Archive for March, 2009
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
Bottle Shock – Part 2
I opened another bottle of our wine. It’s evident that the wine is still in bottle shock. The flavors are still disjointed but the wine was much better than when I had it two weeks ago.
I love the mid-palate on our wine. The finish is getting longer as the effects of bottle shock are starting […]
No Comments » - Posted in Rasa Vineyards by Pinto Naravane
Monday, March 30th, 2009
2005 Philippe Alliet Chinon Vieilles Vignes
My favorite new wine discovery in the last two years is Clos Rougeard. For someone who has never been a fan of Cab Franc from the Loire, this winery’s wines were an eye-opener.
With Clos Rougeard opening my mind to the possibility of good Cab Franc from Loire, I decided to try the 2005 Philippe Alliet Chinon […]
No Comments » - Posted in Wine and Food by Pinto Naravane
Saturday, March 28th, 2009
2009 Fruit
Billo and I went through our production projections for 2009 and came up with a wish list of fruit we’d like to get.
For 2008, we had gotten the following fruit:
Syrah and Viognier from Les Collines Vineyard in Walla Walla
Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah from Minick Vineyard in Yakima Valley
Cab and Syrah from Kiona Vineyards on Red Mountain
Syrah […]
No Comments » - Posted in Rasa Vineyards by Pinto Naravane
Thursday, March 26th, 2009
2005 Chateau Puygueraud
2005 was a highly touted vintage in Bordeaux and futures prices were the highest in history. Ridiculously high. For a long time now, I’ve shied away from purchasing First Growth and Second Growth Bordeaux. Prices are not in line with quality. Sure, I miss them but I simply can’t afford to pal around with them […]
No Comments » - Posted in Wine and Food by Pinto Naravane
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
2004 Le Clos Baudoin Vouvray Les Argiles – A Wine Pairing of Sorts
There is a wonderful neighborhood Thai restaurant in Woodside, NY called Sripraphai. Since there were 5 of us, I got to taste a bunch of different dishes.
The appetizers were good but the entrees were better. I loved the pork in Thai lime basil sauce and the soft shell crab with basil and Thai chilies. The […]
No Comments » - Posted in Wine and Food by Pinto Naravane
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
2006 Syrocco
Over the weekend, I bought a Syrah from Morocco. I’ve never tasted a wine from Morocco much less seen one. I bought it purely out of curiosity. The wine is made by Alain Graillot of the Crozes-Hermitage fame.
According to the back label, Alain Graillot met the owners of Thalvin while he was cycling in Morocco. […]
3 Comments » - Posted in Wine and Food by Pinto Naravane
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
Bottle Shock
On Sunday, I opened our recently bottled 2007. We need to periodically taste it to determine when it is no longer effected by bottle shock. The wine was better than I expected it to be. The flavors were a bit disjointed and will take some time to come around. I’ll try it again in two […]
No Comments » - Posted in Rasa Vineyards by Pinto Naravane
Monday, March 16th, 2009
2005 Proprieta Sperino Uvaggio
I had wonderful little wine on Saturday night. The 2005 Proprieta Sperino Uvaggio ($35) comes from Piedmont and is a blend of 60% Nebbiolo, 30% Vespolina and 10% Croatina. According to the 56 Degrees (where I bought the wine) website, the fruit comes from 3 vineyards (Val Sec, Brenaterra and Lessona); each grape is vinified […]
No Comments » - Posted in Wine and Food by Pinto Naravane
Sunday, March 15th, 2009
1997 Niepoort Vintage Port with a Caveat
When the 1997 Niepoort Vintage Port was first released, I bought a case. I just drank my last bottle this past week.
What? Am I nuts? Why would I drink a whole case of vintage port so young? Why not let them age and let them reach maturity?
Great questions all (I’m glad I asked).
The problem is […]
No Comments » - Posted in Wine and Food by Pinto Naravane
Saturday, March 14th, 2009
2003 Bott Freres Pinot Noir Selection Personnelle – Another Alsace Pinot
The other day I had the 2003 Bott Freres Pinot Noir Selection Personnelle. This is the second Pinot Noir from Alsace that I’ve ever had (amusingly, one of the shoulder labels on the bottle says “French still white wine”). I liked this wine quite a bit.
This is an easy drinking Pinot with nice appeal. This […]
