3 Goodies

Dr Loosen Blue Slate Riesling. $13. Off-dry, refined, maybe a little peach in there. Dignified and very enjoyable. All the promise of the original $10 Dr. Loosen boosted 30%. *

Joseph Phelps Pastiche; lots of grapes in there. Nice California-ish full bodied satisfiying, balanced drinker. $12 *

Hayman Hill Pinot Noir: wine of the month at Bottle King. Wunnerful; a little full-bodied for Pinot, but I don't mind a bit. Very satisfying, dignified and that aromatic top-end we love. Real character there. ** $13

Dona Paula Chardonnay

Nice! Nice for $8. Not oaky, plenty going on. *. Great winery.

Yellowjackets(ouch!)

Had been lecturing M on the merits of the contrabass guitar as a solo instrument the night previous. BGO has a chooglin' kind of organ groove going; slightly cheesy and not as soulful as Jimmy Smith with a big band, but that kind of thing. And the bass is a guitar. Swinging, tasteful, pushing the beat. Then he takes a solo; nice chops modern note choices evolving into a crowd pleasing bluesy well-architected solo. It's the Yellowjackets. So, I guess Jimmy Haslip really can play, and after 20 years the band plays some bebop. Who knew?

Something Old, Something New

Altos de Luzon '03. Popped another of these which were fabulous a year ago. Still fabulous; plum is coming to the fore, still wonderfully balanced and tastes of potential. 2 more in the cellar are staying for 2-4 years.

Altos de Luzon '04. First bottle; nice, balanced Jumilla. Doesn't have the je n' sais quois of the '03. Missing structure and 3-dimensionality of the '03. But a nice wine.

Terrazas de los Andes Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve '03. Brawny with fruit rather than oak or tannins. Some blueberry and cassis. Right now its a big food wine. I'd bet that it will coalesce nicely with age, though its not speaking directly to me. I bought it on the strength of their marvelous Malbec at the same price. That's a better wine than this is now.