The Ringer.........

Tasting group number two met last week and we had a grand total of four show up. Am I going to have to resort to arranging these at strip clubs again? Anyway the theme was to bring something from France that cost over $25.

Are you guys as bored with this shit as I am?

I'll post tasting notes later on. They really aren't tasting notes at all. I suck at homework and couldn't, in my right mind, sit at a table with alcohol in front of me and start scribbling bullshit onto the back of a napkin or, god forbid, a notebook. That would complete the stereotype and make me a complete geek.

I do this to share. That's it.

Here are the notes:

2005 Domaine de la Pepiere (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie Clos des Briords-That's the ringer! I've posted on this before but the wine has put on weight since my last post and gotten more complex. Just incredible for the price point. $13 full retail. I know I've paid closer to $9 for it. I've yet to try the 2006 but at that price you can't go wrong.

2005 Michel Ecard Savigny les Beaune "Les Serpentierre"-Burgundy France.

This is still around on the market. Earth, cherries, leather, with terrific balance and grip. This has become more structured after 6 months in the bottle and to me it feels as if it will close down for a few years. A very nice wine for mid term cellaring. $35

2005 Maison Champy Borgogne rouge-Anyone looking for an intro to Burgundy without paying too much should find these wines. Extremly well made and well priced. Approachable right now. $16

2004 Vieux Donjon Chateneuf Du Pape-Meaty, smoky, with a blast of black pepper on the finish. I love the domaine's style so I can't say I'm neutral. A contrast to the heavyweight 2003, Donjon produced a more classic styled wine in 2004. Don't know how much I'd reach for at $40. Maybe one or two.

Anyone looking for these wines should take a look at www.winesearcher.com . Retailers subscribe and post their prices. The Pro version is well worth the $30 a year they charge consumers as you're likely to make up the cost on one purchase.

By the way........did I mention I also cook?

Tasting Group at my house......

One of my regular groups meets monthly. The guys have been together for over 30 years and have a tremendous amount of wine knowledge (they don't know about anything else!). Coming up with a format that is different is tough.

The theme for tonight was to show a review with the name of the wine and viticultural area removed to see if they could guess what it was and where it came from. The results were a disaster. They did better blind.

Dinner was a treat. I had steaks flown in from Bryan's Fine Foods in San Francisco. They were double cut NY strips aged 30 days. Holy smokes were they good!!

Here's the lineup:


1992 Dom Perignon-Small beads. Bready aromas. Fat mid palate. Right out of the gate it was exciting but faded rather quickly.

2004 F.X. Pichler Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Loibner Berg-I liked this much more than the rest of the group. Loads of minerals, clean, complex with a long life ahead of it.

2002 Domaine Michelot Meurault Perrieres-Not what I would consider my type of Meursault Perrieres. Nose of orange peel with citrus notes. The wood was a bit more pronounced than I like. Solid wine but not on the mark for me.

1997 Livio Sassetti Pertimali Brunello-Just as I've come to expect from most 1997 Brunello. It tries but falls short. Aromatics were muted. Cherries and smoke. The flavors were great but still appear to be hiding. I'm not sure this will have the stuffing to fully develop.

1998 Dal Forno Valpolicella-Now we're talking. Soaring aromatics, everything in balance, long finish. Me Likey. A WOTN for a couple of guys.

2000 Clos Mogador- Still very young and primary but a hell of a bottle. Can't wait to see where this goes.

1995 Clos Erasmus-My disappointment of the night. This was my second bottle of this wine and the first blew me away. There was a funk to this one that I just couldn't get past.

1995 Pegau Cuvee Reservee-Open for business. Meaty, sweet, long. This kept changing as the night went on. My red WOTN.

1995 Leoville Barton-Very exciting. Everything is here but the wine is still closed. It was enjoyable as hell but just needs more time. I opened this at 4AM and we got to it sometime around 8:30PM.

1994 Galleron Cabernet Sauvignon-My first experience with this. IMO quality that can be classified as a California cult wine. Flamboyant and rich. Great balance.

