I have been hard on Washington wines; many can be oaky and expensive. But I drank a very tastyCab/Merlot: 2000 Claar Cellars Cabernet/Merlot White Bluffs It is drinking beautifully now, and it’s like 10 bucks on the shelf. Get outta town! YEAH! Maybe it has something to do with the French winemaker from Burgundy. It [More]
Go Staglin!
Got to taste a 2002 Staglin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. WOW! I was blown away by the power of this wine, and the bold, Bordeaux-style aromas and flavors. Like a first-growth on steroids. This is definitely a show-off wine, but it delivers the goods. Right after that we tasted a 2002 Insignia, which is a much [More]
Back to Burgundy
I haven’t really drank any great Red Burgundy in a while. I’ve only been exposed to a lot of boozy, fruit-bomb California and Oregon Pinot Noir. Tonight I opened up a 1997 Grivot Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Boudots. Wow. What a beautiful wine. So elegant and persistent. It had a great smoky nose and pure, lovely fruit. [More]
Sweetness is Not a Crime!
It’s been a while since I had a nice German riesling and I was rummaging through my wine storage and found this: (get ready…it’s a mouthful) 2001 Dr. Hermann Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese ** (yes, the *s are part of the name…I could also have put “Gold Cap” after the *s, but I wanted to [More]
Vines
Montsant in Spain. This area surrounds the Priorat and the wines are a bit more affordable and very, very tasty. I will report on a Priorat soon. 2003 Joan D’Anguera La Planella Click on the title of this link for more info.
Don’t Sleep on Bordeaux!
Once again, I am realizing how great these wines are. I drank a 1999 Calon-Segur and it was stunning. So elegant and silky; I think the 1999 vintage is drinking great right now and a bargain compared to the 2000s. (Though having drank some mind-blowing 2000s, I wouldn’t hesitate to pay extra). The Calon-Segur went [More]
Underappreciated Whites
I was picking out a white wine to drink and realized I had not an Austrian Riesling for a long time. WOW! I drank: 2001 Rudi Pichler Terrassen Riesling Smaragd It was still an infant, with great acidity and minerality, almost a salty/saline quality (in a good way). These are phenomenal whites. It wasn’t cheap, [More]
Very Fine Wines, Indeed
We had our company holiday party and there were some mind-blowing wines: 1997 Pahlmeyer1997 Allegrini La Poja1997 Produttori del Barbaresco Rabaja and Montestefano Magnums!1995 Lynch-Bages1982 Haut Brion The Pahlmeyer blew me away the most; still has a lot of life, great Bordeaux aromas and flavors but with that plush, opulent California fruit. This is a [More]
