Chardonnay

It's not too often that I drink white wine. I think California whites have a stigma attached to them, partially because of wine coolers, white zin, and so many bad ones over the last 25 years or so. Chardonnay gets a bad rap as well ... but more recently it seems because of the over-oaking of it. Some taste like a cube of butter pushed through a wood chipper. Just not good. But it seems lately, a lot of producers are using stainless steel to age them ... and preventing malolactic fermentation (what gives it the buttery flavor). So you end up with a wine that tastes like wine ... imagine that! And as added bonus, w/ stainless you get a beautiful color to most of the wines ... not quite as light as a Sauvignon Blanc ... but nowhere near as dark yellow as oaked ones.

Last night we opened a bottle of 2005 Koehler Chardonnay Santa Ynez Valley. It had a pleasant nose of fresh flowers and went down with an initial fruit flavor ... a little apple or pear, not too much though. This was then cut off by it's crisp acidity ... a very nice wine. With a little bit of airtime in the glass (maybe 15-20 minutes) the acidity mellowed out to near perfect. Now if it just wasn't our last bottle of it! It would probably do well with 1-2 years in the cellar to bring all the flavors together. Of course, we'll probably pick up a bottle or two next time we're in Santa Ynez. :)

Andrew Murray Tous Les Jours

The wife and I went to Costco this past Saturday to stock up on frozen foods and paper products ... and while we were there I perused the wine section. We've been on the look for an everyday wine that we don't feel guilty about opening. Ideally it would be in the less than $10 range, or at least under $15. The Brophy Clark Syrah has been doing just fine, but there's got to be something else right? Well, lo and behold, there at Costco was the 2005 Andrew Murray Syrah Tous les Jours. There it was spelled out on the label, Everyday (FYI - Tous les jours is French for everyday). It was just under $13 so we picked up two bottles to try them out. Andrew Murray (the winery) is a label I've liked for some time, so I was excited to get some for a decent price. But I've also been told recently that Andrew (the man, the myth, the rhone ranger) sold the winery and isn't involved in it anymore. It's something I've got to do some research on, but haven't had the time.

Back to the wine itself. We popped and poured it but I quickly noticed that it could use a little bit of time in the decanter ... so we decanted and played a game of darts. It was very good, especially for the price ... I would rate it just above the Brophy Clark ... and I'd definitely recommend picking up a bottle or two for yourself.

Syrah

Last night we finished off a bottle of 2002 Brophy Clarke Syrah Rodney Shull Vineyard that we had opened on Friday night. Great stuff, especially for the $13 price tag at our local wine shop. After that was done we popped open a 2003 Fess Parker Syrah Santa Barbara County ... also great stuff, though not as cheap (I think it was close to $30 at the winery). Really deep red color, with a slightly watery rim. Great nose and taste. Wish we'd gotten another bottle at the winery ... but oh well! At least I think there's another glass or two left in the bottle that I'll be able to enjoy this evening. Or maybe not, with the AFC & NFC Championship games on today, it's going to be leaning towards a Bud Light day ... and it's always hard to follow those up w/ a glass of wine.

2001 Barolo & Barbaresco

Last night was the 2nd meeting of the Westside tasting group that we are part of. This time it was 2001 Barolos and Barbarescos. We met at Violet in Santa Monica for dinner and wine. I have had very limited experience w/ either Barolo or Barbaresco so I was definitely eager to see what similarities, etc were in wines from the same vintage. The tasting was set up as a single blind tasting, ie we knew the six wines we were drinking, we just didn't know which was which. The six wines were:

2001 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Monprivato
2001 La Spinetta (Giorgio Rivetti) Barbaresco Vigneto Starderi
2001 Mauro Veglio Barolo Gattera
2001 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto
2001 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Bussia
2001 Mauro Sebaste Barolo Monvigliero

Unfortunately there was some bottle variance with the Giuseppe Mascarello Monprivato. The bottle I drank from was sour and not good at all ... the other bottle was supposedly fantastic and a lot of people chose it as the WOTN (Wine of the Night). The La Spinetta was great ... very tannic, but I would love to have a bottle or two to hide away in the cellar for 10 years or so ... I'm sure it will develop to be incredible. The Mauro Sebaste Barolo Monvigliero was also great, probably won't age as long as the La Spinetta, but wonderful in it's own right.

