Red4 Vina Robles

2004

Huerhuero

Paso Robles, San Miguel

California

Will definitely drink again. Although not wicked cheap, I think this is a great value - it tastes like a more expensive wine.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

This wine is recommended to drink now, and for the next (3) years.

Once again, I am enamored with a blend. This delicious wine is 60% Syrah, 28% Petite Sirah, 8% Touriga, 3% Tannat - hence the name: "Red4". The bouquet is hard for me to describe. It was enticing, though it was like a broccoli - red meat scent for me. Strange, I know. Slightly spicey, but really nice black cherry fruit and slight vanilla flavor with a hint of cocoa before the finish (vanilla and chocolate do actually work together). The finish is slightly peppery. I enjoyed this alone and with a Kashi (http://www.kashi.com/) Mediterranean pizza (spinach, fire-roasted tomatoes, red onion, sweet red pepper, feta cheese with whole grain and flax seed crust).

Let me tell you brother, she’s been sleeping in the Devil’s bed.

And there’s some rumors going round,

Someone’s underground,

She can rock you in the nighttime’til your skin turns red.

Woo hoo witchy woman,

See how high she flies.

Woo hoo witchy woman,

She's got the moon in her eyes.

Witchy Woman - The Eagles

8.5 out of 10

$13.99 / 750 ml. bottle

14.3% alc. by vol.

http://www.vinarobles.com/

Redwood Creek Sauvignon Blanc

2005
Frei Brothers

Modesto, California

My stepfather-in-law stopped by with a Sauvignon Blanc for us to try on their way to Vermont for their 30th wedding anniversary. It was enjoyable. It tasted slightly more enjoyable with Muenster Cheese (my favorite as a kid). I tasted sort of the usual citrus and melon. Nothing out of the ordinary. But it paired very well with the cheese, and vice versa. Not much of a finish.

I don't get as excited tasting whites as I do reds. To me, although they are different, most Sauvignon Blancs taste similar and Chardonnays taste similar and Pinot Grigio's and Reislings taste similar. But I find much greater distinguishing characteristics among reds.

My cousin just married a "Reisling man" and I've invited them for dinner somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas and I hope to learn a lot. His best friends own a fairly well-known vineyard that specializes in Resiling. It's his favorite wine. I am hoping to be enlightened and have more to report in the future.

My Uncle brings a Reisling every year for our opening Thanksgiving appetizer (in addition he usually brings a Red Zin for the main meal, and a Port for dessert). He knows his Reisling also - I think I may have previously written that he turned me on to Reisling one Easter afternoon when he served it with prosciutto and melon. Uusally I find Reisling too sweet. But he knows precisely what food accompanies what wine well and it was an awesome pairing.

Maybe the sun will shine today
And clouds will roll away
Maybe I won't be so afraid
I will understand
Everything has its plan
Either way

"Either Way" - Wilco

7.50 out of 10
$11.99 / 1.5 L bottle

13% alc. by vol.

http://www.redwoodcreek.com/

Robert Mondavi Vinetta

2005

Private Selection

California

Will drink again - yet another good pick for the money.

This blend of 68% cabernet sauvignon, 14% merlot, 11% petit verdot, 5% malbec and 2% cabernet franc was thoroughly drinkable. I am not a fan of Robert Mondavi anything (no offense, I just haven't liked any of his wines). One of the guys I work with kept telling me I had to try Mondavi's "Vinetta". I couldn't find it anywhere. I found it waiting for me at my desk on Monday morning.

The color was almot a flourescent purple. The scent was fruit, licorice and alcohol. Although Mondavi describes this as a "Bordeaux-inspired" blend, I found it more fruity than earthy. For the first time, I smelled and tasted licorice mixed with dark cherry, followed by oak. There wasn't much of a finish, but there was a nice quick burst of oak at the end that I did enjoy.

I think it would serve well as an everyday wine to have on hand for relaxed company (not any connoisseurs).

Glasses are raised,

toasts are spoken.

Reservations are made,

engagements are broken.

An old man sighs,

and one life comes to an end.

A baby cries,

and a new life just begins.

Witness the energy flow in and around each building,

as life takes form beyond each light.

Yet, still, loneliness abounds,

reflecting across the Harbor at night.

8.0 out of 10

$9.99 / 750 ml. bottle

13.5% alc. by vol.

http://www.rmprivateselection.com/

Chapelle-St.-Arnoux Gigondas

Cuvee
2004
France

This was a good French wine - will buy again.

