'06 MacRostie Chardonnay

Another 89 point wine. '06 MacRostie Chardonnay ($23.99) I had this a few weeks ago at a party I threw to take a look at the differences between wines rated 89 points and as similar as I could find 90 point versions to find out if I could spot the differences. Since I found a few examples, I thought it would be fun to hear what others had to say, so I invited such luminaries as Luscious Lush Thea, Dr. Xeno (Ward) and Tom from San Jose along with , of course, the other Brix Chick, Xandria. Six people---Seven bottles of wine (with a little absinthe chaser) Good times! And material for more than one post of course. So I'll start with my notes on the chardonnays. Normally I rate wines 1 - 10 based on how much I like them. But I fudged a little on this one and just attempted to hang the "89" on the right bottle. I found the MacRostie to have a richer hue and a "better" taste. It had a slightly citrusy taste and hints of more recognizeable (to me) flavors of apples and pears. It had some oak on it, which seemed to produce an almost spicy taste. So I rated it higher.

I was wrong.

When we peeled back the wrappings on the bottle, the '06 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay ($12.29) was the actual 90 point "winner". Although the color wasn't as nice and the initial nose was of gasoline, this wine took its time opening up and then eventually had a more floral quality to its aromas. It was more food friendly than the MacRostie chardonnay. My fellow wineaux totally had it pegged. In several cases, they like the MacRostie better, but indicated that they thought it was the 89 point wine. Since both the wines were agreeable examples of local chardonnays, I felt like we were all winners. Tasting them blind was a super fun exercise and let me stop and focus on #3 vs. #4 without the influence of labels, price or reputation. Interesting...
More on the other matchups later...

Don't forget the Pinot Blanc

I can just hear this wine saying, "Marsha. Marsha! MARSHA!". First, It's a pinot blanc, not noir. Then, it got an 89 while it's more illustrious sibling snagged a 90. Still, I was fortunate enough to get to try it at a recent outing to Solano Cellars in Albany, CA.

2007 Ponzi Pinot Blanc, Willamette Valley ($17) The color was a very clear, very pale yellow. It had a medium +body. It displayed aromas of savory fruit. I particularly liked the sweetly citrus scent and and fragrance of exotic fruit. Because the nose was sweet, I expected the wine to be as well, but it was dry. Dry and fruity with flavors of coconut and lemongrass. The finish was exotic citrus. This wine made us want to go out and find more Thai food. http://www.ponziwines.com/wines/pinot-blanc.asp

89 Point wine wins Wine of the Week!

Okay, so it won in Baltimore. Nevertheless, we applaud the achivement of this '06 Rosenblum Heritage Clones Petite Sirah I had been lucky enough to have this wine at a fun Italian restaraunt in Cupertino, Fontana's. My table found it to be a great companion to the hearty Italian fare, but also smooth and complex enough to be enjoyed by our guest who was watching his girlish figure and opted for a salad. The wine had flavors of berries, chocolate and coffee. Still, with its 14.8% alcohol and balanced acidity, it was food friendly and stood up nicely to Fontana's delicious sauces. The black fruit flavor came forward and made it a wine we could enjoy while waiting, as well as a bottle that we found enjoyable throughout the meal. The mocha finish even made it compatible with the chocolate dessert we somehow managed to squeeze in. Aged in American and French oak, the vines go back 80-100 years, representing a long tradition of Petite Sirah in the area near San Francisco, Contra Costa county. Petite Sirah is a dark wine guaranteed to stain your teeth Wine lover's purple. After the long two days of meetings we endured, we were happy for the giggles. So even though Wine Spectator only gave it an 89, the Baltimore Sun singled it out for wine of the week, And more importantly, our server suggested it as a great option for us. Despite its ignominious ranking, its quality and,Rosenblum's leadership in good value petite sirah is carrying this little gem along. However, I noticed that the online wine list at Fontana's does not list this! So I called to make sure a) it was still available and b)I was not hallucinating. Funny! The menu does call out those offerings that received 91 points or more. If you do find yourself in Cupertino and need a place for dinner, try Fontana's http://www.fontanasitalian.com/index.htm. And while you're at it, give an 89 point wine a chance. You won't be sorry

Kicking it at Kick Ranch

On Day 1 of the Wine Blogger Conference, if you arrived early enough before the first “official” event, you had the opportunity to head out to Kick Ranch Vineyard for lunch and a tasting. The tasting consisted of 12 wineries who source grapes from Kick Ranch pouring some of their current selections. I originally thought this would be an event where each winery would pour the Syrah they make from Kick Ranch grapes, for example, but instead, the wineries seemed to be pouring lots of stuff from both Kick Ranch and from other vineyards. The owners of Kick Ranch provided a delicious lunch for us, which I went straight for, having not eaten a thing but 2 slices of toast when I left Murphys way earlier in the day! I only managed to taste my way through what 8 of the wineries had to offer, I ran out of time and needed to head back to Santa Rosa in time for the “speed dating” tasting, which I already wrote about here.

As it turns out, and as dhonig kindly pointed out, four of the wines I tasted garnered 89 points from various wine media folks! So I've cross posted those 4 wines here, and you can read about the whole Kick Ranch experience here.

2006 Pax Cuvee Christine: Syrah. Bright red fruit, flowers, berries, vanilla, toast, violets, slight chocoalte, spice, pepper, dark, tannic.

