The Wily Fox Returns
Much like the Death Star in the Star Wars movies, we are slowly turning Molinari's Restaurant into the crux of all dark forces of wine influence in northern Ohio. Within one year, not only will we control the minds of hapless consumers with our unflinchingly honest wine reviews, but retailers and restauranteurs alike will clamor for the privelege of being blogged here in hopes that they too may unleash the full FORCE within themselves.
And someday soon we'll begin to employ the assistance of two amiable wine loving droids to review the wines so we humans may spend our precious time waxing poetic about the many benefits of Ciroc and Smirnoff based cordials...
Naveran Cava Blanc de Blancs
I walked in and was hastily poured a glass of this stuff accompanied with the rhetorical question, "Do ya want some Champagne?". And making the assumption that I had just been poured a glass of Champagne, I tasted this stuff and thought, "Uh, kind of lacking vibrancy and the lengthy, sunshine-laden fruit aspect inherent in quality Champagne."
But then I learned it was budget Cava and it all made sense.
Good Cava. Not good Champagne.
Bad wine joke: "I Naveran so fast as when they opened another bottle of Cava..."
Baron Le Roy De Boiseaumare 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape
'Cuvee du Baron'
Loved the soft, gentle, yet deep Rhone character in the wine. I've had bigger Chateauneufs from the wonderful 2001 vintage, but this one was no slouch simply because it is done in a lighter style. Still lengthy and delicious with lots of bass notes and plummy character.
Marimont Estate Vineyards
2001 'Celestial' Cabernet Sauvignon
Very solid Lodi Cabernet with good fruit, plenty of alcohol, and some finesse. While not a blockbuster, this is good stuff from Lodi (a small farming community outside Toledo, Ohio).
Eberle 2003 Paso Robles Zinfandel
Hey, that's a neat concept. Let's make a wine that is balanced, with rich fruit, nice structure, and not overwhelmingly alcoholic. This stuff actually tasted like real wine. Certainly not a monolithic monstrosity full of Parker-isms and sledgehammer fruit, but a balanced wine that finishes firm and dry. A rarity in the California Zinfandel arms race.
Renwood 2002 Zinfandel
Sierra Series
Oh, joy!! A high-octane, abundantly alcoholic, balls-to-the-wall blaster with isopropyl qualities and a nice short, fruit and vapor finish. Real impressive to the Zinsaniacs out there while rather prematurely ejaculatory to a wine prick like me.
A warm welcome back to former and now re-initiated member of the group of misfits: The Silver Fox. This guy knows everyone there is to know in the Cleveland wine scene, and never fails to have an angle to play when you're all out of great ideas. If you should ever need a guitarist, a wedding band, a classy male escort, a restaurant guide, or an expensive bottle of wine at 2 o'clock on a Sunday morning, The Silver Fox is your man.
Next week, we will be graced by a rare visit from Janet Podolak, the Travel and Food Editor for the News-Herald. I will attempt to use mind control to compel her to rave uncontrollably about the exploits of our group of Beverage Snobbists. As stated above, we are judiciously using the Force to manipulate the entire wine trade in Northern Ohio.
What crazy idea is next? Open up this critics' circle to the unsuspecting public...?
...And make them PAY...?
And someday soon we'll begin to employ the assistance of two amiable wine loving droids to review the wines so we humans may spend our precious time waxing poetic about the many benefits of Ciroc and Smirnoff based cordials...
Naveran Cava Blanc de Blancs
I walked in and was hastily poured a glass of this stuff accompanied with the rhetorical question, "Do ya want some Champagne?". And making the assumption that I had just been poured a glass of Champagne, I tasted this stuff and thought, "Uh, kind of lacking vibrancy and the lengthy, sunshine-laden fruit aspect inherent in quality Champagne."
But then I learned it was budget Cava and it all made sense.
Good Cava. Not good Champagne.
Bad wine joke: "I Naveran so fast as when they opened another bottle of Cava..."
Baron Le Roy De Boiseaumare 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape
'Cuvee du Baron'
Loved the soft, gentle, yet deep Rhone character in the wine. I've had bigger Chateauneufs from the wonderful 2001 vintage, but this one was no slouch simply because it is done in a lighter style. Still lengthy and delicious with lots of bass notes and plummy character.
Marimont Estate Vineyards
2001 'Celestial' Cabernet Sauvignon
Very solid Lodi Cabernet with good fruit, plenty of alcohol, and some finesse. While not a blockbuster, this is good stuff from Lodi (a small farming community outside Toledo, Ohio).
Eberle 2003 Paso Robles Zinfandel
Hey, that's a neat concept. Let's make a wine that is balanced, with rich fruit, nice structure, and not overwhelmingly alcoholic. This stuff actually tasted like real wine. Certainly not a monolithic monstrosity full of Parker-isms and sledgehammer fruit, but a balanced wine that finishes firm and dry. A rarity in the California Zinfandel arms race.
Renwood 2002 Zinfandel
Sierra Series
Oh, joy!! A high-octane, abundantly alcoholic, balls-to-the-wall blaster with isopropyl qualities and a nice short, fruit and vapor finish. Real impressive to the Zinsaniacs out there while rather prematurely ejaculatory to a wine prick like me.
A warm welcome back to former and now re-initiated member of the group of misfits: The Silver Fox. This guy knows everyone there is to know in the Cleveland wine scene, and never fails to have an angle to play when you're all out of great ideas. If you should ever need a guitarist, a wedding band, a classy male escort, a restaurant guide, or an expensive bottle of wine at 2 o'clock on a Sunday morning, The Silver Fox is your man.
Next week, we will be graced by a rare visit from Janet Podolak, the Travel and Food Editor for the News-Herald. I will attempt to use mind control to compel her to rave uncontrollably about the exploits of our group of Beverage Snobbists. As stated above, we are judiciously using the Force to manipulate the entire wine trade in Northern Ohio.
What crazy idea is next? Open up this critics' circle to the unsuspecting public...?
...And make them PAY...?
posted by BWIII @ 11:35 AM
0 comments
