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

Where are the notes on the <$20 wines? We taste enough wines on the weekend (my wife a bissel more often) to post some ratings. Before I get around to posting some notes, I will ask the good dotore' (generously available for palate abuse) to offer notes on the 1999 Oratorio he bought in Costco years ago and held onto until last Friday June 22. In the meantime here are notes on 3 other wines we busted out.

2005 A. Scherer Pinot Noir: Alsatian pinot noir. Think northern Italy PN. Or Swiss PN. Or Austrian PN. I have tasted PN from each region always on somebody's good tout. These are wines grown in cold - not cool - regions. PN needs cooldown weather. However, a parka in August is too much cooldown. The problem with any of these wines is they have little fruit. So they come off as "sinewy" when well-made and anorexic when not. On the other hand, if you like lean woody wines with an APB out on the fruit this could be for you. (Interestingly, Mendocino - a north of Napa cool growing region - can produce terrific PNs, i.e., Navarro).

2005 McKenzie-Mueller Carneros Cuvee Rose': My wife loves McKenzie-Mueller wines. I am quite fond of his pinot noir, cab franc and malbec. His cab sauvignon is very well made, never heavyweight, always balanced. Bob McKenzie has an understandably loyal following. We are in the wine club and order wines direct (25% off) on release. A recent M-M newsletter (I am getting to the point dammit) referred to a request by some clubbies that Bob create a "reds-only" option. These followers apparently do not wish to buy the chardonnay, rose', etc. offerings that usually accompany the red releases. Bob is thinking about it. I usually take the white wines and the rose' in support of a family winemaker who is also a wonderful host should you visit his Carneros winery (which you should if you get the chance). We are guessing the rose' is cab franc. The alcohol is listed at 14.7%. The "standard deviation" accepted in wine metrics is plus/minus 0.5% so the alcohol could be >15%. We prefer wines no higher than 14% and applaud winemakers who keep it close to 13%. We are thinking the "reds-only" folks have been in the club longer than we have.

1989 Chateau Nairac: Golden-copper color, tartrate crystals (?) floating in the soup otherwise looks absolutely perfect. Musty nose but a long way from corked. Still some acid on palate but mostly honeyed...and some mustiness. Never got to the second glass. Dr. M's call and a good one once again. I bought this after having a delicious 1979 Nairac maybe 10 years ago and I expected more. Of course, 1983 is the Sauternes vintage. I would snap up a 1975, 1976 or 1983 Nairac if I had the chance (of course I would also burst the 20$ cap but c'est la vie).

Best suggestion for "field of reference" when tasting wine...surfing!

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...

Carlitos is a genuine LA character. From stuffing burritos at El Rey Taco for 60s and 70s era USC football greats at Fig & Vermont when he was a teenager to making the leather boots for the old PSA stews (i.e., flight attendants) to throwing my favorite Xmas party, the man is endlessly amusing and excellent company. We have a March Madness bet - most wins - and this year I nipped him by 2 games. So he had to buy dinner at his favorite local Italian joint, Giorgios, in Palos Verdes. Like Litos, Giorgios is classic right down to the plaster statues between the banquettes. The highlight of the meal, for me, was Chef Carlo serving us panne cota ora'nge for dessert. Carlos requested cherries jubilee (what else?) which Giorgio prepared at the table. The only thing missing was a Tony Bennett serenade.

Now the wines. Carlitos loves classic Napa cabernet. He has a garage full of it. This summer he is going to install an air conditioner in the garage because come Aug-Sep it can get warm-ish up on the PV hill (even though the afternoon of the dinner at 75F it was 20 degrees cooler than the West Valley). The cool ocean air allows him to keep the wines in reasonably good shape. I have never had one that turned, even the 1966 BV George de Latour he opened Dec 10. I always look forward to drinking wine with Carlos (and lovely Alice his keeper and charming muse) because it gives me a chance to try wines I have long abandoned - classic Napa cabs. The other cool thing is that I know most of the wines he opens from 2 decades past so it is lotsa fun to reach back and discuss some 80s vintages (the last Napa cab I recall buying was the 1990 Mondavi Reserve in double mag; still have it). This what we tasted on Carlitos Way the other night.

1996 McKenzie-Mueller Merlot (in mag): We had this in December as well. It is simply magnificent.
This tells you everything you need to know about Bob Mueller's winemaking talent. Forget merlot-bashing. Some folks actually make it memorable. Bob is one such. My wife bought a 1999 Wild Horse Merlot at the winery in 2005 (with the Constellation turnover they must have been clearing the cellars). Excellent. The M-M wine was fresh, voluptuous without being plump, full-bodied. Deep flavors. If the evening can be likened to The Magnificent Seven (on TV today) this wine is Chris (Yul Brynner's leader). Straightforward, practical, daring, a winner.

1995 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon: See what I mean about Litos' cellar? Who has these wines? Let me amend that...who bought these wines and held onto them a decade or more? This is the Steve McQueen character in M7. Sensible, classic, dependable, solid as a rock, nimble. Classic Napa cedar nose. Middle weight, tannins pretty settled in. Pure Napa cab balanced with fruit and wood, both appropriately mellowed and blended. If I could drink one wine on its own this would be the one.

1998 Phelps Insignia: Do you remember Horst Bucholz in M7? He is mistreated by Chris and the others. They think he does not belong. He is obviously insecure and wants to be one of the gang so badly it hurts him. Flashy. Full of stuff. Bombastic. Oh. Back to the wine. Phelps Insignia lacks nothing in terms of being included with the classic lineup of old guard Napa cabs. Maybe it was never BV de Latour, Heitz Marthas, Ridge Montebello, or Montelena. If there is any hint of "less than" maybe that is because it is a blend, I mean Meritage. The 1998 was 78% cab, 22% merlot. I always recall the 1985 Insignia, remembering it was so minty and eucalyptus-ilke. Turns out it had 15$ cab franc! This 98 was the big baby of the night (not crybaby, more like Glen Davis aka Baby Shaq). First, it was completely fresh like it was bottled last month. Living in Carlitos' garage however many years did nothing to diminish this wine's power. Like a smack in the face. Kick in the gut. Round, firm, full, powerful. Big fruit but not over-ripe at all. Even the bottle is kind of rugged and powerful. This was the wine to stand up to Chef Carlo's chianti wine sauce with the slices of fresh garlic. This wine will keep another decade easily. I wonder if it will ever age? It is that huge. Do not misunderstand. It is not overblown. Just overwhelming. This is a wine to take to a blind tasting of monster Napa cabs. Put this in a bag with the other big names and let's see who likes what.

