Another Smörgåsbord of Wine Porn

In no particular order:



I found a bunch of this 2000 Rosemount Hill of Gold Shiraz in a local wine store. I'm not sure what the current release is, but this one is a few years old. If you have this wine, drink now. It will not be getting any better. It is brown around the edges and incredibly pungent. It is a decent wine, if you're feeling adventurous. I picked this up a few months ago for $20.



Next we have the 2004 Matthews Claret. A great Washington wine, good for all occasions. I enjoyed it quite a bit.



I have nothing good to say about the 2004 BV Napa Valley Merlot, so I will say nothing.



The 2004 PlumpJack St. Helena Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon is a great wine. Very different from the more recent PlumpJack vintages, but the oak has mellowed quite a bit and the flavors are much more integrated than when it was young. A great wine, but a bit on the expensive side at $50.



The 2005 Scabi, in addition to having one of the most visually appealing wine labels in my collection, is also a great drop! I've only found it through Garagiste the one time I got it, but I would recommend it to anyone if you can find it.



Last but not least in anyway is the 2006 Justin Savant, their Cab/Syrah blend. It's a great wine, but not as spectacular as I had hoped. Only available through their wine club (or the right local Bay area store, as I found), this wine is about $50. And because Justin always has lots of useful information on the back label, the back of the bottle:

a whole lot of Justin

I just got another shipment from Justin so I keep finding excuses to open them.



We start with the 2006 Justin Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a special one for me because I have never had it before. Indeed, this is the first time I have got a shipment of it. It was an inky purple wine (which I like), and full of oaky fruit (which I also like). This is a great wine, but at $45 it just is not as thrilling as some other California Cabs in that price range. The wine club price of $36, however, makes it a very reliable drinker, and a good deal.



Next we have the 2006 Justification, the 63% Cab, 37% Merlot blend. I used to say the Isosceles was my favorite wine, but now I just can not make up my mind between the Justification and the Isosceles. Really, these are where Justin earns all my respect. Their Cab, their Syrah, their whites--all good solid wines, and alone they would make a respectable line. But these blends! This is where Justin really shines. I opened this on election night to celebrate.



Third was the 2006 Justin Syrah. I could smell the pepper and taste the fruit, the cassis, and the oak. This is a great Syrah--not as good as the 2002 Reserve Syrah, but still a nice bottle. Certainly it impressed my guests who got to drink some.



Lastly we opened a bottle of the 2007 Viognier. Not a lot to say about it. If I have to drink white, I like to drink Viognier. I would drink this one again. It was light and crisp, not syrupy-sweet.

2005 Lewis Alec's Blend Napa Valley

Lewis doesn't need me to tell you how good their wine is. This wine was great. Fantastic. Too expensive for me to add to my list, but it made a great gift for which I am very thankful.



Sara and I drank this at home with a good, home-cooked meal. It really made my night. I love cab-syrah blends, and this is one to rival some of my favorite Australians. If you want the details, here's the reverse of the bottle.



If you've not had it, this is a great California wine to try on a special occasion.

2005 Cor Cellars Momentum

Another entry from Washington, this time Horse Heaven Hills. And another Cab/Syrah blend. Only this time, it is a value wine which I picked up for $17. The 2005 Cor Cellars Momentum hits the sweet spot. It is a great, earthy, full bodied drinkin' wine at a reasonable price. It is a screw-cap, which means you can close it up and put it in the fridge easily to drink over a few days. I give it 3.5 out of 5.0.

Short digression: I am in favor of screw caps for the vary reason I mention above. Sometimes I like to have a glass by myself and don't want to have to finish the whole bottle. I like being able to throw it back in the fridge and not worry about pumping or where did I put the damn cork. It will also free up more cork for higher end wines. When I open an expensive wine, I like the way pulling a cork makes it feel like something special. I realize wine is to be drunk, not worshipped, but I enjoy some ritualization.

