TN: 2004 Dain Wines Syrah Sojourn Las Madres Vineyard

12/31/2007: Dark crimson color with beautiful transparent edges showing off a lovely purple red color. The nose is subdued; some pomegranate, some vanilla. Interesting. The palate is explosive with sweet red & blue fruits; wonderful blueberry has very much taken hold. An amazing layer of soft vanilla is evident. There is a certain something I have never experienced before. For once in my life I am speechless...

This has perfect weight, and the tannins are lying in the background nicely and a wonderful acid level is in attendance. Fantastic long & smooth aftertaste. There is much happening here. I harkens back to a term I learned from a fellow wine lover; "Mind bender". This is such a wine. A serious, sensual gratifying assault on all of my senses from the neck up. 750 ml of elegance. My last bottle. I got to get me more of this. Well done Dain! (93 pts.)

2005 Audelssa Estate Winery Summit (USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley)

Nice translucent deep color. The nose is a bit subdued, but if one looks (smells) hard enough one can find some candied red fruits. The palate reveals red plums, cassis, tar, and leather. There is a real elegant feminine quality about this wine. A quality that elevates it to the stratosphere. The Petit Verdot is evident toward the end. Not a showy wine, but a more classy restrained wine. A structured tannin level interweaved with a tight wire-like acid level hold all parts of the whole together. Very Bordeaux like while still retaining its California roots. Something for everyone. 92/100

The State of the Union…. of my glassware.

My fellow wine lovers. Glassware has become a tremendous part of our ‘thing’. Years ago you had limited options that amounted (by today's standards) to average uncut crappy glasses as the INAO (seen here left).

I remember when the Les Impitoyables hit the market. I bit. I got the Mature Red (No. 3, right), and 2 Champagne (No. 4). Pricey, but nice. My Mature Red has not been used since the mid 90’s, and my Champagne circa 2000. I must admit, I would use the Champagne often if I were a bigger Champagne drinker. 1 Bottle a year does not a big drinker make.

These days I enjoy a few types of glasses. Most recently the Waterford Mondavi Syrah glass (left). Great feel, elegant and nicely balanced. A special wine glass for special wines. I have owned the Waterford Mondavi Cabernet glasses, but found them too big.

My everyday glass for the last year is the Riedel Ouverture Red Wine glass (below right). I purchased 15 or so tubes (4 glasses) last December 26th from bed Bath and Beyond. They were marked down from $30 per tube of 4 to $12.99. How could I not grab all I could? They make great gifts, and I still have enough on hand for a decent group tasting at my home. The stem is shorter but the feel is great.

Previous to the Riedel I regularly used the Spiegelau Vino Grande Magnum Bordeaux (below left). Nice feel. Very similar to the above Riedel, just a longer stem. They break a bit easier on the faucet, so in the back of my cabinet they sit.

I have recently checked out the Crate & Barrel Loire line-up. The Sauvignons seems pretty good. Nice feel, but slight rough visually when spun in your thumb and forefinger. At $7.95 they seem like a good candidate for the dinner table, or situations that can get a bit rough like dinner on the back deck. I will grab 4 when I get a chance. Crate and Barrel glassware has come a long way in the last year. In the past they were awkward and unbalanced.

TN: 2005 Saxon-Brown Syrah Flora Ranch

(USA, California, Sonoma County, Chalk Hill) $28.99
Went on Greg dal Piaz's (Astor, NYC) recco on this. I asked him for a cool climate Cali Syrah in about the $40 range and this surely delivered. Great complex nose of pebbles,moss, white pepper and dark plums. The palate showed elegance, structure, restraint and beauty. Great under current of red fruits and tight tannins. Deft acid level. Nice decent finish. This was surely the crowd pleaser on the table. One that I wish were a magnum than a 750 as I hated to see it go. Thanks Greg.

What do point scores mean to me?

Lots of talk of this subject as of late. Good points made on both sides of the wall. Me? I am solidly aground in my use of them. I think they work well for my needs and give me a yardstick to judge all wines that cross my lips.

When reading others notes I really have no use for the points UNLESS I know the tasters preferences. Descriptors are more important to me than point scores 98% of the time.

I know what I like in a wine, but does that mean your button pushers are the same? No way.

I agree with BS, professional critics scoring schemes are different, but not. You must find a critic you align with, and only then feel comfortable relying on his scores can you purchase on his recommendation, but remember, there is nothing like tasting for yourself and making your own judgement.

Let's not abolish points just yet. They have a place, even if it's under your own roof.

But what the hell do I know?

"Where did all my Bordeaux go?" or 'Where's the fruit?"

I started 'this thing of ours' in 1981. Wine was relatively inexpensive and bargains were plentiful. The 'boom' had not hit yet, at least not the boom which has brought us to today's conditions.

