh, berry flavors I have had in not-so recent memory. Perfect for a BBQ, picnic, a casual get together or an end of a day sip. [Note, I'm recommending this based on one, well now two bottles. Danger, danger wine robinson.] Unless your middle name is "pretentious", I think you'll like this wine. A lot.

I realize I don't have many red bargains, because I buy at most 3 bottles of a red and I don't drink them right away. I don't buy many whites, but those we like I get a lot more of.

A high-end dinner

2008-09-14T16:36:00.000-07:00

We splurged last night family style. Dinner for 8 consisted of

salad with kumquats and pecans.
caprese salad with di bufala and heirloom tomatoes
a green lentil salad with wild arugula and goat cheese, the hit of the night.
rib-eye and filet mignon steaks. This place served prime grade beef and you could taste the difference over choice grade. We had a chimichurri of olives and escabeche (pickled jalapenos, onions and carrots)
mashed potatoes

We also splurged on wine in a big way.

Phelps 2002 Insignia, WS 96 and the #1 wine of the year in 2005. Disappointing given the huge expectations and build up. Many said it was too young (tannic) and it was a bit flat. I thought otherwise, as it was rich, though a bit simple, with olive overtones. My score: 90.
Two Hands 2005 Bella's Garden Shiraz, WS 95 and the #5 wine for 2007. This was so good we got a second bottle, despite the price. Everyone liked this a lot. A thick rich wine with spices and lots going on in the background. So long as I tried some food between sips so as not to fatigue my palate it was delicions sip after sip. While it wasn't the best wine I've ever tasted it was right up there. And I realize I've capped my scoring at 93 (which is artificially low) before, but I need to break out of that. My score: 94.
Layer Cake 2007 Primitivo. Primitivo is the genetic precursor to zinfandel, from Italy. Unanimously interesting, but for different reasons. C said "glass jelly". I got something familiar that was baked, with almost jammy flavors that was almost elegant. M just kept saying "Interesting". And anything that bring such diverse yet strong opinions is great. My score: 91.
Cristom 2006 Pinot Noir Mt Jefferson this was the weakest wine of the night. Tasted a bit thin with much complexity. My score: 86.

How much do you think this was per person? Given that the restaurant was "Mi Casa". Yes, my place. The dominant costs were the wine and the beef. The Primitivo was only $14 and the Two Hands from Costco was $56/bottle.

Let's just say we had a high-end "Michelin" meal at 1/3 the price.

All roads lead to Rhone

2008-09-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

I've had my usual "wine slump" lately, where nothing tastes terribly good, except for wine that comes in half bottles called "beer". But as of this week, I'm loving wine again and it's been a tale of Cote du Rhones or CdR. (These wines are a blend of Grenache and Syrah with Mourvedre occasionally blended in. The GSM blend came from this region, initially.) And I've opened four CdR wines in the the last three days. Do the math.

It all started out with a wine I picked up from the display advertising at the Wine Club where the staff thought this $14 CdR was the best initial wine from a winery they could remember. So this Wed, I open the 2007 Andre Andrieux CdR Village and it is nice with some fruit. I'm looking for more S(yrah) and less G(renache). But after breathing it bit, it softened and had a beautiful silky texture. Not super complicated, but big violet fruit with a hint of earth and mineral in a medium body with deep purple color. I thought it might be 50% Syrah due to the fruit intensity, but it was all (ripe) Grenache. So yummy. Even my wife liked this CdR. My score: 92.

Thursday, I finally opened a St Cosme, the 2007 CdR (WS 90, $12). I have both the 2006 and the 2007 of this mostly Syrah blend, but this was my first try. Big, deep with ripe fruit. I thought it could be an Italian wine. My wife liked this, too. My score: 90.

Tonight, being Fri, it is another CdR, the Domaine Mourchon 2004 CdR Village (WS 90, $17?). I have this wine because we biked up/around the mountain from Vaison LaRomain a few years back and ended up at this winery at our most tired point. The winery and the rest stop there was a gods send. The wine later scored well at WS 90, so obviously I had to buy this. Big not-overly ripe dark berry in a medium body. This tastes like it is mostly Syrah, but it is 65% Grenache and 35% Syrah. Hmm. It is opening up and softening up nicely as I type this, picking up some nice spice, forcing me to upgrade the score. The wife likes it, too. My score: 91-92.

And I couldn't resist contrasting yet another CdR. Soon, I opened the Perrin et Fils 2004 Vacqueyras Les Christian (WS 91). This is my "reference" CdR for a gravelly Grenache blend (80% G with 20% S). And it is totally different. Smells of band-aids and musty gravel by the sea, with red fruit and corresponding intense flavors. Medium to lean texture. My wife hates this, but I'm enjoying this alot. And the contrast with the Mourchon is startling given that these came from the same region. My score: 91-92.

So from most gravelly/"structured" (aka not big and fruity) to most ripe, we have:

Perrin & Fils,
Andre Andrieux,
Domain Mourchon and then
Saint Cosme.

But the bottom line is this week, all roads have led to happiness.

Picking a birthday wine

2008-09-04T01:39:00.000-07:00

It was my birthday recently and I had my entire cellar (ok, collection, since we Cali folks don't have cellars) to choose from. I wanted something really good to go along with the normal dinner. And the nominations for the wine I wanted to drink on my b-day were:

Montes 2005 Syrah Alpha
Thorn Clarke 2004 Shiraz Shotfire
Luzon 2005 Luzon

It was no contest, really, as I had been thinking of this wine the previous 24 hours for some reason... Montes Alpha. And it was showing itself beautifully with intense dark fruit and dark spice flavors. Medium bodied, balanced. My score: 92.

NYC: Spain and Italy for $14

2008-08-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

This is a quick entry before I forget.

Found multiple Prado Rey wines at the wine store in the Chelsea Market (9th Ave between 17th and 18th street). This winery made a lovely wine I had at Chez Pannisse back in say 1999, that I then bought a case of for $6/bottle. I found what I think is the similar wine the Prado Rey 2006 Roble Ribera Del Duero for $14 ish. Nice red fruit with acidity though a tad sour at times. My score: 88.

At a wine tasting the next day at the same store, my favorite was the Cantina Zaccagnini 2004 Montelpulciano d'Abruzzo "dal tralcetto". So I got a bottle for $14. Lovely ripe red, purple berry with a nice dusty note. Medium body, medium rich. Some tastes were lovely, some were a bit tannic. Wonderful with food. Not super complex but hard to beat. My score: 91.

Acceptance leads to new experiences

2008-07-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

My longtime readers known I've struggled to like Rosenblum of late. It's too burly, with a cardboardy tannin I don't care for. Nonetheless, I opened a nice bottle of the 2003 Hendry Reserve Zin on Sunday as we had guests and I hadn't tried a Rosy for a while. Same old story. Not smooth, with rough tannins and still some acidity. Only half the bottle got drunk.

The next day, it was semi-hot, and I didn't want to drink too much but before the beer, I tried the day old Rosenblum. And I tried to accept that it would be an imperfect oxidized wine. So I tried to embrace the jammy, viney, ripeness and tried to accept the rough finish. And I did. And before long, delicious richness and chocolate flavors emerged. And small glass after small glass, I was soon out. Wow was that yummy. I can hardly wait to open the next Rosy. I doubt I have another 2003 Hendry, but I found a 2004. My score: 92.

A tale of wine in the (moderate) heat

2008-07-12T23:19:00.000-07:00

We had a heat wave this past week, though for many parts of the world, like Texas which I'm about to visit, it might be considered a cool wave. Here in Silicon Valley, it hit the high 90s (37C) and worse still it didn't get below 70F (22C) for a few nights. As someone with the luxury of storing wine in a box in the dining room, this kind of heat is a killer, as it hits 86F (30C) on a hot day and sits above 80F for many hours. We don't have air conditioning at home, so I'm beholden to large fans blowing in nighttime air.

My interest in red wine waned to near zero during this time because (a) red wine loses its luster in the heat, (b) I seem to be in at the end of my periodic "no red wine tastes that good to me" cycle, (c) none of the reds I've opened have been satisfying possibly because they got too hot, and (d) I want something cool to drink.

