For all our fans out there that have harassed us for the last six weeks, this one’s for you. We do appreciate the encouragement! Several of you were able to taste this little gem with us about two weeks ago at Wine Styles on Louetta Rd in North Houston.
This wine is a rockstar, with only 374 cases produced, it brings the whole band with it.
We are having a conversation about starting to blog wine again. We want to do it, if people will comment. So, we are going to add a little feature to the bottom of each post – “thumbs up or thumbs down”.
Should we do that or do “spit or swallow” – as [...]
Paul and I enjoyed a bottle of the 2003 Laird Family Cabernet from Diamond Mountain Ranch last night as we talked about business and the historical day, yesterday in America. This was the last release from Laird of this wine as the contract for the grapes ran out. I am finding along with Paul, that [...]
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
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+
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
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.
Last night Paul and I had the 2005 Dancing Hares for about the third time since release. It is an exceptional wine, that can be enjoyed now with decanting or laid down for the next ten years. Andy Erickson is the winemaker of Dancing Hares as well as Leviathan, Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, Ovid, Staglin, and others. The rest of the accomplished team at Dancing Hares is consulting winemaker Michel Rolland who has extensive experience making wine in over 13 countries, and well known Vineyard Manager David Abreau who has grown fruit for Sloan, Colgin, Blankiet, Viader, and Harlan to name a few. Needless to say this is a very talented team.
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.
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.
