The Hess 2010 Allomi Cabernet Sauvignon

I have to admit I was not expecting such a velvety, fruit forward but structured and soft-finish wine from a work event. I selected Hess for a 20-person event because of its consistency, but the Allomi punched way above its weight in price. One of the better bottles I have had in a long while.
$30 on wine.com.
$$/+++

Geyser Peak's 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley

I was pleasantly surprised at lunch when the wine by the glass I ordered had such a pleasant nose of berries and a rich, velvety cherry flavor that coated the mouth and left a long, smooth finish.
Reminded me of a Hess I had a few weeks ago in Santa Clara. Even better, it's on wine.com for $16 a bottle. I ordered 3 to make sure it's not a fluke.
$/++

Frescobaldi's 2008 Mormoreto, the Super Tuscan from Castello Di Nipozzano

Nose of earth, dust and cherries-similar to an older Brunello or Amarone. Mouthful of intense red currants laced with light tannins that makes it interesting yet smooth with a long finish. Can stand up to big food.
Worth the $55 from wine.com.
$$/+++

St. Supery's 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

Sharing a 2009 St. Supery Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa with Chris, Karem, and Amanda. I had read a ton about this wine-anticipation let down. Nose of red fruit. Light tannins but fruit forward. Very drinkable. $$/++ at Comstock Lodge Park City

Stag Leap's 2007 Artemis from Napa

Sharing a 2007 Stag's Leap Artemis with Bill, Christina and Karem at the Montage.

Nose of cherries and blackberries. Mouthful of black currant with supple but structured tannins.

We had ordered the 2010 but they couldn't find it-bonus!
WE had it at a 94.
We say "delicious".
$$/++

Gaja Ca'marcanda 2010 Promis from Tuscany

Opened the evening with the 2010 Gaja Ca'marcanda Promis. Enough Merlot to ease anyone in. Good nose and taste of cherries without as much structure as previous vintages (and no real tannins). But very, very drinkable. Good Après ski wine.
$$/++

Clos Du Val's 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

Sharing a half bottle of the 2009 Clos Du Val Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa with Christina during a lunch break on the ski slopes.
Nose of ripe cherries with a mouthful of red fruit and well-balanced and structured tannins.
Gorgeous.
$$/++

Thorne Clarke's 2010 Shotfire Quartage from Barossa Valley

While I have had the bottle before (always buy in 3s), it didn't show very well. Nose was too much of tar with a mouthful cherries but too tannic to really enjoy. This one was barely drinkable.
$/+

Col D'Orcia's 2007 Brunello Di Montalcino

I had high hopes for this because I have had previous vintages. But...
Light nose of cherries and dust.
A bit too tannic on the palate, uncomplicated but drinkable. Just not a $40 wine.
$$/+

Veuve Cliquot's Brut Champagne

My favorite bubbly with its classic effervescent and ever so slightly citrus nose. Buttery and rich but dry and über quaffable. Our "house" champagne when times are good and a splurge when they ain't. Only Krug and Dom can out shine here (yes I am excluding Cristal).
$$/++

2009 Iconoclast from SLD, Napa

Strong notes of vanilla and cherries on the nose. Big bursting plum with mouth covering flavors of smoke and chocolate.

The Four Seasons has this wine made for them. Gorgeous.

$$/++

Quintessa's 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa

This wine never disappoints.  Consistent year-to-year with scores in the mid-90's from just about every critic and for nearly every year.  A big nose of plum and earthy spice.  Flavors of cherry and plum, mixed with light tannins (taste of leather?) and a structured, but clean and pleasant finish.

I shared this wine with some customers at the Soho House in Hollywood.  The price was orbital ($235), but sometimes you have to splurge for the big experience.

You can find the wine at a much more "palatable price" on Wine.com for $139 a bottle.

If you do buy this bottle, lay it down.  I am saving one from a friend for a few more years...

$$$/+++

Provenance Vineyards' 2010 Uppercut Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa

I have to admit I was expecting a big, bold cab based on the name alone and knowing this was the "little brother" of the vineyard's namesake wine from Rutherford (which is a big, chewy cab), I was expecting it to deliver something with a strong nose and bold and spicy if not earthy palate.