I enjoyed Bordeaux from the left bank (more CS based than Merlot). I was able to get wines like 1978 Beychevelle for $11 and 1982 Lafite Rothschild futures for $300...a case!

It took some time, but I was able to build up quite a nice collection. Moderately rare Bordeuax going back to the teens (1918 Calon Segur) by tapping some of the great cellar auctions like Delmonicos in NYC. I had amassed many top vintages of the 40's, 50's, 60's and 7o's. I remember bidding on a pair of 1926 Mouton Rothschilds. When the bidding went above $200 for the pair I stopped. I also remember bein offered a newly Chateau re-corked 1934 Lafite on sale at Sherry Lehman for about $150. By time I went back to to the shop, it was gone. I found I had filled my Eurocave quite nicely.

California Cabernet was a very different beast then; monolithic and primary for the most part. Lingering in the back of my mind I had always felt there was something I was missing in all the wines I drank.

Somewhere around 2001 I awoke and realized; I did not like Bordeaux. To me it was funky, barnyardy, missing fruit and just plain amiss. The whole concept of 'secondary nuances' flew past me. In contrast, many of today's California Cabernet's are full of deep red/black fruits, wonderful lush mouth feel, and just all around enjoyable. I happen to like my Cabs young; 5-10 years is perfect, and I am not shy about opening my 2004's either. Why wait? If I enjoy them now, what's to gain? (I love when I see tasting notes proclaiming "wonderful, 95 points! I will wait for my other 5 to get better." Better? There is a high probability they will be disappointed.)

What to do? What to do?

I sold ALL of my Bordeaux and restocked with my beloved newly rediscovered Cabernet. Not just any Cabernet, pure Napa Valley elixir.Don't cry for me...I did OK.

TN: 2005 Saintsbury Pinot Noir Carneros

This pinot noir is well worth its 23 dollar price:

It is somewhat pale in color, but intense, with crimson edges. The nose reveals fresh crushed pebbles & sour red cherries. The palate continues on with the cherries and pebbles with the addition of : tar, leather, violets and a hint of strawberries. The acid level seems right on and the medium texture tannins are well balanced and smooth. A great effort from the entry (I believe) level Pinot in the Saintsbury line. I have had Gevrey-Chambertains costing 3x the price that were not as expressive and enjoyable. Isn't that the real meaning of QPR? 92 points. ($22.99)

TN: 2005 Lucia Syrah Susan's Hill

USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

(11/23/2007)This is a more 'complete' wine when compared to the 2004. The color is deep and dark, almost blue/purple on the edges. The nose is blueberry, blackberry, camphor, and more. On the palate there was the sexiness spoken of, as well as a lushness I don't not usually associate with Syrah. A beautiful deep fruited Syrah that will just get better in the next few years. The tannin and acid level are spot on. A super long finish completes the package. Note to self; get more.

(94 pts.)

TN: 2004 Scholium Project Syrah Scythia Donati Vineyards

USA, California, Central Coast, San Benito County (8/24/2007)Not decanted as long as usual. Super dark purple color. This is one of the smoothest syrahs I have ever come across. Pretty blueberry pie on the nose as well as bruised purple fruits; plums are the highlight. A wonderful integration of tannins and acid create an ultra refined mouthfeel for a syrah. The finish goes on 'til midnight, or at least 40 seconds. Glad I got 5 more in reserve. (93 pts.)

TN: 2002 Forman Cabernet Sauvignon

USA, California, Napa Valley (8/24/2007)The nose on this is phenomenal. Dark fruits & chocolate shoot upward from the glass. Medium color. The palate reveals wonderful cassis, dark cherries, and cocoa. There is an amazing mouthfeel which exhibits the purest expression of cabernet you can find, all wrapped in a wonderfully meshed tannin jacket. This is just so elegant and classy; words are difficult to describe it. 30 second finish sums things up nicely (95 pts.)

TN: 2004 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon

USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain (8/24/2007)Decanted 1 hour. Sweet red fruits, cherry pie. Over extracted and very unbalanced. Not flawed, just not.....nice. High acid and never yielding in any sort of 'cabernet as I know 'em' type of way. If this is the new world, stop it, I want to get off.n/a

TN: 2002 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cépages

USA, California, Sonoma County (11/24/2007)Pretty medium ruby color. The nose is all about casis and blackberry with some anise. Quite intense. The palate reveals beautiful pure cabernet qualities of currant, sweet dark fruits, wonderful slight cocoa, and tar. There is a very intense oak quality but this has the fruit to carry it. If I have any complaint its the somewhat high acid level, but its negligable. This is a very elegant intense bottle of wine. A superb finish brings it all home. This was a wonderful deal at $37.00 from Winestilsoldout.com. (91 pts.)