What Happens in Vegas, Ends up in a Wine Blog (TM)

Oh wow, our first Vegas dinner ended up at Aureole, in Mandalay Bay; a restaurant that features 50,000 bottles of wine. That is not a typo. Where do they keep those bottles of wine? In a glass tower, of course.

How do they GET to those bottles?? Why, a hot girl in a trapeze, naturally.

I've always wanted to try a caesar salad served vertically.

Dinner was excellent; and if you noticed the bottle of wine on the table behind the salad tower, you may know where we are going with our first wine review of the evening.

Silver Oak 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($175 or so in Canada)

Dark purple in colour with luscious aromas of berries. Extremely fruitful on the mid-palate, finishing with cherries and berries and a hint of awesomeness. My wife described this as the best bottle of wine she had ever tasted, and with the possible exception of one bottle of ice wine, I would agree. The tannins are smooth and ripe, and this wine would only improve with careful cellaring, probably for another 10-15 years. It's tough to imagine it could improve much. 96.


The only problem with starting with this bottle was that nothing could compare; we had some other great wine, but nothing close to this one.

Zeitgeist 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($135 at restaurant)

Dark berries and some herbs on the nose. Very fruit forward, but exceptionally balanced. A nice Cab from a less-known Napa Valley producer. 90.








Paolo Scavino 1999 Bric Del Fiasc Barolo ($225 at restaurant)

Opened up nicely in the glass; was probably approaching full maturity. Fruit and earth combined beautifully in this sublime example of Italy's top grape. Tiny notes of spice and licorice on the finish. 93.








2010 Mer Soleil Chardonnay ($30 or so in Canada)

Rich and creamy without being overwhelming, with tasty notes of pineapple and coconut intermingling with citrus. For the money, a top notch California Chardonnay. 90.







2009 Penfolds Barossa Valley RWT Shiraz ($150 or so in Canada)

Deep purple in colour with dark fruits and a hint of oak on the nose. Blackberries and some spice on the palate. Velvety but could improve with some more time in the bottle. 89.





2012 Gobelsburger Kamptal Gruner Veltliner (about $18 in Canada)

Citrus and stone fruits on the nose, with great minerality and acidity on the palate and finish. I believe this is my first wine from Austria, and it was very pleasant. 85.






2012 Irony Small Lot Reserve Pinot Noir ($20ish in Canada)

Dark cherries and plums on the nose and palate. Some cocoa and violets as well. Started out very pleasant, but interestingly, became less so as it sat in the glass. 84.






2011 Gianni Doglia Moscato d'Asti ($20ish in Canada)

A bubbly Muscat that screams "drink me with dessert"!!! So we did. Low in alcohol (5%) but high in enjoyment. 89.







2006 Louis Latour Beaune Pinot Noir ($200 in restaurant)

Light and fruity, notes of cherries and dark fruit. While it paired well with my grilled salmon, it would have improved with more time in the bottle. Tannins were a bit sharp. 87.







2006 Torre Muga Rioja Tempranillo ($175 in restaurant)

Purple ink in colour with aromas of berries and tobacco. Spice and earth meet with the fruit on the palate. Possibly it's still a bit young as the tannins were not as smooth as you might expect on a wine of this age. 87.






2012 Daou Cabernet Sauvignon ($89 in restaurant)

Black currants and plums on the nose. Full bodied with a long, lingering finish. A lovely example of a reasonably priced California Cab Sauv. 88.

Catching up on a week's worth of wine!!

Actually it's probably more like 2 weeks....a bottle here one night, three bottles the next....it all adds up! So here we go:

Paul Hobbs 2011 Russian River Valley Chardonnay ($50ish)

An excellent example of a quality RRV Chardonnay; floral notes on the nose, intermingling with some lemon and butterscotch. Not hugely buttery on the palate, just the right balance of oak and fruit and minerality. Just delicious. 92.







Renwood 2011 Zinfandel

Previously enjoyed and reviewed, here.




La Crema 2011 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay ($30)

One of the premiere California Chardonnay producers, La Crema makes about a dozen different levels and price points of their signature grape. This is is near the low end, and it shows. Citrus on the nose, with a hint of apple and orange on the palate. It pales in comparison to others we have tried previously, but it's still good. 84.




Gray Monk 2011 Reflection ($18.99)

Made from Orange Muscat grapes and gently fortified, this is the quintessential "oh what the heck let's open up a big sweet white wine". If you are one of those who only enjoy white wines so dry they pucker your lips, stay away, but if you really want decadence, this is the wine for you. Pairs beautifully with anything a bit spicy, with friends on the patio, or with a second bottle. 88.







