seasmoke is here

My tiny allocation of seasmoke came in today.. i got 4 bottles of southing and 3 bottles of ten...and no one in missouri got any bottella...please let me know if you see some in the region but my salesman who is honest as the day is long...says none came to Missouri..

Spann wines with Sean Bell of Bodi

In town for a wine dinner Peter Spann was out introducing his wines to the Kansas City market. Spann is a small winery that uses Kunde for crushing and storage...located in one of the most beautiful areas of Sonoma between Santa Rosa and Kenwood.


Betsy's Backacker 2006 Bottle Blond... an interesting blend of Chardonnay and Semillon and Viognier...only 445 cases produced...lots of acidity and surprising amount of heat on the tongue...probably a nice patio pounder for refreshing quality.

Spann Chardonnay /Viognier blend Sonoma County 2006 mostly all of their wines are blends. I was expecting more of a Viognier nose and was surprised at how dull this wine was....not a lot of depth...

Syrah Russian River 2003 with a little bit of grenache thrown in for softness...this was a very rustic or heavy wine to me.. but heavy in a good way...would stand up to pizza and burgers well.

Mo'Zin 2005 Mo for Mourvedre not Missouri but it works...interesting caramel apple nose cinnamon, juicy but not overly exciting.

Merlot Napa Valley 2005 with 3% cab franc...coffee colored not bright red...not overly brown either...if there is such a thing it had a french stink (California stink?)nice mouthfeel but again there was a heat that was a little pronounced.

Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma 2004 cassis on the nose...softer style of red...for me this was the nicest of the bunch...very mellow. only 569 cases produced.

alpha dog wines with sean bell of bodi wines

A new supplier of french and spanish wines came in the day of the smoke...so its been a while for me to get time to write about them. they seem to be of good quality and relatively good price value...nothing as exciting as Jorge Ordonez or Eric Solomon but we will see/

Bouza Do Rei Rias Baixas 2005 soft, somewhat steely style. interesting for an older wine.

Vega del Castillo Garnacha 2005 pleasant aromas and light but there are so many really good garnacha in this price point.

Liberalia Toro Tres 2004 dark color...juicy and good acidity.. i think this was the favorite of the spanish things...toro is another name for tempranillo

Edenia Cigales 1999 Reserva...coffee colored, nice fruit flavors..also good acid...a tempranillo and cab blend.

Mitarte Rioja 2002 temp and graciano blend...lots of cedar on the nose and a light palate..not impressive at all for $30.

Sangenis 1 Vaque Monilea 2000 Garnacha and Carinena(Carignane in france) dark roasted coffee is what i wrote...usually a good thing and at $70 it should be.

Mas Sere Priorat Hillside 2002 Garnacha and Carinena very rustic...not approachable as some priorat i have had in the past...

from france
Celeste Cote du Rhone...red a touch of green on the nose but nice cherry finish..a little lighter style of CDR

Celeste White 2006 a pretty golden color, rich texture and mouthfeel...a little sweeter than i expected.

The Cruscades Blend from the Languedoc 2005 a touch corked...not showing well.

September 29 languedoc 2oo4 Syrah very fresh and light.. easy on the palate.

September 14 2005 Roussanne full bodied white with a touch of honey on the finish... lots going on with the wine.

les Plantanes de la Marquise Languedoc 2006 Chardonnay...clean but a touch hot in alcohol...unoaked


Les Mas des flauzieres 2005 cote du rhone...grit and power.. the best red of this tasting...

These wines are good food wines, not really stand alone shows...some will make it into the store...

stupid stupid stupid

Ok so now my cleaning guy knows not to clean an oil based paint covered brush with gasoline 5 feet away from a pilot light...we had some smoke damage and all the bottles of liquor, beer and wine that were not thrown away have been wiped down per the health department...seemed a bit excessive but hey, the store has never been cleaner.

we are open and ready for a busy weekend.

derrick wines from bommarito

Glen Carlou Grand Classique 2004 a meritage blend..juicy and full bodied...maple on the nose with a touch of pencil box...long finish and not overoaked.

August Briggs Chardonnay Carneros 2006 Leveroni vintage clean crisp and light oak and malolactic with a touch of heat from the alcohol.... very young for briggs will get smoother as it ages.

