2010 Antucura Malbec

I'll by pass the color of the wine being that you might be able to take a shot in the dark at the color. Yup..red tones. The nose was pretty nice in that it was heading toward dried flowers and rich nutrients. Red vine fruit were also laying around as well. The finish was pretty decent in that it was smooth and balanced but wanted to lay around for a bit. Seemed to not want to go away. Good spices on the end as well. I like it and for only $15 per bottle she will be great to have with some nice meats or even a meat pizza. Imported by Unique.

2009 Vina Cobos Felino Cabernet Sauvignon

Pretty dark in color with hints of wet herbs, earth and light powdered chocolate. There seemed to be a bit of a bite in the middle then it went away. Pretty light in the finish as it was not a heavy wine but really really soft. Not bad. Carries a price tag of $18 Imported by Unique.

2010 Arido Malbec

This is one of those sleepers that should be kept on the down-low so we can have it around for a bit. Although after I introduce this to a few people I'm sure the word will spread and it will go fast. With a price tag of $10 this little betty is great. Soft on the nose and soft on the palate. Good earth notes with a hint of red fruit lingering around. Pretty good acidity and balance. It's funny that some people in the States charge $50 for a wine like this. Screw that shit! I'd buy this over those any day of the week!

Imported by Unique.

2009 Vina Cobos Felino Chardonnay

Straw in color with some good light almond and citrus notes. Acidity seemed a bit high and on the palate there was a light dry grass note. Acidity did creep up on the finish while the alcohol packed a punch. It was nice but nothing I would drink for my daily use. Decent price at $16. Imported by Unique.

Should we post wine scores in the store?

I often talk about people chasing wine scores in order to get the so-called best wine they can find. While many of these wines have been rated by a critic who will give them a point between 1 and 100, I have come to the conclusion that my shop will not have these points posted. Just this weekend, I overheard a wine shop owner (yes, I visit a lot of different wine shops and a few are even owned by friends) saying that this certain wine was great cause it got 94 points! I wanted to ask: "Why is it that great?" and "If they had tasted it yet?" I did happen to know that particular wine and its quality, but I was curious if that was the only reason it was on the shelf?

I used to work in a wine shop years ago where the manager would walk around with her Parker book like it was the Bible and tell people that this wine got this score, and that this wine over here got this, but I always wanted to know what she (the manager) thought of it.

I have always followed this rule since I got into the wine world that you should never lie to your customers, and if they know more than you, pick their brain. Just because I own a wine shop does not mean I know everything. God do I wish, but there is so much to learn and it will take a lifetime for me to learn it. While visiting other wine shops I have been called on to answer a question from a customer and if I know the answer, I'll do it but if I have no clue...I'll tell them or take my best educated guess!

Next time you walk into a wine shop, look around and take note of the scores that are on the shelves. Is that wine merchant selling his own personal wine thoughts or is he using another's? Do you walk in and say, "Hey, I'm looking for a nice 94 pointer?" or do you say "I'm looking for a nice wine that will go with fried SPAM?". Yes, Spam...I can pair it with an amazing wine that will taste great.

When you go into a wine shop, would you rather see a point score near a wine or a personal tasting note from the staff, owner or even a customer of the shop?

15 days and counting.

Santo

2009 Owen Roe Abbot's Table

This is one of my favorite wines from Owen Roe. Always has and I'm pretty sure it always will be. Nicole and I picked up a skirt steak that was over a yard long so I had to cut it in half just so it would fit on the BBQ. Cracked open Abbot's about 40 mins before we needed it in order to let her breathe a bit. As for the blend...9 different grapes and on that note I'll let you break down the percentages as it rages from 25% down to 1%. Have fun with that.

Wine is very well balanced and smooth on the mouth-feel. Rich notes of dark-tree fruit and overripe cherries. Tannins are very soft but has a slight spice at the end. It's not a bad spice but just something that kinda creeps up on you. Wine only see's around 6 months of oak. Went great with grilled meat. Would go great with pretty much anything in the house if I must say so.

The wine rolls on the shelf for about $20 which for the quality of the wine I would think it could hang around $28, glad it's not though. I'll have a stacker of this gem in the shop for the daily drinker wine around $20. Love it.

Wine From Arizona?

