Simi Chardonnay 2007

This is a slightly dry, oaky, Chard, light fruit notes. But I got more buttery oaky yummers than fruity yummers.

It is just a good and tasty wine perfect for enjoying turkey leftovers.

Autocorrect wants to replace that hummers, mummers, or yammers. Which what the hell is a yammer? A professional sweet potato chef? Wrong! Everyone knows the term for that is a yammist.

Bottom line: yummers, not yammers

Gainey Chardonnay 2010

This is one of the best Chardonnays I have ever had. My mom and brother and I split this bottle, and talk about tasty.

This is a limited selection release and you can really taste the exclusivity. Seriously though it has a great balance of fruity acid, and oaky buttery goodness. Arguably, the perfect balance. Wear extra socks when you open this because they will get knocked off.

Bottom line: Drink it!!!

Tasting Day, Solvang and Los Olivos

So a while back, I went to Gainey and Los Olivos for a tasting day with Busy Beth and other friends. I started to write about it, and then saved this as a draft, and then forgot, and this morning I found it. Yeah, I wrote this late. Yeah, I'm back-dating the post. No, there aren't pictures.

Tasting day started at Gainey. Many of their wines were good to really good. There are two vineyards, Gainey and Evan's Ranch.

The Syrahs from both were good, but the Evans Ranch Syrah and surprising Chardonnay were rather tasty.

The Gainey Riesling was good, not too sweet, and just a nice round flavor.

The real stand out for me was the Evan's Ranch Chardonnay, which if you know me, I'm a red guy.

P.S. nice to meet you, I like red.

I don't even know if I can explain the specialness of this Chard. The second to youngest in a family of 8 that quietly gets her doctorate before she's 21. An excellent wine, that should come with a complimentary owl.

Now apparently the real beauty of Gainey is in their Cab Sauv and especially their Cab Franck, however they were not featured in the flight (fancy term for tasting (eyeroll)). So I'll just have to take Busy Beth's word for it, or force her to share a bottle with me. I know she has one, and I'mma git it!

Bottom line: Gainey. Go there.

Anderra Cabernet Sauvignon Chile 2012

Like the previous post, this was also a discovery of my housemate. And again likely under $20. Some of the Chilean wines I have tried recently have a certain regal dryness to the character. It is hard to put my finger on it. It is actually quite light in color but the flavor is robust.

Bottom line: Wear a tiara while you drink it!

Damn! No picture. Here is a visual approximation:

Greystone Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

My housemate found this at the corner market. I don't know how much he paid for it, but I'm sure it was less than $20.

It's a bloody good cab. Surprisingly big for such an unassuming label.

Bottom line: drink it!

Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel 2011

I bought this at Costco and was pleasantly surprised. Normally I expect nothing from Costco wine. Especially anything under $10. But this was surprisingly drinkable, especially for the price. If you like to follow a big tasting red, with another big red but without the guilt of blowing $40 on that 3rd bottle, this is a must-have.

It is important to have a stock of drinking wine as it is to have a stock of tasting wine.

Bottom line: it is a utility must have. Drink it!

Pedroncelli Merlot 2009

I have posted about a couple other Pedroncelli wines in the past. It was a woot offering a while back and...this Merlot is just good.

If you don't like Merlot, well, I just don't think we can be friends. Merlot gets a bad rap. To the point when you get a good one everyone acts so surprised, holy crap this pitiful little Merlot is actually drinkable and doesn't make me want to vomit until I can't remember my name!

A Merlot can be deep and sensual and interesting, or tawdry and vapid. And just like a prostitute, you get what you pay for, am I right, senator?

Bottom line: You shoulda, you coulda, you oughtta, you wanna drink it!

Castillo de Feliciana Miercoles 2009

Miercoles is Spanish for Wednesday!

And Wednesday it was that I opened this. It is light in body and was worried that it was going to be shallow, but it actually had nice complexities to it. It is just very smooth.

Bottom line: Don't wait until hump day for this deliciousness. Drink it!!!

Amavi Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

This wine was brought back from the coastal north west region near Seattle from a winery in Woodinville, the new bourgeoning Napa to the North.

I'm going to cut right to the chase here. This wine was not as good as I remember it. I remember it had a tannic quality, but this bottle was mostly comprised of tannins. Like a steak that is mostly gristle, it was hard to chew and devoid of the characteristic flavor I expected.

When I look back on the experience of drinking this, the only thing I picture is a glass of pencil shavings.

