No Wine Over $20-Reviews and the LA Wine Scene

You may have noticed that for a wine blog touting wines under $20 we review many wines more than $20. In fact, we do not post the prices of the over $20 along with the under $20 probably seeking to attain a "sensational" balance only understood by folks with mild ADD.

Here are 2 wines with costs posted, both currently available.

2003 Morgon Vielles Vignes Kermit Lynch Selection (Guy Breton) $16: It's a Beaujolais from an OK vintage. The 2005 vintage gets the press - justifiably - and we have been loading up on those wines as they appear in the bins of our fave retailers (see links to your left and order online). This bottle was touted by a Kermit Lynch floor clerk in Berkeley. It is obviously something left over, on the shelf a little long-ish, for which the clerk will be rewarded having moved a bottle or two ("nice job Jason"). In many other stores this would tick me off. But in Kermit it turns out OK because he has integrity and a great palate. This is a lot selection by Kermit from one of his preferred vintners (Breton) and bottled with the most non-descript label. You have to read carefully to figure out it is a KL selection. What is that? Humility? Probably. The wine is not humble. It is very nice. Spice on the nose, cranberries in the mouth. I need more for Thanksgiving! Lightweight, almost thin. Let's say reedy. But it fills out enough with a little air to provide just enough body to make Nicole Richie envious.

2006 Anglim Rose' $14: Steve Anglim is one of my favorite Paso vintners. Sources everything. I bought this because the 2005 was so enchanting with its dusty salmon color and delicate flavor with just enough acid. I am telling you it was like a petal. The 2006 was getting closed out at the local cheese shop so I scooped the half dozen. Well, it is not the 2005. This wine is almost hot pink in color. And the nose is profoundly bright with minerals (that would be a gentle touch with acid). Black cherry flavors dominate. There is strawberry too. 14.3% alcohol. Blend is 38% grenache, 33% syrah, 15% mourverdre, and 14% viognier. How French! Steve Anglim makes terrrific wine and this one is priced in my hit-away zone.

July 4th is a big holiday and this year the 4th is a Wednesday which means no working Thurs and Friday! You want to get your rose' wines and your Moscatos on chill and ready for sipping 'round the pool, spa or bath. If you have never had a sip of Moscato d'Asti please think about it before plunging over the falls. This is a white Italian wine from Piemonte with a slight spritz. The good ones are mind-bendingly easy to swallow...like soda pop. With alcohol around 7% and flavors of peach, honey, lime and mo mo mo you will drink the entire bottle in 30 minutes.

By the way, before we get to the wines, get thee to the North Berkeley website. It is outstanding. I write alot about Kermit Lynch's taste and selections and how terrific is his palate and offerings. However, his website is strictly flapjacks. Not that he needs to be any more fanciful. I just know he could show more about what he likes and does - read his book "Adventures on the Wine Route" and you will get my point. And sign up for the NB email list.

2005 Trenel Chiroubles $15 (Robt. Chadderdon selection): This is the wine that got us started on restricting wine purchases to under $20. The 2005 vintage in Beaujolais was highly touted and has turned out to be pretty darn goot. DokkerM and I have purchased '05s from multiple sources (Kermit, NB, Whole Foods, Woodland Hills Wine Co -WHW, K&L H'wood) and they never disappoint. Sometimes they delight. This is the wine touted to us by Steve at WHW a year ago. It is still great. Medium to light weight. Still showing some tannin. Black cherries, perfectly balanced. A Williams Selyem of Beaujolias. How can you not love it? Need to get more if Paul Smith still has some. Never saw it anywhere else. Also bought the Morgon but have not opened it.

1996 Elio Altare Barolo (from the cellar): Took it to a (Provencal) restaurant. Altare is one of the top producers in Barolo. Another example if you have never tried a Barolo... The 1996 vintage was spectacular. The 1997 got more press which goes to show you should always try to get more info than what is available thru the wine industry. The flavor/nose combo for Barolo is "tar and roses". Great Baroli have that. This did not and it was still great. I have tasted Baroli that do. It did have red cherry flavors, medium weight, great depth of flavor that dawdled on my palate like my wife getting ready to go out. The 1996 vintage is fruity, although less so IMO than the 1997. 1996 has more stuffing. I am sitting on another case or so of mixed labels. Had the 1996 Alessandria a month ago (also wonderful) that let me know the vintage is ready for consumptive intentions. So, you might ask the obvious question...how does it stack up to those '05 Beuajolais? I will defer to you.

2005 Garnacha de Fuego old vines $8: A Jose Ordonez selections wine with cool packaging, fire licking up the label like the intro to a Latin movie about "the romancia". Ordonez is a hot importer. Column forthcoming on hot-shot importers. Unfortunately, this time we had a dud. Cloudy in the glass (not tossed around it's been on my bar for weeks) and jukki in the mouth. Spit it out asparagus and week old pancake mix. I had several bottles this past winter and enjoyed each one. Nothing spectacular but I wouldn't throw it out of my cellar either. For $8 (of bottles stored well) you could do a wedding up right. Bad lot? Most likely. Open one before you buy a case.

2005 St Supery Napa Cabernet $25?: This was the other dinner wine that had to stand up to the Altare Barolo, hardly a fair fight. I had the waiter ice it down and it came out cool. Fruity, cab flavors, without wood and cedar flavors or nose. Tasted very nice. St. Supery is the kind of Napa winery I like to visit but I would never buy wine on premises. They are too widely distributed. I like to visit because their tasting charge is not $40 and their wines are well made. How many cabs are in my cellar? McKenzie-Mueller new releases, and a couple older bottles by Togni.

I gotta go find some Moscatos...

You may have noticed that "value" in wine is getting quite a bit of attention. A recent LA Times article expounded on the merits of various domestic and international wines which they considered to be good values, i.e., the U20 wines (under 20 bucks) we favor. The Wall Street Journal also recently (Sept 7) featured values in pinot noir.

We could not agree more with this reasonable fascination. We recognize trophy wines have their place as trophies that can play a very helpful role when entertaining and seeking to impress clients or anyone else whose favor is worth culling. I am being perfectly serious. However, we also know when it comes to enjoying wine for nothing other than the sheer pleasure of drinking and talking about wine...it's a great big world. Bully!

Here are four wines we tasted recently that cover the range from bargain to trophy.

2002 Ethan Santa Ynez Valley Syrah Purisima Mountain Vineyard $25: This was purchased in 2003 on futures at the Wine Cask Santa Barbara tasting. We do not go
anymore as the event dipped in quality and range of wines offered. It is actually an interesting story of how the leverage shifted from the Wine Cask to the winemakers. As the winemakers and their respective labels received more and more attention the winemakers began bringing fewer wines to the tasting where the cost of entry to them included a mandatory 25% discount (which encouraged attendance). The only way to get many of the top wines is to buy them through the winery mail list at full retail or with a nominal discount. Makes sense, no?

