FAVORITE WINES OF 2008

Frederick Cooper's "A Glass of Wine Waiting"

A few days turn into a few weeks, but here, finally, is my list of top wines The Guy and I enjoyed throughout 2008. I must say, the majority are not budget material so I do apologize. But at least, if you find you've got some extra to spend, you know you're not wasting it (although I do realize your opinion may not be the same as mine).

I couldn't limit my top choices to only (5). A few more deserved mention for really grabbing my interest. No surprise that Australia kept me coming back.

PINOT GRIGIO
Terre di Tufi, San Gimignano, Italy, 2003
Thank You to The Bro for yet another wonderful wine experience and visit.
(you can find this review in my September 2008 post)

CHARDONNAY
Kistler, Dutton Ranch, Russian River Valley, CA #18222, 2005 (Exp. over $50)
Yet another Thank You to Uncle Bob for making it possible for us to experience the finer side of wine.
(you can find this review in my February 2008 post)

Clos du Bois, Sonoma County, CA 2006
(I couldn't find where I'd reviewed the 2006, but I think it may have actually been back in my 2007 posts. This is a wine that I go back to year to year {especially in summer, or with creamy, garlic pasta dishes and shrimp or lemon sole or creamy chicken dishes}. The 2006 is not so readily available now and I find I have to ask for it if I really want it. It's funny how I am always told proudly by the wine merchant that they do have the 2007. HUGE difference, to me, in taste and quality - what a difference a year can make in a vineyard. I don't bother with the 2007 - cherished mineral notes found in the 2006 are missing in the 2007)

CABERNET
Justin Vineyards, Paso Robles, CA 2006
(you can find this in my November 2008 post)
This was especially good at Christmas with prosciutto and fontina cheese phyllo appetizers.

SHIRAZ
Two Hands Bella's Garden, Barossa Valley, Australia 2005 (Exp. over $40)
(you can find this review in my February 2008 post)

Angel's Share, McLaren Vale, Australia 2004
(you can find this review in my October 2008 post)

A Thank You to Pasa Robles for providing the opportunity for us to experience the above two wines.

MOST PROMISING FOR FUTURE ENJOYMENT (2010 - 2012) - Buy Now
Passing Clouds, Reserve Shiraz, Bendigo, Australia 2004
(you can find this review in my December 2008 post)

Two Hands Angels Share Shiraz

2004
McLaren Vale
Australia

Loved this wine - would love to drink again.

(I was unable to snatch the bottle to get a pic before it was thrown away, however, the fab image to the right is found on the bottle.)

I reviewed Two Hands Gnarly Dudes Shiraz on New Year's Eve, 2007. See the review here: http://whattodrink.blogspot.com/2007/12/two-hands-gnarly-dudes.html.

Although the Gnarly Dudes had a slight edge over Angels Share, they are pretty darn close. The Guy and I went to his work picnic a few weeks ago and we were lucky enough to be given a choice of not-the-average-run-of-the-mill wine selections by his very nice and generous boss. Prior to our delicious main meal, we enjoyed this wine on its own. I also had it with home-made Clam Chowder (and shrimp cocktail) and still enjoyed it just as much.

This was a beautiful "dark ink" color and had that awesome McLaren Vale-specific taste to it. The Barossa and McLaren Vale are definitely two of my favorite Australian Shiraz regions. I found it to be smokey-mocha-oak-earth cherry in flavor and loved it. I highly recommend it, though it's not the average budget material :{

Tonight's reflection is yet another song that hits me personally (most that I post do in some way). It's my absolute favorite by "O.A.R". I hope it doesn't get overkilled on the radio (I fear it's starting to), but nevertheless it speaks volumes to me right now. I feel it represents Classic Co-dependency and wish I couldn't identify with it so. (And, as a side note, for my friend in the Netherlands who worries about my "broken hearts" poems and song choices - this is cathartic for me and it's who I am - but I am OK and so very grateful you care.)

. . .Stumble out, in the night
From the pouring rain
Made the block, sat and thought
There's more I need
It's always back to you

But I'm good without ya
Yeah, I'm good without you
Yeah, yeah, yeah . . .

. . .How many times can I break till I shatter?
Over the line can't define what I'm after
I always turn the car around
All that I feel is the realness I'm faking
Taking my time but it's time that I'm wasting
Always turn the car around

How many times can I break till I shatter?
Over the line can't define what I'm after
I always turn the car around

Don't wanna turn that car around
I gotta turn this thing around

O.A.R. - "Shattered"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzwAXlWkk3Y
(P.S. - It helps to turn this up nicely and belt it out with a look of anguish on your face)
(P.S.S. - while I enjoy YouTube for it's quick link videos, I ignore the comments and bad language by too many derelicts that tend to follow a music video - I suggest you do the same and don't read the comments - they are usually in no way a reflection of my personal tastes and I tend to find the majority either stupid or offensive or both)

(Robert Parker gave this a 95 if you're interested.)

