Apologies for the shortened post this week. My kid graduated from preschool and I had to taste fast and hard before flying back to Smalltown USA. We even had a new Dispenser of Liquidity this week: T-Pal. Maybe the crew of misfits will gain a new member...
Beware the initiation process, though. Once you're in, the only way out is Death!! Or a coupla bottles of wines as a kind of "Thanks dudes" parting gift...


Perry Creek 2002 El Dorado Chardonnay

What did he call this? Crossover Chardonnay? For some reason I thought he had said 'Virgin Chardonnay'. Pretty interesting stuff. I think it's blended with some Viognier and Muscat Cannelli, which gives the wine a nice soft sweetness. Super-gulp-able and not expensive. Total Virgin Bait...

Perry Creek 2001 El Dorado Merlot

Started with some fruit but the addition of Cab really makes this a crunchy dry amalgam.

Big, Clunky, Dry, Weird.
This description could also apply to at least nine people you know.

Perry Creek 2003 El Dorado Muscat Cannelli

I thought this was probably the most straight-ahead and 'normal' of the Perry Creek wines. Very enjoyable with gently sweet orange-blossom scented fruit. As a practitioner of beverage snobbery, I thought this presented the best value and best winemaking effort from this winery.

Baywood 2003 Grand Reserve Pinot Noir

Corky pounced on us with this weird Pinot open for 24+ hours and still showing lots of acid and candy cherry fruit. Solme kind of stemmy kick on the finish may leave slight astringent tongue coating.

Les Hussonieres 2000 Gigondas

No review available. Palate shot from eating goat milk fudge.

Tres Ojos 2004 Calatayud Rose

Still kicking after 24+ hours and fairly weighty. Raspberry, white pepper, and some meaty flavors. Cheap. Good.

Castelmaure Grand Cuvee 2001

Again with the fudge. Somebody post a review.

Monte Schiavo Lacrima di Morro D'Alba

My first ever wine from this particular varietal. Super-way-out intense blue/blackberry nose. Flavors are firm and dry with a fresh and simple tank-fermented feel. Smelled way more intense than it actually was, but tasty anyways.

Terra D'aligi 2001 Montepulciano D'Abruzzo 'Tatone' (pronounced Tat-one)

So I'm somewhat biased here because I just love all these new big fruit, clean, intense, weighty central Italian wines. When I saw the bottle I thought to myself 'Yum, this should be good. A higher-end Montepulciano..' Wines like these tend to transcend the expectations normally associated with a classic region like this. Fifteen years ago, American drinkers (even wine geek-types) would probably have said 'Higher-end Montepulciano....Right'.
New-world, investor-driven, technologically equipped wineries in very traditional regions is usually a great combination for ass-kicking good wine finds.



As I was walking for the door, he came up to me and said most enigmatically "This tastes like Zin..."

I never did taste the wine, but I can be sure it did indeed taste like Zin...

And thanks to Chefguy RJ for the vacuum-sealed bag of Chocolate.
Next week it's Callebaut fudge with Plugar Butter!!
Now where can I get organic corn syrup?

We Had Sax All Night...

Since I'm frequently accused by some of my friendly competitors of thinking that only the products in my portfolio are any good, I wanted to belatedly give props to The Canadian for a really good wine pick.

We recently tasted the 2003 'Saxy Syrah' from R&B Cellars. This stuff was pretty good the first time around. Lots of back-end mouthfeel and fat texture with a real low-toned attack. Not your standard blast of fruit and alcohol followed by vast emptiness.

Earlier this week I had the chance to re-taste this wine with 'Carolina Harry', one of The Canadian's vaunted Sales Associates. Once again I was impressed by the skillful winemaking and the value price. So here's props to you JK for a good pick.

But yeah, it would be better if it was in my book...