18 Oct, 2006
Change Is Good!
All future reviews will be at:
http://www.robertmiller.org/wordpress/
08 Oct, 2006
*** The Wine Blog She Is A Moving! ***
http://robertmiller.org/wordpress/
Well, as of 8 October 2006, the Wine Blog is changing blog software. I was really getting tired of pLOG's short-comings: that tedious pause when first loading the page in your browser, me having to use IE JUST for the admin page to post reviews (when I use Firefox 99.999% of the time,) the fonts messing up when everything is perfect, that terrible smell after the blog loads... Well, I was just kidding about that last thing.
I'll be beta testing WordPress blogware to see if everything will work well. It looks like it is a breeze on this (the posting) end. Please let me know if you have problems on YOUR end or if you have suggestions to make the blog work better. I think I have most of the bugs worked out, so let's see how it works out in the real world. I'll test it for several days and post back HERE to let you know if WINE-O-RAMA (the new blog name) is gone to the new URL or if it will return here.
http://robertmiller.org/wordpress/
Thanks,
Robert
07 Oct, 2006
Hogue 2005 Late Harvest White Riesling Columbia Valley
This is Viognier!
I guess I'm a sucker for "sale" priced wine. I found this yesterday at Arrow Wine. Normally $10.99, ON SALE for $8.99. Cheap Riesling - Woo Hoo! We tried some Hogue Riesling (the standard stuff) a very long time ago and were underwhelmed. But, I thought: LATE HARVEST - even at 12% alcohol, it had to be good! It was with hopeful thoughts, I "twisted" open the twist top closure. On the nose we found sweet honeyed peaches and ORANGE RIND (maybe tangerine?) Unfortunately, things didn't go well on the palate. Heavy, syruppy grapefruit drug things down. A "fake" sweetness was there, with no bracing acidity to balance with. To be honest, it wasn't even THAT sweet - not half as sweet as some German rieslings we love (at least they balance well with acidity!) This is not terrible stuff; it just tastes cheap and artificial. And greatly unsatisfying. Is it worth the sale price of $8.99. HECK NO. For ONE BUCK MORE, Columbia Winery 2005 Cellarmaster's Riesling Columbia Valley (search for glowing reviews here) is light years better - best domestic riesling we've tried to date. If you barely use your imagination, you can smell the mango in the glass for this Hogue, and taste the ample alcohol, and feel the thick oily liquid on your tongue. This tastes JUST like a viognier grape.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
06 Oct, 2006
Straccali 2004 Chianti Italy
Good, decent dry table wine
We tried some Piccini Chianti on 19 Mar, 2006 and I had anticipated that this $7.99 Italian red would be very similar due to some internet reviews (don't you just LOVE 'em!) And if I was blindfolded, I couldn't tell which was which (twins seperated at birth?) Dry bright berry with a hint of funky barnyard. We've discovered that UNOAKED is the way to go when imbibing wine with pepperoni pizza. This is a wonderful pairing with Dominos! The only better chianti pairing (for us, at least) is Ecco Domani. All the pluses without the funky barnyard flavour (although a chianti purist may get their undies in a bunch over the lack!) :)
Pleasant, uncomplicated Italian wine for a bargain price! Life is good!
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
05 Oct, 2006
Solaris 2004 Pinot Noir California (2)
Solaris Part Duex
Last tasted on 30 May, 2006, we gave this an 8. Tonight, I was on my own. Marjorie had a meeting, so frozen roast beef and cheese steak it was. This would be an interesting experiment, since we've pretty much sworn off pinot noir for over a month now. We've had mainly cab, malbec and zin with meals. What will happen? The world awaits! :) We were fairly "ho-hum" about Solaris the last time, so I selected it for the grand experiment. I had missed that beautiful transparent pinot noir garnet red glowing in the glass! On the nose was spice, rhubarb and subtle bing cherry. The palate would be interesting. We've grown used to the explosion of fruit a more aggresive varietal provides. Sometimes that is welcome; sometimes not. I experienced a blending of the rhubarb, strawberry and cherry with bakers spices and tea on the palate. One thing that turned us off of pint noir had been that wall of sweet rhubarb hitting us. Although fairly tart and sour, the sweet and acid balanced well with the tender delicate berry flavours. On the MINUS side, this pinot seemed rather light-bodied and thin (watery?) although it may be the result of not tasting pinot noir for such a long time. We have a few decent pinots waiting in the cellar for further testing (French and Californian.) We seem to have been experiencing a chicken drought for dinner, as well.
Rating: 7.75 out of 10
04 Oct, 2006
Clos Du Bois 2003 Zinfandel North Coast CA
Well-balanced, yet a bit disappointing
Hamburgers cry out for a nice chewy zin (boo hoo!) Time to try some Clos Du Bois zin. It's our first try with this red. We bought it last week for $12 at Wine Works mainly from past experience (loved their pinot noir and merlot) and from the label text off the bottle: "ripe raspberry and strawberry with nicely layered characters of black plum, pepper and cinnamon." Well I got heavy vanilla spice on the nose and plum and oak on the palate. I really missed out on the strawberry and raspberry. "Wish you were here!" While the oak/vanilla/spice balanced things out a bit better than the Avalon cab last night, it seemed to overwhelm the berry. This is basically plum and oak. Very good, but quite CALIFORNIAN: a bit of "artificial" oak that tastes "cheap" to me. Your mileage might vary. For the price, it's good stuff - worked well with hamburgers. But there are better zins out there for the same or less $ (Dancing Bull & Gallo Family come to mind for $10 or less.)
