The Reunion

2006
Mourvedre, Shiraz & Grenache Blend
Rutherglen, Victoria
Australia





Hints of cherry, herb, and vanilla encompass this Australian blend. Although good on its own, it moves up a few notches when paired with aged Gouda. It especially tasted fantastic with gemelli pasta, vegetable tapenade, and shredded Gouda.




Twisted words
Falsified assumptions
A master retreat

Silence
Mind games
A cracked heart

A friendship severed and bleeding out

8.0 out of 10 (8.5 out of 10 with the Oakvale Aged Gouda cheese pairing)
14.5% alc. by vol.
$20 / 750 ml. bottle

Favorite Wines of Late

November 2009
Turley Zinfandel
Howell Mountain
Dragon Vineyard
California
2004


December 2009
Kistler Cuvee Natalie
Pinot Noir
Silver Belt Region
California
2007

Cesari Amarone
Classico
Italy
2005


January 2010
Tobin James
Blue Moon Reserve
Syrah
Paso Robles
California
2006


No surprise to me, but I tend to be a California Girl :)


And as we drank our wine and let the world fade away, the sunrise tried to end it while we tried to stay.

--Joshua Radin--

Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all
It's a quarter after one I'm all alone and I need you now
And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without

-Lady Antebellum-

Twomey Merlot

2001
NAPA Valley
Oakville, CA


This was a highly enjoyable wine. A Christmas gift from my partner in crime during the work week, we drank this with my mom's birthday dinner. Terrific on its own, it accompanied my Rioja Chicken with prunes and olives nicely. It also tasted great with our chocolate cake dessert.

Herb and earth scents opened upon pouring. The taste was on par with the bouquet, with a little of cocoa and black berry mixed in. This was delicious overall.

I'm sorry, again :( Not a budget wine.






Rioja Chicken called for Rioja wine. As I didn't have any, I turned it into Merlot chicken just as well. I made long grain brown rice, caramelized carrots and fresh popovers to accompany it.





This Devil's Food chocolate cake recipe of my grandmothers tasted good with the wine as well.








Night and day, you are the one
Only you beneath the moon or under the sun
Whether near to me, or far
It's no matter darling where you are
I think of you
Day and night, night and day, why is it so?

--Cole Porter--


$75 / 750 ml. bottle
8.25 out of 10
14.4% alc. by vol.

Chateau Les Vallees Bordeaux

2005
Grand Vin De Bordeaux
Gironde - France

We got this at Christmastime and decided to open it tonight for my mom's birthday as our opening wine. Although it was disappointing for me on first sip, it tasted much better with roasted cashews. It at first had a watery-musty brief finish but it became much more meaty and enjoyable with the nuts.

Not bad for the price.


$12 / 750 ml. bottle
8.0 out of 10
13% alc. by vol.

Tobin James Syrah

2006
Blue Moon Reserve
Paso Robles, CA




I'm sorry for apologizing yet again for another non-budget wine. I LOVED this wine. But I don't think I would pay the $150 price tag for it on my own. It was oh so fantastically SMOKEY. NICE distinctive flavor and finish. Great with dark chocolate.

I am on an elimination diet and have done well until tonight. My doc told me I could afford one or two nights during my (30) days to go slightly astray. Tonight was the night. But I've had too much. This has been a totally tough week for me. I immersed myself in old movies and LOVED "Night and Day" (the Cole Porter story) with Cary Grant. It helps (sometimes) to go back to a simpler time of romance and life.

Anyway, we had some good wine and food pairings tonight with some friends. And, when I shouldn't have had anymore, the Tobin James Blue Moon Reserve was opened up and I enjoyed it immensely. I would have enojoyed more but my little one (who was at a sleepover) got homesick and needed to be picked up.

This is a distinctive, delicious wine if you've got $ to blow. Mussels are the recommended accompaniment for this wine. I've got a great Gourmet magazine recipe that includes garlic, organic chicken broth, white wine and chicken flavored stuffing mix and fresh parsley that might be awesome with this wine (maybe just replace the recipe's white wine with the red).

Defense is paper thin
Just one touch and I'll be in
Too deep now to ever swim against the current

So let me slip away, so let me slip away
So let me slip away, let me slip against the current
so let me slip away, so let me slip away
so let me slip away, so let me slip away

Vindicated, I am selfish, I am wrong, I am right
I swear I'm right, swearI knew it all along
And I am flawed, but I am cleaning up so well

--Dashboard Confessionals--

$150 / 750 ml. bottle
8.75 out of 10
15.8% alc. by vol.

Chateau Lafite Rothschild

1994
Grancru - Pauillac
France
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

My stepbrother-in-law posted on his Facebook page last night that he wondered what Martin Luther King, Jr. would think today about how far we've come. Sadly, it's no way near far enough in my opinion. I am shocked and dismayed in the last couple of months to witness (or be told of) remarks, comments and actions of blatant prejudice from people who I respect and/or consider friends. The ignorance of those who I deemed educated and/or caring comes as a great surprise. Prejudice makes even beautiful people ugly.

