2003 LBV - part 1 of 3

So, we drink a little port almost every night and it's my favorite thing in the whole wide world, but for some reason I've never blogged about it. So it deserves a special 3 part in-depth series! And there is good reason why, but first a little information...

Here's the basics: true port is fortified wine (grape spirit is added to wine during fermentation) from the Duoro Valley of Portugal. They have very specific categories of port. A governing body in Portugal decides which years are good enough to create quality wines, which are called a declared vintage. Recent declared vintages are 2007, 2003, 2000, 1997, 1994, 1992, 1991, 1985 etc. Vintage ports are considered to be the best quality and get the highest prices. They are not meant to be drunk when released but many years later. One practice is to give a gift of vintage port to a child when born so when they turn 21, they can drink an awesome wine. A Late Bottle Vintage port (or L.B.V.) is port from the same year as vintage port but is meant to be drunk upon release. To be a LBV, the port is aged for 4-6 years in the cask (unlike vintage port which spends a maximum of 2 1/2 years in cask) which basically speeds up the maturation process.

Still reading? OK, so I bought three different 2003 LBV's. The first is a 2003 Taylor Fladgate L.B.V. $22 at the Wine House. Taylor Fladgate is one of the older and more well respected port houses. Some LBV's need to filtered (if it has a real cork, you have to filter it) and some don't (it has a stopper you can pull out with your hand.) This is a pull-out cork, so no filtering.

It's very yummy stuff. Lots of dark cherry and dark fruit flavors. A bit fruitier, more floral and sweeter than I expected. Not bad, just surprising. Great structure. Although I'm partial to aged tawny ports (that is a whole different lesson), I really am liking the 2003 LBV's so far. Part 2 coming next week.

Goodbye Havens

So, this evening we are trying a 2006 Havens Hudson Vineyard Syrah, for the first, and probably, last time. Not because it's bad, but because Havens no longer exists. They went out of business and sold off all their stock this past summer. As a result, many places, like the Wine House, bought up a ton of the inventory and are selling it at ridiculous prices. I think this was originally about $45, but Wine House was selling it for $18.

Well, it certainly is pretty good juice. Big and a bit sharp at first, we had to decant it to let it open up and soften a bit. Once it settled, it was darn good. Great syrah-y flavors, fairly complex, big red fruit, lots of pepper - reminds me of smoky BBQ. However, just a bit sharp in the finish, even a few hours after decanting. Not a totally bad thing, just evident. If you have the chance, grab some and check it out before it is all gone.

Sinning with Sinskey

Toooooonight! A 2007 Robert Sinskey Pinot Noir Los Carneros. $34 at the Wine House. Crazy guess, but I bet the fruit comes from Carneros, the cool area of southern Napa great for growing Pinot Noir. Can't recall where we discovered Robert Sinskey Pinot Noir, but we have had it before and felt we needed to try it again.

To me, a wonderful balance of the flavors of "New World" Pinot Noir with the restraint of "Old World" Pinot Noir. Will not be confused with some of the bolder Oregon pinots. If you like big, bold, knock out wines, this is not for you. A nice balance of bright cherry and raspberry, spice and earthy flavors, none of them overdone. Silky mouth feel. Just a pleasure to drink. Not uber complex, but a lovely wine.

126? No. 127? No. 128? YES!

This evening we consumed a 2006 Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz. Penfolds makes a wide array of wines, with prices ranging from $8 to $300. Overall, they consistently make pretty dang good wine and are always rated well.

Way back in our early days of wine drinking, we discovered Bin 389, which at the time was $20 - now it's closer to $30. So, we've tried others, including this for about $18 at the Wine House.

100% Shiraz from lovely cool weather Coonawarra, Australia. Very solid wine. Not much to complain about. Lots of ripe medium and dark fruit berry flavors, a decent amount of oak, nice structure. Decanting may help soften it a bit. Simply good Shiraz!

Once Upon a Wine

Really nice wine tonight. A 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. Being lazy, but this is worth reading... from the LA Times...

"This Cabernet from Once Wines, which makes private-label wines for some of the country's top restaurants, is part of their Sommelier Series. In 2007, Daniel Johnnes, wine director for Daniel Boulud's restaurants, challenged the sommeliers in town for his annual "La Paulée de New York" tasting to blend a perfect, food-friendly Cabernet. This is the wine that scored highest with the judges: a master sommelier and two of the biggest names in Burgundy. Young, but accessible, it's velvety and bright, the fruit tightly woven into the structure. Barely kissed with oak, it is a blend of Cabernet with 18% Cab Franc and a wee bit of Petit Verdot (barely 4%)."

Yup. And the kicker is the Wine House has it for $15 - everywhere else I'm finding it lists it as an excellent wine when priced at $25-30. So, $15 is an insane price. I think we will buy more!

What Happened?

Yeah, I kinda stopped blogging for a while. Not sure why, but I guess I don't have the "write every day" gene. Sorry. My bad. The good news is I never stopped drinking. Hope you have been drinking lots of wine, too. Let me know if you had anything good.

Had a pretty dang tasty wine tonight, Seghesio 2005 Home Ranch Zinfandel. Many of you have probably heard of or had the normal Seghesio Zinfandel. It runs about $16-22 and is very good - I think it made Wine Spectator's top 10 last year and you can find it in many grocery stores. This is one of their prestige wines, runs about $30, I think. Super good Zin. Tastes like Zin should... big, powerful, but not a palate-whomping super fruit bomb like many of the popular Zins. Great quality fruit, very complex. 15.3% alcohol - tasted slightly alcoholic, but more like 14%. Super yummy for $30. If you can find it, grab some. Think I got this at The Wine House, but they carry it at K&L Wines too.

Rachel and I actually visited the Seghesio winery up in Healdsburg, CA in 2008. Very nice winery and they make a bunch of wines you rarely see. They weren't pouring this one, but fortunately I had tried it several years ago as part of a wine course.

Hope to be blogging again soon!

When DeRose is not a rose

OK, another short blog tonight.  We drank a 2006 DeRose Zinfandel ($23 at Wine House) - the label claims it is "Dryfarmed Old Vines."  I do like seeing old vines on a label - usually a good sign, but I don't think the term is technically regulated.

We discovered DeRose at a now closed steakhouse - they make a great wine from Negrette grapes - it's insane stuff - I have a bottle of that around and someday will blog about it.  This stuff is big - 16.2% alcohol.  Anyhow, I couldn't describe this wine any better than the folks at The Wine Exchange, so they can do it for me :) 

"Sometimes their stuff can be a little over the top.  But this one, even though it packs a pretty good octane, reins in the ripeness to the degree that you get the lush, plump, spicy, peppery red fruits, but it stops short of being porty.  The end result is delicious, character-filled, very zinny Zinfandel with plenty of stuffing and no pretense, right down to the price."

Yup. Done and done.