Bad Pinot Noir

Masion Nicolas Reserve 2006 Pinot Noir

Very bitter. Seems young I guess. Avoid.

Much better Pinots out there.

Great Italian Red

Saladini Pilastri, 2006 Rosso Piceno.
$9.99 at Total Beverage

What a great value red.

One to Pass On

Five Rivers Cabernet 2005 Paso Robles

Hardly any bouquet. Just wasn't up to par.

A pricier selection

Doing a work meeting, I had the opportunity to order some really nice wine.

2002 Atalon Cabernet - Napa Valley

Online, I have found it as cheap as $30, but at the restaurant, it was like $80.

Super smooth, no bite. Excellent.

Another good shiraz

Tyrrell's Wines - Shriaz 2005
$9.99 at Total wine
Perfect balance of fruit and spice

Good Rosso

I am partial to Italian reds, and this one is no different.

Colonnara Rosso Piceno Lyricus. I can't remember if it was an '03 or '05. The 2005 vintage got 87 points from Wine Advocate.

Overall good value. Very drinkable. Can see it being very good if decanted.

Only $9.99.

Little Penguin Pinot Noir

I tried this cheap guy and will pass. Just grape juice. Nothing to it. I am tending to prefer Shiraz these days. This just pushes me toward it even more.

At a restaurant the other day, I had a glass of Green Point Shiraz from Australia. It was really pretty good. It looks like the bottle price is just under $20.

Spanish Wine

I keep hearing about good Spanish wines, but haven't really tried any. I limped in with this one:

2004 Osborne Solaz Shiraz/Tempranillo

It is a 50/50 blend. Not much aroma for this dark wine. Not a lot of fruit flavor. Spicy ending. The strangest part is that the flavor disappears quickly, but still feels wet on the tongue. I can't call it dry.

Not bad, but would rather have an Aussie Shiraz. I will try another Spanish one soon. Any suggestions for an Under10?

Virginia Wine

The wife and I went to a few Leesburg area wineries in December. I picked up my favorite red out of the bunch. Virginia doesn't really produce solid reds, I must admit. On the white side, they have a number of decent ones.

Windham Winery Cabernet Franc 2004

At the winery, I really enjoyed it. When I opened this bottle, there was a lot of sediment. I wasn't as big a fan. After a few days now, it is a little better. I think this one just needs lots of time to breathe. Having it with some chocolate is recommended.

Overall, decent, but spend your money on something else. Like their Doukenie White.

Great website

I am now posting for www.winelog.net. I found the site because I was looking for another place to keep track of my wines and maybe find other recommendations at the same time. This is a great site for all that. Plus, there are several others like me writing helpful articles.

Sign up and add me as a friend. My screen name is CardCat.

Notes from our holiday party

At our work holiday party, I was in charge of buying wine from a variety of countries. A fun task to say the least. Trying to be a good corporate citizen, I tried to spend less than $10 per bottle and try some new wines at the same time. Only 1 stood out that I would want again:

Twin Wells Shiraz Reserve (Australia)

One that I bought that was gone pretty quick was a local wine I have had before.

Williamsburg (VA) Winery - Governor's White

This is an expensive, Virginia white. Sweet, fruity, easy to drink. Not to complex, but excellent wine for parties or just to sit around and drink.

Tuscan Beauties

I am a huge fan of Tuscan wines. I am guessing that part of it has to do with taking a class on them. Anyway, I tried a Vino Nobile at a buddy's house a while back and loved it. Granted it was a 1995, but dang was it good.

Anyway, breaking tradition, I spent $15 on a 2001 today. Loved it too.

Vecchia Cantina - Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano 2001

If you have the chance, I highly recommend picking one up.

Catching up with some new ones

I bought a bunch of new ones that I want to try, some I already have.

Total Red - Pinot Noir: This may be just for the Total Wine store, but it is a good fruity Pinot that is easy to drink.

Sidewise Pinot Noir 2003 - Not as good as I had hoped. Not that fruity, and extremely light. Soft tannins, tart finish. I would pass on it.

Been a while

Ok, so I haven't been good at keeping track. Here are 2 key finds, both reds.

Chateau de Cornemps, Bordeaux 2003

Mantellassi, Morellino di Scansano 2004

Sorry, that is all I can say.

