21st Century Wino

Napa - Spring Mountain District AVA

2010-02-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we were up visiting family in the Bay Area and were able to sneak away on Monday to Napa to taste some vino. We decided to stick to one specific area rather than try to cover too much ground ... the particular area was the Spring Mountain District AVA, just outside of St. Helena. The first stop was Barnett Vineyards...

2007 Barnett Vineyards Chardonnay, Savoy Vineyard
2008 Barnett Vineyards Pinot Noir, Viento Valle
2007 Barnett Vineyards Merlot
2006 Barnett Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Barnett Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, “Rattlesnake Hill”

We were met at the winery by Hal Barnett and he poured us through the open wines. Got a brief tour/walkthrough of the caves that just were finished about a year ago, and an overview of their property atop Spring Mountain. The vineyards were absolutely beautiful with a view overlooking the valley. The wines definitely matched the the environs. Everything was great and we ended up buying bottles of the Merlot and the standard Cab. Would've loved to buy the "Rattlesnake Hill" but a little pricey at around $125/each. After the tasting we enjoyed a picnic on their deck above the caves and it was beautiful. Hal was kind enough to give us a bottle of his Merlot to enjoy with lunch! Amazing, amazing place. Up next was Pride Mountain Vineyards, which I had been looking forward to the most.

2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards Chardonnnay
2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards Syrah (from 'barrel')
2006 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot
2007 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot
2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot, “G Block” (from neutral oak barrel)
2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot, “G Block” (from new oak barrel)
2007 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Wow, what a different place than Barnett, so "commercial" looking. They obviously are putting large amounts of money into their tasting room and facilities. Interesting placement atop Spring Mountain, the county line actually runs through their property so they have vineyards in Napa County and Sonoma County. The Syrah that was poured was from a stainless steel holding tank as they were in the middle of bottling their Viognier and the Syrah. It was definitely off, and needed to mellow out, was not showing well. We tasted the Merlots in their caves and it was very interesting tasting the two different 2008 Merlots where the only difference was the oak. I thought the new oak barrel version tasted like a more complete version of the wine (all the different blocks/barrels/etc of Merlot will get blended together for their final version that goes into bottle). We bought the Cab, but I really would've like to have bought some of the Merlot as well, but everything was a little pricey. The next winery we stopped at was Schweiger (we had about 30 minutes to kill before our appointment at Paloma)...

2008 Schweiger Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Uboldi Vineyards
2007 Schweiger Vineyards Chardonnay
2005 Schweiger Vineyards Merlot
2005 Schweiger Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Schweiger Vineyards “Dedication”
NV Schweiger Vineyards “Port VIII”

We rushed through this tasting since we had another appointment to get through and I don't think I really gave the wines their due. We tasted the whites upstairs in their driveway/patio and then went into the barrel room for the reds. I really enjoyed the Cab here and bought a bottle. The port was actually quite good as well, but I passed on the $50 per .375. Off to Paloma...

2007 Paloma Vineyards Merlot

This place is run/managed/etc by Barbara Richards out of her house on Spring Mountain. She is about 75 years old and still spends her winter days going through the vineyard pruning all of the shoots. She welcomed us into her home to taste the wine, after she gave us a brief history of her property from her patio overlooking it. They make just one wine from their 15 acres, a Merlot which has a small percentage (10%?) of Cab blended into it. She also purchases some Syrah fruit and bottles that as well, but she was not pouring it. It was very good and we purchased a couple bottles. I heard that she doesn't take appointments very often and we were lucky to get in with her.

Bouchon Beverly Hills

2010-01-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

Another dining experience at one of Thomas Keller's establishments. This time it is the recently opened Bouchon Beverly Hills in, you guessed it, Beverly Hills. The space was beautiful, the service was great, and the food and wine were at the top as well.

We started with a 1/2 dozen oysters (Hama Hama from Washington and Shiny Sea from Maine) and the Soupe a l'Oignon (French Onion soup). Delicious. The onions in the soup were so finely sliced that they practically dissolved in your mouth. Wonderful stuff. For the main course, I had the Gigot d'Agneau (roasted leg of lamb) and Lauren had the Thon Confit a la Nicoise (tuna confit). The lamb was cooked perfectly and was probably the best lamb dish I've ever had. The tuna was also really good, but I only had one or two bites so hard to judge. Although the pickled radishes on the side were pretty damn tasty.

We had a bottle of 2007 Failla Syrah, Phoenix Ranch throughout the meal and it was great. I had heard of the winery before, but never had any of their wine, or knew anything about them besides the name. It was very fruit forward and needed a bit of time in the glass to really come into balance with its tannins, but when it did it was great. I believe it was $98 on the list, so I'd be curious to see what it retails for. All in all, a great meal, and I definitely look forward to our next Keller experience.

Almost forgot about the Profiteroles we had for dessert. Wonderful. Rich chocolate sauce, great pastry, and tasty vanilla ice cream in the middle. Can not go wrong w/ this dessert.

Santa Ynez, quickly

2009-12-28T08:26:00.000-08:00

First trip to Santa Ynez with the new baby, Amelia. Overall she was great and didn't cause any interruptions. However, it is much slower-going and gone are the days of cramming in 5 or 6 tastings! Probably for the better though. This trip was just to pick up our club shipments that had been adding up since our last trip up. Up first was Alma Rosa...

2008 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Clone 115, La Encantada Vineyard
2008 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Clone 667, La Encantada Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard
2006 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinto Blanc, La Encantada Vineyard

Favorites were the 115 and the two La Encantada pinot releases. I think I would have to choose the 07 if forced to make up my mind, but the 06 was fantastic as well. Also enjoyed the Pinot Blanc at the end, very nice dry wine. Up next was the drive to Foxen, and their new tasting room :(

2007 Foxen Chenin Blanc, Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard
2008 Foxen Chardonnay, Tinaquaic Vineyard
2008 Foxen Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley
2007 Foxen "Cuvee Jeanne Marie"
2006 Foxen Syrah, Tinaquaic Vineyard
2007 Foxen Chenin Blanc "Late Harvest", Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard

At the top was clearly the 06 Syrah Tinaquaic. I just love everything that comes out of this vineyard (including the Chardonnay that I almost purchased), but this Syrah is outstanding. Big and bold but not too overwhelming, great balance. Also love the late harvest Chenin Blanc. Up next was D'Alfonso-Curran, but they were closed so we drove back up into Los Olivos to go to Stolpman before heading back home.

2008 Stolpman Sauvignon Blanc
2006 Stolpman "L'Avion"
2007 Stolpman "La Coppa Blanc"
2006 Stolpman Sangiovese
2007 Stolpman Syrah, Estate
2006 Stolpman Syrah "Hilltops"
2007 Stolpman "La Croce"
2006 Stolpman "La Croce"
2005 Stolpman Syrah "La Coppa"

The "L'Avion" wasn't showing particularly well today, but I know it's fantastic. I liked the 06 La Croce much better than the 07 version, but it was probably just the effects of letting it age an additional year in bottle, so I'm sure the 07 will be even better in a year. We bought bottles of the La Coppa Syrah and a 2000 Sangiovese that they weren't pouring. Should be fun to drink in the coming weeks.

A final picture in the vineyards just off Alisos Canyon Road on our way to Foxen....

Campanile

2009-11-15T15:28:00.000-08:00

Went to dinner at Campanile last night. Very good. I had the Roasted Baby Lamb with squash puree and cavolo nero. Very good. They mistakenly brought me out the Grilled Pork Chop at first and I had a bite of that before realizing that it was wrong. It was also good, but a little salty for me. Also had a side of the mashed potatoes with creme fraiche, and Angel Food Cake w/ creme fraiche ice cream for dessert. Both were spectacular. But the wine was the real star of the show...

2008 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rose
2006 Copain Syrah, "Alder Springs, Spirit Rock"
2005 Mr K. Chardonnay "The Noble Man" Alban Vineyard

I started the dinner off w/ the Domaine Tempier. It was my first time having it, and I was impressed. I've never been able to pull the trigger and buy a $45-50 bottle of Rose, and not sure if I will in the future, but it was tasty. Can only imagine that it would be great in the midst of summer. The Copain Syrah was fantastic with the lamb. Plenty of bite but was definitely balanced. And to top it all off the Mr. K for dessert. Wonderful stuff, wish I could afford to buy bottles of these every year. Although I guess that's not possible anymore since Alois Kracher died in 2007 (He co-made the wine w/ Manfred Krankl of Sine Que Non fame).

Last trip to Santa Ynez for a while

2009-10-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went up to Santa Ynez to pick up the most recent batch of shipments and to taste a little wine. Most notably, we were going to the pick-up party at the new Foxen tasting room. Still a little conflicted on this new place, I love the shack, I don't like the rebranding of their Bordeaux varietals under the "Foxen 7200" moniker, don't like the design of these new labels, and especially don't like the rumor that they'll only be pouring these "Foxen 7200" wines at the shack from now on (meaning all of my favorites will be at the new commercial tasting room).

This will probably be our last trip up until the new year. Up first was a stop in Santa Barbara at Jaffurs.

2007 Jaffurs Viognier
2007 Jaffurs Grenache
2007 Jaffurs Mourvedre
2007 Jaffurs Syrah, Larner Vineyard
2007 Jaffurs Petite Sirah, Thompson Vineyard

Everything was great. In the driveway out front they were sorting Pinot Noir fruit that had jsut been brought in. A little curious to see what Jaffurs does with Pinot fruit. Got bottles of the Larner Syrah and the Mourvedre which were both wonderful. Now for the drive up in the mountains and the first pitstop at Alma Rosa.

2006 Alma Rosa Chardonnay, El Jabali Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard
2008 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Clone 115, La Encantada Vineyard
2008 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Clone 667, La Encantada Vineyard
2006 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard

Was my first time tasting the 08 clones and the 115 (which they didn't bottle last year) was delicious. Will definitely be looking forward to that arriving in my shipment. We ended up not having anything to pick up here and didn't buy anything extra. So it was off to the next place, D'Alfonso-Curran (think this is one of the worst names for a winery, but great juice).

2008 Di Bruno Pinot Grigio
2007 Curran Grenache Blanc
2006 Badge Chardonnay
2006 Badge Pinot Noir
2005 Di Bruno Sangiovese
2005 Curran Sangiovese
2006 Badge Merlot
2005 Curran Syrah, Reeves' Ranch Reserve
2006 Curran Sryah, Black Oak Vineyard

One thing I definitely like about this tasting room is the vastness of the wines they pour. They have everything open and it is so much fun to work your way through the list. Definitely worth being a member here so you can taste everything. I think you get a choice of 4 or 5 wines when you're not a member. Picked up four bottles of the Badge Pinot, can't get enough of it. Up next was Beckmen.

2007 Beckmen "Cuvee Le Bec"
2007 Beckmen Grenache, "Estate"
2006 Beckmen Grenache, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2007 Beckmen Syrah, "Estate"
2006 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2007 Beckmen Syrah, Clone #1, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2007 Beckmen Syrah, "Barrel Select", Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Marsanne, Purisima Mountain Vineyard

Well, this was definitely my worst experience at Beckmen in the last 5 or 6 years I've been a member. Neither of the two people pouring seemed to know anything. Maybe they were just having off days, but I came really close to saying something to Steve when I left but he seemed a little busy while guys were cleaning equipment from the days harvest. It started on a bad note of being told my wine had been shipped to me the previous week. Not only have I never had wine shipped to me, I definitely do not want it shipped when its 100 degrees in LA. And why hadn't it arrived in 5 days. Argh. They ended up finding it in their warehouse. But it never recovered from there, they weren't busy, and we just got zero attention at all. Weird. I only hope it was an off-day and not a sign of things to come. After this we went off to Foxen for their pick-up party in the new building.