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
03 Oct, 2006
Avalon 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon California (2)
Yum
Last time we had this fine cab, on 26, Aug 2006, we initially loved it. The purity of fruit and rich, jammy character won us over. But then (dum, dum, duh...) we made a GRAVE mistake. Yep, a "boo-boo." Paired this raspberry coloured beauty with, a-hem, uh, Domino's Pizza. As was expected, the pepperoni duked it out with the cab and WE lost. Time Warp ahead to the present. Lesson learned. Avalon TONIGHT is paired with steak salad. Double yum. And as a corker (pun intended,) I found it for $8.99 last month at Jungle Jim's. :) With the steak salad, the Avalon worked wonderfully. No chocolate hints, as the label suggests, but this is nice stuff. Not the deepest, most complex cab out there, but very approachable. As the label continues, it would certainly appeal to the merlot lover, too. Marjorie would DIG this vino! BUT, alas, she came home tonight with a COLD. Can't taste this pleasant, slightly sweet fruit-forward cab. But,there'll be more of this carefree cab in the future...
Rating: 8.75 out of 10
02 Oct, 2006
Big House Red 2004 California Red Wine
Wine in Da Big House
The "Big House" here is in reference to "JAIL." I've read many a recommendation for this red. Folks say it's good. That it's inexpensive. That folks who normally don't like red wine LOVE it. I grabbed it a few weeks ago at Jungle Jim's (with Marjorie in mind) for about $10. It's a blend of eight reds ("let our powers COMBINE!") I really enjoyed the sweet berryish nose. On the palate, however, I get too much rhubarb (maybe too much grenache in the mix?) It tastes dry to me with moderate tannins and a long, subtly (stealthy) spicy finish. It's not my cup of tea. Marjorie, on the other hand, really enjoyed it. She mainly liked that it was "unoffensive" and "sweet." But then again,she shuns red wine in favour of whites. Any red that she likes is a friend of mine! I GREATLY prefer the Trapiche malbec we had last night. We'll get this again, if not only because Marjorie likes it. They have a well-reviewed white, too. Will check that out in da future.
Rating: Marjorie: 8.9 out of 10
Robert: 7.5 out of 10
01 Oct, 2006
Trapiche 2004 Oak Cask Malbec Mendoza
FINALLY!!!!!!
This is part two of tonight's malbec double header with beef roast, and THIS is more like it! THIS is what I've heard malbec will deliver AND THEN SOME. Dark purple in the glass (we are using Metrokane Rabbit glasses these days instead of our Reidels. Just don't go for their RED wine glasses - they're monster HUGE and ugly, whereas the white glasses are VERY beautiful and simply stunning - PLUS they are large enough for red wines and with their up-turned curved lip, are GREAT for sticking one's nose into a RED wine and are dishwasher safe!) with a very interesting collection of DARK red fruit nose. I usually prefer BRIGHT red fruit, but this DARK red fruit nose and palate is simply interesting and wonderful. Also on the palate (besides the dark red fruit and plum) I get raspberry, blueberry and vanilla. For a wine having a name of OAK CASK, I don't get hardly ANY oak spice - what I get from the oak barrels are sweet vanilla hints. It's OFF-DRY, but very nice, TRANQUIL (HOW APPROPRIATE!) and peaceful. It paired nicely with the beef. And, at less than $10 ($7-$8 many places) this really is a TRUE BARGAIN! I thinks we needs us some MORE RESEARCH! We finally tasted a true malbec varietal. And we likee!!!
Rating: 8.75 out of 10
*note- I let this breathe for over an hour. It is SO gentle and subtle, that next time, we'll go for 30 minutes or less. This really IS halfway between a pinot noir and a cabernet. :)
01 Oct, 2006
Tranquility 2002 Malbec Mendoza
Yuck!
Found this Argentinian malbec a few days ago at Wine Works for $4.99. The handwritten sign said "A MUST BUY" so we bought it. Hey, the sign said so! And who are WE to disobey THE SIGN. Actually, we are in the midst of a malbec trial period. Some friends said "it's the next NEW WAVE in wine" and it's a BARGAIN. Of course that last part got my attention. I'm all for great wine CHEAP! We've been underwhelmed with the few malbecs we've tried so far. This evening, Marjorie made beef roast. A malbec standoff hangs in the balance! In THIS corner is the "TRANQUILITY." In the other corner, TRAPICHE, which I will review later. Yes, we tried BOTH with dinner. I prepared both by letting each bottle breathe about an hour after chilling for a few minutes in the fridge. FIRST, Tranquility: OUCH - YUCKHO! This truly is worth $5. Mouth-puckering sour with mouth-parching tannins. YIPES. Not the worst bottle of wine I've ever tasted, but close. Let's just move on to the Trapiche...
Rating: 5 out of 10
01 Oct, 2006
La Francesca Pinot Grigio 2004 Italy
Not What She Used To Be...
We were enthralled with our first tasting of this Italian cheapie. You can see our comments on 23 Apr 2006. We tried it a few other times without posting our thoughts on the blog (heck, why not for $5.99 a bottle.) We had some last night and it left us scratching our collective heads. Yes, it's not dreadful, but WHAT WERE WE THINKING? Perhaps drooling at the price? Maybe this wine aged a bit too much since April? Last night it just tasted CHEAP. Cheap pinot grigio always tastes like diluted syrup from the bottom of a Delmonte fruit cup can. We'll stick with Ecco Domani pinot grigio. For a couple more bucks, it's dependable.
