Vitiano Cabernet Merlot-Sangiovese

2005
Falesco
Umbria, Italia

Probably won't intentionally drink again.

I have to be careful here to not hurt The Guy's feelings. He brought this home proudly. He even saved it for a few days until I made lasagna. He was disappointed when he tasted it and, I have to admit, the bouquet gave the impression it was going to be very good. The taste started off with immediate blackberry flavor and slight pepper, then it totally petered out into a thin, dry, metallic taste. Disappointing. I was making dinner when we tried it, so we didn't have it with food. The Guy decided it needed some cheddar crackers and cheese. Once he tasted it again following his "appetizer" he said it was "much better". So I did the same only I didn't find it to be much better. However, it was better with the lasagna and a garlic-oregano bagquette.

Bottom line: It tasted it's price.

No poems, no thoughts, just a song occupying my head for days:

Searching for an answer
Where the question is unseen
I don't know where you came from
And I dont know where you've gone
Old friends become old strangers
Between the darkness and the dawn
Amen omen
Will I see your face again
Amen omen
Can I find the place within
To live my life without you

Amen Omen
Ben Harper

7.0 out of 10
$8-$10 / 750 ml bottle
13% alc. by vol
http://www.winebow.com/

The Dead Arm (It needs no other introduction)

2004
McLaren Vale
Shiraz

Would most definitely drink again (on someone else’s tab).

The Gal: I traded Thanksgiving pies for this wine - normally we would not spend the amount this cost on a bottle of wine. My brother recommended The Dead Arm to me last spring and I “fell in love” with the whole “dead arm” story: Dead Arm is a vine disease caused by the fungus Eutypa lata. One half of the vine's arm becomes dead wood. But the grapes on the other side are used to make this wine. As my brother told me, the diseased area actually forces all of the flavor to the other side that remains healthy – the side used to make the wine.

So, I kept it in the back of my mind and would look for it wherever I found myself wine shopping. I found it recently and it was $60. I couldn’t buy it, I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that much for a bottle of wine I hadn’t had before. A short time later, a friend of mine was complaining that he couldn’t find any “new” good wines to taste.
Nothing was grabbing him. I told him about The Dead Arm that my brother had told me about. He ended up buying it and he agreed to give me a bottle if I made a couple of pies in exchange. It was a deal.

I decided to try it when my brother was home for Thanksgiving. I sat in my great, great grandmother’s cherry Shaker rocker by our first fire of the season at around 11:30 p.m. and savored The Dead Arm. It was very, very good – excellent. It’s dark inky color was followed in scent by a slight earthy smokiness (or maybe light creosote). It’s taste was black cherry and "hotness", then my favorite, “minerality”, settled in and was followed by a long slightly smokey finish.I loved this wine. It was very reminiscent of two of my previous favorites: Yangarra Vineyard Shiraz and “Bogle’s” Phantom. That said, those (2) favorite wines were about a third of the price. So, I must conclude that, for the price, The Dead Arm was a bit much, at least for our budget. I truly believe that Phantom and Yangarra, at approximately $20-something, are better buys. But, if money is no object to you, I do recommend the taste of The Dead Arm. I had it without any food pairing.

If you don’t make a move without Robert Parker’s permission, this wine received a “95” rating by him.

"Cold hearted orb that rules the night,

removes the colours from our sight,

red is gray and yellow white,

but we decide which is right and which is an illusion."

Justin Hayward and The Moody Blues

(My brother and I recited this in unison over Thanksgiving - this was from my all time favorite "album" "Days of Future Passed" by the "Moody Blues"and "The London Symphony Orchestra" - thank you to my parents for turning me on to really fine music at a young age )

9.0 out of 10

14.5% alc. by vol.

$55.99 - $68.99 / 750 ml. bottle

http://www.darenberg.com.au/

http://www.darenberg.com.au/files/2004%20The%20Dead%20Arm%20Shiraz.pdf

Kaelser Stonehorse 2005 Shiraz

2005

Stonehorse

Barossa Valley, Australia

Will drink again.

I look forward to Thanksgiving and having everyone here and then poof! It's over, they're gone and Christmas is on its way. I don't know where the time goes. I tasted approximately (11) wines over the last four days. I can't believe it, and I have no idea where to begin picking up this blog again. I decided to start with what I was drinking this evening and I will work my way back in reviews over the next week or more.

Kaesler was a Thanksgiving gift from my brother, so it was out of my usual price range. I loved it. No surprise - it was from the Barossa Valley. Pure purple in color, it's smell was of cherries, vanilla, oak and alcohol. The taste was warm black cherry, licorice, oak and vanilla and an alcohol finish that warmed the esophagus like Schnapps. But then the cherry flavor came right back after the alcohol. It was very, very good.

Though I have had it at various times these last few days with both sausage pizza and chili, I prefer it alone.

How do you go on, when bad things happen
To innocent people
When someone we love dies, and we still had so much to share
When atrocities and violations occur to helpless, trusting children
Everywhere
Around this world at any given time
When violence doesn’t have to be looked for
It’s always there, somewhere
We can’t always control what happens to us
And life can be so unfair
If you just remain open
Hope is there
It is in the warmth of the sunshine
The trusting grasp of a child’s hand in our own
The first bloom of a long awaited flower
The smell of the sky before the first snowflake hits ground
The heat of a fire upon the hearth
The comfort of bed at the end of a long day
A shared smile with a stranger that hits the heart
A dog’s wagging tail
Advice from someone we’d least expect to have something to say
It’s all in your control, you have choices you can make
Even when you’ve been wronged
Find the hope to make you whole
It’s never too late
To start again
To apologize to someone you’ve hurt
Or to pick up the pieces around you, and move on
You can always make a difference in someone else’s life
You matter, you have purpose
Even when your own life has been so full of strife
Don’t give in
Choose life
Start now, begin again.

8.25 out of 10

15.5% alc. by vol.

$29.99 /750 ml bottle

http://www.kaesler.com.au/