Happy 4th.

2005 l’Uvaggio di Giacomo Vermentino $11: Finally, an opportunity to write about a Jim Moore wine. First, a few words about Jim. He is one of many winemakers who are not media stars. However, he is widely regarded within the winemaking industry as a “go-to” person
when you need something done. Looking for premium juice for sale by a high-profile winery? Call Jim. Need more super-premium French oak barrels? Jim probably knows where they can be had. Want to start a winery from the ground up? Do a custom crush? Fill-in a sudden and unexpected hole on your winemaking team because the winemaker for your long-standing label just went elsewhere? Want to turn around your wine program for your winery that is one of the oldest in the valley? He is the man to see. I am sure there are others like Jim in Napa. He knows them all, too. And what of his wine? Distinctive, meaning his wines share certain qualities regardless of the grape or employer. This Vermentino has all the earmarks of Jim Moore wine. He got the grapes from old old vines in Lodi. My summer reading includes “Blood and Wine”, the unofficial story of Gallo wines, and Lodi goes way back in California wine history. Jim knows. Read more about Moore here. His Vermentino is from young Lodi vines, fresh and light, balanced with a subtlety that you do not even think about the alcohol (12.5%!!) or any kind of awkwardness. Perfect summer style. Flavors bring lime, some white grapefruit (Indian River?), citrus rind (pick-a-fruit). Acid supports the overall tart and bright experience. It is available but good luck finding it.

2005 Edward Sellers Grenache Rosé $12: The good dokker paired this Paso effort with the Languedoc wine below. The objective was to compare two fruity wines from the two distinctive regions that we are always yapping about. First sip showed hugely fruity and sweet flavors. I did not like it…at first. The dokker’s wife (see photo) was disappointed since she picked it on their last trip top Paso. It is a remarkable achievement that when spouses play bridge or taste wines together there is always something on which we can disagree. Aha! As my palate re-tuned from the more mineral continental roses’ I have been quaffing to the fruit bomb side of things I began to find the strawberry flavors more seductive and charming. We killed the bottle with flair. 14.2% alcohol. Nice wine from Edward Sellers. [URL]

2005 Mas de Brassandes Costieres de Nimes $10: Curiously, the good dokker had this rosé from last summer already chilled. He called it a transition wine (evening plans and all). It was also a fruit bomb. And from SW France. Nimes is squarely in the Languedoc which is a region everyone who loves wine should visit at least once. Topographically identical to SoCal with wall-to-wall vineyards and chateaus. The principal grapes are grenache, syrah, mourverdre, and carignane. I have probably already written it but let me do so again (in case I already have). The Languedoc is traditionally the garbage hole of wine. Critics love to tell how the region produces so much ordinary and sub-par wines that in years with an especially large harvest the wine is sold off as fuel. This has changed in some measure over the past decade as French and international winemakers have recognized the conditions are outstanding for producing quality and even better the cost of vineyard land is (was?) extraordinarily attractive. I like to recall our 2001 trip to St. Chinian when it was almost impossible to find a bottle costing more than 10$. And the wine was fine….bring-it-back-in-your-son’s-backpack fine.

1997 Rochioli Allen Vineyard Chardonnay (cellar): Controversial wine for me. I have been a wine club member since the early 80s. I have tasted Rochioli through 20 plus vintages. In 2006 I sold off my remaining collection going back to 1996 to a dear friend who was more than happy to take it off my hands. This wine is from the dokker’s cellar. It is complex. “Coconut” says dokkerm. “Quince” says I. We agree tropical aromas and flavors emerge over 40 minutes in the glass. Tons of acid. The wine is still young. Dokker says it will not get better. I play my collector trump card and say it will go at least another few years, possibly longer. Playing my collector trump with the dokker is silly since he has tasted through my entire collection. Still looking for a path through his usually invulnerable intellect I suggest this wine captures the problem for me with Rochioli. It is too complex. “Too serious?” he snorts. Yes. I ask Gail (see photo above) what TV game show she would rather, Championship Jeopardy or Deal or No Deal. No contest. Deal gets her vote. Williams Selyem is Deal/No Deal. The look-alike babes march over the grandstand in their short satin dresses with their black leather suitcases and it’s all downhill from there. Turn off sound and dig the chicks hamming it up. Rochioli is Championship Jeopardy. Stay sharp. Hit and miss hoping for a category where you actually have some expertise. Fight intellectual exhaustion. Pat yourself on the back 30 minutes later for surviving with some pride intact. “Too many notes” said the King. Rochioli is top of the RRV heap with possibly “the best situated vineyard in North America”.

2006 Curran Grenache Blanc ~$20: This is the 3rd vintage of this wine I have tasted…and enjoyed. In each vintage it is a late bloomer. Drink this in the first 6 months of release and you will ask yourself what is all the fuss. Wait 9 months (only another 3 or so, sit down) and you will be very happy. Give it a year and you will be amazed at how much this wine changed. At first it is recessive, withdrawn, almost sullen. Like first seeing Juliette Lewis in Cape Fear. So awkward. When she starts to mature a bit the charms emerge, slowly, gracefully. And after a full year she is all charm, delicate fruit, sparkling flavors, like a kiwi-blueberry-custard fruit tart. Too much to taste in one swallow. Kris Curran is a terrific winemaker (she makes Sea Smoke which is generally opened way too early). This meets the $20 criterion (maybe a little more but worth it) and is age-worthy (if a couple years count). That's Kris on the left and her dear friend Strummy on the right. Curran Wines

2000 McKenzie-Mueller Napa Valley Pinot Noir (cellar): Our affection for Bob Mueller’s wines is documented. We have reported the sedition within the wine club vis a vis his whites and rosés (i.e., the “red only” membership). I reported how his Merlot stole the show at the Carlitos cab-a-thon last December at the Carlos&Alice Xmas party. So, now I want to say that Bob Mueller’s McKenzie-Mueller pinot noir is probably our favorite wine that he makes. It is a consistent knockout wine. We have tasted it to the early 90s. It never fails to amaze us. My wife always recalls how the staff at Saddlepeak Lodge (Calabasas' best and snootiest restaurant, justifiably) flipped when she tasted them on it. Bob’s wines are still on that list. Strummy introduced them. This wine (7 years old) is fresh, with smoky pinot fruit. It does not taste like cherries or strawberries or any other berry. It is Carneros pinot noir at its finest. It is spectacular and would stand with any W/S and Rochioli (the sine qua non of domestic pinot noir). Get on his mail list. You decide what level. All estate grown grapes. Alcohol a wonderfully restrained 13.5%.