Rating (this time): 6.5 out of 10
30 Sep, 2006
General Housekeeping & comments 9-30-06
That time again...
Just a few reminders for anyone reading this. First and foremost, this is a wine blog primarily for our own use. We use this to chronicle our adventures in trying new wines - to remember WHY we like or dislike a particular wine so we don't forget (and waste money and time.) It also records what is going on at the time in our personal and family life. If someone stumbles by via a web search for a new (to them) wine, this blog is but one reference to what we thought about the wine. I know I sometimes go out and see what others thought about a wine before I purchase one, or after we try one. It's perfectly fine to stop by the blog as well as you know that a particular review refelcts OUR EXPERINCE ONLY. We are not wine experts, nor are we rookies. We know what we like, and that's unlikely to change. If we stumble upon a new wine that we like, BONUS! Please keep that same mind set on our blog. YOUR MILEGE MAY VARY due to you own likes/dislikes/experiences.
Secondly, I am a pretty good writer. BUT, I normally post a review after drinking the wine. Sometimes, a glass. Sometimes two. If we're really lucky and the wine is outstanding, it may be more... In other words, YES, my writing MAY not be perfect under these conditions! Spelling and grammar errors are inevitable. There is no spell check in this editor. I am not a professional wine reviewer. I drink, type, and go on with my life rather quickly. Deal with it! :)
Strange, but true: our wine tastes seem to evolve and change over time. Some wines we originally loved are no longer in our cellar. We are human - we evolve.
NEW:
*** If you disagree, fine. Tell us what wines you recommend. Let's keep this constructive, not destructive. As of October 1, 2006, I will be enabling COMMENTS to be posted on all reviews. I tried this a long time ago, but things were getting clogged with spam. We'll see how it works out. ***
29 Sep, 2006
Altos Las Hormigas 2005 Malbec Mendoza
STOP THE ANTS!!!
Gotta love those Argentinian ants. Gotta STOP them, too! That's the translation of this malbec from Mendoza. We've tried some strange malbecs before, so I found a couple "highly recommended" ones to try. It seems that folks who like Argentinian malbecs (once they find the right kind) really LOVE them. Since this was a VERY young wine, I decanted it for about an hour and a half, swirling the decanter vigorously often. Straight out of the bottle I got intense fruit and a hearty helping of earth (not my favourite flavour!) AFTER decanting, it remained pretty much the same. Dark purple (INKY is a good word) in the glass, dark cherry and red licorice on the nose. On the palate, even darker fruit with a smoky spice, heavy-bodied and soft tannins. The earthy (what we call "barnyard") notes were still there, just a bit more diffused. I was guessing meat for dinner, but Marjorie decided on BLTs. The bacon and malbec didn't get along well at all (they don't play well with each other) but after going to all the trouble of decanting, I thought "what the heck." Yes, true, I SHOULD be darned to heck for going through with this pairing! It certainly would be better with a nice juicy steak, but not as good as a decent California cab. Two more malbecs to go (in the cellar) - if they don't pan out, they're off our "to do" list.
Rating: 6 out of 10
28 Sep, 2006
Columbia Winery 2005 Cellarmaster's Riesling Columbia Valley (2)
Ditto!
We were exhausted tonight and wanted to have some decent riesling but didn't want to dig into the cellar to pull out one our rare German beauties (all we have left is the good stuff.) A quick trip to Wine Works snagged a familiar wine in a newly redesigned bottle and label. How classy is THIS new look! The wine is pretty darned good, too! Not as classy or life-altering as much of the German riesling out there, but very nice and "different" (a refreshing change of pace.) For $9.99 it's a steal! Whereas fine German riesling pairs honey with citrus, this Washington state white sends honey and apricot. Beauty of a domestic riesling in a beautiful new package! Same rating as last time (here's a refresher):
13 Jul, 2006
Columbia Winery 2005 Cellarmaster's Riesling - Columbia Valley
Bravo USA!
Yes, it's been more than a week since my last post. We've been extremely busy with the house addition - very stressful - but things are finally winding down. We've had many a wine in the past week and a half - some new; some old friends. As the past few weeks have been a blur, I can't recall the wine we've guzzled. Tonight, we revisited one of the very first Rieslings we thought we liked. And it turns out we were quite accurate. This is good stuff - best domestic US Riesling we've had - Thanks to the Columbia Vallery of Washington State. In the glass we found deep amber. On the nose and the palate: honey, pear and apricot. And a very good balance between the sweetness and acidity. As we are used to fine German Rieslings, the apricot (a characteristic of American Rieslings, in our experience) was a different, yet not a welcome visitor. But this was quite good. Marjorie drank TWO glasses, and we drained a whole bottle (it's been a while since we did that!) It was delightful on its own, as an aperitif, but wasn't as successful with salsa and blue corn chips as its German brethren. $10 at Miami Valley Wine & Spirits.
The best domestic Riesling we've experienced!
Rating: 8.75 out of 10
28 Sep, 2006
Monkey Bay 2004 Sauvignon Blanc New Zealand
Don't monkey around with this great white...