2008 Foxen Sauvignon Blanc, Vogelzang Vineyard
2008 Foxen Mourvedre Rose
2008 Foxen Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley
2007 Foxen Pinot Noir, Seas Smoke Vineyard
2007 Foxen Grenache, Williamson-Dore Vineyard
2006 Foxen "Cuvee Jeanne Marie"
2006 Foxen Merlot, Vogelzang Vineyard
2006 Foxen Cabernet Franc, Tinaquaic Vineyard
2007 Foxen Chenin Blanc, Late Harvest, Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard

The Sea Smoke Pinot was great, but so was the 08 Santa Maria Valley. I picked up bottles of the Sea Smoke, Grenache, and Cab Franc. Definitely looking forward to popping these open over the next year or so. Regarding the room, it's beautiful. We got a little tour of the winemaking facilities and cold storage as well. I never saw the old facilities but I can imagine how this is going to be an upgrade. Hopefully the quality of wine increases as well. Most interesting was a mis-stacked pile of case boxes in the corner of the storage room ... Bill said it contained at least one bottle of every wine that they had ever made. Pretty cool! They are eventually going to constuct a "library" that will allow all the bottles to be displayed. Still hope I will be able to taste all the wines down at the shack instead of going here. They should do it like Justin in Paso Robles, and have a separate tasting room (the shack) for members only.

Wine in Arizona?

2009-08-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

We recently spent a week in Sedona for vacation and spent one of the days at a few different tasting rooms in the area. I must say my expectations were pretty nil going in, but it ended up not being terrible.

The first stop was Caduceus Cellars in Jerome, AZ. The biggest reason we hit this place is that it is owned by Maynard James Keenan of Tool/ A Perfect Circle/ Puscifer fame. This was actually the only Arizona wine I heard of beforehand, more specifically I had only heard of Arizona Stronghold which is his other label. Caduceus is a new label I guess.

2008 Caduceus Cellars "Dos Ladrones" (Chardonnay, Malvasia Bianca)
2007 Caduceus Cellars "Primer Paso" (Syrah, Malviasa Bianca)
2007 Caduceus Cellars "Anubis" (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah)
2006 Merkin Vineyards "Chupacabra" (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Zinfandel.......)
2008 Arizona Stronghold "Dayden Rose" (Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Grenache)

As it turned out most of these wines were either all California fruit or blended CA/AZ fruit. The only 100% AZ wines I tasted were the Dayden Rose and the Dos Ladrones ... I guess you still need CA fruit to make a good AZ wine? I actually liked most of the wines here and purchased bottles the Chupacabra (which I think is a blend of 13 different grapes), the Dayden Rose, and the Anubis. Maynard was in the tasting room with a group of people. Didn't want to bother him, but thought it was cool that he was there. Up next was 3 places in Cornville which were actually located on vineyard land as opposed to just tasting rooms. First up was Javalina Leap.

2007 Javelina Leap Barbera
2007 Javelina Leap Zinfandel
2007 Javelina Leap Zinfandel Reserve
2007 Javelina Leap Petite Sirah

The Barbera was $75. Ridiculous. It was good, but I can't see paying that for an AZ wine. I guess I'm just biased. I believe that all of the other wines were from CA, I know both Zinfandels were from Paso fruit. We didn't buy anything because nothing stood out. I did find it interesting that the only label that had a vintage date on it was the regular Zinfandel. Guess it makes buying labels cheaper? And just next door was Oak Creek Vineyards.

2007 Oak Creek Chardonnay
2006 Oak Creek Zinfandel Reserve
2005 Oak Creek Syrah
2007 Oak Creek Merlot
2006 Oak Creek "Arizona Port Wine"

Don't go here. It was all terrible. Got back on the road to go to our final stop Page Springs Cellars.

2008 Page Springs "Vino de la Familia Blanca" (100% Malvasia Bianca)
2008 Page Springs Chardonnay, Arizona Stronghold Vineyard
2007 Page Springs Syrah, Lakeview Vineyard
2007 Page Springs Mourvedre, Enz Vineyard
2007 Page Springs Petite Sirah, Shell Creek Vineyard

I think all the wines were 100% AZ fruit, and they were all very good. I would definitely put this place #1 on the list, and a pretty good distance above #2 Caduceus. We purchased bottles of the Familia Blanca and the Syrah. That was it for our adventure in AZ wine. It was definitely hit or miss, but when done correctly it was great. I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference between a good AZ and a CA wine. I'd say that's a sign of success right? Or maybe it's just that I really like Rhone varietals ...

Beckmen Futures Tasting

2009-07-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went up to Santa Ynez for the annual Beckmen Futures tasting at their winery. This year it was held in the barrel room at the winery, as opposed to previous years at the vineyard off Ballard Canyon. Think they learned from it being around 95 degrees the last year. The tasting wasn't until 5:30pm so we were able to stop at a few places beforehand. Up first was Foxen to pick up our shipment and taste.

2007 Foxen Chenin Blanc, Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard
2007 Foxen Chardonnay, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Block UU
2008 Foxen Rose of Mourvedre
2006 Foxen Pinot Noir, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Block 8
2007 Foxen Pinot Noir, Julia's Vineyard
2007 Foxen Chenin Blanc "Late Harvest", Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard

Really liked the Bien Nacido Pinot as well as the Chardonnay and the Rose. The Chardonnay was aged in neutral oak and had partial malolactic fermenation, so it was not overwhelmingly oaky or buttery, seemed just right.

After lunch at Patrick's in Los Olivos we ventured into Stolpman to taste their lineup.

2006 Stolpman "L'Avion"
? Stoplman "La Coppa Blanc"
2005 Stolpman Sangiovese, Estate
2006 Stolpman Grenache
2006 Stolpman Syrah, Estate
2006 Stolpman Syrah, "Hilltops"
2006 Stolpman "La Croce"

This will definitely be the next wine club that we join. I think it has officially moved ahead of Tablas Creek, everything is just so damn good. Bought a bottle of the "L'Avion" and a bottle of the Estate Syrah. Really wanted to love the Grenache, but it was just missing something for me. Hard to compete with Beckmen I guess. Our last stop before heading off to Beckmen was D'Alfonso-Curran in Solvang.

2007 Curran Grenache Blanc
2007 Curran Grenache Rose
2007 Di Bruno Pinot Grigio
2006 Badge Chardonnay, Santa Rita Hills, Rancho Santa Rosa
2006 Badge Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2006 Di Bruno Merlot, Grassini Vineyard
2004 Di Bruno Sangiovese, Stolpman Vineyards
2005 Curran Sangiovese
2005 Curran Sangiovese, Bruce Vandale Reserve
2005 Curran Syrah, Black Oak Reserve

All great stuff here as well. The new Badge Pinot was good and will only get better over the next year I am sure. And finally to Beckmen...

2008 Beckmen Grenache, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2008 Beckmen Grenache "Block Eight" Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2007 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2008 Beckmen Syrah, "Clone #1" Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2007 Beckmen Syrah, "Block Six" Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2008 Beckmen "TLB Estate Cuvee"

This marks the end of Beckmen's 3-4 year experiment with Whole Cluster Grenache. While I definitely enjoyed it, I hope to like the Block Eight Grenache even more. I purchased bottles of the Syrah Block Six, Grenache Block Eight, and Syrah Clone #1. I really enjoyed the experience in the barrel room as each pour was taken from the barrel via a wine thief, just made for a better experience (and probably better wine) than the carafe's that were transported the vineyard in years past. Also missed the tractor ride up to the Block Six Syrah with Tom Beckmen.

Santa Barbara Wine Futures

2009-06-07T16:37:00.000-07:00

This past Saturaday we went to the 1st annual (hopefully) Santa Barbara Wine Futures event hosted by The Wine House at the Century Plaza hotel. I had really been looking forward to it since so many wineries were going to be pouring. Since it was so many, I am just going to list what I tasted alphabetically...

2008 Native 9 Pinot Noir, Rancho Ontiveros Vineyard
2007 Ampelos Pinot Noir, "Lambda"
2007 Ampelos Dornfelder, Huber Vineyard
2007 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay, Estate
2007 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir, Knox Alexander Bien Nacido Vineyard
2007 Au Bon Climat Pinor Noir, "Isabelle"
2008 Brander Sauvignon Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2008 Brander Syrah, Clover Creek
2008 Dierberg Chardonnay, "Steel Estate"
2007 Flying Goat Pinot Noir, Dierberg Vineyard
2007 Flying Goat Pinot Noir, Clone 2A, Rio Vista Vineyard
2008 Foxen Chardonnay, "Steel Cut" Bien Nacido Vineyard
2007 Foxen Cabernet Franc, Tinaquaic Vineyard
2006 Foxen Cabernet Sauvignon, Grassini Vineyard
? Hitching Post Valdiguie Rose
2007 Hitching Post Pinot Noir, Cargassacchi Vineyard
2007 Hitching Post Pinot Noir, "Highliner"
2007 Hitching Post Pinot Noir, "Perfect Set"
2008 Jaffurs Grenache Blanc, Thompson Vineyard
2007 Jaffurs Grenache
2007 Jaffurs Syrah, Bien Nacido Vineyard
2007 Jaffurs Syrah, Verna's Vineyard
2007 Jonata "La Poesia de Jonata"
2006 Jonata "Todos Estate"
2006 Jonata "El Desafio Estate"
2007 Kaena Grenache
2007 Kaena Grenache, Larner Vineyard
2008 Kunin Viognier, Stolpman Vineyard
2006 Kunin Syrah, Alisos Vineyard
2007 Longoria Pinot Noir, "Fe Ciega"
2007 Longoria Tempranillo, Clover Creek Vineyard
2007 Margerum Grenache
2008 Melville Chardonnay, "Donna's"
2008 Melville Pinot Noir, Clone 828
2006 Ojai Syrah, Roll Ranch Vineyard
2005 Ojai Syrah, Bien Nacido Vineyard
2005 Ojai Syrah, Presidio Vineyard
2008 Ojai Viognier, Roll Ranch Vineyard
2007 Paige 23 "Tinto Tarantula"
2006 Paige 23 Syrah, Larner Vineyard, Hermitage Clone
2007 Paige 23 Syrah Noir
2005 Palmina Nebbiolo
2006 Palmina Sangiovese, "Undici"
2006 Palmina "Savoia"
2007 Stolpman "L'Avion"
2007 Stolpman Syrah, Estate
2007 Stolpman "La Croce"
2008 Tensley Syrah, Colson Canyon
2008 Tensley Syrah, Tierra Alta
2008 Tercero Grenache Blanc, Camp Four Vineyard
2008 Tercero Gewurtztraminer, "Outlier"
? Tercero Rose
2007 Tercero Grenache, Camp Four Vineyard
2007 Tercero Syrah, Thompson Vineyard
2007 Tercero Syrah, "Cuvee Christie"

Now that is a lot of wine for one day! My palate was essentially gone after about halfway through. Ended up purchasing bottles of the Stolpman "L'Avion", Kaena Grenache Larner, Paige 23 Tinto Tarantula, and the Tercero Cuvee Christie. This was my first experience with a lot of these wines, but the Paige 23 lineup really impressed me. I will have to search them out in the future. Great to taste the Jonata lineup as I probably won't be dropping $100+ on a bottle anytime soon. Good stuff, but I just can't justify that money on one bottle at retail. Unless it's special occasion or something. Really hope they do this again next year, as it was $65 well spent.

Santa Ynez

2009-05-24T09:51:00.001-07:00

A quick trip to Santa Ynez to pick up wine from two of our wine clubs. Up first was Beckmen...

2008 Beckmen Rose, Grenache
2007 Beckmen Syrah, Estate
2006 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Syrah, Block Six

Wasn't really feeling the rose, so I'll have to try it again next time we are up because I usually like it every year. I just tried the syrahs after that and everything was really good. The Block Six is inky black and has some alcohol on it. After that we went to Alma Rosa and tried their line of Pinots.

2006 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir-Vin Gris, El Jabali Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2006 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Clone 667, La Encantada Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Mt. Eden Clone, El Jabali Vineyard

All fantastic. Really like the 2007 La Encantada, and thought this rose was MUCH better than the Beckmen grenache one I had earlier, which is strange for me, but oh well. The Mt. Eden clone was pretty tannic and hopefully mellows out with a couple years of bottle age. I guess for the 2008's they are going to bottle a clone 115, 667, and Mt. Eden (they are not going to bottle the 777 like they did in 2007). Probably my favorite pinots year after year in the area.

Santa Ynez, Spring 09

2009-04-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

A quick trip up to Santa Ynez to pick up some club shipments...

