wine with steve ewing and 585 wine partners

Bivio Pinot Grigio 2006 lush and a touch of grapefruit.creamy with some lees stirring and a cute drawing of a vespa on the front. will be a nice addition to all the pinot grigios i have steelhead sauvignon blanc..2006 bright fruit color but not much weight and not very interesting.........picket fence pinot noir 2006 soft and easy with cinnamon and spice may not be the most complex but a good intro for people into the grape..........steelhead zinfandel 2006 dry creek a region known for big hot jammy wines this one does not deliver on any ..deep red color, soft and more of a claret in style.......organic red truck petite sirah 2006 dark color but soft again for what petite sirah can be..no heavy fruit tannin to speak of ,again it could be a good wine for someone wanting to discover a likeable petite sirah

wines from cellarmasters

Went to a Cellarmasters tasting the other night and had some very good Chilean offerings. when I find notes will write more. The one thing I was disappointed in was the Montes Purple Angel..wasnt showing well that night. The big surprise was the Casa Concha Marques Cabernet that was luscious and big for the money a very good wine.

monday wine

today the only wine was a revisit.. 2005 Cotes du Rhone by Cellair de Dauphin... pretty dark yellow and all the unctious green olive fruit that these come to show...the fruit usually shows up more after several years of aging.

australian wines

a lot of blow the horn big reds from Premier Cru
Yalumba MGS full bodied and rich...cocoa and tar

Euphonium by Henschke 2004 Barossa Bordeaux with Syrah in the mix.. cola nose...dry dry tannins and a hot finish..alcohol

Cyril Henschke 2003 Eden Valley Big dark tannic...will it ever show more fruit?

The Memzies 2004 Cabernet from Yalumba lots of dark purple color and sediment. which can be a good thing. Named for one of the early Australian Prime Ministers.

Yalumba Signature 2003 pretty ruby color beautiful sandalwood and cinnamon... a little more feminine than the other wines

Octavis 2004 Cab lots of acidity.. drying tannins... long milky finish.. deep berry flavors...very mouthfilling and costly too..

Evergreen winery from Oregon

This winery was one of the host for Pinot Camp that I went to in June. It is located next to the aerospace museum that houses the Spruce Goose which explains the Spruce Goose on the label of some of the wines. The spruce goose being the plane the government contracted to howard hughes to build made out of wood.. pine if I remember..Pine doesnt rhyme well though.

Most of these wines are missing something, and I can not put my finger on it. Just not quite the standard that most Willamette wines have.

Riesling 2006 pink grapefruity, a little dull on the palate.

Chardonnay 2006 rustic..heavy and needs food..to cover the taste

Rose but a chardonnay red wine blend...funky color and not awful but something off in the palate

Pinot Gris 2006 some mineral notes.. rustic and harsh.

Pinot Noir dried fruits, tasted with chocolate which helped cover the wine a little...

Pinot Noir Commemorative dark fruits, nice body but for the money leaves a little to be desired.

interesting wines for wednesday

Domaines and Estates had Pacific Rim wines out.. a offshot of bonny donny who headed by randall graham is one of my heros in the wine and a wonderful wordsmith.

2006 Pacific Rim Dry Riesling minral and flint on the nose, light flavor missing some nervosity? or tension. nice intro to washington riesling though.

2006 Pacific Rim Chenin Blanc best of the bunch. pretty yellow color, mineral and honey mellon. not a sweet as california chenin but not as pretty as loire riesling.

2007 Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling soft aromas of stone and lime, soft sweetness and even though it says sweet not as overwhelming as some german and california riesling

Pacific Rim Riesling Wallula Vineyard 2007 a single vineyard wine from the Horse Heaven Hills Vineyard... with pretty pineapple aromas on the nose it surprisingly didnt have a lot to give in the mouth.. dry and blunt...

more wines for monday

With allergy season upon us I find it more difficult to find the first notes of the wine because it comes from the nasal passage, so some of the wines may have been showing well I just couldnt tell.

