Christmas Wines

I drank entirely too much over Christmas; these are only the bottles that I managed to get pictures of. Without a doubt, my favorite bottle was the Rioja, which was the recommendation of one of the clerk's at Pete's Wines in Bellevue. Spicy, with sour cherries and great balance. Only $17, which is a bargain. The Morgon was good as well--and number 21 on the Wine Spectator Top 100. Not that that really matters, but it is interesting from a QPR standpoint since it was only $12. Is it better than other Beaujolais from 2009? Well, I would say it isn't the best that I've had but at 12$, it's a great value. Abbot's Table wine from Owen Roe is always reliable, although I don't like it as much as I once did. The Tres Picos is a great value with lots of cloves, and vanilla...let me give you a hint what that means it tastes like: Coca-Cola. But it has enough balance and complexity that at ~15ish bucks most places it is a good value. The Saumur was only $40 on the list at Lark, which was delicious. My Dad was pretty surprised at how light bodied the wine was--I guess he isn't that used to wines from the Loire. What I thought was interesting is the entire rest of Christmas, he kept on requesting a wine like that again. Sometimes it pays to not shop at Costco...just saying. Anyways, there were a lot of other wines that were okay, but too many to count. And Lark was delicious. I will be back there. The pork belly was the shit. So were the duck rilletes. 

Sandeman's 30 Year Tawny Port

I got this wine as a sample. It retails for around $75 or so and comes in a pretty nice wooden box. I can only assume that this is meant for gift giving...We opened this with our neighbors and a couple of friends, and I can report that it was delicious. Full of nutty, raisined flavors with a backbone of plums. Good balance and a persistent finish. The $75 actually isn't as much as it sounds like because if you're like me, a bottle of Port tends to stick around for a couple of weeks. You can only drink so much Port at a time. 

Recent Wines

For 12$ in a magnum? Cheap. Not that bad. Perfect for lots of people. 

Pineapples. 6$. Good value.

Not worth the $10, although I guess for mediocre 10$ California Pinot it over-delivers, which isn't saying much.

For 6$ at Costco, this is a better deal. Still this wine kinda sucks. 

Definitely worth the 7$. Good value, nice and ripe with a little green streak. 

 Same deal as the Carmenere. 

 Eh. Kinda disappointing. 

 Osteria Mozza is the shit. The Frappato that we had was delicious, as was the food. 

I've had about a dozen bottles of this wine, because at 3.99 it's really not that bad. 

16$ or so. Had two bottles first was better than the second. Nice savory elements, fair amount of tannin, big and fruity. I don't know that I'd buy another bottle. 

L'Oca Ciuca Brunello di Montalcino 2006

I received this wine as a sample from Wine Chateau. You can buy this wine there for $29.97 at the moment. I haven't had the chance to drink a whole lot of Brunello, probably for the dual reasons of high pricing and the need to let them sit in a cellar for several years. "L'oca ciuca" translates to "the goose's ass" in Italian. This wine was drinking fine, although it did take a while to come out of its shell. Licorice, plums, and some subtle spice notes in the background. There is good balance in this wine, and there are sneaky tannins on the back end. The question for me is whether this wine will get more interesting and complex as it ages, since we clearly drank it at a young age. Not as complex as I had expected, although it was an enjoyable bottle.  

Some other Random Stuff I grabbed at Costco

Lemons and not too sweet. Not very yeasty. you'd be hard pressed to find another actual Champagne for $20 that drinks like this. A superb value that demonstrates what Costco does best: best value for money. 

Initially, I really wasn't liking this wine too much. It was just too big and wooly. After an hour or two it had come together and was all about the blueberries, herbs and licorice. It's apparent that this is a bigger style of CdP. Came off as a bit hot for me. This isn't really the style of CdP that I really go gaga over--that tends to be the spicy, cherry raspberry style. For $25, I suppose this is okay. I think there are more interesting wines to be had at that price point. For what it's worth, Sarah liked this wine a lot. 

Kent Rasmussen Carneros Pinot Noir 2007

This wine was delicious. About $20 at Costco. Elegant and not over the top (IE this didn't taste like Syrah), with fully resolved red fruits, little bits of spice, vanilla and orange rind. I am definitely getting another bottle of this while they have it.  

This wine was not delicious. In fact, it sucked. $7 at Trader Joes. Don't buy it unless you're a masochist. 

Pio Cesare Barolo 2004

Infanticide. Shouldn't have opened this when I did. Clearly could age for a lot longer; lots of tannin, great balance. Obviously a pretty great bottle of wine. Modern and leaning towards licorice, spices, and blackberries (as opposed to roses and cherries or something). I wish that I had a couple more bottles of this, but alas, I do not. 

 I received this as a sample. Should retail for $20. Cooked or heat damaged. Pretty porty, and it's clear that the wine had seeped through the capsule. Would love to try this in an undamaged form.