What a disappointment.

Now I am not saying the wine is bad by any measure.  However, it was a very typical "Popular Napa Cab", with a ton of fruit forward, light on the tannins, quick finish, but in this case had little structure or anything of note to make it interesting.

Now at $10 a glass in Cafe Firenze or $21 a bottle from Wine Searcher, you really can't complain too much, but I think they should sit down with their marketing department and reconsider the name.  Perhaps "love tap" would be more appropriate--not even strong enough for a "bitch slap".

$$/+

Cielo's 2009 WildBerrys from the Woodstock Collection

Sitting down in the warm afternoon SoCal weather helps to abate the disappointment here. 

Normally a big fan of the Woodstock Collection, today I was disappointed.

A very pleasant nose of fresh, ripe, red fruit, but followed by a slight taste of sour cherries (using the venturi made it taste worse).  Ironically, it smells and tastes like a GSM, though it claims to be a Cabernet-based wine (100% Cabernet from Alexander Valley).

Drinkable, but not spectacular.

Wine-searcher has it for $19.99  Ironically from Wade's…

$/+

Updated:  We tried the wine after storing half the bottle in a hand-vacuum pump.  Ironically, it got much better.  It took on structure and tasted more like a complex blend from Tuscany or Bordeaux.  Now the trick is to figure out how to "oxidize it, just right" consistently.

Robert Mondavi's 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

At $12.50 a glass, you have an appropriate expectation of greatness, but this bottle clearly delivers a drinkable but not great Napa Cabernet experience.

The nose was film of blackberries and black currants--almost jammy. But upon initial taste, the fruit did not come through. Later, as the bottle opened, the tannins softened and a very drinkable wine came through, but perhaps not a great wine.  It score consistently in the 89-91 range.

You can find this on wine.com for $19.99.

$/+

Sunstone's 2009 Merlot

Back at Cafe Firenze for lunch on a Saturday and would normally go for a glass of Rosso di Montalcino but I wanted to give that Merlot from a few weeks ago another test drive.

Bouquet still very cherry. Delivers a mouthful of cherry with soft tannins and a pleasant lingering finish. Not quite as big as I remember but big enough to stand up to a truffled gnocchi. Perhaps not earthy enough for my tastes but very, very drinkable. And for a Merlot, a veritable home run in my book.

$9 a glass at Cafe Firenze.  $16 on Wine Searcher.

$ / ++

Cielo's 2010 Knights Valley Meritage

If you've been to Malibu, you've probably driven by Sip.  It's the cool, eclectic little wine bar that looks like its a dusty biker bar off the Kanan as you drive through the canyon to the coast.  While it would be tough for anyone to argue the defendable merits of grapes grown in SoCal, Sip (owned by the same company that owns Cielo) has been clever enough to sell their Napa-based wines here as well.

The wines are usually fun and different than the standard "single vineyard" approach out of Napa, with blends taking the priority alongside great names like "Purple Haze" or "Honey Pie".  This particular wine doesn't quite live up to its potential, delivering an aroma of dust and leather to the nose and a taste of broad tannins with less fruit than most would expect from Napa-based grapes.  In fact, I would have said the wine tasted more like it was from Bordeaux (usually from the soil), or as my neighbor calls it, "poop" wine because of the taste of dirt it carries (which I think rounds out the wine).

I think most of the SoCal palates will enjoy their BlackBird or Purple Haze more, and for a $40 wine that is hard to find unless you live local or join the wine club, there are probably better options for the rest of us, too.

$$ / +

Banfi's 2007 Brunello di Montalcino

I had very high hopes for this wine when I opened it last night with a heavy Italian meal.  I had "won" it in a charity auction a month or so ago.

But it did not deliver.

As my neighbor Jeff described it, the aroma was "where the tire meets the road."  I thought maybe it was a bad bottle and re-checked the cork a few times.  The flavor was also not enticing.  More like sour cherries and an odd finish.

Ironically, the "official" scores for this vintage ranged from 89 - 94, so maybe we did have a bad bottle.

$$ / -

You can find this on wine.com for $65.99.

