Sattui Family Cabernet

V. Sattui Winery
Sattui Family
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
St. Helena, California, USA2006
14%
$22.00 -- Sattui Winery, CA

Color: Dark garnet
Nose: Plum, buttered popcorn, black pepper
Body: Full
Front: Spicy plum
Middle: Creme anglaise, tannins
Back: Tar, violets
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is the place to start with Sattui wines, I think, if you enjoy things that are not too sweet. I like many, many of this house's creations, as attested to by their frequent presence on this blog. But I haven't had much of the Sattui Family Cab, apparently to my loss.

The SFCS (let us call it) is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but I wouldn't say that it aspires to Bourdeauzitude the way a lot of the Valley's blends do. It's got fruit with character and a dose of dusty tannins that is Napa all the way. It partners well with chicken cordon bleu and wilted spinach that Central Market made especially for me this busy evening. But it's striking, relaxing, and thought-provoking simply with raw almonds.

McPrice Myers Beautiful Earth

McPrice Myers Wine Company
Beautiful Earth
Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre
Paso Robles
Santa Maria, California, USA2006
15.4%
$50.00 -- Vino100, Lakeway, TX

Color: Opaque purple red
Nose: Blueberry pie, spice
Body: Full
Front: Blackberry
Middle: Spice, tobacco
Back: Cassis, cream
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is the kind of wine that shows what is so awesome about Paso Robles wine. It’s complex, multilayered, and rich, with both fruit and old-world-style tobacco and spice flavors. With velvety tannins, it will go with a range of foods; I had it with some fresh-made orzo, mango chutney, and toasted bread, and it was delightful.

Louis Martini Sonoma Cabernet

Louis M. Martini Winery
Cabernet Sauvignon
Sonoma County
Healdsburg, California, USA2006
13.9%
$13.99 -- Central Market, Austin, TX

Color: Dark ruby, tinge of purple at the edge
Nose: Cassis, blueberry
Body: Medium to full
Front: Chocolate-covered blackberry
Middle: Pepper, cedar, orange peel
Back: Peppermint
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

I think I've been carrying around a prejudice against Martini wines for awhile. Maybe ten years ago, I had some at a cocktail party, and found it heinous. Then a friend of mine ordered this one at a nice Austin seafood place, and it was boffo and cheap. On reflection, I really didn't have a good reason for avoiding the entire winery, when the problem could just have been a hot summer day or a weak catering company.

With interesting layers and strong California fruit, this wine is a delight. In our cash-strapped times, it is particularly excellent, up there with the St. Francis Cab. Tonight it's paired with baby bok choy, herb-crusted baked chicken, and a killer aged goat cheese called Pata Cabra that has changed my entire outlook on life.

Note: 27 September, 2009, and it's still drinking tastily. Maybe more tastily, even. They've released the 2007, and rumor has it it's pretty good too. The price went up, one suspects on the strength of the reaction to this vintage.

Red Lion Cabernet

R Wines
Red Lion
Cabernet Sauvignon
Geyserville, California, USA2006
15%
$14.99 -- Whole Foods, Austin, TX

Color: Deep purple
Nose: Dark fruits,
Body: Medium
Front: Cassis, cream
Middle: Cedar
Back: Fig
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

This is another Grateful Palate Imports project, and one that a lot of labels are working on: cheap good wine from California. I like the distinctly pagan and communistic label design, which is as crazy as the wheels of Ezekiel. The wine is almost completely sane, though, and quite tasty. It's not a perfect match for barbecue, which I think says several things. First, that I should not eat so much damned bbq. Second, that it's not overpoweringly fruity, a trait that I like in a Cabernet. I forget the third thing, but it was the coup de grace.

Tannins! That was it: these are not overpowering tannins, to be sure, but the wine has delightfully soft ones, a nice structure, and a wallop of alcohol (without being hot) at a great price.

