Erath Pinot Noir Estate Selection

Erath Vineyards
Pinot Noir
Estate Selection
Dundee Hills
Dundee, Oregon, USA
2006
13.5%
$23.99 -- Costco, Austin, TX

Color: Medium strawberry with a touch of purple
Nose: Cranberries, strawberries, bacon, cinnamon
Body: Medium
Front: Cherry
Middle: Peach, pie crust
Back: Sage, graphite
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

Give this one some air, and you will be much rewarded. It's a fascinating bottle of wine, with fruit flavors and more earthy, herby-spicy ones mixing together. When it's just opened, the nose is berryish and the palate kind of flat. But after it's been open for an hour and a half, things get much more interesting. This is the best American Pinot I've had for this price; really, for under $30.

The Erath paired well with the baked chicken, garlic, and onion I made for dinner, and with the music: Dan Cohen's brand-new release, Shhhh, a collection of laid-back, astonishingly skilled guitar instrumentals that Cohen both wrote and performs.

Note, 13 January 2010: I tried the Erath Prince Hill Pinot, also 2006, and also great. It was different; a bit more herbiness and different sorts of red fruit. It deserves its own review--someday: I think that it's really going to benefit from a few years of cellaring, which will bring up the volume on some of the earthy flavors that haunt its palate.

Chateau Potelle Cougar Pass

Chateau Potelle
Cougar Pass
Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot
Paso Robles and Napa Valley, California, USA
2005
13.5%
$15.99 -- Wine Pro, Paducah, KY

Color: Deep strawberry
Nose: Herbes de provence, sour cherries, 
Body: Medium to full
Front: Cherry, raspberry
Middle: Cream, thyme
Back: Soft tannins, graham cracker
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

It's my last night in frozen Kentucky for awhile, and this was an excellent closing bottle. It's festive, with dark fruits and herbiness, but it's also serious in body and texture, a perfect accompaniment to a steak-and-potatoes dinner.

The blend isn't unlike that of Paraduxx, and it's an intriguing combination of fruitiness with more austere ingredients. When this was first opened, for example, it had fascinating mushroominess goin' on, with a whack of currant behind it. It's not young, for a Zin-based blend, so there's some good design behind it.

Potelle's home, I think, is on Mt. Veeder in Napa, so this is a satellite product for them, but it's a good one. The label claims that the fruit is from both Paso and Napa, which is the first time I've encountered such a "freak so fair." Terroir devotees will be appalled, I suppose, so serve it to them blind.

Red Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon

Red Diamond Winery
Cabernet Sauvignon
Paterson, Washington, USA
2006
13.5%
$9.99 -- Wine Pro, Paducah, KY

Color: Dark garnet
Nose: Oak, oak, raspberr, a smidgen of vanilla
Body: Full
Front: Roasted raspberry
Middle: Chocolate
Back: Oak jam
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

Good with food, the Red Diamond will make you happy if you're a Zin drinker. There's a lot of fruit and a hint of smoke, with oak predominating. I think it's not a cellaring candidate; the tannins are barely there--it's a youthful wine meant to be drunk young, I reckon. But it is a good deal at this price if you're looking for a stout, fruit-driven wine. I found it particularly tasty in combination with my slightly spicy spaghetti and meatballs in marinara; the oak was tamed a bit and the spicy, earthy notes came out more.

Segura Viudas Cava Brut Reserva

Segura Viudas
Cava
Brut Reserva
Macabeo, Parellada, Xarel-lo 
Torrelavit, Spain
NV
11.5%
$9.99 -- Wine Pro, Paducah, KY

Color: Pale gold
Nose: Pineapple, apple
Body: Light to medium
Front: Lemon
Middle: Bread, caramel
Back: Lime, straw
Burns clean?: A little headache; go easy on it
Cap: Cork

A delightful acidity and just enough baked bread to make me happy. This is a great bargain and a good one for mixing with orange juice, cranberry juice, cassis, and so forth. It's a cold day, and a celebratory one, and this is a perfect match for it. For those planning New Years' celebrations, and wary of spending too much on Champagne, this is an excellent choice, I can say from experience.

Bret Brothers Pouilly-Loché

Bret Brothers
Pouilly-Loché
Climat "La Colonge" 
Chardonnay
Burgundy
Vinzelles, France
2005
13.5%
$38.00 -- Grapevine Market, Austin, TX


Color: Pale gold
Nose: Graham cracker, apple, mint, wet bark
Body: Medium
Front: Bread and butter
Middle: Cod brandade
Back: Lime, oak
Burns clean?:
Cap: Cork

This is a haunting, many-layered wine. I realize that I've dropped a peculiar description into the middle of the palate profile above, but the middle is quite short, while the front and end of the palate are robust and long. It's not hollow, by any means, but it rewards a little attention to the wine.

I'm having it with my usual smoky spicy almonds and a little bit of cheese, but I think it will actually go well with a wide range of foods.  The soundtrack tonight is President Barack Obama talking about the recent passing by the Senate of the health care bill, and it's as good an accompaniment as I can imagine.

Villa Pozzi Nero d'Avola

Cantine Francesco Minini
Nero d'Avola
Sicily
Verolanuova, Italy
2007
13.5%
$12.99 -- Wine Pro, Paducah, KY

Color: Dark garnet
Nose: Roasted Fruit-Roll-Up-stuffed mushroom
Body: Medium to full
Front: Roasted plum
Middle: Rosemary
Back: Black currant jam
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Plastic pseudo cork

This is a lovely wine, fruit-rich and great with food.  It's not many-layered, but it's a crowd-pleaser, with some interesting earthy dimensionality.  It's certainly easy on the tannins, so I'd be surprised if it will age much; it was an excellent match with pizza tonight.

San Román Toro

Bodegas y Viñedos Maurodos
San Román
Toro
Tempranillo
Valladolid, Spain
2005
14.5%
$39.98 [$65.00] -- Wine Library, Springfield, NJ

Color: Inky reddish purple
Nose: Mocha, pepper, vanilla
Body: Full and dirty
Front: Cherry and chocolate
Middle: Raspberry mocha pie, thyme, Slim JimTM
Back: Oak, espresso, soft tannins
Burns clean?: Mostly
Cap: Cork

To my taste, this is a stunningly beautiful, seductive wine. It's by no means for everyone, I can tell, even through my ecstasy of affection. It's tannic; it'll cellar for another 5-7 years easily. It's bossy.  With a spicy chorizo-chicken-artichoke dish, it never even flinched. I'm not sure whether to recommend Rage Against the Machine or Beethoven to drink it with; probably either will work perfectly. I'm'a gonna wait until it's on sale again, and hit 'em up for more.

Sattui Los Carneros Merlot

V. Sattui Winery
Los Carneros
Henry Ranch
Merlot
Napa Valley
St. Helena, California, USA
2005
14.5%
$27.00 -- Sattui Winery, St. Helena, CA

Color: Dark garnet
Nose: Raspberries, vanilla
Body: Medium to Full
Front: Spicy ripe cherries
Middle: Chocolate cream, pickles
Back: Earthy tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

I'm going to take a political moment, for which I apologize up front. Sattui will soon be changing its label design, and I object. I look at this bottle, with its perfect label, all Napa baroqueness and charming pseudo-old-world-pretension, and I love it. It's perfect.  I'm not nostalgic (much): this is an aesthetic and political judgment. Usually I say, with Hafiz, that all things point to Allah--and if the redesign were as good as this label, I'd say, go for it! But not this time, on either account.

None of this imminent disappointment should distract from an appreciation of the stunning aromatics and rich flavors of this wine, which kicks most Merlots' asses, regardless of hemisphere of origin. It's probably drinking at its peak right now. With the pulled pork barbecue tonight, it was frankly stunning: like pork chocolate mousse.  If you find that description grossifyin', you need to be drinking things like this instead of this.

Albada Garnacha Viñas Viejas

Albada
Garnacha Viñas Viejas
Grenache
Calatayud
Zaragoza, Spain
2005
14.5%
$13.98 -- Costco, Austin, TX

Color: Deep garnet
Nose: Red currant, black pepper, Blue Angels exhaust
Body: Medium to full
Front: Cassis, raspberry jam
Middle: French bread, white pepper, cream
Back: Thyme, leather
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Plastic cork

This is an intense, complex wine.  It's dark, berry-driven, and fully present, in your face. Zin drinkers will love it. After being open for about two hours, it mellowed out a little bit and became more to my taste. Tonight it was paired with a chicken and leek and cream dish, an excellent combination. My sense is that this wine will be good in a crowd, though it won't have papparazzi. I'm drinking it while listening to "O Tannenbaum," which is a horrific combination, JSYK.