Today's LA Times flooded the Food section to talk about seasonal wines. I have been considering how wine follows seasons - just like fashion - following a recent tasting/dinner hosted by the good dokker.

One of the main points the Times writer(s) were out to make was that wine varietals correspond to the season. The writers were spewing forth on the wonderful white wines that are not "heavily oaked" that we can inconspicuously enjoy in the summer when nights are warm and "cool" is as transient as a cold breeze in Chatsworth. Translation? Forget your Napa chardonnays fercrissake and try something white and un-pronounce-able from Spain, Italy or France. The word "cheap" appeared a bit too often for my taste but it was there.

Ain't it clear by now? They are working our beat. Wines under $20 that are fun to taste and radically different from what we think we should be enjoying...instead of a big ticket over-oaked Napa chard. Is it news that we look for the culturally cool [i.e., correct] choice because we are just not confident [yet] about what we might not know?

OK. That's it for the armchair head shrinking. [Last shrinker's advice - find your experiential context and work it]. My point is that this same kind of blind thrusting can be encountered when folks bring a wine to a tasting among firends. For the oeniphilogically-challenged here are some simple rules to guide what wine you should bring to the next summer wine dinner.

Big red tooth-mashers for the Fall and Winter. I am talking cabs, zins, Montepulcianos, Barolos, St. Joseph, Vega Sicilia, Penfolds Hermitage...the list is longer than the Wine Spectator Top 100 rejected pool (been there). Bring your big-oak chards to the year-end holiday gigs. For white wines you can try the high-acid steel-driving Austrian and German Rielsings. The Fall/Winter is also the time for ports and dessert wines.

Softer, mid-weight reds for the Spring. Pinots, Burgundies, Alta Riojas, Barolos, and especially vintage Beaujolais. This is a good time to break out your steel fermented chards with their higher acids and naked chardonnay fruit.

Summer time is for the lighter, fresher and far more interesting rosés and exotic white wines - Alabriňos, Saumur, Eklekticos, Moscati, French and Calif Sauvingon Blanc, Vermentino! Why stop exploring new regions and new grapes. It's summer!

2005 Chateau Grande Cassagne Rosé Costieres de Nimes ~$10: I cannot recall where I bought this but I am going to guess it was Whole Foods. And I think I bought it last summer so it might have been sitting around a year. Of course, I also might have bought it a month ago at Woodland Hills Wine Co. With Steve's recommendation, of course. So what about the wine? Do you like strawberries but not a total infusion of? How about cranberries? Now blend them perfectly in wine that is not over-ripe (like so many domestic Rosés not that I am unable to enjoy those as well) with bright acid and light to medium weight. 13.5% alcohol makes for an easy and wonderful summer evening where ever you are (excluding the South Pole but maybe even there).

1999 LIparita Cabernet Sauvignon (well over $20) - Word is this is Grace vineyard pedigree. Unfortunately, the season is all wrong. I want this with an oyster stuffed turkey, cranberry sauce, yams. In the raw summer evening the green nose and earthy flavors overwhelm the cherry and chocolate lurking within. Fortunately, he has another. Wait a bissel.

2004 Vincent Arroyo Petite Syrah - What an interesting bottle of wine. Petite syrah is one of the stalwarts of old time vines in Napa/Sonoma. In the summer evening against the rose's, vermentino and Saumur, however, this wine is lead footed. It cannot get past its rich over-ripe weight and flavors. They are delicious and well-balanced but we need it in 120 days Doc. This is why Italians drink Amarone in the Fall with game! And Moscato d'Asti in the summer with...another bottle of Moscato d'Asti!

2004 Chateau de Villeneuve Saumur Blanc <$20: Honey, plums, viscous. Heavier than the other roses and white wines we have been tasting. More serious. Delicious. Rich. Will age at least a year if not three. This is interesting wine. This could be served with the bird in November and it would sprint past Cakebread like a juiced biker from Kazakhstan! North Berkeley, of course.

Thanks to all for bringing wine. The spirit of sharing is always right.

Not one of the three wines reviewed is under $20. Not my fault. And, as you will learn, I cannot say I regret it.

During these dog days of summer when the temps hit 100 in the LA industrial interior you need a really good reason to drive 50 miles one way just to see some old pals starting a new wine venture. As I passed the Commerce Casino on a stretch of freeway where trucks outnumber automobiles I considered what I was doing here...so far from my pool and bike trails.

I was on my way for lunch with old friend and wine biz veteran Greg Gilooly and his partner Alex Correa. Greg is like the Hoyt Wilhelm of wine, well traveled because he can still throw the drop ball. If Greg is the cagey vet, then Alex is Tom Glavine, the steady winner. Greg has been in every part of the business and more than once in each. Want to know more? Founding partner in the Wine House, arguably LA's biggest wine retailer. They carry everything you would ever want. He owned a distribution company, a wine shipping and storage and another more recent wine retail shop. Now he is back in the storage and shipping business with WineBridge. He graciously invited me to visit the facility in an industrial part of LA most people pass through. Seems like there are two trucks for every car on that stretch of concrete.

After we visited, toured the "airplane hangar" perfectly temp controlled, and talked about trucking strategies, it was off to lunch at ABC Seafood in Monterey Park. For those not from these parts Monterey Park is home to reputedly the finest Chinese restaurants west of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Like Grampappy Amos used to say ("Luke...") "no brag just fact".

I was pleased to see that Greg's sense of direction was as bad as mine. Neither Alex or I offered advice being content to roam until we ran into the place. DokkerM would call this the way of men or something like that.

