Kistler Durell Vineyard Chardonnay

2006
Sonoma Coast
No. 09774

So - I'm at it again. It is not another "budget" wine being reviewed here. It is another pick from my late Uncle's cellar. This one I brought home for my dear friend & walking partner ("M") who is a Chardonnay Freak like me. :)

Kistler is never a disappointment, but what is so interesting about this particular bottle (& indeed it is a particular bottle, as it is numbered) is that it's drinkability supposedly expired in 2013. I am very happy to report that it's flavor continues to be absolutely full-bodied-delicious with butter & toast nuances mingled with lemon & beautiful minerality - my favorite attribute.

M always puts out an AMAZING spread in seconds flat & this night was no exception. My personal opinion is that she should be a chef instead of a Real Estate mogul. LOL. She presents delicious & colorful presentations - very creative & tasty. She was concerned about what we should have to accompany our Kistler, & yet, as I told her, Kistler just IS. It is amazing on its own & can be even more enjoyable with food. And it was. Especially with the thyme chevre she served. It alone was the perfect accompaniment.

Spent the day today with one of my two art student college children. One of her charcoal portraits was chosen to hang in the campus Art Gallery. She happened to mention it to me only in passing as we returned from getting some groceries. She is so silly. She just doesn't understand how very proud I am of her & how I love to see her work, though I do tell her often. I try to tell all three of my children how much their hard work & determination mean to me. We do seem to get a lot of flack about our older two children being in Art schools & it really gets very tiring. I want them to choose paths that give them joy & allow them to express themselves creatively. I think that being able to express one's creativity is the ultimate  key to open doors, even if the majority of the world doesn't agree. I know only too well how the rest of one's abilities suffer, falter & can ultimately extinguish altogether if the creative fire within is not allowed to flourish.

The stones from my enemies
These wounds will mend
But I cannot survive
The roses from my friends

When the last word has been spoken
And we've bared witness to the final setting sun
All that shall remain is a token
Of what we've said and done

Roses from My Friend
--Ben Harper
(Just an aside, I am in love with Ben Harper)

BTW - If you're looking for one heck of a Book Ride, read Paul Hawkins "The Girl on the Train". I took it out of the library Friday night after work & I finished it in 24 hours. COULD NOT put it down!

$80 - $107/750 ml. bottle with $92 being the average current going rate if you can find it
9.5 out of 10
14.1% alc. by vol.

Cupcake Chardonnay

2009
Central Coast
California

Okay. This is my favorite "new" Chardonnay. It reminds me very much of Kendall-Jackson's Grand Reserve Chardonnay. Creamy vanilla spice and wonderful minerality - my favorite. This was excellent. It is recommended with crab cakes and/or french bread and cheese. I can't wait to try it with crab cakes and salmon. I think it will be an awesome pairing.

BIG taste, LOW price.


You didn't ask for this
Nobody ever would
Caught in the middle of this dysfunction
It's your sad reality
It's your messed up family tree
And all your left with all these questions

Are you gonna be like your father was and his father was?
Do you have to carry what they've handed down?
No, this is not your legacy
This is not your destiny
Yesterday does not define you
No, this is not your legacy
This is not your meant to be

I can break the chains that bind you
I have a dream for you
It's better than where you've been
It's bigger than your imagination
You're gonna find real love
And you're gonna hold your kids
You'll change the course of generations

Matthew West, FAMILY TREE

8.25 out of 10
13.5% alc. by vol.
$11/750 ml. bottle

Cakebread Chardonnay

2009

Cakebread Cellars

Chardonnay

NAPA Valley, CA

This one is short and sweet. It was a good wine. It was recommended highly by a friend. It was given to me by another friend. (I have nice friends.) It was big citrus fruit and slight apple, and enjoyable, but just not the heavy body or minerality I look for in a chardonnay.

Given the choice between this $32 bottle and my previously reviewd $19 bottle of Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve chardonnay - I am going with the KJ Grand Reserve ALL THE WAY. The distinct flavor and minerality, as well as the extra body make the KJ a way better deal in my opinion.

I've been doubting yours, baby

I've been doubting mine

I've been out of circulation

Where the sun don't shine

. . .Have to draw the line

David Gray, Draw the Line

8.0 out of 10

$32 / 750 ml. bottle

14.1% alc. by vol.

Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay

2008

Grand Reserve

55% Monterey and 45% Santa Barbara County

California

I've got a real simple description: EXCELLENT. Mineral notes, hint of vanilla, big time pear and oak. My current chardonnay favorite for the year. Reminds me greatly of the 2006 Clos du Bois chardonnay.

Fantastic alone and very good with homemade organic chicken soup. All around total SOUL FOOD evening.

Off to do some yoga. Ciao.

well it wasn't me says the boy with the gun

sure i pulled the trigger but it needed to be done

because life's been killing me ever since it begun

you can't blame me cause I'm too young

you cant blame me sure the killer was my son

but I didn't teach him to pull the trigger of the gun

it's the killing on this TV screen

you can't blame me it's those images he's seen

well you can't blame me says the media man

well I wasn't the one who came up with the plan

and I just point my camera at what the people wanna see

man it's a two way mirror and you can't blame me

you can't blame me says the singer of the song

or the maker of the movie which he based his life on

it's only entertainment and as anyone can see

it's smoke machines and make up man you can't fool me
it was you, it was me, it was every man we've all got the blood on our hands we only receive what we demand and if we want hell then hell's what we'll have

COOKIE JAR, Jack Johnson

8.5 out of 10

13.5% alc. by vol.

$18.99 / 750 ml. bottle

Conundrum White Table Wine

2008
Muscat Blanc, Semillon, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay
Conundrum Wines, California

Yes, sometimes I AM a complete idiot. THIS is NOT the wine I intended to buy. Only I didn't know it. I didn't realize there was more than one Conundrum. I wanted to try Caymus Conundrum and purchased instead Conundrum Winery's Conundrum. :( I saw it and grabbed it without reading the label!!! Do not do this faux pas - READ your labels.

Although a little sweeter than my preferences, this was good, especially with curried butternut squash and pear soup. The scent was all pear for me and that's what made me crazy with anticipation to pair it with my soup I'd been brewing a few hours. The two were very good together. The wine's flavor was more tropical with slight pear and vanilla.

. . .and theres always been laughing, crying, birth, and dying
boys and girls with hearts that take and give and break and heal and grow and recreate and raise and nurture
but then hurt from time to times like these
and times like those
what will be will be
and so it goes

and there will always be stop and go and fast and slow
action, reaction, sticks and stones and broken bones
those for peace and those for war
and god bless these ones
not those ones
but these ones made times like these
and times like those
what will be will be
and so it goes . . .

Jack Johnson, Times Like These

8.0 out of 10
$20 / 750 ml. bottle
Didn't catch the alcohol content because my idiocracy continued and I chucked the bottle :0

Kendall Jackson Chardonnay

2008
Vintner's Reserve
California

I haven't had this in a while, probably not even this vintage ever - can't remember. I know I posted something earlier here. My workout partner likes it for her every day summer Chard, so I had the Guy pick it up on his way home this weekend. I had some last night with grilled asparagus and chicken wraps. Then I had more tonight with grilled shrimp, mushrooms, onions and brown rice. I enjoyed it once again. This wine seems to be relatively consistent from vintage to vintage - which is somewhat remarkable. It is very fruit tropical and citrus-filled with a creamy edge. Not bad for an every day wine.

However, tonight the Guy surprised me and brought home Clos Du Bois Chardonnay, 2008, which is more my style and slightly blows the KJ out of the water. I will give it a review in a few days. I know we are having a Malbec with Easter dinner at my mom's tomorrow so that will take precedence over the Clos Du Bois, but I WILL get back to it.

I made a shocking discovery this evening: my text library does not recognize the word "Chardonnay" - I need to somehow make that more regular! :)













8.0 out of 10
13.5 % alc. by vol.
$13/750 ml. bottle

Domaine de L'Herbe Sainte Chardonnay

2008
Famille Greuzard
France


I couldn't stand it anymore. I broke down. I've been on an elminiation diet for 8 weeks now to try to determine if I've got food allergies. It's a strict diet with no dairy, no wheat, no sugar, no chocolate, no alcohol (NO WINE!), no garlic, no peppers. All vegetables and fruit and poultry are to be organic, salmon should be wild, and only well-treated, grass-fed beef (if I were to eat beef). I have done 85% well as I have been eating mostly organic fruits, vegetables and poultry (and wild salmon) for quite some time now. I was allowed a couple of times to go off for one special meal or invitation, but I was to not have it be two days in a row. Except for two wine tasting events, and my mother's birthday, (oh and a Fashion Show I just remembered - SHOOT!) I have followed it completely . But tonight, I broke down and opened a bottle of French Chardonnay I've had chilling since Christmas.