Root: 1 Cabernet

Viña Ventisquero
Root: 1
Cabernet Sauvignon
Colchagua Valley
Rancagua, Chile2007
14%
$8.99 -- Grape Vine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Deep ruby
Nose: Cassis, tar, cardboard
Body: Medium
Front: Cherry
Middle: Bittersweet chocolate
Back: Herbs, raisin
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

There are two selling points for this wine, which has gotten some oenophile press. First, it's cheap and strong! Second, it's from ungrafted original cabernet vines, which are rare in the world thanks to the phylloxera epidemic back in the day. Presumably the appeal here would be that you are drinking the wine the ancients drank: that there is something about ungrafted vines that is unique.

That may be. Certainly the overly decorated bottle, with its long historical narrative on the front, would lead one to believe it, referring to the vines it's made from as "pure." I love history as much as...no, probably slightly more than the next girl. But a caveat: really, Nietzsche would warn us about the invariably impure genealogy of vines. That is to say, hybridity is hard to avoid. And what's more, whether pre- or post-phylloxera, vines channel terroir. So it's still a lot about care, feeding, and character. And not over-manipulating the grapes before they get to the emptyer.

Having said that, I think Root: 1 is reasonably tasty, and probably the best 8-9 dollar Cabernet that I've had this year. It seems to have about a two-stage delivery, fruit and a little chocolatey thing, but it's interesting and good with the aged Irish cheese I broke out before dinner tonight. It is not very tannic, compared to its acidity, so I fear it won't age--but I bet in about six months to a year from now, it'll be way better. That notwithstanding, if I were having a reception tomorrow, I'd order a case of this and a case of the Veramonte Chardonnay to serve.

Clos du Bois Sonoma Reserve Cabernet

Clos du Bois
Cabernet Sauvignon
Sonoma Reserve
Alexander Valley, Sonoma
Geyserville, California2005
14.5%
$18.00 -- HEB, Austin, TX

Color: Deep red
Nose: Plum, leather, violets
Body: Medium to full
Front: Blackberry
Middle: Cocoa, tannins
Back: Cigar wrapper
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

Clos du Bois makes a hillion jillion wines. Tonight I was looking for something good but not too expensive. The CEC (current economic climate) makes me wary of drinking too many expensive wines. Plus most of the ones I have around here seem to be 2005s, which I wanna save a lot of, because these things are like vino bazookas. This one you can probably get cheaper than I found it, but it was handy at H.E.Butts's tienda para gueros, next to the roasted chicken and bag o' lettuce I was eyeballin'.

Though it's among a hillion jillion wines, the Sonoma Reserve cab is a good choice. Not mind blowing, but in a class with the Robert Mondavi Napa Cab of the same year: great with just about any dinner. It makes a good companion when reading around the wine blogs of the internets to see just how crappy your own blog is by comparison with some oenophiles' out there.

This cab also harmonizes with the stunning voice of Maureen Murphy, who just came in second in a big contest in Nashville for up-and-coming artists (and should have come in first, je crois). But be sure to give this as much air as Maureen gives her songs, or it's a bit tight.

Merum Monastrell

Bodegas Merum
Monastrell
Jumilla
Spain2006
14%
$14.00 -- Vino100, Lakeway, TX

Color: Deep purpledy-red
Nose: Cherries, spice, a little heat
Body: Medium
Front: Blackberries, tangy fruit
Middle: Cream, slate
Back: Pepper, leather
Burns clean?: Maybe
Cap: Cork

I opened this at the perfect time of year--a warm spring day, sun beaming down, a promise of more heat to come. Zinfandel fans will like this one plenty; it's not too complex, but layered and rich. It's fruity, but there's plenty of ol' Spanish earth in it, too--a little bite, then a little dirt. Tonight, like many nights, I'm eating pizza, and it's a fantastic combination with this wine.

The first Jumilla wine I ever drank was back in 1987, during a summer stay in Madrid. We were given a bottle by our generous hosts in Valdeiglesias, left over from a delicious outdoor lunch after visiting a recently-restored ancient monastery. We opened it a few days later back at our challenging quarters at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and it was damn good. I've had a soft spot for Jumillas ever since.