Had this SB with coconut mahi mahi (really) last night. I remember we tried this (our first SB ever!) many moons ago and we hated it! Time warp to the present: I thought it may be good with the fish so we popped open the artificial cork and gave it a go. Mucho tropical. I got bigtime grapefruit and pineapple. Marjorie got the grapefruit with a hint of tangerine. It was VERY interesting - good stuff - but didn't pair as well as I would've thought with the fishies. Maybe it was the coconut that caused some trouble; maybe it was how INTENSE the tropical fruit came through in the Monkey Bay SB. Perhaps both. We'll try it again when we have some simple white fish. I believe the bottle came home for around $10. A bargain.
Rating: 8 out of 10
26 Sep, 2006
The Rail Trail by Leasingham Clare Valley 2005 Riesling (South Australia)
Death Valley!
I knew when I picked this up at Sam's Club for $10 this might be trouble. We've never had any luck with riesling from Australia - it's such a hot place to grow grapes. Very un-Germany-like. At 12% alcohol, we knew it would be dry. I found only one review on the internet about this, and it describes this riesling as DRY as Death Valley at noon in August. Hmmmm...not what I was looking for since we like off-dry riesling. This had a lovely yet new world apricot nose - quite delicate. But on the palate, it was 80% alcohol flavour. The palate did NOT match the nose. It may be better with fish or chicken (I doubt it.) Not good with sharp cheddar and whole wheat crackers. YUCK!
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
25 Sep, 2006
Talus Collection Lodi Merlot 2004 California
Cheapie gooood!
Lasagna tonight really begged for merlot (it was a bit demeaning!) I picked this Talus up last week with Marjorie in mind - sheer drinkability and very low oak. Straight out of the bottle (chilled to about 55F) it was pleasant enough. A dark cherry/plum nose proceeded the same on the palate, albeit with a hint of vanilla. This is a very nice, simple merlot - quite the point. It paired wonderfully with the lasagna. I thought that this would be wonderful with pepperoni pizza: no spicy/hot battle between oak and beef. For a mere $6.99 I'm sure we will try that combination in the near future! After an hour in the glass, it reached room temperature and doubled in complexity and style. It's still not the classiest merlot out there (by far) but it is custom-made for Marjorie's taste.
Pros: Lack of heavy oak; super PRICE! Easy drinking.
Cons: Not the most complex merlot in the cellar. I would prefer a bit more BRIGHT RED fruit: this is a bit subdued (aka "French.") I would like more VELVETY mouthfeel.
Rating: 8 out of 10 *Let it breathe for an hour and don't chill it down too much and it will give you a nice merlot experience.
We didn't care much for Talus' pinot noir, but we have their cabernet sauvignon sitting in the cellar waiting for a go...
24 Sep, 2006
FunF German Riesling (Deutscher Tafelwein Rhein)
Yee Haw!
At Jungle Jim's yesterday, I had 11 fine bottles of wine in a case. Hmmmm, one more and I get the 10% discount. What to do... Hey, how about a dirt cheap riesling to fill things out? That's the ticket. For $5, this was the cheapest in the place. It SCREAMS C-H-E-A-P (earplugs optional.) It's frosted white bottle, "fun" graphics and cool twist top looks like some Germans got together and said "let's gather up all our subpar leftover grapes from an unknown wine region and sell them to those stupid Americans. They'll buy ANYTHING in a cute bottle!" How about some cute text on the bottle: After work, during dinner, on the town. With a special someone or lots of friends. Open a bottle and add a little FunF to your life. Well, a very harsh nose proceeds a harsh flavour. At 9% alcohol, I expected this to be mellow and sweet. But it's as HARD as a German accent. This stuff has no class, no depth, no soul. Worth $5? Maybe, but I'd rather pay just a few more dollars for a MUCH nicer riesling experience.
Rating: 6 out of 10
23 Sep, 2006
Big Ol' Can of WHOOP ASS Energy Drink
Revitalizes Attitude & Restores Faith in Mankind
We found this while on a wine search at Jungle Jim's today. How could we NOT buy this 16 oz. can??? I wish we would've bought MORE! :)
On a serious note, tonight we had some Leitz Dragonstone Riesling (Rheingau, Germany.) As one of our all-time favourite wines, it was as WONDERFUL as usual. It's the best riesling that is still being currently sold in stores. Ahhhhh.... :)
22 Sep, 2006
Chateau Canuet Margaux 1994 Bordeaux (France)
Interesting
It was a LONG week full or twists and turns and changed minds all over the place. Dinner was no exception. I had readied this bottle yesterday "just in case" but the CASE was WRONG. Today I put it in the fridge for a few minutes not knowing where dinner would come from - possibly a burger for this French cab? No, wrong guess...I was served McDonald's most excellent McRib sandwich, and Marjorie had fruit and yogurt. Talk about a culinary fiasco. McDonald's paired with a 1994 Bordeaux? Well, we're going back to Jungle Jim's near Cincy tomorrow (several acres of wine) where I found this cheap. I figured, if it was GREAT, we'd pick up more. The cork looked good out of the bottle so that was a good sign. Nice, understated nose of bright red berry and spice. What a pretty colour in the glass! On the palate, a delightful chorus of fresh red berry. Along for the ride is that familiar "earthy" barnyard taste. I find it a lot in chianti's, but it's my first for France. Maybe because this bottle is 12+ years old? First taste was...oh, crap - barnyard! 2nd taste was...yeah, but it's interesting. Even after 12 years, the tannins are still here, but they're not undoable. The mouthfeel is great. Very sensual - light yet silky. It would be nice to try this with a jiucy steak, but for tonight, a McRib and fruit yogurt will have to do. it was an interesting experience.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Postscript: After an hour in the glass, the funky barnyard character seemed to fade, replaced with a hint of cinnamon/black tea spice. Much nicer. Note to self: if I ever find this again, let'er breathe a bit before imbibing.
