Comittee Meeting

Our good friends Laura and Bart hosted 10 friends at their house last night.  We had a great time with all our close friends.   Dinner was great, thanks Laura and Bart.   Everyone brought along some wine for the evening and we had two that were quite a treat.      The first was a 2008, Cain Concept.  ($58)  Cain is a great winery on Spring Mountain in the Northwest Napa area.   I have been there and it is a beautiful winery; you can see the Pacific ocean from the vineyards.   This winery produces and distributes wine to restaurants so you will be able to find this in almost any restaurant.  Concept is a Bordeaux blend with plenty of punch.      it was a great wine, had plenty of fruit, very light notes of coffee and oak and it had a hint of a metallic taste, which is not common in read wines.

Ok, now for the next wine.   Melissa brought a 2002 Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  ($149) I have had Silver Oak in the past and have liked it but it had never been on my favorite list.   Well, let me say that this wine last night was awesome.   I am a sucker for big Napa Cabs and this one is the poster child for sure.   This 2002 bottle has had some time and it was really well balanced with fruit and Oak.  I tasted berry and a bit of chocolate.  I really enjoyed the entire glass, thanks Mel for this great gift for the evening.

Tried another one of my picks from Central Market

The 2008 Rowland Cellars Ramspeck Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was a great choice.  ($24) This first thing I noticed about this wine was the great smell.   No earthy or musty overtones, just fruit, almost a flowery smell.  Its got a true tanic Cabernet taste and I taste coffee and leather.

I did a little research on this vineyard and the wine.  Small family owned winery started in the early 90s.  after looking into the Ramspeck label, it makes more sense now that i like this wine; it is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, but has 9% Petit Verdot, 7% Merlot and  6% Malbec, which is a Bordeaux blend minus the Cab Franc.   Grapes are from the Stag's Leap Region which I also love. 

For a mid $20 wine, this wine is a great value.   Pick one up!

It's Good to See Old Friends

Met my old friend Price for a drink at Houston's in Preston Center last night.  He had arrived early and already had his selection picked out.   He was having the Mi Sueno Cabernet / Syrah blend and he suggested I do the same.   It was $16 a glass, but honestly I didn't find it all that impressive.   It was peppery, almost reminded me of a Malbec.  It was a bit musty, but had a lot of fruit and tanic taste.   It grew on me and Price and I were surprised by the amount of sediment left in our glasses at the end. 

For my second glass I chose the Chappellet Mountain Cuvee, $15 per glass.   This was much more my speed... ahhhh a Bordeaux Blend.   Big oaked fruit with a hint of chocolate.  This is a pretty popular wine and I have it quite often so I knew what to expect, this one is consistently a good choice.  Of this "by the glass" choices at Houston's, this is the one I suggest.

Price, thanks for the conversation and the drinks!

Trip to Central Market Results in some Great New Finds

Ran over to Central Market to stock up a few bottles in anticipation of the Super Bowl.   A cool bottle caught my eye.   edge, from Napa is in a dark bottle with silver and red simple markings and I picked it up for about $25.   This Cabernet is selected from various vineyards on the Silverado Trail in Napa.  

I have to tell you, I really enjoyed this wine.   It opened up quite a bit over the evening.    It was full of fruit at first, but then mellowed and the alcohol became more noticeable.   It was a typical Napa Cab with plenty of fruit, but this wine had a light earthy taste with a bit of smoke which was nice.   This one was a value at $25.   Try it, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Ice Storms and Pinot Noir

The entire city is under ice advisory and everyone is hanging indoors and cooking warm dinners.   Meredith made a great pasta dish and I chose a 2008 Concannon Pinot Noir Limited Release.    This is from the Santa Barbara area.   Pinot Noir grows best in cooler, wetter climates closer to the coast.   This is why some of the better Pinot are being grown farther North in Washington State and Oregon.  You will find a lot of the California Pinot grapes are grown in the the Santa Barbara or San Franssco Valley and some of the better ones in the Carneros District in the lower Napa Valley Region overlooking the Ocean.  It is really one of the prettier areas in Napa.

This Pinot Noir has very soft fruit tastes, maybe plum or cherry, and a slight oak aftertaste.   It is not to earthy, but has a definite Pinot Noir aroma.   13.5% alcohol and only 450 cases produced.  It is alright, and for the money I would say a pretty good value.  For $10 more I probably could have been a lot more happy this evening, but who's complaining?

Nick & Sam's - Dallas, Tx

Last week I attended a dinner at Nick and Sam's for a business dinner.   What a great restaurant!   Food is always superb, service never disappoints, and the wine list is always impressive.   We have two different wines that evening.   First one of the guests at our table ordered the the 2007 Hourglass Cabernet Sauvigon.   $300 bottle was definitely a treat to be able to try this.   It was not that quintessential big California cab.  It was 15.5% alcohol, but drank more like a true French Bordeaux blend, because it was smooth and tastes were subtle.    If you like a big fruity, jammy cab, skip this one, it is jut not built for that.   Next we ordered the 2006 Jordan, Alexander Valley Cabernet.    It was a great drinker.    Not particularly huge on the mouth, but a good wine for the price ($125) following the first barn burner.   Jordan is a classic California Red Wine maker.    They offer a range or wines and price points, and produce a consistently good product.

While in Jackson Hole, WY

Man there was a lot of snow this year.    14 inches overnight one evening.    This, however, did not stop us from getting out and hitting some of the great restaurants in town.    One of our favorites is Snake River Grill.  It sits atop the town square underneath a big commercialized sign.    At first sight you might confuse the place as a tourist trap or even a chain restaurant.    Once inside, you will be pleasantly surprised to find quaint decor, small seating areas all surrounding a center fireplace.   This is the best place in town if you like game such as Elk, Duck or other such trappings of the area.    I had the Elk Loin Medallions...   haven't stopped thinking about them since.   The appetizers are great; don't skip the Onion Rings.   

One of the best things about this restaurant is the big but reasonable wine list.    We ordered a bottle of the 2007 Clos Du Val Cabernet Sauvignon.   This is a Napa wine, found on the Silverado Trail by the way; its reasonable and a really good cab.    It was pretty big, with plenty of fruit and it went well with all of the the food we ordered.  I highly recommend the wine and the restaurant next time your in the Tetons!