J. Vidal Fleury Saint-Joseph

J. Vidal Fleury
Syrah
Saint-Joseph
Ampuis, France
2000
12.5%
$19.98 -- Grapevine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Medium garnet
Nose: Violets, caramel, raspberry, thyme
Body: Light to medium
Front: Raspberry jam
Middle: Pepper, Horsey poo
Back: Orange, oak
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

Vidal-Fleury is a French company owned by the Guigal family, and so this wine unsurprisingly has a lot of shared ground with Guigal wines. It's a classic southern Rhone profile, with a floral and earthy nose and a not-huge body with a delightfully diverse palate.  Splendid with onion soup, and a complex, thought-inducing wine.

Drink this next to a Marquis Philips if you'd like an extraordinary demonstration of the flavor variations you can get in the Syrah grape.

Irony Chardonnay

Life's Strange Twists Wine Company
Chardonnay
Napa Valley
Manteca, California, USA
2007
14.5%
$18.00 -- Wine Pro, Paducah, KY


Color: Pale greenish straw
Nose: Pear, apple, onion
Body: Medium
Front: Pear, white pepper, onion
Middle: Banana, inner tube, onion
Back: A little wood, honeysuckle, onion
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

In general, irony is a word we don't understand too well and use a bit too readily. Alanis Morrisette's song "Isn't It Ironic," which contains a string of examples of mere coincidence, rather than actual irony, is a good negative example. So I was perhaps prejudiced against this wine going into it.

Also, it's worth knowing that I'm roasting onions for an onion soup this evening.

I actually found this wine delightful, despite my dire feelings about its name and the powerful presence of onion in the kitchen.  It's not particularly complex, and has a bit of a short delivery and perhaps a little hollowness.  But I'm going to put on some Kingston Trio Christmas music and have another glass.

The Great Maderized Wine Tasting

Hello, ancient beauties.

DOWN IN MY PARENTS' BASEMENT IN WESTERN KENTUCKY are a few wine racks.  The temperature is perfect for wine storage.  For some time, there have been all sorts of interesting things down there, including a lot of white wine bottles so covered with dust that it's hard to see what they are--or were.  The oldest of them date from the Reagan Era (that's President Ronald Reagan, kids), the youngest from the middle 1990s; they span the globe in origins.

A couple of years ago my father suggested that we haul a sample of them up and taste them someday; this week, a cold winter day in Kentucky called out for a couple of good friends, a light seafood lunch, and a case of aged wine.  Today's blog entry may not have much practical use for my readers, but both of them may find it amusing.

Like white people, some white wines age well, and others don't.  But to complicate this, many white wines that are made to age are also deliberately made to taste quite unusual after a decade or so.  An open mind makes wine taste better, no matter the tendencies of the palate.  Going into the tasting, we knew that there were several possibilities: all the wines might taste the same (and awful); a few of them might have survived and be quite good; and we might be surprised by which ones were which.

Still, we did take some precautions. Many of these wines were not built to age, by any means, and none of them originally retailed for more than about $15. So we decided to order them by "guessed likelihood of not sucking" rather than from lightness to heaviness of body as is customary.  What follows are my notes on what happened, accompanied by a couple of photos to show both some of the colors of the wine and the unusual cork phenotypes that we found, ranging from white mold-covered to dirt-covered.  I was exhausted just trying to get the bottles clean enough to put on a table.

All spruced up...mostly. White mold, left; brown "dirt," right.

Monteagle Wine Cellars, Tennessee Seyval Blanc, 1990, 12.5%, Monteagle, Tennessee, USA: A mellow, deep, golden brown color, this one had a nose of burned hazelnut, apricot, and varnish.  The palate delivered old lemon peel, leather polish, and toasted acorns.  It was praised by one of the five members of the crowd, and detested by most of the others.  But in retrospect, most drinkers considered it to be in the top three of the tasting.  In this respect, a complete shock.  Also the first Tennessee wine I've ever had, and only the second Seyval.

Slaughter Leftwich Vineyards, Sauvignon Blanc, 1990, 12.5%, Austin, Texas, USA: First Texas wine I've ever tasted, too.  What a day!  A deep, clear straw color, and a nose that brought poetry from one of the assembled company: "Smells like the hill country...in a dust storm."  Do they make mango varnish?  That's what it smelled like to me; the front palate was a blast of apricot gasoline, then an eerie emptiness in the middle, and a finish of butter and oak.  If you came in on the last 5 seconds of the taste, and then left again immediately, you'd swear it was a California Chardonnay.

Sebastiani Vineyards, Eye of the Swan, Pinot Noir Blanc, 1984, 13.2%, Sonoma, California, USA: This was a piece of my parents' past, and brought smiles of recollection all around.  Yet no stories were forthcoming.  A cloudy golden brown color, this Pinor Noir blanc (meaning it spent just a little time on the skins before being bottled) was the crowd favorite for the day.  With more tannins, and also in a magnum format, it had a better chance in the basement.  Still, 25 years is a long time for what was a bottom-shelf wine at the time!  My pronouncement that it had a nose of wet dog ass mixed with Pine SolTM was mocked, but I stand by it.  Flavors of peach and oak were rapidly followed by something like kirsch-flavored paint thinner.

Cantina di Montefiascone, Est! Est!! Est!!!, Trebbiano, Malvasia, 1984, 11.5%, Montefiascone, Italy: The color of bourbon, mixed with cloudy river water.  The nose?  Sherry, all the way.  If you were a pirate, you could say from experience that this wine tastes like a bad oyster served in a moldy rag.

Federico Paternina, Blanco Seco, Viura (probably), 1988, 11%, Ollauri, Spain: Though white wines have to have a splendid balance of acidity and other things to age well, this one testifies that color doesn't work by the same principles; it had a beautiful, rich golden hue.  The nose, however, smelled like nothing more than spoiled milk (really, it's extraordinary to think such an odor could have been produced by fruit, but some kinds of education are not edifying).  The palate was of pears preserved in acetone. "Here's to temperance," my father pronounced, upon tasting it.

Rutherford Hill Winery, Napa Valley Chardonnay, 1989, 13%, Rutherford, California, USA: I love Rutherford Hill wines, as I've testified elsewhere on this blog.  This one was the best of the bunch, to my taste, but universally hated by my companions.  Its color was a dark greenish-gold, and it had oak and butter, with an aftertaste of snow tire chains--a little radial, a little metal, a little soggy ash.  I drank half a glass.

Viña San Pedro, Gato Blanco, Sauvignon Blanc, 1991, 12%, Lontue, Chile: A hideous brownish-yellow, the nose of the Gato Blanco sported oak, nail polish remover, and roses.  Yes, roses, which didn't bode well.  The palate delivered tart, tart strawberry mineral spirits, with a bit of a novacaine effect.  Admittedly, the latter might have been a cumulative effect, by this point.

Hugh Ryman Wines, Richemont, Chardonnay Reserve, 1996, 12%, Pays D'Oc, France: A sickly bourbony color, the Richemont featured lemon peel, oyster shell, and oak on the palate, in rapid succession, until collapsing into a varnishy haze.  This one was universally despised, though we did have some hopes for it at first because of its youth (and because there are 5 more bottles of it in the basement).  The fascinatingly hideous Richemont cork is pictured here.

Louis Gisselbrecht, Gewurztraminer, Cuvee Reserve, 1988, 12.5%, Dambach-la-Ville, Alsace, France: Another lesson: whatever complex chemical stuff has to happen to keep a white wine going in the cellar in the absence of nice balancing tannins does not apply to the nose, necessarily, either.  This one had a light gold color, perhaps a little dark for a Gewurz but well within reason, and a delightful grapefruity nose.  But sadly, to quote one drinker, "It smells like Gewurz but it tastes like shit!"  Ok, it didn't actually taste like poo, but a strong front of grapefruit rapidly yielded to Testor's model glue and pine needles. One drinker pointed out that glue is not universally despised, but I think glue huffers will be disappointed that the nose on this isn't more in line with its flavor.