I bought this wine to go with "Boeuf Bourguignonne" (Beef Burgundy) - please visit http://www.cheznathalie.com/ for the recipe. I was looking for a Bordeaux preferably but ended up with this. It was really good, though it needed a little more "oomph". But I enjoyed it very much anyway. Although I felt it needed more fruit and did not seem to have a "burst of flavor", there was something about it I liked a lot. It did have a slight mineralness in the finish which I enjoy. It had a bit of a "warm rock" taste as well. It was very consistent and balanced. I enjoyed it more on its own than with the meal. I felt the meal needed a stronger wine to bring out the taste of the recipe and the wine did not hold up as well to the strong flavors of the meal. But it was good anyway.

She dances to "Wilco"
Round and round she goes
She bends down and looks at me upside down through her knees
Then she bounces up and spins until she's dizzy

I tell her to keep going when she wants to take a break
I want to write a poem about her dancing
And she laughs "Oh for Heaven's Sake!"

She's only six years old and cute as can be
Full of life and so much fun, oblivious to Time
Dancing to the chorus "Can You Leave Me Like You Found Me"
I can't imagine life without her as I sip my Gigondas wine

8.0 out of 10
$14.99 / 750 ml bottle
14% alc. by vol.

Root: 1 Cab 2005

2005
Cabernet Sauvignon

Colchagua Valley, Chile

Will drink again (yet another good value - great taste for the money).

The Guy and I have had Root: 1 before and enjoyed it, but it was prior to posting our blog. So I decided to revisit it this weekend on a whim when I saw it for $9.99. I smelled and tasted . . . "Hot Rocks" - not The Rolling Stones, mind you, just hot rocks. This is an awesome experience. I've had it before with another previously reviewed wine (Terra Bossa 2004 Cabernet), but not as strong as this. It is definitely an "earthy" taste but taken to the next level. It really reminds me of granite warmed by the sun. I believe this is different, however, than a "mineral" experience. Which, brings me to my next reflection: the mineral survey. Thank you to those of you who participated. Next time I'll let a survey run without deadline.

The November issue of Wine Enthusiast (http://www.wineenthusiast.com/) has an article by Tim Patterson on the last page: Rocks In My Head - The rule in trying to grasp the elusive concept of minerality is, fake it 'till you taste it.

Mr. Patterson basically writes that he at first tasted minerality everywhere in every wine, trying hard to understand it. He even attended seminars related to geology and vineyard cross-sections and soil samples. He then checked the science behind it and seems to have succumbed to believing it's mostly "hooey". Some of what he had to say is summarized below:

"Nothing in winedom is more prized than the miracle of minerality. This elusive characteristic, found only in certain wines and discernible only to selected palates, carries a potent symbolic charge: tasting minerality is tasting the living soil that gave birth to grapes.

There's a good chance, of course, that minerality is mostly hooey.

First of all, people have the darndest time agreeing on what 'minerality' is . . . flavor, aroma, a texture?

Then there's the little problem that rocks don't taste or smell at all . . . (yet here he mentions his friends' contradictions) My mineral-centric buddies explained, with some condescension, that wet rocks clearly do have a smell - even a hosed-down sidewalk gives off a scent.

It gets worse. Modern plant biology holds that flavors and aromas are manufactured within the grapes through photosynthesis, not transported up from the ground into the berries.

More likely, according to state-of-the-art research, what gets called minerality is some combination of acidity and sulfur compounds."

I don't know exactly what minerality is or isn't. But I can tell you that I do indeed believe it exists. It is very exciting for me when I taste a wine that's got it. It only happened to me for the first time in the last couple of months and it's happened maybe three times total since. It was definitely a new experience for me and, I would say it was a textural thing when it happened. For lack of a better term, the wine "softened" all of a sudden in the finish. And it was pretty awesome.

For me, Root: 1 smelled exactly as it tasted. I knew when I smelled it that it was going to give me that "hot rocks" taste. I did not taste a lot of fruit - slight cherry in the beginning followed by spicey earthiness and warm stone with a lingering finish. But, alas, there was no mineral experience here.

Robert Parker gave this wine a 90 rating.

8.25 out of 10
$9.99 / 750 ml bottle
14% alc. by vol.
http://www.root1wine.com/

Ladybug Red Cuvee VI

Red Table Wine
Redwood Valley
California

Will drink again. (Good every day wine to have on hand and drink now.)

