Santa Ynez Syrah

Tonight we drank a bottle of 2006 Beckman Syrah.  Beckman is one of the wineries Rachel and I found together and have enjoyed quite a bit.  One of our favorites is always Beckman's Cuvee Le Bec, a lovely blend.  Of course blends tend to work better as the winemaker can balance the taste with whatever grapes they have.

Their Syrah is very good, although it went much better with ribs than drinking it alone.  By itself, it was a bit heavy and oaked.  However once we had it with the BBQ Ribs we had for dinner, it really tasted great.  At $17 at Beverage Warehouse, it's pretty good stuff.  

Carneros Pinot Noir

Well, Rachel had a super long day of work, so I decided she needed one of our favorite wines, Clos Du Val Pinot Noir (this was a 2006).  The Clos Du Val cab was one of the first wines we tried together that was over $20, and we've loved their stuff ever since.  In the interest of full disclosure, we've been members of their wine club for 3 years, ever since we visited their winery in Napa during our 1st wedding anniversary trip.  It was there that I fell in love with the "orbital" decanter that we purchased a short time later - it's a cool decanter.  Each year, we tend to buy a half case of either their regular pinot noir ($30/$24 for members) or the reserve pinot noir ($50/$40 for members.)

This is good stuff, although I think this vintage is not as good as the past few, but damn good, none-the-less.  Carneros (located in southern Napa Valley) is a nice cool spot for growing Pinot Noir, and this wine shows it.  If you like the new trend in pinots almost tasting like syrah, don't drink this.  It's light, soft tannins and mild cherry flavor.  Not the most complex stuff, but nice length.  Not sure how available this is in stores, but it's worth a try.

Check out my friend's blog!

If you are looking for another blog to check out, please read my friend Amy's blog...

http://hellowine.blogspot.com

Not only is she insanely nice, she is far smarter and more well versed in the world of wine than me, that's for certain.  She a sommellier at A.O.C. (a fantastic wine bar/restaurant), a wine maker and wine sales person.  She knows stuff!  So look at her blog if you like mine. :)

Why I love the Northwest

This may surprise some readers, but there are some damn tasty wines coming out of the Northwest.  Washington and Oregon are quickly becoming leaders in producing great wine.  Tonight is no exception.  We are drinking a lovely 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon from Kennedy Shah (a part of Woodhouse Family Cellars.)  Rachel and I tried this wine just a few months ago in their tasting room located in Woodinville, WA (just outside of Seattle) and decided we needed a bottle and bought it there.  A few years ago, we were given a bottle of their signature wine "Darighe" which is fantastic, but runs $50 per bottle.  This was a bit more reasonable at about $32.  This is really solid juice - smooth, great length, not over-oaked and a reasonable 13.5% alcohol.   It's a little brighter and fruitier than some of the heavyweight cabs that come out of California.  Certainly there are other cabs out there which are tasty and cost less, but this is worth checking out if you are feeling like splurging.

Same wine maker as last night, new result

Well, I wasn't going to blog tonight, but we're drinking another Reilly's wine, this time with better results.  Reilly's Old Bushvine Grenache (2005) - about $12 from LA Wine Company.  Much nicer juice.  Pretty big nose and nice taste.  Smooth, a little spice, nice length, and a little residual sugar which makes it a teeny bit sweet at the end.  Pretty good stuff.  Typical high alcohol Aussie wine at 15%.  

Aussie wine that barks?

Well, this one is is a bit of a head scratcher.  We tried one of the myriad of big, cleverly-named Australian wines, 2006 Reilly's Barking Mad Shiraz ($14 at Lincoln Fine Wines).  The nose was fairly typical Aussie shiraz - big, hot, juicy, dark, earthy.  And the taste was initially there, stewed fruit, spiciness and some significant acidity.  But then it sort of died and tastes kind of dirty and blah. However it was smooth.  Decanting it seemed to help significantly, but not make it something I would buy again.

Yummy New Zealand Pinot Noir

Oh, thank goodness.  Back to one of our reliable favorites, a great value pinot noir from New Zealand, Latitude 41.  Great stuff for about $17/bottle at Beverage Warehouse.  Smooth, bright acidity, some cherry and mushroom goodness in there.  A little sourness on the finish, but not off putting at all.  Hard to find a decent Pinot Noir under $20, but this is one to seek.  

And each bottle comes with a small stick!