Ethan Lindquist is the son of Bob Lindquist, founder of and winemaker at Qupe. This bottle may be Ethan's first release of Purisima Mountain Vineyard. It was delicious. Profound bittersweet chocolate (65% cacao) flavors. Dustiness initially (soft tannins) faded within 15 minutes. Never faded throughout our meal. There was a companion tasting article in the LA Times that covered a couple other Purisima Mountain releases from SRH winemakers. This vineyard is regarded as one of the area's best. 14.5% alcohol which is typical for SRH. Ethan kept it balanced without pumping up ripeness. I doubt pricing for Ethan wines still begin with a 2!

2005 Clautiere Estate Viognier Paso Robles $20: I am not a big fan of viognier from any region domestic and abroad. The grape just does not thrill me. I have had the "legendary" and very expensive Chateau Grillet young and aged. Nnhh. This wine was nice enough. Came with the Clautiere club order. I like Clautiere wines. Great price points. Well made. I prefer their red blends which are traditional Rhone style. I really like that. But even Tablas Creek (California's best winery) makes duds. I would still recommend joining the Clautiere maillist (along with Tablas Creek), especially if you like costume parties and the bacchanalian debauchery.

2005 Trenel Moulin A Vent Tirage Limite $23: These are numbered bottles which means they are limited production. It is the fabled 2005 Beaujolais vintage. How much longer will we be able to find these wines in our local (and favorite mail order) stores? This is a cut above the ordinary 2005 wines from Beaujolais. More tannic backbone with just as much of the ripe Gamay fruit. This wine will keep for several years. In flavors it is closer to Barolo than Burgundy (its northern neighbor). A lean and sinewy wine (think marathon runner) that likewise does not give out.

1997 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru: Long term cellar dweller that I finally busted out for a special guest. This is highly sought wine for burg hounds. 1997 was a difficult vintage in Burgundy with intermittent rain. This means some grapes did not ripen enough. French chardonnay blows away California across the price range but especially at the high end. This wine has character and flavors that cause us to prefer French to domestic chardonnay wines, however, the vintage did leave a mixed impression. Stones and minerals in the nose and initial flavors. A bit later jasmine emerged as the wine opened. Ten years is a good time to wait for white burgundy especially a Grand Cru. Because of the vintage problems with ripeness I wold say this was a good time to open this bottle. Served with halibut and a tomato salsa that worked well. Here are notes from the domaine.

Summer is really starting to slip over the horizon. I can feel Fall in the evening air. We have to close the doors at night it is so cold!! Brrrr. It is also football time.The Trojans are rocking (even though we played like plonk against the Huskies) and the other local team has faltered as expected. I posted a pic of the band for the #1 team in the country at the Idaho rout at the end of this entry.

Something nice about the end of summer, post-Labor day, pre-Halloween weeks is that we find ourselves with open weekends. No plans. Relaxing and playing it by ear is nummah wun. A good time to hang out in your 'hood. So naturally I am going to visit my local wine shop, Woodland Hills Wine Company (WHWC). I have been instructed by the Connecticut Mouse that I must get my hands on a bottle of Sagrantino post haste. Mouse has recently returned from Barolo where he stayed at Da Felicin and LOVED every pour and bite. Here is a photo of da man Nino at da place Da Felicin. Somehow in the calculus of wine pals I am now beholden to Mouse to get over to Paul Smith's emporium, WHWC, ASAP. Mouse has already foraged around the website and verified Paul has at least one bottle of the Sagrantino.

WHWC is humming at 2:30 on Saturday. I spot super-sales guy Steve Gulden immediately and present the details of my quest. He finds the bottle and asks me if I would care to sample the 2005 Beaujolais being poured in flight at the wine bar. I have a couple hours until USC kicks off in Lincoln so why not?

WHWC (aka Paul's) just gets better all the time. The sales team has always been fun. Paul sets the ribald tone and the wine flows. The wine flights (fLights not fights) at the bar are always interesting and well considered. Pricing is quite fair. Stemware is top notch. What's not to like? What I love is the 2005 Beaujolais flight. I have tasted some of these wines but not all.

There are 2 Trenel wines - St Amour, Morgon Cote du Py; a Pierre-Marie Chermette Fleurie les Deux Roches; and a Vissoux Morgon. Paul has something special with Trenel. I just do not see them anywhere elses and they are across the board excellent. Brittany is one of the reps pouring the 4 wines and she happily poses with Paul for me then gets her own pal to get a shot with Paul on her own camera. Doesn't Paul look great? I forgot what we talked about. I bought the 4 Beaujolais wines. How could I not?

When I got home Linda M. called and invited us to her home for BBQ and whatever wine I would like to bring. Curious to learn what other wine lovers might think of a 2005 Beaujolais and pull something waiting long enough in the cellar I accepted the invite. Plus I adore Linda. OK. There is the setup for a casual afternoon and evening. Here are the wines.

2006 Mirassou Sauvignon Blanc ~$12: This was open when we arrived. The wine is quite nice. This category of wine (~$10 California wines from high volume wineries that make their stake in supermarkets) is meant for easy pickins. Mirassou competes with Gallo...and thank God it does. This is fine wine for the price. Well made, balanced, nothing challenging here. Easy to drink. It would never spoil a meal and it complements many. I saw the Wine Speculator gave the 2005 an 83 score. While I have never tasted the 2005 version I cannot imagine it was much different. The grapes for this wine come from all over the state so any vintage issues are washed out in the blending. Alcohol is admirably restrained at 13.4% You have to be a real s-n-o-b to rate this wine in the low '80s which is equivalent being tossed to the WS deepest dungeon.

2006 Quincy Domaine Fouassier $15: Now here is what you get for a few bucks more if you shop at WHWC and hit their floor stacks or the back wall as you walk in from the parking lot. This is also sauvignon blanc but instead of the goal being to to smooth out all the wrinkles this wine is all about the idiosyncracies of the region. The wine is aromatic with mild grassy aromas (sauvignon blanc, especially California and New Zealand SBs have profound grassy noses).
The flavors are mineral without beaucoups acid. Anise in the flavor. The wine is very well balanced. 12.5%. When I asked Steve at the counter what he thought of the wine he kept it simple "great wine for the price". Right. Take that Mr. Mouse!