First stop was a new winery for us, Riverbench. It’s on Foxen Canyon a mile or two north of Rancho Sisquoc.

2008 Riverbench Pinot Noir Rose
2007 Riverbench Chardonnay
2006 Riverbench Chardonnay Estate
2006 Riverbench Chardonnay Reserve
2006 Riverbench Pinot Noir Estate
2007 Riverbench Pinot Noir “Mesa”

Overall I thought the plain Chardonnay was only so-so, it’s a stainless only incarnation which I tend to like, but not this one. The Reserve had the most oak and was actually the most appealing to me, but not enough to buy any. I liked the two Pinots and bought a bottle of the estate. I enjoyed the Mesa one but at it’s price of $48 there’s much better Pinot out there. Speak of better Pinot, up next was Foxen.

2007 Foxen Viognier, Vogelzang Vineyard
2007 Foxen Chardonnay, Tinaquaic Vineyard
2007 Foxen Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley
2006 Foxen Pinot Noir, Block 8 Bien Nacido Vineyard
2006 Foxen Zinfandel, Lockshaw Vineyard
2006 Foxen Syrah, Williamson-Dore Vineyard
2007 Foxen Chenin Blanc, Late Harvest, Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard

Really like the 07 Pinot and the 06 Block 8 ... Bought a bottle of the Block 8 to enjoy in a year or so. The Zinfandel turned me off this time for some reason. The Syrah is inky black and drinking pretty well. Really liked the Late Harvest Chenin Blanc and bought a 375. Yummy. Up next was lunch at Grappolo. Terrible service but great food. Then onto D’Alfonso-Curran to pick up our club shipment and taste of course.

2007 Curran Grenache Blanc, Santa Ynez Valley
2007 Curran Grenache Rose, Santa Ynez Valley
2006 Badge Chardonnay, Santa Rita Hills
2005 Badge Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2006 Di Bruno Merlot, Grassini Vineyard
2005 Curran Syrah, Reeve’s Ranch, Los Alamos and Santa Ynez Valley
2005 Curran Syrah, Reeve’s Ranch Reserve, Santa Ynez Valley
2005 Curran Syrah, Black Oak Reserve, Santa Barbara County
2004 Curran Sangiovese, Santa Ynez Valley

All great wines. Got news that they are going to be release vineyard designate Pinot Noirs for the 06’s in the coming months. Really excited for that. The Merlot apparently was named by the Wall Street Journal recently as the best Merlot in CA. Pretty good remarks, also a pretty good wine. Don’t know if it’s some sort of bias, but I lean towards Bruno’s winemaking style with these wines over Kris’.

Valentines Weekend, Day #3, Santa Ynez (revisited)

2009-02-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

The weekend was coming to an end, and we were on our way back down to Santa Ynez to pick up club shipments from Beckmen and Sunstone. We stopped at Sunstone first.

2005 Sunstone Chardonnay, Central Coast
2006 Sunstone Pinot Noir, "Founder's Reserve"
2005 Sunstone Merlot, Estate
2003 Sunstone "Fred's INXS"
2003 Sunstone "Eros"
2004 Sunstone "Eros"
2005 Sunstone "Eros"
2006 Sunstone "Eros"
2004 Sunstone Cabernet Franc, Estate
2003 Sunstone "Milestone"

First of all, this was our last club shipment we would be picking up. Since we added D'Alfonso-Curran to our list, we needed to drop one and Sunstone was it. The Pinot was $80, are you kidding?! I could EASILY get a much better wine for half of that. I've always liked their merlot and the INXS is a good house wine, I think it's $10 a bottle or so. The Eros is always great and we always look forward to it, loved being able to taste the past 4 years of it. The Milestone was terrible, don't know if it was a bad bottle or what. It's merlot from their original merlot vines planted 17 years ago when the moved to Santa Ynez. Either those vines need some serious help or it was a bad bottle. Funny how the lady pouring the wine had never heard of it either. Maybe it wasn't meant for us. And now to Beckmen...

2007 Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Marsanne, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2007 Beckmen Grenache Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate
2006 Beckmen Grenache, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2007 Beckmen Syrah, Estate
2006 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen "Purisima"
2006 Beckmen Syrah, Block Six, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2001 Beckmen Grenache, Late Harvest
NV Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc, Late Harvest

I'm sure I am biased about these wines, but I loved them all. Favorites were the Marsanne, the Block Six Syrah, and both late harvest wines. Got a lot of coffee on the nose of the Estate Syrah.

We then tried to make our 2nd stop in 3 days at D'Alfonso-Curran, but they were closed. Bah. Thus the weekend ended, with only a measly 106 wines tasted.

Valentines Weekend, Day #2, Paso Robles

2009-02-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

The main reason we were in Paso Robles was to take part in the Far Out Wineries Passport weekend. There were 16 wineries taking part in it, and for the $20 for the passport it allowed you free tasting at all the wineries as well as specials (library wines/food/discounts/etc). A fantastic deal that we could not pass up. I also wanted to check out Linne Calodo which I heard great things about, so that was our first stop.

2007 Linne Calodo "Pale Flowers"
2006 Linne Calodo "Outsider"
2006 Linne Calodo "Cherry Red"
2006 Linne Calodo "Slacker"
2006 Linne Calodo "Rising Tides"
2006 Linne Calodo "Nemesis"

Finding the place was a bit of a challenge. It was under some major construction and the only sign was "tasting room open during construction" ... But no indication where the tasting room was. We eventually found it and everything was very good, although a bit pricy. $45-65 each, except the rose (Pale Flowers) which was only $20. All were Rhone varietal blends with Zinfandel thrown into a few, it being Paso and all. It was a toss up for me between the Outsider and the Slacker, but ended up getting a bottle of Outsider (Zin/Syrah/Mourvedre).

And now it was onto the Passport wineries, up first was Opolo.

2006 Opolo Viognier
2005 Opolo Sangiovese
2005 Opolo Merlot
2004 Opolo "Rhapsodie"
2005 Opolo Cabernet Franc-Merlot
2006 Opolo "Mountain Zinfandel"
2007 Opolo Zinfandel, Late Harvest

Everything was just ok, well actually not everything ... The Merlot was just bad. I liked the Cabernet Franc-Merlot, but not enough to buy any. We did make sure to grab some of the bbq sausages they were cooking on our way out though. Up next was Norman Vineyards.

2007 Norman Pinot Grigio
2007 Norman Chardonnay, Reserve
2006 Norman Viognier
2006 Norman Tempranillo
2005 Norman "Buzzard Tree Meritage"
2005 Norman Petite Sirah
2006 Norman Zinfandel "The Monster"
2003 Norman Syrah
2003 Norman "Reflection Bin 4"
2005 Norman Zinfandel Port

The only thing that was good was the Reserve Chardonnay, it was all stainless and very fruity, got a lot of lemon on the palate. Everything else was bad, the décor, the employees, everything. The lady pouring was talking about how she preferred the 2003 Syrah of the two syrahs. I didn't have the heart to tell her that Petite Sirah is not a Syrah. Oh well, onto the next ... Halter Ranch

2007 Halter Ranch Viognier
2006 Halter Ranch "Ranch Red"
2005 Halter Ranch Merlot
2005 Halter Ranch Cabernet Franc
2005 Halter Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon
2004 Halter Ranch "Ancestor"

Everything was pretty good here, I liked their low end wine the "Ranch Red" and would've bought a bottle or two at the $18 but I decided to save my money. Also walked around the house on the property built in the 1850's that had been restored. Nice, but whatever. Onto the next winery which was one I actually wanted to get to ... Tablas Creek Vineyard.

2007 Tablas Creek "Cotes de Tables Blanc"
2007 Tablas Creek "Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc"
2001 Tablas Creek "Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc"
2006 Tablas Creek "Cotes de Tablas"
2006 Tablas Creek "Esprit de Beaucastel"
2004 Tablas Creek "Esprit de Beaucastel"
2003 Tablas Creek "Esprit de Beaucastel"

Everything was great, although I wish they were pouring some of their single varietal stuff. I thought about asking if we could go in the proper tasting room to see if they were pouring any, but we had more wineries to get to. I really liked the 03 and 04 Esprit de Beaucastel and bought a bottle of the 2004. Up next was Le Cuvier.

2004 Le Cuvier Chardonnay
2005 Le Cuvier "L'Enfant du Pape"
2005 Le Cuvier Cabernet Franc
2005 Le Cuvier Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Le Cuvier Zinfandel
2005 Le Cuvier Syrah
NV Le Cuvier "Pentimento"

All great stuff, really liked the Cab Franc and the "L'Enfant du Pape" ... The Chardonnay was also really interesting, deep gold color from fermenting on the skins. We ended up not buying anything, but were really impressed with the wine. Up next was Justin

2007 Justin Chardonnay Reserve
2006 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 Justin Syrah
2006 Justin "Isosceles"
2007 Justin "Obtuse"
2007 Justin "Deborah's Delight"

Really liked the Isosceles, I like it every year, but this one seemed to be REALLY good. Would've bought some bottles but they list it at $62, and I can get it at retail for around $55. Up next was Whalebone Vineyard.

2006 Whalebone Zinfandel
2006 Whalebone Syrah
2005 Whalebone Syrah
2006 Whalebone "Bob Wine"
2005 Whalebone "Bob Wine"
2006 Whalebone Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Whalebone Cabernet Sauvignon
2004 Whalebone Cabernet Sauvignon

First off, have to say that the people running this place are great. A small, family operation. Also the tri-tip sandwiches were phenomenal. Barely seasoned meat, on garlic bread, with a few drops of their balsamic reduction. Fantastic. But on to the wines, all were good. I liked the 2005 Bob wine, a blend of Cab/Syrah/Zin. Being cheap bastards, we ended up not buying anything, but everything was reasonably priced and very good.

That ended our Paso Robles extravaganza. We ended up stopping for dinner at an Italian place in Pismo Beach, Rosa's. It was terrible, seriously terrible. Never go there.

Valentines Weekend, Day #1, Santa Ynez

2009-02-16T21:57:00.001-08:00

To celebrate Valentine's weekend and to take advantage of the extra day off, we headed up to Santa Ynez and Paso Robles. The plan was to hit Santa Ynez wineries on Saturday, spend the night in Santa Maria, then hit Paso Robles for the Far Out Wineries Passport weekend on Sunday, the hit a few more in Santa Ynez on the way back to LA on Monday. In other words, the perfect weekend.

Started out at Alma Rosa Winery in the Santa Rita Hills. We are members of their club and I love their Pinots.

2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Gris, Santa Barbara County
2006 Alma Rosa Pinot Blanc, Santa Barbara County
2006 Alma Rosa Chardonnay, El Jabali Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2006 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Mount Eden Clone, El Jabali Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Clone 667, La Encantada Vineyard
2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Clone 777, La Encantada Vineyard

My favorites were the 2007 Santa Rita Hills Pinot and the Clone 667. Picked up a couple bottles each of the three clones as our club shipment. Really looking forward to trying them over the next couple years.

Up next was D'Alfonso Curran at their tasting room in Solvang.

2007 Curran Grenache Rose, Santa Ynez Valley
2005 Badge Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2005 Curran Sangiovese, Santa Ynez Valley
2004 Di Bruno Sangiovese, Stolpman Vineyard
2006 Di Bruno Merlot, Grassini Vineyard
2005 Curran Syrah, Reeves Ranch, Santa Barbara County
2005 Curran Tempranillo, Santa Ynez Valley
2005 Curran Sangiovese, Bruce Vandale Reserve
2005 Curran Syrah, Reeves Ranch Reserve

All fantastic wines from two of the areas best winemakers. We ended up joining their club and picking up bottles of the Grenache Rose, Badge Pinot, and Curran Sangiovese Bruce Vandale Reserve. I would've gotten a bottle of Bruno's Merlot, but it will be in an upcoming club shipment.

We then decided to try and hit up Stolpman before we got on the road to Santa Maria. We soon discovered that they moved from their location in Solvang to a little red house in Los Olivos, just a block or so off the main Grand Ave.