Bodegas Olarra, Cerro Añon, Viura, 1984, 11.5%, Logroño, Rioja, Spain: We had high hopes for this one, too, but despite an interesting medium orange gold color and a roasted pear nose, the nail polish, oak, burned hazelnut, radish, and cedar that it delivered ("Agent Orange blossoms," was my phrase at the time) got it dumped out quickly by our assembly.

What have we learned, one dump bucket-full of wine and ten empty bottles and broken corks later?  First, that the variety of bad-tasting things is nearly boundless.  Second, that wine's individuality is hard even for long-term, unbalanced chemical processes to suppress.  Third, that when you do a maderized wine tasting, you should have on hand at least two bottles of really good stuff, and something pickled, to clear palates!

Ramón Bilbao Rioja Gran Reserva

Ramón Bilbao
Rioja
Gran Reserva
Tempranillo (& Graciano, Mazuelo)
Spain
1998
12.5%
$12.50 -- Wine Pro, Paducah, KY

Color: Medium rosy red
Nose: Tootsie roll, a hint of horsey poo, dried cherries
Body: Medium
Front: Cherry cola
Middle: Tootsie roll, coffee, hint of mushroom
Back: Dusty tannins, oak, radish
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

A delicious, aromatic, not-too complex but food-friendly wine. When I say not too complex, I just mean that there's not a clear sequence on the delivery. I don't mean that there aren't lots of flavors in it, because there are more than I have written down above, ones I can sense imprecisely at the edges of recollection. The tastes linger on the palate, too, haunting the flavor. It makes you want to drink more.

This is a case where my food and music pairings are failing me. I really want some Wisantigo Stravecchio cheese, but I'm in the boonies of Kentucky and there ain't none. And I want to listen to J.J. Cale with this: to mellow out completely. But for some odd reason, there's no J.J. Cale here either!  Outrageous. I will have to sing little songs to myself in my head...

Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz

Penfolds Wines
Shiraz
Magill, South Australia
2003
14.5%
$39.98 -- Twin Liquors, Austin, TX

Color: Inky red
Nose: Blackberry jam, smoke, eucalyptus
Body: Full and creamy
Front: Cassis
Middle: Raspberry, mint
Back: Chocolate, dusty tannins, clove
Burns clean?: 
Cap: Cork

This is a beautifully structured, rich, but subtle wine.  It needs a bit of time open, to be sure, and will cellar for a goodly while longer.  It feels a little closed, to me, compared to the last time I had it, so the 2003 may have gone a bit dormant.  Then again, I paired it with chili, the spice of which might have prejudiced the vino.  In the grand scheme of things, this is a much more elegant, French-style Syrah than one often gets (at least if one drinks the Syrahs that Caveat Emptyer has reviewed!) from Australia.  Dave Brubeck was on the stereo tonight--a good match for the wine.

Bon Anno Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Bon Anno Vineyards
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
Napa, California, USA
2007
14%
$26.00 -- Vino100, Lakeway, TX

Color: Dark purplish red
Nose: Baked apple pie, cherry,
Body: Medium to full
Front: Blackberry jam, codfish brandade
Middle: Espresso, black currant
Back: Cilantro, oak
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

Yesterday I spent a lovely evening at my friend Gloria's wine establishment in Lakeway, Texas, the axis of which was this wine.  With some lovely jazz renditions of old standbys on the stereo and a few nice and salty artisanal cheeses and toasted bread on the bar, it was like being in Paris.  Except everybody was speaking English.  And drinking California wine.

This is young, but delicious.  Give it two hours -- the tannins soften and the greenness (the cilantro was not spicy pleasant so much as biting, in context) alleviates, letting the jam and a little sweet spiciness through.  The acid wasn't terrifically strong in this wine, so it might not age forever.  I might get another bottle and lay it down for a year or two and see what happens.  The cod flavor (a good thing) has me intrigued for this wine's future.

Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits-St-Georges

Domaine Jean Grivot
"Les Boudots"
Pinot Noir
1er Cru
Nuits-Saint-Georges
Vosne-Romanée, France
2001
13%
$40.99 [$63.99] -- Twin Liquors, Austin, TX

Color: Medium, smoky strawberry peach
Nose: Strawberry, grilled ribeye, ...
Body: Medium
Front: Sour cherry
Middle: Broccoli, pencil lead
Back: Substantial tannins, raspberry
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

The flavor description above is utterly phantasmic.  This wine evolved in fascinating ways over the course of about five hours.  I didn't decant it; just left it in the bottle, and started drinking it after it had been open about two hours.  At two hours it was spicy and meaty; at four hours it was passive and graphitic; who knows what it will be like five minutes after I hit "Publish Post."

I got this puppy on sale, and at the price I got it for, it's divine.  Given how long it's been open and how the flavors are still roiling around, I'd have to guess it can age for much longer; so it may eventually be worthy of the top price for it. Usually I don't rank things against each other, but at this price, I think it's important to note that I enjoyed the Pieure Roch more than this from a complexity and general "what the hell is going on in this bottle?!" standpoint.

Note: Day 2 on this wine; open a total of 9-10 hours: roasted fig, olives, cranberry, thyme.  Ferreal.  This thing will age for some time; like, 5-10 more years.

Chalone Estate Chardonnay

Chalone Vineyard
Chardonnay
Estate Grown
Monterey County
Soledad, California, USA
2007
14.3%
$20.00 -- Grapevine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Pale straw
Nose: Baked peach, biscotti
Body: Full
Front: Apricot, banana
Middle: Salmon, gravel
Back: Peach, graham crackers, bread and butter
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

It's another frigid night in the south--well, most places in North America, I'd guess. There is some minor celebrating going on around the house, so this will be a wine-intense evening. First, a California white in a burgundian style, then an honest-to-Allah Burgundy pinot. In between, fondue and salad with radishes, mushrooms, and other wintery sorts of substances.

This wine has a really interesting nose, which I've only inadequately described above. There's a tinge of heat in the nose, too, but I think that with a little time that will fade and it will get both more fruity and more herby. The palate develops for a long time, and is nicely balanced. The oak comes in at the very end, and fades in really delightfully, to my taste. I'll certainly get more of this wine.

Note: Impressive: It's three days later, and this wine has probably been open for seven hours or more, and then corked for three days in the fridge. It's astonishingly rich, buttery, spicy, even still has a smidgen of acidic peariness or apricot involved. Bread pudding, really.  This will age. If you usually take two or three days to drink a bottle, this is a colossal bargain.

Pillar Box Reserve

Henry's Drive Vignerons
Pillar Box Reserve
Shiraz
Padthaway, Australia
2007
15%
$15.98 -- Wine Library, Springfield, NJ


Color: Opaque blood red
Nose: Clove, blackberry jam, a little heat
Body: Full and creamy
Front: Blueberries, cafe au lait
Middle: Cherry, pepper, sage
Back: Asphalt, cedar
Burns clean?: Yes, mostly
Cap: Screwcap

Break out the roasted beets and the grilled lamb and the syrah.  It's winter. Pillar Box is, I assume (loyal readers, spank me if I am wrong), sort of a "second label" of Henry's Drive, which makes a killer syrah.  Back in the day I had the Pillar Box Red, and found it lovely, if uncomplex.  This is a step up in every way, and not terrifically more expensive.

One of the most interesting things about it to me is the texture of the wine.  The flavor profile isn't all that uncommon in Australian syrah.  There's a bit more going on in it than, say, the Marquis Philips wines, but they're a dollar or two cheaper and easier to find.  But they don't have the elegant roundness, the creamitude, of this bottle.

Château Côte Montpezat Cuvee Compostelle

Vignobles Bessineau
Château Côte Montpezat
Cuvee Compostelle
Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon
Côtes de Castillon 
Castillon, Bordeaux, France
2000
13%
$18.99 -- Wine Library, Springfield, NJ

Color: Rich dark garnet
Nose: Cassis, cherry, espresso, mint, mustard
Body: Medium
Front: Cassis, mint
Middle: Roasted bell pepper, chocolate
Back: Thyme, graphitic tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

The nose on this wine is fantastic.  Leave it open at least an hour before you drink it.  The structure of this wine isn't particularly clear, but the flavors and the aroma are superb.  It's a good bargain, too, with a lot of fascinating things going on (mustard and mint?!) that keep it interesting as the wine opens up.

