Foxen Cuvee

2006
Cuvee Jeanne Marie
Williamson-Dore Vineyard
Santa Ynez Valley, CA

I SO LOVED THIS WINE!!!!!!!! An awesome blend of 60% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 15% Mourvedre, this was, by far, my favorite wine of many this Easter. As a matter of fact, so far, in 2009, this IS my favorite wine of the year. It will definitely be on my 2009 top list at the end of the year. This was so good I had to skip all the other wines I've tried this last week and just get this posted.

Foxen tasted fantastic on its own, and with our Easter meal. My brother and I were uncertain as to what wine we should have with our mom's herb-roasted pork roast. We had a French syrah, an Italian red and this Cuvee left to bring. We brought the Cuvee and had the French with appetizers (which BTW was good - later review).

Upon first mouth full, I exclaimed that it was surprisingly "sweet". After a few minutes I was able to isolate that sweetness as more of a spicy CLOVE. Awesome. It was slightly smokey, baking spice sweet, and very smooth. I so want a case!! But this was my brother's budget, not mine! It's not cheap. I definitely hope to buy some before the end of this year. HIGHLY recommend it!! It was full-bodied and I think would accompany red meats or "out-of-the-ordinary" meats well. Probably would be awesome with grilled red meat.

You will notice below the higher than usual alcohol content - I would have never known it. My brother and I were amazed that we weren't snockered. It was oh so smooth and tasty.

9.0 out of 10
$37 / 750 ml bottle
15.7% alc. by vol.

La Massa Toscana

2006
Red Tuscan
Italy

Full-bodied, dry, with dark cherry, oak and herb flavors and a nice finish.

My brother is home - YAY! Life is good. He brought (8) wonderful reds to try: (4) Italian, (2) French, (2) Californian. We tried (1) bottle of the La Massa Toscana last night, but we didn't have it with the right meal (we had a honey baked ham and sweet potatoes - a bottle of Mom's Red Diamond Cab however, accompanied the ham surprisingly well). I am holding off on giving the Toscana a proper review until this evening. It's home-made pizza night and I've got some wonderful crushed tomatoes and freeze-dried oregano that I'm going to "sauce up". I've got the first batch of dough in process. We're going to make FOUR apizzas and taste test the Toscana again, plus we are decanting a Monsanto Chianti Classico.

Right now we are off for a STEEP hike in the rain - got to work up our appetites - for food, wine and a warm fire! :)

Update:
The Toscana was good, but not a great accompaniment to plain cheese pizza. It went much better with our "adult" pizza of fresh mozzarella, sauteed mushrooms and red pepper, and grilled Italian red and green pepper chicken sausage. It was also good all on its own.

I actually enjoyed the Montsano Chianti Classico ( separate review) much more with the pizza, and also with aged Quebec cheddar and Kashi whole grain crackers.

Wine Spectator rating of 93

8.0 out of 10
$24 / 750 ml. bottle
14% alc. by vol.

Menage A Trois

A Blend (my favorite) - Zinfandel, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon
NAPA
2007

Full bodied, smooth and fruit-bomb filled.

Last week, my boss and I went out to lunch and I had a glass of this. I simply loved it. In retrospect, it was probably too heavy for lunch as I was feeling it for a couple of hours afterwards. But I felt good for the first time in awhile. :) So, when we hit Houlihan's (my current favorite franchise) again this week, I didn't hesitate to order it again. I handled it a bit better today as I had consumed more of a breakfast earlier in the day. Full bodied and fruit-bomb filled, it is so warm going down. And there was indeed a finish for me (I've read others' reviews indicating otherwise). And it's under $13. It's a good deal. Both times I've had it with grilled salmon. Loved it alone more, but it accompanies grilled meats well.

I purchased a bottle tonight for The Guy to try. He likes "peppery" in his reds, I do not. He missed the pepper. I didn't.

8.25 out of 10
13.5% alc. by vol.
$12.99/750 ml. bottle
menageatroiswines.com

Peter Lehmann Shiraz

2005
Barossa
Australia


It calmed my frazzled state in one swallow with a hint of oak and a wee bit of smoke, and a lasting finish.

I loved this wine. It was rich in color and big in cherry flavor with a soothing warm sensation going down. I would highly recommend it, especially for the price. Cellar recommendations are now through 2015.

Accompaniment to beef, poultry, curry dishes and chocolate! I had it alone and with semi-sweet dark chocolate and LOVED it both ways.

(Wine Spectator gave it a 91.)

8.25 out of 10
$14 / 750 ml bottle (have seen it for $12)
14.5% alc. by vol.

GPD09

No wine blog tonight, in honor of GPD09:

On Twitter, I just came across Gary Vaynerchuk's Good People Day just in time to post before April 3rd ends. I love his idea of posting GOOD things about GOOD people in lieu of all the bad news out there in media land. I don't know if my blog follows the rules exactly, as this kid seems to be doing all right with positive media attention, but I wanted to write about him anyway. I first heard about McKay Hatch on National Public Radio. He is a young boy who believes in no swearing. I was SO happy and proud of him for not only choosing the high road in his own life, but encouraging others to do the same. He is a real inspiration for positive change. Please see the link below about the club he started and has successfully launched and grown.

I have 3 children and am trying to raise them to act respectfully and classey in a really disrespectful, unclassey world of late. I can't take them to the movies or even the grocery store without profanity being overheard or blatantly used. I am so sick of the "F" bomb being dropped like it's the word "and". It's disheartening and offensive. So, on a positive note, I want to do my part to bring even more attention to McKay. And, what an awesome idea Gary started. May next year be the biggest Good People Day ever.

http://www.nocussing.com/aboutncc.html


For a link to Gary's idea:

garyvaynerchuk.com/post/92643534/good-people-day-2009