2006 Stolpman "L'Avion"
2005 Stolpman "Angeli Blanc"
2005 Stolpman Syrah "La Coppa"
2005 Stolpman Sangiovese
2005 Stolpman Sangiovese "La Coppa"
2006 Stolpman "La Cuadrilla"
2006 Stolpman Syrah, Estate
2006 Stolpman Syrah "Hilltops"
2006 Stolpman "La Croce"
2005 Stolpman Malbec

This winery constantly amazes me. Everything is just fantastic. The "La Coppa" line of wines replaces their "Poetry In Red" and "Poetry In White" labels that someone else claimed they had the rights to. The "La Cuadrilla" is a Merlot that their vineyard crew makes all the farming decisions and then are helped through the winemaking process. I also believe all profits are then distributed amongst the crew. Great idea. Their Syrahs are wonderful, and I was surprised by the "La Croce" a blend of Syrah and Sangiovese. It was very good, but needs some time for the tannins to mellow.

We then got back in the car and headed up north. We stopped for dinner at Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos for a wonderful dinner and then finished the drive to Santa Maria to the hotel. Enjoyed a bottle of 2005 Melville Syrah, Vernas Vineyard with our sausage & mushroom pizza. The next day would begin early with the hour drive up to Paso Robles.

Barrel 27

2009-01-24T07:39:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to How's Market after I got off work to go to their Friday night tasting. Lucky for me they were having a special tasting of Barrel 27 wines, with a couple of Russel's Herman Story thrown in the mix.

2005 Barrel 27 Rose
2007 Barrel 27 "High On The Hog"
2006 Herman Story Grenache, Santa Barbara County
2005 Barrel 27 Syrah, Central Coast
2005 Barrel 27 Syrah, "Head Honcho"
2006 Herman Story "Nuts & Bolts"
? Groth Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville

I liked the "High On The Hog," it was a viognier/marsanne/rousanne blend. Good stuff. I bought a bottle of the rose even though our taste of it wasn't that great. I think the bottle had been open for a while (maybe a week or so), but it tasted like it would be good under proper conditions. We'll pop it open this coming Spring/Summer. Really liked the "Head Honcho" and the "Nuts and Bolts," but the $35 price tag was a little steep for the moment. Also bought a bottle of the Central Coast Syrah, for $15 you can't go wrong. Overall it seems like you can't go wrong with these guys (Barrel 27, McPrice Meyers, or Herman Story), all fantastic Rhone producers. And Mac and Russell are great guys as well. Next time we're up in Paso going to have to stop by Mac's new place, he just moved in to the old Garretson place.

It was weird to follow up the Rhones with the Napa Cab. It was good, just so different from the prior stuff. I think it was the 2004, but I couldn't confirm that.

Le Nez Du Vin

2009-01-14T12:08:00.000-08:00

I got a tip the other day that Williams-Sonoma was having a big sale on their La Nez Du Vin wine aroma kits, so I picked up the master kit of 54 aromas for a measly $99 yesterday. Measly because this sells for a regular price of $399. This is something I've always looked at and wanted, but there is no way I would ever shell out $400 for it ... $100 is much more doable.

I only had a few minutes last night to play around with some of the different aromas. Some of them were obvious (licorice, chocolate) and some were much more difficult. Interestingly, once you were aware of what the aroma was, it smelled much more like it. So I guess the idea is to train your sense of smell to identify the aromas and then you'll be able to pick them up in wine. Will definitely be fun to do some wine tasting with this at our disposal.

For what it's worth, the packaging/presentation of the kit is beautiful. Probably why it is supposed to cost $400.

providence

2009-01-13T18:02:00.000-08:00

Last night I finally was able to go to Providence and experience the chef's tasting menu in all it's glory. I had been waiting for the right time, and this was it. I do not have a menu to recount exactly what we ate and drank, but it was definitely fantastic. I will say that I expected it to be the penultimate LA dining experience and it wasn't. I don't think it came close to the full experience that our night at Bastide offered.

The bright spots were the amuse bouche of mojito, greyhound, and gin and tonic raviolos. Crazy, just crazy. And delicious. The lamb course was great, as was the lobster & sweetbreads dish. I cannot remember the preparation on either, but it was fantastic. The cheese cart was good, although the one at Patina is better. And can't say I've ever thought of having celery sorbet before...

I can't remember the other dishes, but I know there was an uni w/ cauliflower mousse, pork belly, kanpachi?? Wish I asked for them to write everything down for me...

The wine pairings were all great. A lot of whites because of the amount of fish that was served, but all very good. Nothing really blew me away though.

All in all, a wonderful, wonderful night. My expectations were just a tad higher. I wanted the ultra-formal experience and it was bit more casual. The service was great and there was just a moment or two at the beginning when wine was coming out too early or too much time between courses. But it was worth the $$, about $630 total for the two of us I think. Next time I go big, I'll pick another restaurant, but I will definitely be back here for a simple a la carte dinner off the regular menu. Cannot go wrong.

Santa Ynez. Solo.

2009-01-03T09:42:00.000-08:00

So while Lauren was away in SB for a bachelorette party, I decided to go up to Santa Ynez to pick our club shipments and taste a little wine. Rough life. I know.

Up first was Foxen ...
2006 Foxen Viognier, Vogelzang Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley (Happy Canyon)
2007 Foxen Chardonnay, Tinaquaic Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley
2007 Foxen Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley 2006 Foxen Cuvée Jeanne Marie, Williamson Doré Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley
2005 Foxen Range 30 West, Santa Ynez Valley (Happy Canyon)
2006 Foxen Syrah, Toasted Rope, Santa Ynez Valley
2006 Foxen Mission Accomplished, Rancho Tepusquet Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley

The Toasted Rope syrah is 15% Viognier and it was really 'bright' ... will probably come down a bit as the wine integrates with a little more bottle age. Really liked the Range 30 West.

Up next was Beckmen...

2007 Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Marsanne, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Grenache, Estate
2006 Beckmen Grenache, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2007 Beckmen Grenache, Whole Cluster, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate
2007 Beckmen Syrah, Estate
2006 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen "Purisima"

Standout for me was the Estate Grenache ... just drinking wonderfully. I had two pours of it, one from a bottle that had been open for about 2 hours, and one from a newly opened bottle. Definitely recommend opening this one 2 hours before ... so much better. The Whole Cluster Grenache was from a newly opened bottle as well and could've definitely used some time in a decanter. The Estate Syrah was rich with chocolate flavors. Little tidbit ... Beckmen apparently got their Grenache Blanc from an albino Grenache Noir vine ... they cloned it and planted an entire block of it. Interesting.

And finally to Sunstone...

2000 Sunstone "Sunterra"
2005 Sunstone "Rhapsodie du Soleil"
2006 Sunstone Cabernet Franc
2005 Sunstone "Eros"
2005 Sunstone Syrah, Reserve
2003 Sunstone "Eros"

I skipped the whites and the port they were pouring because the place was a madhouse and I just wanted to go quickly. Actually was trying to get through it so quickly that I don't quite remember much about the wine! Oops.

Napa

2008-12-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

We made the quick drive to Napa from Alamo yesterday to check out everything that Napa had to offer. It was our first foray into Napa wine country.

Our first stop was Domaine Chandon in Yountville.

2005 Domaine Chandon Pinot Noir, Carneros
2006 Domaine Chandon Pinot Meunier, Carneros
NV Domaine Chandon Brut Classic
NV Domaine Chandon Blanc de Noirs
NV Domaine Chandon Rosé
NV Domaine Chandon Extra-Dry Riche
NV Domaine Chandon Reserve Pinot Noir Brut

All were fine, nothing special. The grounds of the winery were beautiful though.

Next we made a quick loop in the driveway to see the Robert Mondavi winery but then went to his winery partnership with Chateau Mouton (Baron Philippe de Rothchild), Opus One. They were only pouring their 2005 Opus One Cabernet Sauvignon. It was $30 for the tasting which they called a glass of wine, although it must've been 3 oz. Good stuff, but I don't think it would be the bottle I'd buy if I was going to spend $190 on one bottle of wine.

Next was Grgich Hills Estate

2006 Grgich Chardonnay, Napa Valley
2007 Grgich Fumé Blanc, Napa Valley
2006 Grgich Zinfandel, Napa Valley
2005 Grgich Merlot, Napa Valley
2004 Grgich Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2005 Grgich Chardonnay, Carneros Selection
2000 Grgich Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville Selection
2004 Grgich Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville Selection

The last three wines were from their library. The wines that stood out were the Merlot and the 2004 Cab. Both great. Too bad the library Cabs were over $100 each. Ouch.

Then to Cakebread Cellars for a little tour & tasting.

2007 Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc
2007 Cakebread Chardonnay, Napa Valley
2006 Cakebread Chardonnay Reserve, Carneros
2006 Cakebread Rubaiyat
2005 Cakebread Zinfandel, Red Hills Lake County
2005 Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

The brief tour was good and our guide was great, very knowledgeable. The wine that stood out the most was the Reserve Chardonnay. A definite step up from the regular bottling. After this we stopped at the Oakville Grocery for lunch. Had great sandwiches.

As we were crossing over to the Silverado Trail we pass Silver Oak and decided to stop in for a taste.

2004 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
2003 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Both had a little too much oak for me, but I am sure with a little time (5 years?) the oak would calm down a little and the wine would be much more approachable. The tasting room had only been open for the past couple weeks, so I don't know where the tastings were before.

Saddleback Winery was right across the street from Silver Oak, and since it was the name of the street Lauren grew up we stopped in.

2007 Saddleback Pinot Grigio, Oakville
2007 Saddleback Pinot Blanc, Oakville
2007 Saddleback Viognier, Clarksburg
2006 Saddleback Chardonnay, Napa Valley
2004 Saddleback Merlot, Napa Valley
? Saddleback Syrah
2004 Saddleback Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

The Syrah he poured was not on our list and I missed the info, but it was pretty tasty. We bought a bottle of the Merlot for Lauren's mom.

And for the last winery of the trip we stopped into Clos du Val right before closing time.

2006 Clos du Val Chardonnay, Carneros
2006 Clos du Val Chardonnay Reserve, Carneros
2006 Clos du Val Pinot Noir, Carneros
2005 Clos du Val Pinot Noir Reserve, Carneros
2005 Clos du Val Merlot, Napa Valley
2005 Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1996 Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Napa Valley
1998 Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2004 Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Napa Valley

Some great wines here, although the only thing I would've bought was their regular Cab bottling which I can buy anywhere. And for a few dollars less than the $35 they were asking for at the winery. They poured the Merlot from bottle and also from a decanter to show the difference. I felt that the tannins and the fruit switched places on the palate. From the bottle the tannins were up front and overwhelmed the fruit a bit, but from the decanter the fruit was in the front w/ the tannins more of a second thought, how they should be.

To end the trip right we went to Thomas Keller's restaurant Ad Hoc for dinner. A prix fixe 4 course meal that changes every day. Great deal and great food. We had an endive and arugula salad with soppresatta, a skirt steak, a windemere cheese, and a citrus pound cake. We enjoyed a bottle of 2005 Copain Syrah L'Hiver throughout, for $47 at a restaurant I could not complain. Although I would've appreciated real stemware, which they do not have.

All in all, a fabulous trip to Napa. It had been at least 10 years since I had been and it was all new to me.

The Association/ Coles

2008-12-14T20:12:00.000-08:00

Went downtown last night to check out a new bar, The Association. It's on 6th and Main, part of the ever-growing downtown nightlife. If I didn't really like having a backyard, I could probably live the urban life downtown. The Association was really cool ... a lounge with a touch of Vegas, downtown Vegas. All turn-of-the-century style cocktails on the menu. Some really strange ones, although all pretty solid. Had a couple beers and then a "Derby" bourbon drink.

It is right next door to the newly re-opened Cole's, so we decided to head over for a French Dip before heading home. They claim to be the originators of the French Dip so it has to be good, right? Good was about all it was. Small, not much meat. The bun actually looked like they picked it up in the bread aisle at Ralphs. The sides of cole slaw and bacon potato salad were better than the sandwich. One shining star was the horseradish sauce for the sandwich. Mmmm, hot.