2005 Trenel Chiroubles $16: Second review for this wine this summer. I said I needed to get more. Now I have more. Same fruit bomb ala' France. Among the 2005 Beaujolais this is the seductress. Who needs fruity California wines when we have fruity French wines from this vintage? The resemblance (to fruity Cal wines) is there although the nuances are important. Start with 13% alcohol - low by Cal standards. The black cherry fruit is still there. Dokkerm asks can it age? Will any of these 2005 Beaujolais be drinkable in a couple years? Do I realize how many fruit bombs from Santa Rita Hills he is sitting on? Yes...yes...and yes.

2003 Anglim Syrah French Camp Vineyard $35: Speaking of California fruit bombs, this wine falls in that group but remains captivating. The fruit bomb benchmark for myself and the good Dotore' has to be Kenneth-Crawford wines. When we first tasted these in 2003 it was an epiphany. We realized that the Santa Rita Hills were going to be the next great growing region and the next great set of California winemakers were coming out of SRH. And the winemakers of K-C were two guys to watch. A year later we were in deep reconsideration. The alcohol levels for these wines are...how to put this...high...maybe even excessive...out of control? We have a Melville Pinot that is more than 16%. The better winemakers get so much ripeness and extraction from the fruit that the alcohol is overwhelmed by it. At least upon release. Which leaves us with the nagging question...can wines with all this alcohol last? When the fruit fades will there only be vodka? But I digress. Mr. Steve Anglim makes very good wine and he is not even in SRH. He is in Paso. This wine is big and juicy. It is not thick as the Lone Madrone (which is a cabernet) but it definitely falls in with the K-C crowd. 15.4% alcohol. Glad I bought it. Glad I drank it. Had it with grilled steak. Just like they say you should.

1995 Pelissero Barbaresco Vanotu ~$40/$80: I am sure I paid around $40 but I have found it online closer to $80. This is my cellar wine that I took over to Linda's. Her guy - El Rocco - liked it mucho. I can see he and I will probably be sharing more wines in the future. He has a good palate. I was happy with this wine. The 1995 vintage is a toughie to count on. Same with 1993. When we returned from a Barolo vacation in 1998 I loaded up on 93 and 95 Baroli while I waited for 96 (I have always preferred 96 to 97 in spite of the hype). This wine has classic tar and roses in the nose and in the flavor profile. Baroli are like train travel; they need a little extra time to arrive. This took 15 minutes to open. The first whiff out of the glass complemented the first taste; dusky but not corked, some say "old world" when what they mean is lean and almost astringent. This is because the old world Barolo winemakers (Giacomo Conterno) still use Slovenian oak barrels the size of a scud missile to age the nebbiolo. Look at this photo I took in the cellar of a very famous Barolo wine house. No wonder the flavors can taste old world. But when a Barolo (and I should point out that this wine is from Barbaresco which is adjacent to Barolo and is often considered a younger sibling) comes into its own the wine is like no other. It is truly unique, seductive, fruity and lean, luscious and delicate. Wish I had another. I think the Dotore' needs to prune his Barolo stash. I really hope he doesn't give me a hard time on this rather urgent matter.

Up next...Trojans conquer all who face them. Still not safe to lay the points. Uncle Pete has shown his kind side. Now it's winning time.

Sea glass is ocean borne detritus. Pieces of broken bottles wash onto beaches after years (decades?) tumbling around on the ocean floor. Low tide is the time to look. Pieces wash up everywhere. Many LA beaches are fine targets. We have so much trash and so many boaters. Some artists and craftspeople make sea glass jewelry. Seaside towns usually have a sea glass jeweler. When I visit Paso I like to stay in Cambria for this reason. The idea of sea glass is probably cooler than the stuff itself. Something found that was not even lost but tossed or kicked away can be romantic. Something without any value, even a pollutant, that can be valued if convention is set aside, can at least inspire curiosity.

Here are three wines that share some of these qualities. A couple are waiting to be found. At least one has been lost to what is conventional. I would be surprised (even disappointed) if any was rated above 90 points.

2006 Bugey Maison Angelot Gamay $9: A Charles Neal selection. This is the Boogie wine. From the cheap plastic "foil cap" to the half-size plastic cork, this wine is everything great about the importer and the kind of wine every wine drinker should put in the rotation. Call it "plain folk wine", people's wine" or "farmer's wine". It is wine the way wine was made before wine became a lifestyle. First taste is off-putting the wine is so rustic. Where is the polish of oak and soft malolactic? Fresh cherry and tomato (but not cherry tomato) flavors. Naive, fresh but not youthful. The second glass shows what is going on here. Nothing fancy. Just delicious. I have to get that Best of Wine Importers Part 2 post up.

2002 Pipestone Rhone Style Red $U20: There is no confusing what Jeff Pipestone is trying to do here; 40% syrah, 30% grenache noir, and 30% mourverdre. This is his Rhone blend. Tastes pretty good. Rich fruit flavors. "Co-fermented", now isn't that interesting! Tastes more fresh than 5 years old. Dark cherry fruit. Not noticeably tannic. Nice effort. This is the American Pastoral because the Pipestone team (Jeff and Florence) live in the most idyllic setting on the Paso Westside. If you have a chance you should visit.

2002 Boyer-Martenot Mersault "Le Pre de Manche" $25: Barrel-selected by North Berkeley Imports. Citrus, orange-like, even peachy flavors. Just enough oak to make it interesting. Very good acid spine. Very nice wine. North Berkeley, like Kermit Lynch, has a wonderful selection of their own blends form Burgundy producers who, I guess, find the practice worthwhile. Hard to imagine Rolls Royce collaborating with a team of Russian engineers who want to produce their own RR vehicle.

2002 Etude Carneros Pinot Noir $40 (at the right online store):
How good was this wine? Had it with a friend over dinner. He likes wine well enough to know what he likes but not enough to know what he is drinking. All wine-o-files have pals fitting this profile. He loved it from the first sniff to the last drop. This is the latest event in my developing pursuit to become more familiar with Carneros pinots. Not sure how this got in my cellar so I guess I am lucky it was there. This bottle will still take age. Smoky slightly briny character. Very nicely balanced. Great pinot fruit more cherry than otherwsie but the smoke - in balance- was strongest note for me. Medium weight. Lovely. Etude has an especially elegant label that is reminiscent of Leroy.

The tBoW tasting team returned to Carneros for the post-Thanksgiving-day wine sojourn. It's a family tradition, y'know. This year it was me, the missus and Aunt Betsy with the naughty clogs. The regional choice was Livermore or Carneros. Much as I would like to visit another California wine region...with McKenzie-Mueller (M-M) beckoning the choice was easier than a Trojan win over the Bruins.

