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!

Why I try to avoid politics in a wine blog.

Aside from a silly post in which I attempted to be fairly even handed with the candidates running for office, I try to keep politics out of this blog. Why? See these unintentionally silly posts from Steve Heimoff in which he compares the election of Obama to the defeat of Nazism, or throws in a cheap claim conservatives would take away all freedoms but for the Democrats (support by the Democrats and Progressives to ban foie gras, ban cigars, or enact Prohibition notwithstanding).

A wine blog should be about wine, and not an addendum to the Daily Kos or Powerline.

Napa: elegance vs. fruit bombs.

For an excellent discussion on the ability to make a great Napa wine that is not a fruit bomb, check out this article by Eric Asimov appearing in the August 20 New York Times.

For my own experience with a wine that was amazingly elegant, but also panned by a critic, check out my review of the 2004 Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon.

Yes, Napa can do elegance, and I think Mr. Asimov is right that the market is due for a correction on this point -- after all, too many of the once heralded fruit bombs of the 1997 vintage are proving to be... well, flat.

The Lovely Young Lady.

The other day, the Lovely Young Lady and I took a detour over to Bin 38 in the Marina. After trying a few wines, I was pleasantly surprised to learn two things about her. First, she is very sensitive to brett and does not enjoy it in a wine. Second, she likes the big, fruit-forward style of wine making. I, on the other hand, will find the occasional brett in my wine enjoyable and like my wines with less fruit-dominance and more secondary characteristics that come from aging.

In the end, I had a big smile on my face. On the one hand, I love our differences on these two points as I hope they can make for interesting discussions down the road. On the other hand, I hope I have helped her a little bit in learning what she likes in wine. I find both of those propositions exciting!

Priorities.

Within the past week, the lovely young lady and I became engaged. The past few days have been hectic as we have been telling all of our friends the news, and looking for venues to hold the ceremony and reception. Then, tonight, I realized -- how the heck are we going to pay for all of it?

A minor panic attack later, and I realized -- duh, we can afford it. It just requires priorities. So, sadly, that means I have to watch what I buy over the next year. Sniff. No 2005 Latour. My biggest priority is spending the rest of my life with the lovely young lady. Everything else comes second to that. So, while that does not mean I am going on a blogging hiatus, it does mean I am going on a wine buying hiatus... er, downturn.

This also makes for a good lesson. There is a little obsessiveness when it comes to wine collecting. Oenophiles tend to have the desire to collect them all. Collect. Them. All. But such consumption should not be one's goal in life. Any hobby -- whether wine, art, model building, or dog walking -- should contribute to one's life, not distract from it.

I am very glad I have this lady in my life, and I cannot wait to see what the rest of life brings.

Question?

Is it appropriate to include a wine store on a wedding registry? The lovely young lady and I will need to know.

Rachel Ray.

Ok, she's not really wine related, but the good professor took an amusing swipe at Rachel Ray (and the Food Network). Among the many reasons to find her annoying, he added:

The incessant, almost frenetic, inane chatter drives me nuts. Why inane? Consider her catchphrase: “EVOO, Extra Virgin Olive Oil.” Why does she abbreviate it? And, having abbreviated it, why does she then repeat it in full? Every single damn time?

Heh.

Fair warning.

A fair warning and reminder from Vinography:

See what happens when you drink wine? Let this be a lesson to you. A few good nights with a few good bottles, and nine months later? Pop. Just like a cork.

Obviously, major congratulations are due!

Knowing is half the battle.

Apparently, May is "Allocation Month," during which all the wineries want their prospective customers to place their orders on each customer's wine allotment.

Ouch.

The lovely young lady will not be happy.

SF Wine Auction

Tonight, the lovely young lady and I went to a wine auction sponsored by the Guardsmen of San Francisco. The night was a ton of fun (though I am suffering through it right now), and I wanted to point out three fantastic wineries. First, for some truly wonderful Pinot noir, check out Freeman Vinyard & Winery. Second, the Detert Carbnet Franc was the wine of the night. Truly exceptional. Finally, Cheval des Andes was a joint venture between Cheval Blanc and an Argentina producer -- making for a truly gifted and exquisite wine blended from Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon,. In short, this was a great night (which, coincidently, celebrated a big day between the lovely young lady and I), and introduced me to some fantastic wines.

And no, I did not come home with any wine (though I did try to buy some wine from years during which the Germans were defeated in their 20th century attempts at Imperial conquest).

Looking forward to May.

Ok, May is going to be a really busy month -- but also very fun. On the wine note, if all goes well, I will have another tasting note up for a 92 Insignia (in addition to a restaurant review), a 95 Cheval Blanc, a 77 BV Reserve, and a 94 Vintage Port (a little young, but not from a great producer). May could not come sooner!

Work harder!

I opened a bottle of wine this past Saturday that I had before and enjoyed. I was hoping to compare my observations from this past Saturday with the earlier tasting -- and could not find any notes from then on this blog. I really need to post more methodically.

Wine bars aren't fun?

James Suckling asks (in relation to "beer bars"):

Why can’t wine bars be so buzzy, fun and full of comradery?

Answer: (American?) wine culture is too pretentious to enjoy wine in a pub-type setting. Just check out the advertisements in either Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast to see what I mean....

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:

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.

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!

New visitors.

For the (many) new visitors to this blog, please, feel free to send me an email or post in the comments if you have any questions or thoughts. I would appreciate any comments (or even, criticisms). The email address is: 77vintage.rick -at- gmail.com