The night actually started with two Italian whites ... a 2005 Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis and a 2001 Bruno Giacosa Spumante Brut sparkler. I only had a taste of each, neither of which really struck my fancy, but oh well...

We finished off the night w/ desserts and two ports; a 1983 Fonseca Vintage Port and a 2003 Fonseca Vintage Port. It was great to have the two side by side to see what 20 years will do to it. Both had the nose of raisins which is common in port, but the 1983 had softened quite a bit, in color, nose, and taste. The 2003 kind of bit you. The 1983 went especially well with the chocolate sorbet :)

Overall, a fantastic night with great people, wine, and food. Glad that we found a group that is social rather than so snobby about the wine. Plus it's great to be toward the bottom in knowledge about the wines because we learn so much from these tastings. Definitely looking forward to the next group event ...

Santa Ynez, Day Two

We started the day at Alma Rosa, their still in the "Camp Alma Rosa" location until June 1st when they can move back into their tasting room on Santa Rosa Rd.

2005 Alma Rosa Pinot Gris La Encantada Vineyard
2005 Alma Rosa Pinot Blanc La Encantada Vineyard
2005 Alma Rosa Chardonnay El Jabali Vineyard
2005 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir-Vin Gris El Jabali Vineyard
2005 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills
2005 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir La Encantada Vineyard

Wine of the tasting room was the 2005 Pinot Sta. Rita Hills.... the 2005's are the first batch of wines from winemaker Christian Roguenant (as opposed to the old Sanford winemaker Bruno d'Alfonso). I was pleasantly surprised with the 2005 Pinot Blanc La Encantada though ... very good fruit and acidity.

We then went to Artiste for a tasting... a little briefing on their style first: They don't have vintage dates on any of their wines and they are all blends ... they like to think of themselves as painters w/ the juice being the paint. The only dates on the bottles are the actual bottling date. They never make the same wine twice ...

NV Artiste Impressionist Rose
NV Artiste Impromptu
NV Artiste Perfecto
NV Artiste Kind Of Blue
NV Artiste After Work
NV Artiste First Dance

All of them were good, but nothing really jumped out as spectacular. We picked up a bottle of the Perfecto. While we were there we chance with one of the grape-growers whose grapes were in the First Dance, really nice guy (Keith) who actually told us a great little place to stop for lunch. We picked up a deli sandwich from El Rancho Market and then drove up Ballard Canyon Rd towards Los Olivos. A couple miles past Rusack was a gazebo on the side of the road where we stopped to eat. It was freezing outside so we only ate outside for a few minutes and then retreated to the warmth of our car to finish our sandwich. Great spot for future reference though ... bottle of wine, warm sun, picnic.

After our lunch break we headed to Epiphany where we we had arranged a free tasting of their wines.

2005 Epiphany Pinot Gris Goodchild Vineyard
2005 Epiphany Roussanne Camp 4 Vineyard
2005 Epiphany Chardonnay Fundraising
2005 Epiphany Grenache Rose
2003 Epiphany Revelation
2003 Epiphany Syrah Hampton Vineyard

Wine of the room was definitely the 2003 Revelation ... a blend of different varietals that is different w/ each vintage. Very tasty stuff ... we picked up two bottles.

We weren't too sure where to go next but we had heard of Carhartt before and had never been there so we gave them a try. Great little shack in Los Olivos and the husband/wife team of winegrowers were the only ones pouring ... great atmosphere and I love meeting the owners of little places.

2005 Carhartt Sauvignon Blanc Faith Vineyard
2005 Carhartt Pinot Noir Santa Rosa Ranch
2003 Carhartt Merlot Carhartt Estate
2004 Carhartt Syrah Carhartt Estate

Wine of the room was the 2004 Syrah ... picked up one bottle. A real tooth-stainer that could use a little time in the cellar to let the tanins and fruit balance each other out. At least decant the sucker for a couple hours first :)

And that was it for our two Santa Ynez birthday adventure. Wildly fantastic ... couldn't have wanted it to be any better. Well except when we woke up on Sunday morning and the water pipes had frozen. Had no running water ... luckily we just went to breakfast and came back and the pipes had thawed. Otherwise it would've been a day of wine tasting w/o a shower :)

Hitching Post

With all the business this place has gotten over the past years because of Sideways, we've managed to stay away from it. But last night we went, partly because I hadn't been there in years and Lauren never had, and because we were literally staying at a house across the street. We were going to walk over by simply running across the 246 but decided against it at the last minute because it was 20 degrees outside. So we hopped in the car and drove the 30 seconds.

