337 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

2005
Lodi
Cabernet Sauvignon

Would drink again.

Nice post from Pasa Robles, thank you so much for your "breathing" input.

This wine eluded me. My first reaction was too dry, not enough flavor and I don't want any more. The Guy then handed me the last of last night's the Little Penguin and told me to compare. I thought for sure the Little Penguin would taste wicked sweet in comparison, but it didn't. They almost tasted the same to me but I knew they were vastly different. I'm not sure why they tasted so similar (except for possibly the "breathing" effect on the Little Penguin), but it piqued my interest in having another sip.

I then ate some pizza I'd made of whole grain crust, awesme fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, Buffalo mozarella, parmesean, sauteed orange peppers and sauteed baby bella mushrooms (though the back of the bottle suggested it be served with "food acceptable at a Viking feast"). I had another sip of the 337 and it totally grew on me. It went from my wanting to "take it or leave it" to tasting like another glass was in order. I think The Guy liked 337 more than I did (he said he was going to report on it himself - we'll see), but it really improved from my original sip. Though drier than my usual likes, it was good and it accompanied the meal well. It smelled like chocolate and rasberry. It tasted a lot like it smelled with a dry earthiness worked in. Not a lasting finish, but drinkable just the same.

Do not yet see, that, if the single man plant himself indomitably on his instincts, and there abide, the huge world will come round to him.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

7.75 out of 10
$12.99 / 750 ml.
14.5% alc. by vol.
California

The Little Penguin 2005 Merlot

2005
Merlot
South Eastern Australia

Will drink again. I'm continually pleased with the continent of Australia's ability to produce wine.

If you are looking for an easy, drinkable, slightly sweeter than dry red table wine, for less than $10, this wine is where it's at. It's on the lighter side, so I wouldn't serve it on a "serious" night, but it's highly drinkable and pleasant. It would go well I would think with either grilled chicken or pizza in general. I drank it alone (no food, and like George Thorogood too).

Interestingly enough, its bouquet was butter and sugar corn on the cob for me followed by a sweet cherry (think candied like Maraschino, not an all natural cherry). Although I'm not sure how I feel about the whole "breathing" thing, I found this wine slightly more enjoyable after it sat open in my glass for an hour by accident while I tucked little ones in to bed to dream of butterflies and flowers and hearts, and one bigger one in to bed - the gothic princess, to dream of Halloween.

Although it's on the lighter side, it still throws some heat and has a slight finish.

"From a certain point onward there is no longer any turning back. That is the point that must be reached."

Franz Kafka

I didn't have any poem going in my head today. When that happens, I like to throw in a quote relating to wine or a quote somehow poignantly related to my thoughts for the day. Today was the latter. (You should see me walk to my car at the end of a work day - I literally have yellow sticky notes full of quotes, pieces of thoughts, or recommended wine labels all popping out of my purse, and usually falling to the ground like breadcrumbs for Hansel and Gretel.)

7.75 out of 10
$5.99 / 750 ml (but could pass for a $10 - 12 wine in my opinion)
13.0% alc. by vol.
http://www.thelittlepenguin.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/

the turk

2004
Barossa Valley
South Australia

Will drink again - the Barossa Valley entices me every time.

This is an awesome blend of 54% shiraz, 26% mourvedre, 12% grenache, 8% cabernet. This wine is on the drier, spicier side for my usual likes, but the berry in it comes through equally as well - very nice balance. A deep purple-claret in color, its bouquet was of smoked turkey or grilled chicken salad but I could smell the "heat" as well. It was a well-balanced taste of dry, spicy, sweet berry and heat right from the first mouthfeel. A very nice finish completes it - the flavor lasts and does not change into anything else. Interestingly, it's very stable from start to finish. If you like it from the beginning, you'll like it at the end. I drank it alone (no food).

This may be a really "Duh" revelation, but it dawned on me tonight that I get as much pleasure in wine as I do in cooking (and eating) because both indulge all five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. I love to see the color that presents in the glass, the sound of the cork being pulled and the even better sound of the wine being poured, each wine's unique bouquet, the feel of it flooding the tongue and traveling to the back of the mouth and throat, and finally, its taste. Thinking about the senses involved reminded me of a website I've mentioned before in my other blog and I thought I'd share some of it here with you.