I paired this with a chicken, chorizo, and red bell pepper thing to which I have kind of become addicted. It's a freezing night (ok, 42) and something stewed was called for, along with some toasted bread and interesting wine. And tonight I raise a glass to my friend Jace Everett, who's among the musicians on the soundtrack to HBO's hit show True Blood -- a soundtrack just nominated for a Grammy.

Cameron Hughes Lot 102: Cabernet Sauvignon

Cameron Hughes Wine
Cabernet Sauvignon
Lot 102
Rutherford
Napa Valley
Geyserville, California, USA
2006
14.5%
$13.99 -- Costco, Austin, TX

Color: Medium to dark ruby
Nose: Cassis, cherry, rosemary, anise
Body: Medium to full
Front: Cherry
Middle: Raspberry, black pepper
Back: Herbes de provence, soft tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Composite cork

This is the second in the Cameron Hughes tasting diptych. This wine is more to my taste. And it went well with onion soup, the link to the recipe for which I must provide out of gratitude.

Lot 102 is not a masterpiece of subtlety like the Andrew Will. It's not a powerhouse like the Sattui Preston. But it's the tastiest $14 bottle of wine I've had in years. A caveat, however: I opened this puppy at 4:30 p.m. and didn't drink any of it until almost 8 p.m. It really needs air, so don't take it to dinner at someone else's house unless they've got a big decanter and/or patience and they really like you. That said, I'm not sure it will cellar well, since it's not a particularly complex wine, with the acidic flavors more or less dominating.

Cameron Hughes Lot 115: Chardonnay

Cameron Hughes Wine
Chardonnay
Lot 115
Russian River
Sonoma County
Geyserville, California, USA
2007
13.5%
$10.99 -- Costco, Austin, TX

Color: Medium gold, extremely clear
Nose: Pear, apricot
Body: Medium
Front: Apricot
Middle: Green apple, butter
Back: Minerals, lime
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Composite cork

The smell of roasting onions wafts from my oven. It's freezing tonight (which for Austin means it's 53 degrees), so it's time for some French onion soup.

French onion soup is labor-intensive, done well. It took 14 hours to make the stock that I'm putting into it, and it's going to take four hours of roasting, scraping, and stirring to get 'er done tonight. But the odd thing is, it's practically free to make: the Gruyere at the end is the most expensive part! So with that in mind, I'm tasting two cheap wines with promise (or at least, mixed reception in the reviewing world to date) by a California negociant called Cameron Hughes Wine.

Each of their different blends has a "Lot" number. Poke around on the internet and you'll find their strategy; here I want to focus on these bottles and what's going on inside them. This is not a super-complex wine, but it's nicely balanced, with equal shares of oakiness and acidity, but more importantly, with a definite structure. A little oddly (from my admittedly limited experience), there's a apple or lime flavor at the end of the palate, after the buttery portion has been delivered. It's delightful; I wish they would serve this at the receptions I'll be having to attend as the Christmas season approaches!

In my next entry: the CH Rutherford Cabernet.

Monte Antico Toscana

C. Santa Lucia
Monte Antico
Toscana IGT
Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, MerlotPisa, Italy2006
12.5%
$10.99 -- Whole Foods, Austin, TX

Color: Medium to dark garnet with purple tinge
Nose: Mushrooms, blackberries, green pepper
Body: Light
Front: Cherry, earth
Middle: Some chocolate, a little light here
Back: A little game, soft wet-rock tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

This is a delightful, but not beefy, wine. Now, I must confess up front that I'm not a huge Sangiovese fan. But the blend on this wine is balanced, and for a lot of folks who don't like full-bodied wines, but like a varied flavor profile, this will be a gastronomical and economic godsend. The earthy and minerally flavors are nicely balanced with the berry fruits up front.

I had it with pizza and it was fine, but I think a pasta with lemon, butter, white wine, capers, that sort of thing would be better. The cheese was a bit of a challenge for the Monte Antico; something not too spicy or heavy would pair well with it. I'm not listening to music tonight--there's a howling wind outside.

Rex Hill Reserve Pinot Noir

Rex Hill Vineyards
Pinot Noir
Reserve
Newburg, Oregon, USA2005
13.8%
$34.99 -- Austin, TX

Color: Medium garnet
Nose: Cherries, smoke
Body: Full
Front: Red currants, cherries
Middle: Plums, cedar, licorice
Back: Steel, tar
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is an intense webfoot Pinot. The fruit is strong, yet there are a bunch of non-fruity flavors lurking all around the dark corners of this one. It's no Vosne-Romanee, but it's got some complexity on its side.

I'm sitting by a lovely fire and listening to Lily Allen and it's getting to be about perfect relaxation, taken with this wine. This would pair well with a lot of different foods, but I'd think fish, chicken pot pie, and garbanzos (done not too spicily) in particular.

Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Extra Dry

Piper Heidsieck
ChampagneExtra Dry
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay
Reims, FranceNV
12%
$30.02 [usually around $40] -- Grapevine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Medium straw
Nose: Baking apple pie, nutmeg, bread
Body: Medium
Front: Almond, pear
Middle: Cinnamon, orange peel, honey
Back: Apple, pie pan scrapings, a hint of cognac
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

My first sparkling wine review! I drink sparkling wine all the time, actually, but often at restaurants or other people's houses. When I have it at home, it sort of feels like a travesty to write anything down about it. This seems particularly the case with honest-to-Allah Champagnes like this one.

Now, I dig the Piper Brut, which is dryer than this (the crafty French always fool you with their marketing prowess, calling the sweeter wine "extra dry" indeed). But this is a crowd-pleaser, and delightfully complex; the sweets are largely in fruity flavors, not straight-up sugar, so the more subtle things come through. Git you some salty-spicy almonds and nutty semi-soft cheese, and you will be in good company.

Frank Family Chardonnay

Frank Family Vineyards
Chardonnay
Napa Valley
Calistoga, California, USA2007
14.4%
$23.99 [usually around $30] -- Grapevine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Medium golden yellow
Nose: Buttery violets
Body: Full
Front: Ripe apple, lime
Middle: Butter, pear
Back: Caramel, oak
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

As I've said before, the Frank Family wines are damn tasty. Their Chardonnay is rich but balanced, complex but friendly. It's a sexy wine, if such a metaphor could be used (I seem to recall sort of doing so in writing about their Cabernet).

There are so many flavors in here that I can't describe; it drinks like a much more expensive wine. And remember, Frank Family is one of the few outfits in Napa that still doesn't charge for tastings. This is great with food, and lots of different palates like it -- though don't feed it to friends who claim to just totally hate oak or butter in their Chardonnays; it, and many of your other good wines, will be wasted on them until this phase of popular mimicry passes.

Sinskey Merlot

Robert Sinskey Vineyards
Merlot
Los Carneros
Napa, California, USA2004
14.3%
$23.99 -- Spec's, Austin, TX

Color: Medium garnet
Nose: Violets, raspberry, vanilla
Body: Medium
Front: Cassis, pomegranate, cardamom
Middle: Fennel, roasted fig, bitter chocolate
Back: Espresso, a hint of greenness, like kiwi
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

As is probably obvious from the stacked flavor description above, I adore this wine. This is, to my young and inexperienced mind, what Merlot is all about. It's different from, if perhaps inspired by, some Bordeaux classics, the Merlot-heavy ones, that I also like. But it has structure and complexity; the latter exhibited in a mixture on the palate that eludes clear description but that's a mashup of the tastes listed above, and a few more, too. I didn't decant this one, but let it unwind slowly out of the bottle.

Sinskey uses organically grown grapes to make this wine, and all of their wines (I confess to having spent an hour, perhaps more, at the winery) are subtle and complex. Okay, the cardamom taste is subtle, but really, how do you make any kind of cardamom taste out of grapes or oak? Not to say that this kind of alchemy is the foundation, origin, or soul of winemaking--probably, like all aesthetic endeavors, there's no foundation per se. But it's enchanting, that's for sure. Go out and buy a bunch of this, and then send me some.

