Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Port 2003
Delicious, and I hope this is an excellent harbinger of Taylor's 2003 Vintage Ports. Dark fruit with wonderful flavors of chocolate on the nose, and smooth, luscious feel on the mouth. Great wine, and an amazing value at $20 a bottle. Four out of five stars.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Exhausting Month
The lovely, future Mrs. H and I are in the midst of wedding planning -- which it is eating up lots of free time. Combined with how suprisingly busy work is for me, I have not been able to focus on the wine blog as much as I would like lately. I must remember to set more time aside for the ole hobby....
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Top ten wines from 2008.
1) Joseph Phelps Insignia 1992. Wow. Wow. Wow. I wish I had more bottles of this wine. Amazing.
2) Dominus Estate Napa Valley Napanook Vineyard 1995. Exquisite art in a bottle (okay, enough of the cheese. -- Ed.). I still have one bottle of this wine left. I just need to drink it before it's too late. Maybe I will have to take this on the honeymoon?
3) Alpha Omega "Era" 2006. I have only tried this one in the barrel, but of all the wines on this list, I am most excited about opening up one of the bottles of this wine I have left.
4) Detert Family Vineyards Cabernet France 2005. One of my favorite discoveries of the year. Different enough from Cabernet Sauvignon, but style a wonderful, amazingly solid wine. Like #1, above, I only have one more bottle left. Wish I had more.
5) Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1977. Drinking amazing right now, and a style of wine that just doesn't seem to be made in California anymore.
6) Continuum 2005. It will be very interesting to see how this wine develops over time. Tight-bound, dark fruits on the nose now. Will be nice to see how it develops over the next few years. Can hardly wait for the 2006 release!
7) Pax Richards Family Vineyards Syrah 2004. A great, true Rhone-style wine made here in California. Nothing quite like having a wine that tastes like bacon!
8) Whitehaven Pinot noir 2006. One of my favorite "cheap," under $25 wines for the year. Great, fruity Pinot with zingy acidity making it great for pairing with food.
9) Joseph Phelps Insignia 2002. A wine of the year a few years ago. Great now!
10) Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon 2004. Made this list simply because it was the definitive start of me deciding not to spend my money on a magazine that does not match my tastes.
2) Dominus Estate Napa Valley Napanook Vineyard 1995. Exquisite art in a bottle (okay, enough of the cheese. -- Ed.). I still have one bottle of this wine left. I just need to drink it before it's too late. Maybe I will have to take this on the honeymoon?
3) Alpha Omega "Era" 2006. I have only tried this one in the barrel, but of all the wines on this list, I am most excited about opening up one of the bottles of this wine I have left.
4) Detert Family Vineyards Cabernet France 2005. One of my favorite discoveries of the year. Different enough from Cabernet Sauvignon, but style a wonderful, amazingly solid wine. Like #1, above, I only have one more bottle left. Wish I had more.
5) Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1977. Drinking amazing right now, and a style of wine that just doesn't seem to be made in California anymore.
6) Continuum 2005. It will be very interesting to see how this wine develops over time. Tight-bound, dark fruits on the nose now. Will be nice to see how it develops over the next few years. Can hardly wait for the 2006 release!
7) Pax Richards Family Vineyards Syrah 2004. A great, true Rhone-style wine made here in California. Nothing quite like having a wine that tastes like bacon!
8) Whitehaven Pinot noir 2006. One of my favorite "cheap," under $25 wines for the year. Great, fruity Pinot with zingy acidity making it great for pairing with food.
9) Joseph Phelps Insignia 2002. A wine of the year a few years ago. Great now!
10) Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon 2004. Made this list simply because it was the definitive start of me deciding not to spend my money on a magazine that does not match my tastes.
Wine drinking in 2009.
Braiden Rex-Johnson came up with a way to change how one drinks wine in 2009. I particularly liked number 1 in his list (closely related to number 2):
Try a new varietal once a week. We all know and love Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. But what about some of those unsung heroes such as Grüner Veltliner, Austria’s best-selling white wine? Or Rhône varietals such as Roussanne, Marsanne, or Mourvedre? Or interesting reds such as Tempranillo, Lemberger, or Dolcetto? Consider adding these to your repertoire.What a great way to learn more about wine!
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