Recently enjoyed this wonderful red blend of which most is Merlot with Paul and our wives. Since the 2003 inaugural release Blackbird Vineyards has been receiving high scores from some of the industry’s best wine critics.
Proprietor: Blackbird Vineyards
Vintage: 2006
Appellation: Napa Valley’s Oak Knoll District
Varietals: 86% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon
Note: Aged for 20 months in French oak barrels of which 70% are new and 30% are older.
I read an article about the Blackbird winery in November 2008 issue of the Robb Report and had been looking for it ever since in Houston. Blackbird wines can be found at Brix Wine Bar in Houston and you can find a link to their web site in the Blogroll on the front page of this site.
Paul and I recently enjoyed the 2006 Amuse Bouche with our wives on a night out in Houston and it was spectacular. The name Amuse Bouche is a French noun meaning “amusement for the mouth”, and that it is 
. Each vintage is quite literally, a work of art. The 2006 bottle artwork was created by Louisiana artist George Rodrigue, best known for his famous loup-garou or Blue Dog. This Pomerol-style Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend is made from some of the best grape sources in the Napa Valley. The winemaker is Heidi Barrett who Robert Parker has called “the first lady of wine.” If you have ever had a wine made by Heidi Barrett, you know that they always display impeccable balance.
Posted on August 6, 2009 by pcook
Carol and I are on our 21st anniversary and we decided this wine was great enough to take five minutes and blog. If you can find it (although not hard to find) get it and drink some every year for the next 5 years or more… Let’s see I need to buy 3 per year for 7 years – I need 21 bottles… And a second job.
Anyway, beautiful blueberry and cassis with licorice. Very smooth and yes it is exceptional. The Margaux nature is hard to miss and maybe that is the 5% Cab Franc or maybe it is the wine making skill of Beth Novak, Rosemary Cakebread, or Jenifer Williams – have we ever said how much we love women winemakers… They have the nose and tastebuds for wine making.
Ok – i’m done – Carol rates it 97 and I am rating it 96.
Btw- if you are looking for a wine bar in Fort Worth look no farther than Zambrano’s Wine Cellar – who although had a sold out wine tasting made room for me and my lovely wife – Cef is the best.
Recently Paul and I enjoyed the 2005 Bressler Cabernet which is new to the Houston area, and is distributed by Red4Wine. The Winemaker is the very accomplished and respected Mia Klein, and the Vineyard Manager is David Abreau. For those that follow this site or premium wines from California, you will notice that wherever David is involved quality wine is sure to follow.
Paul and I really enjoyed a bottle of 2005 Colgin IX Estate at Brix Wine Cellars in Houston last night. The 2005 IX Estate is the fourth release of this proprietary red blend.
The winemaker is Allison Tauziet and the vineyard manager is David Abreau who is considered the premier viticulturist for premium grapes in Napa Valley.
Had my in-laws over for dinner to celebrate my mother-in-laws birthday and opened this very nice Rhone style GSM from winemaker John Duval formerly formerly with Penfolds for over 29 years. This is the fourth release of Plexus with RP scoring the 2006 release a 95. It runs around $39.00 US Dollars, so is a very good value!
Proprietor: John Duval Wines
Vintage: 2006
Region: Barossa Valley
Varietals: Shiraz 52%, Grenache 30%, Mourvedre 18%
Shiraz was sourced from vineyards in the Stockwell, Light Pass, Krondorf and Marananga regions.
Grenache from old bush vines 50-60 years old from Stockwell, Light Pass and Krondorf regions.
Mourvedre from old bush vines, the oldest over 100 years old, from the Light Pass and Krondorf regions.
Note: Fermentation with submerged cap in both traditional old open top tanks and small stainless steel fermenters. 100% barrel matured for 16 months. Some Shiraz finished fermentation in new oak. 10% new fine grain French oak hogsheads (300 litres), balance; 3 years and older mostly French oak.
Tasting: Beautiful dark purple-red in the stem. Raspberry, red cherry, black cherry, blueberry, followed by Spanish cedar, tobacco, spice box, smoked game, black pepper, and nice floral notes. Excellent full-bodied structure and impeccable balance with rich ripe fruit and finely grained tannins. The finish is generous and pleasant. This wine will improve with bottle rest and will drink for around 10 years or more, but can be enjoyed now with some decanting.
Rating: 94 JH
Posted on July 9, 2009 by pcook
Well, I decide to hang with someone special tonight… My wife! So, we end up at Brix for steak night and end the night with a great wine from Ovid called Experiment no. K1.5. A red blend, this wine has a large percentage of Cabernet Franc, with various smaller allotments of petit verdot, merlot, and Cabernet sauvingnon. This little wine really packs a punch even though it I only 14.5% alcohol by volume.
If you can find this wine, give it some time to open up. It was a bit tight when we opened it up, but soon showed a great nose full of bright floral notes.
The nose continued it’s fruity component with some rasberry and blueberry filler. Some nice black pepper and spices round out a nice nose.
The mouthfeel is well balanced with nice acidity and dark fruits. The finish is also well balanced and long.
In my opinion only, this wine needs a few years to get there. While being well balanced, it is a long opener and needs some time. However, I really like it…
92+ Paul
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+
Posted on June 26, 2009 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)
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