2005 Des Voigne Solea

For Thanksgiving I pulled out the 2005 Des Voigne Solea because I just couldn't wait any longer. Having drank The Duke recently, it was on my mind. I tasted it back in June and this was my favorite of the line.

In related news I bought the last of the Oregano Salami that Salumi had when I was there last Wednesday. Literally the last one they had. They're not making it anymore (though DeLaurenti may have some still).

I mention the Salami because it was a great pairing for this wine. The hints of Green Pepper were still there, but more mellow than I remember at the tasting. The wine was very enjoyable. The flavors have all really come together and I have new found respect for Des Voigne. I liked this one better than The Duke. It's a Cab / Merlot / Cab Franc blend for $28 that I can really get behind. I would buy more of this. They say it got 90pts from some magazine or other. I'd give it four out of five stars on the Jeffamascale.

By the way, this is my 100th post. If you're wondering what to get me for this milestone, all I ask for is that you share my blog with a friend or two.

2002 L'aventure Optimus

The more perspicacious readers will no doubt correlate the above title with the "My Favorite Wines" sidebar. It is true--Optimus is one of my favorites. The NYT Wine Blog, in a posting titled Greatness Within Reach, discussed Ridge's Monte Bello. I guess if you're a writer for the NY Times, $123 per bottle is "within reach." Those of us with Seattle area mortgages can't reach quite that far. However, the point is well taken.

Indeed, "greatness within reach" is really what I strive for in wine. I spent a few years trying all different sorts of things, ordering randomly from Garagiste, taking advice (good and bad) from wine shop owners, managers, peons and going to tastings. I've pretty much nailed down what I like, and I am at a point in my life when I really don't want to spend money on stuff that I don't like. I'll take recommendations from people I trust. I'll still go to tastings; I'll still accept the offered glass at a dinner party. But when I'm at my house, doing my thing, I only want to drink what I like. Life is to short to drink crap while the good stuff is sitting in the fridge.

So when Mr. Pasceri suggested we go for a "Gentlemen's Evening" (yes; he watches entirely too much television) at Morton's I pulled out my last bottle of 2002 L'aventure Optimus. The wine still has a good 10 years left in it, but it's tasting wonderful right now. It is really a beautiful thing. It's a $50 wine, but can be found as low as $40. Every vintage I've had is a different blend, with varying amounts of syrah and zin. The winemaker doesn't like to be restrained by rules about what varietals you can and can't use and how much. And this is why this wine will always be better than your average bordeaux, rhone or brunello. Coming from Paso Robles instead of Napa, I guess, helps keep the price below ridiculous.

This wine in particular has the following blend: 50% syrah, 46% cab and 4% zinfandel. Now when you name your wine "Optimus" which, as far as my amateur Latin can say, means "the biggest" you have to make a wine that lives up to that. This one certainly did. It has all the rich earthiness and velvety suppleness of a well made cab-shiraz, with the added kick of a mineral spiciness from the zin. I could taste no defects... the wine just made me really happy. And of course, we drank it with some of the best steak in town.

If you're ever at Morton's in Seattle, try to sit in Lisa's section. She is the best waitress by far. Tomorrow I'll tell you about the other bottle of wine we had.

2005 Justin The Orphan

I have previously professed my love of all things Justin. This is the second vintage of Orphan I have tried. The '04 vintage, released after the warehouse fire, wasn't very impressive and was inconsistent from bottle to bottle. I finally picked up a few bottles of the 2004 Justin The Orphan to give the current release a shot.

Every year Justin releases this wine. I hate to describe it as left-overs, but that's what it is. They make a blend out of grapes they didn't use in their other wines. I gather this one is mostly cab and syrah, though specifics of the blend don't seem to be available. I opened one bottle of the 2004 and it was okay. It's definitely at the top of the $15 range, but I just found it disappointing. It had some fruit, some smoke from the oak, and some really rough tannins that will probably mellow out over the next few years, etc. I won't be opening the remaining bottles anytime soon.