1991 Chateau Montelena Estate-This still needs time but is developing beautifully. Restrained and beautiful. Very glad I own more but I'm going to wait a bit.

1993 Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz-None of us has had a lot of opportunity to drink older Aussie Shiraz. This is a good reason to. Lots of herbal, eucalyptus notes. Not over the top. Just a really nice wine that had developed extraordinary secondary characteristics.

1922 D'Oliveiras Madeira Boal Reserve-My first Maderia. Friggin awesome. Coffee, toffee, vanilla notes that ran incredibly deep. I could have kept my nose in the glass all night.

I'm back!!

Does any of this writing matter? I've been drinking and tasting with the same critical eye towards value at every price point. Yesterday I ran to Trader Joe's to pick up a few items for my regular tasting group on Tuesday. What struck me was the amount of wine being purchased. TJ's isn't known for offering undiscovered gems IMO. It's known for selling at a price point and that's what I'm getting at here. Why will folks go out of their way to spend $5 on a cup of coffee at Starbucks but not be willing to spend more than $3 for a bottle of wine to wash down their dinner? I know there are plenty of folks like me (1% of the market) who really scrutinize their choices and would sooner feed the kitchen drain than drink plonk. Is it confusion over labels? Is it that they are friggin cheap? We only get one shot at this life people........this is not a dress rehearsal!

Rant over for now.

So I ask you all now. What the hell do you want from me? Do I continue to drink and write about wines I think are great value at all prices or do I adapt the TJ's model and post on stuff I can get past my teeth without registering a gag reflex? I need feedback. Show me a pulse. I'm actually thinking about doing something related the wine biz. I cannot and will not work with 1% of the population. I'm much more interested in finding out how to educate the public enough to have them want to take the next step. There are great wines available for $5-10 all over America. Anyone care?

Tasting notes for this week:

I've found a new source for proteins in San Francisco. Bryan Flannery runs a business that his father started and sells the highest quality meats, fish and poultry money can buy. I ordered NY strip steaks dry aged 30 days for Tuesday night's soirée. As a throw in I had him send me 1/2 LB of Yellowtail Hamachi Toro he picked out from the dock that morning. The Toro was the best I've ever had. The steaks looked awesome. Bryan personally walked me through the order over the phone and had everything sent second day air. The styrofoam container arrived with cool packs and everything was just as described. Bryan's mission is to offer the customer the best of everything only a little better. Phone 415 819 4366. I rate him 98+ points and maybe higher after I eat the steaks.

Wine tasting note:

Kiralyudvar Tokaji Furmint Sec 2005-Hungary

This was a new one for me. I've never had a dry Tokaji before.

Pale color. Lovely flowery aromatics. Lots of minerals with good weight. Medium long balanced finish.

The non wine geeks loved it. I thought it was an excellent buy at $27.

Simple dinner and a nice bottle.

Last night I didn't have the time or energy to cook so I high tailed it to our local Greek market. Begin with a loaf of bread and a medium sharp feta. Add a few olives, some stuffed grape leaves, and dinner is served. I think she should ask for a refund from the French Culinary Institute for the classes she bought me. I tried to cover the whole thing up by talking about the wine and how healthy the food was. I'm off to the supermarket for something for tonight.

TN: Cervera Lagar de Albarino Rias Baixas (Galicia Spain) - Pale gold. Highly perfumed nose. Granny smith apples and minerals with just the slightest touch of grassiness. A medium to full bodied wine that finishes nicely. A good deal at $15.

A new producer for me

Warmer weather is on it's way and for me that means a change in drinking habits. I tend to drink more whites and DRY roses. When I mention dry rose I don't mean the Bazooka Joe white zins that try to pass themselves off at the real McCoy. High quality dry rose is produced by limiting skin contact with the juice when red wine grapes are pressed. The amount of extraction (color) in reds comes from contact and churning of the skins with the juice. That's right folks, red (black) grapes produce white juice. Blanc de Noirs Champagne is an example. For a while white Merlot hit the market but I don't believe it ever caught on.