L'Aventure Optimus

2008-12-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

We were in Bakersfield last night and we went to Cafe Med, one of the nicest restaurants in town. We didn't really eat, but split a tomato, basil, mozzarella salad. Bad sign right away that they don't call it a Caprese salad, but that says more about the town than the restaurant. Tomatoes were not fresh, mozzarella was way too wet and flavorless, and there were more greens on the plate than basil. But oh well, we originally just went for wine, and we did enjoy that.

Got a bottle of 2005 L'Aventure Optimus. It is a blend of Syrah/Cab w/ a little Petit Verdot. I've wanted to go the winery and I've heard great things about them. Seen it in stores for around $45-50, but have resisted the urge thus far. But I couldn't pass it up on their wine list for $66. The wine was good, lots of fruit, a little heat in the glass but that went away after it got some air. Probably could've benefited from some decanting but I was too lazy to ask. Maybe I'll pick up a bottle next time I see it at retail :)

2008-11-26T16:27:00.000-08:00

it has been more than a year, it's been eternity.

Went to a Saturday tasting at Vendome in Toluca Lake this past Saturday for Grenache & Syrah, probably my two favorite varietals.

2007 Andrieux Jules Cotes Du Rhone Villages - good, a little green, stemmy
2005 Tres Picos Garnacha - big, smokey, surprisingly young
2004 Domaine Les Pallieres Gigondas - not what I wanted/expected out of a CdP junior
2005 Austin Hope Grenache - delicious
2006 Alto Moncayo Garnacha Veraton - highly regarded producer, good juice, not too special though

2006 Justin Syrah, Paso Robles - young
2005 McPrice Myers Syrah, Larner Vineyard - young & tight
2003 Clos Saron Sacre Bleu, Sierra Foothills - polarizing producer, ok. Didn't like it as much as others at the tasting
2006 Carica Syrah, Kick Ranch, Sonoma - great stuff
2003 Henry's Drive Shiraz - good, but not great

2001 6 Vinyes Del Laurona, Montsant Spain - long finish, strawberry
2005 De Lisio Grenache, McLaren Vale - meh, boring
2006 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape - very young, tannic

Best of them were the Austin Hope and Carica. hey had some other stuff open so we continued the evening...

2006 Domaine Ostertag Riesling, Muenchberg Alsace - best dry riesling I've ever had
2003 Domaine D'Orfeuilles Vouvray, "Tries de Novembre", Loire - wonderful. Sauterne-like.
2003 Tedechi Recioto Della Valpolicella "Capitel Monte Fontana" - sweet, but not port-like. no brandy. not raisiny. Good, but I'd rather have port :)
1998 Joseph's Icewine Vidal, Niagara Penninsula VQA - honey, delicious

So glad we tried these wines. The Ostertag was phenomenal, worthy of it's $70 pricetag. And the Vouvray was great as well.

Bastide

2007-09-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

It doesn't get much better than this. Last night we went to the newly re-opened Bastide for dinner. We both had the 7 course menu w/ the wine pairings, for the bargain price of $200 per. But it was worth it, everything was perfect.

We started w/ a glass of champagne, a N.V. Bruno Paillard Champagne, Premiere Cuvee. Loads of bright fruit flavors w/ that ever so good nutty finish. We had this with the first of the "Amuses," bread/cheese/candied peanuts and a delicious "deconstruction of a lobster taco," a tortilla strip w/ a shot of clear salsa, followed by a spoon of lobster meat, followed w/ a small shot of tequila w/ lime sorbet. Delicious. The last of the "Amuses" was yellowtail tuna served three ways, plain w/ salt, tartare, and sushi. We had a sake w/ the yellowtail, a Miyao Shuzo Junmai Ginjo, "Shimeharutsuru" ... I had definitely not ever had a sake that of this quality before, but it was still sake to me and I'd prefer a grape based wine :)

The second course was a Thai coconut soup w/ prawns, served out of a French Press. Fantastic soup, not spicy but it definitely had some heat to it. Absolutely decadent, I wish I could make soup like this. The wine was a 2005 Domdechant-Werner Hochheimer Holle Riesling "Kabinett". Again, delicious.

Next was Abalone slices w/ a cream sauce and a 2006 Pra Soave Classico, "Monte Grande." I had never had a Soave before and it was not like expected, very flowery and almost bitter. Nothing like the Riesling we had before

Finally to the reds, a 2002 J. Hofstatter "Blauburgunder" Riserva (from Magnum). A Pinot Noir/ Burgundy style from Italy. Lots of oak and tannic structure ... it took a little air to open up. This was paired w/ the sauteed white Sea Bass. Goes against the typical white w/ fish rule, but it paired wonderfully w/ the fish.

The next wine was a 2003 Martinenga Barbaresco. A beautiful Nebbiolo. Could easily be the wine of the night. It was served w/ the short rib. Wonderfully tender meat w/ a dab of bernaise on top and a mushroom ragout. Absolutely delicious.

And to the cheese course: a raw goats milk cheese, a triple cream, a gouda, and a Roquefort. All very good cheeses. These were paired w/ a 1999 Domaine Berthet-Bondet Chateau Chalon. Again a wine I had never had, the style is called Chateau Chalon, and it is almost Sherry-like, except it's not fortified. It is aged in barrel for six years and is not topped off. Almost 40% is lost via evaporation and a mold is formed on the surface of the wine in the barrel. When it is bottled, the take the wine off the bottom and leave the mold. It wasn't really my cup of tea. But suprisingly as I left the half full glass on the table for the rest of meal, when I went back to after about 30-45 minutes it had mellowed greatly. Not to the point of being a spectacular wine, but it had definitely gotten better.

The first of the desserts was a honeydew melon and watermelon cocktail. A watermelon "martini" w/ a honeydew sorbet floating in it. Very refreshing. The wine we had with this was a yellow muscat, a 2006 Galileus Moscato Giallo, Tilia. Tasted just like an 'orange muscat' ... I'll have to look into seeing if there is a difference between yellow and orange. The 2nd dessert was a creme brulee w/strawberry coulis paired with a 2002 Familie Schreiner Sonnenmulde Trockenbeerenauslese, Samling. The TBA was fantastic, super sweet as the name implies :) And the creme brulee was perfect.

After dinner we made friends w/ the sommelier (Pieter Verheyde) and his assistant and went into the wine cellar and drank some more. We had a 1999 Gevrey-Chambertin out of magnum but I did not catch the producer, it was a delicious Burgundy though :) We also sat in the kitchen for a while and chatted w/ the chef, Walter Manzke.

All in all, a FABULOUS dinner. It was $500 for a five plus hour experience. Would love to be able to afford to do it more often!

Monte Antico Toscana

2007-09-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

Another bottle we got for our housewarming party. We had the 2000 Monte Antico Toscana IGT with a mushroom chicken dinner. Pretty good stuff, I have no idea the price point on it, but would imagine it to be around the $10 mark. No flavors stuck out specifically to me, but it was balanced enough to probably go w/ any food.

In other news I just bought a bottle of 2005 Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape from K&L for $55. Can't wait to try this stuff in 10 years or so!

Prosperity Wines

2007-09-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

Last night we had filet mignon and baked potatoes with a bottle that we had gotten at our housewarming party. A N.V. Prosperity Wines Cabernet Sauvignon "Prosperity Red". As far as I know this is a inexpensive bottle, probably right around or under $10. It definitely wasn't a bad wine at all. Tasted like a grocery store wine though, just not much going on with at all (good or bad).

After we finished that I felt like one more glass of something so we opened a bottle of 2006 Michele Chiarlo Moscato d'Asti "Nivole". Love this stuff. Not super sweet, but great fruit flavors (orange, citrus) that are accentuated by the bubbles.

For the record the food was delicious :)

Priorat & Pizza

2007-08-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to Colorado Wine Company for their "No Corkage" Wednesday. You simply buy a bottle off their shelf and they'll open it for you to drink there. Great idea. We picked a bottle of 2005 Vinícola del Priorat Priorat Ònix Clássic with their recommendation to go with our pizza we were picking up from Casa Bianca.

A blend of 50% Grenache and 50% Carignane. It was a great wine with very nice structure and red fruit. Can't argue with the price of $13 either.

The Prisoner

2007-08-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a bottle of 2005 Orin Swift "The Prisoner" ... it was very good and had gotten a decent amount of press from the usual sources. It was obviously a zinfandel blend with a decent amount of dark fruits on the nose and palate (plum, blackberry). The finish was a little short. I think it will hold its structure for another year or two though. It cost me around $30 for the bottle, I think there are better deals out there that are more my style.

Alma Rosa & Lafond

2007-08-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

After sitting by the pool and enjoying a bottle of the Koehler Riesling that we picked up yesterday we went to Alma Rosa on our way back to LA. They are finally back in the place on Santa Rosa Road and it was good to be back. The place seemed a little cleaner than it used to be, but I'm sure that'll change! We were poured:

2005 Alma Rosa Pinot Gris, Santa Barbara County
2005 Alma Rosa Pinot Blanc, Santa Rita Hills
2005 Alma Rosa Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County
2005 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2005 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard

So good. Everything. Lucky for me I was able to join this wine club. Two bottle of each of their Pinots when they are released each year. Figured since I'm going to be buying them anyway I might as well get a discount! While we were there the guy recommended going to Lafond just down the street before we headed off to LA, so we did just that. We tasted:

2005 Lafond Chardonnay, "SRH"
2005 Lafond Chardonnay, "Lafond Vineyard"
2005 Lafond Pinot Noir, "SRH"
2005 Lafond Pinot Noir, "Lafond Vineyard, Clone 113"
2005 Lafond Pinot Noir, "Lafond Vineyard, Clone 777"
2005 Lafond Syrah, "SRH"

Everything was good. The Pinot Clone 113 was just opened and not showing to well, it came around a little with a good deal of swirling ... would be much better with more time. We bought a bottle of the SRH Syrah cause it was hard to beat for $18.

Beckmen party (plus Foxen and Koehler)

2007-08-13T16:32:00.000-07:00

On August 11th Beckmen had their annual Wine Club party. The poured a selection of wines, both current releases and a few library wines. Here's what we had:

Current Releases:
2006 Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc, Estate
2005 Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Grenache Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen "Le Bec Blanc"
2006 Beckmen Grenache Rose, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen "Cuvee Le Bec"
2005 Beckmen Grenache, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2004 Beckmen Syrah, Estate
2005 Beckmen Syrah, Estate
2005 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Syrah, "Barrel Select"
2005 Beckmen Syrah, "Block Six"
2005 Big Hands Syrah
2005 Beckmen Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate

Library wines:
2000 Beckmen Syrah, Estate
1999 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2001 Beckmen Grenache, Purisima Mountain Vineyard

Wow! A lot of wine. We were there for about four hours and managed to try everything. I was really surprised with the Grenache Blanc and we bought a couple bottles. Also bought a bottle of the 2005 Beckmen "Atelier" ... a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot if I remember correctly. I've never had it, but this is the last year they're going to make since they've torn out their Cab Franc grapes.

After Beckmen we went to Foxen, it had been a while since we had been there and I've really liked everything they've had in the past. Here's the best that I remember of what we had:

2004 Foxen Chenin Blanc
2006 Foxen Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley
2004 Foxen "Cuvee Jean Marie"
2004 Foxen Cabernet Franc, "Tinaquaic Vineyard"

Loved everything ... only bought a bottle of the Cabernet Franc though. I've been on the waiting list for this wine club for over a year and can't wait to get on it. Although I'm not sure we'll be able to afford more wine! After Foxen we zipped down Foxen Canyon Road to make it to Koehler before they closed. We tasted:

2005 Koehler Sauvignon Blanc
2006 Koehler Riesling
2005 Koehler Grenache
2005 Koehler Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County
2005 Koehler Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2005 Koehler Syrah

Everything was good ... we love the Riesling and bought a few bottle of that. We had one at the pool the next day and it was fantastic. We went to dinner at The Vineyard House in Santa Ynez and had a bottle of 2005 Qupe Syrah, Central Coast with our meals. Good stuff, especially for the restaurant price of only $25.

Pizzeria Mozza

2007-08-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

Holy cow ... it's been a while since I posted. It's not that I haven't been drinking any good wine, just been really busy :)

We went to Pizzeria Mozza for the first time this past Saturday for dinner. Overall a fantastic experience and worth every penny. Here's the way it went down ...