The upshot is I've had a lot of beer and in the last few days, white wine. I also went to BevMo to stock up on beer and here's what I got:

Leffe - this is one of the best Belgian blonds and it's also one of the cheapest.
Fullers ESB - very nice balanced bitter with slightly chocolately malt and no off tastes.
Pyramid Apricot Weizen - didn't care for this too much but my wife polished it off pretty quickly.
Dog Fish - Egyptian honey ale and a triple bock (or at least it tasted like one)

My go to beers have been the Leffe and the ESB.

Recently we shifted to white wines. In particular, big oaky chardonnays. Oh sure some critics have decried this style, but there's a reason so many chardonnays are made in this style.... because I love them. And so do many of you. Here's what we had:

Logan 2004 Chardonnay Monterey Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - (WS 90) One of the few wines I've found to be too much. Hyper concentrated with honey, oak, ripe fruit and a honey-like acidity that I don't care for. Fortunately my wife loves this wine and she demonstrated this on her own one recent night. My score: 86.
Columbia Crest 2006 Chardonnay Grand Estates (WS 90). This bottling has been my single favorite chardonnay over the years, but the 2006 has taken a while (aka 4 bottles) for me to fully appreciate it. Not quite as oaky/buttery as past years, it is wonderfully balanced. I know I'm buying at least another 6 to 15 bottles of this. My score: 90.
Byron 2005 Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley (WS 93). The first bottle I had a bit back was decent, but this bottle was impressive. Intense and complex with varied fruits and oak. Some acidity. Rich body. I can see why it got a 93, and it almost induced me to have a hangover the next morning. My score: 92.

All of this still hadn't solved my red wine problem. I needed to find one that would be appealing. I had tried several fruit bombs in the past two weeks, and they just had not done the trick. I was looking for a Rhone, but couldn't find one I was willing to open, as I was saving the CdPs I had for a vertical. Digging around I found the Querceto 2000 Chianti Classico (WS 91). According to WS it should have been drunk a bit earlier. But it was just the antidote, tasting like a lovely Italian Sangiovese-based cote du Rhone. Medium dusty fruit with a minerally finish. Well balanced. My score: 90.

Showdown of the Aussie fruit-bombs

2008-06-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

Quick! Name two Australian Shiraz fruit bombs. That score consistently 90-93 points from Parker. That have decent availability (5,000+ cases). That cost less than $20 a bottle in a competitive market?

Got'em? So do I. And leave it to me your fruit-bomb drinker, I mean, taster, uh, no I really mean, reporter to give you the blow by blow on two heavyweights.

Yep, we're talking the good stuff here. The Mollydooker 2006 Two Left Feet (WS 90, RP 92?) versus the Tait 2006 Shiraz Ball Buster (WS 88, RP 92). [If you guessed the Thorn Clarke Shotfire, then a toast to you, for an excellent guess, but not cigar.]

The bottom line is a bit anti-climatic. They both are very intense, fruity, big bodied wines, with little acidity and no tannins. They are both delicious with tons of thick fruit. I give the edge to the Tait for more complexity and a smoother finish. Two Left Feet: 90 pts. Tait: 91-92 pts.

The last of a landmark wine

2008-06-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

Today in the scorching 93F/34C noon heat, I opened the last bottle of one of the greatest bottles of wine I've had the pleasure to drink. What, you might be asking, would this be? A treasured Burgundy or a secret Napa cab you stumbled upon? Sorry, wrong. This is winofile not winespectator.

As all of my regular 0.43 readers might have guessed, it's a fruit-forward, mass-produced wine that I fell in love with, then married (to the extent you can marry a wine), had the best of times with for several years, then things got a bit old (let's use the word "corky"), and the relationship lasted longer than it should have.

The big surprise, was that it was an mixed color marriage. Yep, I'm talking about a white wine here.

At her best, she was a huge, fruity, buttery, oak-blasted, butterscotchy, buttered-popcorn hug. I kept buying another 2 or 3 bottles, and it became obvious that I was having an affair with this wine. (The strict definition of a serious "affair" starts at the 18th bottle.) Fortunately, my wife was even more infatuated with her than I. We called her "Old Faithful" after a bit, and that she was. Who is this mysterious love?

The Columbia Crest 2002 Chardonnay Grand Estates. 50,000 cases. $7 to $9 everywhere, especially Trader Joe's where we "met" most of the time, and in public, even. (I threw the banana in the picture to add yet more yellow to the image. Yes, I'm an artist deep down.)

In 2004 to 2005, we had so many lovely interactions with nary an occasional off night. She sometimes left me in a stupor, she was so appealing. But by 2006, the magic was starting to wear thin with the off-bottles starting to surpass the good ones, and by late 2006, I was down to my last 3 or 4. Or so I thought. In 2007, the few bottles I tried were tired and corky or woody with an bitterness that only comes about with old age. I thought that was that. It was an ignominious end.

But lo and behold, I had another bottle stashed away in my remote wine cellar. And so after 3 months in the cooler (what you might call a refrigerator), I finally uncorked her on this unseasonably hot June 21. Expecting little, lo and behold, this was a wonderful sendoff. Valedictory with a serene grace, like Mozart's last symphony. Sure, she's lost some of her youthful impetuousness, but she's turned into a fine lass of, um, 6 years.

This last bottle was a perfect end. The oak, the butter and the fruit are all still there, though a bit more mellow, wonderfully reminding of the butter days gone by.

My name is Russell and I'm a score whore.

2008-05-28T22:07:00.000-07:00

(In case it's not obvious a "score whore" is someone who only buys highly rated wines.)

I'm proud to admit this because I'm a whore in the best, truest sense. I want to try as many great wines as possible. So long as they don't cost too much. But I'm interested in high scores not high prices.

What does this mean? If something scores well, typically 90+ points in WS and it costs less than $18, I'm all over it like a white cheap-suit on rice. And I'm talking about pretty much anything. If it is a good example of a region or varietal, I want to try it. White, red. American, Chilean, French, Italian, or African. If it scores well, I want to try it. The upshot is that 85% or more of the wines I drink score well, getting 90+ points from WS or RP.

Why am I score obsessed? Because there are too many wines out there. I need some sort of filter. As it is, there are hundreds of 90+ point wines selling for under $20 every year. So there's no shortage of great, inexpensive wine.

I also drink wine by itself (sans food) most of the time (say the last half bottle), so I'm looking for good "solo" wines which tend to score well, as opposed to good "food wines" which are a bit more restrained, but often don't score so well in our "bigger is better" reviewing system from WS or RP. Which brings me to the other meeting I've imagined attending...

My name is Russell and I've been sober for, uh, nevermind.

What can you buy blindly?

2008-04-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

One of the great aspects of wine is that it has vintages. For a serious winofile, it is part of the fun and yet quite confounding. And trying to pass vintage information to more casual drinkers looking for advice is eyeballs rolling into their sockets time.

What then would I recommend you buy if you are vintage blind and looking something nice? The following have all been consistently good for the last 4 years with at most one slighlty off year.

Montes "Alpha" Syrah. World class stuff for under $16-20 with good availability. The Cabernet hasn't been quite as good, but is still very solid. Their Chardonnay is also well rated, but I haven't tried it.
Lehmann Clancy. This blend of Shiraz, Cabernet, Merlot and occasionally other varietals is the model of consistency. Along with the fruit, there's a touch of bordeaux with earth and tobacco. And I've found it for $13.
Lehmann Shiraz. And the Cabernet Sauvignon is awfully good too. Pretty much any red from Lehmann under $20 should be nice.
Beringer Alluvium. This white blend is one of my favorites and it's consistent.
Perrin & Fils Vacquerayas. A high quality Cote du Rhone (CdR) for under $18. This will age nicely too.
Any of a number of good New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc producers. Drylands, Babich, Matua, Huia, Kim Crawford, Nobilio and many more. I find them all to be quite good and somewhat indistinguishable, so I try to keep it at under $13 a bottle, since I'm not caring much about differences. Prices are rising slowly though. And they say these should be drunk young.
Thorn Clarke Shotfire or Barossa anything. The "Shotfire" Shiraz is their premier wine but the new "Barossa" cuvees of Cab and blends have also been very nice the last 2 years. They also made nice riesling in 2006. They are firing on all cylinders.
Rosenblum Petite Syrah, Syrah, whites, and Zin. There are so many different bottlings it is hard even for me to keep track of them and I'm very loosely affiliated with them. The style is over the top. Huge fruit, lots of oak. I think the Petite and Syrah are their best wines for the past 2 years and I haven't had a bad white (Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, Chardonnay, and blends). The Petite Heritage Clones has been a deal in 2005/6 with decent availability.
Jacob's Creek Reserve Shiraz. Marred a bit by inconsistent bottles, but I've had stunning bottles of the 2001, 2002 and 2003. The 2004 got another 90 pts from WS. And under $10 at many places.