Ladybug Red is a blend of Zinfandel, Carignane, Merlot and Cabernet. The vines are aged an average of forty years. Although it does not say so on the label, this is an organic wine. I have not found any really good organic wines for some reason, but this was a pleasant surprise to learn it was organic and yet tasted so good.

It drinks well on its own and would probably pair well with lighter foods (turkey burgers, chicken, tomato-based light sauces and pizza). Nice berry flavor followed quickly by pepper and then a slight toasted oak fnish.

Besides being a pretty good value, I really like the Lady Bug factor here. Lolonis Vineyards shipped in huge amounts of Lady Bugs and Praying Mantis for use as natural pesticides. Lady Bugs do not like grapes but they do like eating other insects.

She walks along the cliff's edge,
always searching out to sea.
Waiting, watching, longing,
Eyes on the horizon, wishing today for it to be.
Her Victorian dress, long and black,
tattered by the constant tug of the wind.
Her black boots worn to gray, always walking,
waiting for that ship to come in.
Watching to see that mast rise up,
where water and sky form a line.
Longing for the Captain to finally come home,
bringing her faraway treasures and fine wine.

8.0 out of 10
$12.99 / 750 ml bottle
13.9% alc. by vol.
http://www.lolonis.com/

McManis Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

McManis Family Vineyards

California

2005

Will drink again. (This is another good buy for the price.)

The color a deep garnet red, this wine was on the sweeter side the first night I drank it. The next night it was more oak-like and slightly smokey. It is recommended to drink it with steak or red meat. I drank it all on its own and really enjoyed it the first night. The next night it proved to be a good accompaniment to bacon horseradish cheddar cheese and cracked wheat crackers. It lost some of the sweetness and became more smokey. The wheat flavor in the crackers was very pronounced following a sip of the wine.

"Couldn't understand a single word he said,

but he sure had some mighty fine wine . . .

and I helped him drink his wine."

-Three Dog Night (Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog)

8.25 out of 10

$9.99 / 750 ml bottle

13.5% alc. by vol.

http://www.mcmanisfamilyvineyards.com/

Novy Syrah 2004

2004 Novy Syrah
Gary's Vineyard

Santa Lucia Highlands

California

Will drink again (though not currently in the budget - The Bro bought this one).

(I know I was supposed to review Penfold's Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz 2001 next but we had so many different wines in two days that I couldn't keep up. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't outstanding and it was $19.99. I will try to do an official review at a later date.)

This wine smelled rather lightly of slight fruit and herb. The flavor was delicious -slightly dry at first, becoming less so as the fruit kicked in, then the berry flavor sort of turned spicy beef-burgundy like with a nice herb-like finish. We had this wine with parmesean encrusted chicken, roasted asparagus and curried saffron rice. We were all hit up side the head with wicked pepper and spicy curry when a bite of the rice was followed by a sip of wine. We weren't sure if the wine was doing it to the food or the food was doing it to the wine (or a combination of both). The Guy just about fell out of his chair he shook his head so hard from the experience.

This wine received a 90 rating from Wine Spectator www.winespectator.com

"Drink wine, and you will sleep well.

Sleep, and you will not sin.

Avoid sin, and you will be saved.

Ergo, drink wine and be saved."

-Medieval German saying

8.25 out of 10

14.8% alc. by vol.

$31.99 / 750 ml bottle

http://www.novyfamilywines.com/

Nipozzano Riserva Chianti

2004
Chianti Rufina
Tuscany

Will drink again. See the rating below.

I am not fond of Chianti. It is too dry and there is not usually much of a finish for me. Tonight, I had a Chianti I thoroughly enjoyed. This was very good. I think if you're a Chianti lover, you are going to really appreciate this wine. Actually, if you're not a Chianti lover (as myself) you will appreciate this wine. It's a good wine to start with.

It was very fruit forward in scent and taste. It was a "deep, plum red" in color (per The Guy's description and I concur). After the fruit, I was hit with the dryness which is usually where I stop liking Chianti because that's all there is. But it was followed by a nice finish. It was definitely "Chianti" in taste, but at a "higher" level. It had a smoothness and a lingering finish that made it especially good. And, for the first time, I tasted plum. It tasted good on its own and with our dinner (home-made pizza with fire-roasted tomatoes, ricotta, fresh organic mozzarella, chicken sauteed in garlic, olive oil, organic mushrooms and fresh parmesean cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes).