Canoe Ridge Merlot

Canoe Ridge Vineyard
Merlot
Horse Heaven Hills
Columbia Valley
Walla Walla, Washington, USA
2005
14.5%
$14.99 -- Spec's, Austin, TX

Color: Deep garnet
Nose: Cinnamon, nutmeg, licorice
Body: Medium; round, like there's a hole in the middle, yet not watery
Front: Dried cherries
Middle: Cream, plum
Back: Cedar, very soft tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

I read about this wine in Time Magazine online, and was intrigued. It's so cheap! And yet, so tasty! The nose is lovely, though utterly at odds with what the label tells me I should smell. The palate is multilayered, but not overpowering, like yer Merlots tend to be. But it's got presence and weight, and paired well with the New York Strip and organic lettuce and tomato salad I made this evening. The tannins are barely there, but there, giving some texture.

It also paired perfectly with the Back Yard Tire Fire that was on the stereo; their record Bar Room Semantics. They're a working-class band, from Chicago, and have a bit of a Wilco sound, but a bit more economic urgency and a bit more actual laid-backness. They have a song on this record about having to wait for your friends to pick you up and how easy it is to lose your cool, even though the stakes are so low and clearly they're not doing it on purpose to piss you off. That is the sort of reflection that this wine ought to induce.

Note: 4 January 2010. I had the 2002, and it's over the hill, by my standards; just strong plum and oak, both too sweet, coming through. A few weeks ago, I had the 2004, and it was quite good, layered and interesting for a $15 bottle.

Longoria Chardonnay

Richard Longoria Wines
Chardonnay
Cuvée Diana
Santa Rita Hills
Lompoc, California, USA2004
15.4%
$37.99 -- Grapevine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Medium golden yellow
Nose: Hibiscus, orange, caramel
Body: Medium to full
Front: Almonds
Middle: Ripe orange peel
Back: Oak, cinnamon
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

I don't get to drink five-year-old chardonnay every day, so this was a treat. It's quite French; not as oak-forward nor as acid-forward as the two California options tend to be, but an elegant balance of the two. Don't drink it too cold, or you'll lose most of the complexity of the wine. If you doubt that southern California can compete with Napa and Sonoma, try this wine.

I drank it with a sweet Italian sausage and penne dish that was the heated creation of my distracted and overworked brain, and it was a delightful accompaniment. The Norah Jones I paired it with musically was a little too self-conscious for the wine, I think -- something like the Lyle Lovett of It's Not Big It's Large would have been a better match for this grown-up, but not unplayful, wine.

Eberle Côtes-du-Rôbles

Eberle Winery
Côtes-du-Rôbles
Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Viognier
Paso Robles, California, USA2006
14.7%
$22.99 -- Grapevine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Medium ruby
Nose: Strawberries, a little heat, cinnamon
Body: Medium
Front: Cinnamon
Middle: Cassis
Back: Leather
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Fake cork

They say that the region around Paso Robles is good for growing southern Rhône varietals like the ones that make up this one. The syrah-heavy blends from there are certainly good, and Tablas Creek's wines are among my favorites. The truth may be much more complex--the plains and valleys around Paso Robles are extremely varied, with wide-ranging microclimates, and the winemakers there are a mix of experienced old-world types and smart neophytes. Eberle is one of the area's oldest houses.

This is a delightful wine. I've expressed my affection for it before, but if this were available in more places, I'd be buying it by the case for pretty much any everyday meal or taking to friends' houses--much like I would a good and well-priced Côtes du Rhône. It will make just about any red wine drinker happy, and will keep those with more demanding palates interested just long enough to get them out the door. The fruit is tart and the spices are delightful; the tannins are very low.

It was damn fine with a beautiful Texas sunset and a rising chorus of crickets and frogs.

Markham Merlot

Markham Vineyards
Merlot
Napa Valley
St. Helena, California, USA2005
13.8%
$17.99 -- HEB, Austin, TX

Color: Medium garnet
Nose: Cassis, chocolate, flowers
Body: Medium
Front: Raspberry
Middle: Cafe au lait
Back: Cedar, toasted bagel
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

My first taste of this wine was at the Blue Duck Tavern in Washington, DC. It's a superfancy restaurant, and as at most such joints right now, the Merlots are the best values on the list. I had it decanted, since I was dining alone and was expecting a comparatively short evening, and also maybe 'cause I knew I would enjoy the spectacle of pretension (they've got humongous decanters there) brought to bear on a bottle of wine that sells for $17 retail.

That night it was fabulous with roasted pork rib and fingerling potatoes with bone marrow. It's not a big wine, and not many-layered. But it's really smooth, with soft tannins, and plays nice with food. Good with a sunset, or Eartha Kitt, or after some exercise.

Forchini Cabernet Sauvignon

Forchini Vineyards & Winery
Proprietor's Reserve
Cabernet Sauvignon
Dry Creek Valley
Healdsburg, California, USA2005
14.7%
$18.99 [26.99] -- Grapevine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Deep purple and garnet
Nose: Huge berry, sour smoke, plum, vanilla
Body: Medium to full
Front: Ripe cherry
Middle: Creamy chocolate
Back: Spicy oak, a little mint
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This thing is an olfactory experience, as much as a tasting one. The nose is humongous; it has the typical Sonoma Cabernet profile, a lush berryness, but it's bigger than most. It reminds me a lot of the Ferrari-Carano Cab, but the palate isn't as full as the nose, which is a bit peculiar.

Chapillon Cuvee Harmonie

R.E. 3145-Z
Cuvee Harmonie
Petit Verdot, Tannat
Aragon, Spain
2006
14%
$8.00 -- Costco, Austin, TX

Color: Deep red with purple tinge
Nose: Sour fruit, compost, pool float
Body: Medium
Front: Cassis
Middle: Cilantro, chocolate covered raspberry
Back: A smidgen of orange peel, fine tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Plastic cork

This is a mysterious wine. What house made it? Where exactly in Aragon does it come from? Why doesn't it have any official denominations? The link in above is to the blog of a person whom I think is the winemaker; his Frenchness makes some sense of the blend. But the rest is a mystery I hope my three, or perhaps four, readers will illuminate for me because I am lazy.

The wine is tasty. Despite the acrobatics of combining two grapes that Americans rarely drink, or want to know that they're drinking if they do, the terroir kind of takes the limelight anyway. It's a Spanish red: gritty, tangy fruity, leathery. I confess it's got a bit of Madiran goin' on, probably an effect of the Tannat; it occurs to me that if you like Zinfandel, you might enjoy this as an entry to European wines. There appears to be, by the way, a teeny bit of residual carbonation in it...look for little tiny bubbles at the edge...

Rombauer Carneros Merlot

Rombauer Vineyards
Merlot
Carneros
St. Helena, California, USA
2006
14.4%
$35.00 -- ALC, Austin, TX

Color: Medium to deep garnet
Nose: Raspberry, spice, cocoa
Body: Medium to Full
Front: Ripe raspberry
Middle: Sweet basil
Back: Chocolate, soft tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

The flavors in this wine are stunning, but it's the structure that's so impressive. Get some and drink it. It will disappoint few. No, never mind. Shun it. Drive down the price. Send me bottles that you disdain to drink because you saw Sideways, dammit, and you know that truly deep-feeling Western subjects favor Pinot Noir and never drink Merlot.*

I had this one with a classic Cabernet meal: seared steak, garlic mashed potatoes, blue cheese-dressed salad. It stood up to it like a sophomore English major fighting for a B+ instead of a B, and as so often happens in that case, it triumphed. And this was a well-marbled steak, so unlike the sophomore's, this was a real victory.

* Wasn't that a Merlot that Miles ended up drinking, in ecstasy, at the end...? Just sayin'.

Cain Cuvée

Cain Vineyard & Winery
Cain Cuvée
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot
NV6
Napa ValleySt. Helena, California, USA
14.5%
$23.44 -- Grapevine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Medium to deep strawberry, a tinge of purple edge
Nose: Burnt raspberries
Body: Medium to Full
Front: Strawberry
Middle: Dried cherry, mint
Back: Coffee, soft tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This has the Napa Valley mark on it, to be sure, but it's a more restrained, Frenchy sort of style. That said, it isn't all leather and cigar smoke--it's fruits and herbs. It needs air, and wouldn't suffer from a year or two more in the bottle (stored in the dark at responsible temperature and humidity, of course). The mintiness only emerged after I'd decanted it for an hour, and helped balance out the palate. It was tasty with the grilled filet mignon and tossed salad with avocado that I painstakingly prepared this evening, instead of doing my work.