Vino100 Lakeway Wine Dinner

Lakeway, Texas is a resort town--in the middle of Texas. On the cliffs by a spectacular (if currently a bit depleted) lake, a few miles outside of sexy Austin, neighborhoods cluster like children at a zoo on the edges of the puma cage. It's gorgeous country, and an interesting mix of folks.

Many of those folks are wine lovers, and in Lakeway, they can afford some good wine. Still, even rich folks like a good bargain, and habitual wine drinkers demand great variety in style and price. My friend Gloria runs a joint called Vino100 that sells just such a variety--reasonably priced wines across a range of styles, and a small selection of exceptional stuff (the Hall Cabernet, BV's excellent Tapestry, and Anderson's Conn Valley Prologue have all graced its shelves, along with some great sparkling wines).

Last night I attended my first-ever wine dinner, attended by some entertaining people. Gloria likes wine, and she's a trained engineer, but her real gift seems to be forging relations among people--the ambience her presence generates fosters wine drinking, chatting, losing track of time.

The food was prepared by the extremely French Chef Cesidio. The wine host was a local connoisseur, Scott Grant, and we stuck to Bordeaux. The pacing, hardware, pairings, decor, music, and sheer abundance of wine were splendid. I was running a bit late, having struggled for fifteen minutes trying to put on my blue velvet jacket, but it was worth it, and an anchovy pizzetta and a kir, made with French cider and homemade cassis syrup, were waiting for me as I rushed to the table.

My flashbacks to the old town quarter of Nice were quickly superseded by an excellent appetizer of pulled pork and pear with crouton. A little French and a little Texan, and a lot good, paired with this:

Chateau Bonnet
Bordeaux
Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Muscadelle
Entre-Deux-Mers, France
2006
12%
$12.00

Color: Gold
Nose: Floral, peach
Body: Medium
Front: Apple
Middle: Cream
Back: A little bread and butter
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

This opened up after about half an hour, and was quite good with the food. It's nicely balanced between crisp acidity and a more bready heft, but it's not a particularly multilayered wine. It is a wine of action, not contemplation.

There wasn't long to contemplate anyway, because beef and fish rained upon the table, along with two more wines. I had the cod brandade, a delightful ramekin full of fish and potato with the tiniest amount of curry sauce, or something spicy, on top. It went best, perhaps, with this:

Chateau La Graviere
Bordeaux
Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Muscadelle
Gironne, France
2005
12%
$22

Color: Coppery gold
Nose: Sherry, with a hint of apricot
Body: Medium to full
Front: Tangy fruit
Middle: Apricot and cream
Back: Sawdust and pie
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This wine tasted like it was out on the edges of turning bad, but after a few minutes of tasting, the sherryness yielded to a quite interesting complex of fruit, candy, and minerality. I'm curious to try more white from this area of Bordeaux, as these two seemed both cheap and interesting.

More expensive and interesting was the

Chateau Greysac
Medoc
Cru Bourgeois Superieure
Bordeaux, France
2004
13%
$24.00

Color: Rich red
Nose: Violets and nutmeg
Body: Medium
Front: Cinnamon
Middle: Leather
Back: Violets, inner tube
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This was a delightful wine; not quite as good with my cod as, I'll bet, with the beef bourgogne on the other side of the table. But it was more contemplative.

We finished with a glass of Talijancich White Solero, 10 yr., that was a stunning Aussie mash of apricot, caramel, raisins, and honey, nicely balanced. Before I left, I caught a glimpse of Chef pounding a glass of the Solero--it's damn fine stuff.

For a first-wine-dinner-attendee like me, it was perfect; the company and the wine were a joy, and there was no snobbiness, no ranking. Cheers to Chef and Gloria!