What I look for in summertime whites are things that are clean, crisp, refreshing and not containing a tremendous amount of oak. Italy is a great source for tank fermented whites. I'll pass on lots of names as I drink thm. What I'm really focused on are German whites. They tend to have much lower alcohol levels (typically 7-10%) and possess great acidity which makes them go well with food. Prices in general are on the low side but the labels can be daunting to read. German wines are ranked by quality levels. If you're looking to get started QbA, QmP, Kabinett, and Spatlese are good in relatively inexpensive quality levels to look for. Producers are many and if you have specific requests please send comments and I'll fill in the blanks for you.

TN: Heymann Loewenstein Auslese-Mosel Saar Ruwer-This was a great finish to dinner at Epernay, a fine bistro in Montclair NJ. Very traditional bistro fare with professional service and a comfortable atmosphere. We had the wine as dessert which I like to do. I find sweet wines clash more often than not. Very elegant and expressive nose. Clean with excellent acidity and just the right touch of sweetness. I'll be buying more, and at $32 for a half bottle this is a fine value.

I was turned on to this producer by Steve McGuire at Super Saver Liquors in Somerville NJ. This shop is a true gem. Steve is well versed, extremely enthusiastic, and friendly person with a magnificent palate. The store is like a throwback. They don't have an internet presence and there are great things on the shelves whenever I walk in. Prices are extremely fair. Make it a point to shop there but stay away from whatever I want!

Steve got me started with HL's trocken wines which are awesome. Trocken means dry in German and may be a good starting point.

Lots of new wines

I shouldn't do this but I've been storing up notes from the past week. Last night I met a few friends for a casual tasting. Six of us met at a local place for a simple meal and pot luck wines. The results were excellent as no one held back.

Here's some of the notes from last night and the past week:

2004 Mauritson Zinfandel-Dry Creek Valley (California)-My biggest complaint with Zinfandel is it's generally made in an over-the-top style that is great for a sip and then bores me. Not so in this case. Done in a very elegant style with great raspberry fruit, nice round mouthfeel, and a pleasing finish. My only complaint is the heat on the end as the alcohol content is 15.2% A good buy at $15 and a nice pairing with Burgers or ribs.

2003 Di Majo Norante Ramitello Rosso (Italy)-From Molise which is on the Adriatic coast. 80% Prugnolo 20% Aglianico. You have to love these wines grown from indigenous grapes. Dark in color with a nose of plums and anise. You can almost smell the heat (not alcohol) from the 2003 vintage which produced a full bodied wine that feels great in the mouth and goes well with food. At $11 this is a great buy.

1999 Icardi Suri di mu (Italy)-From Piedmont. If we could have squeezed the bottle for more we would have. Great fruit, balance, finish. Moderate alcohol. I could have drunk this all night. The 2004 vintage is on the market currently at $20. Buy and cellar for a couple of years. Works very well with Veal Milanese or a simple risotto.

Part 2 to come.

Back in the saddle..........

Hi all,

We were in the Grand Canyon area last week and didn't have much of a chance to taste. The scenery was spectacular but you don't go there for the food.

Some tasting notes:

We had dinner at the El Tovar lodge who's dining room is supposed to have the best food in the Canyon. I ordered fish. The next time I do that I'm going to find out how far I am from the ocean.
My wife ordered the duck so I matched it with a Fess Parker Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara county. A very nice wine and a great match for the duck. Unfortunately my fish was DOA and I left DNR instructions for the waitstaff. The price on the list was $35 for 1/2 bottle which I found fair for the quality. Fess Parker happened to play Daniel Boone on TV in the early 60's for all you trivia fans.

2005 D'Arenburg "The Hermit Crab" McLaren Vale Australia-70% Viogner, 30% Marsanne. Very floral with quite a bit of depth on the nose. This was a real surprise as I wouldn't expect a $12 wine to have the length this had. Full bodied with a slightly spicy finish. A great buy.