Kent Rasmussen Carneros pinot Noir 2006 ligher style but intense...lots of acidity and fresh but but a dry finish...great food wine.

wines with doug from golden barrel

Jackson Estate Sauv Blanc..06 more melon and fig than cat pee on the nose and much softer in the palate..very nice. i had once heard that cat pee or gooseberry was a sign of under ripe...dont know if thats true or just , pardon the expression, sour grapes.

Jackson Grey Ghost Sauv Blanc 2006 single vineyard...and total grapefruit, all it was missing was the pulp.

Jackson Chardonnay Shelter Belt 2005 bright fruit, almost tropical for a cool climate..lots of acidity..good food wine.

Chateau Bellevue Bordeaux 2005 65% merlot cab franc and cab. i have cellar nose, dont know if i meant to write cedar or that it smelled dank... but had a nice cherry finish..some tobacco...revisited this two days later and still holding up but the tannin was seeming a llittle more noticeable.


Axis 2005 meritage Oakville dark garnet with an interesting nose of popcorn....going down it stays on the mid palate and not much more...very much one note..revisited it also a few days later and it had softened a bit but not enough to make it enjoyable for me. sorry doug.

Alexander Valley Vineyards with Arnold Gilberg

AVV has been in my wine consiousness for as ,long as I can remember. Located in Alexander Valley, the warmest growing region of Sonoma, it has a lot of exclusive neighbors, most particularly Silver Oak. These wines are consistently good, maybe not headliners but definitely they go the distance.

Sangiovese Rose 2007 a bit of rhubarb, salmon color and nice acidity...will be in the store...adding to the growing range of roses for our store.

Chardonnay 2006 they have backed off the oak a bit...slowed down on the ML..still a little tropical fruit on the palate but mostly just clean chardonnay fruit

Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 lots of cedar on the nose and juicy silky fruit on the finish...

Merlot 2005 90% Merlot silky with a touch of heat from the alcohol. creamy tannins bright berry and mocha flavors on the back

Sin Zin 2006 one of the original fun zinfandels.. this vintage had a perfume that was very enjoyable and juicy without the heavy briar that some tend to have.

Temptation Zin 2005 a new concept for AVV with the briary quality and some jammyness this would be a good beginners Zin.

Londer Vineyards with Sean Bell of Bodi

Londer is a winery located in the Anderson Valley of Mendocino County.
The Chardonnay is 2005 Kent Ritchie Vineyards... full bodied with a good helping of oak influence...but not overly so nor overly malolactic...no disguising it though for anything than California Chardonnay

Pinot Noir 2006t is all about spice and fruit, cranberry especially... big and juicy.

marketing ploy of the day

Chris from Missouri Beverage brought in a Beaujolais wine that is packaged in an aluminum bottle. Beaujolais is made of Gamay which can produce a wine that in the wrong hands or from younger vines makes a tinny flavor. this wine did not have that..very fruit forward and fresh...cute bottling.

Marchetti Imports from Golden Barrel with Doug

Italian and Spanish selections

Avanti Delle Venezie Pinot Grigio 2006 a touch sweet but nice body and longish finish.,

Caleo Primitivo 2004 italian stink...very much horse rode wet and put up to dry...but very nice flavors on the palate...and its on sale for $5. dark colors and fruit and saddleleather on the back end..not that i have ever licked a saddle...that i know of.

Neirano Moscato 2007 sweet pretty muscat nose..a touch cloying but pleasant enough finish.

Bodegas Aragonesas Crucillon 2005 great value wine..dark berry fruit,, nice acidity and a dark cherry finish....amazing wine for the cost.

Bodegas Aragonesas Don Ramon 2005 another winner, juicy bing cherry nice fruit through the finish.. lush.

Coto de Hayas Campo de Borja Tinoto...another great value...50% grenache which often times comes off tinny when new vines... but here it has fruit forward flavors with nice tannin.

Coto de Hayas Campo Rosato... 2007 mostly grenache..strawberry nose fot not sweet at all but not too dry...another good value

winebow with chris triddle

didnt get a chance to taste with him on some of these wines. most of their book is very solid on italian wines with a good track record.

Le Rose di Regaliali 2006 a strong winery from sicily.. this rose had an earthy nose with what i took as peanut shells, nice finish, pretty salmon color. great food wine.

Zenato Valpolicella Superiore 2005 i think vals are great wines for the money and for food pairing..this was soft and lush and i think would surprise a lot of people.