St. Supery Virtú

St. Supery Vineyards & Winery
Virtú
White Meritage
Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon
Rutherford, California2006
13.5%
$25.34 -- Spec's Liquors, Austin, TX

Color: Gold
Nose: Peach, hazelnut, avocado
Body: Medium
Front: Meyer lemon
Middle: Cream, peach
Back: White pepper gravel
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is a delightful blend. It's interesting, but not overpowering; a great balance of fruit and more earthy flavors such as the exotic and, I dare say, elusive "white pepper gravel" listed in the tasting notes above.

This evening I paired Virtú with decadence: Chris Isaak, roasted chicken, triple cream cheese, avocado and tomato salad, and a vicious, gorgeous hailstorm. Until this bottle is empty, I dare not go outside and look at my car.

Rutherford Hill Merlot

Rutherford Hill Winery
Merlot
Rutherford, California2004
14.2%
$21.99 -- Whole Foods, Austin, TX

Color: Medium-dark ruby
Nose: Olive, violets
Body: Medium to full
Front: Plum
Middle: Vanilla, dust
Back: Cherry, wood
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

It's interesting, but of course not revelatory of my character, that I have only reviewed one Merlot. Tonight that all changes. There will be 100 percent more Merlot reviewed here at Caveat Emptyer. THERE WILL BE MERLOT.

This is not Sideways. But I confess that what I like about this Merlot is that it's like a Cabernet--big, rich, multilayered, with the signature of Rutherford in its texture. My father introduced me to it at Daisy Mae's steak restaurant, in Tucson, Arizona, long ago, and we have had many a delightful bean-laden meal there with it.

I think it'll go with lots of food, like the paprika chicken and French onion soup on tonight's docket, and almost any kind of music short of Rage Against the Machine, which should always be listened to with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Byron Chardonnay

Byron Vineyards and Winery
Chardonnay
Santa Maria Valley
Santa Maria, California2005
14.5%
$24.88 -- Whole Foods, Austin, TX

Color: Medium gold
Nose: Apricot, pretzels, lime
Body: Full
Front: Melon, citrus
Middle: French bread, peach
Back: Cream, lemongrass
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

The nose on this wine was immediately striking, and delightful. This is a fruit basket, for sure; the ripeness is almost so powerful as to be salty. I like it! If you want something limey and steely, steer clear of this one; if you want a great opener with some stiff soft cheeses, it'll be awesome.

It'll be a bit of a showdown, I think, between this wine and the lentil and sweet Italian sausage stew that I'm making. I just preemptively tried it with dessert--blackberries--and the wine crushed the blackberry flavor out of existence, like, "Seriously, freshman, back to the bench with you." Damn.

St. Clement Cabernet

St. Clement Vineyards
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
St. Helena, California2005
14.8%
$32.39 -- Twin Liquors, Austin, TX

Color: Near opaque red with purple tinge
Nose: Mexican chocolate, blackberries, thyme
Body: Full
Front: Dark cherry coffee
Middle: Tannins, blackberry
Back: Chocolate, smoky car seat leather
Burns clean?:
Cap: Cork

Who is this strange man who licks car seats? Come on--you did it. You got in that leather-coated backseat when you were five, or maybe seven years old. Mom and dad's crappy-ass fabric seats, or the vinyl benches of grandpa's AMC were nothing compared to your aunt's Camels-infused hidebound capsules. You were tasting wine, but you didn't know it, child.

Now dark cherry coffee I've never had, I admit. I'm not sure I like it, so I'm going to wait another half hour before I taste this, since that flavor compression might just mean it needs a little untightening. In the meantime, I'll contemplate my bizarro dinner of roasted red pepper soup with goat cheese with steamed squash on the side. Possibly also an avocado and tomato salad with a little lemon and pepper on 'er.

Yes: put at least an hour, maybe longer, of air on it before drinking this one. It opens into a really delicious coffee-chocolate-small berry sort of thing. It's kind of French--no fruit bomb here.