The following is taken from Wendy Dubit's website http://www.thesensesbureau.com/ :

"Sense of Smell

Smell is perhaps our most primitive and powerful sense -- readily committed to and triggered by memory, cross-linked with other senses and feelings, evocative, contextual and able to transport one in time and space.

Like primary colors, aromas can be broken down into basic categories which, when combined, yield up the rich symphony that is wine. U.C. Davis’ Wine Aroma Wheel (note: look under "Wine and Grapes" when entering this link) categorizes fruit aromas as citrus (grapefruit, lemon), berry (blackberry, raspberry, strawberry and black currant), tree (cherry, apricot, peach, apple), tropical (pineapple, melon, banana), dried (jam, raisin, prune, fig) and other. Likewise, vegetative aromas can be fresh (stemmy, grassy, green, eucalyptus, mint), canned (asparagus, olive, artichoke), and dried (hay/straw, tea, tobacco). Other categories include nutty, caramelized, woody, earthy, chemical, pungent, floral, spicy.

Smell (often called “aromas” for wine components and “bouquet” for the whole blend) is so much the predominant sense in winetasting that some chemists have called wine “a tasteless liquid that is deeply fragrant.”

Indeed, much of what we consider flavor (up to 80% or more) is aroma/bouquet as sensed and articulated by our olfactory. Based on bouquet alone, many tasters can identify a wine’s grape variety, origin/terroir, vintage and aging (including the type of oak and degree of char/toast.)

Powerful though it is, we become quickly inured to smell. Which is why, so often, tasters will revisit the wines in a flight twice or more -- swirling to release aromas, inhaling deeply, and continuing to breathe in the bouquet even during the tasting process.

Sense of Taste

Taste, our most life-sustaining sense, comes in four or five basic flavors -- sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and the more recently identified umami (savory). But, as with primary colors and basic aromas, a seemingly unlimited range opens to us from there.

Most tastes are a combination of sweet (as found in some white and most dessert wines), sour (a lively acidity present in many whites and some reds), salty (seldom found in wine), bitter (often a result of tannin) and umami (ripe, peak, pungent). Often, flavors can cancel each other out (as in the case of salt inhibiting bitter) or enhance each other (as in the case of salt accentuating sweetness).

Though tongue maps usually place our perceptors of sweet at the tip of the tongue, bitter at the back and sour at the sides, in truth, our taste buds are less specialized and more broadly distributed. In tasting, it is important to let wine roll over and linger on the tongue, be aerated by breath and give forth its first, middle and lasting impressions (although much of what factors into these impressions will be aroma and mouthfeel). "


Children safely asleep in bed,
I set to work on clearing my head.
Another day has flown past,
yet another week has been cast.
I light a candle and watch it's flame,
thankful for so much I can't explain.
I no longer think of what might lurk,
I live for now and partake in 'the turk'.

8.25 out of 10
$16.99 / 750 ml
15% alc. by vol. (yikes! no wonder why I'm feeling so warm and fuzzy)
Turkey Flat Vineyards
http://www.turkeyflat.com/

********* the Guy Weighs in *********

The Turk

Smells like dirty socks. I don’t know what it is about this wine. I was excited about it from my first impression. The name "the Turk" a common football reference – albeit not a good one if you’re a player. Apparently the wine takes some of its characteristics from the football reference. While I’m on it . . . Was it dirty socks or locker room smell? That’s the question flipped back and forth in my mind as I smelled this wine.

OK, so the nose of this wine stinks. It’s not just different, it’s untoward. Thankfully, I’m willing to go past a bad smelling wine to see what’s inside. It’s my adventurous side – at least that’s what I’ve always told the ladies. *shrugs shoulders*

As I sat there typing up my notes on my other job – the football one – I sipped on "the Turk". Berries... that’s what I smell. (side note: Heroes is a good show. I watched season one on the Internet and recommend it to all. If you can’t make it’s normal timeslot, watch it online with headphones on a decent monitor. Well worth it. Of course, I have an affinity for cheerleaders who save the world, Samurai swords and the super natural... at least in my TV shows but not my wines.)

Back to the wine.

