• 05 Cesari Mara Vino Di Ripasso (Valpolicella): Dried cherry action w/ some orange peel & spice happily complicating matters. Pass the pork. #
• 05 Ruffino Riserva Ducale (Chianti Classico): For all that complex dark cherry structure, it's starting to show a bit of age. Drink soon. #
• 07 Jackson-Triggs Vidal Icewine (Niagara): Like mango & melon sorbet. Actually, for the price, it's better than mango & melon sorbet. #
• 06 Walter Dacon "Appanage" Syrah (Yakima Valley): How do you make good cold-climate syrah in Yakima? Ask these guys, they've nailed it. #
• 03 Masi Costasera Amarone Classico (Valpolicella): Totally amped up acidity, tannin, booze, etc. Just a baby (but a tasty black fruit baby) #
• 05 Masi Campofiorin Ripasso (Veronese): Well-balanced & well-integrated. A delight. Food-friendly Amarone without the obnoxious wait. #
• 05 Domaine des Bernadins Muscat de Beaumes de Venise: Like a circular saw blade made from flowers, honey & mint; rough around the edges. #
• 06 Protos Ribera del Duero Roble: A red fruit tableau bargain that plays well with others in the culinary sandbox (your dinner table). #
• 06 Monte Antico Toscana: A humble Tuscan mostly-Sangiovese blend – humble in origin, price, & taste. Maybe a bit too humble in taste… #

Powered by Twitter Tools

• 06 San Juan Vineyards riesling (Yakima Valley): A promise of citrus & flowers. A let down of lack of balance & hint of nail polish remover. #
• 06 Navarro Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley): Sweet red berry fruit bomb. A balanced fruit bomb, but a fruit bomb. Approach (& pair) w/ caution. #
• 08 Nigl Gruner Veltliner Freiheit (Austria): Not a bargain, but it's a meetup of asian pear & asparagus that's far tastier than it sounds. #
• o5 Chateau Gaudrelle Reserve Speciale Moelleux (Vouvray): Tropical fruits & honey, but like that x-mas fruitcake it ends a little rough… #
• 07 Montes Alpha Syrah (Colchagua Valley): New World style, S. American charm, and only a touch of bell pepper. Sign me up! #
• NV Domaine Chandon Brut Classic (CA): Will it change your world? No. Will it rock at your party? Totally, in a spicy-apple sortof way. #
• NV Mumm Napa Cuvee M (Napa Valley): Sexy & approachable, like I imagine Kathy Lee Gifford was before she went nuts & w/o the awful singing. #
• 08 Qupe Bien Nacido Cuvee (Santa Maria Valley): Just short of flabby but well in sight of ripe apricot goodness. #

Powered by Twitter Tools

• 09 Drylands Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough): A tasty passion fruit smack-down that eventually sends you to a soft landing on a bed of limes. #
• 04 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valey): A cadre of awesome players. Starring: Cassis & pencil lead. With Specail Guest: Mr. earth! #
• 06 Adelsheim Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley): Poached Pacific salmon has met its Intense red berry and smokey match. #
• 08 L'Ecole No. 41 "Walla Voila" Chenin Blanc (Columbia Valley): Cooking Dungeness crab? Sick of Chard? Try this. Tropical fruits & 'heft'. #
• 07 McCrea Syrah (Yakima Valley): Deep, dark, peppery & rough around the edges in that endearing kind of way (like your goofy Uncle Fred). #
• 05 Cornerstone Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Intensely focused & still young. Several hrs decanting & a large beef roast required. #

Powered by Twitter Tools

• 07 Paul Jaboulet Aine "Parallele 45" (Cotes Du Rhone): Buoyantly fruity red. The light & playful (aka "food friendly") side of Grenache. #
• 07 Trapiche Broquel Chardonnay (Mendoza): Reinvented producer goes all International style on us, & it works beautifully (& inexpensively). #
• 06 Swanson "Alexis" Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville): Intense & blackcurrant-heavy flagship ($$$) that screams CA. Reticent about its future. #
• 07 Smith-Madrone Chardonnay (Napa): At $30, a bargain of a broad tropical & stony fruit spectrum. Minerals are the real show-stealers here. #
• 06 Mulderbosch Noble Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc (Stellenbosch): So sticky good, structured & focused, u won't mind a hint of burnt tire. #
• 07 Stepping Stone Cabernet Franc (Carneros): For those that like their CF Californicated (luscious & dark), this is 1 of the best available. #
• 07 Stepping Stone Grenache (Red HIlls-Lake County): Too much sweet plum on the nose for ya? Don't worry, it goes all pepper before it's done #
• 07 Channing Daughters Vino Bianco (LI): Apparently N. Italy can be quite comfortably – and very, very tastily – at home in the Hamptons. #
• 08 Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc (Casablanca Valley): One-dimensional, & that one dimension is lovely, lively lime & lemongrass. But that's it. #
• 06 Smith & Hook Cabernet Sauvignon (Central Coast): Blackberries & currants have attacked under cover of smoke, & I surrender (for 1 glass)! #

Powered by Twitter Tools