We each had a glass of N.V. Prosecco di Valdobiaddene, Ruggeri (Veneto, Italy) with our appetizers of ...
- Fried squash blossoms with ricotta
- Artichokes al forno

For dinner we had a bottle of 2003 Rosso di Montalcino Sangiovese, Fattoi (Tuscany, Italy) along with our pizzas ...
- Fennel sausage, panna & spring onion
- Funghi misti, fontina, taleggio & thyme

And finished it off w/ a dessert of 3 gelatos, hazelnut/chocolate, espresso, and caramel.

It was fabulous ... the food, the service, the wine. Couldn't have improved on it at all. Hope we get to go back soon ... maybe for lunch at the bar or something .... fingers crossed :)

Mollydooker

2007-07-11T08:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a winery that I have only heard praise for over the past 6 months or so. Their 2005 Carnival of Love bottling got 99 points from Robert Parker and their less expensive bottlings seemed to have all scored in the low to mid 90's. Needless to say after Robert Parker's scores came out it was impossible to find any of the wines at a reasonable price, but the 2006 vintage was just released and I bought a couple bottles for $20 each; the 2006 "The Boxer" and the 2006 "Two Left Feet" ... the Boxer is 100% shiraz, while Two Left Feet is a blend of shiraz, merlot, and cab.

The other night we opened the bottle of "The Boxer" ... prepared to be amazed by the wine. It was big (high alcohol and tons of fruit), but the balance that I look for just wasn't there. It was over the top just for the sake of being over the top. I hoped that it would come into its own w/ a little time in a decanter, but it didn't. I hoped it would improve on the 2nd day, or the 3rd, but it didn't.

There are still plenty of people praising these bottlings for the 2006 vintage, but maybe it's not just my style of wine. I'm still looking forward to the "Two Left Feet" and I hope that by blending the varietals they were able to achieve more balance out of the wine. Although I must say I'm not going to be tracking down any more bottles of "The Boxer" till next year ...

Hug Cellars

2007-07-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday afternoon we ventured up to Wade's Wines in Agoura Hills for a tasting of Hug Cellars wines. Both the winemaker/owner Augie Hug, and the assistant winemaker were there pouring.

2005 Hug Cellars Pinot Noir, Central Coast ($24.99)
2005 Hug Cellars Pinot Noir, Cedar Lane Vineyard, Arroyo Seco ($29.99)
2005 Hug Cellars Pinot Noir, Orchid Hill Vineyard, Paso Robles ($29.99)
2004 Hug Cellars Syrah, Central Coast (Sale $19.99 Was $27.00)
2000 Hug Cellars Sryah, Bassetti Vineyards, San Luis Obispo ($39.99)
2003 Hug Cellars Syrah, Bassetti Vineyards, San Luis Obispo ($39.99)
2005 Hug Cellars Syrah, Bassetti Vineyards - Rena Block, San Luis Obispo ($44.99)
2005 Hug Cellars Zinfandel, Paso Robles ($29.99)
1998 Hug Cellars Sauvignon Blanc-Semillion, Botrytised, "Encantada" (375ml) (Sale $14.99 Was $25.00)

Quite a line up. I was eager to try these wines because when we went to the tasting room in Paso Robles they were only pouring the Syrahs and we only had previously tasting two of the above wines. I was not too impressed w/ the Pinot lineup, not that they were bad or anything, just weren't too memorable. The Syrahs were really good, favorite would be the 05 Bassetti-Rena Block Syrah followed by the 04 Central Coast Syrah.

Melville Chardonnay "Inox"

2007-07-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night we opened a bottle of 2006 Melville Chardonnay, "Inox" to go along w/ our chicken tacos. The wine never touches any oak and does not go through malolactic fermentation. I picked up a couple bottles from the winery the last time we were in the Santa Ynez area, and have been really excited to try one. It was just as good as I wanted it to be. Crisp, with great acidity and a nice amount a fresh fruit and flowers. Damn good. If it wasn't $32/each I'd pick up some more! :)

Sangiovese

2007-06-27T23:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to dinner at Prosecco in Toluca Lake and had a bottle of 2001 La Berta Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva Olmatello with our dinner. It was pretty good ... nothing outstanding, but it was a nice wine. Well balanced w/ the tannins and fruit as it got some air. Very fruity up front. But dinner was delicious. We go to Prosecco a few times a year and it is great every time.

Under $15 Costco wines

2007-06-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

We did a little tasting at my work of five wines, all under $15, from our local Costco. They were:

2006 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc
2005 Cambria Chardonnay, Katherine's Vineyard
2005 Santa Barbara Winery Pinot Noir, Central Coast
2005 Andrew Murray Syrah, Tous Les Jours
2003 Chateau Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley

Everything was pretty good ... really like the Whitehaven and the Andrew Murray (go figure). The Pinot Noir was a little off to me ... but it was easily the most popular one at the tasting. I was pleasantly surprised by the Cab, I had read some bad things about it, but it was fine. And the Chardonnay was buttery, but not too much ... kind of what you'd expect out of a traditional California Chardonnay.

Overall, the tasting was great and I hope we're able to do it again @ work. :)

Petite Sirah

2007-06-22T09:39:00.001-07:00

I've always loved a good Petite Sirah ... it's just unfortunate that not many are bottled, and especially not many cheaper ones. However, the wine we had last night, a 2005 Concannon Petite Sirah, Limited Release was only $10. It was recommended to me by the wine salesman in the wine department of a local store, How's. I opened the bottle and let it sit for about 30-45 minutes and then poured a glass that sat for about 20 minutes before I drank it. Very dark color with a bright red rim. Tons of fruit on the palate, mostly cherry and red fruits. Not a long finish, but overall a very good deal at $10.

A couple hours after finishing off the bottle we ended up at a friends house and I had a glass of 2003 Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay Reserve and a glass of a 2005 Pinot Grigio from Trentino that I wasn't able to get the producer of... both were pretty good. I prefered the Pinot Grigio to the Chardonnay.

Santa Ynez

2007-06-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

After our brief trip to Paso Robles on Saturday we were in Santa Ynez on Sunday and went to a couple wineries. First stop was Beckmen (of course).

2005 Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Le Bec Blanc
2005 Beckmen Grenache Rose, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Grenache, Estate
2005 Beckmen Grenache, Purisma Mountain Vineyard
2004 Beckmen Syrah, Estate
2005 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate
2005 Beckmen Syrah Clone #1, Purisma Mountain Vineyard

Everything was really good as usual ... no surprises. We bought a bottle of the Clone #1 and two bottles of their 2nd label, 2005 Big Hands Syrah ... they weren't pouring it but it was just $12/each. I did learn that their 05 PMV Grenache is 20% Syrah and that they don't have to label it as a blend if it has less than 25% of the 2nd varietal.

After Beckmen we went to lunch at Patrick's Side Street Cafe in Los Olivos. Good food, service was a little lacking though. It was close to closing time so I just think they were bothered by us. Oh well though. Had a glass of 2005 Jaffurs Viognier w/ lunch ... rich gold color and the most sediment I've ever seen in a white wine. Good, but not great.

Then we went to Curtis Winery ... we had tried to go there once before but it was packed w/ tons of people so we left immediately. But this time it was definitely manageable. The tasting was $10 (and by taking the glass next door to Firestone you'd be able to taste there for free).

2005 Curtis Viognier
2006 Curtis Heritage Blanc
2006 Curtis Heritage Rose
2004 Curtis Grenache, "The Crossroad"
2004 Curtis Syrah, Vogelzang Vineyard
2004 Syrah, Ambassador's Vineyard

Everything was okay, nothing really stood out as being great and we did not buy any bottles. The winery is a sister winery to Firestone and gets all of their grapes from Firestone (except for the Vogelzang Syrah).

After Curtis we drove back into Los Olivos and went to the Los Olivos Cafe for dessert ... a fresh fruit cobbler (strawberry and apricot) and a creme brulee. mmmmmm. Then back home....

Paso Robles

2007-06-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

We drove through Paso Robles on Saturday and decided to stop for some wine tasting :) The first stop was Justin ... hadn't been there in a long time and have really enjoyed it in the past so it was an easy choice. The tasting was $5/each and included 5 wines.

2006 Justin Sauvignon Blanc
2006 Justin Chardonnay
2005 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Justin Syrah
2006 Justin "Deborah's Delight"

Everything was pretty good ... nothing really blew me away, but we bought a bottle each of the Chardonnay and Syrah. The Deborah's Delight was their sweet dessert wine ... it was really good, but I couldn't justify spending $50 for a half-bottle of it.

Up next was Tablas Creek (which was also $5/each, which they took off of each bottle purchased). I'd had a couple of their wines before and liked them ...

2005 Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc
2005 Tablas Creek Espirit de Beaucastel Blanc
2006 Tablas Creek Rose
2004 Tablas Creek Cotes De Tablas
2004 Tablas Creek Mourvedre
2003 Tablas Creek Espirit De Beaucastel
2003 Tablas Creek Espirit De Beaucastel
2005 Tablas Creek Cotes De Tablas Blanc
2004 Tablas Creek Vin De Paille
2004 Tablas Creek Tannat

Everything here was fantastic. We ended up getting a bottle each of Cotes de Tablas, Cotes de Tablas Blanc, and the Rose. We tried the Tannat at the very end ... super tannic and could keep for decades. They bottle a lot of different varietals that nobody really bottles on their own, such as Tannat, Counoise, Vermentino, Picpoul Blanc, etc..... I'd love to join the club for this place, but we can't really afford it right now.

On our way out of town we stopped at Hug Cellars ($5/each that is waived if you buy wine). I'd heard of Hug before but I don't specifically remember when or where. It was a warehouse winery ... they just buy grapes and don't own any vineyards.

2005 Casa Mireles "Romanze"
2004 Hug Cellars Syrah, Central Coast
2005 Hug Cellars Syrah, Paso Robles
2005 Hug Cellars Syrah, Cedar Lane Vineyard
2005 Hug Cellars Zinfandel, Paso Robles

Everything was really good ... I guess they are also known for their Pinot Noir (probably how I'd heard of them), but they weren't pouring any. We bought a bottle of the Cedar Lane Syrah. It was a tough choice between the Paso Robles one and that ... but we settled on the Cedar Lane.

It was the first time in probably 10 years I had been to Paso Robles for wine tasting. It seemed much more spread out than Santa Ynez ... but I really liked the feel of the wineries we went to. If only it was just as close as Santa Ynez we would go more often.

Foxen Syrah

2007-06-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

Last night we barbequed up a "beer can chicken" and opened a nice bottle of wine to celebrate it being a Saturday. Thank god for weekends. We chose a bottle of 2003 Foxen Syrah William-Dore Vineyard. We wanted something big and forward and figured this would be up to the challenge. And it was, it was really hot w/ alcohol on the nose and palate though. I was too lazy to decant the rest of the bottle and we just let it sit in the bottle and the glass for an extended period of time. It calmed down a little with the added time, but it never really got to the point where I'd recommend the wine as being fabulous. A litttle let down w/ Foxen, I've got to get back to the winery and try their other wines. We're on the waiting list for their wine club, have been now for over a year at least, and am wondering when I will get any sort of communication from them about getting on or whether we even on the waiting list. Makes you appreciate the wineries who are in contact w/ their customers ...

Koehler Viognier

2007-06-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

Being that it's summer I'm more eager to try the white wines that we have. Last night we opened a bottle of 2005 Koehler Viognier, Santa Ynez Valley to go along w/ a salad we had for dinner. The bottle started off a little warm (probably around 55º) and it was a little harsh, but with the bottle on ice it improved. However, I must say that after the bottle was empty I felt like it was time for real wine, ie red wine. :)

I'm excited for the summer and to drink more white wine, but it does lack a little in enjoyment for us. Maybe that'll change, maybe not. I think it's more because my palate tends to enjoy wine as wine, not as something to be paired w/ food.