All I wanted to do was add a bit to my California Basmati brown rice along with some organic chicken broth to give it a more gourmet flavor. I opened this bottle, and the tropical aromas made me salivate. I told myself I'd have just one glass and ended up having almost two. Nice pear and citrus flavors with a hint of thyme and ever so slight mineral notes and a creamy finish. It was really good.




She's just the way she is, but no ones told her that's OK.

And she would change everything, everything just ask her.
Caught in the in-between, a beautiful disaster,

And she would change everything for happy ever after.
Caught in the in-between, a beautiful disaster.

--Jon Mclaughlin--




8.25 out of 10
13.5% alc. by vol.
$15 / 750 ml. bottle

St. Francis Chardonnay

2007
Sonoma County
California

I was very happy with this choice to accompany (and use in) an angel hair pasta dish I made last night. I am constantly in search of minerality in my wines. It is one of my absolute favorite characteristics that, when it's there, usually promises me a highly enjoyable glass. This wine did not let me down. A magnificent yellow diamond sparkle in hue, this emitted an awesome fresh flower/strawberry essence when I held it in my mouth. Upon swallowing, it was slightly bitter which worried me in the first millisecond. Then as it went down, a burst of mineral heaven sprang forth and I smiled a très heureux smile and relaxed for awhile.


I seem to be on an emotional roller coaster lately. It's my grandmother's birthday today. She's 92 and alone at her nursing home. I am going to go see her tomorrow. But it's days like this that I long for more time. I wonder if the nurses wished her a happy birthday this morning and if she wondered if she would get any visitors today. She was such a big part of my life and I feel terrible that I haven't been there often enough due to too many other obligations and an hour's drive. She means so much to me and I know we have limited time left. We are very similar as she raised 3 children and made family the most important part of her life. She knew what was most important was raising her children in a loving and safe home. She taught me that other things could wait until their due time, but children are here but for a short while. Yet a part of her always felt like she was inferior and longed to be more . . . shiny. I too struggle along that line, knowing what's right, but sometimes wishing for just a bit more, wondering if this is where I am supposed to be. Nothing a little dark chocolate can't snap me out of. I am baking Devil's Food cupcakes right now to bring to her and hope that our visit will stay in her mind awhile. (Hah!!! I was just listening to Chris Martin of Coldplay after a live version of "In My Place" and, after thanking fans for sticking with them through thick and thin, he said - no joke - "Eat More Chocolate" YES!!!!!)

I go from thinking of my life growing up and visiting with my grandparents in their sunny, happy home which always smelled of some delicious meal cooking, to seeing my grandmother now in the end stages of life, to watching my own children grow up before my eyes and wondering exactly where I myself am headed.

I listened to my oldest daughter sing behind closed doors and cried. Her voice is awesome. She was trying out for Glee Club and was a nervous wreck. She's never sung before and was going to be judged on stage in front of others. She refused to practice in front of me. She toyed with singing one of her favorite harder edged rock songs, but decided on one of my favorites, a more recent pop song: Anna Nalick's 2 AM. I came up the stairs and heard her practicing. I stood outside in the hall and was overcome with listening to my first child singing like a young woman. And doing something I was always too shy to pursue. I just stood there and quietly sobbed!! It was an awesome feeling though. I was, once again, in awe of her.

I am really missing my children being little and am yearning for a little one SO badly. I wish I was in a better position to adopt. I am often overcome with the feeling lately, especially as my own grow older. There are SO many children out there in need of a good home, it slays me. I truly believe that children are divinely bestowed upon us and entrusted to our care. The every day headlines bring word of one atrocity being committed against a child after another. It is beyond heartbreaking.

My youngest has a cheery, sunny room and an extra bed. And my children all tell me that they always feel like there's someone missing at the dinner table. Of course, we have 6 chairs and there are only 5 of us, so I am sure that plays a part. But sometimes I am flooded with the same sensation and feel the only way I can "fix" it is to bring some less fortunate child into my home. I believe that whatever was meant to be, will be. And I trust that if it was meant to be, I will some day be in a position to give another child a chance at a better, more love- filled life. And, maybe by then, I'll be exactly where I was always meant to be.