Castlello di Bossi Chianti Classico 2003 juicy and rich for chianti...but the vintage was hot so the ripeness makes sense...made from predominately sangiovese....

odds and ends for may 13

Bodi wines today we tasted some Italian
Il Folio Prosecco Extra Dry I wish i liked prosecco but there is something that I dont like about the finish it reminds me of burnt aspirin i think. but the front of the palate on this wine is nice and sweet, honey almost. great as a bellini with peach nectar.

Morisfarms Morellino di Scansano 2006 a region of tuscany that is getting some notice for value wines. this is mostly sangiovese, and stainless steel so no oxidation. starts out fresh but there is a dullness in the mid and not a long finish.

Vinae Familae Rosso di Montalcino 2004 baby Brunello...a touch mildew on the nose, earthy or bottle variation?? not a lot of fruit although these wines tend to take time to lost their astringentness if thats a word...we will try another bottle sometime

wines from pinnacle and craig rohner

Interesting wines from around the world/

2007 Triebaumer Rose nice acidity, pretty pink color. just in time for summer. not as strawberry as last years but still very drinkable...those looking for a little drier rose will find it here.

Jean Louis Chave Offerus St Joseph 2005 90 pts from parker and I give it a big recommend. white pepper on the nose and palate... lovely finish, not as much of that bacon fat as I like but still darn delicious.

Chave Mon Couer 2006 Cotes du Rhone...french stink on the nose, juicy tobacco on the finish. not for the faint of heart but definitely a winner for cote du rhone lovers.

Elderton Tantalus Australia 2006 weird nose of b.o. and dill,.. juicy but too strong on the oak at the finish. vanilla too...expected more...

Fontafredda Barbera 2006 a wine spectator top 100 wine from this year. a touch green from youth i think...willl come off that. cocoa and earth are the flavors or aromas that came to me.. touch of iodine that goes to bing cherry...you will find this in the conny corner.

Vinosia Falaghina 2006 a wine varietal found in southern italy. this is juicy with a hint of orange and citrus.. and mineral...i thought it tasted like a st joseph baby aspirin...in a good way.

Louis Jadot with grant from Kobrand

Jadot is one of the larger negotiant buyers in Burgundy . they produce some 120 bottlings. but their workhorses are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir or Bourgogne Blanc and Rouge.

2006 Chardonnay soft fruit, a touch mineral with a nice toasty nose. I think it gets a little more residual sugar than others because its coming to the US market.

Pouilly Fuisse 2005 caramel and toasty nose. viscous with nice fruit and good acidity for the hot vintage.everyone is saying 2005 is a great vintage

Beaujolais 2006 light color, a touch tinny, lighter in style and flavor than Beaujolais Village

Beaujolais Village 2006 a better choice of grapes, bright color with a pepper finish. a little bubble gum.

Pinot Noir 2005 garnet color, bright fruit, not a lot of earth...nice acidity more california style

French wines with Roland Jacquard and Robert Noecker

Bercut Vandervoot is a distributor of imported wines. today we tried french.

Louis Tete Beaujolais Village 2006 interesting bottle in that it is clear with a hand made label..garnet color, fruity, soft, not tinny...strawberry very nice

Guyonniere Bourgogne Rouge 2006 earthy with some red fruti, nice color.. silky tannin...

Croix de Rambeau 2004 Bordeaux from St Emilion, merlot and Cabernet, french stink on the nose, lush mouthfeel, nice for the money and to drink while you hold on for the 2005 to show up.

Cellier Dauphins 2005 Cotes du Rhone of rthe money agreat CDR..very ripe fruit and a soft supple ending

Nalys Chateauneuf du Pape 2004 all 13 grapes are used a touch of rusty color,,very juicy and a touch rich...love the finish it just keeps going.

Wilson Creek with Chuck Spiegel

Wilson Creek is one of the few wineries that still calls Temecula home. this region in southern california has grown grapes for longer than most remember but most are mom and pop places. the largest in this market was Callaway but they became central coast winery. To differentiate it from other wineries they have gone to some specialty wines and a few were tried today.

Golden Jubillee a blend of Colombard, chardonnay and chenin blanc. soft sweet but not dramatically so. nice touch of acidity on the end. probably look for this at our summer tasting.