Beckmen Futures Tasting

2007-05-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

Lauren and I went to the inaugural Beckmen Futures Tasting at the Purisima Mountain Vineyard this past Saturday. Absolutely beautiful setting in the vineyard ... beats the hell out of a tasting room any day! We tasting a bunch of wines ... here's the list:

2005 Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Grenache Rose, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Grenache, Whole Cluster
2006 Beckmen Grenache, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Syrah/Viognier
2006 Beckmen Syrah Clone #1, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Cabernet Sauvignon, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Syrah, Block Six Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Purisima
2005 Beckmen Syrah, Barrel Select
2005 Beckmen Grenache, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard

Favorite wine would be the Purisima. It's a Grenache/Syrah blend that they only do in the better years (they skipped 2004). We bought two bottles of it at the ridiculous price of $55/each. Oh well. It's damn good! And I've got an emotional attachment to it which you just can't put a price on. It was great to taste the barrel samples of the 06 Whole Cluster Grenache, 06 PMV Grenache, 06 Syrah/Viognier, and the 06 Clone #1. They all were pretty well developed after about 6 months of barrel aging ... they've got about an average of 3-6 more months to go in barrell. Plus the winemaker was pouring these wines ... so it was great to talk to him about what he thought of them. One curious thing I noticed was in the 06 PMV Grenache they add about 15% Syrah at the beginning of fermentation, but nowhere does it say anything about that. But on the clearly labeled Syrah/Viognier there's only 3% Viognier added. Weird.

The event was great ... cold cuts/cheese/bread/etc ... a little symposium of sorts with Steve Beckmen about their winemaking practices, etc ... and a tractor tour of the vineyard with Tom Beckmen.

And for a pic....

Melville, Koehler and Roblar tasting

2007-05-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

Since we were in Santa Ynez for the Beckmen shindig we also went to a couple other wineries to pick up wine that we had purchased.

First stop was Melville. We picked up a couple bottles I had purchased a while back ... two of the 2005 Melville Pinot Noir, High Density, and two bottles of 2006 Melville Chardonnay, Clone 76 Inox. We tasted these wines:

2006 Melville Chardonnay, Clone 76 Inox
2005 Melville Syrah, Verna's Vineyard
2004 Melville Syrah, Donna's Vineyard

The 05 Verna's Syrah was really young. Definitely could use a lot more time in the bottle. Especially compared to the 04 Donna's Syrah. I got a couple bottle for a friend of mine and am going to tell him to let them sit for close to a year. Or at least open it a few hours before you want to drink it.

We also went to Koehler Winery, one of our wine clubs, to pick up our wine. Lauren has been a little down on this place the last couple times we've gone. We may drop this club to pick up another one, hopefully one that has good events. The wines are good, I just don't think the feeling is right. We tasted these wines:

2005 Koehler Sauvignon Blanc, Estate
2005 Koehler Chardonnay, Estate
2005 Koehler Chardonnay, Reserve Estate
2005 Koehler Viognier, Estate
2005 Koehler Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County
2005 Koehler Syrah, Estate
2004 Koehler Magia Nera, Estate
2005 Koehler Grenache, Estate
2005 Koehler Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2006 Koehler Riesling, Estate

The tasting room had just been "remodeled" to allow more people to taste, and they were busy. The wines were all good, but the one that stood out was the 06 Riesling and we bought a bottle of it which we actually drank last night. Should've bought another one :)

After that we were done and going to dinner in Santa Barbara, but on our way out of town we saw a new tasting room. It was huge and gorgeous so we decided to stop in and try in out. We walked in without any idea what winery it was ... it turned out to be Roblar Winery & Vineyards. The tasting was $10 for these wines:

2005 Roblar Sauvignon Blanc, Reserve Estate
2005 Roblar Semillon
2004 Roblar Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley
2004 Roblar Syrah, Great Oaks
2001 Roblar Cabernet Franc

Overall the wines were pretty good. The tasting room and grounds were amazing ... you can tell this place had some serious financial backing. Especially for being a new place. The girl who was pouring our wines didn't really know much about the owners except that it was a company or group of people that also own another winery or two. It seemed like the $10 for five wines was a little steep and the price of the wines was $16, 22, 28, 40, and 60. Ouch. Average of over $30. We'll see how this place grows ... maybe go back if I hear good things about it.

From a little research just now, it seems they're owned by Adams Wine Group ... they own another winery in Santa Ynez (Royal Oaks) that I've never heard of and one in Sonoma (Adler Fels) that I've never heard of. Oh well.

Palmina tasting

2007-05-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

We went to Wade's Wines in Westlake Village on Saturday afternoon for a tasting of Palmina's wines. One of the owners, Chrystal Clifton (wife of winemaker Steve Clifton) was there pouring the wines.

2004 Palmina Ashley's Vineyard & Thompson Vineyard Santa Babara Pinot Grigio
2003 Palmina Bien Nacido Santa Maria Valley Tocai Fruiliano
2003 Palmina Bianca Santa Barbara White Wine
2005 Palmina Botesea Rosato Rose
2005 Palmina Santa Barbara County Barbera
2005 Palmina Santa Barbara Dolecetto
2000 Palmina Stolpman Vineyard Santa Barbara County Nebbiolo
2003 Palmina Nebbiolo
2005 Palmina Alisos Tuscan Blend
2003 Alder Alisos Vineyard Santa Barbara County Syrah

All of the wines were great, and we ended up buying a bottle of the Alder Syrah and the Palmina Bianca. I would've loved to buy the 2000 Palmina Nebbiolo, but the price was a little high and money is tight :)

It was our first time to Wade's as well ... nice little store with great selection. If it wasn't so far away I'd go more often.

Chateauneuf du Pape

2007-05-02T16:28:00.000-07:00

Last night was our anniversary and we celebrated well. After work we open a bottle of NV Perrier Jouet Champagne Grand Brut with fresh strawberries. Mmmm ... delicious. After that we went to dinner at Patina downtown. The sommelier helped us pick a bottle of 2003 Domaine de Ferrand Chateauneuf du Pape. It took five minutes or so to mellow out in the glass, but it was a wonderful wine. Too bad it had a $100 price tag! We enjoyed it through the entire meal up to the cheese course. The cheese was way too much for it. :) Here's the cheeses we had:

Jean de Brie
Monte Enebro
Mimolette
Munster Gerome
Fourme d'Ambert

After dinner we walked to Seven Grand, a new bourbon bar downtown for a nightcap before jumping back on the metro and heading home. I love LA.

The Orphan

2007-04-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

We opened a bottle of 2005 Justin The Orphan last night. It's a relatively new bottling for Justin ... it's the grapes that end up not getting put in their higher grade blends, such as Isosceles. Hence the name ... the orphan grapes that nobody wanted till now :) We had picked up two bottles a month or so ago pretty cheaply, they were about $15 each. I wasn't too impressed with the wine, it definitely wasn't bad, especially for the price. But I definitely think your money could buy a better bottle of something for right around the same price. However, it was pretty tannic so it could use a few more months of storage ... maybe the next bottle will blow me away.

Epiphany & Ampelos

2007-04-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Last night we enjoyed a couple different wines at home w/ a friend. We started in the back yard by finishing off a previously opened bottle of 2005 Henry's Drive Pillar Box Red, which holds up nicely for a day or two. But after that we went for the good stuff :)

Up first was a 2003 Epiphany Revelation. It's a red Rhone blend, and a sister winery to Fess Parker. Great stuff! A nice amount of oak provides the tannins to go along w/ the dark fruit. Color was medium red. Very nice.

After that we went for the 2004 Ampelos Syrache, sticking w/ the Rhone-style blends. If I remember correctly is was about 25% Grenache and 75% Syrah (hence the name). Again, another great bottle. This one had a good amount of spice provided by both varietals and slight tannins. Although my palate could've just been used to the amount of tannins in the Revelation. Deep dark color. Yummy.

dinner party

2007-04-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a couple over for dinner. They brought the wine and dessert and we made dinner. While we were preparing dinner we enjoyed a glass of 2005 Henry's Drive Pillar Box Red that had been open for a couple days. It was actually still holding up nicely with a good balance of fruit and alcohol.

When they arrived we started w/ the bottle of 2004 Larson Family Winery Chardonnay, Carneros. Good stuff, tasted like it was 100% stainless steel and no ML fermentation. A good amount of crisp fruit but with the acidity of a Chardonnay to help it out. We finished that bottle just as dinner was about to be served (Filet Mignon and grilled artichokes). We opened the bottle of 2004 Millerick Road Petite Sirah, California. This is apparently the same winery as Larson Family, just a different name on the label, in fact the back label says Larson Family Winery on it ... Anyways, this was really good ... damn I love petite sirah. Tons of fruit, just jammy, big and beautiful.

We finished that bottle off just as we were finishing dessert (flourless chocolate cake w/ chocolate ganache). As I sat there w/ nothing in my glass an idea came to me. The 2001 Beckmen Vineyards Late Harvest Grenache! Damn this is good stuff. Not too sweet, as you can still tell it's wine you're drinking. But you get the rich raisiny flavor. The color on it was great ... clear, even, garnet. Really glad I got two bottle of this last time I was at Beckmen.

All in all, a great evening ... great people, great food, and great wine. It was the first proper "dinner party" we've had a the new place and it went perfectly. Although if you saw the kitchen before we cleaned up you would've guessed we had twelve people over. I love being able to start w/ fresh wine glasses for each wine :)

Edge Cab

2007-04-16T16:48:00.000-07:00

Last week we opened a bottle of 2004 Edge Cabernet Sauvignon ... we purchased the bottle for a little under $20 after a long day of wine tasting up in Santa Ynez. Apparently it was a long day for my palate as well ... as there really wasn't much to this. I look to cabs to have a big mouthfeel and a decent amount of tannins. But this was not that. It was very well balanced with the oak and fruit, but it just wasn't big enough for me this particular time. The story behind Edge, if I remember correctly, is that they buy grapes from the best winegrowers in Napa with the understanding that they'll never say who they buy from ... this supposedly protects the winegrower because they don't want the public to know they're selling grapes ... even though everyone does it. They also wouldn't want their name on a lesser bottle of wine, for obvious reasons.

Also picked up a case of Pillar Box Red from Costco ... mmmmm .... jammy ....

2 frenchies and a cheap white

2007-04-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to dinner for a friends birthday at a local BYOB pizza place. We brought along a bottle we had gotten as a gift, a 2004 Delas Freres Cotes du Ventoux, and there were two bottle others had broughten. A 2005 Blackstone Chardonnay Monterey County, which I didn't try, and a 2001 La Chapelle de Romanin Les Baux-de-Provence, which was a bottle we had given them as a gift when we got back from our France trip last summer.

The Cotes du Ventoux was a little weak ... just not much there. I believe it sells for less than $10 around town. Your money is better spent elsewhere. However, the Les Baux-de-Provence was fantastic. I was secretly pouring us only this wine through the dinner, and we probably had half the bottle, and there were 9 people at the table! :) I only wish I had tried it in Paris when I bought the bottle. I can only hope that the other two bottles (of different wines) we brought back are this good.

Torbreck

2007-04-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

I have heard a little about this winery and the last time I was at K&L Wines I picked up a bottle of 2005 Torbreck Shiraz "Woodcutter's Shiraz." It was about $18 if I remember correctly. Torbreck bottles wines that sell upwards of $100 so this is definitely their low end product. And it tasted like it. Don't know if it was a slightly corked bottle or what, but it was sour and the acidity was overwhelming. Even after I recorked it and let it sit for a day. I may pick up another bottle down the road to give it another try, but as of right now I would stay away.

tangent

2007-04-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

It's official. I am buying way more wine than I drink. We're all moved into the new house and there is no place to keep all the wine. Our small 36 bottle cellar/refrigerator thing is over-loaded and now there are wine cases stacked around full of wine. We've only got 60+ bottles, but I keep buying and/or wanting to buy more. We've got no room (or money) for a larger storage unit, but it's crazy that we have $50 bottles of wine just sitting in cardboard boxes, nowhere near the ideal 55 degrees. But maybe the 55˚ is just if I want to keep the wine for 20+ years ... it should be fine if it's around 70˚ for a year or so right? I try and put the good stuff in the cooler, but it doesn't fit as I buy more and more "good stuff" ... arghh ... the dilemma. I mean, I've got a 4 year vertical of Sunstone Syrah sitting in boxes ... that can't be good. There is no answer as I'm not about to stop buying wine. I just need to drink more.