2007 Larochette Les Morizottes White Burgundy..the first of the 07 for me to taste and not overwhelming.. a touch sweet with adequate acidity but still a soft finish

2007 St Innocent Vitea Springs Pinot Gris. 2007 just let me say that I am more found personally of Pinot Blanc as a grape varietal than gris... this example was lots of mineral a little viscousity but in general not an inspiring wine.

2005 Niepoort Vertante the winner of this bunch. again with the lacquer aromas deep red color and nice full palate...i have had this on the shelf in past vintages and run out quickly...

2006 Colombo Les Bartavelles Chateauneuf du Pape 2006 juicy from the grenache, a bit rough around the edges.. with tar and tobacco on the finish. surprisingly light though for a CDP and $35

2003 Easton Fiddletown Zinfandel Fiddletown one of the names known for great zin...this one though is a little long in the tooth and just not terribly exciting for the money...fresher easton things are available in the store.

wines for monday

4 distributors today with wine or reps to taste and Tito Vodka..tip for the day never hug someone until you are 100% sure they are a long lost friend you havent seen for 10 years

Lapostolle/Sancerre with Ginevra Altomara

Sancerre Cuvee de Connetable 2004 the age showed on this..softer palate..light flint and mineral..a little ml but a soft sancerre is like a pig with makeup why bother??

Casa Lapostolle Sauv Blanc Chile 2o07 refreshing style..not the grapefruit bomb that kiwi wines can be.. grassy

Lapostolle Chardonnay Cuvee Alexander 2006 rich ml flavor..not quite showing the fruit on the nose but the volume of the wine shows tons of character.

Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 dark color and fruit..great value for the wine quality..soft tannins.

Lapostolle Syrah Cuvee Alexander 2005... the winner of the bunch.. a sweet lacquery aromas of red fruit..bacon fat and iodine that translates well on the tongue...rich and a finger stainer for sure

Clos Apalta 2004 made with majority of carmenere the grape of chile...the lost grape of bordeaux dark brooding in the glass and some grip on the front palate.. a rustic style that can benefit from aging. but always gets great parker and spectator ratings.. we have the 05 version in stock.

pride

pride merlot 2005 just came in and I was able to get a case this year...

sorting table with guy comerci

International range of wines.

Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Alsace 2006 very dark yellow almost the look of a sauternes
but a true nose of gewurz and bone dry on the palate...interesting wine in that i was tasting it after having tried the reds...he uses a indice or index for sweetness 1 being driest to 5 and this is a solid number one.

Maison Henri Boillot Bourgogne blanc 2006 after the super hyped 2005 this vintage is more drinkable and accessible. very clean fruit, a little flint definitely not the complex wines of last year but very good non the less

Moreau Volnay Santenot Rouge 2006 earth and mushroom..nice legs light and quick finish...

Also Conterno Il Favot Nebbiolo 2003 dark coffee color in the glass.. a touch rustic with just a little mustiness on thenose and palate..earthy mushroom was my final note but very expensive for a non barolo wine


Howell Mountain WInery Bear and Lion Zin Napa 2005 a new inexpensive bottling from this winery..watery purple in the glass and the initial nose of TAR was mouthfilling and juicy acidic but no real fruit standing out..maybe hard to sell after the initial nose...

pinnacle et al for monday

Qupe Y block Chardonnay 2007 talk about big yellow wines with lots of tropical fruit character on the nose and creamy, viscous and lush. If you like oak you will like this

Au Bon Climate 2007 Pinot Noir big color for a pinot. more extraction or masceration...syrah?? pretty nose but a little flat on the palate..could just need some time in bottle.

2006 Gregory Graham Grenache very pretty nose and very hard to sell...fruity but not overly complex or interesting...

Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 from the K vintners man... pencil lead nose a wine with finesse from someone whos not known for that. mocha and cassis on the palate..quicky finish but nice.

Long Shadows Syrah 2005 a Australian winemaker but grapes from Washington fruity tight and viscous...may need a few years to start showing anything...but not attractive in its youth.


also from bommarito
Cusumano Insolia 2007 a grape indigenous to Sicily, often times blended with chardonnay and after tasting this one i see why..very rough around the edges..not very user friendly.