Veramonte Chardonnay Reserva

Veramonte
Chardonnay
Reserva
Casablanca Valley
Chile2006
13.5%
$10.79 -- Grape Vine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Pale gold
Nose: Apricot, banana
Body: Full
Front: Peach, banana
Middle: Sour apple, a little tangerine?
Back: Beach ball, cream
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

This evening I'm getting over a cold and trying to focus on writing an important article that has nothing to do with wine. In the spirit of productive procrastination (and because with a cheap white wine I can have one glass, recap the bottle, and reinfuse caffeine to keep writing), I turn to Veramonte. It's the first Chilean wine I've reviewed, I note, but it will not be the last.

One of the reasons I picked this one up was that it's imported by Huneeus Vineyards, which makes one of my favorite wines, Faust. Indeed, Augustin Huneeus is listed on the bottle as the vintner, so my hope was that the connection is deep.

I like this wine; it's full and creamy but not super-oaked, well-balanced and structured. It pairs well also with Lays Potato Chips, which bring out the wood in the wine nicely. Once again, The Ditty Bops are playing, singing, "And we like it / Because we do..."

Trentadue Old Patch Red

Trentadue
Old Patch Red
Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane, Syrah
Sonoma County
Geyserville, California
2005
14.9%
$12.59 -- Grape Vine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Dark purpley-red
Nose: Blueberries, sour cherries
Body: Medium to full
Front: Candy cane, spice
Middle: Blueberries
Back: Graphite
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

I've been drinking OPR around here for awhile, but not talking about it. The 2003 was absolutely fantastic, and it's still a complete steal. When I'm in the mood for Paraduxx, but not in the financial position to engage it, this is what I get instead. It goes well with a range of foods, and I have a feeling that it's going to stack up perfectly to brisket and sautéed brussels sprouts.

Jean-Paul Brun Beaujolais Blanc

Jean-Paul Brun
Terres Dorées
Beaujolais Blanc
Chardonnay
Charnay, Beaujolais, France
2007
12%
$15.88 -- Whole Foods, Austin, TX

Color: Medium gold
Nose: Apricot, pear, a hint of some sweet, potent flower
Body: Medium
Front: Apricot
Middle: Smoky butter
Back: Pear
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Plastic cork

This is a delightful, simple, fruit-and-butter wine. It's not super layered, but it's got a great nose and a couple of really interesting flavors. It made me jump up and put on Cheri Knight's excellent and little-known record, The Northeast Kingdom. And it was super-tasty with hot sorpressata.

Chateau Haut Bessac Bordeaux

Chateau Haut Bessac
Grand Vin de Bordeaux
Merlot, Cabernet
Bordeaux Superieur, France
2005
13%
$21.65 -- Vino 100, Lakeway, TX

Color: Rich ruby red
Nose: Licorice, plum, cornbread
Body: Medium
Front: Cassis, almost lemony tartness
Middle: Vanilla, caramel
Back: Cedar
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is a delightful wine; not an overpoweringly rich or complex Bordeaux, but a good one. Still, it's tight--the 2005s are going to last a long time, I think, and this one is no exception. Be patient with it and let it unfold if you drink it now. In a couple of years it'll probably be softer at the initial part of the palate and even more complex flavorwise overall. It should make folks who like wine happy--neophytes will probably be a little startled by it.


Instead of talking too much about this wine, I want briefly to address an interesting phenomenon which may or may not be new. In the airport last week, I stopped for a glass at Vino Volo, a new airport wine-tasting chain with good food. They've got a tasting guide for each wine, done into a simple cartesian diagram:

Vino 100's chain stores also have a guide like this, represented on a line rather than a grid. Vino 100's lacks, interestingly, the emotional descriptors like "brooding" or "bright." After a few minutes of pondering whether I liked Vino Volo's Fruit/Complexity scale more than Vino 100's Fruit/Body one, I realized that what was hanging me up was perhaps the whole graphic representation. Rather than thinking about why they chose Fruit-Complexity-Body instead of, say, texture (tannins make a huge difference to some people, for example), I decided to pull back the lens a little farther on the question. (For you Marxists out there, they're not owned by the same company.)