I'll admit it...Nicole and I were pretty curious about trying wines from Arizona Stronghold since it is a collaboration between Maynard (lead singer from Tool) who seems to be the vineyard/soil slut of the whole project and Eric Glomski who has been in the wine world for some time working with such producers as David Bruce. Most of us saw the movie "Blood into wine" and I'm sure a lot of us thought "here is another rock star trying to do something different". Well kinda, Maynard is doing something different but by the means of having Eric teach and coach him through the ways of wine. Really though it seems like they just want to make good wine and here we have a bottle of really really good juice!

Honestly...I will take this blend over any California wine any day of the week! If this is a taste of the soil that Eric, Maynard and Tim White (winemaker) are playing with...They will be around for the long haul.
With a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot this wine is what I would call the "daily drinker" if you are looking for a good wine around $20 per bottle.

The 2009 Arizona Stronghold Tuscan Blend named "Mangus" is something I wish everyone could try. Great notes of rich red tree fruit with light hints of black pepper, vanilla and soft oak. On the palate this thing is pretty smooth yet still has a little bite at the end. Kinda like when you were a young buck and you got stroke your girls leg for the first time then realized she only shaved to the knee. Just enough to let you know that it is still lingering around. Tannins are firm yet smooth and some great black vine fruit sits on top of the cooked brown sugar and light nail polish. Normally nail polish is something that people turn away from but trust me you want it as you just want to keep sniffing. Dehydrated strawberry and prunes on the final end. I can't wait to taste their other wines. I will be bringing these wines into the shop!

Will have to blind taste with a bunch of people then let them know. This will really fuck with their minds!!

2007 Arnoux et Fils Jean-Marie Vacqueyras

I really need to stop bringing Rhone wines home for Nicole. As I thought, she loved it and it paired perfect with our Sunday night fillet mignon, which we had on Monday night due to us staying at the cabin till Monday afternoon.

So some have been asking me how I pronounce some of the french wine regions so here I'll toss out a bone. OK, not really since I'm the worst at pronouncing regions than anyone. This region is the lovely region of Vacqueyras AOC [vah-kay-hras]. This wine holds a helping amount of 70% Grenache.

Almost purple in color with a nice hue of dark red on the rim. Loads of blackberry fruit and some good spices like pepper on the nose. On the palate this sucker is pretty nice with more black fruit and now the wet leather. Spices and tannins were there but seemed to mellow a bit after we let her breathe for about an hr.

The finish was more or less the same on the palate except it seemed to want to linger around as if it was walking away over the hill but still waving to say goodbye. At only $15 or so a bottle this is a beauty of a bottle that I plan to have in the shop and in the cellar. Goes great with grilled meat or just for that lazy afternoon while reading the latest Bill Bryson book.

North American Release of the 2010 Molly Dooker Wines

Nicole and I got the chance to taste the current (2010/2011) vintage from Molly Dooker. We tasted 9 wines and 1 wine from 2009 which I did not include. We were the first to tasted them in the Seattle area so it was pretty great to get on the front line. Wines were priced between $24 to $182. We even got to taste the 2010 Velvet Glove. This was the one where they just broke over $1 million worth when a so-called fork lift dropped the crate that is was being shipped in.

2011 Molly Dooker Violinist Verdelho $24 (2010 Vintage North American Molly Dooker Release)

This wine was amazing! Very smooth on the nose and palate. Tropical fruit and white peach on the nose. Great acidity and balance. I never tasted the 2010 but love the 2011.

2010 Molly Dooker Scooter Merlot $24 (2010 Vintage North American Molly Dooker Release)

A pretty nice purple when it comes to color. On the nose it had some fumes of red fruit, bing cherries and tree fruit. Nice cocoa and some wet herbs followed. Wine in pretty balanced in that the acidity and fruit match very well. I really liked this wine as did Nicole. We picked up a few but not after Nicole made Sparky sign them.

2010 Molly Dooker Boxer Shiraz $24 (2010 Vintage North American Molly Dooker Release)

Pretty dark in color. VERY dark in color with a nice purple rim. You can really tell that this is layered. Pretty decent with some plums, black cherry and spices. Pretty jammy on the palate with some great oak and light coffee notes. This is pretty full-bodied and could use a lot of time but damn it was nice. I did pick up a little mint on the nose and palate. Came to me after a few minutes.