Pillar Box Red

2007-03-27T16:35:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-05T14:33:00.000-08:00

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.

Sauvignon Blanc

2007-02-22T17:22:00.001-08:00

Last night when I got home from work Lauren had opened a bottle of 2006 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc so I sat down and flipped through a couple magazines while I drank a glass. It was really good for the $12.99 price tag at Costco. Tons of fruit ... apples, maybe some peach. It had a nice, dry finish without too much sugar. The Marlborough region of New Zealand is apparently putting out some great Sauvignon Blancs and if this is any indication of what's out there, I'll be picking up some others.

For the record, one of the magazines I was reading was the new issue of Wine Spectator and I was a little sad that there wasn't too much of the Santa Barbara area covered by their California Rhone varietals article. Oh well, more for me!

Dinner at The Palace

2007-02-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

We made the trip down to Santa Barbara from Santa Ynez and stopped in at the Creekside Inn for a beer or two and a game of horseshoes. The Bud Lights were delicious, but apparently the game of horseshoes was too dirty for the women! :) Haha. So we just sat by the fire and talked till we were done with our drinks. We then headed to downtown SB for dinner at The Palace.

Great food and great wine. We had two bottles of 2002 Sunterra Syrah. It's made by Bion Rice from Sunstone, but the labeling has no mention of Sunstone on it at all anymore. It used to be called Sunstone Sunterra back in the day, but no more. It was cheap ($28/bottle) and good. Went well with my spicy jambalaya and our bread pudding dessert. Mmmmm ... good stuff all around. During dinner it started to rain so our drive home was a little wet, but we made good time anyway.

Overall it was a fantastic trip wine tasting. We probably won't be able to afford to go for a little while, with the new house and all. But I'm definitely looking forward to our next trip, as well as opening some of the wines we purchased until then.

Beckmen, Kalyra, Koehler, Consilience, and Andrew Murray

2007-02-19T10:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went up to Santa Ynez will a couple friends to reward ourselves with a busy weekend of packing. It was a great time, but it was PACKED. Every winery we went to had easily the most people we'd ever seen in there before, with the exception of Beckmen. Beckmen was about average ... which could've been because we went there first and the college kids had arrived yet, or just because it's off the beaten path ... who knows?

We started with Beckmen this time because it's usually one of the ones we go to later in the day and our palates tend to be destroyed by then. So we wanted to hit it right off and taste the wines with a fresh/clean palate.

2005 Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Marsanne, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Le Bec Blanc
2005 Beckmen Grenache, Estate
2005 Beckmen Grenache, Whole Cluster
2004 Beckmen Syrah, Estate
2003 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2004 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2004 Beckmen Syrah, Clone #1 Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Syrah, Clone #1 Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2001 Beckmen Grenache, Late Harvest Purisima Mountain Vineyard

Wow. What a pouring menu! This was fantastic. They had everything open plus some. I'd never tasted the Whole Cluster Grenache or the Late Harvest Grenache before. Fantastic. It was great to taste the different vintages of the PMV Syrah side by side, as well as tasting the two vintages of the Clone #1 Syrah. Wow. The 2004 Clone #1 would be my wine of the room, but the Late Harvest Grenache would be number two. Great stuff. The 2005 Clone #1 should improve with a couple years to be even better that the 2004, but we'll see! It was interesting to taste the 2005 Whole Cluster Grenache, you can really taste the stems in it ... I've got a couple bottle of the 2004, so I think I'll continue to hold them for a little longer.

2004 Kalyra Chardonnay, Barrel Select
2005 Kalyra Gewurtzraminer
2005 Kalyra Merlot Rose
2004 Kalyra Zinfandel, Old Vine
2003 Kalyra Cabernet Sauvignon, McLaren Valley
2002 Kalyra Shiraz, Barossa Valley
2005 Kalyra Orange Muscat
NV Kalyra Muscat Port, 18 Year Old
NV Kalyra Brut Rose Sparkling Wine

Stay away ... stay far away. If you really want to try their wines, go buy them in the store. They're not expensive and the tasting room was like a frat house. It could've just been the three day weekend and the fact that there were two limos and one bus outside in the parking lot, but it was definitely not enjoyable. Really bad service as well. Wine of the room would have to be the Orange Muscat but I really don't know since I just gulped it down so we could leave sooner.

2005 Koehler Sauvignon Blanc, Estate
2005 Koehler Chardonnay, Estate
2005 Koehler Viognier, Estate
2005 Koehler Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County
2005 Koehler Syrah, Estate
2004 Koehler Magia Nero, Estate

Wow was this place packed. There were more people here than were there during the Holiday party back in December. This was proof positive that everyone in SoCal decided to go wine tasting on this three day weekend. The owner of the winery was working in the tasting room, but again it was just so busy. The wines were great, I was slightly let down by the crowds, but hey ... no complaining, I just now know to stay away on three day weekends :) So we went to Los Olivos to get to Consilience and maybe one more after ...

2005 Consilience Rousanne, Santa Barbara County
2005 Consilience Grenache Rose, Santa Barbara County
2004 Consilience Grenache Noir "Rodney Shull Vineyard"
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

I was impressed with all of the wines here ... everything was great. Wish they were pouring the Petite Sirah that I bought last time I was there, but oh well. Both Syrah's were showing wonderfully. We didn't pick any bottles up cause we're trying to save $$, but if I did it would've been one of those, or both. Then we strolled down Grand Ave to Andrew Murray's tasting room right before they closed ... phew!

2005 Andrew Murray Viognier, Santa Ynez Valley
2004 Andrew Murray Enchante
2004 Oak Savanna Vineyards Chardonnay, Naked
2005 Oak Savanna Cellars Pinot Noir
2004 Andrew Murray Esperance
2004 Andrew Murray Syrah, Estate, Santa Ynez Valley
2004 Andrew Murray Syrah, Roasted Slope Vineyard
2005 Andrew Murray Syrah, Oak Savanna Vineyard
2005 Andrew Murray Viognier, Late Harvest

Great stuff again. The wine that really surprised me was the Roasted Slope Syrah ... it's a mix with about 5% Viognier that is grown in the vineyard with the syrah. So they are mixed together the whole time. The color on it was super dark ... couldn't see through it at all. Wonderful going down too! They were not pouring their Tous Les Jours Syrah, which was fine by me since I drink it frequently enough, but I just thought it was interesting. Probably just ship it all through their distributors. The place was a little too busy to ask how Andrew's involvement with the winery has changed over the years ... I'm still curious. He's obviously still the winemaker and in-charge, but maybe he sold controlling interest or something to some big company ... one of these days I'll find out! :)

Saturday Night

2007-02-18T09:45:00.000-08:00

After packing up a bunch of boxes and taking a couple trips to goodwill to donate some stuff we were in need of some wine. Up first was a 2005 Andrew Murray Syrah Tous les Jours, which is pretty much a house wine for us now. And after that was a 2003 El Coto Rioja Crianza. Both were great and were a nice compliment to each other. The syrah has a little less spice than the Rioja and the color is much deeper/darker on the syrah. Both great buys for around the $10 range, the syrah was $12.50 and the Rioja was $9.50.

Tomorrow morning we're rewarding ourselves with a trip to Santa Ynez for day! :)

Rioja

2007-02-16T10:23:00.000-08:00

So last night I picked up a bottle of Rioja from, of all places, Target. The only reason I did is because I'm interested in the region and don't have much, if any, experience with it. So it couldn't hurt to spend less than $10 on a cheap bottle right? The one I grabbed was a 2003 El Coto Rioja Crianza. For the record, it was 100% Tempranillo grapes (I'm not sure if all Riojas have to be or if they can blend). The wine was good. Nothing to rush out and buy cases of, but I may pick up another bottle next time I'm in Target. It had a little red fruit on the nose and palate as well as a slightly spicy finish. Decent stuff, especially for the $9.49 price tag.

Valentine's dinner

2007-02-15T11:49:00.000-08:00

Every year for the past 3 or 4 years, my wife and I have opened a bottle of Sunstone Eros to enjoy w/ dinner. Whether it's taking it to a restaurant or opening it at home. So while I was finishing up preparing the meal we opened the 2000 Sunstone Eros ... first impression was the color. It had faded greatly to a smokey, muted hue that I think a lot of aged wines get (at least from my limited experience with 8 year old wine!) The flavor was great ... it still had a bit of fruit and very little tannins. It's definitely not a wine that you can hold onto for 25 years, but it seemed to be at it's peak or just passing it. Fantastic timing to pop it open.

And to follow that up we needed something to enjoy w/ dessert! So we opened a bottle of 2005 Michele Chiarlo Moscato d'Asti Nivole. Now for the $12 this cost and BevMo it's fantastic. The bubbles are just an added bonus! Light orange citrus notes and it complimented the chocolate lava cakes wonderfully. It's not too sweet a dessert wine, so it can go with food. Some dessert wines are dessert just in themselves, but this is a very nice one that can go with all sorts of sweets, fruits, or cheeses.

Klinker Brick and some Chianti

2007-02-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a bottle of 2004 Klinker Brick Zinfandel Old Vine that we had gotten a couple month ago at 20/20 Wine for $15. It was pretty good, especially for the price. Then it was off to an Italian place for dinner ... unfortunately all the good Italian places had too long of a wait so we settled for Louise's Trattoria in Studio City. Ouch. Not good. Our pastas were so dry. We did have a decent bottle of wine though. A 2004 Poggio Basso Chianti Classico ($24) ... it had to have been one of the cheapest bottles on the menu (maybe the Yellow Tail was cheaper!) ... but it was decent. Nothing to complain about besides the food.

escrow and andrew murray

2007-02-06T08:54:00.000-08:00

Well, we opened another one of our bottles of 2005 Andrew Murray Syrah Tous les Jours last night to celebrate us going into escrow. Decanted right before serving and it was just as good as last time.

Now we've just got to look forward to our first bottle of wine in the new house ... leaning towards the 2004 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing that keeps begging to be opened :) Of course, it's got a $75 price tag (secondary market) ... so it better be damn good! We've had a taste or two of it once before, so we know it should be worth it. It won't actually be the first wine in the new house though, because we'll open a bottle (or two) of the champagnes that we brought back from our summer trip to Paris (and Reims).

Hey, Jerky!

2007-02-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to a wine and jerky pairing at a local wine shop, Colorado Wine Company. We showed up a little late, so a lot of the jerky was gone, but we did have a little of BBQ Beef, Spicy Beef, Turkey, Curry Beef, Garlic Beef, Orange Beef, and Peppered Beef jerkies. All pretty good stuff, although the curry one was pretty bad. We also had a few different cheeses, but nothing that really stands out.

The wines we had were:

2005 Claiborne & Churchill Gewurtztraminer, Edna Valley
2004 Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Hills Lake County
2003 Scott Harvey Zinfandel Old Vine, Amador County
2004 Terza Malbec, Mendoza Argentina
NV Opera Brut Champagne

Wine of the night went to the Scott Harvey Zinfandel. We'd had it once before and have liked it both times. The Malbec had enough tannins that it should probably lay down for a couple years before you drink it. The Gewurtztraminer was nice ... no residual sugar at all, so it was dry ... and it's made outside of San Luis Obispo ... good Alsacian style Gewurtz. The sparkler was 100% Chardonnay ... so it was dry, but it still had some fruit to it. The Obsidian Ridge Cab should just be skipped ... it's not too cheap ($25) and there's plenty of better CA cabs out there in that price range.

At the end of the event we bought a bottle of NV Domaine de Courbissac Minervois EOS. We actually only bought it because someone we were with liked the horse on the label. And this can be a lesson ... do not do this. The wine was bad. Just nothing good about it ... it was drinkable, but definitely not good. Fortunately we were able to wash it down with pizza from Casa Bianca, one of the best pizza places in the Los Angeles area ...

Chardonnay

2007-01-30T09:33:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-29T09:49:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-21T09:31:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-18T12:17:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-14T10:59:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-13T10:50:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-12T14:48:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-10T10:33:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-08T12:17:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-01-08T10:49:00.000-08:00

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.