You drink the Turk and you feel the warmth as it rolls down your throat and it inches toward your belly. Left behind though is a slightly chalky taste. It’s earthy smell fills your mouth. The wine is smooth, but leaves behind a residue like dust on the hood of your car in the desert. You know it’s there, but you can’t be bothered to wash it off because your mind is on other things.
Once you get past the initial smell, this wine is actually a decent wine. It’s not overpowering with it’s berry flavor, or it’s tannins (as many wine snobs describe it). It’s full-bodied, with a solid finish. It doesn’t disappear after the first glass, and isn’t too strong to cause you to stop drinking it after the second. I liked the wine because many times you purchase something in this price range and it’s forgettable. This wine was anything BUT that.

As the Gal described, this wine has 15% alchohol so it hits you if you’re not used to that kind of concentration. Sometimes that level can burn when you drink it, this wine doesn’t. It’s powerful, but controlled.

If you can find a smoother wine with less nose, then get it, but you won’t go wrong with this one.

Parallele 45

2005
Cotes du Rhone
France

"Wine is a living liquid containing no preservatives. Its life cycle comprises youth, maturity, old age, and death. When not treated with reasonable respect it will sicken and die."

Julia Child

I am forever in search of a French red to rock my world (albeit on the cheaper side). But I didn't find it, yet again. One of the guys at work told me "You can't go wrong with a 'Parellele 45' ". I don't know if it's just me or what. But this was disappointing. It's bouquet was very earthy - which I love (The Guy said it smelled more to him like someone's feet and then he launched into this whole thing on Europeans tending to not bathe very often and what if someone's unbathed feet were used to press the grapes, etc. Please, no offense if you're European and reading this - take it with a grain of salt. I myself don't agree). It also smelled a bit like Kalamata olives (another of my food loves). So I thought I was headed in the right direction. Initial mouthful was of Brie (again another preferred food dish for me) and I thought, "Oh, this is good." But then it became suddenly weak, watery, and faded totally away. There was no distinct berry flavor for me. And not much of a finish. It was definitely dry - not enough berry sweetness for me, but heading into it, the Brie and earthy - olive combo got my hopes up in spite of not much full berry flavor.

7.0 out of 10
13.5% alc. by vol.
$11.99 / bottle (on sale from $13.99)
Paul Jaboulet Aine
La Roche de Glun, France

Mark West Pinot Noir

2006
Sonoma County
California

Not bad, but probably won't buy again. See rating at end in bold.

"Cornycopius" - Thank you for your post. I laughed so hard on an otherwise dreary day.

This Pinot Noir's bouquet was a soapy alcoholic berry. But that was about it for the berry I'm afraid. Dry, heavy on the oak and spice, very light on the vanilla, and not enough berry for a good finish. I was disappointed. You know, just a personal obervation, but I think these "new" higher alcohol content wines are sacrificing flavor for "BAM" and I don't like it one bit.

The days pass, each one feeling like weeks,
as the ramifications of change set in.
The soul stirs as it seeks,
the missing puzzle piece to complete within.
Longing to again feel just fine,
and questioning yet again just what IS best.
Desperately turning to distraction:
music, religion, wordplay, philosophy and finally, Mark West.
Sort of settling on his Pinot Noir wine.

7.25 out of 10
$11.99 / 750 ml.
13.8% alc. by vol.
http://www.markwestwinery.com/

Yalumba Viognier

2006
The Y Series
South Australia

Will drink again.

I think it is safe to say that I have become a fan of Yalumba Winery's Y Series wines in general.
I love their Barossa Valley Shiraz, and I now am also a big fan of their Viognier (which they are responsible for my interest in as a result of tasting their Barossa Valley Shiraz-Viognier. The Shiraz-Viognier blend I had only contained 5% Viognier, but after drinking their complete Viognier tonight, I can appreciate that 5%.) I am very eager to try the 2003 Yalumba Octavius Shiraz someday - I feel good things happening just thinking about it. However, I believe it is somewhere in the price range of $75 - $100 a bottle. So, not exactly a "budget wine".

