What Would Mikey Drink

This is a good value, house level wine. Musty nose of lemon chiffon and pineapple. Cloying and viscus, it has excellent body and finish. The strange part of it is that the label says “intented to be a Burgundian influenced, cool-climate Chardonnay”. While it fails there (too sweet, not enough acids) it is a good [...]

Interesting $18 California Cabernet. Pretty fruit with some classic cab bell pepper. Medium bodied, smooth and round, and a decent burst on the finish. This is made by the Rowland family. They have been making wine since 1534. Good value at this price. A decent, under $20 California cabernet is hard to find. Grade: B+ [...]

Oh my, lives up to the hype (Tanzer 95+, Parker 96). Perfectly integrated zinfandel. There’s huge alcohol (15.8%) but its totally undetectable under a mass of candied cherry, slight oak, moderate tannins, and exquisite balance. This has a harmony and poise I’ve rarely, if ever, had in a zinfandel. This is clearly an all-time great [...]

The Mitolo was part of a perfect, comforting winter meal. Tonight we had Halftime chili with grated cheddar cheese and scallions and this monster shiraz. I am impressed by this wine. It is full throttled, powerful, viscus (teeth staining), sweet, with an incredibly long finish. There are tons of nicely integrated stewed fruits, rare beef, [...]

I’ve enjoyed getting to know this wine over the past 2 hours. It started with a disturbing lack of fruit, but lots of promise. The evolution has been from funky mushrooms, to bright, tight, acidic fruits (cranberries, wild raspberries). At this point it has a stunning nose of lavender, dusty forest, and morrells. It is [...]

I’ve had many vintages of Artadi’s Vinas de Gain, and all have been great. The ’05 may be the most concentrated I’ve tried. It is deep, dark, sweet and full, but hiding for wont of a cellar snooze. There’s a core of somewhat concealed ripe fruit mixed with spicy pepper, with some persistent smooth tannins. [...]

I hadn’t ever had an Argentinian malbec of this caliber. Deep, dark and lush, and brimming with lovely dark plums, ripe blackberries and oak. The palate is long and smooth, with rich tannins. Even though it has such density, there’s a graceful charming feminine warmth. Given the sheer weight, it will improve in the cellar [...]

We drank the ’98 back in May. This one is also great. It’s got lots of dirt, crushed pepper, earth and anise in a very complex presentation. It is a complete song composition, with a verse, chorus, bridge, etc. Maybe more like a complete album as it changes while it opens. Yet another gem, competing [...]

This is a deeply colored, concentrated, and fragrant example of Barbera. There’s a mixed fresh and dried fruit salad of bing cherries, figs, tart raspberries. It is tannic, but well balanced, and drinking well now. This is a more serious side of Barbera. The 2000 is the current release. With grilled chicken, my wife’s most [...]

This wine justifies my extravagant 2005 red burgundy purchases. I don’t think it is possible to buy too many. The 2005 Bouchard Beaune Teurons is stunning. My wife thought it was a $350 bottle, when served blind. It delivers all the goods on every level, starting with a mushroom funky nose, to a sweet cola/ [...]