Lots of Grapes

'03 Termes; dignified, round, smooth, medium-large, still quite closed. Tasty but expected to shine in a few years.

'01 Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial; just as good as ever. Full, round, open fruit, dignifed, long finish. ***

'05 Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc; All the pear/kiwi/lime flavors you'd expect up front, but blended seamlessly. Nothing jumps out; the acidic front end is backed by a smooth, slightly sweet finish that provides the backdrop to appreciate the front end. I've felt that most of the other N.Z. Sauvignon Blancs go off the acid deep end; too puckered up. Loved this, my favorite Sauvignon Blanc. **** $18

Sterling Chardonnay $18; seemed well done, I just don't enjoy any Oak or Malolactic.

Bonny Doon '02 Madiran, from the club. Big, distinctive, red. A bit of shale or gravel; lots of personality, but balanced and mature. Haven't had anything quite like it. Very enjoyable **.

R.L. Buller Muscat $14. Fabulous; heady, sweet, herbacious, very long finish. Very satisfying, especially w/ J's Oxford Street Pear cobbler. ****. RP 97 FWIW.

More o' Moro

Emilio Moro '03. Ribera del Duero; tinto fino (tempranillo, or tempranillo clone?) Lovely soft, structured, balanced, long finish. With spinach/feta sausage, cous-cous and greens, peppers, nasturtium salad. A great expression of a single grape. The winery has 8-10 vineyards, each distinctive, so though its one grape, it is a kind of cuvee.

Wholly satisfying; tastes of dignity, optimism. Incredible balance. ****.

Loved the '01 which Chad & Nancy turned us on to as a house-warming present. Jeez that must have been the '99 as its a Crianza. Time flies. Anyhow we loved the '01 too. This is just as good or better.

Nothing Special

Peter Lehmann Cabernet '02 $15. Amazingly fruity for a 4 1/2 year old wine. Obviously well made and M really likes it. I don't get enough body or finish to balance the front end; it ends up tasting a little generic. Not getting distinctive Cabernet or terroir elements. Then I remembered we really liked the Clancy's blend. Maybe we should pick some of that up.

VRAC good clean "chardonnay"; white Cotes-du-Rhone. Agreable to both of us.

Fat Bastard Chardonnay. Oaky yet thin. Quite a trick.

Minutemen

Saw We Jam Econo last night. Touching, inspirational. I guess I remember the intensity. And that stuff mattered. Probably more than Jazz did after 1967 anyway. Amazing to see Mike so young. By the time I met him in '84 he was Watt, not the baby-faced innocent in some of the video. Enough of the live stuff was up to snuff to confirm that these are no rosy-colored glasses we hear through; genius of precision, concision, conviction.

A generation has passed since then.

More Rheingold

Prinz von Hesen '04 $10 **. Wonderful off-dry, slightly acidic peach notes perfectly balanced with sweetness, some stony shale too. Consumed w/o food, but would be great with lots of stuff. I liked it even better than the Dr. Loosen Blue Slate.

Meat!

Catena Malbec '03. $17, which is their middle tier I think. From the masters; does *not* need to shriek from the top of Mendoza "I'm a Big Bad Malbec, Rrrraawrr!" Clean, balanced, full, long finish; not fruit-forward. First dignified Malbec I've had. Don't get me wrong I love Malbec. **.

Fantastic with Bobby Flay's steak (NY Strip) with Chimichurri. Substitute water for the honey in Bobby's recipe. Serranos from the back yard.