2000 Noval "Silval" Vintage Porto

Since we didn't have any cheap Ruby Port available for fresh cranberry sauce, I opened this inexpensive little gem. I've had a few of these over the past few years and I've always been impressed. Delivers all the punch of a nice Vintage Port for the price of an LBV. It's no surprise, even at 10 years old, that the 2000 Quinta do Noval Silval Vintage Porto retains its saturated purple color. Slightly murky, it doesn't appear to have aged one bit. Beautiful aromas of graham cracker, black licorice, freshly-crushed berries and just enough alcohol to remind you that you're drinking Vintage Port. Quite sweet on the palate with waves of the aforementioned berry fruit and licorice. The nicely-balanced fruit, tannins and acidity suggest the wine is just now starting to hit its stride and will develop in the cellar for at least another decade; perhaps longer. Not bad for a $30 bottle of Port. Delicious with a handful of bittersweet chocolate chips.

2006 Tor Grenache, 2007 Rosenblum Monte Rosse Zinfandel

Well, you only turn 41 once, so I decided to celebrate with one of my favorite meals - braised lamb shanks over soft, cheesy polenta. This time I decided to up the ante by smoking the shanks over hickory wood for about 30 minutes before nestling them into a warm bath of Chicken stock, wine and aromatics for a few hours. The shanks were, of course, delicious. Fall-off-the-bone tender with just a subtle hint of smoke.


The owners of the wine store where I work were kind enough to let me pick out a bottle to take home for my birthday so I splurged on something I've had my eye on for quite a while now. The 2006 Tor Kenward ROCK Cuvee Cooper Judge Family Vineyards Grenache, Bennett Valley has a fantastic color, slightly cloudy, and obviously unfiltered. It starts off with a lot of Bourbon/American oak on the nose that gradually surrenders to copious amounts of sweet raspberry and herb. There are also lingering notes of freshly cut fennel bulb and a meaty/salami quality. Roasted meat, earthy raspberry and Provencal herbs on the palate. Moderate tannins, acidity. Ready to drink now. This is a delicious wine, but I can't help but think it's a bit overpriced at $60.



The other wine we enjoyed over dinner that night was the 2007 Rosenblum Reserve Zinfandel, Monte Rosso Vineyard, Sonoma Valley. I know I drank through quite a few Ravenswood Monte Rosse Vineyard Zinfandels in the mid-late 90s, but I think this was my first experience with Rosenblum's Zinfandel from this vineyard. Crazy blackberry (bordering on over-ripe), cake spice, vanilla and latex dominate the nose. Wonderfully rustic blackberry, spice and brier on the palate. Obvious aging in American oak. Low acid, tannins. A definite early drinker. Hold on - it's a wild ride!

Pheasant Hunting and 2007 Conn Creek Herrick Red

I spent last weekend on my first ever hunting trip. I joined my father-in-law and my wife's boss at Highland Hideaway Hunting in Riverside, Iowa. What a great time. We went out three times and came back in with 10-13 birds each time; a good mix of pheasant roosters, pheasant hens and chukars. Despite just limited shotgun experience shooting at clay pigeons in my back yard, I turned out to be a pretty decent shot in the field. I made some pretty impressive shots. And I missed a couple of easy ones that I should've hit. Natural skill? Beginner's luck? Who knows? Regardless, it was a hell of a good time. I look forward to more upland hunting; hopefully making this an annual event.

Yesterday, my father-in-law and I brought home the breasts of 21 birds pheasants. Tonight's dinner was pheasant breast wrapped in applewood smoked bacon and slowly smoked over a combination of apple and hickory wood. While the birds were smoking, I made a fairly straightforward red wine risotto to which a handful of shredded radicchio was wilted for a few minutes. The breasts were sliced for presentation and fanned over the risotto. Simply delicious. And you'd be hard-pressed to find fresher pheasant breast!

The accompanying wine was the 2007 Conn Creek Herrick Red, Napa Valley - a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with small percentages of Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Beautiful color with aromas of roasted coffee bean and mocha with warm, dark fruits, coffee and carob on the palate. Nice structure and tannins with an interesting note of orange peel on the finish. You could lay this new blend down for a couple of years or enjoy it now, as I did, with hearty fare.

