Masters of Malbec tasting

Susana Balbo, Luis Reginato, Santiago Mayorga winemakers from Argentina. I thought most of their talk was pretty much the usual of blending, what the different elevations give to a wine, would love to have heard more from Susana because I think in a man's world of Argentine wine she has been an interesting voice.

The biggest thing I learned was Bonarda is not really Bonarda at all but a french varietal that was mistaken for a long time...Also the Torrontes grape is a hybrid of moscatel and mission grape varietal from spain...

The 3 malbecs I did try where all older which I found interesting given the relatively younger vintages we always carry.

Mendel 2006 brightest and deepest color. glass staining in fact.. dark roasted coffee on the nose and plumy sweet finish

Nosotros 2006 bright cola nose, lighter color in the glass, more raspberry on the palate

Nico by Luca 2005 pretty spices on the nose, medium colored and bodied...juicy red berry fruits...pretty wine

Firesteed winery with Gerrie Goddard

Firesteed one of the sponsors for Pinot Fest that I attended last year in oregon

Pinot Gris 2007 no oak no malo...creamy texture still..and some minerality on the finish.

Riesling 2008 alsatian in style with a bit of petrol and minerals and yet some sweetness. and acidity...not overly sweet not overly dry

Pinot Noir Oregon 2007 a touch green on the nose..typical for the vintage but for the money still a good one..

Cayalla 2004 RTW red table wine...light purple in color...getting a little tired on the palate...it activated all the middle and none of the sides...seemed strange that way.. some heat to on the finish...cabernet franc and cab sauv and a bunch of other varietals...

friday wine

Continuum 2006 made by Tim Mondavi in the style of Opus One the wine he helped oversee for some time...dark and powerful.. graphite and cassis...big style in the nose...and in the mouth a little tight..smooth tannins though and long finish but still just a baby...will be in the store for around $140.

Portal 20 year Tawny soft on the palate, raisony, nutty, vanilla and not as viscous as I expect from the age of the wine... around $40

Gazzoli with Ron DiGiovanni

Wellington Vineyards Roussanne 2007 round on the palate...maybe a little hint of tropical fruit...interesting varietal even if it wont sell much

Domaine Cantarelles Cabernet 2005 from around the rhone valley area..light almost watery..some oak on the back..a little iodine on the finish.

Bell Big Guy Red..named for the dog on the property.. This is a blend of left overs that sometimes works but here its a little clunky and not overly enjoyable.

Duval-Leroy with Michel Brismontier

What a wonderful way to start the day, with some great value french champagne

Brut NV 75%Pinot Noir the rest Chardonnay green apple on the palate...pretty creamy mousse also.

Vintage 96 Brut oaky, toasty, light green apple...70% Chard..

Rose Saignee 100% Pinot...full bodied..earthy, yeasty and chocolate...lovely finish

Lady Rose.NV light salmon in color...close to the Rose Saignee only it has a little more residual sugar...not overly sweet and refreshing...nice but I the sweet drinker would be disappointed and the regular rose drinker would be put off by the overt sweetness not found in the usual Saignee...only comes in 375ml

jc wine cellars with chris straatman

Marsanne 2007..very viscous...honeyed but tight..will show much better in 2 or more years. very dark yellow in color...

Imposter 2007 Red mostly predominate zin and a kitchen sink of other grapes...coffee..nice viscosity..tasted better than the first time...

Syrah Fess Parker Vineyards 80 % syrah...beautiful wine, coffee, and mocha and very intense...

Rockpile Syrah 2006...a soft american style syrah...long lingering finish..not a lot of complexity just good fruit

Broken Compass 2006 stinky nose, a little gamey on the finish..and a quick finish too....

Aveniu brands with mick roberts

Spanish Quarter Cab.Tempranillo blend...soft easy not a bad wine but with all the great spanish out there this really isnt....cute labeling though

Vina Zaco Tempranillo 2006 dark purple, earthy somewhat on the nose, taste of oak and fruit...a little old world..a little new world...cant quite make up its mind...