I enjoyed this Viognier with grilled salmon, roasted green beans and baby potatoes with rosemary. The fruit of the wine became more herb-like following the rosemary in the potatoes. I first smelled pear which I love in a white wine. Next was sort of an herby-apricot and then a vanilla-citrus. It tasted good on its own but its unique flavors were accentuated with the meal, especially following the rosemary potatoes.

It is a screw cap. That, apparently, is a problem for some of the more pretentious wine drinkers out there. My brother-in-law was horrified that I had purchased a screw-cap white wine for his visit (the Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc reviewed the other night was, alas, a screw-cap). I found myself getting pretty angry at his afrontage. I told him that screw-caps are the way of the future and in no way represent a "cheap" wine. (He had made some comment about how I must have "pulled all the stops" buying the wine seeing that it was a screw-cap! Oh I am so mad even now thinking about it. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Life is good. Everything will work out. OK I'm recovered.)

I offer the following adaptation from Yalumba.com's site:

Screw-cap eliminates the possibility of wine taint from cork and, as there is not a lot of the sealing polymer in contact with the wine, flavour absorption from the closure is not an issue. Screw-cap is a wonderful seal for ensuring great bottle ageing of appropriate white wines . . . Screw-cap removes all the problems associated with using closures that are “stuffed” into a bottle neck. The internal bore of a bottle is not a controlled surface during the bottle making process, whereas the outside surface of a bottle is. As the seal does not allow any air into the bottle at all, the wine undergoes a slow, but perfect bottle ageing process.

Yalumba has watched the markets adoption of the screw-cap closure with interest. "Acceptance of the screw-cap has grown significantly, and continues to grow, amongst the wine industry and its consumers, particularly at the top end of the market", says Robert Hill Smith.

Yalumba has extended its portfolio of wines sealed with a screw-cap closure even further, in particular, to Viognier. “Viognier, which seems particularly prone to flavour modification by cork, no doubt benefits from a screw-cap seal,” says Winemaker Louisa Rose.

It was on a visit to Condrieu, the home of Viognier in France's Rhône Valley, that Yalumba's Peter Wall first encountered Viognier. Once grown extensively south of Lyon, Viognier is now virtually confined to the tiny Condrieu and Côte Rôtie regions, with the best wines form Château-Grillet, a tiny appellation of Condrieu.

"Viognier is incredibly challenging and demands handling with kid gloves," says Yalumba winemaker, Louisa Rose. "It's unpredictable, difficult to grow and the yields are low. The variety always has the ability to surprise you - one day the grapes on the vine are dull and flavourless yet the very next day there'll be the explosion of musky apricot characters that make it so appealing."

Therefore trust to thy heart, and to what the world calls illusions.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

8 out of 10
$12.99 / 750 ml
13.5% alc. by vol.
http://www.yalumba.com/

Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc

2005
Marlborough
New Zealand

On the nose this wine presented with "limey" grapefruit. The taste was definitely sour, dry citrus. It was a quick high-acid finish. The balance just wasn't there for me. I am sure there is a food pairing to be had with this wine, but I don't exactly want to experiment further with it. I'd rather have someone out there tell me what it is, then I'll go back and try again.

Jump below for the final word.

scent on paper
provokes a quiet smile
in an unstoppable spread
an other place, an other time re-enters the atmosphere but for a little while
evokes an indescribable emotion
in a gentle flood
no words need ever be said

Would not choose to drink again unless accompanied by a Sure Thing food pairing.

7 out of 10
$14.99 / 750 ml bottle
13.5% alc. by vol.
http://www.vavasour.com/

Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin

2005
Lodi California
Zinfandel

Will definitely buy again at this price.

Thank you, Pasa Robles, for your comments and for once again giving me a new wine for my ongoing list of labels to be tried.

I sent The Guy out for more Sauvignon Blanc yesterday when my family party grew a bit. He came back with what I requested and also a bottle of Gnarly Head. I gave him a hard time because I've had it before and it was nothing to speak of. However, I had not reviewed it here so I let it be.

I had it this evening and ate my complaints of yesterday. I don't know what vintage I've had in the past, but the 2005 was really enjoyable. It's claret color had a slightly sweet, yet heady bouquet that just drew me right in for a taste. No swirling and sniffing here. I swirled once, experienced the aroma, my tastebuds watered and I put it to my mouth. Really good stuff for under $10. I had it with pizza and without later. Very nice combo of cherry and spice with my favorite vanilla and oak mixed in. Please see below for the rating and bottle particulars.