If you like this wine (or how it should taste), you would probably enjoy the Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino, the Gaja Ca'marcanda Magari or the Antinori Tignanello.

Chappellet's 2010 Merlot

I find myself surprised again as I write about another decent Merlot from Napa Valley.  While I have been in the "Sideways" camp on Merlot for a long time, the recent experience with 2009 Sunstone Merlot in the space of 3 weeks.  Chappellet has not shown well for me in the past 12 months to the point that I recently left their wine club.  However, this Merlot exceeded my expectations and delivered a big, fruit forward mouthful of black cherries, with supple tanins and had a pleasant, medium finish.  The wine is 9% Cabernet and 2% Petit Verdot, giving it the appealing complexity of a blended red.

$$ / ++

This wine is not easy to find.  You can order it from their wine club for roughly $30 or find previous vintages on wine searcher.

If you like this wine, you might also like:

• 2009 Sunstone Merlot

Gaja Ca'Marcanda's 2009 Magari

I know what those of you who know me are already saying, "Again?  Really?"  I continue to turn to this wine for big steaks because of the consistency it provides in big, powerful mouthfuls of spicy red fruit flavors with an oaky but pleasant finish.

Made up of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grapes, the wine carries itself well due to the rich soils of the Tuscan countryside where it is made in Italy.  If you are in the mood for something just a bit lighter, I would recommend its sister wine the "Promis".

While Robert Parker gave this vintage a 92, previous vintages consistently scored similarly or higher.

$$ / ++

You can find this on wine.com for $78.99 (the top end of our $$ range).

Chimney Rock's 2008 Stag's Leap Cabernet Sauvignon

Consistently outstanding year-to-year, the 2008 vintage does not disappoint.  Luscious aromas of cherry and big cherry flavors upfront with the classically Napa Valley cabernet flavorings, accompanied by a nice, long and clean finish.  We shared this last night with friends at the tail end of a great steak meal (Cafe Firenze) and the wine was able to handle the steak and stand alone afterwards.

While Robert Parker has this at a 91, I think it bears a slightly better review more consistent with previous year's average scores (92-95).

If you get a chance to visit their winery in Napa, I highly recommend the experience.  A great atmosphere you can try some of their other hard to find favorites (Tomahawk Vineyard, Elevage).

$$ / ++

You can find this on wine.com for $69.99.

Yalumba's 2008 Eden Valley Shiraz-Viognier

A surprisingly well-balanced wine, with fruit up front and a decent, but not bitter or teeth coating finish.

Yalumba is famous for their Shiraz (try the Octavius for something akin to La Grange), but this is a great everyday wine with a screw top (easy to open) which has a small amount of Viognier (to soften the palate).  While I don't agree with James Halliday's 94 rating, it is certainly worth your $20.

$ / +.

You can find it on wine.com for $19.99.

James Tobin 2009 Primo

While this Sangiovese from Paso Robles started off as a "fistfull" of black berries and cherry, it ironically went down hill as it opened, tasting like dried, almost pickled fruit by the 2nd glass.  The smell was difficult to nail down--very pleasant to start and finishing somewhere between roadtar and leather (we actually argued about it).

Hmmm.

$ / -

You can find this wine for $16.99 on wine-searcher.

Rancho Sisquoc 2010 Syrah

It isn't often you find a decent glass of wine in a self-proclaimed beer brewery, but today at LadyFace I was pleasantly surprised with a glass of this Santa Barbara grown Syrah.  With aromas of cherry and a bright, fresh palate of fruit with little tannins or after taste.  Reminiscent of Dutton-Goldfields Cherry Ridge Syrah, one of the few that shows distinctively yet very drinkable from California.

$$ / ++

You can find it on the winery's own website for $25.00 plus shipping. 

Cantena's 2010 Malbec

A consistently well-structured Malbec from Argentina.

I found the nose jammy and a little dusty. 

The taste was light, with supple red fruits, a medium finish, but with a lingering but less pleasant aftertaste.  It did open up after an hour, losing some of the tannic after taste.

Robert Parker gave this vintage a 91, where is has consistently scored over the years.

$ / +

You can find this wine on Wine.com for $19.99.