The wines reviewed below were purchased in Berkeley at North Berkeley Wines (NBW), Kermit Lynch or in Carneros. North Berkeley Wine offers a strong selection of Verget wines. Verget is a negociant who buys juice and produces only white Burgundy wines. Quality is high and pricing is very fair. Classic NBW selection. If I am going to visit the Bay Area then I am going to visit Kermit and NB wine merchants. They are covered plenty on this blog as they are in this post. However, I am not going to review M-M since I did a few weeks past. I will say once more that Bob and Karen M-M are expert hosts, and Bob makes absolutely wonderful wines. Do not overlook Carneros next time in Napa. We tasted on Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day, T-Day, and the day after.

Another family tradition is making sure everyone at the turrkey table learns how to taste and enjoy wine. So the tasting can become a descriptive free-for-all which is reflected in some of the notes.

The good news is every wine (except the Adastra) is a U20.

2004 Verget Saint Bris $U20: Recommended by John at NBW. Sauvignon blanc from Burgundy! On the nose we get oak and green apple. On the tongue and in the mouth sour kiwi lime and lemon. Some green bean and cucumber. You taste the coolness. On the finish I thought of the tennis-ball sized rough skinned crab apples I ate as a kid. Here is a link to a wine/travel blog that covers St Bris. Recommended surfing.

2004 Verget Bourgogne "Grand Elevage" $U20: Green gold color. Sold as "de-classified Mersault" which is always a good pitch when dealing with the Duke and Dauphin. We never ask the obvious question - why was it de-classified? Is the war over? Did somebody important die? Was a handful of radical vintners granted amnesty? While we pondered these question we waited for the wine to open up. As might be expected from a young premium white burg this took hours. The first sniff and taste was oaky, soapy, tannic, even musty. Aunty B mentioned cow pie and she would know (Michigander farm girl). A couple hours later when the tasters were also a bit more friendly they suggested sandalwood, currant berry blossom and scented candle. 13%. NBW

2003 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre $U20: Another sauvignon blanc. Green gold color (even though it has enough years to turn yellow). Nose is lime, mineral, acid, bright. Flavors are sweet and fruity apple. Honeysuckle and hydrangia. Flavors are green, earthy, oak. Distinctive taste with waxy cheese and peach stone.

2004 Vincent Dureil-Janthial Bourgogne Passetoutgrains $U20: Are you ready for a red gamay pinot noir blend? Dave Corey of Core Wines (a Santa Barbara/Paso Rhone guy) always got a chuckle from me when he described pinot as a nice blending grape. Well, Mr. Corey must have known that Passetoutgrains is a traditional field blend in Burgundy of the two grapes. So now we know it too. Raspberry flambe' and smoky chocolate on the nose. The gamay is quite noticeable. Liked it plenty. My choice with the bird. NBW.

2005 Chateau du Trignon Cotes du Rhone $U20: This was excellent red village Rhone. Color is purple. Nose is sweet, doughy, dusty, with pepper. Tannic, strawberry-kiwi jam. The strawberry-kiwi is there in teh mouth. Medium weight, slight tannins. Grenache fruit prevails. Turns to granny apple cider after a couple hours. Bold effort and terrific wine. 14%. Kermit.

Here is an article that describes this particular wine as well as asks the question why are there not more wines like this one made in California. Good question.

After visiting at M-M we walked across the street and said hello to the vineyard manager at Adastra. A retired physician and family run this tiny 1500 case operation in wine country. Blippin hot winemaker Pam Starr is the highly touted "soil translator" (read her October 07 interview here). We tasted five wines and purchased two. The style is high-tone rustic. Well-made wines that are balanced but show minimum handling. If you can visit you should. I have posted a couple of photos FYI.

Adastra 2006 Syrah $56: Syrah production in Carneros is small so we were quite interested in tasting this one. This is the winery price, of course, which is 100% retail. But at ~150 cases where would one find it anyway? Very fruity reminiscent of Santa Rita Hills with more lean fruit. Cold weather fruit. Not plump. 16% alcohol! When I mentioned our host said we would not have known without looking. He was right. 100 cases.

2005 Pinot Reserve Proximus $36: Ripe style, rustic, not melded. Tannins floating like particles. Just a visual, not actually. All good components. 200 cases. 14.5%.

The Adastra wines need to lay down awhile. These are the kinds of bottles I pull from the cellar in five years. I know I will be pleasantly surprised recalling the 40 minutes memorably spent there. And I bet I will say this is pretty good.

A bonus wine...I discovered this in my cellar and have been opening and enjoying it the past month.

2002 Beckmen Cuvee le Bec ~$14: Current release is the 2005. The blend is classic Rhone style. In this vintage it is almost half Grenache, one quarter Mourverdre and one-fifth Syrah and 10% Counoise. The 2005 blend is 52% Grenache, 34% Syrah, 8% Mourvedre, and 5% Counoise. I prefer Grenache and Mourverdre to Syrah so the blend suits me fine. I find California syrah to be ripe and fruity. Domestic grenache seems more restrained and earthy without sacrificing fruit. Mourverdre provides the bold meat flavors I like in Rhone wines. This blend after 5 years in the bottle and three in my cellar is quite presentable. Soft, tannins have blended in. More fruit than pepper and earth. The wine is perfect for any evening and almost any meal. By the way, this blend is featured in that SF Chronicle article (above) as proof that a good tasting well-priced Rhone blend can be made in California.

It is OK to stop eating now. And let me tell you the ladies who hosted the New Years Eve party (Tootsie) and the New Years Day party (Lettie) made it impossible to slow the cascade down my gullet. Prime rib and lasagna were followed by a torrent of extra special wines.

We can all go back to drinking excellent everyday U20 wines. The 2007 Christmas/Hannukah/New Years/Wedding Anniversary holidays are CLOSED. USC is the best football team in the nation and will open the 2008 rankings in the top 3. And we open at home against Ohio State. Now back to work!

These 2007 holidays came to a resounding close. New Years Eve with the Sinkowskis and New Years Day at the See-Glits, being awful damn friendly with new friends and old friends. We watched Uncle Pete and his Trojan Heroes obeying the Two Rose Bowl Laws: [1] It will be a beautiful SoCal day (the kind of day folks back east call "sun-splashed"); and [2] the Big Ten will lose.

The most interesting thing about the also-ran Illini was learning about the banishment (I mean retirement) of their beloved mascot (I mean symbol). There are at least half a dozen websites devoted to the controversial Chief Illiniwek.

The other important news about the Illini is they were the only team to beat OSU in 2007 which was enough to land them in the Rose Bowl for the inevitable thrashing. Wish it would have been the Buckeyes...soon enough my pretties.