Updated rating: 7.75 out of 10
20 Sep, 2006
Mirassou 2002 Merlot California
Hmmmm...
Home-made pizza this evening for dinner. Marjorie used HUGE hunks of onion and peppers. My eyes are STILL stinging almost two hours later! Not knowing how the pizza would turn out, I didn't want to burn an expensive bottle of merlot, so this Mirassou 2002 did the trick. I bought two bottles several months ago for $6.99 each on CLEARANCE at Target. ? ! Our first bottle was not pretty. The review is below; we gave it a 5 out of 10. Tonight, I thought Marjorie would LOVE this...bright red berry with hints of raspberry, hardly any oak or spice. I was wrong...she didn't care for it (what???) I'm about through trying to figure her out!!! She said she liked the Cycles Gladiator merlot we had last night better (although it had a hefty hunk of oak.) I found the Mirassou 2002 severly lacking in complexity, but really enjoyed the super fresh fruit-forward ride!
Rating: 7.75 out of 10
Mirassou California Merlot 2002
Live from the Smoky Mountains...
Purchased for $6 on clearance at Target then transported to Townsend, Tennessee (in a Comfort Inn, no less) this merlot was bright berry with a hint of mint on the nose. Flavour was bland, bland, bland. Bright plum - nothing else. Very ONE dimensional. Or was it, perhaps, the small plastic tumblers we sipped it from? Whatever the reason, this was not good, satisfying merlot. For 99 cents more, we could've had some nice Little Penguin merlot that we KNOW we like! And, gee, ain't free wireless internet service swell? :)
Pros: Cheap.
Cons: Cheap.
Rating: 5 out of 10
19 Sep, 2006
Cycles Gladiator 2004 Merlot Central Coast (2)
Tasty
Like the rest of this label, this merlot is pretty darn good for under $10. We really like their cab a lot, their syrah is quite dandy and their pinot noir is typical of the varietal. Last time, we had this decent merlot with pepperoni pizza. The vanilla/oak finish battled the pepperoni spice and no one won. We enjoyed the bright red fruit, though. I gave it a 7 while Marjorie gave it an 8. Tonight, we enjoyed it with spaghetti with marinara sauce. A MUCH better pairing. It seemed a bit thin to me with a tad harsh tannins, but the flavour was very nice. Marjorie opened the bottle up this evening (a rarity!) I would've let it breathe a tich first. It didn't have the velvety rich experience of, say, a Clos du Bois, etc., but it was just fine for tonight!
Rating: 8 out of 10 (both of us)
18 Sep, 2006
Estancia Pinot Noir 2004 Monterey California
Typical California Varietal
Marjorie had to work late today. With no idea of dinner plans, I chilled this pinot down to the 57F identified as "room temperature" (or cellar temp) for reds during the 1800's (yep, no airconditioning back then!) Tilapia it was, so I dodged a bullet. There's nothing really wrong with this pinot noir, but we just have evolved away from the California varietals. The rhubarb-strawberry flavours don't do it for us any more. We aren't sure why, but it's a fact. We'll take a soft cab (or heaven forbid, a non-overly-oaked merlot) over a pinot noir any day. If I would've known we were having fish today, I would've readied some sauvignon blanc, uh-huh. As a pinot noir, this really doesn't have much in the way of spice. The overly-sweet rhubarb (especially) and strawberry overtakes everything. I think that once we go through the pinot noir that we have cellared, we have some major purchasing decisions to make. Seems like only the Heron pinot noir (a burgundy from France!) really DOES IT for us lately. Strange but true.
Rating: 7 out of 10 - not bad, but just not good (to us)
17 Sep, 2006
Beringer Founders' Estate 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon California (3)
Very good!
Sirloin stirfry tonight. Beringer Cab 2002. Mmmmnnn Good! This is really tasty stuff. The first cab we really loved many moons ago STILL does it for us. We last reviewed it on 17 May, 2006. Several months later, it seems to have matured. Very smooth, bright red berry, JAMMY (in a good way!) with hints of mint and smooth, approachable tannins. Paired perfectly with the steak, and pretty darn good with the veggies and rice! I've had richer, more complex cabs, but at under $10, this is where it's at for us with cabs! We bought this about 6 months ago at Sams Club. Hope they still have this 2002 vintage left! :)
Rating: 9 out of 10
16 Sep, 2006
Fusee 2001 Merlot California
Smooooooth
Marjorie is gone today, so I wanted to use a wine that potentially was a dud (save the good stuff for "us.") I bought this Fusee at a specialty wine shop I frequent that often closes out vintage wines a bargain prices. Maybe it will be good, perhaps it will be past its prime (and stink.) Seeing as how value wines (i.e. fusee) are meant to be imbibed TODAY, I was worried this 5 year old might have gone to the dark side (as another bottle purchased at the same time had.) This bottle had languised down in the wine cellar for a VERY long time. I was surprised when I twisted off the twist top and she was goooood. Very smooth! Bright red berry with vanilla aplenty. Not the most overly complex merlot I've tasted, but pretty darn amazing for under $5! Long legs worked well with the red berry colour in the glass. The berry/vanilla gave way to a fresh oaky finish that lasted for a good while. Geez, I wish I'd picked up several more. For the price of a good modern merlot, I could've had 4 bottles of this! It paired incredibly well with sweet basil and tomato pizza (no pepperoni this time!)