And now onto tonight's meanderings (putting it more toward the bottom to make The Guy happier):

HEADSTONE OF PAUL F. GUERRERA

Always wanting to visit the grave of their great-grandparents,
I walk with our children through the cemetary each week.
I am always pondering the lives that lived beyond the headstones,
But it is yours that draws me in, yours I always seek.

There it is, under a small tree
Red firetruck by your headstone, now literally planted in the ground, once brand new.
Having disintegrated, eroded, moss growing through.
Was it a favorite of yours?
Maybe a gift from Christmas 1967?
Are your parents' hearts still as broken,
as the first day you left earth for Heaven?
Do your mom's tears today still flow?
I imagine they will never end.
Life must go on, but a parent's love will continue to grow.
I always stop and wonder what happened then.

June 25, 1968, same age as my eldest, you were only twelve, and I not yet four,
I instinctively touch the firetruck, closing my eyes and think about you once more.
And, always, your mom, she stays on my mind.
Where is she now, has she managed to somehow, miraculously, move on? Or is she forever stuck in time?

I am now beyond 40,
but you remain a child, left only in someone's memory.
A life unlived, that should have been,
I raise my glass for you, Paul Guerrera, and savor some Old Vine Zin.

8.25 out of 10
14.5% alc. by vol.
$9.99 / bottle
http://www.gnarlyhead.com/

Los Cardos 2006 Malbec

Malbec
Dona Paula
2006
Argentina

Will drink again.

Thank you, HRChick for your comments - you wouldn't be biased would you? :)


Contradiction. That's what the word of the day seems to be - and my life today has played out that way:

After a very stressful week, and financial disarray, I debated spending any money at all on a bottle of wine. As I am having a family gathering tomorrow, I knew I had to buy something at least for then. I decided to just see what there was and go with the flow. My little one has turned six, and we are celebrating her birthday. But my mother-in-law just lost her mother (Great Granny Dot) this morning following a very brief illness.

I am grilling chicken kabobs for lunch tomorrow and am excited about a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc that was wicked cheap. I will report on that at some point this weekend. For myself this evening, I considered purchasing the very cheap "Yellowtail Shiraz" because it tastes halfway decent and I have no money, yet I haven't enjoyed any wine since Monday, I'm feeling the stress of the week, and, I need something new to review. I chose Los Cardos.

"Los Cardos" means "the thistles" - flowers known for their intense, surprisingly vivid color and their sharp thorns. A contradiction. Like this week for me. My children returning to school - new teachers, new schedules. The promise of a set routine at the cost of initial chaos and uncertainty. My work schedule has returned to "normal" hours following a summer schedule of going in early, but leaving early to be home with my children for the last half of the day. Now I'm back to 5:00 p.m. yet there is some comfort in a set routine. My children are busy and working during the day like me. Yet we meet again for dinner and each discuss the highlights, and lowlights, of our day. The topic tonight turned from birthdays to death.

Great Granny Dot. She lived her life the way she wanted. She didn't care what anyone else thought. She did what made her happy. She was strong in her conviction. An admirable trait indeed. Something I've been unable to do, yet long to do. So, as my youngest turns six and we celebrate her life just beginning, we remember Dot, and remember her life as it comes to an end.
I teach our children that death is not to be feared. It is a relief to pain, a relief to suffering. It is not an end, but a new beginning. Life is amazing. Death being a part of that life. Life is indeed a gift. But there is a whole universe out there and behind it a supreme being to be met in awe. Life is a part of so much more that is all interconnected, I can feel it.

Life and Death. Do not fear the prickly flower, and its sharp thorns. Beyond them an intense, beautiful, lively color awaits.

The wine: Rich, smooth and a deep velvet hue. A nice balanced bouquet of contradiction. Herb meets berry. Hint of vanilla intermingled with subtle spice. A tiny bit of sweet, a tiny bit of acid. Mild yet pungent.

8.25 out of 10
14% alc. by vol.
$11.99 / bottle

Lujan de Cuyo
Mendoza, Argentina
http://www.donapaula.com.ar/

Red

2004
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Zinfandel BLEND
Sonoma County

Would buy again.

