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!

Priorat, better than it sounds

So Priorat is a region in Spain that really has helped in Spain's resurgence into quality wines. It was a forgotten wine growing region that was rediscovered as recently as the early 90's (I hope I recall that correctly.) And, boy, am I happy they planted there. Very consistent wine out of that area. The wines shipped to the US are generally in the $35-80 range, so to find one for $17 was an exciting and rare thing. And this one once again proved why Priorat is a wonderful area for wine producing.

This was a 2006 Viticultors del Priorat Vega Escal ($17 at LA Wine Company). Blend of 60% Carignan, 30% Grenache, 10% Syrah - blends are normal for wines from Priorat. Really good stuff - lots of oomf, but not overwhelming. Nice darker fruit, with a nice amount of blueberry, which is common for Priorat wines. Very nice length and complexity.

We will definitely buy some more - really liked this stuff. If you can find it, grab it.

Genuine Tasty

This evening we imbibed a 2005 Genuine Risk Cabernet Sauvignon. On sale for $18 at K&L Wines. I like the label lots. For full disclosure, this is made by my friend Amy Christine and her man Peter Hunken. But I will compliment it none-the-less. They also make a Syrah we like called Hocus Pocus.

Really nice Cabernet Sauvignon, and not at all typical of some of the other Santa Barbara wines I've had. Very balanced and low key. Still had some nice oomph, but not overwhelming. Went well with our steak, but drank well on it's own too. It was a little alcohol-y when I opened it, but settled down quickly.

Very nice. We have happy tongues and bellies now.

Newton's Law of Wine?

Tonight is... 2005 Newton Napa Valley Claret; the blend is Cabernet Sauvignon 47%, Merlot 41%, Cabernet Franc 4%, Petit Verdot 4%,  Syrah 4%.  FYI, claret is basically another word for Bordeaux blend (a blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.)  I think it was around $19 - don't recall where I got it.

Decided we should try this after loving their 2005 Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon, which was outstanding, but is more in the $50 range.

Solid wine - nice blend - all the right grapes, that's for sure.  Big and bold, but not a palate crusher.  A bit musty and earthy on the nose.  But very easy to drink. Medium finish.  Dark fruit and earthy with a little hint of spice.  A fairly typical Napa blend.  Good tannin, but again, not overwhelming.  Really solid wine, but missing that "wow" factor.  But good!  Oh wine, why do you confuse me so.

Bio-dynamic Carignan

Not a big blog tonight, but had to mention this one.  2006 Ferrer Ribiere Empreinte du Temps Carignan Cotes Catalanes.  And I didn't even type all the fancy words on the bottle.  No wonder Americans are intimidated by French wine.  This was another purchase from the restaurant/wine shop Palate.  I think around $16.

100% Carignan and very good, apparently from 129 year old vines.  Very lush, big fruit, blueberry especially.  A little earth and spice.  Long finish.  Really nice.  Not oaky at all, but had nice tannin.  Took some time for Rachel to get used to the intense blueberry flavor, but she also recognized it was good stuff.  This would be a great complement if paired with the right food, not that I know what that is.