I have an eclectic repertoire of music always churning in my head, on a daily basis. I've come to rely on the dimension music adds to my life, almost as much as that of wine. And I enjoy the two together. My favorites run the gamut of Radiohead to Sam Cooke. Today, it's Sam Cooke who's in my head:

There been times when I thought I couldn't last for long
but now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, a long time coming
but I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

~Sam Cooke~

8.25 out of 10
$12 / 750 ml. bottle

Yellow Tail Chardonnay

2007
South Eastern Australia



This is a good all around enjoyable summer wine that goes well with pasta and/or chicken. It fits in a tighter budget yet tastes better.

A little peach and vanilla, this can be surprisingly rich with the right food.

Walking by my little barrel of herbs outside my kitchen, I noticed my basil practically jumping out at me. I picked a whole bunch and then grabbed some pignolia nuts and garlic and got out the blender. A little olive oil and I was ready. Fresh pesto to add to my grilled chicken and otherwise boring pasta. I poured a glass of chardonnay and I was happy at the end of the day.







8 out of 10
13.5% alc. by vol.
$12 / 750 ml. bottle




And all I wanted was the simple things
A simple kind of life
And all I needed was a simple man
So I could be a wife . . .
I'm so ashamed, I've been so mean
I don't know how it got to this point . . .

A Simple Kind of Life, Gwen Stefani

Smoking Loon Chardonnay

2006
California


This is not a great wine. However, it's enjoyable and rather versatile and . . . cheap. Obviously, if you have guests you are trying to impress that also happen to be connosieurs, it won't be the night's best pick. But, if you're hanging with your best buds, laughing and relaxing and eating non-pretentious, good old soul food, "Smoking Loon" will advance the night just fine.

I have reviewed "Smoking Loon" Cab I believe in the past (or perhaps it was the Merlot). Anyway, whether the red or the white, this is a good basic wine for a casual gathering.

If you make my little pasta salad above (your favorite pasta type, fresh basil to taste, roasted pignolia nuts, grape tomatoes, black olives, cubed fresh mozzarella and drizzled olive oil and fresh lemon to taste with crushed black and red pepper) and partake in this Charonnay well-chilled, you will not be disappointed. The flavors marry each other in your mouth and the honeymoon
goes off without a hitch.

Reviewed accompanying my pasta salad:

8.0 out of 10
13.5% alc. by vol.
$9.99 / 750 ml. bottle
www.smokingloon.com


NOTE TO the Guy: My Cuervo Gold strawberry margheritas are not fruit smoothies. It is unwise to come in from a hot muggy day, grasp the brilliantly presented margherita and drink it down in 3 chugs (tops) as if it was a gallon of iced tea and then go to the computer and type your reports. It is to be sipped and savored over a course of at least twenty minutes.

Night Harvest Chardonnay

2007
RH Phillips Vineyard
California

Not bad. Typical toasty oak. Might drink again. Tasted great with Annie's organic mac and cheese (white cheddar) smothered in crushed red pepper and freshly ground black pepper. Excellent pairing. Other than that, it was fairly good.

(I still have to write about my wonderful Mother's Day weekend luncheon I had with my grandmother and my "new" grandfather, and my wonderful Aunt B. and Uncle B., and newly betrothed cousin M. - I am very excited about her wedding which will be later this year at sundown at the Chelsea Point lighthouse. I will get another chance to take NYC pics. Anyway, we had great food and wine and I have a few wines to cover from that fun day. But I am awaiting the results of having borrowed a friend's camera to take label shots after the fact. She is in the process of sending them to me but I'm not sure they're good.)

I'm in a funk. Except for the above-mentioned luncheon, I've had no recent great wines. (But I make a mean fresh strawberry Cuervo Gold margherita.) The wines have all been run-of-the-mill. And I'm not into posting so much lately - probably as a result. And now my numbers are way down and I'm running out of inspiration. And so I have found an escape by throwing myself into the lives of Edward and Bella and am on the fourth and last book to the Twilight series and am thoroughly depressed that Midnight Sun is not yet available thanks to the numbskulls that decided to pirate it from Stephanie Meyer and try to distribute parts of it without her knowledge, thus causing her to pull back and not release it. :( On a positive note, I have been turned on to some very cool music (and much unlike my usual tastes) thanks to Ms. Meyer's series. It is awesome to read these books and then see who her musical influences were while writing - I can totally see the characters come to life in a new way when listening to her preferred writer's block fixes. Her favorite band is Muse and I tried adding them to my Pandora, but couldn't. So, I have added many of her other inspirations (I love Blue October) and, interestingly enough, Muse pops up every now and then. Pretty darn cool.

