Recently drank two excellent red wines…and neither are from France?!?! Yes. 2000 Stag’s Leap Petite Syrah I believe 2000 was a shitty year in Cali, unlike 97 or 01. There is nothing petite about this baby (ha ha ha): it is black as pitch mouthfilling and rich 2000 Best’s Great Western Bin 0 Shiraz Tha [More]

I am firmly back to the Loire and rather than having Chenin Blanc, I have been on a big Sancerre kick. This is Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire. Right now I am drinking a Sancerre by Henri Bourgeois and it is classic. A little bit of a musty odor and some richness. It wasn’t cheap, [More]

Although the namesake of my blog, I actually have not had a Vouvray for a while. Well, I just tried one that was enchanting: 2002 Abbeye de Marmoutier Vouvray Close de Rougemont It has everything I love about a dry Chenin Blanc…so elegant, dry, crisp, and with wonderful mineral flavor. The soil of the Loire [More]

Normally I am dead-set against putting other liquors, flavors, or liquids of any kind in Champagne. Why would you want to do that to your fine Champers?!?! Use Prosecco or any non-Champers French sparkler, or Cava. Having said that, however, I was at the Ritz-Carlton and they had a Champagne cocktail (using Louis Roederer champers) [More]

Well, the Colombelle is not half Ugni Blanc and half Chardonnay. Did I say that earlier? I was overcome by my enthusiasm. It’s half Ugni and half Colombard. Do’h! I was prompted to make this post by trying a Colombelle twin. 2003 Domaine du Tariquet It’s also from Gascogny, like the Colombelle. It is a [More]

I love the Loire, home of my beloved Vouvray, my Chenin Blanc. But heading east, you have killer Sauvignon Blanc. The most famous: Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume. (They also sound so sexy I could repeat them out loud to no one in particular: “Sancerre….Pouilly-Fume.”) I recently had a Sauv Blanc from the Loire from a lesser-known [More]

1999 Verget du Sud. It’s from the Cotes de Ventoux, which meant nothing to me, but I looked it up and it’s in the southern Rhone. So I imagine a lot of Grenache. It is a very light, easy drinking red that was wonderful chilled. Chilled, not ice cold! It would be great to drink [More]

Just for my faithful readers, I tasted three oaky California chardonnay: Ramey: This is a very expensive bottle. I tasted two different bottles; one that had been opened for two days, the other freshly opened. My impressions on the first one: Rich, buttery, creamy…great butterscotch and dried pineapple. The just-opened bottle was a little more [More]