Winexpression

Disclosure: The following wines were received as press samples.

Lot 92 - 2004 Margaret River Chardonnay

Price: $14
Alcohol by volume: 14.1%
Production: 350 cases

Cam’s back! This delicious wine (sealed with a screw cap) is very well balanced and delivers a nose of pineapple, pear and apple with a light mouth feel that is crisp with a bit of a tangy finish. Great with light fare, snatch this one up before it’s gone!

90 pts. A-

Lot 74 - 2006 Oak Knoll Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: ???
Alcohol by volume: 14.9%
Production: 1,440 cases

This wine is very young, and even with an hour of decanting, remains tight. The nose offers hints of blackberry and black raspberry with a chewy mouth feel that covers your tongue in a tannic blanket. The finish is long but acidic. This wine will definitely need to be placed in the cellar for another 4-6 years before enjoyed.

82 pts. (B-)

I don’t know about you, but one of my thrills in life is finding a great wine at a reasonable price that I can recommend to friends or just hoard for myself. I was pleasantly surprised when a few press samples from Rutherford Wine Company arrived and all of them turned out to be pleasing to both the palate and the budget. The following are my notes on 2 of the wines they sent, with the 4 more reviews coming soon.

Dominican Oaks 2006 Napa Valley Merlot

Production:  5,200 - 12/750ml cases
Total acid/PH: .58 / 3.68
Alcohol:  13.5%
Aging:  15 months in French and American oak
Blend:  91% Merlot, 5% Zinfandel, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Syrah
Suggested Retail:  $17.00
Score: 94 pts (A)
Notes: An Excellent Value - This well rounded Merlot offers loads of blackberry flavors, vanilla, and a very nice mid-palate.  Softly textured with a nice finish.  Perfect with food or on it’s own.

Round Hill 2007 Pinot Grigio, Family owned, Sustainably grown
Production: 2,500 Cases
Acid/pH: 0.67 / 3.35
Alcohol:  12.5%
Release Date:  October 2008
Blend:  90% Pinot Grigio, 5% Chenin Blanc and 5% Muscat Canelli
Suggested Retail:  $10.00
Score: 90 pts (A-)
Notes: Aroma’s of fruit and citrus, very nicely textured on the palate with good acidity.  A very crisp, nice finish.

The American Center for Food, Wine, and the Arts, a.k.a. Copia, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday while negotiating a $2 Million dollar emergency investment from an unnamed source to continue pay of employee salaries.

The center closed its doors Friday, Nov. 21, and its web site noted at the time that “COPIA is temporarily closed. We apologize for any inconvenience,” without further explanation. After originally signaling it would reopen Dec. 1, Copia filed for bankruptcy protection instead, and its doors remained shuttered on Monday.

It’s doors remained shuttered? You betcha!

Since it’s opening in 2001, the center has been bleading money every year to the sum of about $78 Million in debt today, but those responsible blame the current credit crunch and market conditions for the downfall. Plans to reinvent the facility have been talked about since the beginning of the year but not much has been done as of yet.

Read [Bizjournals.com]

Thanks to a security hole in an older version of wordpress, and a hosting company that is slow to provide approved updates, a malicious script installed harmful links in a hidden part of this website. I was able to completely delete all of the malware, and upgrade the site. Just goes to show how important it is to stay on top of these things, especially when using a publicly open platform like wordpress that malicious users have code access to.

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

Upcoming: Tasting 2005 St.Helena Wines, Book reviews - Wine Wise, The Billionaires Vinegar, Dr. Vino’s new book, Value wine recommendations for winter, Wine Wipes and more!

That polyphenol that keeps on giving, resveratrol is now being studied as an aid in the fight against MS.

Mice with the MS-like condition called Wallerian degeneration slow (WldS) showed an initial weight gain when given resveratrol, researchers at the University of Utah reported Thursday at the World Congress on Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, in Montreal.

Weight gain, that’s it? Can’t they just give these mice a gift card to Krispy Kreme and get the same results? Actually, the researchers comment that weight gain is an encouraging sign in MS treatment, especially when it’s from a compound found naturally in grapes and other foods. Dr. John Richert, executive vice president for the research and clinical program of the Multiple Sclerosis Society comments:

“In inflammatory animal models of MS, one of the tell-tale clinical signs of the disease is weight loss. Weight loss often goes hand in hand with loss of neurological function.”

Read [washingtonpost.com]

Note: I didn’t want to do it, but do to overwhelming comment spam, I have activated re-captcha, a comment captcha system that also helps with the digitization of old books and the defending of comment spam! You can read about it here. If you register here, you won’t have to enter a captcha everytime you comment.

The work week ends, you dig down into your wine collection and pull out a special bottle you’ve been waiting to open. You peel off the foil and breath a sigh of relief when you see that the cork hasn’t been compromised. The first glass is poured, swirled, and …. wait a second. Something isn’t right, this wine smells like cork, cardboard, mold, or a wet basement. Or perhaps it smells fine, but on taking a sip you are overwhelmed with acidity; this thing is tart and undrinkable.

Now what?

What do you do with that wine? I have a feeling that most people do the same thing, dump it and move on. But shouldn’t we do more? If it was an electronic device, wouldn’t you take it back? Maybe most people do take their wines back, but that’s less than convenient if say, the wine was bought while on vacation.

Take the poll, and then let us know how you deal with this situation in the comments section of this post. Inquisitive minds want to know.