Sometimes you just have to walk away
Walk away
And head for the door

"Walk Away", Ben Harper

7.75 out of 10
13.5% alc. by vol.
$15 / 1.5L

Broken Earth Chardonnay

2004
Australia

Does anyone have any info on the winery that produces the Broken Earth Australian label?

It seems the winery that makes this may have gone under. I can find very little further info on it other than one report that it didn't make it financially. If anyone has any info out there on it, let me know. You can either Tweet me or you can write to me by clicking on the link on the left for "merlotsoul" and follow the email link.

Maybe it was the name that piqued my interest immediately, but I really enjoyed this Chardonnay. I was volunteer bartender last night at an auction and the wines we were serving had been donated. At the end of the night I sat back and enjoyed a glass of this. I am one of the few who actually enjoys the oak flavor to my chardonnay, however, this was a low-oak (if any at all) wine which was very "clean" in flavor. It was citrus-like and melon-full, yet low in acidity. It was smooth and very enjoyable. I had it with cold asparagus and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would like to purchase some but am finding very little info available.

If I had a cape like Katy Perry's, it would say "Kris Allen". I was a big fan of Kris' even before he sealed the deal by singing my favorite current song "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and nailed it. I highly, highly recommend Glen Hansard's movie "Once", which contains not only this, but a couple of other incredible songs (and Marketa's hauntingly beautiful accompanying voice) as well as a story line that emotionally effected me.

Words fall through me
And always fool me
And I can't react
And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You've made it now

Falling Slowly, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3j7jc_glen-hansard-marketa-irglova-fallin_music


8.0 out of 10
$13 / 750 ml. bottle
(I didn't get the alcohol content.)

Clos Du Bois Chardonnay 2007

2007
North Coast
California

This is just a brief comment on trying the 2007, thinking it was the 2006. The Guy brought this home last week to please me following a week of no wine. While I normally prefer "new" wines to review, I was so happy that it was my old standby (or so I thought). I tasted it and, though it was good, it was different and not as "minerally" or finish-lasting as my norm. So I quizically studied the label. It was 2007 in lieu of 2006. I was pretty thrilled to realize I can tell the difference a year makes! Anyway, still a good wine, but I will pay more for the 2006 flavor.

And you read your Emily Dickinson,
And I my Robert Frost,
And we note our place with bookmarkers
That measure what weve lost.
Like a poem poorly written
We are verses out of rhythm,
Couplets out of rhyme,
In syncopated time
Lost in the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs,
Are the borders of our lives.

Simon & Garfunkel, Dangling Conversations

7.75 out of 10
$22 / 1.5 L bottle
http://closdubois.com/

Cartlidge & Brown Chardonnay

2006
NAPA
California

Would drink again.

Badger fan - thank you for sticking with me and checking back. Glad I could help. I hope you will come back once you've been where you're going to get that Champagne! (If you do get your hands on it, come back and give your own review of it.)

This was enjoyable on it's own and with chicken and rice. Medium bodied with light oak and a bit of pineapple in the taste, I would recommend this as a summer accompaniment to lighter fare - grilled chicken, creamy risotto, lighter cheeses. What I don't like is any zip to my white wines - I like them smooth. This wasn't as smooth as my favorite Clos Du Bois 2006 Chardonnay, but it had very little noticeable zip, making me happy.

Lord give me the clarity to see through this smoke,
And salvage the woman comin’ down.
Lord make me an arrow to pierce through the lies
(comin’ down, comin’ down),
Lord make me a lens to better see my life
(comin’ down, comin’ down),
Lord make me an instrument to sing away the pain,
This rushing river, comin’ down.
I’m free, here in the mountains of peace may I be.
I see the greatness above and the smallness of me. . .