"The Bro" is visiting from out of town and, along with massive sized pumpkins, he brought me beautiful chrysanthemums, gifts for my children, (3) bags of apples (I think he's hoping they will get used in a pie or two before the weekend's up), and . . . (6) bottles of wine. He sure knows how to cheer me up. I bought the Chianti for tonight's dinner, however.

"The Bro" had this to say about it: "I like Chianti - but it usually has a higher acidity and this one doesn't. There's a slight acid and then it just ends, followed by an exceptionally smooth finish."

"The Guy" felt this Chianti tasted like a "cheap, Italian table wine." (He just likes to play Devil's Advocate and we just humor him and throw him pizza crust.)

Tomorrow's review will be of Penfold's Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz (courtesy of The Bro).


SGT JASON LANTIERI

At the flagpole along my morning route,
I was introduced to you today.
I felt a lurch in my chest,
and once again, wished we'd found a better way.

In tribute, majestic flag flapped in the wind,
set at half-mast on it's pole.
The reports, all no longer new,
tell the sad story, the loss of yet another soul.

A future comes to a screeching halt,
no way for it to come back.
As another family is stricken,
by the loss of a son in Iraq.

8.25 out of 10
$21.99 / 750 ml.
13% alc. by vol.
http://www.frescobaldi.it/

As a side note: Wine Spectator gave this Chianti a 91 rating.

Smoking Loon 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

2005

Cabernet

California

Will drink again.

This was a very enjoyable, inexpensive wine. The balance was just right. The fruit was right there, followed by oak, a hint of pepper, a very slight smokiness, then a thyme-like finish. I drank it on its own, but it was good with dinner as well (turkey meatballs, spaghetti squash and parmesean cheese). It would probably accompany a hearty stew or beef dish very nicely.

"In Europe we thought of wine as something as healthy and normal as food and also a great giver of happiness and well being and delight. Drinking wine was not a snobbism nor a sign of sophistication nor a cult; it was as natural as eating and to me as necessary."

Ernest Hemingway --A Moveable Feast

8 out of 10

$9.99 / 750 ml

13.5% alc. by vol.

http://www.smokingloon.com/ (it will redirect you to Don Sebastiani & Sons - look for Smoking Loon there)

Carmen Reserve 2005 Merlot

Valle De Casablanca
Chile

Paso Robles, I am SO glad you found the Phantom as alluring as myself. You are a lucky dog that you've got yourself a case.

Might drink again.

Note: I have posted two reviews tonight. Please see my review below of Clos du Bois 2004 Chardonnay.

OK - This is very funny to me. With regard to the Phantom wine that I reviewed a few nights ago (the same wine I also refer to above in my comment to Paso Robles) I read an on-line review while looking where I might purchase it. The person loved Phantom, but one of their "tastes" they picked up was "Creosote". I made all kinds of comments to The Guy about whether or not he thought that person climbed into their fireplace and licked the back wall to actually know what creosote tastes like. Now, I know fully well in the back of my head that I have smelled weird things in wine that I have not actually tasted in real life (cat pee comes to mind for instance). So I really do know better than to poke fun at a strange taste. But I did it anyhow.

Tonight I eat crow. The Carmen Reserve had a strong bouquet of fruit and earthiness. The flavor was very dry fruit with a hint of vanilla, then pepper, followed by a slight smokiness and then . . .creosote!! I actually tasted what I think creosote would taste like. We had a fire in our chimney a couple of years ago (due to a buildup of creosote) and the smell that resonated that night was what I tasted in this wine. Therefore, I didn't particularly like it. But then the finish turned earthy and the creosote went away and it was slightly long. Even though it was a really weird experience, I am glad I had it. I like a wine that has the ability to make one taste strange things.

Take me to the vineyard.
Is it wrong, is it a sin?
I want to press the grapes into my hair,
rub their juices on my skin.
I want to bathe in moonlight,
pour the wine over my head.
Let it run until it finds my mouth.
I long to fall asleep in a vine-filled bed.

7.75 out of 10
13.5% alc. by vol.
$11.99 / 750 ml.
www.carmen.com

Clos du Bois 2004 Chardonnay

2004
Sonoma Valley
California

Will definitely buy again.