Quinto do Crasto Portugal 2005 made from traditional port grapes.. fruity, juicy anmd a nice finish of dark berries...young but not green

one year anniversary

it will be 1 year on the 10th that I have done this particular blog....my how time flies

Marquee Signature with JK wines

Tasted through a few wines from Australia with Keith Brian of Silver Wings who markets and sells Marquee

The first was Semillon/Chardonnay 2004 a very soft and approachable wine good minerals and round mouthfeel...was given 88 from Spectator. Will be in the Corner.

Pinot Noir from Mornington Peninsula the south eastern region that is the coolest, where the best pinot from Australia seems to originate. this 2004 was brickish and a little cloudy, looked more like a sangiovese and just didnt have any guts or finish. a very light body and good i guess for starter pinot but a little pricey for that.

Dom and Clicquot tasting

This is the first heads up that we will have two Dom Perignon and others Champagne tasting in the store in the holiday season..one around Thanksgiving and the other around Christmas

encyclopedia wines from coppola

an introduction from coppola for a new series of wines from around the world.
the look is cute but not practical for people with wine racks as the bottles are shaped much like science lab beekers with a little color around them. the idea of wines from their indigenous regions is not new nor are the wines particularly good.. but they are appealling to the young crowd that would like to try new wines and be attracted by the hip bottles

Pinot Grigio from Italy...light in color and very little of the tang or zest that is typical of P.G.

Riesling from Germany...no body, no flavor not even sweet for the riesling drinker who would buy this bottle

Tempranillo from Spain...smells of all that is green in a wine..overcropped or young vines...they definitely do not showcase the wine that you can buy in this store for a lot less and is a lot better

Cabernet from France...the best of the bunch and only because it actually tastes of Cab but just...nothing new here and again at this cost which will be around $13 you can find a lot better

bernies wines

Petalos 2006 Mencia a little earthy a touch of heat dark color... cab franc??

Domaine de Atuata Ribero 2005 100% tempranillo huge purple color...deep rich flavors of cocoa and a pretty mogan david nose... but way more expensive than that...

North Berkeley Imports with Chris Poulos

North Berkeley is a supplier that sometimes has great value wines esp from the south of france.

Destefanis Dolcetto d'alba 2006 tank fermented and just a little too green for me.. i remember when I loved dolcetto and I think why is they are good starter wines for piedmont area

Laila Verdicchio 2006 lush, fruity, citrus and pears...nice

Mattes Sabran Le Viala 2004 Corbiere dark and cloudy.. strong and brooding and not in a good way.

Clearwater Creek Cab Sonoma 2006 fruity, tannins and unusual nose though

Margelleau Vouvray Brut 2005 dry chenin, tough finish, almost like a prosecco...and i dont like prosecco

Mesa Cab 2005 one note charlie and dont even get me started on the label, looks like a silhouette of a ice cream cone top or worse.

Mt Pleasant with Garco

Tasted these wines with robert from garco..sidenote here the augusta area where mt pleasant is located is the first a.v.a. or american viticultural area granted by the government, this gives wine from that area a commonality, whether in climate, soil or quality.

most of these wines tend to be on the sweeter side but that being said they are not over the top so.

villagio made from chenin blanc, a touch rustic on the finish otherwise nice smooth and sweet no mistaking this for a vouvray but for missouri not bad

rhineland...named for the area of germany that most settlers in mid missouri came from. present company included. style of riesling, sweet apple, viscuous.a blend of the whites in some ways almost like apple juice.

harvest white.. sweet sweet nose, foxy is what i hear that describes that. tastes like grapes and grape juice.

highland red.. dark purple color and tastes like grape juice with a bite. rough and tumble...not too enjoyable on this end

harvest red light color, concord grapes juicy, sweet but surprisingly not over the top

Gustave Thrace 3rd Bottle non vintage pretty cedar nose and buttery which is interesting for a red wine. barbera, cab and zin...this is made by the gentleman featured in "Bottle Shock" the movie about california wine industry.

Le