Archive for the ‘General’ Category

2007 Pursuit – Pinot Noir

Posted on 2009 07, 07 by jheck

Paul and I really enjoyed this Pinot Noir from Bounty Hunter over the July fourth holiday weekend with family.

Proprietor: Bounty Hunter

Vintage: 2007

Appellation: Los Carneros

Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir

Notes: Aged 12 months in 90% French oak, approximately 30% new. Only 216 cases made.

Tasting: On the nose, bing cherry, raspberry, red currant, rose petals, smoke house bacon, Spanish cedar, followed by nice spicy notes, and cream soda on the mid palate. The wine has nice balance and a generous finish.

Rating: PC 90, JH 91+ 

2007 Penner-Ash “Willamette Valley” Pinot

Posted on 2009 06, 26 by pcook

Enjoyed this wine with friends at Brix Wine Cellars about a month ago and hadn’t posted in a while, so here goes… Maybe it was the day or the wine we had before or possibly this is a really nice wine that has kept itself hidden from us Houstonians. Needless to say, we really enjoyed everything this little gem brought to the table. Thought I would just post what my journal notes said…

The color was light burgundy with a slight orange ring, very interesting.

The nose brought a burgundian state of mind with lots of terrior evident with raspberry, java, ashy, cranberry with spices, apple and a slight bell pepper as it opened.

The mouth fill was silk with “cran-tastes”, some big cranberry on the mid pallet and a little sticky feel. This thing has lots of big beautiful fruit.

The finish was very nice and balanced with a long finish coating your mouth with goodness. As this wine opened the vanilla became more pronounced, but it was in no means over-oaked.

92 PC and 93 JH
(we are always one point off)

Meteor Cabernet – Houston wine tasting with winemaker Dawnine Dyer

Posted on 2009 06, 16 by jheck

Meteor Cabernet – Houston wine tasting



On May 19th of 2009 Paul and I had the opportunity to sit and enjoy the company of Dawnine Dyer the winemaker at Meteor Vineyard’s and her own label Dyer Vineyards, as well as Jason Alexander the General manager for Meteor Vineyard’s. We really enjoyed the time spent with them in Houston and of course their wonderful wines. We shot a video that I think you will find very informative as Dawnine describes the unique property that the Meteor Cabernet comes from and talks about the wine.

2006 Il Cuore “Cabernet Sauvignon”

Posted on 2009 06, 04 by jheck

In the current economic climate I have been searching for value wines. It is fairly common to find quality wine at premium price points, but not Cabernet Sauvignon around $18.00 . The other night I had the pleasure of having this wine with friends and was very pleased with it’s price and value.

2005 Waypoint “Hidden Ridge” Cabernet Sauvignon

Posted on 2009 05, 22 by jheck

Paul and I recently reviewed this very limited production Cabernet, Waypoint “Hidden Ridge” from Bounty Hunter Wine. You can view their web site and read more about their wines at http://www.bountyhunterwine.com.

2006 Michele Chiarlo – Barbera d’ Asti Superiore “Nizza” La Court

Posted on 2009 05, 14 by jheck

I recently enjoyed this wonderful Barbera from Michele Chiarlo,  with Paul during the recent Lakers/Rockets playoff game 5 blowout. Michele Chiarlo acquired the historic Tenuta Aluffi estate in 1995, that has long been considered to be the most exceptional estate for producing Barbera vines in the appellation of Asti. The Tenuta Aluffi estate in 55 acres lying on two superb hillsides at an elevation of about 800 feet above sea level, and is divided into two vineyards of “La Court” and “Il Castello.” The vineyards lie on soils extremely rich in magnesium, calcium, manganese, and iron.

2007 Black Kite “River Turn” and 2006 Revana “Alexana” – Pinot Noir’s

Posted on 2009 04, 20 by jheck

Paul and I broke out a couple of Pinot Noir’s near the pool, on a really nice H-town afternoon. Hope you guys enjoy the video. The video was edited so if you have any questions please post a comment and we will reply back.

2005 Rubicon Estate “Captains Reserve” Cabernet

Posted on 2009 04, 15 by jheck

It has been a while since we posted a review on a Cabernet Sauvignon, so I thought I would dig out some notes from earlier this year and share with you. The Captains Reserve Cabernet is only available at the winery or to mailing list subscribers of Rubicon. It is exceptionally well made wine with quality fruit and terrior.

2006 Glaetzer “Amon-Ra” Dry-grown Shiraz

Posted on 2009 04, 02 by jheck

Recently we enjoyed a wonderful Sunday brunch at The Tasting Room in Houston, TX with some friends and family to celebrate my wife’s birthday. The Tasting Room offers brunch on Sunday’s made by their creative and gifted Chef, Steve Super, and while you are enjoying the wonderful brunch you can linger and listen to the live jazz/classical music. The memorable wine of the day was the 2006 Amon-Ra Shiraz made by winemaker Ben Glaetzer. Ben Glaetzer has a minimalist mindset to making wine doing much of the work by hand, always aiming to preserve the characteristics of the vineyard fruit making elegant wines which are regarded as classics and unmistakably Barossa Valley.

“Meander Cabernet” Wine Tasting At Cellar-17

Posted on 2009 03, 18 by pcook

An interview with Amy Aiken, winemaker

Last night we were privileged to attend a tasting of Meander wines hosted by Cellar-17 in Houston and the distributor of Meander, Red4Wine. Meander is a personal project of winemaker Amy Aiken, who has been crafting wines in Napa Valley since 1989.


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