There are so many ABC restaurants in LA I have to wonder if the same thing happens in China. This is stupid of course since I cannot read Chinese script and Chinese people will say anything just to laugh at how stupid I am. Dim sum at lunch as one would expect. So good I tried to engineer a "special" birthday brunch for the subsequent Sunday for my daughter's 20th. But she saw through my ploy and we ended up eating pizza.

2005 Sea Smoke Ten: Brooding, serious, medium weight, one of the main the reasons Santa Rita Hills are a hot area for growing and producing pinot noir. There are tea flavors but mostly ripe SRH fruit. Winemaker Kris Curran is one of the important names behind the wine. The Ten is the high end bottling from 10 different clones in the estate vineyard. OK. 14.9% alcohol. Yow. At least it doesn’t burn. I’m probably a wimp in the eyes of SRH winemakers. http://www.seasmokecellars.com/sections/our_wines/tasting_notes.html

2004 Vocoret Chablis Vaillons Premier Cru: When did I lose track of these wines? I used to love Chablis wines. I think I memorized the Grand Cru vineyards. Maybe they got too pricey (likely) and I just burned out on white burgs (not likely). This wine was once sold by Greg G around $15. Today? $XX. It is not in the flinty style often attributed to Chablis. Has lemon nuance, ripeness, neither plump or lean. Was 2004 a ripe vintage? Absolutely lovely. 2005 village wine is $15. The Blanchot will run you $40 (but it is Grand Cru). You can still buy Vocoret at Heritage Wines in Pasadena.

2000 Uvaggio Il Leopardo: The question is whether the wine is tired. It is California Nebbiolo made by Mr. Jim Moore. The wine has sat in my cellar for a week with temp controlled. It is brackish red in the glass. The nose is delicate, suggesting something aged but not retired. The flavor is aged Barolo, lighter, delicate, familiar flavors of rose and tar. Delicate. We start lunch with this wine and finish with it 90 minutes later, still charmed.

All three wines were excellent with the dishes of BBQ pork, broccoli, shrimp and some kind of shellfish dumpling. I selected cubes of bean curd with sesame flecks for desert. It tasted like sesame gelatin and looked like opaque pepper jello. It was terrific. When do we go again boys?

There was a time decades ago when I shopped at Trader Joes for wine.
I still have the bottles of Dunn Howell cabernets with the $14 stickers and oportos for $15 purchased off the shelf at TJs. Today TJs is a top seller of Toobuckupchuck. As a rule I eschew wines sold in supermarkets. And I support my local wine retailer who does an outstanding job bringing in and putting out super values along with all the trophy wines any "collector" soaked in aftershave could ask for.

For the record, the Dunn Howell cabernets age very very well. Along with Philip Togni wines these are two Napa wines that represent far superior value than the current Speculator touts. Given the choice of spending hundreds for a new release Shry-ing Raptor or a perfectly aged Philip Togni 1990 Cabernet or a 1982 Dunn Howell...no brainer. Two are proven.

Like many good Murrkins I shop at Costco.
I am a big buyer (at least in spirit) of all things Kirkland. I even bought a bottle of Kirkland burgundy once (best left unreviewed). Costco established its wine cred by featuring BigTickit wines especially First Growth Bordeaux. However, recently I have found the occasional excellent value of unusual wines I would not expect to see in the Kirkland chain. I tasted two recently and they are reviewed here. So if you love Costco and have a double-executive-wholesale-maxi-rebate-triple-gold membership then you will want to keep your car keys in hand because you will almost certainly be racing out your driveway before you finish reading. And...as always...please...buy Kirkland responsibly.

2004 Brancaia Tre $15: Bought this at Costco. Also saw it on the web at The Wine Club which is a major discounter so somebody dumped a bunch on the market. Goodie for us because this is very nice wine. Blend is 80% Sangiovese, 10% each Merlot and Cabernet. Brancaia is a highly regarded Italian label. This is their low end, I mean introductory, wine. Soft nose would probably have been more interesting in a larger wine glass. No mistaking the taste. Sangio and cab immediately recognizable. Very little tannins.Excellent and probably best drinking right now. Had it with shrimp linguine in red sauce at local Ital dining emporium Giovanni (aka Richie's). Great wine with a terrific meal. Richie sprays the ball off the tee but he hits it down the middle in his kitchen. Finish is ripe, some prunes but not like an Amarone. I am looking for more now. 13.5%.

2005 Domaine de la Motte Premier Cru Chablis Vauligneau $15:
A friend who likes to surprise me pulled this one out at a home dinner he hosted. While he served several very nice wines, this one stood out. Classic Chablis nose of stones, oak, flint. Green flavors of a youthful wine. Lotsa lime flavors. Strong acidic sharpness that was refreshing. Nicely balanced. Nutmeg emerging. This wine got better in the glass over an hour. I was at Costco the next day and bought half a case. Great value. 13%.

White Knight Clarksburg Viognier $10: Now here is an interesting wine. The Large put this one on the table recently and I gotta say it was great to see how this jazz historian/musician has answered the call "no wines over $20". Dammit. Here is the website link to Don Sebastiani and Sons who apparently make the wine. Before I describe my impressions of the wine I have to point out that Santa Clara U is obviously the choice among California winemakers for providing a college education. All three Sebastiani sons attended as did at least one if not two Mondavis (Michael and the girl). Who knew. Viognier is not the next big grape for me (grenache and mourverdre are). Too many California winemakers treat it like chardonnay with the heavy oak and the ripe fruit. Not here. This is lean and balanced. I will bet steel fermented. I did not get the tropical flavors in the online tasting notes. But I did get the "stone fruit". At this price it is worth hunting down if you want to try a different style of viognier. Love the screw top. 13.5%.

So where is Clarksburg? Sacramento Delta. This is good news. Last visit to Napa/Sonoma the wife and I "discovered" a region more like Paso than Napa or Sonoma while technically in Napa. Carneros. Please visit Carneros next time you are traveling to Napa. I am going to bet Clarksburg is very similar in rustic nature and the absence of monster chateaus and $40 tasting rooms. Check out the Clarksburg Wine Growers Association and learn more.