ONTO THE WINE:
I find myself once again feeling the need to apologize for reviewing a big-time expensive wine on a "Budget" wine blog. It really doesn't happen that often, but when I am fortunate enough to have such an experience, I must let you know my thoughts just in case.

My stepfather-in-law held a birthday party for his wife (my mother-in-law) and shared this wine with us for the occasion. It was gifted to him upon his retirement from Merrill Lynch. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and a tiny bit of Petit Verdot, I must say that on first sip I was disappointed. So I let my glass remain out in the open for more air time and it was slightly better, but for the price, disappointing. Although there were some interesting and promising scents and flavors of leather, slight herb, and mushroom with hints of blackcherry, the fullness just wasn't there that I truly expected, and the finish wasn't as long as I anticipated. My mother-in-law commented to me on how surprised she was that it didn't open up like a big juicy cab, which is what she thought it would be like. I don't know how my stepfather-in-law stored it over the last few years, but I don't think it was mistreated, though it definitely wasn't in a temperature-controlled environment. But my gut really doesn't think that was the issue. I would love to know what others' experience with this label have been.


I want to get out of this
I wonder
Is there anything I'm going to miss
I wonder
How it's going to be
When you don't know me
How's it going to be
When you're sure I'm not there
How's it going to be
When there is no one to talk to, between you and me
'Cause I don't care
How's it going to be
How's it going to be
Where we used to laugh
There's a shouting match
Sharp as a thumbnail scratch
A silence I can't ignore

Third Eye Blind


8.0 out of 10
12.5% alc. by vol.
>$275.00 / 750 ML bottle

Chateauneuf-du-Pape

2007
Red Rhone Wine
Domaine Du Vieux Lazaret
France

67% Grenache
22% Syrah
5% Mourvedre
6% "others"

As a child, I loved the "old" Christmas Carols (Perry Como, Glenn Miller, Doris Day, the Andrew Sisters, Benny Goodman). I still do today and find it harder and harder to find any station that plays the original stuff that makes Christmas extra awesome for me.

Christmas is like a wedding - lots of planning and excitement leading up to the event, then it's all over in a whirlwind and there's this feeling of "where'd it all go"? It is truly my most favorite time of year - I LOVE presents and I love giving presents. I love the food and WINE and family gatherings that I crave so much (and never seem to have enough of).

New Year's Eve is my second most unfavorite time of year (Halloween being first). So, I found a religious radio station that continues to play Christmas Carols for 12 days after Christmas and they have been making my week this week. THIS is the week I spiral into a depression. I can't help it. But this station is playing the most awesome eclectic old stuff mixed with some real good newer stuff (think Harry Connick, Jr.) and I am slightly more happy because of it. And, thanks to receiving almost 3 cases of wine in gifts this year, I have something to look forward to every day (or at least every few days!). I just have to come up with the food pairing. We have old friends coming for dinner Saturday and we are going to new friends for the big countdown tonight. So I am hanging in there. :)

My brother brought a couple of bottles of this wine (and I miss him now), and I enjoyed it more with him here with his aged cheddar cheese. However, it was still enjoyable on its own (and with him gone home).

Although I have not previously given much value to decanting, I did buy the Guy a decanter for Christmas and we have been enjoying how the wine aroma fills the room upon doing so. Well, I was blogging after Christmas and my brother decanted this and left it in front of me and left the room. My mouth started watering and I couldn't wait for us to pour it into glasses. We had some aged cheddar with it and had an awesome afternoon together tasting the two. This wine has a stone cherry scent and flavor and is one of the few French wines I thoroughly enjoy. Not a bad value for the price.

Happy New Year.


My world is changing
I'm rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too?

Where are you Christmas?
Do you remember
The one you used to know?
I'm not the same one
See what the time's done.
Is that why you have let me go?

Faith Hill



8.5 out fo 10 (when served with OLD cheddar cheese)
8.0 out of 10 on its own
14.5% alc. by vol.
$17/750 ml. bottle

Sonoma-Cutrer

2007
Chardonnay
Russian River Ranches

We went out to dinner tonight thanks to my mother-in-law and had a good dinner, though way too pricey. I had a glass of my old favorite Nora Albarino, 2007, but it just didn't taste as good as the first time. So, when my dinner came (shrimp with green beans and peas and garlic aioli sauce) I switched. I told the waitress I liked a heavier wine and she gave me a glass of the Sonoma-Cutrer. It was perfect with my shrimp. It was creamy lemon with butter and minerality. A nice match to both the shrimp and a bite I had of my stepfather-in-law's lobster and spinach provolone mac and cheese.

The highlight of my night was Dustin Hoffman showed up. I am a sucker for Hollywood types. I contained myself though and didn't act like a fool. Unlike the wait staff who came out of the woodwork to wait on him and ask him if he needed anything, repeatedly! Even the chef made a miraculous appearance shortly after he arrived. She acted casually, bringing out dinner to a table that she barely paid attention to. But on her return to the kitchen she made a strategic b-line to his table.