2007 Septima Malbec...juicy and a little earthy on the palate...nice dark plum finish...very enjoyable malbec

kenyon schmanske of fosters group

Fosters main concern here is Beringer , Chateau St Jean

Stags Leap Petite Sirah Napa 2005 dark purple...would have like to see more fruit..very tight..that seemed to be the theme of most of the high end wines tasted ...needs time to air out

Souverain Sauv Blanc 2006 Alexander Valley...grassy, grassy and then grassier

Beringer Private Reserve 2005 lots of oak and tannin...more fruit would be nice but by late this afternoon it should be tasting very well

Beringer Knight Valley 2006..a earthy, herbal nose, light, juicy and consistent

Chateau St Jean Cinq Cepages 2005...purple in color, surprisingly light in tannis but they may still be sleeping...elegant...maybe

Penfolds Club Tawny...NV .. nice almond and biscotti flavors...soft viscousity..pretty finish

Penfolds RWT Shiraz 2005 wow..a great shiraz that is neither rhone nor australia..not overly oaky, and as with all the others it could use some decanting time but truly an elegant wine...unfortunately it has almost doubled in price because of Fosters concern with pricing overseas...go figure.

Christopher Rowe and Australian wines with Garco

2008 Stump Jump Riesling...not usually a fan of riesling from australia because it seems to fall into either too sweet or bone dry..this wine is a little of both...definitely sweet on the palate and then the petrol and minerality come through on the end...nice price point too

Penly Estate Pinot Noir Coonawarra 2006 fruit forward...not overly dry finish but not very interesting with a quick finish.

Penley Phoenix 2006 Cabernet sweet nose, cassis and just a bit of dirt on the end...noticable tannins on the finish.

D'arenberg High Trellis Cabernet too much bing cherry for me..sweet fruit and no pronounced tannins to speak of.

Shoofly SHiraz, Fleurieu Penninsula...wine of the day...coffee and lots of it...full bodied and nice is somewhat quickish finish for the beginning...everything I would want from a northern rhone except for the finish but for the price very nice

Nickolai Biscardo and Garco

Gaierhof Pinot Grigio..2008...a nice pinot grigio, maybe even a very good one, and it is in the store...beats the socks of santa margherita...

Bonci Verdicchio 2007 low tonnage which means high density...corked bottle but looking forward to trying it again.

Terre di Sole Sangiovese 2008 dark color from ripen grapes..trying to be more new world and easy drinking..which is does..very fruity and jammy for the money

Terre di Sole Nero D'Avola 2005 old world style wine...light fruit and textures...very soft

Borgo Pretale Chianti Classico Reserva 04 a touch rustic.. typical nose for sangiovese from here..earthy, leather.....roses..somewhat of a quick finish though.

Biscardo Amarone 2000 traditional raison silky texture...very tight having just been opened it didnt show as much as it would later in the afternoon

Le Gode Brunello di Montalcino 2001 also just opened and very tight oak and dirt and an aromas I can only describe as pesticides.. which blows off...tannic and big...soon to the 2003

wine with kevin hodges/appellation

Il Folio Cuvee Piagar....nv. a little on the extra dry side..yet still some bitterness on the end,.

Servin Chablis 2007..bright yellow and bright fruit..a little limey and nice finish...

Hoopes Cabernet 2006 dark aromas, almost meaty..oaky, and a little one sidedly so...fruit wasnt showing well...

Domaine Gauby 2007 Southern france..soft, some iodine, expecting more body from this wine with the grapes..syrah, grenache...surprisingly soft

pinnacle with craig rohner

larochette manciat 2007 white burgundy cleann crisp good acidity, but quick watery finish

siduri pinot noir sonoma county light color, nice intro to pinot if not a great pinot itself

colosi rosso 2007 juicy not at all earthy like a sicilian would be...some astringency of tea at the back

Borsao Crianza 2006 aged in oak this wine shows a lot of stuff...nice tannins, anise and licorice...very good wine year in and year out even in harder vintages

Pannotia with Doug Frost

Pannotia takes it name from Pangea the original land mass that eventually separated to form the continents we know today. The wines are from all corners of the wine world. Doug helps in putting the final assembly together.

Verdejo Rueda Spain 2006 crisp start but the vintage age is showing at the back with some oxidation...