Rating: 8 out of 10
16 Sep, 2006
Ecco Domani 2004 Chianti (Italy)
Ditto!
Yesterday's experience echoed the last time we had this tasty Italian red on 27 Feb, 2006. Very dry, super bright red berry tastes sweet due to its bracing acidity. Paired very well with Dominos Pizza. We've had problems recently with oak competing with the peppery pepperoni. This works quite nicely! Same comments and rating as before...
Rating: 8 out of 10
13 Sep, 2006
Septima 2004 Malbec Mendoza/Argentina
Don't cry for me...
It's no secret that I wanted to experiment a bit with Malbec from Argentina. Our local wine shop had two: the 2002 Shell & Bull entry level malbec we somewhat enjoyed at $6.99, and this $9.99 unkown. When Matthew volunteered to grill steak burgers, I started decanting the Septima, not knowing what to expect. After nearly and hour in the decanter, with hearty aeration every 10 minutes of so, the burgers were ready. Originally, as I poured the wine into the decanter, I tried a sip or two first. First impressions: First sip- fruity; 2nd sip- OAK CITY. After the decanting, there is hardly any aroma. On the palate, there is very dark fruit, abundant oak, moderate tannins (which paired well with the steak burgers) and little more. Before the glass went dry (another 45 minutes or so) I got a "pinot noir" type deep plum & spice - albeit "different." Marjorie disliked it aplenty. I thought it interesting, but nothing I'd like to tangle with again. It's definitely meant for beef. Maybe a good steak would be better with this red. Next time we make it to a large wine shop, I'll buy another "recommended" malbec for one more chance. At this point, I'd MUCH rather have a nice fruity California cabernet instead.
Rating: 7 out of 10
12 Sep, 2006
Heron 2004 Pinot Noir (France/California) (3)
I'M BAAAAAACK!
I've been in a terrible pinot noir drought lately (have you noticed?) Even good pinots have tasted poor. Why? Besides the possible bad bottle here and there, storage issues at the wine shop, bad karma, the dreaded burnt tongue, here's a possible answer: I've felt bad the past 2+ weeks. Not terrible, mind you, just extremely FATIGUED. This past weekend, I didn't move off the couch - odd for me. I finally went to the doctor yesterday afternoon. Without checking me out, he said "allergies, eh?" Turns out this is the highest level of ragweed IN HISTORY! Wow. I know I have minor allergies for a few weeks in the fall & spring, but THIS? After some nasal spray and an antihistimine, I'm a new man! Felt great today, so - let's try another PINOT NOIR with dinner (grilled pork chops!) In the glass, a somewhat cloudy burgundy (that cleared crystal clear an hour later.) But more importantly, it tasted good. GUUD! What a relief. Red licorice and vanilla on the nose. Dark cherry and plum on the palate - as was in previous tastings, quite burgundian. It paired nicely with the pork. This has to be one of the biggest bargains out there: French pinot noir, cellared and bottled in California. The best of both worlds. And the greatest of all: $10.99. SCORE!
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
11 Sep, 2006
Red Bicyclette 2004 Syrah France (2)
Different Juice???
This evening, Marjorie made her famous baked spaghetti. I gave her the choice of this Red Bicyclette Syrah or Cycles Gladiator Merlot. Since we enjoyed the BIKE so much previously, we put the baseball cards in the spoke (metaphorically speaking.) In a bizarre twist of fate, this seems like it is a different wine! Last time, we gave it an 8.5, and crowed about the purity of fruit. This time, we got pretty much nothing. Very dark red in the Reidel glass; pleasant red fruit and licorice on the nose; very subtle red fruit flavours with heavy tannins on the palate. Absolutely NO syrah spice at all. It is typically subdued French red, without the wonderful purity. It is truly a product the French "brewed" for the American market. Soul-less. Were we crazy before, or did we just get a bad bottle this time (or was the first bottle just extraordinary?) With an artificial cork (not typically "french,") the later is doubtful. For $11, I'd expect better: it's not bad at all; it's just not too good.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10 (this time)
09 Sep, 2006
Conca y Toro Xplorador 2002 Malbec (Mendoza)
Shell & Bull entry
Since I'm having a rough time with Pinot Noirs these days, I thought I'd expand our horizons and try some malbecs from Argentina. Why? Why not. Actually, depending on whom you talk to, they (malbecs) are either hideous tannic monsters or splendid, magical reds that are supple and sensitive enough for fish yet muscular enough for steaks. With the big Ohio State vs. Texas football game on TV tonight (#1 vs. #2) we had us some steak quesadillas. Perfect time to try a malbec. Last week I bought this $6.99 entry level malbec along with a $9.99 "midpriced" malbec. Let's try the cheapie first. I opened her up and let it breathe for over an hour (most reviewers recommend 2 hours of breathing or heavy duty decanting prior to drinking.) My first impression was one of harshness. Higher tannins than I expected from a red with only $13% alcohol, but that helped with the meat. This is a dark brooding grape, indeed. Dark purple, and dark tasting. After another hour in the glass, it seemed to mellow quite a bit, opening up into a sweeter, less harsh wine. It was fine by itself (the quesadillas we gone by this point) and the tannins retreated quite a bit. OK, I learned my Argentinian lesson. Next time we have red meat (and there is at least two hours before mealtime) we'll try the more expensive malbec and see what happens. Marjorie liked this wine better right out of the bottle than the merlot we had with pizza for dinner. Initially, I disagreed, but after that extra hour in the glass, I see the light. Malbec just might be another alternative for a hearty, full-bodied cab. But this malbec was still too powerful for fish or chicken.