Anyway, I hate it when things are way over-priced, and our meal was for sure. But I enjoyed my wine with my meal. I just won't make a hearty attempt to return to that restaurant in the near future.

I'll bet she's beautiful
That girl he talks about
And she's got everything
That I've had to live without

-Taylor Swift-


8.0 out of 10
$19/750 ml. bottle

Passing Clouds

2005
Reserve Shiraz
Bendigo


Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I hate it when it's over. I luckily still have some celebrations to go so its not quite over yet. But all that anticipation and watching the wonder of my children and that "magic" in the air has faded. :(

My brother has been here since the 24th and he brought a case of wine which we have continued to enjoy daily. Yesterday was a great wine day. We tried (3) and enjoyed them all. Passing Clouds was definitely my favorite of the day. The finish on this was long and deliciously flavored. Black cherry mixed with ever so slight smoke and vanilla and oak, this wine went down very smoothly. Although awesome on its own, Passing Clouds went very well with aged cheddar cheese.





8.5 out of 10
15.2% alc. by vol.
$24 / 750 ml. bottle

Turley Zinfandel

2004
Howell Mountain
St. Helena, California
Dragon Vineyard

I am still in shock after coming home to discover a friend had left me two bottles of wine as a Christmas present in my absence. That, in itself, was not surprising. But the fact that one of the bottles purchased was a bottle of 2003 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District, has me speechless. Morning can't get here fast enough for me to call him and tell him how crazy he HAS to be! I will not be drinking that anytime soon. It's good now through the next 20-25 years. I need a wine cellar now for sure as I don't want to ruin it while storing it for the right moment to eventually open it.

Regarding the Turley: this is our usual at Thanksgiving dinner. However, this year we had 3 different regions. I only have the bottles of two and I definitely know that Dragon Vineyard was my favorite. The other was a 2002 Old Vines also out of St. Helena. The third was from Paso Robles and I can't recall the vineyard. Please note: The other Turley wine was a 2002 Presenti Vineyard from Paso Robles. All three wines are a great match for turkey dinners, I just enjoyed the sweeter baking spice flavor of that from Dragon Vineyards.

The Dragon was awesome with the meal and especially pumpkin bread I'd made. With my first sip I knew it would be terrific. It smelled of baking spices: especially cloves and nutmeg and allspice. And that's exactly how it tasted too. The clove flavoring was enhanced by the pumpkin bread. It was highly enjoyable.

Oh there ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
I got bills to pay
I got mouths to feed
There ain't nothing in this world for free

--Cage the Elephant--


16.0% alc. by vol.
Approx. $55 / 750 ml. bottle
8.5 out of 10

The Chocolate Block

2007
A Beautiful Blend of Syrah, Grenache Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault & Viognier
South Africa

This was a wine we enjoyed the weekend after Thanksgiving. Herbal notes and flavor with a hint of tobacco, this was a rather smooth wine that tasted even better with a piece of dark chocolate. Of course, the warm atmosphere of fire at the hearth, and my brother at my side, and a good movie rolling (Bottle Shock) probably contributed to my overall enjoyment.

I am up late baking a pie, drinking organic chocolate chai tea rather than a good wine, and reflecting on those I am indebted to. I wanted to be in bed by 10:00 but my evening unraveled in a frustrating fury when I locked not only my car and office keys and money inside my car, but the spare car key as well, as I hurried to grab my two younger children to bring them to the high school to see my older daughter's first "GLEE" performance. The show started in 10 minutes and I had no way to get there. The Guy didn't pick up his phone and neither did my mother (who was meeting me there). In a most frustrating frenzy of actually considering bundling my children up and walking to the high school in 18 degrees, I called my boss. He was there within 9 minutes and we made it. After the show my mom and stepdad called triple A for me and waited patiently in my kitchen (which, when we returned, wreaked horridly of canine gas). When triple A didn't show after an hour, I had a revelation and went in mad search of a backpack I brought to Maine over the summer. Inside, sure enough, was a third and only other spare key. It was 10:00 before I had even started making the pie, and I needed to clean the kitchen first.

So, as I wait for the pie to finish baking, I am thinking of how lucky I truly am. My brother was here for almost a week and fixed broken chairs for me and mowed the lawn and collected neat piles of leaves that my stepdad spent two full days leaf-blowing into clean, workable piles. I am honestly grateful to these men in my life who provide rides in bad weather or for locked-in car keys, who buy me lunch, fix things around my house, help me with the lawn, provide ladders or a hand in cleaning my gutters, and buy me fine wine. I know The Guy gets a little miffed at times at these gestures, but where would I be without all of their kindness and caring? Things get done and I am happier and calmer. And it's one less thing he has to try to eventually get to. So, now the mad pie baking begins to return thanks to all those who make my life easier. Being up late is a small price to pay in return to those who give unselfishly all year long.


8.25 out of 10
14.5% alc. by vol.
$37 / 750 ml. bottle