I think I'm going to try to be more discerning with wines from now on. Try to meet them with a more skeptical eye. Not put up with their mouthy bullshit. Loudmouth wines.

Bottom line: Cellar it for about 20 years, then talk to me.

Artesa Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Oh, Artesa! Which springeth forth upon the tongue, thy earthen hues burst across mine palette with words uttered by the most studied of your shaman. This wine has blown my mind. It is so smooth for being an '09. You could cellar it for a few years, but honestly, it is so good, it is enjoyable right away.

This wine will take you a goodly step toward enlightenment.

Thankfully I had friends over to help me with this bottle. But I am sure I could have managed on my own. Since I have a couple more bottles, I'm sure I will have a most welcome opportunity again.

Artesa is a beautiful winery with accommodating gorgeous landscaping, handsome staff, and tasty wines to back it up. Their whites were good. Solid. Their reds will show you The Way. Few wineries have had reds that exude the confident flair of delicious, flavorful and captivating complexity. So much going on in this cab!

Bottom line: Drink it!

Vampire Chardonnay 2010

UPDATE: So given that I am mortal, and therefore showed enough restraint to avoid drinking the entire bottle in one sitting (none of my housemates like white, at least not the same way they like red), I had enough for two modest glasses today. I don't know that white requires opening the same way red does. I presume there are some changes, but perhaps they are more subtle. This wine is just damn tasty. Hard to say if it is due to opening up, but more importantly, yesterday's experience wasn't a honeymoon encounter. It is just as delightful today, reinforcing the review below. Whoa! Hey! Bat wings!!!

---

A year ago roughly, we got a small cross section of Vampire's wine offerings and because it is Thursday at approximately 5pm, I opened this.

It was in the fridge so was a little too cold at first. Chilled wine is nice but too cold can hamper the flavors. You want it somewhere in the pleasant middle ground of room temp and wine-cicle.

It is actually a very nice Chardonnay. Which means I probably won't share it with anyone. Beautiful mouth feel and just the right combo of buttery goodness and ...whatever else it is that I'm tasting. It isn't citrus-y like a Sauv Blanc. Very smooth, not too much oak... Yep. I'm pretty sure it is blood.

Bottom line: Drink it. If you feel yourself turning into a bat, drink more.

Pedroncelli Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Okay, look. I may have already posted about the cab. But dammit I'm too fucking lazy to look.

We got this hot off woot. My expectations were low. Surprisingly this is good. Not great, but somewhere on the border of "good" and "really good," but like I said. Not "great."

So there ya go. Above average, and decanted, or opened, possibly significantly so. However won't ever reach "great."

Bottom line: Drink it. Guzzle it with a wine bong. I bet you'll enjoy it. (If you do, send pix.)

William Hill Merlot 2006

This is a very good Merlot-tasting Merlot. In many ways the epitome of wine. It is one of the most wine-flavored wines I have had.

That is not necessarily a good thing, unless you are in search of really winey-wine. It seemed to open quickly and all it's available flavors were there for the tasting, like a cheap and easy date, or a prostitute.

It is physically possible to consume this bottle in one sitting. It goes down easy. ...like a prostitute. But there are both better and worse wines to contend with.

Bottom line: Drink it if you must.

Provenance Cabernet Franc 2010

In the last couple of years I have seen a lot more Cab Franc on the market.

Normally a blending wine, lately this shit has gotten goooood.

I can't even explain how happy I am drinking this. It is big and bold and tasty. I want a giant steak or BBQ with this (had to settle for nachos).

Bottom line: oh. my. god. And I don't even have one, but I will create one. Just to call out her name while I have sex with this wine. Drink it!!!

Sattui Family Red 2010

This last weekend, Bear and I drove up to Mecca--I mean Napa. We tasted probably 30 wines on Saturday. My little tasters were shot by the end of the day! I felt like my tongue was swollen and frayed.

We joined several wine clubs and bought many individual bottles. I'm going to be sharing my thoughts on these wines in the coming weeks. We hit six wineries: Artesa, Delectus, David Fulton, V. Sattui, Provenance, and Napa Cellars/Folie a Deux.

This first post is about the 2010 Sattui Family Red. It was created in honor of their 125th anniversary. All the V. Sattui wines are only available from the winery, and it was one of the busiest wineries we attended. Part of the reason is that it is one of the only wineries with a food license, not only to sell an impressive (insane) variety of cheeses, but also had a restaurant. And beautiful grounds.