Not quite as reliable but very good to excellent at least half the time are the following.

Sebastiani Merlot Sonoma. Give it 5 years of age from the vintage, and some of these (2001, 2002) have been sublime with tobacco and slight herbal note over the rich fruit. It has good availability often for under $14.
Rosemount GSM. My main concern is some difficulty in finding this. And it can be over $20.
Hess Select Cabernet whatever is under $20. They have a $14 bottling (red label) and just recently released the new label Allomi for $18 (Costco). I've had some great bottles and some so-so bottles. But it's hard to find good Napa or Sonoma Cab for this price.
Marquis Philips Cabernet, Shiraz or Sarah's Blend. The wines from this joint venture between Sarah and Sparky Marquis and Dan Philips have lagged a bit the past year after the Marquises left the venture. But they are still solid at $14.
Mollydooker anything near $20. This is the new venture for Sarah and Sparky Marquis and the past two years have been nice. The problem is they cost $20 if you're lucky.

And I've saved the best for last. If you read this column with regularity, you know what is coming.

The Columbia Crest Grand Estates line. Tremendous availability at $7 to $10 at Trader Joe's, Safeway, Lucky, Longs, .. you name it. The one caveat is that nobody I've mentioned Columbia Crest to has confirmed they like it. (Except Darick.) Sigh... pearls before swine.

It's a fruity, oaky style on a medium to big body. Regardless of price, these are some of my favorite wines. As my palate matures, I very occasionally think they manufacture a wine "product", which any producer of 100,000 case wines probably does. However, it is a product designed pretty much exactly for my preference.

And in a blind tasting the other day, I gave their 2002 Shiraz 91 points.

Cabernet Sauvignon. Their 2004 and 2001 were amazing wines. My wife doesn't proclaim "Wow, this is yummy" too often but this wine has done it several times.
Merlot. The only poor vintage was 2002. And WS thinks so too, giving the 2001, 2003 and 2004 all 90 points. I've bought at least 6 bottles of 2003 and 2004. And 18 bottles of the 2001, which is showing some strange woody notes and has become drinkable again, after tasting poorly from 2005-2007.
Chardonnay. Our favorite Chardonnay. Often very oaked with buttery notes. The 2002 was my wife's and my favorite Chardonnay. Ever. (It has gone down hill as of 2007, with 3 of the last 5 bottles not being so good. A lesson that not all wines age well. We have one bottle left.) The 2004 was terrific, too. The 2005 just got 90 points from WS, but the one bottle I tried wasn't as good as the 2004.
Syrah. I don't have as much experience with this varietal in the Grand Estates line as the other varietals. The 2002 was very delicious with a caramel overtone in early bottles I tried and in the last bottle 4/2008. (Two Vines their cheapest label had a wonderful 2001 Syrah.)

Cheap finds for April 2008

2008-04-30T01:23:00.000-07:00

The Concha Y Toro 2006 Carmenere Casillero del Diablo $7 has notes of big dark cocoa with vanilla and some toasted grain over the slightly sweet dark berry. A big rich bruiser that's not perfectly balanced (hey it's $7) with mineral sneaking into the finish sometimes. Drink instead of a big Zin. And this is your chance to try the Carmenere varietal. At BevMo, Trader Joes and probably many places, with 130,000 cases made. My score: 89.

R Wines 2007 Riesling Roogle $8. Quite nice. Nose: pineapple, white
peach. Med big texture at first, with mineral, some sweetness and peach.
Some acidity in the long finish. Not sure of the availability, as I got this at the Wine Club. My score: 89.

The hunt for red centobers 2007, part deux

2008-04-30T00:05:00.000-07:00

In a previous post, I listed the wines from the WS Top 100 that I had gotten. Now that another 5 months have passed, the Wine Club, my main source, has offered several more that I've been willing to get. Let's revisit where we, or well I, stand. I admit, I am a bit obsessed with filling out the list, though chasing the list represents only a small fraction of my purchases.

5) Two Hands 2005 Bella's Garden Shiraz, several bottles. Got this at Costco
12) Pegau 2004 Chateauneuf-du-Papes. One of the most expensive wines I've bought at $66.
16) Schild 2005 Barossa Shiraz, got half a case. The 2004 scored even higher, but I haven't tried either.
17) Orin Swift 2005 Napa Valley The Prisoner, a few. I tried this and it was disappointing. It's supposed to be big and ripe, but it wasn't especially noteworthy. My score was probaby an 88.
18) Bodegas LAN 2004 Rioja, 2 bottles but getting more. Supposed to be thick, syrupy yet fresh. Sounds good to me. I've tried it twice now and it wasn't anything special. My score: 86.
24) John Duval 2004 Barossa Shiraz, this comes in a big flangy bottle that doesn't fit well with other wines. I've never even heard of John Duval before this.
30) Vina Montes 2006 Alpha Syrah, 8 bottles. One of my favorite wines for under $20. An obvious choice to make the T100. This is just an amazing wine.
36) Drylands 2006 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Got 8 bottle many months ago for under $12. At its best, my favorite NZ SB, as it has a hint of sweetness to go with the citrus. Not all bottles shine though.
55) Casa di Terra 2005 Bolgheri Morrecio $17. Has to sit for 2+ more years.
56) Fescobaldi 2004 Nipozzano Reserva Chianti. I expected this to make the T100, as there it was $18 for 91 points with large production (20,000+). I got 4 bottles. It tasted like a Cote du Rhone with dark red fruit and a nice mineral undertone.
57) Thorn Clarke 2006 Barossa Shotfire Ridge. I think I got a case, many months back. Except for my very first bottle of the 2003, every bottle since then '03 to '05 has been quite nice. Sadly the one 2006, I tried was not quite as intense or rich as I had hoped. But let's see if a few years will help.
62) Louis Jadot 2005 Moulin-a-vent. I enjoyed the various 2005 Dubeouf's from the same region, so I think this should be super. I'm giving them a few more years to mature.
71) Columbia Crest 2004 Grand Estates Merlot. Nice to see this on the list. The 2001, 2003 and 2004 were all 90 points for $8 with very good availability (50-80K cases). Picked up a bottle or 5.
72) Yellow Tail 2005 Reserve Shiraz. A very nice wine for $9, with intensity and tannins to last for several years as described in my YT post. I just got 4 more bottles at BevMo tonight.
73) Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. I was able to get this for $9 at the Wine Club last year for quite a while and picked up 6 bottles. Quite nice.
74) Fontanafredda 2006 Barbera Piemonte Briccotondo $10. Hasn't been picked up yet.
83) Chateau 2004 St Emilion for $26 (above the list price of $20). Sitting for few years.
85) Dchlumbrger 2005 Riesling Alsace Les Princes Abbes $13. Have yet to pick this up.
91) Seghesio 2004 Sonoma Zinfandel. I have a bottle as I'm a member of Seghesio's wine club. I have the Seghesio curse... their wines taste fantastic everywhere but at home. I still have several bottles of their acclaimed 2002 waiting in the fridge, to dissapoint me at a later date.
92) Mulderbosche 2006 Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc. At $10, how could resist a Chenin Blanc. Nice but nothing spectacular... say an 86 in my book.
94) Godeval 2006 Vina Godeval $15. Had this for a spanish wine tasting. OK, but nothing to write home about.
97) Perrin & Fils 2005 Vacqueyras Les Christin $17. This is a super solid cote du Rhone in previous years. Haven't picked up the 2005's yet.

I picked up another 7 or so wines, so it's upto 21+ wines now, which is not bad at all. And I've had several close calls on other wines. E.g. I had the Terradora 2006 Greco di Tufo not the 2005 listed in the Top 100. I also have a 93 pt Four Hands Syrah, but not the 93 pt Petite Syrah on the list.

The biggest disappointment: bottle variation

2008-04-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

The hobby that some drink and call wine is for dreamers. Like all great pursuits, it's filled with wonderful surprises and equally fraught with twists and turns of unimaginable disappointment. Well, perhaps fraught with disappointment that borders on the significant.