. . .So free, here in garden awake consciously,
I see the greatness within; the greatness in me.
Lord I’m your instrument, I’ll shoulder the weight,
Of feeling emotions in a deeper shade.
I’ll be the one who puts them to song,
And liberate the heartache comin’ down.


Paula Cole, Comin' Down

8.0 out of 10
13.5% alc. by vol.
$10 /750 ml bottle
www.cartlidgeandbrowne.com

Kendall Jackson Chardonnay 2006 AND Nebilo Sauvignon Blanc

2006?
Nebilo Sauvignon Blanc
Marlborough, New Zealand
$10?/750 ml bottle(or more)
7.50 out of 10

2006
Kendall Jackson Chardonnay
California
$15 / 750 bottle
8.0 out of 10

Yes, yes, yes I know that I have a pic here of Clos Du Bois 2006 Chardonnay with my Kendall Jackson and Nebilo reviews. I am not crazy . . .yet.

Friday night I went out with a couple of co-workers to catch "Sex and The City" (it ended up being a pretty good movie but at first I wondered what the heck was wrong with the actors - it was like they needed the first 45 minutes to warm up into acting again - they were over-acting initially and I was disappointed. Then it got interesting during the second half -not to mention racey). Anyway, we went to a local pub/restaurant first and I decided to order the Nebilo Sauvignon Blanc as I've not had it before. It's scent was extremely peach-y which I loved though I worried slightly it might be sweet. It wasn't sweet, it's taste however, was very much peachy-citrusy but a little weak in the finish. However, it really accompanied my Shrimp Casino very well. "Welp", my arm got "twisted" and I was treated to another glass of wine and I opted out of the Nebilo and went with what I knew would be better in consistency - Kendall Jackson Chardonnay. I usually order this when I go out for lunch though I'm not sure I've reviewed it here. It's consistently good and I can pretty much count on it being enjoyable with shrimp or chicken or salmon salad. It tasted awesome following the Nebilo. It had vanilla and oak and buttery notes with a hint of mineralness - which I don't pick up on normally in the KJ. Following the Nebilo and shrimp it tasted so much more awesome.

Well, here I am on a Sunday drinking an old standby that I've reviewed before, Clos Du Bois 2006 Chardonnay (purchased in New Hampshire yesterday, TAX-FREE!!!) - wonderful. This will be my summer staple this year - like the KJ, it's got vanilla and butter and an awesome hint of mineralness - all that I long for in my Chardonnays.

The wild and windy night
That the rain washed away
Has left a pool of tears
Crying for the day
Why leave me standing here
Let me know the way

Many times I've been alone
And many times I've cried
Any way you'll never know
The many ways I've tried

But still they lead me back
To the long, winding road
You left me standing here
A long long time ago
Don't leave me waiting here
Lead me to your door

The Beatles, The Long and Winding Road

AUSTRALIA

Windsor Chardonnay

2005
Sonoma County
California

This was another wine we taste-tested out of four from Windsor Vineyards. I actually thought that I really liked this Chardonnay. It was medium bodied with a slight velvety feel. It also had a hint of mineral notes on the finish - which of course I am always in quest of. It was slightly buttery, with a little vanilla and oak. However, the more I drank it, the less I liked it. So it makes it hard for me to rate. If I had one glass only, I would be rating it 8.5. By the time I had almost three (and no more), the finish was tasting a bit "cheap" - a little metallic-like, yet the mineral tones were still there, keeping my interest nevertheless.

You make me feel like I wanna be a dumb blonde . . ."
-Paula Cole, Feelin' Love

8.0 out of 10
14.5% alc. by vol.
Approx. $15 / 750 ml bottle
www.windsorvineyards.com

Arrowood 2003 Chardonnay

Posting 1 of 4 related

I have a lot to post and am excited about my day yesterday and all four wines I had to drink last night (Thank you Uncle Bob)- yes four! I went from almost having no wine to drink in the last (2) weeks to having (4) different ones last night. I don't recommend anyone do that as it packed a huge punch which didn't catch up with me until I tried to lay down in bed. Luckily, I spent the night at my aunt and uncle's. And, in case that wasn't enough, Uncle Bob sent me home this morning with half a case from the wine cellar. I will have much to review in the next few weeks (though I must admit, not exactly "budget" material - but I do have enough of my own budget wine to throw in between the others so please keep checking back).