8.5 out of 10
$29 / 750 ml. bottle
14% alc. by vol. (?)

Two Hands Lily's Garden Shiraz

2005
McLaren Vale
Australia

Would definitely drink again if given the opportunity -not a budget wine.

This was leftover from the winter - it was a trade for baked goods. It was excellent. I highly recommend it if you've got nothing better to do with $50.

I was honestly extremely worried as I accidentally put this in the garage back in January thinking it was empty :0 It must have been out there for a few weeks before I was going through empties and discovered it was full (and very cold). Apparently, no harm was done! (whew!)

I had it alone as we were only having black beans and brown rice and salad for dinner. However, after dinner I was making a pasta salad for my daughter's school and popped one penne with sauteed garlic all over it into my mouth. I then had another sip of the Shiraz and found the garlic flavor was wonderfully enhanced. So, who knows? Maybe it would be good with a heavy garlic dish.

Beautiful dark purple hue, strong aroma of rich fruit and spice, taste of blackberry, licorice, slight vanilla, awesome spicy long finish.

It's time for saying goodbye
Cause if I stay here too long
You'd get to know me too well
And find that something was wrong
The time is perfect to go
Before the curtain descends
Right now when both of us know
That everything's got to end
If i don't see you again . . .

. . . Are you gonna be the one to save me
Doesn't look like the future is clearing . . .

Neil Diamond, If I Don't See You Again
(Off the "Home Before Dark" new acoustic release - Awesome - reminiscent of his early 1970's albums that I personally love so much)

Wine Spectator 94
Robert Parker 95

9.0 out of 10
$50 - $60 / 750 ml. bottle
14.8% alc. by vol
http://www.twohandswines.com/

Woop Woop

2006
Shiraz
McLaren Vale, South Eastern Australia

***PARTICIPATE IN THE NEW POLL ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE PAGE***

Will definitely drink again for the price - good value.

I'd sort of been avoiding this wine for many months because I don't know why. I think I thought the name was too silly nilly for the wine to be any good. I picked it up and really looked at it and saw it was from McLaren Vale and I took it more seriously and bought it. Another little positive: Woop Woop Winery is a supporter of Trees For Life. (http://www.treesforlife.org/)

Full-bodied, blackberry and licorice flavors, deep plum color and a decent finish make this wine a pretty good value. Good on its own and good with fresh parmesean and apricots and later, pizza.

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

-Khalil Gibran

8.25 out of 10
$11 / 750 ml. bottle
15% alc. by vol.
http://www.woopwoop.com.au/

Quarterback 2005, McLaren Vale Red Wine

Quarterback
2005
McLaren Vale Red Wine
Australia

Winemaker: Tony De Lisio

Will drink again.

30% Shiraz, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot 22%, Grenache 21%

I bought this wine for The Guy for Christmas simply because of it's name. However, it is a McLaren Vale and it is a blend, so I did use a little discretion.

This wine was very (subtly) alluring. The Guy and I enjoyed it more the second night – though the first night was good. Big fruit aroma – smells like it will pack a punch. It is a “quiet”, mellow yet full, cherry flavor-packed, woodsy wine up front. The finish is very subtle and just goes away gently.

This has got to be my favorite wine quote ever from The Guy: He said "When you put the Quarterback in your mouth, you get a burst of taste." (Oh, I'm thinking Matt Cassel or Tom Brady.) He insists he was talking about the wine, but I still think all these months and years of watching those tight ends run around have certainly had quite the effect on him.

The recommendation is to drink over the next 6- 10 years.

The Wine Advocate gave it a 90-92 rating.

When you're dreaming with a broken heart
The waking up is the hardest part . . .
. . .When you're dreaming with a broken heart
The giving up is the hardest part

---John Mayer
Dreaming With a Broken Heart

8.5 out of 10
$22 / 750 ml bottle
15% alc. by vol.
http://www.epicureanwines.com/


The Guy: Yeah so... like ... um... The loss from words is due to an inherent inability to keep up with the quick wit of the gal. All I know is that I'm not the one fawning over these pics (1, 2, 3, 4) from camp. Odd name for a wine, but heck, if it is half as good as the team I follow, then why the heck not give it a shot?

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