2010 Molly Dooker Two Left Fet Shiraz Cabernet $24 (2010 Vintage North American Molly Dooker Release)

This was a pretty big fruit bomb. A nose of red fruit, currents and dark-tree fruit. Pretty serious on the palate with notes of vanilla, oak and medium plus tannins. The finish was a bit rough at first but then started to mellow out. Will need some time in the bottle but still good.

2010 Molly Dooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz $45 (2010 Vintage North American Molly Dooker Release)

Pretty dark in color with a nose of fresh picked berries, candied fruit with some anise and bakers chocolate. On the palate it was more rich flavors with some light java or roasted coffee. Amazed that this Shiraz has the depth that it does. A few different layers going on as it was throwing out things every 30 seconds. Not to shabby. Will need some time in the bottle or will need to be smashed up in the decanter for a few hours.

2010 Molly Dooker Gigglepot Cabernet $48 (2010 Vintage North American Molly Dooker Release)

Wine is purple in color with almost a hint of dark brown on the rim. Pretty serious on the nose with some ripe plums that have already fallen from the tree. Some good current notes and a bit of fall leaf, almost like they have been in the lawn, picked up and crushed in the hands. More spices. On the palate it is pretty rich some tannins and a nice finish of wet spices and herbs. The oak tends sit for a bit on the finish as if it was waiting for something else to do.

2010 Molly Dooker Carnival of Love Shiraz $87 (2010 Vintage North American Molly Dooker Release)

Wine is pretty dark in color. OK it's downright black! Loads of dark fruit with a dose of black spices running around. This is pretty much the rich dark-fruit bomb. On the palate there are hints of dried chocolate, whole pepper with sweet tannins. Pretty long finish in that it was around for more than 30 seconds. Good stuff.

2010 Molly Dooker Enchanted Path Shiraz Cabernet $87 (2010 Vintage North American Molly Dooker Release)

Have you ever shot high speed black and white infrared film and had to use an opaque filter to block all light except the infrared light? That's what this wine looks like! No shit! Wine is black!

This wine has got some balls to it. Rich herbs and black-stone fruit with some solid tannins. Nice spices on the finish with some more solid tannins. Not sure about the alcohol but I'd guess it says 14.9% on the label but is actually around 15.9% This is a wine that either needs some air or needs loads of time in the bottles. I mean this is a 2010 so it has not been in the bottle long.

2010 Molly Dooker Velvet Glove $182 (2010 Vintage North American Molly Dooker Release)

The one thing I learned about this wine is that you don't want to spill it on your white shirt when at a tasting and the second thing is to not wear a white shirt at a tasting.

While the color is more on the lines of purple with some black marker in it the nose was concentrated with rich red/black fruit and some dark herbs with just a hint of tar. Yup I said it...tar. On the palate it was more of the concentrated dark fruit with some serious tannins. Pretty heavy mouth-feel and makes you want to scrape your tongue after you are done. Damn thing wraps your mouth in rich fruit or what they say...like a Velvet Glove...

Not sure how the so-called loss of wine from the dock will effect the current price of the wine.

2009 Domaine Francois Lamarche Bourgogne

When Nicole and I bought this we were told to let it breathe for about 4 hours. Well after only and hour it still has some fumes to it. On the color though it reminds me of someone who was making cherry Kool-aid and added to much water. Not quite deep red but more like a darker Rosé than anything.

Some good notes of red fruit on the palate with light hints of wet leather and prunes on the end. Tannins are hanging around but not like a belly-buster but more like an old time song. At only 12.5% alcohol, 100% Pinot Noir and lingering around $30 for a bottle...It matched up well with the meat on the grill. Next time we will wait another hour. It's already changing on us though. I'd let it sit for a few years then start cracking them. Imported by Free Run Juice, LCC. I know who they are but need to figure out how they are bringing their own wines in!

2006 Columbia Crest Reserve Red "Walter Clore"

The other day I did something I normally don't do...I picked up a bottle of wine from Costco. I saw the price and could not help myself. We were just going in to pick up TP but as Nicole left me alone for a few minutes I found the cart heading toward the wine section. Walter Clore for $19.99!

Amazing wine with a great nose of sweet casis, rich plums and big oak. On the palate it is big but not enough to plow you over. Rich notes of dark tree fruit with hints of pepper and leather. We let it breathe and had it with some meats, cheeses and dark chocolate. Finish was smooth and rich. Going to order a few 6-packs of this for Nicole and I. I love it.