There are many forms of disappointment. What ... Glad you asked.

There is finder disappointment A, when you try a great wine elsewhere, and then can't find that bottle to buy. There is finder disappointment B, where you think you have another bottle, but you can't seem to find it. There's buyer disappointment C, where you taste something 2 years after purchase and wish you had bought more. There's buyers disappointment D, where you struggle to find something and then later come across a cheaper, plentiful supply of it. There is drinker disappointment E, where you drink something and find it is still too young or even worse has passed its prime. There is buyers disappointment F, where a highly rated wine or expensive wine fails to live up to its reputation.

And now we start to get to the major leagues of despair. There is drink disappointment G, where you've been saving a one-of-a-decade bottles for a decade and it just isn't that good. And finally, in my book the biggest one of all, drinker disappointment H,when that amazing bottle you had somewhat recently is not even close the next time. Oh, the damn bottle variation.

Bottle variation encompasses all sorts of issues. Cork problems. Storage problems. Pairing problems. Dare I admit, taster problems, when say you're nasal passages are on vacation that day. Or just plain bad bottles. This is where I will publically lay all the blame. Argh.

Why am I rambling on about this? Because the second bottle of one my favorite wines in the last quarter, the Can Blau $15, was just terrible. I mean, shake my head bad. I'm not drinking much of it and that which I am is solely re tasting to see if it has gotten any better. What happened? This is a 2006 so it's not like age was an issue.

This is a somewhat reoccurring theme. I've had diametric bottles of Jacob's Creek 2003 Shiraz Reserve, the Bianchi 2002 Cabernet, Martin Weyrich 2003 Insieme, and the Marquis Philips 2004 Sarah's Blend all in the last 6 months. Some is my own doing. But most of it is that damn bottle variation. When is the country song about this topic getting released? I'm shocked it hasn't happened already.

It is a good thing I bought 5 more bottles of the Can Blau after the initial one. Here's a toast to the next bottle being better.

What can you really taste well?

2008-04-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

We all smell and taste uniquely, which is a better way of saying differently. In particular, there are tastes each of us are extra sensitive to and others we're figuratively blind to. What are yours?

Unfortunately, most of us are very good at detecting things we don't like. The cruel irony. But I've seen this repeatedly at blind tastings. We were at a brutal tasting at a wine store with 10 wines, and had to line up the country and varietal. The wines were all over the map. I was oh for 10. But my non-taster wife pegged the Chilean wine easily. Another time, I ran a similar tasting and had people line up region and varietal. The person who hated merlot got it one easily.

My personal tasting strengths are

I dislike oxidized wines. Most fruit-forward wines after sitting out for a night taste "stewed" this way to me, which is quite unfortunate. I'm forced to open a new bottle every night.
There is an obvious smell and taste of Chilean funk in their wines. In my blind tastings, it is readily apparent, though sometimes it takes a bit of time to emerge. The good news is that I used to hate these wines, but I have really come around to enjoy them. Several of my top 2008 Q1 wines are Chilean.
I dislike a certain tannin, present in most Rosenblum wines especially Zinfandels, that tastes like ground up cardboard. Nobody else seems to taste this. Somebody recently said it would be a "brown tannin" I dislike. Doubly unfortunate is that this tannin came about in 2003/4, before which I had committed to getting a lot of their wine. I had their 2001s (Sauret, Oakley and Continente) and was entirely smitten.
Cote du Rhone reds have an obvious texture. I don't know if others can taste this, but there is a lean mineral core underlying all the wines.

The harder aspect of this discussion is figuring out what you do not taste well. Besides it is embarrassing to disclose you can't tell your carrots from your peas. For me, I suck at

Australian Shiraz versus Cabernet. The wines are fruit bombs and well, its hard to tell these grapes apart sometime. The signature fruit of a Shiraz is not that obvious.
Californian fruit bombs. I'm not really sure what a Calif Syrah tastes like. Or a Merlot (see next point). Or even an inexpensive Cabernet.
Merlot. It's something I'm working on... to figure out the core of Merlot. I've had lots of different styles (Californian, Washington, Chilean, French) and I haven't detected the common thread. This is one of my goals for 2008.
Whites. While I like whites, sometimes very much, there seem to be roughly 16 types of whites. In contrast, there are hundreds of types of reds. And while the critics seem to taste four to six different fruits in a white, I usually get one or two. And they're the same fruit every time. Sigh.
Sparkling wine. Anything done in the champagne style tastes largely the same to me. I can detect slight differences, but I just don't care, and you have to spend a lot more money for me to taste it. So it's $15 sparklers for me at the most momentous events.

The king of beers

2008-04-20T23:56:00.000-07:00

I was in New Orleans recently for a vacation. The first 2 days were so hot and humid, that wine was out of the question. Give me a beer with my poboy. And my beer of choice was obvious, even the presence of many contenders.

Budweiser.

The stuff that advertises on every Super Bowl with horses. Big horses.

I have to thank my friend Steve R. for this as he kept (and keeps) saying Bud is great, as they get the choicest ingredients, given their size commercially. And, begrudgingly, as he kept giving me a case for the holidays, I've come to appreciate Bud. Yes, me, the former "Why do all domestic beers suck?" and "Why are all the mass produced beers so watery and lame?" has completely changed (and lost) his mind.

Budweister. It was much better than the Pabst and the Corona I also tried.

There's a wonderful smoothness with a slighly sweet finish to it. Steve says it has a hint of vanilla, and I agree. I could go on and on, but we're talking a low-end beer and you're already sneering at me, so I'll stop. But next time you need something wash down that oyster or shrimp poboy or fried chicken on a lazy N'Orleans day....

Wines of Q1 2008

2008-04-20T23:07:00.000-07:00

My favorite wines that I had in the first quarter of 2008, in no particular order. Note that these wines generally had or have good availability.

Montes Alpha 2005 Syrah. This beauty was $16 at Costco. Available for the last 6 months. I've 3 bottles I can remember and they where outstanding, disappointing and outstanding, but all in different ways. I bought at least 8+ bottles of this. I strongly recommend trying this wine out, no matter the year, as it has been consistently good for the last 4 years. WS gave the 2005 92 points. I also had a 2003 tonight, the last of the 2003 in the cellar, and it was just lovely (WS 91). I've had both the 2005 and 2003 in the last week and gave each 92 pts.
Cellar Can Blau 2005 Blau. From Spain. WA gave it 92, so I bought a bottle for $14 at Costco and was blown away by how good this was (plummy, band-aid, earthy spicy on a lovely body with nice acidity). Costco was out, so I got 5 more bottles at the Wine Club for $16. My score: 91.
Concha Y Toro 2005 Merlot Peumo $14-17. Got a bottle from Costco, and finally tried it 2 months later. Just lovely dark fruit in a rich mouth feel and a smooth finish. My score: 91 (WS 90) I also picked up the 2005 Cabernet, but haven't tried it yet (WS 91). But the 2003 (WS 90), which I ran across in my cellar was a bit tired this week. My score: 88. Overall, these wines are consistenly strong in the $14-19 range with very good availability.
Beuhler 2005 Zinfandel. Quite a surprise with wonderful raspberry aroma and flavors. (Reminded me of the Kangarilla Road Zin from Australia). Not too ripe and a big change of pace from the normal ripe dark berry of Cali Zins. Just lovely. My score: 91.
Columbia Crest 2004 Cabernet Grand Estates $7-$9. This was my wine of the year for 2007 as most of the bottles I tried were so oaky, vanilly, coffee-y, and just fruity smooth. I wish I had stocked up with a case in reserve, especially given the price. (WS 87) My score: 90-92.
Jim Barry 2005 Shiraz Lodge Hill $13. Got this at the Costco in San Luis Obispo and was very impressed at the lovely red/purple berry over a steely core. I have since picked up another 8 bottles, through various means. (I've always had a soft spot for Jim Barry as it was one of the earliest Aussie Shirazes I fell in love with on my limited budget.) The 2005 should age for several years. My score: 90. (WS 90).

What else did I learn in Q1?

