Miscellaneous Wine (red) Tasting Notes

[HDPM]

OK, here are some miscellaneous wine tasting notes. Some recent, some overdue. All are red. I am not a wine expert so you will not get technical stuff like how long the grapes were hanging, when they were harvested, how they were fermented, or the phenol/cassis balance. I just drink the stuff and can taste total crap from decent. I have a natural tendency to like good stuff. So I am always right and if you disagree, well, feh. And the worst that happens is you drink a mediocre red.

Waiting for the Clos Du Val shipment to come in. So I have bought a few stop gaps at Costco and have tried to see what I want to drink up in my small wine storage unit. If you don't like Clos Du Val, well.... whatever. I do. I like stags leap cabs. I am in their wine club. So I am looking forward to my next shipment of 4 reds which I forget what they are. I also said to throw on a half case of regular 2001 cab in addition. And I need to re-up on some other california red as you will see later in the post. Until then....

Chateau Ste Michelle 2001 Cold Creek Vineyard Columbia Valley Cabernet. About 20 at costco. I am swilling it tonight after cooking NY strips via the cast iron skillet method previously discussed. Nice cab. What you would expect from a $20 cab. A bit young, but fruity and reasonably balanced. A bit of cheese helps. Been wanting a decent cab and this hit the spot.

Columbia Crest Grand Estates 2001 Syrah. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/ooo.gif[/img] This wine sucked and I am glad I didn't pick it out. I don't remember how we got it. I think it came in a basket someone got us or we bought at a charity dinner or something. I pulled it out the other day to get rid of it and to try it. It is the Bud Light of wines - something utterly flavorless and something I won't drink even when free. I took two sips, poured the glass out and opened a mediocre zin. I will have to get motivated to pour the rest of the bottle out and throw it away. Eeeeew.

From a while back - Carol Shelton 2002 Wild Thing old vines zin, mendocino county cox vineyard. This wine rocks. Got it from, and recommended by, JV Wines and Spirits in Napa. I need to see if they still have some. This wine is big, fruit and alcohol bomb, but still reasonably ballanced and good w/ food. I really like this one. if I didn't, I should have mentioned it before in the wine threads. IIRC it is about 30.

Branham Rockpile Zin, 2001. Another JV purchase and rec. Preferred the Carol Shelton, but this was very good.

1998 Anterra Reserve Cab. A JV rec/purchase. Well-mannered, well balanced cab. Should go well w/ food. Forget the price.

And A few cheapos-

Cheap everyday wine I have started liking, wonder of anybody else does - Big House Red with the picture of the prison and stelvin closure. I like this, I dunno if it is because of what I do or the fact it is a dense, big red wine that is cheap.

Three Thieves Cab in the 1.0 liter jug - meh. Something red. That is about all.

Clos Du Bois cab from costco - about 12. Seems decent for the price.

[NotInchoateHand1]

I have never met a Syrah I liked. If you have, I'm all ears. Obviously, it is the same grape as Shiraz, of which I have met a number of amenable varieties. Funny, innit?

[citanul]

the grand estates merlot is a damn good wine for like 6 or 7 bucks though.

citanul