I absolutely love a good blend. For the skinny on the wine skip below to the end.

So, my friends, The Guy thinks my poetry sucks and I should take it the hell off of here (OK, maybe he didn't say it "sucked", but he told me to find a new home for it - like Chez Nathalie). Here's my response to that:

The highlight: from Brady to Donte, a 37 yard bomb!
Jarvis blocks another Kasay field goal, and the crowd is not calm.
Final points reign as the Patriots-Panthers game is scored,
And Evans takes Cassel's handoff and rumbles in from the 2.
Had I watched, my excitement probably could not be contained - how was it for you?
Cassel bobbles the snap, snatching it out of the air and gets it to Evans who continues the play,
And the poor Panthers succumbed to the Patriots last Friday.
Yes, friends, the Panthers were indeed dead,
But I'm, like totally, over it as I partake in a glass or two of "Red".

(Excerpts adpated from: http://patriots.scout.com/2/672316.html)

Put that under your Patriots hat which (still) needs to be washed. Ha!

OK, wine review:

I like this wine. I was a little hesitant at first, but liked it even more with a strange combo of pseudo lame leftovers. Mashed parmesean potatoes, grilled turkey burgers, and Romaine, celery and tomato salad (with Newman's Own Olive Oil & Vinegar dressing). I was completely shocked that it actually tasted great and different following each separate otherwise blase forkful.

The initial bouquet was of dry, tart rasberry. The color was a beautiful deep burgundy. The first taste was dry, followed by rasberry, then a little bitter, then a nice new saddle taste. (I can't remember the last time I ate a good saddle.) I guess it was a kind of leather taste I'm trying to explain.

Enter, a bite of mashed potatoes. A sip of Red. Vanilla hits the tongue! Then slowly dissipates. A bite of salad (with red wine? - yuck!) and a wonderful cream-of-mushroom beef burgundy flavor hits. Really, really fun. Very versatile wine.

I took the liberty of posting it on my last entry below ("The 3rd Bottle" from earlier today) as one of the recommended "stock" wines.

8.25 out of 10 (for its ability to food pair with less than exemplary dish flair)
$12.99 / bottle
http://www.stfrancisred.com/

The Third Bottle

Red Table Wine
St. Helena, California

There is a tavern in the town,
And there my true love sits him down,
And drinks his wine with laughter and with glee,
And never, never thinks of me.

Anonymous

Would buy again.

This is a really good, basic red wine to have on hand. It would probably accompany most things well. I had it with organic bowtie pasta, olive oil, crushed tomatoes with roasted garlic and turkey meatballs, parmesean and whole green beans, and a crusty Tuscan Boule. I actually enjoyed the wine's flavor more on its own prior to eating. The alcohol came out with the meal. (And what is up with wines having higher and higher alcohol content? I don't like to sacrifice taste for more oomph. If I want oomph I'll shoot Jose Cuervo 1800.) The intial taste for me had slight vanilla followed by a very so slight smokey earthiness. It reminded me very much of "Old Vine Red Lot Number Forty-Two" which I previously reviewed at 8 out of 10. The Guy said it reminded him a lot of Martin Ray's Red (the little jug we previously reviewed though I failed to assign a number to - I would give it also an 8 out of 10).

Looking back, I would recommend the following to stock up on:

Cheap ($10.99 and below):
Yellowtail Shiraz 2006
Old Vine Red Lot Number Forty-Two (if you can still get it)
Luna di Luna Chardonnay Pinot Grigio 2005

Not as Cheap, but Reasonable ($10.99 - $15)
Red 2004 (St. Francis Winery)
The 3rd Bottle
Red 2002 (Martin Ray Winery jug)
Museum Royale Crianza (Spain) 2002
Yalumba Barossa Shiraz, 2004
Duck Pond Syrah 2003
Clos de los Siete (Argentina) 2005

More Expensive - but worth a special evening ($20 - $25)
Museum Real Reserva Cigales (Spain) 2001
Yangarra Vineyard Shiraz 2004


8 out of 10
13.8% alc. by vol.
$13.99
http://www.gustavothrace.com/