2005 Louis Martini Cabernet

This is a deep dark ruby wine with a nice nose with spice and berry and the taste is a very fruit forward flavor. It is a big wine with sweet tannins nicely integrated into the fruit. I must say that it has been a long time since I have had such a fulfilling Cabernet at such a great price. I got this for under $20 at Safeway (did I mention they are having a very strong sale) about two weeks ago and bought another bottle as I walked down the aisle yesterday because it was excellent at any price. Definitely give it a spin if you see it. You may want to pick it up by the case once you do.

Martini is owned by Gallo but has its own website for its wines.

WR

2005 Block No. 45 Pinot Noir

This is an inexpensive pinot from California. It appears to be from the central coast, but the bottle does not say where the grapes were grown. It was fine. Nothing special, don't go looking for it. If you are served it at some social event, it will be more than drinkable, but you would not go out of your way to say, wow, I need the name of that wine.

No winery to link to and no place to find the label. Sorry.

WR

2004 Arrowood Cabernet

Drank this over two nights. The first night it was closed and took over three hours to open up even a little. You can sense the fruit, but it is deeply buried underneath the tannins. The tastings notes I have read suggest it should have been more open, but for me it took quite awhile for the fruit to mix it up with the tannins.

Second night, great transformation. The fruit came right to the surface. The tannins dropped into the background and were sweeter and resolved better into a long finish. A keeper, but probably not going to be at its best for five years or more.

I got it for a good price as Safeway has a lot of wine on deals right now. It was around $30, which is actually reasonable for finer California Cabs. Worth it to buy and put away for awhile.

Arrowood has a nice website and lovely winery.

WR

2006 Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Generation Red

Wow, the title for this wine is a mouthful. I have been drinking the Hitching Post Pinot Noirs for several years. I tried them the first time a few years back when the California Central Coast was making its break from Napa and creating its own distinctive wines. I know that it was happening long before that, but it was very regional, as most wine is, and so it was a well established region long before it showed up on my radar.

In any case, I would not recommend this wine. However, it is a fine wine, especially for the price. It is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Refosco and Syrah. It is a strong blend and has a powerful nose and an in your face flavor from the cork popping on. So why not recommend it, well it is a wine for someone who is willing to try something unique that does not fit the mode. Most people who ask me for a recommendation are looking for something that they can relate to. A cab, or pinot or chardonnay. This wine does not fit. I was a nice journey off the beaten path, but if you have read my reviews, you will note that I tend to enjoy wine. Diversity is my spice. The only real issue I had, and again for the price it is not a big quibble, was the finish. It ended with a very bitter taste. Not sure what gave it that hard bite at the end, but it did certainly diminish the experience.

One last comment. The wine includes Refosco grape. It is one I had never heard of. That is not that shocking, but it is always fun to poke around and learn new lessons on wine. It is a grape from the north of Italy and Slovenia. A dark, thick skinned grape that tends to be tannic. I wonder it I have discovered the "bitter" taste afterall.

WR

2007 Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache

This is a light, fruity, translucent wine with great plummy hints. It also has a noticeable strawberry overtone and the blend is quite pleasant. It is well balanced with lively acidity and a tart but pleasing finish. Unlike many Shiraz of Australia, it is also not overly alcoholic.

This wine comes from the Barossa Valley, a place I genuinely hope to visit some day not too long from now. Bush vines are very old vines that grow in bush like style and get quite gnarly.

I do not have a strong "impression" of grenache. I know it is a primarily grape in many Rhone style wines. Somehow that has not given it a defined character for me. But this wine, relatively inexpensive, is very drinkable now. It has a character almost to a Beaujolais. It is not, but it could stand in for one. I would drink this with almost any food and it delivered alongside a simple Matzo Ball soup tonight.

A link to the Yalumba web site.



WR

2006 Santa Margherita Chianti Classico

Went to a local italian restaurant on Friday night. The food is usually very good, it is close by and the staff are very strong. So, it is a spot we go every now and then. The Santa Margherita Chianti was suggested, and since I have long been a fan of their Pinot Grigio I thought why not.

Pros, the wine is fresh and sturdy. Cons, the wine is fresh and sturdy. What?

This wine is too young. The Italian's used to be pretty tough on bottle age for the chianti classico. It needs some time to mature. It will be good I think, except the whole sturdy part. One of the things that I like about a chianti is the fresh fruit, but lighter style that predominates. This one is a bit more structured. I think it will end up loosening up and turning into a nice pleasant food wine, but it will need some of the structure to fall back.

We shall see.

Link to the Winery.

WR

1998 Spottswoode Cabernet

Was out at a Booster club dinner and a wine drinker friend was kind enough to share some a very nice 1998 Spottswoode Cabernet. It was a Magnum and showed in the way it poured still very fresh and tasty. It was a lighter velvety wine, with good fruit. It was a bit closed, I think it was a bit too cold. As the time went by the flavor got better. It is not the sort of bottle that you would run out tomorrow to find, but it was very nice and for the occassion many, many steps above what was placed on the tables.

All in all a great evening.

This label is the 2005, but looks very similar. The winery website is found here.










Back in awhile.

WineRascal

Welcome to the WineRascal

So about nine months ago I spent awhile experimenting on posting wine tasting notes on wines I drank. Here was my first post. As you can see it was signed by leh. Since August, I have been busy with many things, but around the beginning of the year decided to get back to posting. While I was at it, I thought about the point of this for me and decided that I would like to see if I could actually capture some real readers.

So Voila -- a new blog name on a personally owned URL (first in my life) and the birth of the WineRascal. Why the rascal? People who know me don't think of me as much of a rascal, but for me this is an outlet that is different and I can do what I want. No rules for me. Anyone posting, there is only one key rule, that is respect for others. I may make up others if I really do catch an audience, but for now that one should handle most issues.

Back in awhile.

WineRascal

Will be Back after a LONG While

Sorry folks, been working and other things. Have been drinking wine, but not getting my act together sufficiently to post. I will be back, but it will be awhile.



Back in awhile.

leh

1990 Dunn Cabernet

Dunn is a legend for long lived Napa Cabernet's. I opened a 1996 Howell Mountain a few months back and it was still as closed and impenetrable as the Dunn legacy would expect it to be. They do not even have tasting notes on their web site for after 1993. This 1990 was a very nice glass of wine. It was bold with very strong blackberry, but also showed the impact of age, with a very nice blended structure of tannin and acid. It was exactly what one hopes for in an older wine, but with the level of fruit, quite hard to imagine as a 1990. I have had 2003 Napa Cabs that tasted older than this bottle.




Dunn Vineyards.

Back in awhile.

leh