My wine-filled evening began after spending the day at my cousin's fiancee's wedding shower in New Jersey making cake and drinking champagne (this was a shower for close friends and direct family of the bride only, but my aunt graciously included me as she knows I love to bake). The shower was a great time - the mother of the bride is an artist and she had her beautiful paintings displayed throughout her home, as well as some interesting sculptures she does. Most of her paintings are of people, but there was a beautiful one of a vineyard in Italy that I just loved.

The bride-to-be's beautiful sister arranged for New York City artist and cake studio owner Elisa Strauss to teach us all how to make perfect cakes http://www.confetticakes.com/. This was such a great time. Elisa is so talented, sweet and extremely funny. I was so excited with all that I learned and how my cake came out (and everyone else's - especially my cousin's perfect bow with her "surgeon's hands" ! She is not a surgeon, she is an ER doc, but everyone kept mistaking her for a surgeon due to her flawless bow - and we did use surgical knives to perfect our cakes - care of Elisa's dad).

Are you ready for my cake??? Check it out.
















Yes! You can eat it. I couldn't wait to bring it home to my children. They couldn't believe it was real cake. It was the hardest thing (emotionally) to cut into it!!! It was absolutely delicious and so hard to see it go! I am SO eager to try this now on my own.

Ok, onto the first wine. I was unable to grab a picture before Uncle Bob had replaced it with a different bottle to accompany dinner. (The next three wines tasted during and following dinner will be reviewed sometime in the next few days.)







Sonoma County
Russian River Valley
California
2003


Would love to drink again if I could get my hands on more.

While waiting for dinner, Uncle Bob brought out Arrowood Chardonnay. It had wonderful fruit and oak aromas prior to tasting. The wine was rich, almost creamy, toasty oak and vanilla with an awesome mineral finish. I loved this Chardonnay. It was delicious on its own and accompanied simple mixed nuts well.

Robert Parker rated it an 89 in 2005 (I don't think he gave it justice - perhaps if he had it now it would rate better).

Thoughts brew over flames that dance and crack
The weight of weary days take their consecutive toll
Giving in to the warmth massaging my back
I relinquish to the fire that, for tonight, nourishes my soul

8.5 out of 10
14.1% alc. by vol.
$25.99 / 750 ml. bottle
http://www.arrowoodvineyards.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/

Wild Horse 2004 Chardonnay

2004
Chardonnay
Central Coast, CA

Will drink again.

Tonight was supposed to be a night of Zin. Instead it became a night of sin. This purchase changed my menu to a sinfully creamy, Fettucine Alfredo with fresh parsley and a fresh block of parmesean and fresh green beans sauteed in olive oil and garlic (only because the back of the wine bottle suggested a "cream-based pasta dish"). In addition, we had "Bantam Bread's" Traditional Peasant bread. This wine was a great choice to accompany the whole meal.

Initial scent was of citrusy-apple. The initial part of the first taste was sour apple - then sweet pear, followed by oak and creamy vanilla on the finish, perhaps a "mineral" taste as well - does anyone know what that means? Because I don't. I read it on other blogs all the time but I have no idea what that means. Tonight's wine was "soft and velvety" on the finish with almost an "oily" feel - but not in a bad sense, it was good. So I wonder if what I sensed was "mineral" or am I way off base?? Responses really welcome.

Please skip below for just the wine particulars in bold if you're not interested in the story behind my purchase decision.

I went to buy Micheal-David Vineyard's "7 Deadly Zins" Zinfandel and was going to have it with kabobs. I did buy it, but I allowed my eldest daughter to convince me to have something else tonight, thereby also changing my menu.

She has waited patiently over a year and a half to return to horseback riding and I found a "reasonable" (that does mean cheaper) farm and she happily had her first day today. I picked her up after the lesson and we went to the wine shop. Surprisingly, they no longer had "7 Deadly Zins" though I have passed it by many a time after picking it up and considering it several times. So we went to another wine shop.

Now, I have had struggles lately with my beautiful daughter who is testing her independence a bit and dabbling in . . . the dark side. She wears black, she likes all things "Goth", she listens to eery, gloomy music, she wears skulls and crossbones (though they do have a pink bow on the top of their bald skull), she doesn't like "sunshine" (she apparently thinks she's a vampire), she checks horror books out of the library (hey I'm just trying to keep her interested in reading), and she thinks witches are cool. Oh! And her favorite holiday is no longer Christmas, it's . . . anyone want to guess? HALLOWEEN. Which is why she was so thrilled to hear that the first wine shop only stocks 7 Deadly Sins around Halloween.