Our meal was fantastic. Both our steaks were cooked and seasoned to perfection. This place gets the business because they deliver. The wine we had during dinner was the 2004 Hitching Post Syrah Purisima Mountain Vineyard. I guess Steve Beckmen sells some grapes :) It was good and went well with both of our steak dinners.

Santa Ynez, Day One

Alright, so many wines. Just going to list em off here ...

Tried to start the day at Fess Parker, but they were way too busy so we popped in next door at Koehler first.

2005 Koehler Sauvignon Estate Blanc
2005 Koehler Chardonnay Estate
2005 Koehler Viognier Estate
2005 Koehler Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County
2005 Koehler Syrah Estate
2004 Koehler Magia Nera Estate
2002 Koehler Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Estate

Best wine was a toss up between the Syrah and the Magia Nera until we got them to pour us the 2002 Cab ... it blew them away is one of my favorites from Koehler. We had a magnum of the 2001 a while back and it was fantastic. For the record it was interesting to learn that the Magia Nera (Black Magic in Italian) used to be labeled as a Super Tuscan, but since you can't use the Tuscan name outside of Tuscany they had to change the name a few years ago ....

We went up the street to Fess Parker for our next tasting ...

2005 Fess Parker Chardonnay "Ashley's Vineyard"
2005 Fess Parker Viognier Santa Barbara County
2005 Fess Parker White Riesling Santa Barbara County
2005 Fess Parker Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County
2003 Fess Parker Syrah Santa Barbara County
2002 Fess Parker Syrah "Mackie's Blend"
NV Fess Parker Traditions Port Style Red Wine Santa Barbara County
2003 Fess Parker Zinfandel California

Wine of the room went to the 2003 Syrah ... almost had a buttery finish that you find in Chard because of ML fermentation, but damn it was good in this. Was a little let down with the Traditions port ... although there was plenty of good dessert wines coming up at other wineries.

Up next we tried to go to Curtis, because I had heard something about them focusing on Rhone varietals (which are my favorite right now) ... but they were way too crowded ... twice as many people than were at Fess Parker. No way we were staying. Off to get some food and then to Consilience ...

2005 Consilience Grenache Blanc Santa Barbara County
2004 Consilience Grenache Noir "Rodney Shull Vineyard"
2005 Consilience Grenache Rose Santa Barbara County
2005 Consilience Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County
2005 Consilience Pinot Noir "Bien Nacido Vineyard"
2004 Consilience Syrah Santa Barbara County
2004 Consilience Syrah "Star Lane Vineyard"
2004 Consilience Cabernet Sauvignon "Camp 4 Vineyard"
2004 Consilience Zinfandel "Rhodes Vineyard"
2002 Consilience Zinfandel Port Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County

Great wines, best would be between 2004 Cab and the 2002 Zinfandel Port. I chose to get a bottle of the 2004 Consilience Petite Sirah (as well as a Port) because I've been looking for a good Petite Sirah and this was recommended to me.


Up next was my favorite winery in town, Beckmen Vineyards.

2005 Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc Estate
2005 Beckmen Le Bec Blanc
2005 Beckmen Marsanne Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2003 Beckmen Syrah Estate
2003 Beckmen Syrah Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2004 Beckmen Syrah Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2004 Beckmen Cabernet Sauvignon Estate
2005 Beckmen Grenache Estate
2004 Beckmen Syrah Purisima Mountain Vineyard Clone #1

Hands down, wine of the room was the Syrah Clone #1 ... I always love that and the block 6 bottling. Was lucky enough to pick up another bottle of the 2004 Whole Cluster Grenache as well as two bottles of the 2001 Late Harvest Grenache ... really looking forward to both of those. We also got a bottle of the 2004 Cab and the tasting room manager was nice enough to give me a bottle of the Clone #1 as a birthday gift. Thanks Mandy.