We went to a family surprise party held privately down by the sub base at this little hole-in-the-wall bar "VooDoo Daddy's". We had a great time and I enjoyed a few glasses of Clos du Bois' 2004 Chardonnay. It was very good and really hit the spot for some reason. First taste was of strong oak and pear followed by intense buttery vanilla - just what I long for in a Chardonnay. I had a lengthy conversation with the bartender who did a great job of seeking me out and keeping my wine glass full. She's really young and her husband is serving in the Navy. He was home for the day and she had to work and he was shipping out for Japan the next day - not a happy bartender. But she still took care of me.

I did not take a picture of the bottle so I thought I'd share a picture my daughter actually took of the wall.

8.0 out of 10
13.5% alc. by vol.
$11-14 / 750 bottle
http://www.closdubois.com/

Nine Stones 2005 Shiraz

Hilltops
2005 Shiraz
Australia

Might drink again.

As I was doing my "photoshoot" for this blog, I opened the wine to pour into our two glasses and went to work shooting some pix. The entire dining room filled with this wonderful, strong fruit scent while I took shots. I started salivating anticipating what the wine would taste like. The color was really dark purple - almost like ink.

The taste was bitter first and tasted a bit like Robitussin cough syrup, then very spicy and peppery and dry. Slight fruit with a short finish ended it.

I was disappointed based on how wonderful the initial room-filling aroma was. The taste didn't hold up to what I smelled. It definitely tasted better after having sat open for half an hour. It's a good wine for the price and would probably do best as a drinkable one to have on hand for casual entertaining. I bet it is a wine that will definitely improve with age.

7.5 out of 10
$11.99 / 750 ml
14% alc. by vol.

I received my "Wine Enthusiast" mag this afternoon and was psyched to find my favorite location featured: the Barossa Valley. There is a featured article on some of the bigger Barossa Vineyards and then the Buying Guide in the back is chock full of highly rated Barossa wines. Some (actually most), unfortunately, are on the very pricey side - "my" 2004 Yalumba Octavius is one of many (the one I so hope to be able to taste one day) having received a nice rating of 94.

The following is a link to the on-line mag, though it's only updated through September as yet. The Barossa article is in the November issue.
http://www.winemag.com/homepage/index.asp?adid=WEMAGTAB

Kim Crawford 2006 Sauvignon Blanc

2006
Sauvignon Blanc
Marlborough

Will drink again.

A striking scent of lemon, grapefruit, thyme and pear. Served well-chilled, this wine was excellent with halibut (visit http://www.cheznathalie.com/ for the exact recipe). It tasted good on its own, but I enjoyed it more with dinner. It was slightly more acidic than I like, but most sauvignon blancs affect me that way (I'm a Chardonnay girl when I'm not all things red). What I really loved about this wine was that it was all fruit until it followed a bite of my halibut and then the oregano in the recipe suddenly burst forward following a sip of the wine. The taste was right on with how it smelled. Mostly lemon, grapefruit and pear up front, followed by a little acid, then thyme, then a nice subtle mineral finish.

Questions remain unanswered
Frustration mounting
Candle burns
Years counting
Too much unsaid
Watch the flame
Confusion becomes the norm
Nothing remains the same
Trying to clear the head
Wanting shapelessness to take form

7.75 out of 10
13% alc. by vol.
$17.99 / 750 ml
http://www.kimcrawfordwines.co.nz/

Phantom 2004 Sirah Zinfandel Blend

54% Petite Sirah
43% Old Vine Zinfandel
3% Mourvedre
California - V.2004

Will most definitely drink again.

Supposedly, this wine is only found in retail stores once a year - just in time for Halloween. Then it's gone again and hard to get your hands on. I got the last bottle in the store I was at. They have more on order but it's not due in for a couple more weeks.

I was beginning to think 2007 was going to end without my tasting a most excellent wine. That's when the "phantom" came in. Awesome. Deep, deep ruby color. The bouquet was heavy smokey fruit - not sweet. While there was almost a burst of fruit flavor initially, it quickly became dry and smokey followed by an outstanding mineral and earth finish.

I preferred this wine on it's own. The night we had it we had a light leftover and salad menu so I didn't try to pair. It is recommended to serve with a hearty winter dish. The Guy and I consumed the bottle and tonight, as I write, I long for more. I keep going back to smell the empty bottle.

In the name of freedom or politics?
Famlies split, long enough.
Lives affected, changed, taken.
Abandoned tractor sits, finish now rough,
bearing the sign of so much foresaken.

9.0 out of 10
$19.99 / 750 ml bottle (but have seen on-line for $16)
14.8% alc. by vol.
http://www.boglewinery.com/