Pillar Box Red

Last night we had a bottle of 2005 Henry's Drive Pillar Box Red ... which we picked up from Costco for $7.99 (K&L also has it for $8.99). I think Robert Parker gave this a 91 or 92 ... and I'd say that's just a little high, but not too far off the mark. Especially for the price! It's a big, in your face Shiraz from Southern Australia. The nose had a ton of alcohol right away, but it mellowed out dramatically after about 30 minutes in the glass. Much better. We polished the bottle off in a couple hours just sitting in front of the TV ... really don't need any food with this sucker. Just big bold and beautiful. If you see a bottle of this around, pick up a couple. Can't go wrong with it.

not petite at all

So it's been a little while since I've posted anything, but trust me it's not because I haven't been drinking wine. We're slowly but surely getting situated in our new house. In fact, the wine fridge just got plugged in this past weekend.

Last night we enjoyed a bottle of 2005 Rosenblum Cellars Petite Sirah - Heritage Clones. It was fantastic, especially for the $14 price tag. It had a ton of dark fruit and was a really well-balanced wine. You really should go out and buy this stuff, I heard about the 2004 last year when it was too late to find any, so it will sell out. Go now.

Over the past couple weeks we've also enjoyed a 2004 Consilience Petite Sirah, which was really good as well. But it's twice the price of the Rosenblum. A bottle of NV Taittinger Brut Reserve Champagne that we brought back from out trip to Reims this past summer. Great stuff, with a nutty flavor. Plus it didn't hurt that we were enjoying it in our new house! The bottle of 2004 Beckmen Vineyards Syrah - Barrel Select was fantastic as well. I'm sure there's been others, but those were the notable ones...

2000 Peller Estates Cabernet Franc Icewine

Alright ... I've been eagerly awaiting my first glass of icewine for a few months now. I've got a nice bottle stashed away in our cellar, but haven't had the occasion to open it up yet. Well, this past Saturday we were at a friend's birthday party and someone had brought a bottle of 2000 Peller Estates Cabernet Franc Icewine .... woohoo! The conditions were not that great ... I was a few beers in, and I was drinking out of a plastic cup, but it was tasty. Not too sweet, and it had the nose/taste of raisins, plums, etc. Of course I'm not too sure exactly what the bottle was either, I never saw it closely and am just going on what I've been told it was.

I'm definitely looking forward to opening the bottle in my cellar and drinking it under the right conditions.