White Cabernet 2006 this is an interesting wine because it takes the free run juice from cab before it has a chance to be tainted by the skins. smells kind of funky, grape flavor, go figure. a flat finish. for the money not a good buy.

Riesling 2006 cloyingly sweet nose, green apple and also a little dull on the finish.

Muscat Canelli 2005 pretty yellow color, smell of springtime in wine country to me...a touch of orange and citrus on the palate..very viscous also. nice

Cream Sherry made with the solera system from indigenous grapes. reminded me of Pedro Ximenez. rich and nice acidity.

Decadencia Port a dark chocolate infused zinfandel port. rich nose of chocolate. definitely could stand up to cigars. There was a hot finish but that is from the high alcohol.

Peter Franus wines with Ben Gillette

Franus is a winery that produces good quality products and not overly priced.

Sauvignon Blanc Carneros 2007 from the Musque clone of Sb very floral, quick finish and a touch mineral on the back...a little viscous too

Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 2004 Dark colors in the glass, pencil lead nose and very tight...will be great in a few hours opened.

Zinfandel Brandlin Vineyard 2005 pretty rose and bramble nose ...yummy lots of fruit but not jammy or hot...very enjoyable...

Jordan wines with Chris Avery

Jordan has been in my wine consciousness for most of my wine life. It was always a beautiful property with only two wines made. Chardonnay and Cabernet. I have been lucky enough to visit twice out there and I would agree with what Dwayne Daniels of Plaza 3 says when he calls it Piss elegant. The first time out it was very stuffy, almost oppresively so. The last time it was less formal more inviting. It was nice to taste the two wines today but being in retail I had already gotten my allocation of two cases. Maybe they will be nice and let me have another one. who knows......

Chardonnay from 2005 Russian River appellation as oppossed to the old Alexander Valley. This wine has shown the change of a lot of Chardonnay from California over the last few years, going from the heavy oak monsters to a nice balance of oak and fruit. Russian River AVA is also a little cooler so the grapes dont have all that tropical fruit flavors. They also have a little less Malolactic.

The Cabernet from the luscious but shorter 2004 vintage is all about finesse and flavor. starting with the purple in the glass, casis on the nose and a long middle and back palate. not overblown california cab at all
this does use the Alexander AVA designation which is one of the warmest regions of Sonoma.

Empson products with Dan Rosenberg

Italians today

Lagaria Chardonnay 2007 screwtop, nice bright color and bright fruit, no oak at all with just a touch of mineral. i need to remember this for those looking for good value.

Pieropan Soave Classico 2005 Soave is a region of which classico is the best growing section made from gargenaga grapes. When i was a lad this was the cheap white wine from Italy. this is a light acidic, good food wine that ages well

Jermann Pinot Bianco 2006 this is an italian version of Pinot Blanc. a hybrid of Pinot Noir. Usually a little richer and creamier than Pinot Grigio. and the same holds true here. I have tried to sell this before but the price over $30 Italian whites are a hard sell.

Monte Antico 2004 a blend of sangiovese, merlot and cabernet. soft and supple, a great food wine with pasta and burgers. good value from parker it got 88pts.

Terrabianca Campaccio 2004.. beautiful floral nose, a touch of dust, from the cab i think. interesting blend of sangiovese and cabernet.

two wines we tried not in the store.

Villa Bucci Reserve Verdicchio 2001 bought at a competitor. nice yellow color and rich flavors. It was nice to see a white wine with some age to it being able to stand up after 7 years.

Croce 1999 a single vineyard Chianti color of coffee in the glass, a touch of saddle leather...it drank well but didnt really excite either....this was from my store. current vintage is 2003

Belle Vallee with Gabe Magee

New oregon producer in the market. last years reserve was in the wine spectator top 100.

Pinot Gris 2006 a touch sweet, a little acidity...just dont have room for another oregon pinot gris right now.

WHole Cluster Pinot Noir 2007 done in carbonic maceration i was expecting a bit more green flavors and it was actually light and fruity. the other surprise was the 2007 in oregon is supposed to be a challenge so this was really good.

Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2006 a great vintage for oregon... this wine had mushroom on the nose, some heat on the tongue but good fruit to keep it going.

Pinot Noir Reserve 2006 earthy nose, nice cherry fruit at the end..it just seemed to be missing something in the middle.