If you think it might be interesting to read how Chicago sportswriter Steve Rosenbloom saw the game then click here. With a 49-17 USC victory in the books I can tell you now 2008 will bring another football championship to University Park...behind Mark Sanchez & Mitch Mustain, Stafon Johnson & Joe McKnight, and a defense that could be better than the #2 defense in the nation in 2007.

Here is a bucket of bottles that helped bring in the New Year.

2006 Marques de Caro Cherubino Valsangiacomo $11: 90% Mersequera, 10% Muscat. Alto Turia is the region. Mountainous region west of Valencia. Wine Expo is the local vendor. A moment to describe the Wine Expo where Robert Rogness roosts playing the vinous Lothario; think Orson Welles as Citizen Kane in a wine shop. Bombastic, impatient, ultimately charming and quite persuasive. His newsletter says he has the best selection of Ital wines and champagnes in the Southland...and maybe he does. Like Granpappy Amos might say "no brag just fack". If there is one caution it is that Rogness' tastes are wide ranging and on occasion mine do not match his...despite his enthusiasm. His newsletter is a hoot and fun to read. My brother-in-law shops there and always brings something direct from Robert's stacks. This is Spanish Blanco. First opened wine is always under added pressure to be good. It is. Quince and citrus then pear flavors in the middle and on the finish. Cannot top the U20 price. Good job Don Pharaoh.

2001 Ciu CIu Esperanto $30: Another Wine Expo selection. Could not uncover a millibyte of data on the web. It is a blend of Montepulciano and Cabernet Sauvignon. That's right, Montepulciano is a grape. Mixed with cab means Super-Tuscan intentions. Nice nose and flavors. Delicate with tannins present. Middle to light weight with some earth. Good fruit. Pronounced choo-choo. I liked it because it was so gentle. By the way, Esperanto is an international language created in the 1870s as a second language that would promote internationalism over nationalism. I wonder if "W" ever heard of it?

2002 Paul Lato Duende Gold Coast Vineyard Pinot Noir $25: Purchased at the 2004 Wine Cask Santa Barbara Futures Tasting. One of two wines that stood out for myself and Dotore' at this tasting and the next two (then we stopped going). Paul Lato is the winemaker who produces all of 75 cases annually. That Paul Lato will end up making thousands of cases each year for somebody is a done deal. It will happen. This first vintage is beautiful. It tastes like Pinot Noir fruit. The key flavor is sweet beets. Not veggie. Not cherry although it gets close. But sweet red beets. If that sounds ridiculous then you will have to figure this one out on your own. Here is a thought. Paul Lato captures pure Pinot Noir fruit in his wine. Smoke on the nose. Some in the taste. He has to work with Santa Rita HIlls high alcohol coming in at 14.3%. Which is low. One of the best in region. He kicks booty. His wines rock. He makes wine like Guns 'N Roses work over Paradise City!!! And we discovered him all..by..ourselves (and a couple hundred others).

Schramsberg Mirabelle NV: Venerable Napa sparkler. My first taste of this. Kind of lean, even weedy and soapy but not off-putting. More acidic with a reflux backwash. Sounds just super. WE did not hate it but it did not get a second pour from me.
Canard-Duchene Brut ~$35: This got a couple pours. Tangy orange fruit. Mandarin. Ripe. Really nice. Available in LA County at Wine House (West LA), Wine Country (Long Beach/Signal Hill), Heritage Wine (Pasadena).

2005 Foxen Sea Smoke Pinot Noir ~$45: Bought at the 2006 Wine Cask SB Futures Tasting. Sea Smoke is a coveted Santa Rita HIlls vineyard that is also one of the most coveted labels from the new Pinnacle of Pinot Noir. A big near jammy wine. 14.5% alcohol typical of the region. Says Dotoré "I no longer have a taste for these big wines". Me too. However, if you have the taste then this one is pretty well balanced and you will find it quite appealing.

2005 Pipestone Viognier $25: Shipped under Wine Club. Fruity and fairly forward. Not too much oak (7 months in barrel). 250 cases. Does not have the foxiness I sometimes find off-putting and that, I believe, comes from new oak. Guests preferred this to the Chalone PN (which I think says something about the Pipestone wine). Much more character here and a very nice wine. 14.5%.

2006 Domaine Colette Régnié Beaujolais $13: The first find of the new year. A WH/SG selection. Fruity, cherries, not jammy (!!), special. This is a Beaujolais cru with which I am not familiar. A Charles Neal Selection so there are excellent notes on the wine and the Regnie region. I will be visiting local wine whop Woodland Hills Wine Company to pick half a case. Thinking how nice this will be with Spring lamb being from a biblical shepherd family and all.

Here is one final biblical shot of Rey Maualuga making memories for the Illini quarterback and fans. Click here to see the photo of Rey Maualuga and local fan taken in August.

Wades Wines has a lot of characteristics that I like in a wine shop. First, no dark walnut or oaky bars. We need less oak in wine in general. Leave the oaks in our sublime California hills. There are no stuffy clerks who size you up before they decide what you should be drinking. No green lantern-type lamps that belong in attorney offices. And no bottles in individual racks.

Give me floor stacks of bargain priced wines that demonstrate someone has an idea of what they are selling and who is their market. I like shelves of bottles I can see and easily pull into my basket. I like pricing that is no worse than fair and sometimes even below market. And I like selection that is ahead of the pack. If the clerks are all wearing burgundy bowling shirts with the WadesWines logo on it...well that is fine with me, too.

I had not been to Wades in about half a year. Last time in he told he was reorganizing the floor plan because some clever little bastards ripped him off stuffing some of his wonderful late harvest splits (e.g., Kracher) in their pants.

This is more than callous and crummy because Wade is a local guy who is also a prolific giver. We got to work together on a Boys & Girls Club event I organized a couple years ago. He was my go-to wine guy and he really delivered. Not just in wine but in contacts to distributors (who we squeezed for really nice products instead of the usual plonk) but also with phones for Santa Barbara winemakers who I eventually roped into pouring and contributing wines. I think of that event as the TAMI show of regional wines. Check out the lineup who poured that day: Wes Hagen (Clos Pepe), Dave Corey (http://www.corewine.com/), Andrew Adam (Andrew Adam Vineyards, tiny production), Dave Dascomb (East Valley Vineyard), Kris Curran (Curran Wines), Peter Cargasacchi (Point Concepcion Wines) and Ernie Vandegrift (Tantara Winery). It was like going to a 1967 rock show featuring new British bands with funny names - Kinks, Stones, Searchers, Animals, Them. [ed. Click on each band name and see these BITCHIN vids from the mid 60s.]

