Red Is Life

Bang For The Buck Bordeaux

Chateau Penin - Grand Selection - Bordeaux Superieur - Rouge - 2007

Offbeat - dark fruit - lots of acid - very focused taste experience - clean - richness brought up images of a Malbec - jammy - double down on the "offbeatness" - very moderate tannins - reminded some of a mellow California Cabernet - smooth and balanced overall - drinks at $30 to $45 a bottle -

13.00 (SRP) !!!! - and no one will believe its 100% Merlot -

Plumpjack Rocks

Attended joint Plumpjack/Cade tasting @ Sherry Lehmman - Plumpjack as a group was Rock'm Sock'm - CADE was trying to be Bordeaux - my specific notes - 

• Plumpjack - Cabernet Sauvignon - 2007 - he way Cab is suppose to taste - dark dark purple - strong - massive nose - 14 8 alc - yet only slight heat - tannins will be gone in 20 years - maybe ten years before the fruit/tannin battle is declared at least a draw - Ok to now - but - watch out - its a rocket ship - smile as it knocks your socks off - 
• Plumpjack - Merlot - 2007 - big nose - first sip - struck by the immediate contrast of soft taste - mellow - smooth - fighting its youth - fighting its 15.2 % alc - too much heat on the back - almost a mild burn - enoy but not a buy - 
• Plumpjack - Chardonnay - 2008 - what a classic nose - complex construction - clean - get apple in the back - almost crisp - no butter in this baby - 14.4 % alc - got better as it warms to the room - bolder - bigger - even more complexity is able to come through - 
• Cade - Sauvignon Blanc - 7% Semillon - the wine screams American - only the slightest touch of grass - might be able to ID the nose at a formal tasting - i'll stay with New Zealand - 
• Cade - Cuvee - not a wine for me - a muted Cab - trying to be French - it ain't - 
• Cade - Howell Mt - Cabernet - 2007 - nice - drink now - 14.8% alc - will improve with age - but - not to greatness - 
• Cade - Estate - Howell Mt - Canbernet Sauvignon - 2007 - very mature - closer to French - but with great strength - pushed by the high 15.2% alc - 

Plumpjack screamed what it was - what it wanted you to feel as you drank - Cade was still trying - and at $129 for the Estate bottles - you should not have to be deciding - 

Enjoy - 

by the by - Gordon Getty noted that 50% of Plumpjack is bottle with screwtops - some people love it - some people really prefer the old fashioned cork - meanwhile - UC Davis is still trying to decide which closure in best for the wine - stay tuned - in about 10 or 15 more years - 

Napa Wakes Up

Long feeling immune to the ups and downs of the "rest of the world" economy - Napa's winemakers are reacting to the hard facts of life - they can just make great wine - price it at the point they "want" - and - sell everything - every year - 

Try The Red: Napa Learns To Sell - Katrina Heron - NYT - 021710 - tells the story - what has happened - why - what winemakers are doing - to survive like everyone else - an excellent read - a good "heads up" before blindly buying "retail" - 

Sea Smoke Ten

Sea Smoke Ten - 2007 - is rich with lush fruits atop the distinct character of a Pinot Noir - very clean - without the sometimes overpowering jamminess of the  massive Brewer & Cliftons (who we put on the all time favorites page) - lots of cherry - very smooth - 14.5% alc. - no heat - 

Ten refers to the number of clones used to make this truly excellent Pinot - there was some discussion at the tasting of where in California it was from - with many putting it north - in the Russian River - my own thoughts were Central Coast - not as far south as Santa Barbara - the mother-lode of full fruit Pinot Noir which are my all time favorites - it was great to be proven partially wrong - real $$$ but worth it for high end CA Pinot - 

Tks Marty - 

Two Buck Chuck's Fred

I've written repeatedly on Two Buck Chuck ($2.99 on the East Coast) - purchased exclusively from Trader Joe's - consumed with abandon throughout the summer months in my back yard - 

Now - The New Yorker - has profiled the man behind - Charles Shaw Sauvignon Blanc - and its brethren - Chardonnay - Cabernet Sauvignon - & - Merlot - 

The portrait of Fred Franzia - makes him sound more like a - cigar chomping - foul mouth - Seventh Avenue Garmento - than a man who owns 40,000 acres of vineyard - a company that sells $500,000,000 of wine each year - who's objective is to sell 100,000,000 cases of wine in a single year - and - who may actually do it - 

Its a great read - The World Of Business, "Drink Up" - Dana Goodyear - The New Yorker - 051809 - p.58 - 

Who Better To Know

Wonderful article on Winery_Times - The Experiences of an Old Wine Tour Limo Driver - entitled - Tony Coturri:Integrity, Honesty, Responsibility and Experience - nice stuff about a vintner who is true to his values - with a product that shows just that -

Enjoy -