Pinot Noir Port 2004.. i think this was a first for me to try a port made with pinot. they make the brandy out of pinot grapes and produce the port with it. made with a solera system so there is a little of last vintages in the blend, to keep the young port in line I was told. not hot like regular ports tend to be, cocoa and plum flavors on the back...very interesting.

wines with doug from golden barrel

Palmina Pinot Grigio 2006 a new producer for this market that makes only Italian varietals. bright fruit with a little green apple, nice creamy texture but for the price of $20 I will pass

Palmina Arneis 2006 creamy rich flavors, lots of viscousity. I liked it enough to bring in even with the high cost. Arneis is a grape type found in the piedmont region of Italy. Texture of a chardonnay with a lot more subtle flavors.

Blind Trail Otaga 2006 Pinot from New Zealand is heating up/ bigh fruit, more california in style. pretty garnet color in the glass

Wild Earth Otaga 2006 more burgundian or earthy in style. round fruit, a great intro to pinot from nz...with a flavor profile that keeps going several seconds after swallowing.

Wines from Vineyard Brands and Joe Ancona

Whites here today.
Delaporte Sancerre 2005 Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire valley. quick finish of herbal notes. tartrates. nice acidity.

Vision Cono Sur Sauv Blanc 2006 Aromas of peaches, and a lot going on in the mouth for a s.b. very nice.

Dona Paula Chardonnay Argentina 2006 soft easy, a touch of toast, creamy but not overdone.

Los Cardos Chardonnay Argentina 2005 more california in style, sweeter with a nice touch of acidity. great value.

Pichot Vouvray 2006 corky but still showing sweetness. and viscousity.

Villa Maria Cellar Select Syrah my first syrah from new zealand and if they all taste like this my last.. i could not get past the nose of bug spray.

french wines with robert noecker

Clos de Nouys Vouvray 2006 tight closed nose, a touch sweet and mineral on the finish. not overly impressive.

Ogier Caves des Papes Cotes du Rhone Blanc 2006 Rich and unctious with a beautiful mid palate that often times is the thing thats lacking. Roussane, Marsanne and Viognier predominately.

Ogier Caves des Papes Cotes du Rhone Red 2006
Deep purple color with a grenache nose, in english that means a little green, nice bright cherry fruit, a touch green from youth but I think will age nicelyin the next few years.

Lange with Doug from Golden Barrel

Lange is a smallish winery from Oregon. We got to try 3 different pinots today.

Willamette Valley 2006 A touch dusty, mushroomy, little cherry fruit, soft and light.

Reserve 2006 Darker color, opaque purple. soft earthy, cherry.. a touch of mocha or cocoa

Three Hills Cuvee 03. a blend of three of the better growing regions of Oregon. Pretty purple, a little more forthcoming with fruit and aromas. my favorite of the three by far

Italian wines with David Lynch

Love his movies unfortunately it wasnt that David. Very nice guy though with a very impressive Italian portfolio. It was interesting that I had all these Italians come in and I just wasnt in the mood for these earthy, saddleleathery wines but what can you do. ;0

Rizzardi Valpolicella 2006 a lighter style, pretty berry flavors but a bit rustic in the finish,

Valle D'Oro Montepulciano d Abruzzo. we are seeing that the region of Abruzzo is producing some interesting lighter style wines. For a long time these were seen as the red headed step child for Chianti. Again touch of earth on nose, saddleleather. very purple in color and some nice light fruit.

Salentino Primitivo 2006 light good fruit, the Italian version of zinfandel but not really

Chiaretto Rose by Rizzordi strawberry in the glass. pretty... just the right amount of sweetness.

Verdicchio by someone who I didnt write the name down for but it was juicy with a nice touch of acidity at the end. Will also be in the Corner with some nice press

Alans version of The Devils Dictionary.

If I have posted this before but I am getting older and forget these things.
Several years back I discovered a book called the Devils Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce, a very witty if curmudgeonly look at American life collected over many years circa 1900. One of them would be Boar. n. someone who talks when you wish they would listen.
wife. n. a women with a fine prospect of life behind her.

I will try to throw in my own once in awhile. when I feel the inspiration of course. The first I could think of where.
Merlot. n. a wine that ,like the annoying guy at a party, you dont know who invited him but he is always there.

Terroir adj the fear of misprouncing a wine to the server so you order the Merlot , you cant get that wrong.

Please email with your thoughts on these and I will post with proper acknowledgement