Rating: 7.75 out of 10
P.S. - Ohio State won big!
09 Sep, 2006
Columbia Crest Two Vines 2002 Merlot Columbia Valley
Well Worth the Price
I found this Washington State merlot last week while at Trader Joe's for $7.99. Sounded like a good idea with some Dominos Pizza this evening. Past the pleasant, yet unsophisticated, grape jelly nose, the palate is greeted with an equally uncomplex union of concord grape and wood. With pepperoni, the oaky wood simply overpowered any available fruit. By itself, it wasn't so intense. But this wasn't up to par with many other merlots that were velvety smooth and satisfying. Next time we'll pass on the Columbia Crest and pay a few more bucks for better ML.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
08 Sep, 2006
Bereich Johannisberg 2005 Riesling (Rheingau)
Late night snack
I found this at a local wine shop for $7.99. Hmmm...a Rheingau riesling (our fav region) for $7.99??!! Bottled by Leonard Kreusch (not know for life-altering wines)??!! Tonight, after a local high school football game (we only go for the bands!) we thought we'd give this a whirl (around midnight.) At 10.5% alcohol, it's not a sweetie pie. "Off-dry" would say it all. I totally GET the Rheingau influences, but they're stomped upon by an overbearing APRICOT presence. It ruins the whole thing! It also has a touch of SOMETHING (sulphur, maybe?) that irks me. Yes, yes, it's not bad at all for the super low price. But I'd rather pay more and GET more. Don't get me wrong - we'll buy it again and stick it in the cellar for a "change of pace" day.
Rating: 7 out of 10
07 Sep, 2006
L. Guigal Cotes du Rhone BLANC 2003
Oh fer Too
Last year a friend RAVED about Guigal's Cotes du Rhone. I THINK it was their ROSE, but I figured we'd try their basic RED first. Buzzzzz! Not so good. OK, last week I was faced with a real poser. In my two grubby hands: the ROSE and the BLANC. I choose BLANC. On the internet, mixed reviews. A few crooning about lush, exotic tropical fruits, pineapple and mango. Most, not so much. They mentioned: LITTLE OR NO FLAVOUR. We hereby decree that we experienced the later: LITTLE OR NO FLAVOUR (heavy on the "NO!") Faint tropical fruit on the nose, but NONE on the palate! This was a heavy, oily thick white, that was very heavy on the alcohol, very hot. It really tasted BAD. We were disappointed - $12 down the drain (literally!) :(
Rating: 4 out of 10
06 Sep, 2006
Cycles Gladiator 2005 Pinot Noir Central Coast
IT'S H E R E...!
We're in such a pinot noir slump, it's not funny. All of a sudden, we seem not to like the pinot (even ME!) I thought it might be my burnt tongue (darn you, microwave sandwich!) but it seems healed now. Maybe it is stress? Or sun spots? Everything else tastes like it always has...merlot, chianti & cab = gooood. Riesling and pinot grigio = mmmmmnnn! I thought I would retrace my steps and go buy a pinot noir that seemed to be (surprisingly) great the last time we tried it - Kendall-Jackson (who woulda thought - not me!). It paired BEAUTIFULLY with some fish recently. I went to Wine Works last night and, low and behold, what's on the shelf, but Cycles Gladiator PINOT NOIR! We really like their cab for the price (under ten bucks!) Although the price on their pinot noir was $12.99, I thought it my be very tasty (since we like their other wines, and we used to LOVE Echelon pinot noir from California's CENTRAL COAST.) Roast chicken tonight for dinner? I'm all over it with this new Cycles Gladiator. Although it paired very well with the chicken, by itself, NADA. Even with the bird, it still had that overly cheap/light/sweet plum flavour that has been plaguing us the past few weeks (even with expensive pinots!) This is really disturbing me! Have we evolved away from pinot noir to strictly the taste of cabernet and merlot? How very odd. I'm only willing to try another pinot noir or two to find out. More research coming soon...
Pros: Paired well with the roast chicken. Cute naked lady on the label (but you can't see any "naughty" parts!)
Cons: Rather "foggy" looking in the glass. Another recent pinot noir failure. More expensive than Cycles Gladiator's other wines. In our opinion, not worth the extra money.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
SIDE NOTE:
We LOVED our Metrokane Rabbit riesling glasses - our favourite! So to surprise Marjorie, I ordered a set of 4 Metrokane Rabbit burgundy/pinor noir glasses. They arrived today, just in time to try with the new Cycles Gladiators Pinot Noir. MAN THEY ARE HUUUUGGGEE! It is no lie when I say a whole bottle could easily fit in each glass (at least a litre!) True, the large bowl size and up-turned lip allows for more nose access, but it looks HONKIN' GIGANTIC! Even though these are dishwasher safe, we'll probably use the Reidel's that have survived (3 are left!)