Next we went back into Los Olivos for one final tasting ... we stopped in Los Olivos Tasting Room, a little wine tasting place that pours random wines of wineries that don't have proper tasting rooms. I can't find the paper that has everything we tasted but I know we bought a bottle of 2004 Edge Cabernet Sauvignon. Edge is a place that buys grapes from, supposedly, the better wineries in Napa and blends them together to make their own label. Pretty good stuff. We also had a bottle of NV Bonny Doon Rasberry Framboise ... really really sweet stuff. A little too much for my taste...

That wrapped up Day 1 ... off to the house to nap before dinner at the Hitching Post ...

the Loring

Last night we went out to dinner for my birthday and we drank the 2004 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Brosseau Vineyard. I was really looking forward to this as I'd read great things about all Lorings on the eBob board. I have to say I was a little let down. It definitely didn't wow Lauren or me. Seems a little boring. I guess that's usually what happens when you go into something with such high expectations. Lauren brought up the point that Loring bought these grapes from the Chalone AVA which is in Monterrey County ... I just may not like the dirt up there as much as the southern Central Coast dirt. Since terroir has become such the hot word for wine these days ... So I am definitely looking forward to picking up a bottle of one of LWC other Pinots, preferably from Santa Rita Hills or Paso or somewhere else closer to home :)

birthday weekend

Today is my 31st birthday so, needless to say, there is a wine-filled weekend planned.

To kick it off right we're going to dinner at Girasole on Larchmont, a great little Italian place that has no corkage fee. We'll be opening a bottle of 2004 Loring Wine Company, Pinot Noir Brosseau Vineyard that we bought at Vendome last night for $50 ... it'll be my first LWC wine and I've heard great things about them, so I'm very excited. It will probably overpower all the food, but oh well. :)

Then on Saturday morning we leave to go to Santa Ynez for a weekend of wine tasting. The wineries I think we're going to hit are: Beckmen, Koehler, Fess Parker, Alma Rosa, Epiphany, Sunstone, Artiste, Consilience, and maybe another one or two. A friend of ours that lives in the area is out of town so we are staying at her place for free. Doesn't get much better than that.

And of course there's probably going to be a few drinks consumed at Mavericks Saloon, the local bar.

Hopefully I'll post on Monday w/ the enormous list of everything that was tasted ...

boring

Last night was a night of boring wine. I had a couple glasses from two bottles.

2004 Clos du Bois, Cabernet Sauvignon "North Coast"
2002 Sydney Lane, Syrah (Paso Robles, CA)

Neither wine was spectacular by any means. The Clos du Bois was brought over by a friend on Monday night and Lauren and I finished it off last night. It was perfectly fine for what I assume to be a $12 grocery store bottle, great for a "house wine" of sorts, but you can also get better stuff for the same price w/ a little searching and tasting. Just ask the guy at the wine shop ... he/she will know 5 things that are better.

The Sydney Lane ($18) was recommended to us by an employee at our local wine shop, Vendome. It was not very special and there are plenty of other options available at the same price point, noteably the 2002 Brophy Clarke, Rodney Shull Vineyard Syrah that is also available at Vendome for $15 (and single vineyard!). We have that quite often as it's a solid wine that you don't feel guilty about drinking ... ie it's not a $40 bottle. In fact last time we were at Vendome a few bottles were priced on sale at $12.99 so we picked up a couple more.

There was also a bottle of 2004 Hacienda el Espino Syrah "1707" opened after I had decided I was done w/ wine for the night. I have had a couple glasses of this on a previous occasion and I remember it to be damn tasty for a $10 bottle. So I'll see how it holds up tonight when I get home :) And then it's off to see Lady Sovereign at the El Rey ... and that means another Bud Light night is in store:)

Numero Uno

What is actually the third post of the day (i really hope that doesn't happen again anytime soon) should count as the first. At least the first REAL post...