The red is a blend of lots of stuff, Cab, Syrah, but mostly Zin. Despite that, it is nice and smooth, with a little hint of smokiness. I really want to have this with some BBQ. I had to settle for a little pesto pasta. Luckily I have more bottles. More bottles = more opportunities for amazing.

Bottom line: You want to go to there...and drink it!

This gets a little ranty, so be forewarned.

That day many families were gathered for picnicking, and oddly, wine tasting. Bored children pulled at their parents sleeves and acted out, bored beyond belief, and not understanding what their parents were doing, and what the big deal was. I posted as such on Facebook and a friend of mine rose to the defense of parents who desire to "do things" and therefore "have" to bring their children along. Ugh. I didn't want to get into it with him.

So I'm going to bitch about it on my blog.

Parents with young children should be allowed to do things in normal society to some extent. As long as their children are *perfectly* well behaved and suitably socialized for public display. Especially at adults-only events. If I acted up in public, my mom would have kicked me in the face. In fact she threatened me as such last week. I believe children should have a healthy mixture of respect and fear when it comes to how they feel about their parents. Oh fine, I guess, love should be in there as well.

Apologies if this statement may be controversial, but I personally believe wine tasting is not a family event. Unless by winery, you mean "circus," and by wine you mean "coke." Everyone drinks or no one drinks, so unless you want to show your toddler to learn the finer points of a Merlot, get a fucking sitter. Can't afford one? Tough shit. It's not a place for kids. And if you are a winery that encourages children in the tasting rooms, fuck you.

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

This is big and delicious, bold, spicy and aaugh! Wonderful! Had it with Chinese take-out. And friends. The friends were particularly delicious. And filling.

Bottom line: Yes and yes! Yes! Have what she's having. But whatever you do, make sure you are drinking this.

Amalgama Red Table Wine Chile 2011

I'm drinking this with a friend (wine is usually best that way). It has opened up a lot and I'm surprised by this. I would say it is better than average but not by much.

Solidly good, but I hesitate to say really good. It is made in Chile (in the Cachapoal Valley--whatever the significance) and I do not have any information about the makeup other than it is red. That is pretty much enough info for me to drink it. We got this at BevMo as part of the 5¢ wine sale! Reason enough.

Bottom line: If you don't have anything better to do, drink it!

Sainte Croix Syrah-Merlot 2011

This may be 50/50 Syrah-Merlot from France, but I feel more like 80/20 (yum over not-yum).

I liked this wine. Normally I do not care for French wine outside of France. It is almost as if they keep the good stuff in France and send the second tier sludge to the filthy Americans. I recall buying a €4 bottle in Paris that was leaps ahead of the $20 bottle I bought at BevMo. Though the conversion rate probably works out the same, still French wine from France=yum, not=not.

Bottom line: Drink it. Wear a beret. French kiss a friend.

Gainey Riesling 2011

Last night I had a friend over. I made Broccoli Parmesan Fritters (the broccoli answer to a latke, a brocco-latke (or brocca-laca, if you will)). After we stuffed ourselves on those, we had chicken bratwurst with bacon sauerkraut, and spicy mustards (yes multiple mustards) from Mom's Orchard in Oak Glen, California. Divoon!

This Gainey Limited Selection Riesling has a light quality to it; very lightly sweet, this is not a typical Riesling. Not as easy to chug it down. You want to savor the gentle complexities, rather than pouring in your wine hole with a beer bong.

Bottom line: Pairable, shareable and surprisingly wearable. Drink it!

Pedroncelli Zinfandel 2009

This is a wine we got a while back from wine woot, believe it or not. (Actually we got a cross-section of Pedroncelli, which I will talk more about later.) It is nicely balanced, though I hesitate to call it complex.

Bottom line: Able to be enjoyed with meat, cheese, friends, air, or all of the above, and any combination thereof.

Yep

I'm so far behind, I think I'm first. I have lots more bitching to do about wine. I have been ridiculously busy. But I haven't forgotten about you. I promise!!! I have time this week though, so stay tuned.

tannic-ly yours,
Joe

Artesa 2006 Meritage

This magical gem can be found at BevMo of all places. It is rich and complex with some magical flavor ribbon inside that defies explanation.

Artesa is a winery in Napa and very highly rated, however we were ubnable to make it there on our last trip.

I can't imagine a situation where I would be disappointed with this selection.

Bottom line: Drink it!

Renwood Petite Sirah 2009

Well, well, well. Looky what we have here. Another delicious Petite Sirah! I don't know what the deal is lately, but we are having a great string of luck with affordable Petites! This is a bit of a surprise, as it was under $20 at BevMo!