NB to the NV: This wine is made up from two different vintages, the 2006 and 2005.

Stephan Ridge Red Wine

Stephan Vineyards
Stephan Ridge
Syrah, Cabernet
Paso Robles, California
2000
14.6%
$19.99 -- Grapevine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Dark garnet, browning at the edges
Nose: Plum
Body: Full
Front: Roasted figs
Middle: Chocolate
Back: A little heat, cedar
Burns clean?: Hard to say; I only managed one glass
Cap: Cork

This wine caught my attention because I had the L'Aventure Optimus and nearly cried. Apparently I was so impaired by affection that I didn't write a blog entry on it. That will be corrected. At any rate, this is made by the same French dude, out in the boonies of Paso Robles, who made the awesome Optimus. It's a blend that I've been proven to hate, and it's nine years old, which, given that the winery was fairly new at that time, ought to mean it's past its prime.

It may be. But if you like a sweet, beefy wine, this will make you happy. Surprisingly, there's still a bit of heat on the end of the palate, but the rest of the way it's a round, rich wine. It's not the Optimus, but then, I suspect that it's getting a bit intense and perhaps unbalanced with age, and favoring the roasted figgy end of the spectrum.

Note: I drank the 2001 tonight.  This one's a little less past prime, but still too sweet for me.  But it's much more reserved; chocolate, cranberries on the nose, and raspberry compote and mocha on the palate, with something weirdly spicy in there, too.  A bit brown at the edges, though, so it's getting to the end of its tether.

Prieure Roch Vosne-Romanee Les Clous

Domaine Prieure-Roch
Les Clous
Pinot Noir
Vosne-Romanee
Nuit-Saint-Georges, France
2000
11.5 or 12.5% (front and back labels disagree)
$48.99 [$68.99] -- Grapevine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Light, smoky strawberry peach
Nose: Strawberry, darker fruit, wet gravel, sour [something vegetal]
Body: Light
Front: Rose water, tire iron
Middle: Sour cherry, licorice
Back: Graphite, cedar, thyme
Burns clean?: Perfectly
Cap: Cork

An urging from a dear relative a few days ago sent me to the Grapevine Market, where eighty people on their lunch breaks were loading up carts with vast numbers of bottles of (sometimes) fabulous wine. This location is closing down, apparently, so they're selling off wines at a big discount. Thus it was that I was able to obtain my first, and possibly last, taste of real French Pinot Noir, from the relatively new winery of Domaine Prieure-Roch.

The color of this wine is stunning; it's very light, and in the glass it's like a peachy sunburst, almost going to clear at the edges. I can't quite describe the nose. A quick whiff and it's like most pinots, but less juicy fruity--then you stick your nose in the glass and way more interesting layers of things hit you. The palate is equally difficult to capture, though that's partly because I drink so few pinots. The tannins are incredibly soft, and I really like the sour and spicy mixture of flavors on top of a delightful mineral bed.

Here's what I'd say about this one: don't drink it if you are in a hurry. Don't drink it if your mind is set to accounting, or multitasking, or catching-up, or getting-ahead modes. It won't demand your attention, like this wine will, but it will reward your patience and attention. Also: the brownness in the color may well be evidence that it's moving past its peak--it is hard to find information about Prieure-Roch wines online (I've linked the most useful thing I found to the title above), but it seems equally possible, from the taste, that we are nowhere near its evolutionary end. It is a blend of grapes from several vineyards and, I think, not the top-of-the-line stuff from this house.

Having not done a lot of Pinot pairing, I'm staying safe with slow-cooked chicken, onion, and garlic, and roasted yaller potatoes tonight. Also maybe an avocado. And a Texas sunset, part of which reflects the color of this wine much better than my prose.

Howard Park Scotsdale Shiraz

Howard Park Wines
Scotsdale
Great Southern
Shiraz
Cowaramup, Western Australia2004
14.5%
$35.99 -- Chapel Hill, NC

Color: Deep garnet
Nose: Cheese fondue, pepper
Body: Full
Front: Currant
Middle: Cream, chocolate
Back: Blueberry, tannins, aromatic herbs
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

This is an enormous, rich, stunning wine. It's got nice acid with the curranty flavors, backed by a real creaminess and a hint of spiciness. This may be the peak of this vintage; it flattens out after about an hour open. But with about twenty minutes of air, it's spectacular: serve to friends!

This evening's accompaniment was Kat Edmonson on the stereo, and grilled rack of lamb with grilled yellow squash and a dried cherry red wine sauce on the plate. The lamb brings out the spice in the wine, even as the wine brings out the richness in the food--a happy pairing.

Terra Valentine Cabernet

Terra Valentine
Cabernet Sauvignon
Spring Mountain District
Napa Valley
St. Helena, California, USA2005
14.9%
$33.99 -- COSTCO, Austin, TX

Color: Dark strawberry
Nose: Chocolate, plum
Body: Full
Front: Cassis
Middle: Sparkledy cherries
Back: Tannins, eucalyptus, cedar
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is an intense Cabernet. I'm trying it after only a half hour of decanting, so perhaps there's more fruit in the bottle. If so, I will update later. But the old-world flavors are prominent at this point, including the minty tastes that are one of the things I really like in some Napa Cabernets (and McLaren Vale reds, too). This would be good with cheese and meat, though my phone-in dinner has not yet arrived, so I may be completely wrong on that.

Hmm. It is increasingly appearing that I should have waited half an hour before writing this blog entry. Moral: Timing is everything.

Domini Douro

Jose Maria da Fonseca Vinhos
Domini
Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz
Douro
Azeitao, Portugal2004
14%
$10.99 -- COSTCO, Austin, TX

Color: Medium to dark garnet (unfiltered)
Nose: Blackberry, pie crust, cigar
Body: Full
Front: Blackberry
Middle: Tobacco
Back: Gravelly tannins, rosemary
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

It's a bargain. Mature, structured, but rich, Domini made my evening. It packs a wallop, without being hot. It's tannic, for sure, but the fruit makes for an intriguing balance. Check this post for a fantastic food pairing which I only wish I'd been able to experience tonight. This evening, this wine was paired with reading contracts; it's almost impossible to pair a wine with contract-reading.

J. Bookwalter Foreshadow Cabernet

J. Bookwalter
Foreshadow
Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec, SyrahColumbia Valley
Richland, Washington, USA2006
14.8%
$23.89 -- COSTCO, Austin, TX

Color: Medium to dark garnet
Nose: Burned fruit pie
Body: Full
Front: French fruit soup, espresso
Middle: Vanilla, soft tannins, mesquite
Back: Cinnamon, thyme
Burns clean?: Yes, mostly
Cap: Cork

A lush wine, for a lush evening, with bats flying around and a steak on the grill; avocadoes and tomatoes resting lazily on romaine and walnut oil and aged balsamic. I've been picky about the Washington wines I've been drinking, and it's paying off bigtime.

This is a whopper of a wine in all ways, with so many flavor things happening that I can't quite figure it out (as is no doubt evident from the lame-ass descriptions above). It doesn't have a clear structure, but like some good Australian shirazes with that trait, it doesn't suffer from it much. Warning: if you have something else to focus on tonight, don't start into this Realist novel of a wine!

Speaking of caveats, this wine usually goes for closer to $40, so I've tagged it accordingly. Long live CostCo.

Château Brun St.-Émilion

Château Brun
Saint-Émilion
Merlot, Cabernet SauvignonBordeaux, France2005
13%
$15.00 -- Vino 100, Lakeway, TX

Color: Medium to dark raspberry
Nose: Leather, tobacco
Body: Medium
Front: Raspberry
Middle: Cream, oak
Back: Graphitic tannins, hint of tobacco
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

Another 2005 Bordeaux that I'm plowing through in quest of the extraordinary ones everybody keeps talking about. This one was a delightful gift from Gloria at Vino 100 in Lakeway, so the price I sort of guessed on. It made a good accompaniment to some barbecued chicken and corn last night. It's not a huge wine, so don't make it take on seriously fatty meats. Pairs well with Kat Edmonson, musically, with the mixture of her canny voice and the mellow, fat sounds of her band on the album Take to the Sky.

