MacRostie '06 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...

Under Appreciated 89 pt 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, I think more likely, 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

Oregon Night at Solano Cellars

Or Wine 102: Oregon Night! Our second event at Solano Cellars. Willamette wines. Another thing I thought I wasn't fond of. Having had some sad, spare and even salty examples of Oregon wine, I really wanted to see what the good folks at Solano Cellars would put together for this. Plus, Saturday was a Recessionista Day and, well, this tasting was free. So, I started the afternoon with my favorite Indiscriminate Boozehound (don't look for a blog---it's a philosophy with her), Marina, at a Bottling party at Urbano Cellars. They were pouring their release of Emeryville Nouveau- a dark, pretty wine with a freshness and good fruit along with some perennial favorites of mine. I love their 100% Petit Verdot for its yummy bitter undertones and fruity-floral taste. http://www.urbanocellars.com/ We got so caught up in the fun there, we missed scooting in to the Wine Mine! My absolute fave QPR wine experience in the bay area! http://www.winemineco.com/. So, we headed off to try Thai at Anchalee. http://www.anchaleethai.com/ a lovely spot near Cafe Trieste on San Pablo. Along with the sumptuous Thai feast, we had a yum bottle of Bivio Pinot Grigio with with enough fruit and acid to stand up to the spices of dinner. http://www.bivioitalia.com/download/techSheets/Bivio-PinotGrigio-TechSheet.pdf. Our clever plan to dash over to Solano Cellars, was alas, shared by many, many others and so we wandered down to the cash only Pub on Solano where seating was no problem at all. I had a Shiraz tasty enough to stand up to the bar-mitzvah-party-reject glass it was served in. Xandria and I treaded wine while waiting to go back. Our patience was rewarded. We came back and scored a table, where Tom from the distributor took great care of us, by pouring and explaining all the Oregon offerings. He is the one who has set me off on a hunt for Serene Coeur Blanc, which was not being sampled. However, these tasty treats were:

2007 Ponzi Pinot Blanc, Willamette Valley ($17) Super pale, medium +body, savory fruit aromas. Flavors of coconut and lemongrass.

2006 Domaine Serene Chardonnay, Clos du Soleil, Willamette Valley ($45) Apple custard tart aromas, with a whisper of banana Laffy Taffy. Flavors of sour apple and slight taste of bell pepper and something somewhere between herbal and green.

2007 Evesham Wood Pinot Noir, Willamette ($20) Delightful small producer discovery. Initial scent of kerosene revealed secondary aromas of complex fruit including Jolly Rancher cherry. Flavors were also sour cherry and cherry fruit roll-up. A cool climate pinot, it had good acidity. Yes. I bought this!

2007 Ponzi Pinot Noir Tavola ($26) This is what the Ponzis keep on their kitchen table. Lovely plummy nose. Good acidity to stand up to food. Flavors had a strong presence of fruit, red plum.

2006 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir, Yamhill Cuvee, Willamette Valley ($42) Aromas of violets. This was a perfumey wine, with cherry, red fruit and fennel. It had an interesting pleasant finish with initial vinegary notes turning into red fruit and then coffee.

After that we reconnoitered with Marina and friend, Larry. We had promised Larry to introduce him to the delights of 9:00 "Happy Hour" at Fonda. Delayed gratification so works when you mean holding off on dessert to save room for the stunners Fonda puts out. Extra points for us--we did DIY Pairings. I tried Marina's Pumpkin Pie with brown sugar ice cream accompanied by a Leacocks Bual Madeira 10yr. Yum! The alcohol and brown spice in the Madeira stood up to the rich, pumpkin custard and flaky made-with-love crust. Xandria had the Columbian chocolate sundae. Chile infused creamy chocolate goodness. She opted not to pair, but sampled from both the Bual and from my (incomparable) Sauterne. Now, I've mentioned this before. I have Botrytis. I love, love love the stuff. The 05 Ch. Romieu-Lacoste, Sauternes was no exception. Its silky sweet, sugared broiled grapefruit yumminess paired exceptionally well with my Vanilla panna cotta in a pool of brown sugared pineapple puree. Add a coconut shortbread biscuit and you've got yourself a little slice of heaven! Along with a cool place to sober up if you've "Studied" too hard at USC---The University of Solano Cellars! ;)

Good friends. Good times and all on a budget! Viva las Recessionistas!