A good Pinot can be amazing. I had two. The first was at the Napa Rose in Disneyland, where the Tartini (?) Pinot from Santa Maria, CA was just amazing. And then an Andrew Rich 2002 Pinot I brought to Gary Danko was just lovely with beautiful spice. I've started slowly picking up Oregon and Burgundy Pinot for the future.
Chilean wines are lovely. The critics have said this in the past, but my palate has finally adjusted to their terrior. They have a unique "funk" to their nose of loam and yeasty toast, that I can identify immediately. But now, I like that funk.
The heart of my collection and drinking remains in Australa. Shiraz dominates but there is Cabernet and an occasional Rielsing. I rarely have a disappointing wine and for the price it can't be beat.
Cote du Rhone was not so much to my liking. While I've liked the super minerally red berry taste in the past, it wasn't floating my boat lately. And I've had well respected Perrin & Fils Vacquerayas (WS 91 or 92), so it wasn't as if I was drinking a bad wine.

My new resolve: world class wine for under $20

2008-04-20T19:18:00.001-07:00

I finally figured out what this blog is about.

Amazing world class wine for under $20 a bottle. For everyday enjoyment.

The beauty of this approach is that I (or you) don't put too much expectation on a bottle. I can just open it, enjoy it for what it is worth. And hopefully learn something, especially if it a new region or varietal. The education continues for pretty much any bottle unless it is a mass produced super-consistent wine. But that's not what this column is about, nor is it what you're about I'm guessing. Most of the time. (Not so-guilty not so-secret: I love Columbia Crest. And I've enjoyed Yellow Tail.)

The fine print is:

I want wines that rank with pretty much the best there is, unless you're willing to spend $150+ a bottle.
I want to drink world class wine day in and day out. This means loosely wines that get an excellent (90+) rating from the usual suspects (Wine Spectator, Robert Parker, etc).
I want wines from across the world.
I want to drink every varietal from every major region that grows it.
I want to expand my wine palate to learn about the wonder that is wine.
I want to do this for under $20 a bottle, whenever possible (see next item), and possibly for under $14 a bottle if possible. If I have to spend time hunting down bottles, then so be it.
There are a few regions in which $20 a bottle is just too restrictive, so I up my limit to $25 or even $30 if I have to. But usually, patience and vigilence make it possible to stay under $25 for almost all types of wines.
This is mostly about red wines.

The pricing exceptions with their limits are

Vintage port $30. In the good years, anything classic is over $40 a bottle, but the trick is to buy in non-classic years.
Burgundy Pinot $28. It's really hard to find a good Burgundy (pinot noir) for cheap.
Bordeaux $25. Even in the great years, if you find 4th or 5th growths, there are bargains. And by choosing from non "great" years that are subsequently in the shadows of the great ones, there are even more bargains as these years get overshadowed. Ex. 2004 Bordeaux is vino-non-existance after the 2005's were released. And the low end 2005's are also fantastic. Still it's hard to find excellent Bordeaux for under $16. So I give myself a bit of slack.
Napa Cabernet $35. It's ridiculous that Napa Cab is just about the most expensive wine out there, especially if it is any good. Even the "3rd growths" are $16-$30.

I happen to live in one of the best wine markets of the world, Northern California, so I'm able to find many wines at very good prices. I have to ever vigilant. (Today I found a nice Burgundy for $21.) But if you adjust the prices appropriately, you should be able to find amazing wines for a modest amount.

Let the fun begin!

Sebastiani - seems to age well

2007-12-16T23:56:00.000-08:00

I've had two sublime bottles from Sebastiani in the last year. A 2001 Cab and a 2002 Merlot. Both were from the "Sonoma County" brand of wines selling for $12-15. In both cases the wines picked up an elegance and complexity unforseen by me. The Cab was soo smooth with great balance yet still very flavorful. The Merlot had the most intriguing flavors of smoke and chocolate, with a fruit and an herbacious element.

So I've decided to keep buy the Sebastiani wines and to stick them in the cellar for a few years. They seem to age very well. And at $11-13 a bottle, that's an investment I can make.

Note: I just bought 4 bottles of the 2004 Cab from Costco and thanks to a $10 coupon, they were $10 a bottle.

Four good wines in the last 2 days

2007-12-16T23:08:00.000-08:00

In the last 2 days, I've had 4 nice wines.

Thorn Clarke 2006 Riesling - this WS 91 pointer was $10 at the Wine Club. I had it at a chinese restaurant with their $5 corkage. It had a lot of mineral and weight and was not too fruity which surprised me for an Australian wine. A nice food wine. My score: 90.
Some Spanish Pinot Noir Cava. This pink sparkling wine for under $10 was nice and refreshing. Again perfect with Chinese food. My score: 88.
Rosenblum 2003 Paragon Chardonnay. I've had this for a while and opened it up a week ago. I love big heavy buttery Chardonnays, despite what some of the critics say, but this was just too much for me. It is big, oaky, and thick, but there was an off flavor that reminded me of moldy oak. A week later, I tried the remaining 1/2 bottle and it was just super. A huge thick, almost oily, buttery rich texture with some tropical fruit. A hint of sweetness and acidity. But it was all about the texture. My score: 92 on the second tasting.
Tapestry 2001 McLaren Vale Shiraz. ($16?) I've stored this WS 91 pointer for 3-4 years. I'm making an effort to dig up the ones I've been saving, and start drinking them. It has a lot going on, with different flavors on each sip over time. Intense fruits (dark cherry, blueberry, purple berries) in a dark spicy frame with notes of tobacco and earth. My spicy sausage in tomato sauce with Trader Joes pappardelle dinner brought out some sweet berry notes. Medium thin body with a medium long finish. Low acidity; no tannins. (The Yellow Tail 2005 Reserve Shiraz is similar to this wine and it's $10 at BevMo now.) I can see this being 91 points. My score: 90.

Great food and wine for the price of corkage

2007-12-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

A bunch of us needed to find dinner before the company holiday party. I choose my favorite Chinese (Sichuan/Shanghai) restaurant The New China Delight, which is big on flavor and low on ambience and wine quality. We wanted to have some wine, of course, so I phoned to see if they had a corkage policy. The woman had to check w/ the manager and it was ... $5 a bottle. I was all over that like white on rice.

It wasn't as big a dinner party as it could have been, but it turned out to be a splendid dinner. Everybody in a good mood, the food lived up to its billing and the wines went wonderfully. And with $5 corkage, we could open bottles with impunity. Half of the group was eating vegetarian, hence we ordered:

Pot stickers - good
Veggy dan dan mein - noodles in a Sezhuan hot oil... very nice and pretty hot
Cold hot vegetables - root vegetables in a hot Sichuan oil
Bamboo shoots in a green sauce - looked like pesto but it wasn't
Ma Pau Tofu (1 with meat; 1 without) - they make one of the best versions I've had stateside, but tonight they seemed to be missing the numbing spice, which is integral
Chongching spicy fish - some of the best fried fish I've had. The moist fish is in a flavorful batter. But you may miss this as it comes covered with whole red hot peppers, which are mostly decoration. But there is chopped up peppers clinging to the batter.
Dry sauteed string beans - a standard at Chinese places, but B who perhaps hadn't had these before, really liked them. Nicely done.
Fried tofu - very plain... deep fried tofu.

The wines I brought that were opened:

Kim Crawford 2006 Pinot Noir - New Zealand is up and coming with their Pinot. And their prices are very attractive. This was young with a zesty cherry, a bit of stone and lots of acidity. It would be interesting to try this after a few years.
St Claire 2006 Sauvignon Blanc - It didn't stand out, but was quite pleasant with standard citrus (grapefruit) and peach in a lively medium bodied finish.
St Michelle ? Blanc de Blanc - I've had this for a while and with all the recent press on bubbly, I grabbed it. It went quickly without me having any, so I think it went well.
Sebastiani 2003 Cabernet - this was the one big red we opened. Others did not care for its big jammy flavor, but I quite liked it. Notes of coffee, caramel, oak amidst the big ripe fruit. Much better than I remember it being.

I had a really good time. But the real kicker was the bill: $18/person after tax and tip.

A reversal of policy for 2008

2007-12-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

No, this has nothing to do with interacting with a foreign country. Hmmm, well yes, it does in retrospect. Bear with me for a bit.