Wade has completely changed his store. Not only has he expanded his space claiming extra footage at the back, he has also expanded his selection of libations. He features premium vodkas, tequilas and beers. His wine selection has always been especially strong for regional winemakers. A couple years back he began offering estate grown champagne. Fuggedaboud Cristal and Dom. Try some of these bottles. Small production, grapes grown on the estate.

If you live in the Conejo Valley (Westlake Village, Agoura, Thousand Oaks) or the West San Fernando Valley go by and check Wade out. Did I mention premium cigars?

If you cannot visit be advised Wade's mail order business dwarfs his on-site sales. He has many small regional (Santa Rita Hills) labels.

I took three bottles to open the same evening. The missus was hosting her staff party. The group likes wine but they are not snobs (like you and me), usually asking for white or red (which is actually a good place to start) while the smarties ask for merlot or chardonnay.

So I poured Wades own label.

2005 Wades Wines Syrah Terra Alta Vineyard Santa Barbara County $20: Served at the wife's staff party. A hit. Dan does not like wines with tannins. Neither does his wife Ellen. They loved this wine. What is not to like? Easy drinking, plenty of fruit. Medium bodied. You drink this one right down. Perfect choice for this sort of affair.

2005 Wades Wines Syrah Clover Creek Vineyard Santa Barbara County ~$18: More fruit than the Terra Alta. The crowd loved this one, too. Up front fruit flavors. Easy going syrah. Another perfect wine for a business-like holiday party.

The back story is Wade purchased juice from a high profile Santa Rita Hills vintner and bottled it at considerable savings under the Wade label. Good for us.

I also poured two other reds.

2004 Chalone Monterey County Pinot Noir ~$12: Another excellent party wine. Dan and Ellen noticed it was lighter weight and preferred Wades syrahs all round. I thought this was pretty generic pinot that would not embarrass the bearer if brought in as a casual gift. Chalone is a Diagio property along with Sterling and Acacia.

2005 Vielles Vignes Daniel Bouland Morgon $19: I bought this at Woodland Hills Wine Company which is my local wine haunt. The 2005 vintage is really special. Gamay fruit that stands right up there with Burgundy. Big wine, solid, forceful. Medium weight. I love this vintage. I have also had the 2003 form the same producer. The Bouland wines are worth searching out. Imported by Peter Weygandt who provides a complete data sheet for the discriminating buyer.

I actually went by Wades because I knew David Corey was pouring his new stuff this weekend. Oh. That was Saturday. So to help me stop sobbing Wade poured the end of a Gypsy Canyon late harvest Mission grape elixir that was delicious. Angelica is the wine name. A bit pricey. Napa arrives in Santa Barbara. No matter. This is exactly the point. Where else does one find this wine? Interesting story (of course). Interesting wine shop.

Now...here's Tommy James...

Richard Belloff is a pioneer in Westlake. He opened his cozy wine bar/restaurant Bellavino in Westlake CA in 2003. He has gone through several chefs and enough personal re-tooling to test anyone's survivability. Yet here he is with his very warm dining establishment, a terrific chef, a wine director, an outrageously attractive Monday night $30 three course special...and a superb wine list.

2005 Michael David Petite Petit $20: Richard recommended this wine to go with my crab cake and pork chop. He also noted the importance of staying under $20 without sacrificing quality. This wine does it. Great balance. Medium weight. Some cranberry, light pepper. Could pass for a Southern France Carignane blend. And it is such an unusual blend. Michael David Winery hails from Lodi. He makes the 7 Deadly Zins which is a very popular label. Not a zin fan but who knows now? We love Lodi having learned about the historical importance of Lodi in California wine history. You could call it the motherlode. More like the motherland.I usually frown on the zin-cab or cab-syrah stylists. As my good pal who took me to Mastros might say Igottatellya this blend works really well. Now I have to bring Igottatellya to Bellavino on Monday night.

14.5% on the alcohol which is the new goal for Adam Tolmachl! If you did not read the incredible LA Times article on high alcohol levels in Central Coast wines with the courageous admission from Tolmach - one of California's master wine makers - that he is boycotting his own high-alcohol wines - then you must click on the preceding link. Of course, tBoW has been pounding the table (like Krushchev at UN in 1960) for this cause for a long time. This is why we post alcohol levels. Let me step down from my soapbox.

[ed. for all the puppies who read this blog, the link goes to a 1960 newsreel showing Russian Prime Minister Krushchev and komrades pounding the table with their fists to demonstrate Soviet strength and pugnacity. tBoW's Bacchus was 11 y.o. then and this stuff played big but you had to go to the movies to see newsreels, or you could just read the newspaper. Now I feel like Andy Rooney.]

Holy jumpin' elephants now here's a goodun. The Michael David winery was supposedly sued because this label looks too much like Barnum & Bailey artwork. All I can say is the wine is not listed on the winery website nor could I find it on the web. I had to take this pic of the Micahel David label above myself so you could make up your own mind.

Jesse Casanova is the wine director. Jesse brings his experience working with Terlato Wines International which handles many high-end Italian wine plus domestic standouts such as Rochioli. So Jesse know wine. Better yet, Jesse is on a mission to help Westlake wine fiends learn about wines other than the same old same old (nuff said right there). So he has initiated a series of wine dinners called Vine and Dine. These feature different varietals paired with well-matched foods. How about a Riesling tasting? First one I have seen in the Conejo Valley. Check these guys. If you are there on a Monday say hello to me!

Here are some other nice wines recently tasted.

Pipestone 2003 Grenache ~$18: Jammy-lite, ripe fruit. One day later the fruit backs off and blends in much more nicely. Ripe plum notes. Rich tasting. Can only dream of what this wine might offer with a bit less ripeness and alcohol. Following the development of this winemaker is worthwhile.14.9%.

2005 Domaine de Combiaty Brouilly $18: Imported by Beaune Imports, an importer to watch. We are pretty much in love with the 2005 and the 2006 vintages in Beaujolais. Something is happening in the region. This wine is made by Dominique Piron. We think we can always tell the old world wines because they do not have the big bright fruit (generally, there must be exceptions). This is not the exception but it does have a lot of good fruit. A day later (as above) it is better, more blended (melded?) and nicely balanced. Moreso than the Pipestone. Would I buy it again? If other wines from the same vintages were not available. Would I buy it if I had never tried it before? Well I already did. Best of all? 12.5%

2004 Barbera d'Alba Vigna San Lorenzo Bartolo Mascarello $22: Steve Goldun tout (he left WHWC!! What will we do? We throw our corks in with Dave Russell). Think Gamay fruit with spicy pepper. Absolutely delightful. Very nicely balanced. Open one day and stored in half bottle. I will get more of this. 14%. Once upon a time Barbera was not very glamorous. Maybe it still is not. Then it got glamorous kind of riding the coattails of the Barrique Barolistas. Those would be the Piemonte winemakers who broke ranks with the old timers and started aging the wine in small oak barrels instead of monster Slovenian oak - or traditional cement - barrels. My point is Barbera quickly shifted from being sort of obscure and for locals only to a "re-discovered" varietal that "deserved its due". Thank god that movement faded. Here is a locals only wine that tastes like the wines we would like to taste more of. Who is Bartolo Mascarello? Mascarello is a high profile name in the region and a defender of the "old ways". Click on the preceding link to read a bio on the elder statesman of Barolo.