2004 Tablas Creek Cotes de Tablas $13.40: This is my choice for Wine of the Year. I could change my mind since there are still a couple of months left in 2007. However, when it comes to value and quality this wine is very hard to top.The price is for a case. But why not buy the case? You will easily work through it. You do have to be a wine club member to get this price but you know where I stand there. And let me get this out of the way. Thanks for the Tablas Creek Blog post about this blog. OK. That looks like I am just a pimp for TC. I just think this winery is doing a great job on as many fronts as I can imagine. Solar powered energy. Organic methods. By-the-book nursery of original French vinifera for all the great and lesser known (in some cases unknown) varietals from the Rhone region. And this wine? I think I have reviewed it before. Nose is still a bit smoky and seductive. Flavors are pure grenache (64%) and syrah (16%) fruit. Tannins have settled down. Balance is perfect. This wine is still young. 14.8% which is high but it is Paso and I do not taste the alcohol. Website says two more years. Sure. If I have any left after Turkey Day because this is definitely on my Thanksgiving wine list. Works with lasagna...that's right...from Costco!!

With a double bar/t mitzvah in Palo Alto (Papa Ricolini vogues Tevya at reception) we saw the opportunity to extend a few days and hit Napa as long as we were so near. A trip to Napa is always mixed for me...at least at the outset. Visiting with good friends is a plus. But given the pure wine-country choice I would prefer to visit almost anywhere else like Paso Robles or even better Walla Walla.

Napa is silly. Take the tasting rooms...please. [apologetic link to Henny Youngman insult machine] In Napa they have tasting galleries. U20 wines? Not in Napa no way no how. It costs at least $20 just to taste wines in the galleries. The Del Dotto Gallery demands $40 and they keep the glass. And they are hardly the exception. If you plan on tasting at Del Dotto, Stags Leap and Opus in the same day bring a couple hundies...for the privilege of sipping and spitting in a bucket. The way I get around the over-the-top silliness of Napa is to make sure I visit Carneros first. Which means a visit with McKenzie-Mueller.

Fall paints brilliant colors which are wonderful to look at in the wine country light. I did not get a single picture but I do keep the memories of blazing orange, scarlet and brown vineyards.

Karen McKenzie greeted us and we got right to tasting. All prices reflect M-M Wine Club 25% discount. She poured wine on their tasting table...in the same warehouse (OK, very large garage) where they make and store the wine. Bought every wine reviewed.

2006 McKenzie-Mueller Sauvignon Blanc ~$18: She said this wine came from vines that they had tried to convert ("t-budded") to red varietals. Some the vines produced SB anyway! So they bottled a very small amount of very fresh, minerally and not at all grassy SB. Like a Sancerre.

2005 McKenzie-Mueller Clan Rose ~$14: 63% cab franc makes for a brawny pinky.

2004 McKenzie-Mueller Pinot Noir $~$26: Deep almost caramel nose. Deep red robe. Fruit forward, elegant. The thing about Bob's pinot is that you would not mistake it for Sonoma, Napa or Santa Rita. He gets the Carneros smoke and slightly briny fruit far better than other Carneros producers. Outstanding. Biggest purchase.

2002 McKenzie-Mueller Merlot ~$26: Bob makes the best and the best value merlot. Five years in bottle and completely fresh. Another deep wine with seductive aromas of blackest cherry. Spectacular.

2003 McKenzie-Mueller Cabernet Franc ~$26: Of the three reds we bought this was the least spectacular. Which is like saying Lana Turner was not quite Marilyn Monroe. Or James Coburn was not quite Clint Eastwood. More narrow flavor profile and still kicking it good. We purchased.

The McKenzie-Mueller presentation never disappoints. I need more of these wines!

On the way to Napa we spent an overnight in The City. I will not bore you with my appraisal of all the ways SF is so much cooler than LA. The restaurants with their intelligent wine lists is one reason. Here is what we tasted at SPQR, the new A16 installment in Pacific Heights on Fillmore. You can order a 3 ounce taste, a 6 ounce glass or a 375 ml carafe of any of the 32 wines on the list. Is there one LA restaurant that has even considered this policy? Lou (Dottore' suggestion) may be the closest LA has to this enlightened of a wine policy. I am showing the price on the wine list which you have to figure is a 100% markup from what you might pay retail.

First the white wines...

2004 Emmanuele Scammarca 'Murgo' Nerello Mascalese Brut, Sicilia $49: Toasty nose. Tiny bead. Dry flavor, pinot fruit, good acid and citric flavors in balance. Terrific.

2006 Ferrando 'La Torrazza' Erbaluce di Caluso, Piemonte $32: Neal Rosenthal selection. Creamy, oak on nose and in flavors. Vanilla and mineral going on. Find it, buy it. Has to be excellent value.

2006 Scagliola 'Casot dan Vian ' Chardonnay, Piemonte $37: Pale color. Sweet and salty flavors. Stick to Arneis.

2005 Di Giovanna 'G&K" Grillo, Sicilia $40: Resembles sauvignon blanc con grass.

And two reds...

2006 Castello di Luzzano 'Carlino Bonardo, Oltrepo' Pavese, Lombardia $36: Perfumed fruity nose. Flavor is cooked fruit like in a pie. A bit green. OK, not great.

2004 Di Giovanna Nero d'Avola, Sicila $34: Earthy nose, almost veggie, burnt charcoal-like. Sounds awful huh? Tasted great! Perfect BBQ wine. Even has BBQ tastes, rich and smoky. I would hunt this one down.

SPQR was a great stop. Dropped in at the Elite Cafe up the street before heading to Firefly in Noe Valley for a quiet dinner. We'll dine at Elite next time up.

Sunday night we dined at Uva in Napa. Great local spot. Food was excellent. Service unpretentious. Carlos brought wines.

1999 Clarendon Hills Shiraz Moritz Vineyard ~$128 online: This is the first Aussie shiraz I have actually enjoyed. Excellent balance, lush fruit. Ready to drink. Like a Carneros merlot crossed with Russian River pinot. Was worth the wait. Hmm. Could there be others this good?

2003 Donatella Cinelli Colombini Cenerentola Orcia ~$50: Tuscan blend of 65% Sangiovese and 35% Foglia Tonda (a once-cast-aside grape she is resurrecting) tastes more like Sicilian style than Tuscan. And no cab so it tastes nothing like a super Tuscan. Or her highly regarded Brunello. Have had this before also from Litos' cellar. Tannic, like-able, good cherry flavor. But tannic. Keeper. Stylized label represents...Italian woman with 3 names? Cerentola translates to Cinderella. Her press suggests she is kinda cool.

