WTN: This weekend I'm drinking?

For now, a new Muscadet to our monopoly:

• 2005 Drouet Fils Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine La Sancive Sur Lie - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine (3/23/2007)
  The nose is ripely fruity as can be expected from such a warm year, but there is the nice citrussyness and minerality I hope to see from Muscadet. The palate is refreshing and has a long and mineral aftertaste. Nice!

Posted from CellarTracker

Finishing off a Schwarz Nietschke Block Shiraz 2001

Hopefully something a bit more cerebral on Sat/Sun

Tonight: Kenwood Winery is tasting at the local Nugget Market. I'm curious, and for $3 why not?

Sunday: I've been invited to a beef barbecue. When people know you are wine-obsessed and have a ridiculous cellar of California wines, you get invited to a lot of parties. (J/K)

Newton "The Puzzle" 2002 Bordeaux Blend. One of the few bottles I've bought recently untasted. Reviews don't emphasize excessive oak, and this is Spring Mountain fruit, so there's hope. Even if it's a monster, there will be people there who enjoy big oaky Napa Cabs.

1996 Chateaux Prieurie Lichine. Third bottle of this Fourth Growth wine-which I think is getting even better over the months. Very much a red fruit style, but the savory and bitter notes were fascinating a few months ago.

1996 Cafaro Cabernet. The 1991 was past its prime but still delicious (imo) for the first hour. Let's see what's happening with the '96. I love Cafaro's wines! And, the price was right ($15!)

I might bring a Zin, Petit Sirah, or a "Bardolino" as a backup. I can;t wait. My friend is an excellent cook, and the group will be a fun one.

`04 De Bortoli P Verdot.
`05 Allegrini Valpollicella.
Maybe the Dowie Doole Chenin Blanc?

An '04 Louis Jadot Bourgogne, recommended several times on this BB. I've been trying to find a bottle for nearly 2 years, which says something about availability of fairly common wines in West Virginia. $19+ plus 6% sales tax and 5% excise (luxury) tax. Probably with some kind of beef.

Heavily!

I dunno, ask me Monday.

Spaghetti tomorrow, grilled Porterhouse, baked potato and salad on Sunday. Whatever it is will cover both days.

It'll be red stuff.

Heavily!

Hey, you stole my answer!

Tonight I am sipping a Bully Hill Marechal Foch because I am homesick.

Don't know what the rest of the weekend holds yet. Depends on whether or not I dine out.

Heavily!

Hey, you stole my answer!

Tonight I am sipping a Bully Hill Marechal Foch because I am homesick.

Don't know what the rest of the weekend holds yet. Depends on whether or not I dine out.

,.........or if my date shows up!!!!

Shortly I am going to taste 24 NZ sauv blancs not from Marlborough, to see if any have Marlborough character. Should be interesting .... or not.

Sue, we all look forward to that. Where will you be posting. On your blog?

[James Roscoe]

I had a Anakena Syrah from Chile last night. Very varietaly correct. I enjoyed it with take out bbq. At $14.99 it was priced about right.

This is an edit for Otto who is whining about TNs. I feel particularly outclassed in that depaertment, and I never write stuff down. The syrah was very chocolatey and had some nice black fruits. I suppose it had some nice tannins that matched the bbq beef brisquet I was eating. Thje tannins settled in the glass over the two hours I was drinking the wine. It was a sort of milk chocolate experience by the end. Is that better Otto?

Probably something home made. I did crack a bottle of the '06 Steuben Rose last night.

[Jenise]

Tonight: a melange of wines at a little dinner party here at home, ostensibly to figure out the contents of a couple label-less bottles of "mystery wine" a friend brought back from California. I might throw the Jekel 92 Petit Verdot in the mix. Tomorrow? No idea. Depends on what we have for dinner.

It's always interesting to see what people are drinking, but with the heading I chose I was hoping to nudge you all into giving WTNs on the wines.

If it isn't too much trouble, I would love to read even just a word or two on the wines!

-O-

I have a 2000 Cheateau Garderose St. Emilion breathing at present. I have now had four 2000 Bordeaux from lower end Chateau and I have not yet been disappointed. They can actually be had at very reasonable prices. I have not been able to find anything close to comparable bargains from Burgundy recently. Shame.

[James Roscoe]

I drank a Spanish red from Terra Alta. For Otto I posted an entirely separate TN on it. I hope that satisfies your need!

OK, Otto, this one's for you - not an official tasting note, but the best I can do. We finished off a bottle of Concannon Petite Sirah. It was full bodied, and luscious without being in your face. It was spicy and slightly rustic. I found it simply yummy. We had it the other night with a chorizo & rice dish, and tonight with cajun-spiced shrimp burgers. I would drink it with just about anything.

Tonight I didn't exactly dine out, but it wasn't at my home either. My best friend's husband prepared a fantastic dish of grilled chicken served over angel hair pasta, with a sauce of white wine, cream, shallots, mushrooms, smoked paprika and capers. Went very nicely with a Bully Hill Seasons, a semi-sweet white table wine with loads of apple and pear on the nose and palate. We had a cherry clafouti for dessert made with the cherries we canned last year. Lovely evening, finished with single malts.

Life is good!

It's red stuff.

David Coffaro "Escuro" '05.

David "found" the Tannat grape a couple of years back, and this is a typical Coffaro mixture - 1/3 each Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Syrah. The Tannat is from Lodi, the rest is Dry Creek Valley.

I asked him about Escuro and why he was interested in Tannat, while we were packing and loading a couple of cases of wine, and from what I remember (this was 6 months ago) he felt that he wanted another grape that had some of the same characteristics as cabernet franc, syrah, or petite syrah, because he was getting sort of bored with the same old stuff. That isn't what he said, it's the sense that I got out of our conversation.

In a 2-ounce opening pour, the color was purple-ruby, almost amethyst. More spices than a spice cabinet; cinnamon was strong, and there was something herbal, with pungency similar to fresh tarragon or oregano. Not particularly tannic, fairly ripe, lots of mixed fruit flavors, fairly long.

It's young and will settle more.

With dinner an hour and a half or so later, a glassful was opaque dark royal purple. A tad less aromatic, a tad more cabernet sauvignon taste to it. Petite syrah showed up in the middle, and overall a spicy, almost oriental aroma and taste that I have to associate with the Tannat because it isn't like either of the other varieties.

This wine would work with a mild curry, or Vietnamese food. What I was eating was linguini with our family's meat sauce, a sort of hamburger Bolognese, heavy on the Italian herbs. It worked fine.

More tomorrow.

I knew that! But it's a bit tricky to post tasting notes about the weekend on Friday morning....

1993 Domaine du Pégäu Cuvée Reservée Chateauneuf du Pape
color pale garnet with bricking at the edges
nose herbs and kirsch with a tinge of alcohol
palate smooth entry, medium-full body, brambly cherry fruit, herbal complexity, good acidity and fully resolved tannins

Opened with a dinner of butterflied leg of lamb marinated in EVOO, garlic and herbs, then grilled. The match was terrific.

Mark Lipton

Robert Traverso syrah. Robert's a very small producer who works out of his home in Davis. The syrah is made from Amador County grapes and featurers some ripe fruit fllavor with a touch of blueberry and a bit of plush oak. The wine also has a little bit of meaty character and the acidity to balance out the fruit and oak. Nice stuff and worth the $22 or so that Bob charges.

Mike

`04 De Bortoli P Verdot.
`05 Allegrini Valpollicella.
Maybe the Dowie Doole Chenin Blanc?

Bob - how is the Allegrini? I had the 2003 a while back and it was so jammy I could not drink it. Look forward to hearing about your experience with the 05.