2006 Lynmar Russian River Valley Pinot Noir: Smoke, leather, earth, strawberry, raspberry, nice red fruit.

2006 Enkidu Kick Ranch Syrah: Black cherry, floral, spice, toasted oak, brown sugar, tannins earth.

2005 Enkidu Fazekas Petite Sirah: Dark chocolate, black fruit, vanilla, dark, slight red fruit on the edges, tannic. I loved this wine!

Of these, my favorite was the Enkidu Fazekas Petite Sirah. I can't believe this only got an 89, I found it to be gorgeous, and if they were selling it there, I would have easily tucked some into my take home cases. Then again, we all know I adore Petite Sirah, so that may just be my bias showing through! ;)

Twitter Taste Live #8

The 89 Project is hosting Twitter Taste Live: The 89 Project. It will be TTL's very first BLIND tasting. Every participant will receive four bagged bottles (no cheating, don't look at the cork), and we will all discuss what it is, where it's from, and why we think it got an 89 score. Not just that, but you might be able to get that four-pack free:

The 89 Project and Twitter Taste Live are delighted to announce a contest for Twitter Taste Live #8, December 13 at 8 Eastern. This TTL is sponsored by The 89 Project, will be TTL's first blind tasting, and will feature four 89-rated wines from around the world. The contest winner will receive the blind four-pack free, including shipping. The contest rules are simple. The joint member of TTL and The 89 Project who puts up the most new posts over at The 89 Project from right now through December 3 wins. Don't cheat. The posting has to be for a wine rated 89 by ommercial media. That is it. Pretty simple, really. So go find yourself some 89-rated wines and get drinking (that's the easy part), then get posting. Ties will be broken by lot. Even if you don't win, all joint members of Twitter Taste Live and The 89 Project members will receive an additional 10% discount off the usual TTL 20% discount from regular retail price. So if you haven't signed up yet, get to it. We will see you at TTL#8.

Sanchez Romate Marismeño

Hola! David has asked me to cross-post. The Sanchez Romate Marismeño below got 89 from Wine Spectator on 31st October 2005. I'm not sure why, perhaps they thought it was a oxidised. It is rounder than most Finos. Being a European I don't really get the points thing, but I guess it can mean make or break for anyone trying to get into the US market. I think both theses sherries are worth more than 89!

It's very windy in Jerez today, the "levante" is blowing. Nothing better than to retreat indoors and try some sherry. Two finos from medium-sized bodegas: Alvaro Domecq "La Janda" and Sanchez Romate "Marismeño".

Romate remains in the ownership of local families, and have not joined the trend of cashing in and moving out of the centre of town. They must be sitting on some valuable real estate! Alvaro Domecq are less central but also in town. Control of Alvaro Domecq was recently gained by Manuel Jove, a spanish billionaire.

The Alvaro Domecq "La Janda" has a typical pale golden colour, the Sanchez Romate "Marismeño" also pale and golden but with perhaps a touch more colour than the La Janda.".

On the nose they are very different. The La Janda seems light for a fino, and has clean, green, stalky aromas. The Marismeño is not pronounced either and has a sweet, fruity nose which reminds me of grated ripe apple.

The La Janda is light, clean and crisp in the mouth. A bit like biting into a Granny Smith. There is a flavour of flor, which did not come through so strongly on the nose. There is a more rounded, fuller feel to the Marismeño and the flavour is of ripe apple.".

I think the La Janda would go very well with salty, grilled prawns and the Marismeño, ice cold, on its own as an aperitif.".

Hofer Gruner Veltiner 2007

(cross-posted by the delightful Gretchen Roberts from Everyday Wine.

If you're not familiar with this wine, there are a couple of things you should know about Gruner Veltliner:

1. It’s the hot new wine of sommeliers and chefs around the country, so if you drink it you’re in the know.

2. Gru-Vee, as it’s sometimes called, absolutely deserves its celeb status, as it’s one of the most food-friendly wines around.

I found the most interesting bottle of Gruner Veltliner at the wine store; it was in a dark green liter bottle (larger than a standard wine bottle by 250 mL, or almost 2 extra glasses) with a bottle cap lid. Cheap, or great find? I wondered. Then I turned the bottle over and saw the winning words: “A Terry Theise Estate Selection” (see page 34 of the catalog for his wonderful description).

Terry Theise is arguably the best cool-climate white wine importer around; if you see his name on a bottle of German or Austrian wine or Champagne, you can snap it up and be assured of its quality, complexity, finesse, and charm. Wine geeks read his catalogs for entertainment because, though he’s in the sales business, his lovely prose reflects his passion for the growers and vineyards he works with.

The Hofer was just $15.99, and with the extra ounces an excellent deal. I’m pretty decent at reading wine labels, even those super-confusing French and German bottles, but I have to admit this one had me stumped. It was just a jumble of Austrian words, and I had to turn to good old Google to help me solve the riddle. Turns out the producer is Hofer, the grapes were grown in Auersthal, and the estate is certified organic. I checked it out on Wine Enthusiast's free ratings, and though the '07 wasn't rated, the '05 got an 89. Bingo: time for an 89 Project cross-post.

The Gru-Vee, true to its cool-climate roots, was fresh and acidic, not unlike cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc. Also like Sauv Blanc, GV has a grapefruity varietal character and is extremely food-friendly. But that’s where the similarities end: while Sauvignon Blanc often tastes herbal and grassy, Gruner Veltliner has what’s often referred to as “peppery” notes, as in black pepper. It sounds strange for a white wine, but it’s absolutely true, and that’s probably part of the reason it’s so great with food. Just don’t gulp it alone, because the acidity that makes food sing will turn your stomach inside out alone.

Price: $15.99 (about prices)

Rating: Great Value (about ratings)