1. Agharta Cataclysm NorthCoast WW(43% Marsanne/33% Viog/24% Roussanne; 13.9%; www.AghartaWine.com) 2009: Med.light gold some cloudy color; light tobaccoy/pungent/smokey bit mostly earthy/Marsanne/appley some Rhonish/Hermitage-like rather complex nose; rather tart/lemony/earthy/Marsanne some smokey/pungent/tobaccoy bit steely/austere rather Hermitage-like flavor; rich/lush fairly tart earthy/Marsanne/appley fairly tobaccoy/pungent bit tannic/austere very structured finish; not a lot of lush fruit but a structured very Hermitage-like/austere RhoneBlanc that may go out 10-15-20 yrs; needs more time to develop. $40.00
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2. Bodega Bermejo Malvasia Dolce v.c.p.r.d. Lanzarote DessertWine (14%; JosePastorSlctn) NV: Med.dark gold color; intense grapey/honeyed/figgy/FigNewton some muscatty/floral/fragrant bit old Semillon slight oxidized/passito-like beautiful/complex nose; tart slight oxidized/sherry-like intense passito/figgy/FigNewton/honeyed light tobaccoy/pungent fairly sweet (4%-6%?) quite complex flavor; very long/lingering fairly sweet honeyed/figgy/FigNewton/muscatty/floral/perfumed rather tart quite complex/old-passito-like finish; a really terrific dessert wine that'll probably go out 10-20 yrs. $35.00/500 ml (K&L)
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Agharta: This is PaxMahle's high-end label that he produces at WindGap. Followed him from the very start, I did, I did. It's not your typical lush/ripe Calif Rhone Blanc and reminded me a lot of some of the young HermitageBlancs I've had. I suspect it was made in Pax's concrete eggs and with some skin-contact from its character and mouthfeel.
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2. Bermejo: I recently order several cases from K&L that arrived last Thurs. They had some new JosePastor wines and I was dying to try this Malvasia. I was mightly impressed (as I've been w/ near all the Pastor wines...maybe sweet Alice is onto something). Alas, appears to be sold out now. I came in a cute little btl w/ a tiny label around the neck and a cute little pouring spout. Maybe a bit hokey/cutsey.
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3. This dinner was Susan's Valentines treat for me. The next day, I got a really nice Valentiney card and a special gift....five pounds of frozen beef cheeks. Susan is such a romantic!!
Actually, I've been looking for beef cheeks for several yrs and she found them at the grocery store that caters to the Hispanic populace here in SantaFe.Tom