Joey Campanaro from the Little Owl was cooking. Incredible food.2005 Domaine Paul Blanc Pinot Blanc D’AlcaseSimple and straight forward. Easy to quaff. Slight must. Good for starters. Can’t find it at retail but I would guess under $20. With Cucumber-tomato gazpacho with lobster. Grade: B- 2005 Köfererhof Kerner.From Italy. Green apples, white peaches, minerals, stones, [...]
Archive for September, 2007
2001 Domaine de Trevallon Vin de Pays des Bouches-du-Rhône
Mix of cabernet sauvignon and syrah from Provance. Inky dark ruby. Flowers, earth, anise and dark fruits make up this delicious nose. Then intense, rustic with impeccable balance and precision, and a 45+ second finish. This is serious stuff and merits contemplation. With fresh mushroom ravioli. Retails for $50, but tastes like an expensive, special [...]
2004 Tantara Bien Nacido Vineyard Adobe Pinot Noir
More Burgundian than California. Deep dark ruby, but doesn’t smell over-ripe. Bordering on too many acids at first. Sour cherry, but hidden for the first hour. Part of the time it reminds me of a Gevery Chambertin. It keeps changing, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. With the duck steak it comes alive against the [...]
2004 Martinelli Syrah “Terra Felice”
Built in an exuberant style, with a healthy dose of ripe fruits. Lovely, complex aromas of spring flowers, cracked black pepper, and scorched asphalt. This wine bursts with spicy blackberry, oak, and a little heat, which tastes even more than the quoted 14.8% alcohol. It is currently tannic and while delicious, could use a few [...]
2002 Hazyblur Shiraz Adelaide Plains
Dark, sweet, fun and juicy. A little pepper on the nose mixed with oak, There’s a healthy dose of ripe dark plums, and vanilla. Drinking very well, with a long, expansive finish. Lacks the complexity of an expensive wine, yet good buy at the $20 retail. Jill says fun label and name. And she likes [...]
2003 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select
At an incredible dinner at Wolfgang’s. The Donald was sitting at the next table and because we were chatting him up, sent over a 1999 Crystal ($400). We needed to follow with something very special, hence the Shafer. Utterly composed and poised, but enormous in scope. Hangs on the palate for minutes, but manages to [...]
2001 Ojai Syrah Mellville Vineyard
More Rhone than California. Inky dark, with aromas of scorched, parched, dry earth and cracked red and black pepper. Ripe and bold, with loose damp dirt (in a good way), spicy cherry, verve and gusto. Ojai makes consistently good, stylised syrah. With Mikey’s creole black cod. Excellent pairing. Retail $55 Grade: B+ www.whatwouldmikeydrink.com
2001 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Secco
Concentrated and sweet. Tastes like air dried grapes like Amarone. Nice spice, jammy cranberry, sappy pine and heavy but well integrated tannins. Yummy, but not a different thing on each sip, like I expect from high end wines. Very unusual, almost semi-sweet. This is an artisinal wine with verve and character. We really enjoyed it. [...]
1994 Dow’s vintage port
Not fair, after the Mollydooker. Simple syrup mixed with rasberry jam. Nice finish, but not nearly enough complexity. I had some amazing wine tonight, and this one was inferior. Retail: $75. Grade: B- www.whatwouldmikeydrink.com
2005 Mollydooker Carnival of Love
Oh my. Much better than the Numthia. Lots of oak, lots of everything, total monster. The fruit explodes on the palate, so ripe it is bursting into juice. So serious, so fun. I love it. Wine of the night, in some tough company. I have 4 more, but wish it was 40. Tannic, but well [...]