Ch. Giscours Margaux 2009. The Jane Russell of wines.

Once you've had the best...well you know the rest.  This is the perfect wine I picked for Christmas  dinner.  I have been a little late posting but when you live the busy life I do you take every minute to be with the family.  
A luscious color dark purple and rich. The nose just permeates the room with dark fresh cherries. 
Now the mouth.  Oh what a lovely Web we weave. An elegant velvety glove coats your mouth.  Superb and complex flavors of cherry, plum, cedar, cover every inch in a jam filled erotica pleasure. 
This is the Jane Russell of wines. Soft, full bodied and voluptuous.
Enjoy

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone.  Be safe, be generous and be kind.

Dayuum, Wildhaven Blazing Red 2011

You just can't say enough, Wildhaven   Blazing Red is a superb wine.
Wildhaven is owned by Precept wines. One of the largest wine companies in the US.  Wildhaven hails from the Columbia valley and certainly does this appellation proud.   
The wine is a blend of cabernet, merlot, syrah, and cab franc.  This all comes together   in a nice structured complex blend. 
I opened the bottle   and was immediately impressed with all of the floral and fruit fragrances erupting from the glass.  The color was a beautiful dark, dark red . The color of true blood.  Sometimes you can get a sense of the wine just by the color and fragrance. I could tell this wine was going to be fruity but rich textured.
I was not dissapointed.  The mouth was bursting with juice.  Rich and fruity, slight tannins that linger.  Cherry, strawberry, licorice, blueberry with chocolate and tobacco hints that add extra complexity.
A beautiful wine.
Tonight I paired this with chicken pot pie.  Yes I know what you're thinking red with chicken and cream sauce. Damn   right, get over it. My child wasn't feeling good and pot pie is one of the best comfort foods.  But hey I would do it again, this is a great wine.
Enjoy

Beauty in a bottle

The chicken pot pie was pretty amazing too. 

You Gotta Believe...

One of the best  perks to what I do is all of the free wine, beer and spirits that come my way.  I enjoy sampling all of it, and sometimes even finish a bottle.  Most of the time though I have a couple of glasses and  the rest gets thrown out.  It is great to be able to do this without feeling the pangs of the monetary loss.  Because, quite frankly I taste a lot of crap.  Some big names you see in every magazine get poured down the sink, sometimes just from the bouquet, (smell really but I am being kind). 
I have been asked on several occasions why I do not write about those bad wines.  The reason is simple, I do not like giving them any space or time.  If I am given a bottle to try and it does not eventually appear in this forum, then  chances are it was not to my liking and was dumped   never to see the light of day from my pad.  Also, every one   has a different pallet. My cousin loves this one California cab, she thinks is phenomenal .   I think it tastes like stewed prunes, so she is free to enjoy her wine and I do not have to talk about it.  But, it will not be served at my house. 
I try only to give my thoughts and opinions   about the wine, spirit or beer.  I do not rate them because rating   is well overrated.  My 92 could be your 89 etc.  I try to give as much information   about the winemaker and winery as I can too. I find that passionate winemakers make passionate wines and I love to hear their stories and history.
Well enough said,
Drink up and
Enjoy

Don't let the names in the boxes fool you, they are just storage.

one day a real cellar, but this works too.

Let's Go On Safari with Graham Beck Game Reserve

The nose on this wine is just beautiful.  If the bouquet could yell it would scream OUTLOUD, TASTE ME TASTE ME.
Such dark rich aromas erupt from the bottle, cherry, plum. 
The dark luscious purple color.  Inviting you  again to partake.  A gorgeous color that enhances the experience.
Now put the glass to your lips, slowly  allow the wine inside your mouth.  Then the volumes begin. Volumes of flavor just keep rolling. Your eyes roll in the back of your head.  You cannot fathom all of the flavors that have just entered your body.  A tear rolls down your cheek as you know that this experience will end.  The complexity of this wine is just unbelievable.  Rich  and juicy full bodied and well balanced.  Lite tannins.  A very long finish, you will be enjoying the next sip before the end of the first.   The berry flavors are enhanced with hints of chocolate and smoky tobacco. What did I say about complex.
Graham Beck wines encompass the Robertson area of origin in South Africa. They are also involved  with my favorite charity The Wilderness  Foundation.  So another quality reason to support this winery.
Enjoy.

Who wishes they were me tonight..St Amant Old Vine Zin 2012

Just when I thought nothing could surprise me....St Amant Old Vine Zin. 
Just the color alone.
St Amant is grown in the Lodi Appellation and is one of the first certified sustainable vineyards in Lodi. 
This beautiful deep purple ruby color qualifies as a real treausure. 
The nose sends off aromas of a ripe orchard in Spring.  I could open this bottle everyday just to enjoy the boquet.
Once the wine hits your mouth  the flavors burst  out  sending sensation tingles to every end of your body.  Deep rich cherry and blackberry.  A real fruit bomb, jammy and rich. Ever so soft and slight tannins that linger and leave you begging.  
To night we had rib eye and potatoes. What an experience. Full and rich and then you add a perfectly cooked med rare ribeye it is like taking a stairway to heaven. 
Enjoy.