My pal with the hollow wooden leg Ronnie the Worker Bee says "Stevie...can you get me a case of mixed red all under $15?" Hmm. Let me think...

I love a challenge and I have such confidence in my local vendor Woodland Hills Wine Co (new website with super search engine!) - even though my favorite sales guy has gone and left us (good news - he is opening his own "shop and dine" joint) - that I gladly agree to put it together. [ed. Credit winedoctor for posting simple instructive maps of Burgundy including this one]

You know what happens, of course. I end up buying my own mixed case because Paul & Kyle Smith's deals are so damn good! I am working my way through the selection, presented for your own consideration.

2006 Trenel Beaujolais-Villages $11: This wine is so good it is ridiculous. I served it to the missus and she said so. Robert Chadderton Selection. We have tasted and reported on other Trenel wines, especially the Cru vineyards from 2005 . Good news...the 2006 vintage is equally spectacular. But, igottatellya, this is hard to beat this for the $$. Soft not quite ripe cherry fruit (I like that), velvety smooth (no tannins to speak of), and just down the hatch she goes. I did read a recent review complaining the finish was short. Hey...have another glass mister. At 12.5% you can have a few!!! Hell yeh!! Here is to low alcohol, balanced, tasty fruit-driven wine!!

2005 Cotes du Rhone Domaine de Cristia $11: This may seem unusual to say BUT thank goodness I have come across a wine that is just OK. It is the domaine's entry level so it should be at least OK. This Rhone blend is just OK. I have tasted so many fruit-driven, mostly balanced U20 wines of late it seems there is little else out there except the even BIGGER and definitely not balanced fruit-driven trophies. But this wine has that once familiar high acid presence, light tannins, slightly overwhelming the fruit, not over-ripe but still ripe enough to recognize the grenache flavors. Mild smoke, dustiness. Was a time before Parker [ed. BP, like BC or AD] most wines tasted like this one. 13%

2004 Fratelli Revello Dolcetto d'Alba $12: This label from Barolo (Piemonte) tends to turn out younger styled wines. My 1996 and 1997 Baroli aged early. I like the wines but decided awhile ago that buying Barolo wines at lofty prices was just not worth it. The go-to importer for Barolo wines, ala' Becky Wasserman for Burgundies, is Marc De Grazia. However, I think he just does not have enough variety in styles to present as broad a range as does Ms. W. This is a Marc De Grazia wine. Right out of the bottle it is quite tasty. Cookie dough and cinnamon spice flavors. However, Dolcetto's are not meant for the long term. After about 45 minutes the fruit faded and we were left with a somewhat narrower and woody drink. 13.5%

2003 Clautiere Mon Rouge ~$18 thru wine club: Syrah/cabernet blend split almost down the middle. The blend is pretty nice. The dense cab flavors set off the syrah ripeness. I automatically wrinkle my nose at "non-traditional" blends. However, in this case, the blend worked. This food-friendly wine (i.e., not overly "extracted") would complement many meals. It is remarkably fresh for a wine with 4 years plus.

...the Grenache Blanc mini taste-off...domestically speaking...

2006 Curran Grenache Blanc $24 at Curran website: A wine I have learned to love. I wish I could compare to French styles but....this is all peaches and spring flowers...nose is somewhat muted but flavors are all there. Medium weight for white wine. I have found this wine will age nicely for at least several years. Can be served at room temp. 14.1%.

2004 Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc $25: Estate grown (of course). This is more serous wine with strong overlay of oak and alcohol (15.3%!!!). For a 4 year old wine this is still brawny and muscular. If the Curran wine is delicate and femmy likeHolly Golightly then the TC is all Hulk Hogan (maybe less drama). The fruit is there but, right now, the wood dominates. Almost intimidates.

I cannot help but think of the Williams Selyem and Rochioli pinot noir taste-offs we have had in the past. Again and again W/S would prove to be the fruitier and lighter wine, endlessly charming and supremely quaff-able. The Rochioli was almost always for long term aging. Totally serious with tons of complexity and to be enjoyed on its own, when Rochioli is ready (Rochioli as alpha wine?).

Now you might wonder how one can fairly compare wines from two different vintages. No explanation is offered. I do not think the Tablas Creek GB wine has lost any fruit. I just think it is a tougher wine. Both will age just fine...at least a few years.

Two excellent examples of how GB can be made in California.

A cool and dreary start to the summer. LA is known for June Gloom (AM coastal fog that works great for early morning tee times) but this is something else. Overcast and slight drizzle for the unofficial start of summer. [ed. that was 7 weeks ago, now in the 90s plus daily] tBoW hosts three couples who are ready and willing to try anything we put in front of them. What more can one ask from a guest?

The tasting choices were like a juke box on Adderal. Bottles flew out of the cellar as fast as we could purge. We covered California pinots, white Bordeaux, a Paso white, and Baroli that must get consumed. As they say in film noir, the usual suspects showed up...and I do mean people and wines.

1996 Cantina Vignaioli Elvio Pertinace Barbaresco Vigneto Marcarini: Tobacco nose and flavors. Cherry puckering fruit, too many tannins for 12 years. Not enough fruit left. Anutha bummah from this selection. I think. 13.5%

1995 Sottimano Curra Vigna Masue Barbaresco: I am fighting with the 1996 vintage in Barolo. When I tasted the vintage in the Clerico cellar with Domenico himself it was magic. The wines were forward, rich and elegant. So many now are tough. The chance to taste this 1995, a "harder" vintage, more than ten years later was welcomed. One of the premium vineyards for this label. Tannic, puckering, needs decanting. Opens up after several hours. Still not very impressive wine. 13%

2000 Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico: Costco purchase? Parker 90. Was opened last so it did not get much attention that evening. Next evening it was nice enough. You have to like Sangiovese, of which I am not a big fan. Too sweet and rakish. Balanced, sweetish, light to medium weight. Holding up nicely for 8 years old. 13%

