Chateau Fortia "Tradition" 2005

A surprisingly light red color for the wine's age. On the nose, dark red fruits combined with spice and tar. The tannins on the palate were nice and chewy. Enjoyable now, but it could benefit from a little bottle aging. Three and a half out of five stars.

Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Robusco

A fun, cheap sparkling red wine. Dark red and black fruits on the nose. Bubbly. That's about it. Two and a half stars out of five.

Dominus Estate Napa Valley Napanook Vineyard 1995

An amazing wine. The purple has faded from the color of the wine, leaving a rich, perfect red behind. The nose had strong elements of tobacco and cedar, in addition to touches of blackberry, black currants and leather. On the palate, the tannins were silky smooth and the aftertaste coated the mouth for minutes. Drink now, or hold for a few more years. Four and a half out of five stars.

What's missing from this story?

Take a look.

HINT: the 2005s will be released in 2008....

Alpha Omega Winery and a weekend in Napa.

This weekend included a nice, relaxed (though busy) trip to Napa. I will write more later, but I wanted to focus right now on Alpha Omega Winery. One word: wow.

Alpha Omega is a relatively new winery (their first release was last year), and their prices are relatively low for Napa standards. If you want an idea of what their wines are like, check out the tasting notes for their various wines. In particular, their proprietary red is struck me as being Bordeaux-like -- it will be interesting to see how it ages.

I would describe their late harvest wine as lying somewhere between a Suduiraut and a d'Yquem. Yes, very tasty.

Finally -- the Chardonnay. Definite banana on the nose, along with a host of other flavors. Little to no oak, and no strong signs of malolactic fermentation. And at $38 a bottle, darn cheap (relatively speaking). Exquisite. I liked this wine so much, I am giving it five out of five stars.

Pennsylvania state stores (pt. 2)

Actual exchange after spotting three bottles of Jean Luc Colombo La Divine 2003 (a really great wine I had months ago at Bushi Tei).

Me: "I have an odd question: do you have carriers for transporting wine on an airplane?"

State Store Employee: "No, we don't. You're not allowed to buy wine in this state and take it out of state."

Me:

Red Knot 2004

A Cabernet Sauvignon from McLaren Vale, Australia. Purple color and basic dark fruits on the nose. Moderate tannins on the palate. Aftertaste is a bit tart. Nothing special, but nothing terrible. Two and a half stars out of five.

Pennsylvania state stores (pt.1).

On a completely random note, I picked up a bottle of scotch for a friend whom I have been staying with this week as a token of appreciation for putting up with me. Which, basically required a trip to a nearby Pennsylvania State Liquor store. In case you do not know anything about how Pennsylvania sells alcohol, let me explain. Beer: buy at pizza joints, distributors or other locations. All other alcohol: at state run liquor stores. If you are planning on throwing a party, this requires multiple trips (plus a trip to the grocery store).

Now, there are two types of state liquor stores. The first type serves wine from jugs and very cheap (and very nasty) hard liquor -- thus, this store caters to alcoholics. The other type tries to be a "premium" store. The store I went to earlier this week was a "premium" store, and thus had a number of bottles on the expensive side. However, after walking in from about 50 degree weather, I noticed I was getting warm. Really warm. And the first thought I had upon that realization? "Damn, that's a lot of expensive wine that's been cooked."

Gods, I'm glad I live in California.

I have the wrong computer with me....

My wine list is on another computer... and so I cannot use my downtime to take advantage of this nifty, new Wine Spectator program.

Sigh.

California vs. Bordeaux.

California vs. Bordeaux. Which one appears to give the better value (at least, at the "cheap" end of the scale).

Joseph Phelps Insignia 1992

At fifteen years, this wine is amazing. The nose had mocha, cherry, currant and some light herb touches. On the palate, the tannins were refined and graceful -- like a silken glove. The aftertaste coated the mouth and lingered for what seemed like minutes. A fantastic, fantastic wine that easily has years of life left in it. Recent California vintages cannot match this wine. Four and a half out of five stars -- and I am sooo glad I have another bottle.

Domaine de Boisrenard Chateauneuf-du-Pape Boisrenard 2003

A few weeks ago, the lovely young lady and I went to Michael Mina. The dinner itself was amazing, and the wine was great.

The Boisrenard had clear red and blue fruits on the nose, with additional hints of cocoa and spice. Smooth on the palate, though there were enough tannins to let this wine improve with a few more years of bottle aging. Definitely a great wine, and worth picking up. Four out of five stars.

I'm Back

The hiatus did not last as long as I thought it would. Expect a post this weekend with tasting notes for either a Boisrenard or a Pegau (and maybe a restaurant review), and maybe a few other things that I have spotted over the past week. Then, next week, I'll be traveling -- and hopefully blogging along the way, too!

Dominus Estate Napa Valley Napanook Vineyard 1998

I had high hopes for this wine, especially since I enjoyed the 1996. Unfortunately, the difficulties of the 1998 vintage appear to have hit this wine. The only positive note was some leather on the nose. Unfortunately, volatile acidity made this wine virtually undrinkable (for me). One star out of five (with a strong hit for the low quality/price ratio).