My recent entry Fettered expectation was the realization that expensive, premium wines were not increasing my enjoyment. After all, if you can spend $40 to $80 a bottle, you can get highly rated wine pretty much everytime with a bit of effort. But there's too much expectation and mental buildup. It's one thing not to like a $12 bottle, but a $50 bottle is something else. Especiallly if the critics have raved about it.

And then there is the challenge of the "hunt" to find great wines at great prices. With an open wallet to buy $40-$70 bottles, it's like using a shotgun. (With a wallet that can buy $120 bottles, it's like having a machine gun.) And what's the fun of that?

And while I may never get to anjoy a first growth Bordeaux, a top flight Burgundy or a super Tuscan, I'll still get to enjoy some pretty damn fine wines.

So, as of know, I'm done buy expensive bottles, which I'll arbitrarily define as over $36, except for very specific exceptions. And since most of these wines would have been from France or Italy or Spain, it does have to do with foreign policy.

A bargain on a 2005 Bordeaux?

2007-11-28T23:00:00.000-08:00

The 2005 vintage was very strong throughout France, but it was the 2005 Bordeaux that stood out. The famed region seemed to have a once in a lifetime vintage, which really means a once every 20-25 year vintage. Critics were raving about the extremely high quality across the board from top and even middle producers.

Futures prices, to buy the 2005 before it came out, were truly astronomical. There are 5 first growths, Mouton Rothschild, Lafite, Latour, Margaux & Haut Brion, which routinely make the best wines from the region. The Chateau Margaux was being sold at $725 a bottle. Yes, that's right. The 2005 Pavie was a relative bargain, being offered at a mere $300 a bottle.

As someone who is gradually starting to Bordeaux flavor profile it makes no sense to buy expensive Bordeaux. I find it tastes of

restrained fruit of dark woody berries
tobacco leaf aromas
coffee
very little acidity
smooth tannins

I've bought a few 2005 futures, to enjoy in 10 years, when my palate has hopefully come around some more, but they were cheaper.

But what I really want is a 2nd or 3rd tier Bordeaux that isn't so elegant but more fruit forward. The problem is it is very hard to figure this out from the reviews. Even fruity Bordeaux are quite restrained compared to an Australian or Chilean wines. And under $20 if possible.

Occasionally, these pop up, where you get an 87 or even 89 pointer for $18. But it's hard to find a WS 90+ Bordeau for under $20. Especially from 2005.

So it was a pleasant surprise to see the 2005 Chateau Caronne Ste-GemmeHaut-Médoc for $14 at Costco. Here's the Wine Spectator barrel tasting.

Lots of berry and chocolate character with hints of vanilla. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and silky tannins. Impressive. Almost hard to believe, it's so good. Almost 92-94. Score range: 89-91.

I opened a bottle to see how much more I should get and it's not clear. It's fairly nice but not amazing. It is quite young, which doesn't help my evaluation. But at $14, it is one of the cheapest bottles you'll find, even if t is dissappointing relative to the WS review.

It is restrained with classic tobacco and coffee notes. I get some woody fruit. Thin body but very smooth. I know the wine will be small ("elegant" or "refined") but it's hard to reset my palate, still. My score: 87.

Update: it turns out I had preordered 5 bottles from the Wine Club back in 2006 and these have come in, so I have plenty. It is turning out to be a great gift wine, cause who wouldn't want a 2005 Bordeaux?

Fettered by expectation

2007-11-25T22:43:00.000-08:00

I've had some highly rated wines recently and been quite disappointed. In thinking about this some more, I can't think of a WS 92+ wine that I've been blown away by (whoops spoke too soon, the Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah at 92 is great, but that's the only one.. I promise). Most of my favorite wines are typically in the 88-90 points, partly because they tend to be affordable so I can just sidle up to a bottle and enjoy it knowing I have another one stashed away.

What wine was the catalyst for this column? It was two. The first was the highest scoring red I've ever bought and drunk, and the second was a wine from region I'd been dying to try that was #97 on the 2006 WS top 100. But as I rack it, my memory is littered with the high scoring wines that disappointed. Here are some:

Numanthia-Termes 2003 Toro, WS 95 at $65. This winery makes big thick very highly rated wines, year in and year out. I got some of the 2003's at a library sale and wanted to share a bottle with dinner guests. It was big, dark with dark purple fruit, some flower notes, perhaps some odd notes of stone and pencil. Medium finish. Nice but not amazing. My score: 89.
Altano 2003 Duoro Reserva, WS 91 at $19. I'd had some great Portuguese wines at restaurants and the critics are raving about how great some of the $12-$20 wines are. So I found this gem at BevMo and got 2 bottles. BevMo conveniently indicated #97 on the Top 100 of 2006. Nice. And what a thin, somewhat one dimensional dissapointment. It may have been a bad bottle, but there were no off notes. It was just very unflavorful. My score: 80.
Robert Mondavi 2004 Oakville Cab, WS 93 at $33. In the WS Top 100 of 2007. I really don't know what the big deal is. Very nice Cab flavors of fruit, spice and a bit of earth. But weak in flavor for a highly rated wine. Did somebody dilute this? My score: 87.
Orin Swift 2005 Prisoner, WS 93 at $35. My style according to the review, but like the Numanthia, somewhat big with various burly flavors (berry, olive, ??) but ultimately not that impressive. Bit too tannic still. Sigh. My score: 86
Rosenblum 2002 Rockpile Ridge Zinfandel, WS 94 at $19. This was/is the highest scoring from WS ever (at the time). I've had quite a few bottles of Rosenblum Zin I enjoyed more than this. Perhaps I waited too long, as (a) they don't seem to age well and (b) I don't seem to care for the Rosenblum tannins much anymore. My score: mid 80's.

Of course on the flip side, there have been the surprises. Wines that were great that had no right to be even finished, let alone liked.

Star Lake 2005 Sauvignon Blanc. We had a meeting at work and person D gave person J a bottle of wine. Neither knows wine. It was a funky, earthy (mushroom or truffle), heavy, oily wine that had nothing in common with a NZ SB. But intruiging. And by the 3rd try, it had really grown on me. What the heck was this? I'd buy this given the oppurtunity. WS 78 (!) at $22 from Draegers. My score: 90.
Robert Mondavi 1991 Napa Cab, WS 91 at $16(?) in 1993 (?). This wine had been moved around with some care initially, as spending $16 on wine in 94 was a big deal. And then I left it at my Mom's for 2 years in a cupboard. Where the house gets to 85F during the summer routinely. The last 4 years it has been in the wine fridge and pretty much fignored. I would see it and say I've saved it this long, I can wait another month. Finally had friends over who like elegant (dilute) Napa cab so I cracked it open. I thought it was nice but like most Napa Cabs, not big enough for me. But one of the guests who rarely likes a wine, really liked it. Of course it took his wife to say, "oh, I'll pass, since my husband really likes it which doesn't happen too often", for us to realize he liked it. Why the heck hadn't this wine gone bad? He said it tasted as good as you could expect a 1991 to taste and he likes aged Napa cabs.
Sebastiani 2002 Merlot, $12 (?). Tasted blind. A bit light in color but huge in body. Big, thick, with dark purple fruit, hints of bacon, smoke, chocolate followed by chewy, but pleasant tannins. The bacon and tannins made me think of a malbec. The chocolate makes me think a Rosenblum Syrah. There is no way this is a Merlot as it is way too dark and brooding. Wow. Wine: 91. ((And this past weekened I found another bottle of the 2002 at the Pak N Save on Thanksgiving buying yams. Woo hoo.))
Yellowtail 2006 Shiraz, $8.60 for a magnum at Costco. Give it 30 minutes to breathe, to soften and develop. Strong dark berry with obvious oak and vanilla. Big flavor, medium finish. A great cheap bargain. My score: 89.

Some of the disappointment has to do with my monthy "dull" phase where nothing seems amazing, which is fortunately balanced by my monthy "bright" phase. I'll just have to remember to try the supposed great ones when everything is tasting well.

The hunt for red centobers 2007

2007-11-19T22:11:00.000-08:00

Wine Spectator just came out with their Top 100 wines for 2007. (Centobers is my wifes name for wines in the top 100, I tried for 15 minutes to come up with a catchy phrase but had much worse results.) My yearly quest is to see how many of these I can find and secondly am willing to buy. So far so good this year. All the wines I have are all on the cheaper side, esp for their score.