Monday we awakened to a gorgeous Napa day. By this time Carlitos and Alice are in tow. There is no sense getting in the way of the irresistible force that is Carlos. We headed directly to Sterling Winery. I know what you are thinking...Sterling? The winery with the tram ride? I will tell you we spent three hours there being served by Sigrid in the VIP Room tasting the best wines Sterling has to offer. And they were excellent. Among the big Napa/Sonoma producers - Mondavi, Beringer, Simi, Kendall-Jackson, BV - I favor Sterling. Now that Sterling is owned by Diageo they no longer produce a Winery Lake chardonnay. Acacia (another Diageo property) produces the Winery Lake since Acacia is the "single vineyard" property in the minds of Diageo marketers. Having just finished reading the Mondavi book (read review here) I understand the importance of positioning product up and down the price ladder. And Acacia in a word? Unimpressive.

But Sterling...and Sigrid...what a great afternoon. Retail prices at the winery listed. Enterprising folks (such as Carlitos) can do better.

1998 Sterling Cabernet Reserve $100: Wow. And I am not a cab fan. And 1998 is an "off vintage" for Napa. Extended rains in Spring delayed bud break all over the valley. But this wine was special. Tobacco, cedar in nose and flavors. Velvet smooth, all integrated, black cherry fruit. Not listed for sale.

2001 Sterling Reserve Merlot $75: Not listed. Vanilla flavors. Sweet. Too much for my taste.

2004 Sterling Three Palms Merlot $65: Tannic, chocolate/coca flavors. Doughy nose. Dark red color. Needs time. 14.2%

2001 Sterling Three Palms Merlot $60: Spicy, mint nose. Lusty wine, mocha flavors, beautiful. 13.5%. Winnah. Pay the front line! A great contrast to the McKenzie-Mueller style. Not listed for sale.

2004 Sterling Vineyards Reserve $45: Bordeaux blend sourced throughout Napa Valley (i.e., Diageo properties). Earthy, cab/merlot/petit verdot. Everything I find boring in Napa cabs.

2001 Sterling Red Carpet Reserve $100: Not listed for sale. Bordeaux blend bottled for the Academy's Oscar party. Nose is integrated. Balanced flavors, shoe polish flavors I associate with Bordeaux blends that are mostly cab and merlot. The pitch is make your friends who watch the Oscars with you feel special. I would rather watch Dog the Bounty Hunter than the Oscar show. Actually I would rather watch Beth. Now she is in perfect balance.

2003 Sterling Diamond Mountain Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon $65: No sooner do I open my big mouth about boring cabs then I fall in love with this fabulous wine. Mint nose, intense mountain fruit, lush package all round. This wine would be tempting at full retail. At the price we paid it is a very good buy. 13.5%

Diageo seems to have improved things at Sterling. The marketers have not run roughshod over the winemakers. There are only a few mega-players like Diageo and, together, they own an important proportion of the valley. But don't ask me. Ask the staff who all seem very happy and were exceptionally helpful and courteous. Sterling Winery - worth the visit.

And then there were three more wines...

Monday night we dined at Redd in Yountville. This is high-ticket fancy-pants joint. Even though it is major frous-frous I must compliment the staff on their top-of-the-line service. We were a difficult party arriving 30 minutes early and asking to be seated if something opened up. It did. They offered but we were not quite ready. When we did get to our table we were unhappy with it so back to the bar we went. They set us up in a better location in a few minutes. Unashamed, we lobbied hard to open a bottle we had brought that was also on their list. A no-no. However, the maitre'd Adam graciously assented.

The Redd decor is elegantly spare with a backlit mirror along the rear wall. Even our waiter Misty was spare. I wish I had her photo. Thin, pale. The wait staff uniform is black shirt, pants and tie. A black and white houndstooth full length apron provides contrast. Misty - who was exceptionally competent - completed the look with jet black hair, pale pale skin, round black earrings and no lipstick. How perfect is that? Prices not posted since they are ridiculously over-the-top.

1999 Roederer Cristal: We actually had this at the hotel before heading out. Golden color. Small bead. Lemon flavors. Not toasty at all. Clean and rich.

2004 Opus One: I think Opus is better since going on its own sans Mondavi. The 04 is round, balanced with lots of merlot. That is a good idea. The website is a total pain.

2000 Joseph Phelps Insignia: Insignia has always been an idiosyncratic wine. Mesmerizing; like watching "a snail crawl across a razor's edge". I go back to 1985 with it. Minty to a fault. Showing characteristic mint flavor. Narrow band of flavors. angular. Intense and focused. This 7 year old wine is quite muscular. Think Tommy "Hit Man" Hearns. It will knock you out.

Until next time.

The House of Mondavi: the Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty, Julia Flynn Siler. Gotham Books 2007.

Having finished reading the unauthorized Gallo and now the Mondavi family biographies, and having earlier read the Napa book by Conaway, I pronounce myself a novice historian on the Valley and the California wine industry. I am glad I read the about the Gallos before the Mondavis. Both families were instrumental in creating the modern California wine industry. The Gallos turned jug wines into oceans of cash and the Mondavis turned Napa into a first world, first class island of luxury where you lived the highest of high living. Where the Galllo brothers made money for themselves and would have happily excluded everyone else – including their youngest brother – the Mondavis spread the green far and wide...until they fell of the cliffs of extravagance and hubris.

This book is really about Napa's and America's greatest wine ambassador and tireless marketing genius (click for classic Mondavi wine commercial) Robert Mondavi and how he single-handedly lifted the Napa Valley and Napa wines from a curious American region to an international destination every bit the equal of the greatest regions in France, Italy and the world. His brother Peter (and Peter's family), with whom he battled and inflicted great financial pain as a result of Robert's departure from the CK Mondavi company and estate, gets about 20% of the attention.

