Alazan take 2

So, for my loyal followers, you may recall that my very first blog post was about a Chilean Pinot Noir called Alazan. And I didn't think it was very good.

Shortly after posting that, I was contacted by Courtney Kingston of Kingston Family Vineyards who makes Alazan. She asked if I'd give it another shot. Sure, why not, especially since they graciously offered to send another bottle. Only difference was that it was a 2007, not a 2006 as before. But they swore that it's really good stuff, and they actually supply Cono Sur, the best cheap pinot of all time ($8-11 per bottle) with some of their fruit.

Again, as a reminder, the 2006 was $25 and comes from Casablanca Valley in Chile. MSRP of the 2007 was $30, so probably the same price retail.

Well, this went MUCH better. As they suggested, I decanted it for about 4 hours; in their own tasting notes they say this wine is tight. A great smokey, intense nose. Taste had nice fruit, but not overwhelming, good length, a well constructed solid wine. None of the watery, thin character of the 2006 bottle. I'm hoping/guessing we had a bad bottle of the 2006, even though there were no obvious flaws. Weird.

So, thanks Courtney. You indeed make some very tasty pinot noir. Yay!

Post number 50!

When I get to post number 51, you can look back fondly and say you knew me way back in the day. Would have blogged sooner, but we've drunk nothing new lately.

Well, get ready for another biased blog. Tonight we drank a 2006 Hocus Pocus Pinot Noir, made by my friend Amy Christine and her man Peter ($25 at K&L Wines). Although I think they make their wines in the Santa Ynez area, they sourced the grapes from the Seven Springs vineyard in Willamette Valley, Oregon, one of our favorite areas for pinot noir, and a great vineyard.

This is good stuff, although it threw me at first. Initially it had a bit of a sweetness I didn't care for, mixed with some interesting smokiness. After letting it open up a bit and drinking it with dinner, it was quite nice. We paired it with marinated Ahi and some sauteed squash and red bell peppers. Pretty mellow stuff, very drinkable and low alcohol (12.5%). Nice effort.

Even More Washington Syrah

Tonight! From the Red Mountain area of Washington, a 2006 Efeste Ceidleigh Syrah. $25 at LA Wine Co, and $30-32 elsewhere. First of all, "Ceidleigh" is pronounced Kay-Lee. Second of all, 54% of the fruit in this is sourced from the Ciel du Cheval vineyard, which generally produces damn good stuff. And Wine Spectator (aka "wine speculator") gave this 93 points. If you care.

Very few wines I experimentally buy from LA Wine Co. disappoint, and this is no exception. Big, bold and tasty, however I thought a bit alcoholic. (At 15.2%, no shock there.) Quite a bit of spice, very juicy, and even a bit of a candied quality. Overall pretty dang good. Nice length. I'd like to see how this develops in about 5 years. Don't think I'd say 93 points, but good none the less.

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.

Tamarack Syrah

For our Saturday evening wine, to pair with our ribs, we opened a 2002 Tamarack Cellars Columbia Valley Syrah, $22 at K&L Wines.

We LOVED the "Firehouse Red" blend they have (see previous blogs) and have basically made it our house wine. So, we figured this was worth a try.

And it was pretty good... nicely balanced... bold, but not overwhelming... paired with the ribs well... overall very nice. Great flavors and seemed to open up over time. Only complaints were that it didn't have a lot of length and wasn't super complex. Also, it didn't help Rachel's back, which is causing her much pain.

But Tamarack continues to impress. Yay Washington State wines!

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.

Another White!

First of all, it turns out Tony Franklin was the bass player on the first album by the awesome heavy metal band "Blue Murder." I totally got that wrong this evening.

Well it is rare that we both love a white wine, but this one is wonderful... and inexpensive. A 2007 Burgans Albarino, $11 at LA Wine Company, and I think widely available. Easy drinking, refreshing, wonderful acidity. From Rias Baixas, Spain. It is made in a town famous for seafood and this wine is made to pair seamlessly with it. It certainly would, but we drank it on it's own and it was quite nice on a hot July day.

Go buy this. Drink it. Tell me I'm wrong. Like I was about Tony Franklin.