In spite of being on a tight budget, I got her back into horseback riding to try to give her a "healthy" outlet. I thought she'd be with "natural" girls and get back to nature and blue skies and sunshine. We get there this morning and the first girl I see has bleached blonde short spikey hair with black roots and wall studs mounted through her ears. I thought "If she bonds with anyone, it will be this girl." Then I told myself to not be negative. When I picked her up she told me about this wonderful girl named "Hannah" (name changed to protect her identity but it was a nice feminine name like that). She told me Hannah is almost 14 years old and likes punk rock and Goth. Oh! you guessed it! The blonde girl with nail studs.

OK, what's the point of this rambling? My daughter was totally excited to learn we were looking for a wine called "7 deadly Zins". She was so helpful I couldn't believe it. She found it in the second store within milliseconds, right after she found Bogle Vineyards' "Phantom" (which I actually hope to try next week - it only comes out once a year). Anyway, while I was debating whether to try Phantom this week or take home Michael-David's 7 deadly Zins, my Goth girl came up to me with a bright, cheery Chardonnay which happened to have a beautiful white horse running across the label. She insisted I buy it and also that I read the back which describes an "elegant, fruit-driven Chardonnay". She thought it would be good for dinner tonight. And the label . . . Wild Horse. Yes! She's still there under all that negativity and macabre. I had to buy the "sunny" wine for my wild horse. And I am so glad I did as it was the right choice.

8.25 out of 10
$15.99 / 750 ml bottle
13.9% alc. by vol.
http://www.wildhorsewinery.com/

Yellowtail Chardonnay and (yet another) Turkey Flat Food Pairing

2006
Australia

"I think it is a great error to consider a heavy tax on wines as a tax on luxury. On the contrary, it is a tax on the health of our citizens."

Thomas Jefferson

I thought for sure I had previously reviewed the 2006 Yellowtail Chardonnay. However, I can't find it in my history. I have had this wine previously during the summer and evidently failed to blog it (perhaps a sign in and of itself). Actually, it's not too bad. It is decent for the cost. It exudes one of my favorite flavors: vanilla. Not very oakey. Slightly tropical. It wouldn't be my first choice, but not my last either.

Tonight I made a great salad - it's not that often I can say that. Salads always taste great to me in restaurants, but not necessarily when I make them. I grilled some (organic) chicken and portabella mushrooms. I added them to (organic) baby greens and (organic) Romaine lettuce leaves. I added Kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, (organic) celery, roasted some Pignolia nuts and threw them in, freshly grated Parmesean and topped it all off with Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar dressing (http://www.newmansown.com/).

The Guy hates most olives (definitely black), and garlic too I might add, and being 50% Italian (his sadly orphaned grandfather came to the US from Northern Italy on a ship at the age of like 12 on his own), it is completely devastating for me. I am exactly 50% English (father) and 50% Scottish (mother) and yet I love Italian and Mediterranean recipes and tend to want to make those types of dishes. Anyway, tonight I bought some fabulous Greek olives and, as I laid out all the salad ingredients, The Guy asked me about the olives. I got (slightly) excited and told him that he'd probably actually like those olives. He popped one in his mouth and ran to the bathroom. My middle child and I looked at each other, shook our heads and laughed. I thought he was going to throw up. But he just spit it out in the garbage. Anyway, the ingredients all together were great (minus olives from The Guy's salad).

Now, I find pairing a wine with salad next to impossible and really don't ever intentionally set out to do so. However, tonight I took out the Yellowtail Chardonnay and what was left of my Turkey Flat Rose (see previous blog entry) and compared and contrasted. I was fascinated to find that the Turkey Flat had its distinct flavor right off the bat, but then finished with a blast of total Pignolia nut flavor! The Yellowtail, followed by a well mixed bite of salad, tasted extremely vanilla. Either one was a pretty good accompaniment depending on your personal preference.

I don't recommend either, however, as an accompaniment to an organic frosted Cherry Pomegran pop tart.

7.25 out of 10
$13.99 / 1.5 L bottle
13.5% alc. by vol.
http://www.yellowtailwine.com/