I only have one wine in the top 10, and it was the third cheapest. I did have 16, 17 and 18. Anyways, here's the current rundown on what I have along with my insights.

5) Two Hands 2005 Bella's Garden Shiraz, several bottles. Got this at Costco
12) Pegau 2004 Chateauneuf-du-Papes. One of the most expensive wines I've bought at $66.
16) Schild 2005 Barossa Shiraz, got half a case. The 2004 scored even higher, but I haven't tried either.
17) Orin Swift 2005 Napa Valley The Prisoner, a few. I tried this and it was disappointing. It's supposed to be big and ripe, but it wasn't especially noteworthy. My score was probaby an 88.
18) Bodegas LAN 2004 Rioja, 2 bottles but getting more. Supposed to be thick, syrupy yet fresh. Sounds good to me.
24) John Duval 2004 Barossa Shiraz, this comes in a big flangy bottle that doesn't fit well with other wines. I've never even heard of John Duval before this.
30) Vina Montes 2006 Alpha Syrah, 8 bottles. One of my favorite wines for under $20. An obvious choice to make the T100.
36) Drylands 2006 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Got 8 bottle many months ago for under $12. At its best, my favorite NZ SB, as it has a hint of sweetness to go with the citrus. Not all bottles shine though.
56) Fescobaldi 2004 Nipozzano Reserva Chianti. I expected this to make the T100, as there it was $18 for 91 points with large production (20,000+). I got 4 bottles. It tasted like a Cote du Rhone with dark red fruit and a nice mineral undertone.
57) Thorn Clarke 2006 Barossa Shotfire Ridge. I think I got a case, many months back. Except for my very first bottle of the 2003, every bottle since then '03 to '05 has been quite nice. Sadly the one 2006, I tried was not quite as intense or rich as I had hoped. But let's see if a few years will help.
71) Columbia Crest 2004 Grand Estates Merlot. Nice to see this on the list. The 2001, 2003 and 2004 were all 90 points for $8 with very good availability (50-80K cases). Picked up a bottle or 5.
72) Yellow Tail 2005 Reserve Shiraz. A very nice wine for $9, with intensity and tannins to last for several years as described in my YT post. I just got 4 more bottles at BevMo tonight.
73) Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. I was able to get this for $9 at the Wine Club last year for quite a while and picked up 6 bottles. Quite nice.
91) Seghesio 2004 Sonoma Zinfandel. I have a bottle as I'm a member of Seghesio's wine club. I have the Seghesio curse... their wines taste fantastic everywhere but at home. I still have several bottles of their acclaimed 2002 waiting in the fridge, to dissapoint me at a later date.
92) Mulderbosche 2006 Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc. At $10, how could resist a Chenin Blanc. Nice but nothing spectacular... say an 86 in my book

So, it looks to be 15 out of the top 100, which isn't too shabby.

What wines to I most want to get on the list?

1) Clos des Papes 2005 Chateauneuf-du-Papes. I saw the picture of the #1 wine, got very excited but then realized I had the 2004 not the 2005. With 7,500 cases, I should be able to find some of this $80 Rhone.
49) Vina Santa Rita 2004 Medalla Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. I'm somewhat enamored with good Chilean Reds now and at $19 this looks enticing.
60) Rosemount 2003 McLaren Vale GSM. I've some real nice bottles of this rich, fruity red from 2001 and 2002. And some slightly flat bottles, too. I got 4 bottles of the 2002 at Trader Joes for $10.
97) Perrin & Fils 2005 Les Christins Vacqueyras. I'm still holding on to my 2004's, though I should start drinking them.

Swish and swallow

2007-11-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

Looking to get more out of your wine? Then try holding the wine in your mouth for 30-60 seconds, swishing it around like mouthwash, before finally drinking it or spitting it out. I think I blogged about this over a year ago, but it's worth an all new post.

Background: I was at the Rosenblum open house where they serve 40+ high alcohol wines and I had to drive, so I was spitting the whole tasting. That meant, a decent mouthful which I would taste for 20-120 seconds and then spit. And I found I liked the wines a good bit.

Many wines revealed flavors and a richness in texture after 20 seconds, that you don't get from normal drinking. At first spitting seems like it ruins most of the enjoyment of having wine, but if you're actually into tasting the wine, especially for evaluative purposes as in what to buy, then spitting works well. I've also found ports and sweet dessert wines gains significant body after 30 seconds in the mouth. And I found swishing and spitting to be strangely satisfying in its own way.

You still get some alcohol by spitting. I took decent mouthfuls of each and a bit is swallowed. Some critics say it's a 1/20 to 1/30 dilution, namely tasting 20 wines is like drinking one glass, but I think it's more like 1/10 to 1/15. Plus on three of the wines, I liked them enough to outright swallow.

As I enter this post, I'm having a big oaky Chardonnay (Kali Hart 2005) and doing sniff, swish and swallow. It's pretty enjoyable and sure beats the sniff, swish and spit routine.

Yellow Tail Shiraz

2007-11-16T00:16:00.000-08:00

As an avid Wine Spectactor reader/follower, I read with pleasant surpise that the Yellow Tail (YT) Reserve Shiraz from 2005 and 2006 scored 90 and 89 points, respectively. The list price is roughly $11. After a few weeks of mentally reminding myself to hunt this down, I checked BevMo which featured this wine in their "second bottle for $0.05" sale. The list price was an outlandishly marked up $15 but they were all out, as this still gave a bottle at $7.50.

I went into a Safeway a couple weeks later, when I was too lazy to drive all the way to a Trader Joes for food and found 3 bottles of the 2005, so I snapped them up. (And had to buy 3 more other bottles to get the Safeway "6 bottle 10% discount." I chose a $29 2003 (!) L'Oratoire Chateauneuf du Pape, a $6 Columbia Crest Merlot/Cab and the $7 Rosemount 2005 Shiraz to round out the 6 pack).

I finally opened the YT 2005 Reserve Shiraz a week later, not to be confused with their regular 2006 Shiraz, which also scored well (87 points). I can see why it scored well. It has intense berry flavors, some oak, with a healthy bit of acidity, alot like other high quality Aussie Shirazes that I've found for $20-40. My wife liked it a lot, but I felt it was too acidic to be top-notch. Buy, oh what a difference a night makes. The next night, I tasted a much sweeter softer wine, that I would rate a 91, that was much more appealing, but my wife tasted an off putting bitterness. (I'm drinking it now, as I enter this.)

I've since seen it at BevMo again, and seen it on sale for $9 a bottle. And I just picked up the 2006 regular Shiraz in magnum size, which is 2X a regular bottle, for $8.60 at Costco. This should be one of the outstanding bargains for an under $6 per 750mL wine.

The bottom line is the Yellow Tail 2005 Reserve is a serious Shiraz and at $9-$10 is a bargain. You may not love it, but it is a concentrated wine that is a major step up from most wines at this price. Hunt down the Reserve 2005's while they still exist (50,000 cases) and if now, try some of the 2006's too.

I didn't think I would blog about Yellow Tail, but the wine world is unpredictable.

Recommended Wines: Q4 2007

2007-11-14T09:07:00.000-08:00

This is my quarterly list of wines I've first tasted or re-tasted in Q4 that I recommend you try. As this quarter is just beginning, this list is a bit sparse.

For a fuller list see my previous quarter's recommendations, since that quarter has ended.

Upto $10:

Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet 2004 ($7 TJ) - Wow. That's what I said upon tasting this. Tastes like a fruity, oaky cab should taste. Berry with oak, vanilla, coconut and hints of chocolate. Medium body with a smooth finish low acid. No tannins. I'll retry this a bit and if it is consistently this good, I'll get a case. My first bottle and overall score: 91. I've retasted this four times and it remains my highest recommendation. It won't bowl you over with power but it's sweet, smooth, oaky, and just delightful. I just had my last bottle over lunch at work and under sub-optimal circumstances of a cloudy sky outdoors, it was delicious throughout. ((Notes: the 2003 is not nearly as good, so look carefully for the 2004's which are just coming out as of Sep 2007. I've seen some Trader Joe's carry both years side by side and they look identical. The Columbia Crest red wines do not age well in every sense of the word. In particular, if you open a bottle, do not expect it to be good the next day... but at this price, it's not a big deal.))
Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot 2004 ($7 TJ) - Yes, it seems I'm on the Columbia Crest bandwagon.. but that's because they make great wines. This has been a bit more erratic with some excellent bottles (2) and some not so exciting bottles (2). The last bottle was quite good with characteristic dark berry, oak, spice and vanilla; I'd score it a 90. Similar in style to the Cab, but a bit heavier and darker.
Yellow Tail 2005 Reserve Shiraz ($10 Safeway, Bevmo) - A serious, concentrated wine with intense blueberry and other berry flavors. Good acidity. Hints of meat initially. I liked it much more the 2nd day when it was sweeter and smoother, but my wife liked it the first night. Check it out. This is the Reserve bottling, not the regular bottling.