Last night Lauren and I met up with a couple-friend at Vertical Wine Bistro in Pasadena for some wine and food. We had been there once before and really liked the ambiance, wine list, etc. We arrived at 7pm for our double date and were told that reservations were needed before 8pm ... alas we were relegated to sitting in the bar rather than the dining room. We made ourselves at home while we waited for Kristen & Steve to arrive. But luck was on our side, as a table in the dining room had opened up and we were able to move over. On to the wine ...

I initially ordered a Zinfandel flight, but was denied because they were out of one of the wines. So I settled on the "Wines of the Southern Rhone Valley" flight. This included:

2005 Paul Autard, Cotes du Rhone
2004 Paul Autard, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
2004 Vieux Telegraphe, Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Lauren went with "The World & Syrah" flight which was:

2001 Zaca Mesa, Syrah (Santa Ynez)
2003 L'Ecole No. 41, Syrah (Columbia Valley)
2003 Jean-Louis Chave, Mauve "Offerus" (St. Joseph)

I was definitely satisfied with my flight. The Cotes du Rhone was a little weak, but the two CdP's were great. I don't have much experience at all with CdP, but if these two were any indication of what's to come, I'm in for a treat. The Jean-Louise Chave was my favorite of the trio. I've heard great things about the 2001 vintage as a whole for CdP ... maybe I'll try to find some next time I'm at a wine store.

Lauren was less satisfied w/ her flight. Nothing impressed her at all while, if forced to choose, the Zaca Mesa was her favorite. She was able to make the conclusion though that she most likely only prefers the California style of Syrah to the rest of the world. She has plenty of experience w/ CA Syrah and it's probably her favorite varietal right now.

For dessert (an apple galette) Lauren had a glass of NV Roederer Estate Sparkling Wine (Anderson Valley, CA) and I had a glass of something. haha.... I ordered a glass of 2004 Tobin James "Liquid Love" Zinfandel ... but they were out of it as well ... I guess I just wasn't meant to be drinking Zin at this moment in time... But anyways, they brought me a glass of something French in it's place and I forgot to take notice on what it was. It was tasty though.

The food was great ... Lauren had the chicken dish and I had the oysters. Kristen ordered the small grilled cheese sandwiches which were apparently fantastic. Overall, we both love this place and cannot recommend it more. The wine and food are both reasonably priced and the atmosphere and service are great.

intro

I guess an introduction is due. Maybe you want to peek inside my cellar? You can do it here:

http://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp?iUserOverride=14437

Not amazing, but it keeps my wife and I very happy. I'm relatively new to the whole collecting wine thing. Trying to save it for a few years to get the most out of it. Instead of just going to Ralph's and popping open the bottle as soon as you get home (which I am definitely not opposed to). I just think that it will be so cool to be able to open a bottle from 2001 in 15 years. Or just show up to a party w/ an old bottle of wine in hand. No one can beat that :) Well, at least no one who's not an even more impressive wine collector.

As much as I would like to be buying Bordeaux futures for a couple hundred a bottle, I don't really see me doing it anytime in the future ... unless of course I find that elusive suitcase full of cash. My ideal bottle of wine costs less than $40 and comes from the Central Coast area of California (Santa Ynez, Los Olivos, Lompoc, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, etc) ... it's really my first love. I went to school at UCSB and went to Santa Ynez as often as possible to go wine tasting. Now that I live in LA my wife and I still go around 8 times a year. Although I also enjoy the NorCal wines as well. I just feel an afinity towards to the Central Coast wineries. And I imagine this will change, as my knowledge and experience with wine grows, so shall my preferences.

First, and foremost, this is a hobby. My wife and I have found something that we both love, and it is something that we share together. I like to do the research and the reading, but in the end she's got the better palate. I just know if it's good or not. :) Hence why it's such a great thing for us as a team. We have all the bases covered.

That's it for the intro ... on pace for way too many posts in one day ....

huh?

Ok. What now?

I guess the goal of this thing is to help me remember what I drink and whether it was any good at the time or not. It may also serve as my undoing, as the world will be able to see how much wine I really drink. Hell, it may also be news to me. Maybe I really do need help :)

But until then, I'll hopefully be able to fill these pages with stories of my adventures in wine and everything that surrounds them. I may go on a tangent once in a while (in fact, I hope I do) but for the most part I'll try to keep the stories of my Bud Light consumption off of here. We all know how those stories end up anyways.