05 Sep, 2006
Weber 2005 Riesling Rheinhessen
Ho-Hum
I ran across this at a local Kroger store for $9 last weekend. Since we were worn out and wanted some riesling, we didn't want to waste an expensive bottle. The bottle is a bright cobalt blue. I couldn't tell if the cork was real or fake! Either a real good fake or an ultra smooth/dense authentic cork. The wine itself is a charming colour of light gold in the glass. On the nose, it's beautiful floral notes. On the palate it's strictly grapefruit (as are so many "cheap" rieslings from Germany.) Along for the ride are slight hints of peaches and pear juice (Delmonte.) Yeah, it tastes light cheap riesling. So what! It's still warm out. Marjorie made the comment that she likes white wine because even the cheap tasting ones are drinkable. I agree to a point. I've tasted some REAL NASTY chardonnays! This is a tiny notch higher than the $2.99 stuff we had a few weeks ago.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
04 Sep, 2006
Cycles Gladiator 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Central Coast (2)
Consistant value, once again...
Paired perfectly with pot roast tonight, this is good hooch! My original review is below. It reflects our experience tonight to a "T." The only difference is that Wine Works now charges $9.99 for this (they used to charge $6.99, then, $7.99 then $8.99!!!) I can't blame them! Marjorie really likes this as well. Same rating as before!
20 Jun, 2006
Cycles Gladiator 2004 Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon
Have a sit and take a sip...
Last week I reviewed the astonishing Cycles Gladiator Syrah, which was surprisingly good for $7. I ran out and got another bottle of the syrah (which I didn't quite enjoy as well as the first one with Dominos Pizza, but it is still good stuff) and a bottle of cab to try. It's been an incredibly hectic week with construction, so we haven't connected much for meals. Tonight we had steak burgers on whole wheat buns on the grill. Sounds like a good excuse to pull the cab out! Again I was amazed... bright red berry ala Central Coast (California) which is my favourite red wine region. It's not as seriously complex as some cabs I've tried, but it was soft and juicy with modest tannins (very nice for us, but it still paired quite well with the meat.) I look forward to their new pinot noir 2005 when it arrives locally - should be a winner.
Pros: Well-balanced, juicy, bright red fruit forward, modest tannins, super priced at $7!
Cons: Could use a tad more complexity (but what do you expect for $7!)
Rating: 8.75 out of 10
03 Sep, 2006
La Crema 2004 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
AUTOMATIC...
With my recent "strange tastebuds" towards pinot noirs (possibly due to a BURNT TONGUE - microwave sandwich incident!) I wanted to try an old standby to see how the old 'buds were doing. With chicken, I chose La Crema. Beautiful beet red colour in the glass with long legs; and plum greeted our greedy nostrils. On the plalate, red berry joined with well-rounded spice. PERFECTLY BALANCED, is the mantra here. Although I do admit that it is not as incredible as usual (under the guise of my deformed taste buds,) it's mighty darned good. It is truly interesting to me that this ALTERED sense of taste only seems to affect pinot noirs! All other reds seem unaffected, as do all whites. After an hour or so in the glass, this 2004 opens up quite a bit, appearing sweeter, brighter red berry with more red licorice (or is it the alcohol affecting things.) When asked her opinion, Marjorie stated that this was a sophisticated pinot. She didn't finish her glass, and we didn't finish the bottle (for once.) Today, I would have to rate it a 9 out of 10 (down from the usual 9.5.) Hopefully the pinot drought will end soon with my burned and mangled (pinot) taste buds!
Tomorrow, roast, with cabernet!
03 Sep, 2006
Leitz Dragonstone 2004 Riesling Rheingau
A retroactive THUMBS UP!
Yes, our teachers strike was settled and we were happily back at school with students once again! The 5-day strike was very stressful, yet it was a positive bonding experience both with fellow teachers from the district as well as the wonderful support we felt from local businesses and the community. We celebrated the retroactive strike settlement and the incredible luck we had finding a king-sized headboard locally yesterday, by cracking open the screw top version of one of my favourite German rieslings: Leitz Dragonstone. Wow, from the first sip to the last drop in the bottle, this is indeed GOOOOOOOD stuff! Everytime we open a bottle, we know it will be gone, QUICKLY. It's on of our top 3 rieslings of all time, and the only CURRENT, readily available one! It's also a rare occurrance, where there seems to be a bit of competition over who gets the last few drops from the bottle! Maybe we should open TWO bottles, you say? Perhaps, but then there would be TWO empty bottles! Another vindicating rating of 9.5 out of 10!
01 Sep, 2006
Beringer Founders' Estate 2003 Shiraz (California)
Jammy!
This was a "house warming" gift from my mother for the completion of the house addition (she brought it to our house warming party.) What a fruit-forward jammy red this is! Even though it's not our cup of tea (remember that Marjorie isn't a fan of spice, and shiraz always comes to the table with copious black pepper spice!) We had some East of Chicago pizza for dinner tonight. World-class crust! Once again the peppery spice really screws with the spice from the pepperoni! It's like a battle in your mouth! Plain cheese pizza paired much better. Even though this is PLENTY JAMMY, a nice chianti (like Ecco Domani) or a smooth, velvety merlot would work better, for sure. This would be nice with tangy, sweet barbacue, uh-huh. We'll use it for that in the future, and substitute chianti or merlot for the 'za in the future.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10