Bottom line: Better buy two, because once you open one, you'll drink it and just want more.

Casa Barranca Grenache 2010

I posted about other Casa Barranca wine earlier (their Cabernet). This Grenache is the shit. It just is. Hard to say if it is fully the shit, but I would venture to say yes.

Bottom line: It is the thing you should be drinking right now. If you look down and realize you are not drinking this, you have made a terrible mistake somewhere in your day. But I still love you and there is time to make up for this egregious error.

Wine Tasting - Vino V, Old Creek Ranch

We decided to make a day trip to Ojai and Old Creek Ranch winery. It is a nice way to spend an afternoon.

For the most part Vino V had most of the same wines they had last time we were here. But the good thing is, I needed to restock on a couple favorites. The 2011 Chenin Blanc and 2006 Syrah. A wine he had that I do not recall him having last time was the Grüner Veltliner (2011), which is a white, very light, fruitier, sweeter than the Chenin but just as delicate.

It is funny because the wine maker is a pretty manly guy and his wines are very delicate and gentle, but also intricate.

He surprised us by tempting us with a 2008 Chardonnay, not on the wine tasting roster. We tried a 2010, and it was good, but just good. The 08 is tantalizing. Not sure if just age contributes to the character, or the vintage is just better, but I couldn't resist buying a bottle.

Next we wandered five feet to the right to try the wines at Old Creek Ranch. They focus mostly on varietals from the Spanish and Italian regions (some southern French as well), like Grenache, Sangiovese, Viognier. We started off with two fruity but acidic whites: a Tocai Friulano, and an Albarino. These have a citric acidic bite, which would go well with food. They are apparently really popular in Spain.

The Viognier was much better than the last one I tried, but it isn't for me. Not as buttery as a Chardonnay, and not as sweet as a pinot gris, but relies on more subtle complexity. At this stage in my learning, I need a white to hit me over the head with uniqueness, otherwise, I lose interest.

The next two wines were a Carignane, which was good, but a little on the light and dry side for me, and De La Tierra, a blend mostly of Morvedre with a little Grenache, Syrah and Viognier (which seems a really odd combination to me--and overall it was). Again, see aforementioned requisite baseball-bat-of-flavor. Wines cannot play coy with me; I am but a child needing to be hit in the head...with a baseball bat (which I imagine any of you reading with more experience than I, would like to oblige. Maybe for charity one day, I'll sell tickets and you'll get your chance).

Ah, the OCR 2010 Grenache, which I post about more in the future. This is a lovely flavorful wine, and I rather enjoy both tasting and drinking, as is their Sangiovese (2009), and their Petite Sirah (2010). The Sangiovese is amazing and I was excited to taste it again, and to get another bottle. I'm always wary of Petite Sirahs, since I am so often disappointed, and this was a new wine on sale for the first time this spring. It was lovely and at $35/bottle, an excellent value ($28 if you join their club). Their Syrah (2009) was not exciting however, and I was bummed as I typically like Syrah a lot. They touted it (in the description) as amazing, but I just can't agree. It could also have been that by now, my tasters were shot, but it just didn't have the same allure the other wines did. There was no sex in that bottle for me.

Speaking of price the Petite Sirah, and the Barbera wine were the most expensive of their wines. They range from $22 to $35, and are sophisticated and nicely priced.

Lastly, I need to mention their 2009 Barbera wine. This was a surprise, as I'm sure we tried it the last time we were here, but I don't recall it. It was nearly sold out, and they had a 2-bottle limit, so we bought our limit. This was smooth, right, silky, a beautiful dark red, fruity, and just fucking nice to drink.

We ended our day at Paradise Pantry, where they served us cheese, more wine, and a variety of other amazing foods.

Bottom line: Go for a drive to Ojai and buy some wine! Stop in Ventura for the cheese!

Sebastiani Merlot 2007

I mentioned this wine before when talking about the Sebastiani Cab. While still good, it is not as complex as the Cab. But at eight to ten dollars, a good deal for a better than average, delicious drinking wine.

I like Merlot. Because I don't only enjoy tasting wine, I also enjoy drinking it. And this is rather drinkable and generally lovely.

Dare I say, you can't go wrong with Sebastiani? I guess I have more drinking to do to find out. So far, so good.

Bottom line: Drink it!