Make no mistake about it. Robert lived large while Peter lived very small. Robert's accomplishments are legion. He started the Napa Wine Auction, one of the premier international auction events. He partnered with Mouton Rothschild to create Napa's first premium wine (Opus One). He built the Robert Mondavi Winery on Highway 29 setting off an era of viticultural and financial growth in the Valley that will never be equaled. Wine and jazz under the stars all summer long? Robert Mondavi's idea. Culinary festivals? Yep. He created and embodied the image of California winemaker lifestyle for whom there was only joy, love and the best of everything. Robert actually learned how to live this large from his initial international label partner the Barone Philipe de Rothschild. The Opus One label required more than a year, many trips to Bordeaux, and hundreds of thousands of bucks to get it right. Can you tell which profile is Mondavi? Ask yourself who was the bigger wine dog in the 1990s?

He lost the winery and perhaps his sense of purpose at the end of his life. Even then his timing was perfect. What better time to lose those things than at life's end.

Peter has survived his brother and now his sons are in command at Charles Krug, the original Mondavi family Napa home. Showing intelligence they have embraced Uncle Bobby's vision of Napa cabernet above all else with only the best oak barrels and most selective vineyard methods. If you like irony then consider that Robert left Krug because his brother resisted high quality wine methods (and costs) that Bob pioneered and are now the hallmark of Krug wines.

Robert's sons, Michael and Timothy were ousted in the corporate coup that moved the winery they were supposed to inherit and operate into the Constellation Brands portfolio. Each has remained in the business in one way or another, however, it is somewhat like being the Duke of Albania. They made so much money in the Robert Mondavi Winery sale they do not need to work nor does any of their kids. So it is all about pride.

The book echoes themes found in more than a few California wine families where feuding is a very popular sport. There must be a book on the Sebastiani blood feuds. Important observation, if you want your kid to marry into a California wine family then you must send the child to Santa Clara University. It is the campus of choice for so many vintner scions.

In the wine industry, wine is not wine. Depends on your goals. You can make fine wine and live in Napa like a prince or you can make rot gut and live anywhere you want like a god. The Gallos built their empire on Thunderbird and Night Train, serving the so-called "ghetto market". The Mondavi family made fine Napa wine. Within a few decades each had moved in the other's direction; the Gallos into fine wine and the Mondavis into supermarket wine (Woodbridge).

The Mondavis were more hip than the Gallos, reinforcing a Central Valley farmer vs. Napa gentleman bias. Robert loved to party, and travel first class. He was not shy about trying anything to keep the peace (for the pot he stirred) or build harmony. He had a full-time head shrinker on staff who had open access to everyone and anyone in the family and on the management team. The Dr. held private one-on-one sessions, groups, family, and worked board meetings, as well. Robert also chased ladies prolifically. He dumped his wife for the blonde winery hostess, Margrit. The book has a scandalous photo of Robert smooching the woman who designed the Opus One label in case one doubts. He was a peerless control freak and a consummate boor who aggravated his family and drove investors to maneuver him out. He was also a dreamer who never stopped dreaming and scheming and taking the Napa Valley and the Robert Mondavi label higher and higher in the wine world.

All words read and all things said, I enjoyed this book and learning about the Mondavi family history. Reading the detailed reporting on exactly how Constellation Brands took control is a primer in corporate warfare. However, I have to say for pure malevolence and general creepiness E&J rule!!

In the end, the tortoise won the race. Peter Mondavi's winery is owned and operated by sons as he wished. Charles Krug wines have returned to a position of respect winning positive reviews from writers and trade mags. Robert and his brother made friends again near the end of Robert's life. Look for something similar about 30 years from now with the kids. There is at least one interview with Peter, Jr. that is worth reading after completing the Stiler book. He puts out the family line simply and without the whining spin of a Gallo press release. I guess the Napa folks really are different.

It's Christmas Eve as I write this. The Godfather is on, everyone is chillin'. Tomorrow is the big party. Tamales, honey-baked ham. Mama's lasagna and many U20 wines from Dar-dee's cellar and those of our guests. So I want to get these notes down in advance since there will be many more tomorrow...I hope. We opened these wines over the past week, some with company and some on our own. All in all, a very nice group...of wines.

How about this 2007 photo of a Piemontese La Morra vineyard? My cousin's 12 year old son took it. Think he will learn to enjoy wine? I think so.

2004 Chateau Graville-Lacoste ~$16: This is why you have to love Kermit Lynch. He brings in wines like this one that are top flight and low price. Graves is my preferred Bordeaux region. The wines are "gravelly" which, to me, means more stony, dry, mineral-like. Read a review on how this wine reflects Graves here. The price/quality ratio is outstanding. Delightfully citric, lemon peel, some grassiness. Perfect acid balance. Dry, firm. 12% alcohol excuse me. A wine that knows what it is (semillon!).

2004 Page Springs Cellars El Serrano California Red Wine ~$30 in Arizona: Just off the main road to Sedona one will find the Page Spring Cellars winery that is devoted to Southern Rhone style wines. Now this is an interesting venture. They have planted estate Rhone grapes that will produce quality juice around 2010 (one can and does harvest at five years but it really takes 7 years minimum to produce decent juice). In the meantime they source Mourverdre, Syrah and more from Paso and eastern Monterey vineyards, some with 50 to 80 year old vines. This bottle includes Mourvedre, Syrah and "a touch" of Cabernet Pfeffer. The website is excellent and the winemaker is clearly a man of vision. Read about the intriguing Dos Cabezas (now Arizona) vineyard. Reminds me of Dave Corey's Alta Mesa property. The wine was light to medium weight, rusty red color. Nose is delicate with spice. Flavors are balanced, soft, seductive with the syrah in front. 14.7%. This winery is worth watching. Have I found a new wine club?

2002 MacKenzie-Mueller Merlot ~$30 (at the winery): Perfectly balanced to the point that it seems so simple. Why isn't every wine this easy to swallow and enjoy? Tasted this same evening with the Reynolds mega-cab. I consider this a question of Springsteen versus Bob Seger. One guy is an iconic genius loved by rock critics and millions of fans across the nation. The other guy just writes simple straightforward classic songs that rock. One guy belongs in an arena with thousands of fans flicking their Bics. The other guy (also named Bob) plays arenas but works best in a smaller venue with fans who love the music before the man. Who knows better? Who do you love? This merlot is simply excellent. Yikes 15%!