These systems are retail-oriented, and that's cool as far as it goes. Wine, though, is at least four-dimensional. It unfolds in time, which has lots of implications, from the evolution of a single bottle as it's open over an hour or three, to the choice of vintages (which sometimes exhibit common features more dominant than certain varietal differences), to the state of hunger a drinker is in, to the bizarre, subtle, but noticeable difference between drinking wine at one time of day versus another. The pleasure it gives is also affected by the social moment in which it's consumed.

This isn't to say that the peak features of the wine don't matter--and certainly it's not to say that a ludicrously happy social moment at exactly 5:47 p.m. on a warm, early spring day on a friend's balcony in Charleston, after precisely one hour and eight minutes of decanting, will redeem a bottle of Thunderbird. But it is to say that Thunderbird has its moments, and it's the goal of most retail systems to sell you something from inventory, not to make you happy. So I'm a big fan of getting free taste samples from a joint until you find something you like, then ordering a glass.

Cellar No. 8 Cabernet

Asti Winery
Cellar No. 8
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa, California
2006
13.9%
$8.09 -- Grape Vine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Dark purpledy red
Nose: Blueberry cafe au lait
Body: Medium
Front: Cassis, a little spinach perhaps
Middle: Mexican chocolate, tannins
Back: Coffee, bark, a little heat
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

For those dropping in here for a quick read on this wine, I offer my specialty--a caveat: This wine seems to divide opinions in the wine-blogging world. Budget Vino is all about it (and the Merlot, too); but others addicted to both wine and writing will tell you it's average and possibly only barely worth nine bucks.

My advice is, wait six months, then drink it within six months of that. Sure, it's a little green, but it's interesting enough for dinner, and has some nice points. (If you drink it now, let it breathe a little, but not too much!) It's not particularly complex. But it's not uncomplex in a juicy-fruit, Jolly RancherTM, or strawberry smoothie way, either.

This opens onto a whole other issue, which is the question of the importance of "getting a good deal" to the taste of something (wine, dinner, whatever). Sommelier training, of course, involves at one level the elimination of such variables: the evaluation of a particular wine's ability to give pleasure to this or that human (with a particular set of tastes), in comparison to other available wines. At another, practically, it involves recognizing circumstantial variables in the assignation of a wine to a customer (food, temperature, mood, weather, economic climate, etc.).

Now, the prevalence of "Great Wine Value" blogs, to say nothing of my personal experience, suggests to me that there's a good-sized population of folks out there for whom value matters, particularly at the lower end of the price range. [Another caveat: there are more than three price ranges. I look at it socially--there's street wine (Thunderbird!); reception wine (Cellar No. 8); everyday wine (Marquis Phillips); superb wine (Faust); special occasion wine (Gaja, Nuit St. Georges); and collectors' wine (never had any, but generally things with "Chateau" on the label and decimal points in what seem like the wrong places on the pricetag).]

But even at the higher levels the idea of getting economic leverage, I think, shapes the taste experiences of many oenophiles. One of my friends almost cried when I told him I'd gotten the Andrew Will Ciel du Cheval for $34 a bottle; believe me, when he tastes it on his next visit he'll be in heaven.

So here we confront a complex issue in assessing wine. I'm going to go out on a limb and say: if you like a good deal, you're really going to like this wine.

Razor's Edge Shiraz

Razor's Edge Wines
Shiraz
McLaren Vale
Adelaide, Australia
2006
14.5%
$11.69 -- Whole Foods, Austin, TX

Color: Deep red, purple tinge
Nose: Spicy blueberries and fish sauce
Body: Medium to full
Front: Blueberries
Middle: Mocha
Back: Tobacco, a little wood
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

Inspired by criticism from a reader of this blog, and by the excellent value represented by the Razor's Edge Shiraz-Grenache, I decided to try the company's straight-up Shiraz. "Straight Up Shiraz"--that's a pretty good label. I claim it! It's deliciously priapic.