Vampire Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Vampire makes many varietals. I don't remember what this tastes like. By the time we got around to opening this, we all agreed it was tasty enough to drink, but honestly, my tasters were shot.

Bottom line: Amazing (pending further investigation)

Chalone Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010

Light elegant, and way more better than most other shit Pinot I have tried. And there's a lot of shit out there.

Pinot can be tricky to find a good one. I think it is harder to find a Pinot, than it is to find a Zin, say. Big and beefy, there can be so much going on in a dark red that you can find quirks in the variety that you like. Pinots seem like they don't have the fullness of flavor to rely on, so you screw up one little thing, and the whole batch is ruined.

Or it could be I have no sophistication and am full of shit, grasping at straws to justify my severe lack of knowledge.

Whatever. This one=good.

Bottom line: It won't curl your toes, but it might help with the ironing.

The Cutrer Chardonnay 2006

I know little about Chardonnay. They are shifty and I don't trust them. Just kidding. They all suck. Just kidding again. Only most of them.

This one is actually quite good. The label states Russian River Valley, and is Bottled by Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards in Windsor. I have no idea what the fuck any of that means.

This has a definite structure to it unlike many Chards that are just liquidy and taste like white wine. So much structure, when I opened this bottle, a small piece of scaffolding plopped out into my glass.

Bottom line: Why are you still reading this crap? Go buy some and drink it!

Stark Raving

I wanted this wine to be good. But it just was not. Normally Rosenblum is better than average, but despite a great name, and label, this Costco wine is only so-so.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't pour it out. I powered through. And if you are desperate enough, you can too.

Bottom line: Only if you are collecting cool labels, or mediocre flavors.

Casa Barranca Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

This lovely slice hails from a winery in Ojai which claims to be "organic." I'm not necessarily big on only buying organic stuff, but if YOU are, then you are in luck. This is good. They have a couple of other varietals I picked up as well, a Syrah, and a Grenache, both of which are just as delightful (though their Syrah, I think "orgasmic" is more accurate).

Now if you are only just arriving at this blog, there is a real possibility that I'm full of shit. I would say a relatively high percentage

Bottom line: Yum

Vino V Chenin Blanc 2011

This is a delicate but feisty dry white. It is versatile and good with savory and sweet. I had a chicken and pasta dish followed by a fancy chocolate and it continued to delight and enthrall through each flavor sensation.

Vino V is in the same building as Old Creek Ranch Winery. They even share a vineyard, but focus more on traditional grapes, like Chard, Cab, Syrah, etc, whereas Old Creek is more focused on Grenache, Sangiovese, etc.

It is a nice little winery and the Chenin shows their sophistication.

Bottom line: Drink it with a fox, drink it in a box, or go crazy and drink it with your mouth.

Two Angels Petite Sirah 2007

I am occasionally surprised by a wine that is both cheap and tasty.

This is not one of those times.

Kidding! Just fucking with you. For a $10 Petite Sirah, Two Angels 07 is an excellent value.

It is no David Fulton. Few wines are. DF is THE king of wine. My personal favorite and the wine against which all other wines are compared. Few measure up.

All that being said, I do not have $45 to spend on a bottle of wine every day. There are some petite Sirahs which are cheap and good. Or at least cheaper. Titus has an excellent one for around 30, and Rosenblum has a Pickett Road for around the same.

Most petite Sirahs I have tried in the "cheap" price range have sucked. Seriously, Powder Keg, wtf were you thinking? Tastes like burned wick, and that IS the nicest thing I can say for them. Petite Sirah is hard. It is dark and jammy and needs to be layered and sexy.

It is just hard to make sexy wine. After a bottle of DF, you will have to take a week off work, because you will still be having sex. Two Angels is like a cheap but satisfying quickie in the broom closet.

Bottom line: you never know where the day will take you, so bring a condom.

Las Rocas Garnacha 2009

I am giving this a special mention because I going this at Costco. I enjoy Grenache or Garnacha, though I am still learning about what makes them tick.

Bottom line: Buy two: one for you and one for your friend.

Red Diamond Merlot 2009

Holy crap. Washington State? Yep. Believe it sister. There is a blend called CMS which I enjoy, also from Washington.

I know Merlot is not as well thought of as Cab or Pinot in terms of its complexity. And maybe it isn't a sophisticated blonde, complex, layered, a lawyer with a troubled past and promising future of ambition and intrigue. Maybe it is just that crazy brunette, wild, crazy into you, wants to talk all night, enjoys sexting.

Bottom line: I'm ready, Washington State, for you to show me...everything.