2005 Wiliams Selyem Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir: If this were basketball this would be a "make-up call". The Chianti brought by "igottatellya" is all but forgotten whenever he opens his WS stash. Of course, wrestling a glass from him of the nation's finest domestic pinot noir is another matter. This is the first bottle opened from the 2005 and 2006 vintage resting comfortably in the tBoW cellar. So there are many more to come. [ed. cue wicked Dr. Evil laugh] We (the ubiquitous Dotoré) selected carefully, being sure to crack the wine most likely to be ready. This eliminates all the vineyard designated wines. Going through the sealed case and reading every label is a lesson in the marriage of a label with mega-cachet and lesser known Russian River-Sonoma growers. Seeing your vineyard on a Williams-Selyem label brings prestige. We hardly recognized the names. This wine had all the seductive flavors and qualities we associate with WS wines, especially the ones for "early" opening. Vanilla, creamy, forward fruit, some understated smoke. Soft but not flabby. It went quickly. Summer's challenge? Not to plunder the entire two cases. 14.2%

2004 Paul Lato Gold Coast Vineyard Pinot Noir: With the Italian debacle behind us and a strong pinot wind in our sails we headed for the Santa Rita Hills. Paul Lato is one of the finest examples of wines from this region. tBoW put it in a bag and poured on the heels of the Williams Selyem. More tannic but that is no surprise. Restrained at first. More structured than the WS but then this is the flagship. Showing smoke and dark dense pinot fruit. Not an SRH fruit bomb. Excellent. So different than WS and outstanding on its own. It is not Rochioli with all the complications and complexity. It is fine wine. Paul made 70 cases. 14.5% [ed. special credit to Grape-Nutz where I lifted the photo of Paul; an outstanding wine blog for all wines regional; highly recommended reading].

2006 Chateau Martinon Entre-Deux-Mers $10: Recommended by Hi Time Wine Cellar as a go-to summer white. Like white loafers. Reminds me of Jim Moore's l'Uvaggio di Giacomo Vermentino. All the bright acid, lush fruit. Almost oily in weight. Somewhat reminiscent of the Argentine Torrontes wines. Wonderfully good. Here is a nice review on the Entre-Deux-Mer region. Love that alcohol level. 12.5%

2006 Tablas Creek Vermentino: Another excellent white wine from TC. Strong, spiney, good acid. Sharp, lime flavors. Serious, even. But for current drinking. Anytime with anything. Before dinner. 14.5%

2005 Calot Morgon Vieilles Vignes Cuvée Unique: North Berkeley Wine purchase. Pinot pedigree (Morgon borders Burgundy) with Gamay fruit. Unusual. Read the NBW notes on the winemaker. Excellent, fruity but not overtly forward wine. Tannic balance. Will last a year in the cellar. Jump on it.

It is going to be a very good summer.

Summer is the season for stealth wines like Rosé and Moscato d'Asti. And if you really need something more substantial there are the very stealth Gamay wines from Beaujolais. Which makes summer the most bombastically wonderful season of the year. Put away the pretensions with the ratings gurus and get ready to just sit back and enjoy. Here is a group of summer wines recently tasted.

2007 Rosé du Nuit Domaine du Deffends: Robert Chadderton is the B-2 Stealth Bomber of wine importers. Silently dropping vinous mayhem on our palates. For tBoW it is a tossup between Charles Neal, Chadderton and Peter Weygandt for most captivating importer. In case Chadderton is an anti-war guy I apologize in advance for associating him to my fascination with military porn. This is the stealth wine. [ed. God I hope "W" isn't "protecting freedom" in Iran by the time we publish.] Plenty of acid but still balanced. Undertones of PINK grapefruit. Pale salmon in color. Almost sophisticated but who cares? Not sure what the vogueing lady has to do with the wine except I am sure she has something to do with it. That or she just TRIPS on Madonna. Please check her out and let me know. Fenks. 12.6%.

2005 McKenzie-Mueller Clan Rosé Napa Valley $19: Screw top cap lets us know Bob Mueller means we should drink this up. Knowing Bob makes serious wine even when he is not being terribly serious we had it with lamb chops off the grill. Perfect. 63% Cabernet Franc, 27% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. That's right - it is a Bordeaux blend Rosé!!! BRAVO!! Who else would try this? Unfiltered to make sure we get all the blend has to offer. I did not like particularly this when he poured it at the winery. Now I am blown away. Beefy Rosé with a light bright red color. A Rosé meant for grilled meats. Who knew? Here is what Bob has to say about this wine. There is only one Napa mail list to be on. 14.7%

2007 Txakoli Gurrutaga Rosado: The pink version of the Basque white wine we drank at the Playboy Jazz Festival. That was super acidic. This is just bright and acidic. I like it just fine. Not your grand-papa's pinkie. Or maybe it is if he is a Viking. A Kirk Douglas Rosé. I am going to go out on a limb and say you need to try this wine just to prove you are not a WINE WIMP. I like it. I'm a real tough palate when it is 80 degrees at 8:00 in the evening. 10.5%

2007 Vissoux Pierre-Marie Chermette Les Griottes Beaujolais Rose $15: [ed. I could not find the label so here is the MAN with his vines]. Pale pink salmon color. Creamy, sour cherries, good acid balancing the fruit like a seal tossing a ball. This has to be Grenache but no...it is Gamay. Unfiltered. So what! It is just perfect in early sumer when the SoCal air is still kinda cool. Peter Weygandt (tBoW Best of Wine Importers) does it again. Kick my booty in a frosty glass bottle no less. Great touch. 12%

2005 Chateau de Thulon Beaujolais Villages $15: Winemaker is Jean-Marc Gurgaud. The vintage continues to show very well, as expected. Solid cassis flavors usually reserved for Cabernet Sauvigonon. With light shining through. A translucent wine. Outstanding. Rich and hedonistic flavors like a liquer. How do they do it and keep it so lightweight? This is simply excellent wine. 12.5%

2005 Rousset Crozes-Hermitage $20: Kermit Lynch selection purchased at Wine Country in LA's South Bay where the buyer does a wonderful job. Dry, sour-like, balanced, stoniness. I like it; Missus does not. You have to develop a taste I suppose. She much prefers the next wine down.

2007 La Morandiña Moscato d'Asti $18: This is the perfect summer wine, or it is the wine of the summer according to the Missus. Like key lime pie in a glass. Has the bitter bright lime topping a core of ripe summer fruit; peaches, oranges, honey with a slight fizz and just enough acid. More sophisticated than other efforts (which we also love). 5%.

2007 Sori del Re Moscato d'Asti Degiorgis $18: WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER. Some like it better than the Morandini. Peaches and zing and slight spritz. Wunnaful wunnaful. 5.5%