1997 Pahlmeyer Merlot Napa Valley: A

ok so i am accutely aware of two potential judgements that readers of this blog (if there are any left) could be making about me at the moment:

1. "what the hell chris?!?! - you said you were going to try to post once a month...not twice a year"

and

2.

"wow chris, what happened to your roots as the original blue collar wine blogger...something about only bloggi

ng wines that you could buy at a gas station...stags leap followed by a '97 pahlmeyer aren't exactly two juices known for their proletarian terroir."

ok - both fair charges. with regard to the first complaint, guilty as charged...i have been an egregiously negligent poster. but fear not, this d

oes not mean i haven't been enjoying good wine. and on count two, the stags leap was brought over by a dinner/tv guest (who also happens to be a wine educator), and in the case of the pahlmeyer, it was a generous gift from heather's dad who is about as knowledgeable a vinophile as you will ever find running an emergency room. so thank you robb and dr. berkman. cheers to you both. and now, after that rather protracted preamble.....TO THE WINE!!

Heather and I decided to pair this one with two nice cuts of filet mignon, rosemary potatoes, and a spring mix, gorgonzola, blueberry and grilled nectarine salad.

We decanted this merlot for about two hours while we shopped and cooked and i think by the time we got around to consuming it had opened up nicely. the first thing heather and i perceived was a bouquet that, in heather's word's "hits you like a fist to the nose...but in a good way". I also got some thin alcoholish stuff in the nose - not a bad thing, but you could tell this wasn't going to be a facile dark bomby cali new worlder...it was a bit I noticed it has a nice ruby (or as heather contended - garnet) color, not super deep purples, more of an over-ripe strawberry color. I also get a bit of strawberry on the palette and maybe a hint of subtle sour cherry. it has very nice balanced tannins, and really holds up well in your mouth. very deep taste. this is by far one of the best vinos i have had in the rememberable past. We'll give this one a robust A. Off to Gaspar's birthday.

2006 Courtney Benham Stags Leap District Cab Sauvignon: A-

We were in the presence of our mystery wine specialist, who all agreed never disappoints with his...or her...wine selections. This particular friend of ours showed up for the 2 hour 24 premiere and felt as though he should bring a jack bauer-esque vino, or as beck-o posited "a wine with balls as big as jack". So we ripped into the Courtner Benham Cab. Josh felt that it might have left him with a similar sensation as eating a cold spoonful of hershey's chocolate syrup that you wish could be a bit warmer. Our present wine royalty agreed that although a premium juice, the 06 could maybe use a bit of age...not much. I agree with the assesment of an "iron fist in a velvet glove" apparently a popular way to characterize stag's leap cabs....with the exception that most stag leaps cabs start at 50 bucks, and this one is 29. Mainer beck-0 requested that we ready a case on the delivery of her "baby wilson in the works"...duly noted beck-o. Honestly, I am just happy to be in the company of an old friend and could probably be drinking piss and be as happy as i feel at the moment.

I should also include the minor detail that as we drink this one Wake Forest is beating UNC in an ACC basketball slugfest...given Josh's...hmm...loose affiliation with with the Blue Devils, we are a happy group.

Josh asserts that this is veeeery well balanced. And I think that this actually captures very well my feelings which are that i can't pin down many real tastes or smells, but i absolutely love this one. it is rare that i love not tannic wines. but that is the case. over and out.

mainer chris

ps. the photo may give you an idea of how much i love this wine....holy shizzzy.

Elyse Sonoma Pinot Noir 2006: A-

After an approximately half year break, we have returned to the wine blog. josh and i both attempted to invent some excuses for why we have not blogged since may, but the best we could come up with was josh's guess that it might have had something to do with the hot weather. were that the case, however, we probably should have started back up in october....but oh well - it seemed most appropriate to start back up with the beginning of a new year.

Josh and Becky have recently come into copious amounts of wine from the sonoma producer Elyse. As a result I got a beautiful bottle of the 2004 zin, my family was lucky enough to enjoy the cab over christmas, and we had a bottle of the 2006 pinot noir to crack open and enjoy with some black eyed peas.

Josh felt that this wine was soft and floral which I agree with wholeheartedly - sort of a light rubbing alcoholish feel on the nose - but doesn't burn. Upon further reflection I got hints of a syrup on the nose - maybe cherry cola, but not fruity like cherry. Josh got a similar tone, but he expressed it maybe more articulately as the vanilla extract syrup richness one might detect in a brandy

on balance, josh hit the nail on the when he simply classified this juice as delicious and well balanced , saying that if he had another one in the wine closet he would open it to have with a roasted chicken in october. We all agreed that this juice is maybe held back only by the fact that we opened it in 2009 - could have waited another year. Regardless - this is an unapologetic A-.

OK - we are back on the wagon - expect posts with more frequency. Happy vino drinking!

a thought.....

from one of the best sites on the web, toothpastefordinner.com

Ridge 2005 Zinfandel - NA

Very Berry-ful. That's all we've got to say. No grade.

Terra Buena Malbec 2003: B

After a meal of expertly prepared, and extremely authentic Thai food, courtesy of Becky, we decided to open up a bottle of the Terra Buena Malbec. On the nose, I got some hotness. I am not sure if you can sense alcohol on the nose of a wine, and maybe this was simply preemptive taste judgement, but that is what I smelled. Definitely sharper red fruits characterized this one. Becky swore that it smelled like play-doh/plastic action figures. I think that may have been any one of the three shandies that she enjoyed before opening this bottles talking. On the palette,  I get a cran-licorice-hotness. The tannins are nice and make for a firm structure. Josh picks up "the pulp and the depth" of a cherry. Becky gets some plum as the wine opens up, I disagree - but the fruit is definitely getting a bit deeper as we drink on. Josh hypothesizes that the age (it iiiis an 03) may have something to do with the depth. It is not, afterall, easy to find a 10 year old malbec for 10 bucks....that's right. Did we mention that this was 10 bucks. As not a real malbec lover, I give this one a B-, but the value is really outstanding. Due the wine opening up quite a bit, we may have been selling this one short at the beginning of the post.  It might have been wiser to decant this, but the urgency of the post-thai tasting session was undeniable. We give this one a robust B.

Ten Mile Proprietary Red Wine: B+

We're digging this wine, which we originally got as part of our wine club. Josh found it for $10 at the wonderful wine store - DeVinos - in our neighborhood. He notes that when the price matches the taste, it's a bump. $10 for this wine is a true bargain. It's described on the bottle as a blend of petite sirah, zinfandel, barbera and carignane. It's got a soft spicy nose with currant/berry flavors. Josh pronounces enthusiastically that he tastes twizzlers!!! What more could you ask for. In short, it's damn tasty.