At any rate, way better than "Razor's Edge," especially for something as peaceful as wine. I could launch into all kinds of poststructuralist qualifications--it's a straight razor on the label, so it's about shaving, ostensibly, potentially revealing, as in elegantly conveyed terroir, the "true face" of the soil--or historicist ones, claiming the back label's rationale for the name. Except that the back label's explanation is kind of trite and lame. So I say: change the name!

Still, what really matters is in the bottle, and about that I have few complaints. I think I prefer the blend to this, but it's up there with Luchador and the various Marquis Phillips wines in terms of good stuff at this price. I'm enjoying listening to Denitia Odigie's "Pioneer" as I drink it.

Razor's Edge Shiraz-Grenache

Razor's Edge Wines
Shiraz, Grenache
McLaren Vale
Adelaide, Australia
2006
14.5%
$11.88 -- Whole Foods, Austin, TX

Color: Deep red
Nose: Violets, pepper
Body: Medium
Front: Plums
Middle: Eucalyptus, brown sugar
Back: Violets, pepper, a little heat
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

With a little air, this wine opens into a lovely, floral, caramelly bottle of tastiness. Despite the step towards a Rhone blend implied in the blend, it's still very much an Australian experience: big fruit, richly tasty, straightforward in structure. So, so much better than the $12 I paid for it, and in these hard times (even though it's an import!) that counts for plenty.

I had it with Wilco and some baked chicken with chorizo, onion, tomato, and garlic, with a side of steamed squashes. It was good with the food, but better with the saltier stuff--the cheese was an aged goat cheese, for example, so quite salty, and killer with the wine.

Cenay Rodgers Vineyard Pinot Noir

Rowland Cellars USA
Cenay
Rodgers Vineyard
Pinot Noir
Napa Valley
American Canyon, California
2006
13.5%
$29.00 -- Whole Foods, Austin, TX

Color: Light to medium red
Nose: Strawberry, cherry, peppermint
Body: Light
Front: Cassis
Middle: Vanilla, spice
Back: Cedar, a little heat
Burns clean?:
Cap: Cork

I think I'm just too picky about Pinot. After having the Amour Fou, perhaps, I can't go back. This isn't bad, by any means, but I'm not sure it's worth the price. Two things: it was better after being open for an hour or more, and it was better with chicken curry and cream of broccoli soup. The aniseed, in particular, brought out nice things in the wine. If you like a bright style in this grape, with plenty of fruit and not overwhelming complexity, you'll dig it.

Looking back at the last few weeks, I can't help but notice a certain negative tone to things around this blog. Is it the economy, making me demand more for my crappy dollar? Is it that I'm getting older, and so my tastes are getting more complex? Is it that the holidays make me overly experimental? Or is it that Pinot Noir is hard to make?

The Big Red Monster

Bennett Family Vineyards
The Big Red Monster
Syrah, Zinfandel?
Napa Valley
Rutherford, California
NV
14.6%
$12.00 -- Vino 100, Lakeway, TX

Color: Deep red with purple tinge
Nose: Plums, a little heat
Body: Full
Front: Cassis
Middle: Vanilla Cherry Cola
Back: Coffee, forest floor
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Fake cork

Who doesn't like a melodramatic wine? Or at least, a melodramatic label? This wine's a peck more austere than it makes itself out to be--but then, it turns out that melodrama is more complex than we used to think, too. This wine's damn fine for the money. Just back from a long trip, with pizza on the table, it was the perfect move.

This is a negociant wine, made with surplus or outcast grapes from different places. I can't quite tell what's in it other than Syrah (spicy as all get out, but intense) and Zinfandel (cherry-raspberry stuff but nothing tannic). The effect is nice; it's a bit like a second-rank Paraduxx. That's praise, 'cause Paraduxx is usually fantastique!