2002 Reynolds Family Stags Leap District Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ~$60 (at the winery): The Reynolds winery is located just outside Napa on the Silverado Trail. These guys make classic outstanding extracted Napa cab. Lovely and distinctive label of crushed heavy-weight tissue paper with an embossed sprig. Instant visual appeal. My son tells me this is a popular among attorneys for a holiday gift that demonstrates the gifter knows a thing or two about under-the-radar Napa cabs.< Which is something like preferring an Ulysses-Nardin timepiece over a Concord. Both are over-the-top silly and priced beyond defensibility. I'll take a Bell & Ross or U-boat when it comes to interesting and exciting wrist wear. This wine is like so many other extracted cabs, with some herbaceousness (herbocity?) I associate with elevated hilltop or hillside vineyards. It will surely be a hit among the cab crowd and will accomplish the objective of demonstrating what it means to be on the ascent when it comes to the Napa clique. 14.7%

The next two wines are from the Rioja Alta which is in northern Spain on the way to Navarra and the French border. Basque country is north of Alta Rioja by which I mean to say this is not the Spain you might expect. This is premium wine country where Tempranillo is king. This is not Ibiza or Mallorca. Not Valencia or Granada. This is premium centuries-old Spanish wine country. I have toured by car and would return in uno minuto Nueva Jorca. Here is an informative and well-written history of the region.

1994 Roda I Reserva: This is a 20 year old Spanish winery from the Rioja Alta. The winery is big boutique in tone, producing 7500 cases in 1994; 83% Tempranillo and 17% Garnacha (Grenache). This vintage is lovely and at 13 years age it has matured nicely. Tannins are folded in, fruit is fleshy but firm. The overarching tasting notes for Roda I from the Bodegas Roda website describe "The deep, dark, black fruit is almost always dominated by plum aromas together with mineral and chocolate notes, balsamic flavours...: I do taste balsamic and the mineral qualities in this vintage. Of the two vintages this is preferred. But, yaknowhat? I would not buy this wine again. Read what someone else thinks about the winery here. 13.5%

1996 Roda I Reserva: I finally get to write about an important topic in wine making and tasting...brettanomyces. This wine has a level of brett that is noticeable in the nose and taste. What is it? You can read about what is brett is in the wikipedia reference above. However, what does it taste like? The flavor is thickening And for me the sensory anchor is shoe polish. Good old fashioned Kiwi black shoe polish. The flavor is distinctive something like 70% plus cacao. Dense, heavy, narrow in bandwidth. Not at all complex. I opened both wines to taste side by side. Three days later I ended pouring both into the same glass. Definitely helped the 1996. 13.5%.

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.

Palates differ...kind of like opinions. WRONG. Differences of opinions are never beyond examination. And like opinions, palates change. One's wine palate evolves over time as experience with wine broadens. One of the great things about wine is that there are so many wines to choose from. So many regions to get to know. This is one reason why it is a shame to follow ratings. Better you find a reviewer whose taste is a good match for your own. This match will change over time but it beats picking the 94 pointer believing the bottle holds 94 points.

When I first met Joe a few years ago he was into the big trophy wines. Times have changed and he is now a strong follower of Paso wines. Me too! But our palates could not be further apart.

Joe is an avid supporter of anything he stands behind or loves. This makes him a great guy to have on your team...or to be on his team. However, in wine we learn to follow our own path.

Joe likes wines that are chewy and jammy and knockyersoxoff. Sounds like big cabs. I like femmy, middle to light weight with more delicacy or even a crude presentation long as it is well-meant (like the Charles Neal Bugey Gamay covered a while back). So when Joe started pulling corks I had to take it slow and easy. That is correct. I did not say no to any wine he poured.

Fortunately, I did bring a new aerator product called the Vinturi. This was test-the-device night. Very effective for taming some of the monsters that stalked Joe's table.

2002 Alban Tithings ~$70: Grenache and Syrah blend from John Alban, one of the original Rhone Rangers. It is big, ripe, jammy, new world. There is chocolate and charcoal in the mid-palate and finish. Dense wine. Supposed to ape Chateauneuf? Alban makes "normal" Rhone blends. No tricks. We like that...with exceptions, of course. Normally I would link you to Alban's vwebsite...except it is just one page with a generic Alban label!

1997 Cafaro Cabernet Sauvignon $100+ today: This is a collectors label affordable to the masses. I guess that is good. The wine is nicely balanced. It is soft but not flabby. Very nice Napa cab. We aerated just to see. Shoe polish nose emerges. This is not bad for me. Much more dark fruit in smell and taste post-aeration. Now here is the funny part. In the company of some very big wines this was the lightweight!! I am posting the Cafaro label even though I do not for a moment believe there is a wine drinker out there who has not seen it or is not familiar with the distinctively simple and appealing label.

2003 L'Aventure Estate Cuvee $85 sold out: A blend of 66% Cab Sauvignon, 28% Syrah and 6% Petite Verdot. Ohmigod. Smoky tannic. Dark dark dark flavors. Real dark. Aerated it. Kept thinking of the croc guy. Syrah nose and flavors emerge. Actually dominate the cab. Cocoa bar. 75% cacao bittersweet. Not dirty yet. The cab fruit is there. The Syrah supports it after awhile. Jammy and chewy like chocolate beef jerky dipped in BBQ sauce. I am no longer able to drink wines like this.

Here is a great article on L'Aventure from Grape Nutz which is a terrific wine blog I often consult.

I am now plotting wine payback for Joe. This summer I will get him over to the house with Dotoré and Mouse where we will have our best shot at overpowering him with middle and light weight wines. We will make him drink some of Mouse's white Rhones along with my 2005/2006 Beaujolais crus. We will do our best to tame the Joe, settle him down, give him time to think about the Magic Chef and Hallowed Ground. He will probably hate our wines. He can scour my cellar for big Cabs or inky Syrahs and he may find one or two. That's when we hit him with the French peen-yoh nwarr. Joe does love Rosés so we will be able to bring him back from the brink of the unfamiliar because summer time is Rosé time (along with Moscato d'Asti and BBQ). Beautiful. You see, with sincere wine folks there is always a happy medium (domestically speaking). [ed. Joe kindly agrees to pose with love-child of Sir Laurence Olivier and Shelley Winters on New Years Eve.]