Torrontes Mendoza 2008...bright crazy floral aromas that make you think the finish will be crazy sweet but it dries out just enough to be a great food wine

Riesling Rheinhessen 2007 germany, a riesling that isnt too dry and too sweet...which makes people who like either to be not fans of the wine...

Garnacha Rueda 2006 again showing a little age on the nose, almost sherry, maderized...still juicy and a soft finish

Malbec Mendoza 2008 best of the bunch some intense dark color and flavors..coffee almost like a syrah that intense...i really liked it for the money...

Zinfandel Mendocino 2005 pretty fruity to start...bing cherry comes to mind...and a quick finish

Fineline wines from Glazer's

A new brand introduced through and made for Glazers.. Fineline is featuring more central coast fruits.. interesting labeling with a woman on a wire with the chardonnay and man on a wire with the red wines....no perpetuating myths here

Chardonnay monterey fruit..typical cali fruit..a little flabby and soft

Merlot...nice fruity nose, soft body...the best of the bunch

Cabernet sweet nose,nice finish...good intro to california cab.

Opus one lunch at JJ's on the Plaza

One of the perks of this job is my annual lunch or presentation from gina voci with opus one...tasted a henriot nv brut champagne to start..very elegant and light...

Opus One 2006...the aromas immediately put me to mind of entering Hall's or Bloomingdale's. A wonderful mixture of perfume, wax, talcum, pencil lead...the body of the wine still youthful was showing great fruit...and long lush finish..

Opus One 2005....definitely more cabernet in the nose, lead pencil and cassis fruit... not as lush as the 2006...probably from the aging.

For lunch we had Filet and it was soft and tender and very nice...

todd mathis with martine wines

Gonet Medeville Brut Tradition NV ...nice way to start a morning with this wine unfortunately my allergies hit this morning so I wasnt able to enjoy it as much as possible...yeasty nose, and nice green apple fruit..seemingly more chardonnay than pinot... couldnt tell the mousse from squirrel with my runny nose though

Feraud-Brunel Cotes du Rhone Village 2007...great press and probably great wine but all I could get from it was acidic dark fruit and lots of it... again I will want to retaste when the clariton had kicked in

Niepoort Colheita 1995 always thought this winery sounded more south african than Portugese. toffee colored from the aging and still nice fruit and some almond came through on the finish.

Ch Gillet Les Justices Sauternes 2003 lush mouthfeel, honey nose, apricots..nice but not an easy sell for one and full bottles of sauternes seems like a lot of wine since its so rich

Fess Parker with Manou Chahmirzadi

Fess Parker one of the early pioneers (pun intended) in the Santa Barbara area...finding a nice blend between rhone wines and burgundy

Ashley's Vineyard Chardonnay 2006 sweet fruit, round flavors...a little too california style for me..the 07 is just around the corner...to see what that does.

Ashleys Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006 mushroomy nose, fruit with lots of layers...claims to be burgundian but just too much fruit up front to buy that

Epiphany Gypsy Red 2004.. a little old...grenache syrah blend...some nice fruit behind it but I would never be able to see it for $25

Epiphany Petit Sirah 2005 Inky...lots of coffee and rich flavors. that are more syrah in style..somewhat quick finish for such a rich upfront flavor. in the store

slow first week of september

Not a lot of wine to taste this last week. We did get some exciting deliveries though

The first vintage of Lewis Alec's Blend in 3 years. Also Lewis Syrah, both 2007 vintages... both not rated but given the excellence of their brands and the vintage I imagine they will be in the lower to mid 90 point range...

Villa Pozzi Pinot Grigio 2008 soft, easy drinking, another italian pg

Villa Pozzi Nero d'avola..all the bench marks for italian red wine..a little earthy, leathery, nice fruit on the back though...

Castello di Monastero 2005 Chianti Classico lightly rusty color, typical nose and acidity is fine..medium bodied finish...ok

ColdiSole Brunello 2003...drinksfine but I know people are looking for the 2004 vintages of brunello...and this one wasnt exciting enough to get behind.

Ethos by Chateau St Michelle

Ethos Merlot Washington 2006 this is what used to be the reserve... big and tannic...lots of oak...not much fruit...very disappointing

Ethos Cabernet Washington ...not as much of an oak bomb but still very tannic and oaky...thought i would enjoy these more...