Sage Veedercrest

Sage Vineyards
Veedercrest
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc
Napa ValleyCalistoga, California, USA2005
15.2%
$22.99 -- COSTCO, Austin, TX

Color: Dark red with a purple tinge
Nose: Ripe blackberry, smoked salmon, wet mulch
Body: Medium to full
Front: Cherry
Middle: Pomegranate, hints of mocha, some tannins
Back: Cilantro, wood, soft tannins
Burns clean?:
Cap: Cork

This is a simple, dense bordeaux-style blend (Cab-heavy) from the Mt. Veeder area. At the Costco price, it's a damn good deal. I shouldn't be saying this on the web; I can't imagine that, given this vineyard has only 21 acres, there are bajillions of cases of this out there. It was good with a manchego and garlic crackers appetizer, and just as good with steak and grilled zucchini.

A word on Mt. Veeder area wines, particularly Cabernets: they aren't really for everybody. I find them delightfully briary; that is, blackberry tasty combined with challenging green flavors, sometimes spiny, sometimes herb-o-licious. So, if you like classic Spanish Riojas, you might enjoy Mt. Veeder-derived wines. But if you like Australian colossal fruit, or bright Zins, this would not be the first Cabernet-based fine wine I'd try. It might save you some tongue-shaving.

Finca Resalso

Bodegas Emilio Moro
Finca Resalso
TempranilloRibera del Duero
Valladolid, Spain2007
14.5%
$9.99 -- COSTCO, Austin, TX

Color: Dark red
Nose: Ripe cherry flambee, graham cracker
Body: Medium to full
Front: Cherries
Middle: Cream, cilantro
Back: Animal crackers, soft tannins
Burns clean?:
Cap: Cork

This is another good deal from Spain. Interesting, multilayered, and bright. This will pair well with a range of foods, I think; it's got a solid body. No music tonight, and no food: it's labor day, which for me seems to have meant laboring all day. But as a midnight snack, with only the sound of the wind as accompaniment, it's delightful.

Luzon Jumilla

Bodegas Luzon
Jumilla
Monastrell, SyrahJumilla, Spain2007
14%
$6.89 -- COSTCO, Austin, TX

Color: Dark red with a slight purple tinge
Nose: Raspberry and tobacco
Body: Medium
Front: Pepper
Middle: Dark cherry
Back: Some sort of spice...thyme? Oregano?
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is a great bottle of wine for this price. Not sure how it'll age, as the tannins are very soft, but it's fruity yet earthy, powerful yet structured. It's good with the olives and the cold leftover steak on my plate this evening, but I think any sort of light food it'd be great for, and would be a super hot-weather red wine. It's not a powerhouse wine, but it's a delightful surprise!

Vincent Saincrit Bordeaux

Germain-Saincrit Vignerons
Grand vin de Bordeaux
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon
BordeauxBerson, Gironde, France2005
13%
$8.69 -- COSTCO, Austin, TX

Color: Medium strawberry
Nose: Blackberries, saddle leather
Body: Medium
Front: Sour berries
Middle: Soft tannins, wood
Back: Cigar wrapper
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This will be the first of several Bordeaux experiments in the coming months. I've had a couple of them that I liked, but they were all kind of old. Rumor has it the 2005 vintage is so awesome that even the cheapest bottles aren't bad. That would seem to be true in the case of this wine.

Still, it's not for the white zinfandel lover, and it's not for dinner -- it won't stand up to much intensity in food, but it's good with light antipasti. It's brighter fruit at the start than some Bordeaux I've had, even the Merlot-heavy ones of the Right Bank. But it's not super complex overall, or rich. I tried it decanted for an hour, and then the next day as well, and it seemed to peak early. It has that lovely sour berry flavor that I like in so many French wines, and like so many such wines, it goes well with almost any musical accompaniment.

Simi Landslide Cabernet

Simi Winery
Landslide Vineyard
Cabernet Sauvignon
Alexander ValleySonoma, California, USA2005
14.5%
$26.99 -- COSTCO, Austin, TX

Color: Dark ruby
Nose: Tobacco and cherry
Body: Full
Front: Cherry
Middle: Smoke, cedar
Back: Tannins, raspberry chocolate
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

It's been awhile since I posted: it's just been too hot to drink wine. Sorry.

Ha ha! Just kidding. I've just been drinking cases of things I've already reviewed here, in the interests of saving money. But armed with a COSTCO membership, I'm back, with a bunch of things I've never tried before.

This one I'll probably buy more of, to lay down for awhile. It took about three hours for it to open into its full loveliness, and even then the tannins were pretty stout. But this is a lush, heavy Cabernet, with a really interesting flavor profile and clear structure. With grilled New York strip and grilled zucchini (with plenty of Tony's to spice it up) it was a great combination.

I was listening to Red Revelations, by Jace Everett, when I drank this one, and while I wouldn't go so far as to say the Simi was a revelation, it certainly seemed to make revelations happen more smoothly.

Ferrari-Carano Cabernet

Ferrari-Carano Mountain Winery
Cabernet Sauvignon
Alexander Valley
Geyserville, California, USA
2005
14.5%
$30.00 -- Spec's Liquors, Austin, TX

Color: Opaque ruby
Nose: Ripe plums, a hint of creamed corn
Body: Full
Front: Cherry
Middle: Licorice, young mint
Back: Espresso, oak
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

A great wine with food, this Cabernet seems to be appearing on more and more restaurant lists. I'm pairing it with a little perhaps-over-the-hill salami, and it's catalytic. It failed, however, against the balsamic vinaigrette on my iceberg salad (it's ten thousand degrees outside, a cold dinner vibe)--but then, not many wines succeed with vinegar.

I've never had one of these that was super-tannic, so I'm not sure about the aging potential of the wine, or if people who love Napa cabs will be fond of it. Still, it's got a number of interesting flavors in a simple, but to me delightful, structure. I'd definitely pull it out if you're having folks over for some great food, but don't know what their palates are like.

Note: 1 Dec 2009, I tried the 2006; still lush and layered, plum and herb-dominated.  There's a bit of an earthy stank to this vintage, which is really luscious. I think I might like this more than the 2005.  Average prices for it are going up, but on sale and at bargain joints it can be had in the $29-$30 range still.

Nebraska Wines

NOW, IF THAT headline doesn't get your attention, you must live in Nebraska.

The format of this entry is going to be a little looser than usual, so my Google-sent visitors will have to click away. Or, alternatively, bear with me. No, just click away. Go! Get ye to another website, with the information you want right there at the top of the page in tabular format, or better yet in an embedded YouTube video!

I was in Nebraska recently, on a business trip. One of my favorite fellow geeks, Terry, was at the same meeting. We've all had that moment, saying to ourselves, "Thank god so-and-so is here; this meeting is going to be survivable, now." Terry can geek out about our work, but as I discovered a few years ago, what makes him particularly awesome is that he and I can geek out about wine.

He's an appreciator, rather than a palate-policeman. A drinker, really, who loves great beer and good food, even if he can't always describe what things taste like. And as a long-time New Yorker, he loves a good bargain. When in Nebraska, we drink at an Indian restaurant called The Oven, which has one of the best (and most reasonably priced) wine lists I've ever seen. The food is great, and there are some delightful, hard-to-anticipate pairings to be encountered there.

So I was surprised when Terry invited me to go tasting Nebraska wines after our last full day of meetings. I was contemplating a lovely Willamette Pinot on The Oven's outdoor patio. Instead, we headed to a Nebraska-centric gift shop to taste six Nebraska wines each.

This was an education: I had never had wine made from a single one of the varietals on the tasting list. Frontenac; DeChaunac; Chambourcin; Marechal Foch; LaCrosse; Vignoles; and many more. They're sweet, unsurprisingly, given Nebraska's average temperatures and palatal preferences, and they're young. But some of these wines had interesting layers, and folks who like sweet wines should find Nebraska wines offer an astonishing variety for those who have been stuck with White Zinfandel and Gewurtz for all these years.

My favorites (as confessedly a fan of drier wines): Among the whites, I enjoyed the James Arthur Nebraska White. James Arthur bottles an astonishing number of varietals, but this white blend, of Dry Vignoles, LaCrosse, and Seyval, was fruity-sweet, rather than candy-sweet, and had some haunting notes of mineral and earth. It was also comparatively inexpensive, between $10-20. Among the reds, I enjoyed the Cuthills Chancellor, which had a bit of a Pinot Noir-like structure, and a delightful balance of fruit and earth. It was shockingly $32 a bottle, but for special occasions, or Nebraska state business dinners, it's more than worth it.