2009 Willow Crest Pinot Gris

Last night, a corked bottle of wine laid waste to my plans for a sublime food and wine pairing. But tonight I have to take the blame for blowing it as the home made cabbage rolls didn't get cooked in time for dinner. So I grazed on nuts and cheese as I made a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids. C'est la vie!

But that didn't stop me from opening the wine I was planning on having with the cabbage rolls. And I'm mighty glad I opened it! The 2009 Willow Crest Estate Grown Pinot Gris, Yakima Valley is a beautiful rendition of this grape at a ridiculously low price. It has a hint of that brassy color that I really dig in Pinot Gris. The nose is alive with notes of orange peel, cardamom, sweet thyme and ripe apricot. The flavors on the palate mimic the nose with the ripe apricot leading the way. Fantastic viscosity and juicy acidity that makes your mouth scream for another sip. A great value in the $12 range.

2008 Patianna Sauvignon Blanc

Patianna Estate Vineyards is a fairly new project in the Fetzer family of wines. It's all organic and biodynamic; something I respect and appreciate even if I don't exactly go out of my way to support such ventures. I'm really more interested in just drinking good wine. If it's organic or biodynamic, then that's great. If not, that's fine, too.

While I really wanted to enjoy the 2008 Patianna Estate Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino, in the end I just couldn't. I drank this over three days hoping that some time on air would help tame the ferocious acidity and sulfur, but it never did come around to my liking. The color is a typically pale golden as you'd expect a 100% stainless steel Sauvignon Blanc to be. The nose offers some faint, New Zealand-like notes of gooseberry and herb, but there just isn't enough of it to hold my interest. The palate is a train wreck of dry, herbaceous flavors, shrill acidity and sulfuric component that is just off the charts. I know wines certified biodynamic can't have any added sulfites. I really wonder just how much naturally occurring sulfites the grapes pick up in the vineyard. Notes were consistent over three days of drinking the wine at temperatures ranging from right out of the refrigerator to room temp. I never could find a "sweet spot."

I'm really scratching my head wondering how this wine garnered such a fat rating from Wine Enthusiast. We were clearly drinking two different wines.....

2008 La Flor Pulenta Cabernet

I hate the idea of a cork in a bottle of wine. I really hate it. The wine I had planned on enjoying with tonight's dinner (spicy homemade meatballs in tomato sauce tossed with pasta) was one of the long, long list of wines I've had that was tainted with TCA. So back to the store it will go for a replacement bottle. Not a huge deal to replace, but it screwed up my food/wine experience and it could have been even worse had I had a fancy dinner planned with expensive food, guests and all. So I went back into the cellar and just grabbed something red that I've been wanting to try.

I came back upstairs with the 2008 La Flor Pulenta Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza. I've had and enjoyed a number of wines from the Pulenta line-up, and their younger, less expensive La Flor line, over the past year or so and this was no exception. The 2008 Cabernet has a pretty ruby color and an inviting nose of green tobacco, wintergreen, earth and worn saddle leather. No California fruit bomb here, the aromas follow through to the palate where they are joined by sweet/tart raspberry fruit, bay leaf, green olive and moderate, dusty tannins. Quite simply, this is the "green" side of Cabernet (tobacco, olive, etc.) done right. There's no underripe fruit or nasty green bell pepper flavors here. It's just a pretty, restrained interpretation of the grape that I suspect speaks to the terroir.

It didn't go with the spicy meatballs at all. But I can't hold that against it as this kind of wine was never intended to accompany such food. So that was a wash.

And I know I bring this up every damn time I review something from Argentina, but why can't they consistently turn out wines of this quality for this price in California these days? Is real estate on the left coast just too expensive? I haven't had a $15 Napa Cabernet this deep and complex in nearly 20 years.

2007 Hudson Shah Cabernet

Opened this one tonight just for the hell of it. It's one of the Wine of the Month wines at work and I'm duty-bound to try them so I can talk about them with out wine club members. Yep, it's a tough job...but someone's gotta do it!

The 2007 Hudson Shah Cabernet Sauvignon, Rattlesnake Hills has quite a decent color for a wine in this price range. Pleasant nose of light red fruits and mocha with an unexpected note of new leather. On the palate, it is medium-bodied with sweet/tart red fruits like cranberry, strawberry and cherry. Although aged in both American and French oak, it's the slightly dilly American oak that becomes more prominent the longer it gets air.

Medium-bodied with moderate tannins and acidity, I don't think this one will get any better with time in the cellar. Enjoy now for under $15.