Wolf Blass 2012 Red Label Shiraz/Cabernet ($18.99)

The 2011 vintage was recently listed on Natalie McLean's list of the 20 best wines under $20, and I can attest this vintage is just as good. Medium bodied and luscious; berries on the nose and in the glass. The Shiraz adds just a touch of spice to the finish. Pairs great with any big read meat, or the burgers that we enjoyed with it last night. 87.

Oh, BY THE WAY, does anyone know a good divorce attorney?? My wife brought this to me tonight in a Pinot Noir glass. What am I, an animal???




Neal Family Vineyards 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ($65)

Dark fruits and a hint of chocolate on the nose. Very rich and decadent on the palate, with a hint of spice on the finish. It's good, but I think we popped it early; it could have benefited from another 5-10 years in the cellar, I think. 86.







Cedarcreek 2010 Cabernet Merlot ($19.95)

This would be on MY list of the 20 best wines under $20, no question. Cherries and berries galore on the nose and palate. 21% Cabernet Franc brings just a touch of sweetness and mint to the table. Plums shine through on the palate as well. Juicy and terrific. 86.

the Monks are only Gray when the wine is done

One of our favorite BC wineries, Gray Monk, was down at Sardis Park VQA for a tasting yesterday. The results:



Gray Monk Estate 2013 Pinot Gris ($18)

Fresh and lively, with herbal notes intermingling with the fruit on the nose and palate. Slightly off-dry, with peaches coming through on the palate. Lovely and will undoubtedly improve with a little more bottle time. 84.







Gray Monk Estate 2012 Pinot Auxerrois ($17)

I've previously enjoyed and reviewed this, here.









Gray Monk Estate 2011 Riesling ($18)

Fresh with lots of minerality and fruit on the nose and palate. A touch of lemon on the beautiful finish. A top notch BC Riesling. 84.








Gray Monk Estate 2012 Pinot Noir ($18)

Made in the Burgundy style, very light and fruity with a decent amount of spice on the finish. Would likely improve with a year or two in your cellar. 82.






Gray Monk 2009 Odyssey Meritage ($35)

Merlot dominated, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to round out. Very full bodied with lots of blackberry and cherry flavors. From grapes grown in the South Okanagan Valley; 2009 was a great year, and this wine shows that. 88.

Everyone loves to taste a good teenager!

Get your mind out of the gutter; this is a wine blog, remember?

Wandering around downtown on Friday night and stumbled into a boutique wine shop that had an interesting selection of wines; nothing really cheap, but some decent priced stuff mixed in with the really big stuff. First thing I noticed was this beauty:

Regular readers of my blog will know what I think of the Silver Oak 2008 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the Napa Valley version; the "better" one. It's also twice the price (in this store, anyway; I think it can be had for slightly less if you find it in the right place). This is the first time I've seen the Napa Valley one on sale here.

We are going to Napa in September and we will be stopping at Silver Oak so I'll get the opportunity to taste it then.

Next I noticed a display of wines from Bordeaux; they were advertising three very different vintages, each for the same price, which seemed odd. Generally store that have different vintages from the same wine have them priced accordingly. As a curiosity if nothing else, I decided to pick up the oldest one. The other options were from 2000 and 2009.

According to some websites on the different growing conditions in Bordeaux over the years, 1998 was dominated by the Left Bank; particularly Merlot. That bode well for this wine, which was 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc.

We had a wonderful dinner at our good friends' place last night and took this along to have as the "main event" of the evening. After we had enjoyed a few other bottles of nice wine, we opened this up to see what it was like. At 16 years old, it was far from certain to be drinkable; Bordeaux wines can age for decades, of course, but in the proper conditions, not sitting on a store shelf.

1998 Domaine de Viaud, Pomeral, Bordeaux, France ($49.99)

Dark fruits, tobacco and a hint of coffee on the nose, with just a touch of coffee following through on the palate. Black currents and cherries as well.

Given the less-than-ideal storage conditions, this wine has held up very well. There is still a lot of fruit here, and it's very drinkable. I can't say how much longer it will last; certainly sitting on a store shelf can not help it; but if you pick one up and cellar it carefully, perhaps it will still continue to improve. If nothing else, it's a drinkable piece of history right now.

88.

Happy Mother's Day....now pass the damn wine!!!

Lots of wine to discuss and review today. Let's start with our choices from Mother's Day dinner.

Thought it might be fun to start with the two on the right. Cedarcreek 2011 Block 2 Pinot Noir, and 2011 Block 4 Pinot Noir.