BV Napa Cabernet

Beaulieu Vineyard
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
Rutherford, California
2005
14.3%
$18.99 -- Safeway, Tucson, AZ

Color: Deep purple
Nose: Plums, licorice, a little heat
Body: Full
Front: Raspberry
Middle: Creamy chocolate, licorice
Back: Plum rinds, dusty tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

A month or so ago, in an unblogged wine-drinking incident, I shared a bottle of BV's Rutherford Cabernet with some music business friends. It was a big hit, and went perfectly with the steakhouse fare we were putting away in downtown Austin. This, this Napa one, is not as good, I fear.

Admittedly, I just came back from a brief trip to San Francisco, so the bar has been left kind of high. But there are lots of little things about this one that make me prefer, say, a Hahn Cabernet or the delightful (and also undocumented) Babcock that I had last night. The nose isn't terribly engaging. The color is undelightful for a cab. I'm a fan of chocolate and licorice individually, but they're not super piled on top of each other.

But enough, Mr. Grinch! Many people will like this wine, which is firm and stout like Santa Claus, even if it does come in a bit of a purple suit at the moment.

Robert Mondavi Napa Cabernet

Robert Mondavi Winery
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
Napa, California
2005
15%
$26.00 -- Rum Runner, Tucson, AZ

Color: Deep ruby
Nose: Panko-crusted shrimp with a side of spinach in a creamy balsamic vinaigrette
Body: Full
Front: Cherry cream, mint
Middle: Cedar vanilla, pepper
Back: Smoke, pencils, chocolate, gravel
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

Maybe it's because it's Christmas Eve, maybe it's because there's a roast in the oven smelling like heaven at 375 degrees, maybe it's because the Kingston Trio are singing "Children Go Where I Send Thee" in big, fat, analog sound. But this wine is astounding, right out of the bottle. It's all that I imagine in a Napa wine. Many, many things are going on in it, and it evolves beautifully as it opens.

This may be in part because a lot of players are involved in making this taste like it does. I have to say that, though I can't say how it'll age, this is a bargain. It's up there with bottles I've reviewed here at $50 or more. If I survive Christmas dinner and leftovers, I'll be getting more of this.

V. Sattui Napa Valley Cabernet

V. Sattui Winery
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
2005
14.5%
$32.00 -- V. Sattui Winery, St. Helena, CA

Color: Dark ruby
Nose: Blueberries, chocolate
Body: Full
Front: Cassis
Middle: Blueberry mocha
Back: Tannins, cream
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is unadulteratedly lovely wine, like so much of what Sattui makes. It's rich and dominating, good with food (stands up to tonight's mild curry, even). It has tannins like playground bullies, but some of us like a good tannin beating every now and then.

This wine goes well with Swamp Rat's song "Stella II," with its combination--contrast?--of smooth and loungey with startlingly powerful and suggestive.

Note: 28 November 2009. The 2006 is delightful, too (price point and alcohol about the same as the '05): tannins are softer, but it has the same blueberry-driven nose, with a nice meaty body that's got some cherry and coffee in it.

Henry's Drive Dead Letter Office

Henry's Drive Vignerons
Dead Letter Office
Shiraz
McLaren Vale & Padthaway, Australia
2005
15%
$26.99 -- Rum Runner, Tucson, AZ

Color: Dark red
Nose: Cherry vanilla cola
Body: Medium to full
Front: Tart cherries, blueberry
Middle: Mocha pencils
Back: Mint-wrapper cedar
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

Henry's Drive makes some good wine. But of course, you never know! If it were baseball, this wine would bat fourth: not a lot of complexity, but plenty of power, likely to hit home runs with some drinkers and strike out with others. Drink it with friends, for two reasons (beyond the usual sociability): first, to watch the reactions, and second, because it has enough alcohol to put you in the hospital if you do it alone.

Now the perfect match, musically, for this wine, is Jace Everett's song "Bad Things." Given that Mr. Everett's tune is the theme song for the HBO vampire series True Blood, the color of this wine seems about right...