For Nebraska residents, I highly recommend the Nebraska Wine Tour, which you can find more about at http://www.nebraskawines.com. A hint: be sure you get up to Pierce, off the beaten track though it may be, because there's some good wine terroir a-borning up there.

As always, my thanks to Terry for enlightenment. I'm looking forward to my next Nebraska wine adventure.

Martin Syrah

Martin Family Vineyards
Syrah
Estate
Dry Creek ValleyHealdsburg, California, USA2004
14.2%
$16.00 -- Chapel Hill, NC

Color: Opaque purple
Nose: Sour blackberries, with a delightful stank on 'em
Body: Full
Front: Tangy blackberry
Middle: Plum
Back: Roasted coffee beans, cinderblock tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is a delightful wine and an incredible deal. I can't help but think that it's on the edge of its useful life, so drink it now! But the nose is simply enchanting, and the rest of it packs a punch across the dark fruity range.

I'm breaking the rules tonight, by not having any food to take this wine with, but it's been a hell of a week, so I cut myself loose. I'm listening to Jace Everett's record RED REVELATIONS, and this briary, out-of-control wine goes particularly well with his track "One of Them."

Sattui Crow Ridge Zinfandel

V. Sattui Winery
Zinfandel
Crow Ridge Vineyard
Old Vine
Russian River ValleySt. Helena, California, USA2006
15%
$28.00 -- Sattui Winery, St. Helena, CA

Color: Medium garnet
Nose: Raspberry, fig, pine
Body: Medium
Front: Raspberry
Middle: Rosemary, black pepper
Back: Smoke, cedar
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

V. Sattui wines are always on my mind. Admittedly, I'm not a big Zinfandel fan, but partly that's just because they seem to vary so much from bottle to bottle and even year to year that I feel I can't count on anything.

The Crow Ridge is a rich, juicy wine, good with any kind of food (though it's just salted, spicy almonds tonight). It provokes a little contemplation, though, unfolding through a few nice layers, and it's big enough to make you take notice.

Berthoud Syrah

Berthoud Vineyards & Winery
Syrah
Sonoma ValleyCalifornia, USA2003
13.8%
$28.00 -- Mayo Family, Glen Ellen, CA

Color: Deep garnet
Nose: Plum and mash
Body: Full
Front: Sour cherries
Middle: Dark roasted coffee, caramel
Back: Thyme, tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

It was a damn noisy late afternoon in the Mayo tasting room (they stay open until 6:30, well past most wineries) when I tried this wine, but I think I heard that it's the private label of that company's winemaker. This is some seriously French stuff; dark, earthy, and brooding.

This is not a wine for everyone. It was delicious with the roasted chicken and avocado of tonight's meal, but really, it's got a strong character. At about an hour of decanting it was at its most subtle and multilayered. There's not much more of it, honestly--they only made three barrels, to my math about 900 bottles--but it's a delight.

Robert Craig Affinity

Robert Craig Winery
Affinity
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot
Napa Valley
Angwin, California, USA2006
14.5%
$55.00 -- Wildflower, Tucson, AZ

Color: Rich ruby
Nose: Boysenberry, licorice
Body: Full
Front: Cherry
Middle: Coffee
Back: Chocolate cream pie
Burns clean?: Yes, though I had weird dreams
Cap: Cork

Another Wildflower half-off deal. This one wasn't as memorable as the 2005, which I first tried at this same restaurant last year. It's mostly Cabernet (judging from the front label, which declares it a Cabernet Sauvignon) but it's billed as a blend (judging from the back label which heralds the varietals listed above.

Whatever it is, it's great with all kinds of food, from the duck with cherries and spinach I had to the rich Mahi Mahi extravaganza my mom ate most of next to me. I do think I have an "affinity" for this wine, but I think in all honesty I'd say that it doesn't quite extend to passion. But friendship is more than enough.

Chalk Hill Chardonnay

Chalk Hill Winery
Chardonnay
Russian River Valley
Sonoma
Healdsburg, California, USA2006
14.8%
$26.00 -- Wildflower, Tucson, AZ

Color: Pale, milky gold
Nose: Pear, butter
Body: Full
Front: Apricot, lemon
Middle: Garlic butter
Back: Cedar, rosemary, truffle
Burns clean?: Yes, though I had weird dreams
Cap: Cork

I'm breakin' my own rule about reviewing wines served to me at restaurants. Wildflower's got a half-off special on bottles of wine on Tuesdays during the raging hot months of the summer, and this was way too good to pass up. I haven't had Chalk Hill in 10 years; when I was a youngster, my parents used to get it because it was a fantastic Chardonnay for around 20 bucks. Then it skyrocketed, along with a host of other Californiay Chardonnays, and they didn't buy it anymore.

It's a stunning wine. A long, long development on the palate, with clear structural shifts and an immaculate balance of acidic fruits up front, mellowing out to soft butteryness in the middle, and evolving into a woody, earthy finish. My father compares it to a Puligny-Montrachet, and I think that's right, though it's bigger, beefier, somehow. Still, it's subtle.

Wildflower has a world-class tuna tartare, and this was perfect accompaniment. But! We took the last few ounces of it home, and I had the last glass this evening while in my parents' pool. It was just as good with a hot afternoon swim as with raw fish.

Ponzi Pinot Noir

Ponzi Vineyards
Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley
Oregon, USA2006
14.2%
$35.99 -- Rum Runner, Tucson, AZ

Color: Medium ruby
Nose: Cherry, strawberry, something roasted
Body: Light to medium
Front: Cherry, spritz
Middle: Cedar, peppermint
Back: Cherry sours
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

This is a light wine, with interesting fruit flavors and a nice nose. It's getting toasty outside, and this is perfect on a hot Arizona afternoon, before dinner. It helps put one in the right state of mind to watch the news.

I confess that this isn't the sort of Pinot that gives me supreme delight. But it's not Juicy Fruit: the hint of sourness and the earthy notes give it a dimensionality that isn't always there in Pinots (even, unfortunately, in this price range).

Mayo Estate Laurel Hill Chardonnay

Mayo Family Winery
Chardonnay
Laurel Hill VineyardSonoma ValleyGlen Ellen, California, USA2006
14.2%
$17.99 -- Spec's Liquors, Austin, Texas

Color: Very pale gold
Nose: Bread, key lime pie
Body: Medium to full
Front: Lime water, rosemary
Middle: Spicy apricot
Back: Balsa, cinnamon
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This wine develops fascinatingly as you drink it. It's got distinctive layers, with a thin but tasty opening leading to a spicy and then beefy middle, with acidic fruits and sweeter spices and woodiness on the way out. No new oak is used to make this wine, the label claims. The label contains a grammatical error, though, so I'm not sure how much to trust it. But for the price this is a good, interesting Chardonnay.

I'm just snacking with it today, on a hot Texas Sunday afternoon--some spicy salami and almonds. Hankering for a Dark and Stormy, I made my way to the liquor store that packs my favorite ginger beer and discovered, not at all to my surprise, that the liquor stores in Texas are closed on Sunday. Doubtless this is because hard liquor can't be sold on Sunday. My disappointment lasted 3/4 of a second, when I realized I had, with Promethean foresight, laid this bottle in the fridge last night. I like to think this is precisely what the legislature was trying to encourage with this excellent law.

I'm tired of music altogether, so I have no aural accompaniment to this other than the hum of the refrigerator and the roar of my collateral thoughts.

Domaine La Roquete Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Frederic et Daniel Brunier
Domaine La Roquete
Chateauneuf-du-PapeGrenache, Syrah, MourvedreChateauneuf-du-Pape, France2003
14.5%
$38.00 -- Vino100, Lakeway, Texas

Color: Medium brick red
Nose: Blackberries
Body: Medium
Front: Raspberry, tar
Middle: Seat leather, strawberry
Back: Basil, cedar
Burns clean?: Yes, delightfully
Cap: Cork

There's a lot going on in this wine. If you like your fruit grilled, or your tobacco run through the berry patch, or your peanut butter in your chocolate, even, this will probably make you happy. It was pretty much ready to drink after 15 minutes and just kept getting better over hours and hours. It's not overly tannic, but paired fabulously with Italian sausage (with cheese, caramelized onions, and yellow peppers) and with Shivaree on the stereo.