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.

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....

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.

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!

Alpha Omega (yet again).

I made a trip over the weekend to Alpha Omega winery pick up my allocation their 2006 Era (which, btw, comes in a very sleek packaging and is labeled at a surprising 15% alcohol considering how harmonious it was when I tried it in the barrel a few months ago). While there, I stopped and sampled a few of their current releases, a pre-release, and some of their library wines.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Delightful red cherries and matured tannins. Drinking very well right now but could still benefit from a few years of aging. This would make an excellent dinner wine with a wide array of dishes. Three and a half stars out of five.

Merlot 2006
This wine was just off. Enough spice on the nose to make me think it was a Syrah. Earthy on the palate, its fruit flavors were muted. Could have benefited from more pronounced fruit characterists. Two stars out of five.

Chardonnay 2005
One of the wines that got me to fall in love with this winery. Banana and creamy nose with medium weight on the palate. I grabbed two bottles of this for a dinner the future Mrs. H. and I are throwing this coming Saturday. Four stars out of five.

Chardonnay 2006 (pre-release)
Similar to the 2005, though fuller body. The nose had a distinct element -- not unpleasant, just hard to place. Perhaps butterscotch? Maybe nutmeg? Either way, a fun wine that could prove very food friendly. Does it have serious aging potential? Maybe.... Three and a half stars out of five.

Unaoked Chardonnay "Beth" 2007
I'm just not a fan of this bottling. Too much pear for my taste (though if you're a fan of pear, you'll love this wine). Three stars out of five, but YMMV.

Syrah 2007
Surprising raspberry notes with muted spice. The wine was red in color and not inky at all on the palate. Completely unexpected and delicious. Drink now, or age for a few years to see how it grows. Three and a half stars out of five.

D'Arenberg Laughing Magpie 2001

Rich, inky dark wine. Intense blueberry and spicy pepper notes on the nose. Tarry and tannic on the palate, with a little heat marring the finish. Typical sipping wine -- not really built for dining. YMMV. Two and a half stars out of five.

Kim Crawford Pinot noir 2007

Cherry and Asian spices on the nose, with balanced acidity on the palate. An inoffensive wine would make a nice accompaniment with any meal. Two and a half out of five stars.