Geyser Peak's 2007 Walking Tree

A decent cabernet from the Alexander Valley near Napa, California.

Pleasantly strong smell of cherries.

Fruit forward flavor, with a Big, oaky mouthful, medium finish and slightly tannic after taste. 

A great everyday wine which scores on one of the ratings services in the low 90s just about every year.  Perfect for that everyday wine to stock up in your pantry.

$ / +

You find this on Wine.com for $19.99.

Chappellet's 2010 Mountain Cuvee

A blend of red grapes (Merlot, Cabernet, Malbec, etc).

While I normally like their blends, this didn't show very well.

Initial smell of dust/must and cherry.

A biting flavor, with red fruit but too tannic with bitter aftertaste.

A drinkable wine, but not worthy of the extra price.

$$ / +

You can get find this on Wine.com for $33.99.

Shafer's 2009 Relentless

It isn't often you find a decent shiraz from the U.S., but Shafer's Relentless is certainly worthy of note.  With a blend of Syrah and Petit Syrah grapes, the wine continuously shows well year after year.

A very pleasant, spicy and bold nose.
Strong flavors of red fruit (cherries, black berries), with a medium to peppery but very pleasant finish.  Really opened up after an hour or so.
Certainly worthy of a night out with friends.

Robert Parker gave this vintage a 93, but previous vintages have consistently scored in the 95s with him.  Wine Spectator gave this vintage a 95.

$$ / ++

You can find this wine at Wine.com for $72.

The Stolpman Sauvignon Blanc and Sunstone Merlot steal the show

Headed down with a neighbor on Wednesday the 23rd of January to Cafe Firenze in Moorpark, CA, to try their new wine tasting format.

Very pleased with the format, the ambience, and the wines themselves, surprising myself with my top picks being wines I would not normally graviate to.

2011 Stolpman Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Ynez organic, biodynamic, dry farmed

Crisp, light, green apple

$ / ++

$18 on Wine Searcher

2010 Cline Cellars Pinot

Smooth, clove aroma. Smoky. 

Coats the mouth, bitter

? / -

2009 Sunstone Merlot

Spicy smell almost like a barista valley

Big fruit up front, but round quick finish 

$ / ++

$16.00 on Wine Searcher

2008 Zaca Mesa Z Cuvee

Smell of asphalt, leather

Bitter and tannic for a GSM. Lingering bitter finish

? / -

2010 Stolpman Estate grown Syrah

Plum, blackberry jam. Smell

Mouthful of blackberries. Slight dusty finish. Dry, lingering after taste

Coated teeth

? / +

Covento's 2011 Las Claras

From the Ribero del Duero of Spain.

Tempranillo (100%)

Smells earthy with hints of red fruit.

The wine coats your tongue completely, with softer tannins but is earthier than most Tempranillos.

I am not aligned with RP score of 93 on this wine.  Might be a bad bottle.  Will check again and update the blog if I find it different.

$ / +

You can find it on Wine.com for $17.99 

Yalumba's 2009 "The Scribbler"

A decent wine from from Barossa Valley, Australia (my favorite source of Shiraz).

61% Cab, 39% Shiraz

Smell.  Cassis and cherry.

Taste.  Big, mouthful of juice, pleasant finish.

Very drinkable.

$ / ++

You can find this on Wine.com for $19.99

Understanding this Wine Blog

I have been using Pinterest and Photostream in an attempt to memorialize my wine musings.  I wanted to take the time to put a little more structure around my thoughts for my own use and that of a few fellow wine bums.

So I am going to commit to a few principles:
 

• brevity
• honesty
• utility

I will quickly describe the wine (winery, vintage, location).

I will be honest about my thoughts on the smell and the taste (inextricably linked).

I will rate them in drinkability and price:

• -         barely drinkable
• +        drinkable, every day wine, table wine
• ++      a step up in taste, worthy of a Friday or Saturday night out with friends
• +++    incredible, worthy of a special birthday or anniversary celebration
• ++++  once in a lifetime experience

• $        $   0-20
• $$      $ 20-40
• $$$    $ 40-80
• $$$$  $ 80+

I will annotate my "favorites" (of any price) and "gems" (those which are +++ and $$ or less).