From $10 to $18:

In this price range, you start to get a lot of variety for pretty good wines.

Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah ($15, Costco, and more) - my favorite wine for the summer/fall of 2007. Tremedous fruit, spice and loam flavors in a very well balanced, complex wine. Intense nose. I used to hate Chilean wines, but this wine has completely won me over. Also got 92 from Wine Spectator.
Beringer 2005 (or 2004 or 2003) Alluvium ($12 Wine Club)- a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion. A refreshing complex white with both acidity and smoky richness. The last bottle I had on 9/30 (technically still Q3) had a "toasted oak/cheerios" (me) or "yeasty" (my wife) nose. It wasn't as good as previous bottles, but it constantly evolved. Only one glass really hit the spot over the weekend.
Hess 2004 Allomi Cabernet Sauvignon ($18 Costco) - I had some at a Ruth's Chris in Charlotte in late Sept. A rich fruity cabernet, that went nicely with my filet. Quite nice. Why is it that so many wines just taste better in restaurants.?
Yes, it's a repeat from Q3, but I'm having a lovely Marquis Philips 2005 Shiraz. Rich, ripe, sweet fruit with spice in a thick luscious frame. Not simple, but not incredibly complex, but who cares. So yummy.

Best wines I can remember having recently. You may or may not be able to find these, but it's what I thought was really nice.

Montes 2005 Alpha Syrah - the first authentially Chilean wine that I've liked. I was NOT a fan of chile and this wine may have single handedly turned the tides. Though I've discovered many other wines not from Chile also have the loamy funk I associate w/ Chile. A complex, fruity, spicy wine. At $16, just buy it.
Marquis Philips 2004 Shiraz ($12) - I had forgotten about this and "discovered" a few bottles in my remote cellar. Tasty fresh berry with lots of sweet spice and a minty edge at the end. All in all, quite delicious. I'd give this a 92. I'm also wondering if the Marquis Philips should be aged for a few years, given how nice this is. I have a bunch of the 2005 and 2006's but should probably lay some down. ((The 2005 is also very nice and recommended in my Q3 2007 blog, but of course they aren't available anymore as the 2006's are just coming out.))
L'Oratorie 2005 Chataueneuf Du Pape ($28 WC) - my first CdP. The first taste was a shock, thick and sweet. This was the reknowned CdP? But as the wine breathed, the mineral element came about and the fruit died down a bit. So it was like a massive fruity cote du rhone. I had some with a flatiron steak at a restaurant (I brought the bottle) and it was superb. At a wine tasting at work, this was the favorite of most people. .... And I found the 2003 of this wine at my local Safeway. It is not as big, but given some time to breathe has a nice fruit and balance. Together they make for a nice micro vertical.
Rosenblum 2003 Fran's Syrah Rockpile Ridge ($40, winery) - huge, burly purple fruit with spice and oak with vanilla. I found the tannins to be drying, but everyone else just loved this to death.

The heaviest bottles out there for a regular wine

2007-11-06T19:36:00.000-08:00

As I tossed the empties into the recycling bin, one winery's bottle was heavier and thicker than any of the others. Any guesses? It was the Santa Ema Reserve Merlot and also their Cab. These are $9, but they are bottle as if they are $90. What winery uses the thickest bottle you've run across?

Who knew this could taste like smoke and chocolate

2007-11-06T19:22:00.000-08:00

I had a case of wine consisting of a Argentine Malbec, Central Coast Syrah (Rosenblum), Aus Shiraz (Jip Jip), Sonoma Merlot, Sonoma Cab, Chilean Syrah, Napa Zinfandel (Joel Gott), Napa Zinfandel (Neyers) and few more. The wine had notes of brooding dark purple berry with bacon, smoke and dark chocolate in a medium body. Smooth. It was a fascinating wine. I gave it a 91. The problem was I just could not guess what the heck this was.

My first two and best guesses were the Malbec and the Rosenblum Syrah. I've had a Malbec blend with bacon and the Rosy's can have smoke and chocolate. Nope. The remaining possilities where not great. The Aussie Shiraz was not it either, though it can have some of these flavors, but the Jip Jip wasn't that The Zins were next to fall. This was getting ridiculous.

I guessed a few more that I don't remember but my 8th guess was finally "right". The Sebastiani 2002 Merlot, probably $12 from Trader Joes 2 years ago. Ack... merlot's cannot taste like this. Smoky bacon and dark chocolate. Wow.

Let's just say I learned something from this bottle which is all you can really ask from a wine.

A tale of two wines

2007-10-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

I've had three bottles of the Jacob's Creek 2003 Reserve Shiraz. I've loved the last two vintages of this and when Wine Spectator gave the 2003 a 91, it was a no brainer for me to buy a good bit of this for $8. I think I bought 8-10 bottles in two different batches. And then the trouble started. WS said to wait a bit on this, so I did.

Bottle 1: in early 2007 was thin, acidic and a huge disappointment. I felt like a fool for buying so much of this. Score: 80.

Bottle 2: in a blind tasting in early Oct. Warm mulled apple cider with cloves and cinnamon and ginger in a soft berry wrapping = nose. Just super. Tastes a bit more dirty initially,
but good dark berry with some spiciness. Score: 90 with a nose of 92. Now I know what the WS tasted.

Bottle 3: tonight, 10/30/2007. Another blind tasting. A very strange wine. Minimal nose and flavor but fairly rich in texture. Smooth and easy to drink, but like somebody magically removed most of the flavor. Score: 86.

Things get more interesting when I realized bottles 1 and 3, the not so impressive bottles, had a black labelling but bottle 2 had a red labelling. Are these really the same wine?

Chenin Blanc, who knew?

2007-10-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

I have certain word associations regarding wine. Here's one: box wine, jug wine, chablis, almaden, chenin blanc.

But about 2 years ago, I read a French grower, Baumard, made excellent Chenin Blanc. Of course, somebody had to make a decent wine out of it somewhere in the world. But about 6 months ago, I started hearing much more of it. Wine Spectator gave a 98 (!) to a Baumard. The african Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc got a WS 90 for $14. And today, I pulled a French Loire Valley white out the fridge and wondered what it was. It says "Savennieres" prominantly and I thought could this might be yet another Chenin Blanc?

Sure enough, Chenin Blanc. A Pierre Soulez 2002 Savennieres Chateau Chamboureau (WS 90, $24). And an interesting wine at that. Intense honey suckle, almond and honey in a slightly viscous body. Good acidic finish. It paired nicely with my left over cous cous with fish and butternut squash. It also went well with a cous cous salad with chicken, grapes and walnuts.

Sticking my nose in manure

2007-10-04T22:09:00.000-07:00

Since my wife wasn't drinking tonight, I looked for a wine that she wouldn't enjoy. I dug up an Italian wine that I had mental note to "let it cellar, about 18 months ago". After getting the tightly stuck synthetic cork to open, I was greeted with a blast of manure, sulfer, and farm yard smells. Oh my. I thought I was getting use to earthy wines, but this was too much. It was hard to imagine drinking this. The palate was sharp with twig, manure and just bit of black berry in the acidic ("juicy") body.

I looked it up online, as I had a recollection it was liked by WS. The site lists a bottle for $52 but there's no way I paid that much. Looking up my email, the Wine Club says I bought it for $8. And it is the wine listed on the WS site, but they have a typo in the price. The WS review states:

Good blackberry and chocolate aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, with soft, round tannins. Juicy. This is an outstanding new wine from Angelini. Merlot, Sangiovese and Canaiolo. Best after 2007.

After writing this far in my blog, the smell has started to dissapate but the flavors are still quite lean.

Oh, what is it? TENIMENTI ANGELINI 2004 Toscana Tuttobene Red.