I just realized I haven't posted anything in almost 6 months. It has been busy, but I should have been more diligent. I have tried plenty of new wines, and haven't written about them. I promise to be better.

The wife and I went to Morton's last night to use a gift certificate we got as a wedding present almost 3 years ago. We had a wonderful Merlot.

Clos Du Val - 2003 (I think)

It is more than $10 if you buy it at the store (I looked today) but it is great. I highly recommend it. I am trying a few more Merlots, and I will let you know what I think.

VA Wine Festival

This Saturday is the Virginia Wine Festival. I will be heading out there to see what VA has to offer. It should be a good time. To get in the mood, I cracked open a bottle tonight. This past week has involved a lot of beer drinking at bars, so it is nice to sit down and relax with something a bit lighter.

Wine #17 - 2004 Chateau Montet Bordeaux Sauvignon, France.

This is a white Bordeaux. Not something I am familiar with. The color is very pale. Even more so than a Pinot Grigio. Initially a nice strong bouquet, with a little bit of everything, mostly citrus - grapefruit and lemon. The taste is quite similar. I would describe it as a bit sour, leaving your mouth dry at the end. This really is different than a lot of whites I have tried. I can see this going well with a lemon fish dinner. Not really a party wine or something you would drink a whole bottle of yourself. I say skip it.

Very Mediocre Riesling

I know it has been a while. I am not ignoring my duty, I have just been busy. The wife and I were in Ireland for 2 weeks. I looked for wine, but beer is really their thing. I recommend Kilkenny, but it is not imported to the states.

Wine #16 - 2003 Avia Riesling - Slovenia.

Until I just looked, I didn't realize that this was from Slovenia. But oh well, here goes. The wine had more of a Grigio look and aroma. Upon first taste, you do get a little mix between Riesling and Pinot Grigio. There is more of a citrus and grassy aroma and flavor than most Rieslings I have tried. If you are looking for a sweet wine, there are plenty more I would recommend. To be honest, I am not enjoying this one that much. If you have the chance, choose something else.

An Idle Tuesday

Tonight I made a sausage, vegetable and BBQ sauce dish. Perfect for a red. I have been looking for another Malbec to rival my earlier favorite.

Wine #15 - 2003 Febus Malbec - Mendoza, Argentina.

The aroma is typical - hints of fruit and spice. Nothing overpowering in either direction. The taste is similar, but more spicy if not paired with food. With food, this is a nice, smooth wine. Without food, this wine is a bit spicy. Not something you would just grab and drink with friends. However, as a meal wine, I highly recommend it.

Best part - $7.99

The Truck

On a hot, sticky night, it was time to grill a nice steak. Looking at the stash for a bottle to choose, there was one that had been there for a while. A long time ago, Mary and I had dinner with a friend right after the Washington Wine Festival. He gave us a bottle to try. It was a favorite of him and his wife. He affectionately called it "Ten Buck Truck."

Wine #14 - 2002 Red Truck - Cline Cellars, Sonoma, CA.

The price tag on the bottle is $10.49, but I have a feeling it is cheaper in a large, warehouse type store. The initial aroma is nice. It has hints of cherry and plum. The taste is very fruity, with a dry finish, but still leaves you with some fruit taste.

I was weary of anything just called a table wine. However, after going to Total Wine the other night, I noticed there were quite a few, and even some expensive ones. The Truck is a nice, easy drinking wine. There isn't anything complex going on, just some good tasting wine. Killing a bottle or two in one sitting should be no problem. Don't confuse this with boxed wine, or Boone's. This is just simple and tasty. But really, are you looking for anything else?

Tonight was a perfect night to crack open a bottle. I made Jambalaya with Andouille sausage, so I chose a red. I chilled it for 20 minutes and let it breathe a minute.

Wine #13 - 2003 Twinwells Shiraz Reserve - Southeastern Australia.

The aroma is a nice mix of sweet blackberry, with that hint of spice you usually get from a Shiraz. The taste is a nice follow because it lives up to the aroma. The initial taste is sweet. The finish is short, but you get the spice at the end. It is fairly dry for as sweet at it tastes at first.

Overall, I give it a thumbs up. It isn't too much, but it isn't super light either. It is a good medium body wine with nice flavor. This would work well without food, but I highly suggest chilling it for that initial 20 minutes to take a little of the bite out of it.

Total Wine Price - $9.99