Regular readers might remember I had the opportunity to taste these side by side, before they were released to the public, at Cedarcreek's Starry Nights dinner in October. My thoughts on them at that time were posted here.

Seven months later, let's see if my opinion has changed.

CedarCreek Block 2 Pinot Noir ($34.99)

This hasn't changed a ton since my original review. A very floral nose with hints of violets. Very smooth, but in the hour it was opened it changed and improved slightly. 89.

CedarCreek Block 4 Pinot Noir ($34.99)

Seven months have made quite a difference. Smoother, tannins have softened. Still lots of berries on the nose and palate. After aerating and decanting for an hour (and another hour or so in the bottle while we drank) it improved even more. I have a couple more of these in my cellar, and I'll buy a couple more if I can find them; definitely looking forward to continued improvement. 87.

As I said in my October review, if I'm drinking today, I'm choosing Block 2; if I'm drinking it three years from now, I suspect Block 4 becomes the winner. We'll see.

Our third bottle isn't pictured, it was recommended to me but we sent it home with my mom, who enjoyed it more than we did.

Sandhill 2010 Small Lots Sangiovese ($30)

I don't know if we happened to get a bad bottle but this didn't work for my wife or I at all. We generally like this grape, particularly from Italy, but also from BC (Inniskillin's 2008 Sangiovese is a favorite).

Cherries are prevelant on the nose and continue on the palate. Medium bodied, with some weakness on the finish. I'd be willing to give this another shot, but for now, I can only give it 75.




For the finale of the evening, we went down the coast to our new passion, a big Napa Cab (pictured on the right):

2010 William Hill Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($36.99 at Fred Meyer in Bellingham)

Just a touch of blueberries mingles with the red fruits on the nose. A smooth, silky mouthfeel and it finishes with just a touch of spice and vanilla. 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, with a touch of Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah and Merlot finishing it off. 88.

Ever notice that "petit" is spelled differently in front of "Verdot" and "Sirah"? Odd.


From earlier this week, we opened this one that was highly rated, from Spain:



Valenciso 2006 Rioja Reserva Tempranillo ($35.99)

I like Tempranillo, I really do, but I'm going to stop buying this varietal that I come across in the liquor store with signs advertising big ratings. I'm not sure who keeps giving these wines 90+ points, but this is at least the third one I've been disappointed in.

I have heard this is a very age-worthy wine, so perhaps we opened it up too early; maybe I should get another one and put it away for a decade to give it a fair shake, but this one ended up mostly going down the sink. 77.

Also, my local VQA store must have found some old cases in the back, because they have quite a few bottles of this nicely aged white:

CedarCreek 2009 Chardonnay ($16.95)


Slight notes of nuts and oak on the nose; beautiful fruit and buttery notes on the palate. Absolutely fabulous for the price; my very favorite reasonably priced Chardonnay. 88.






Hope all the mothers out there had an amazing Mother's Day! You deserve it!

Random BC wine tastings from the past week

A bottle here, a bottle there, and we have a few nice wines to report on:



Sandhill 2010 Small Lots Barbera

BC's only Barbera I believe. Cherries and plums on the nose and palate. Slight notes of tobacco and smoked meat. Very true to the Italian style, and if you like that, you'll like this. 87








Cassini 2011 Mamma Mia! Pinot Gris

Tropical notes of peaches and apricots, with a fruity, clean finish of citrus and pineapple. Slightly off-dry. Very nice with chicken or on it's own. 87.








CedarCreek 2011 Shiraz Cabernet


Black currants, blueberries and raspberries on a terrific palate. Cherries and a hint of vanilla on the palate. Lovely now, but another year or two in the bottle would only enhance. 86.

BC Syrah vs BC Syrah in a battle to the death

OK that's probably overstating it, hopefully nobody actually dies during this side by side tasting challenge.

Both wines were aerated and decanted for 30-60 minutes.

Cedarcreek 2009 Platinum Syrah

Putting your nose into a glass of this is akin to smearing your face in blackberry and raspberry jam. The overwhelming aromas of berries continue through to the fabulous palate. A hint of spice on a long, lingering finish. Superb. 92.


Desert Hills 2008 Syrah

It's almost inconceivable that these two wines are the same grape, from the same region, and only one year apart. This one doesn't have anywhere near the fruit-forwardness of the above. It has earthy notes, with a touch of leather, figs and even a hint of tobacco. A touch of spice but not too much. It couldn't be much more different than tonight's challenge-mate, but it is also very, very good. 90.