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Lately I find myself being a bit more resourceful: driving at lower speeds with cruise control, making my own chicken stock, riding my bike to work, and looking for deals at the grocery store  (among other things). This attitude has permeated my wine purchasing habits, and every now and again I come upon a really good bargain wine that’s under $10 and still tastes great.

This time, that find comes from the oldest wine producer in Washington state, Chateau St. Michelle. The grapes are grown in the Columbia Valley, the largest AVA in the state, and benefit from the warmer climate of the area. This is a great summer wine, very food friendly, and perfect for sipping mid-afternoon. Below are my notes on this wine.

2007 Chateau St. Michelle  Sauvignon Blanc
Columbia Valley, Washington
$5.99
13% abv

Great find, straw color, loads of fruit on the nose, pineapple and peach, kiwi with a clean mouthfeel with hints of lemon, crisp on the palate, with a nice finish. It’s just good.

Score: 92 pts (A)

www.ste-michelle.com/

In what may be one of the best publicity stunts in the wine industry this year, Robin Goldstein, Author of The Wine Trials ( Amazon.com) recently pulled a fast one on the editors of Wine Spectator magazine. Goldstein created a fake wine list that included wines the magazine has given horrible reviews to in past issues, set up a website using the free blog site Wordpress.com, posted reviews on a food forum site- Chowhound, set up a phone number with an answering machine, and sent in the required wine list and $250 fee to be listed as a recommended establishment. The result? The editors granted Osteria L’Intrepido with an “Award of Excellence“, a title that over 4,000 restaurants around the world covet. Goldstein explains the whole process on his blog and highlights how he made his menu:

The main wine list that I submitted was a perfectly decent selection from around Italy that met the magazine’s basic criteria (about 250 wines, including whites, reds, and sparkling wines–some of which scored well in WS). However, Osteria L’Intrepido’s high-priced “reserve wine list” was largely chosen from among some of the lowest-scoring Italian wines in Wine Spectator over the past few decades.

Goldstein said he wanted to expose the magazine for their lack of foundation granting these awards. He hypothesized that Wine Spectator merely uses this as another profit generating medium, which brings in an estimated $1 million every year.

Thomas Matthews, Executive Editor of Wine Spectator, defends the publication in a posting on the Wine Spectator Forum saying that the company did their best to contact the restaurant and felt that there was enough evidence on the web that this was a real business. Matthews asserts that, although the wine list contained some obvious bad wines, the majority of the list contained wines that fit into the award of excellence criteria:

Our basic award, for lists that offer a well-chosen selection of quality producers, along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style.

Goldstein’s actions could be looked at in different ways: Here is someone that wanted to hurt the credibility of a magazine while promoting himself. Or, perhaps he had been to a few of the restaurants in the recommended list and felt like he was the one who was had by the magazine and wanted to expose a flaw in the system.

I think a bigger question arises, one that has been on the minds of many wine lovers: Does this lack of diligence spill into other areas of the magazine, where ratings and awards may be bought and aren’t necessarily earned?

Read [Pressdemocrat.com]

The following are my tasting notes on the latest wines from Cameron Hughes.  You can read more about Cameron and my past reviews here.

2006 Rockridge Chardonnay, $<10 - Magnum
Score: 82pts - Notes: Not a bad value - hints of melon, pear, and pineapple, beats 2 buck chuck anyday!

Full disclosure: The wines rated below were all press samples.

Lot 52 2006 Valle De Uco Malbec (Argentina), $13, 14.5% ABV
Score: 90 pts (A-) - Notes: Dark Fruit Characteristics, Food Friendly

Lot 66 2006 Veneto Pinot Grigio (Italy), $10, 12% ABV
Score: ? - Notes: Glycerin, Post Bottle Fermentation, Hot and Astringent. Bad Bottle, planning to retaste

Lot 68 2006 Margaret River Chardonnay (Australia),  $13, 14.2% ABV
Score: 90pts (A-) - Notes: Citrus, Melon, Mineral, Rock

Lot 71 2004 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (California), $15, 14.5% ABV
Score: 82pts (B-) - Notes: Cherry Syrup, Tart, Raspberry, Medium Bodied

Lot 73 2006 Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvignon (California), $16, 14.5% ABV
Score: 90pts (A-) - Notes: Tasted 2x’s, Inky Purple, Anise, Vanilla, Oak, Very tight, buy & hold.

Lot 79 2005 Napa Valley Merlot (California), $14
Score: 78pts (C+) - Notes: This is an overly extracted, Syrupy wine that just didn’t taste that good. (Off the website for a reason?)

Lot 91 2007 Russian River Valley Chardonnay, (California), $14, 13.9% ABV
Score: 86pts (B) - Notes: A Chardonnay for Sauvignon Blanc Lovers, Good Acidity, Citrus

2005 Hughes-Wellman Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, $50, 14.5% ABV

Score: 90pts (A-) - Notes: A very pleasant first effort at a higher end offering from Cameron.  This big Cab has a somewhat weak nose at the moment, but offers hints of black cherry and blueberry. I kept getting whiffs of bell pepper, which through me off a bit, but over time that could blow off. Usually it’s just a sign of grapes harvested from younger vines. The wine possesses good tannic structure with cranberry notes on the palate and a finish that lingers on the tongue. This monster could stand to mellow in the cellar for a bit. I’m excited to see how this wine develops in bottle and look forward to any future releases under this label as the potential for a bargain trophy wine is here. Drink 2010 - 2015

On a side note, I am proud of Cameron for using more screw cap closures.  A few of the bottles sent that were sealed with the traditional cork were tainted.