Nelms Road 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon

A good Cab from Woodward Canyon winery in Walla Walla, Washington. She has a great oaky/vanilla flavor on the finish that accompany the tannins and black cherry flavors nicely. It's the third day this bottle has been open and the acidity has increased a bit, but is still excellent with the 2nd day was the best. It's not the cheapest wine ($19 @ Samswine.com), but it's worth a splurge; 8/10 rating. Ah, the tiny town of Walla Walla, Washington...also home of that crazy chick from Real World Chicago/MTV/Playboy, Tonya.

Kim Crawford 2006 Pino Noir

Kim is from Marlborough, New Zealand, and her Sauvignon Blanc popularity certainly overshadows her reds. In fact, I wasn't even aware she produced a Pinot Noir. Floral and grapefruit on the nose followed by a very smooth sip of a light wine. Flavors of subtle grapefruit with strawberries and cherry - Good finish. Went well with my Firecracker Salmon and edamame...but the cherry became a bit much with the second glass.

$12.50 at Costco. 6/10 rating, happy with this selection but not thrilled. And disregard my reflection in the bottle pic. ;)

De Bortoli 2006 Petite Sirah "dB Selection"

Excellent $6 wine! 8.5 out of 10 in the Under $10 category. I picked this up at Sam's Wine in Chicago, but it can be found online for $6.99 or so...easily worth double it's price.

Blueberry is the first flavor I notice, but it's not overwhelming. Slight tannis on the finish that makes it work well. Very nice for any night and we'd not be ashamed to serve this to guests. Fine work from the De Bortoli winery of South Eastern Australia. Go get a bottle!

2005 Eroica Riesling - Ch. Ste. Michelle

A little background on why this is the first of a very small number of Rieslings reviewed on this site... It was 2001, and I made the gutsy call to take a gal to a sushi restaurant for our first date. For wine, I stuck to a fine Riesling...a variety most everyone likes, and is especially known as an "entry wine" as they are only a few sugar notches away from a blended boat drink ;). Years passed (and I guess it went well, because we are married now), but I've never lived down making such a "novice" play on the wine choice. Can't win 'em all. I'll be toughing out this bottle on my own over the next many days. Rieslings are "too sweet" for her...guess that's why she ended up with me.

To the bottle...
OK, why not just put the "t" in the name 'cause that's what everyone is thinking. Second, why does it say "Dr. Loosen" at the bottom? With it's sexy name and sleek look, it has to be targeting a younger market. But the Dr. Loosen label & $24 price tag don't quite support that hypothesis. Flavors of a big ripe juicy peach and a light mandarin orange highlight this sweet selection. Pretty good, 7/10 rating and went quite well with my Jerk Chicken as it cooled the flames.

P.S. I just Googled "Eroica" and apparently it's the name of Beethoven's 3rd Symphony. It's also Italian for 'Hero'. Dr. L has a pretty big noggin to compare this to either ;)

Peter Lehmann 2004 Clancy's Blend

That gold sticker on the side says "Top 100 wine values under $25, 90 Points, Wine Spectator". Found this Aussie blend at Costco for $14. This 2004 Barossa is 43% Shiraz, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, & 15% Merlot. It's above average, in the 6.5-7/10 range, when rated against $10-20 bottles.

You immediately taste dark fruit like blackberries (that's the shiraz a-talkin'), but the cabernet comes out with some medium tannins quickly after, especially felt in my nose on the exhale (yes, very odd indeed). Overall, it's a very smooth wine and the grape blend goes together quite nicely. Not the best sippin' wine without food as it leaves the mouth a bit gummy.

Beringer Founders' Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

This 2005 cheapo was only $6.99 at Costco. Tastes like an under $10 wine, but it's not bad and exceeded my expectations of the mass generated Beringer winery. File under 'pizza wine' for when you don't want to drop coin on something fancy. Smell is of mostly tannins, flavors of mostly cherry, with an alcoholy tannin filled finish that drys up without much lingering flavor. The wine actually has some legs, but legs are not an indicator of quality, which i recently read somewhere. I give this a 6/10 rating when comparing to other under $10 wines, assuming you can deal with the strong tannins.

Ridge Three Valleys Zinfandel, 2006

It was the Ridge vineyard that started my love affair with zinfandel. The Three Valleys is the least expensive of their selection at ~$20. It's actually only 80% zin, complemented with a blend of petite sirah, carignane, & grenache grapes. You can't go wrong with any Ridge zin, and it's a personal favorite with spicy sushi.

Not overpowering on the fruit flavors as zin's can be, this one is more noted for it's spicy finish. Looking forward to it's paring with burgers from the meat market tonight. 6.5/10 - give it a shot, but I think you can find some smaller, less known vineyards with better zinfandel for the same price.

2005 Ajello Furat Sicilia

This Nero d'Avola from Sicily first caught my eye on a menu at a Frasca, an Italian wood oven pizza restaurant & wine bar across the street from us, and I've had it a few times since. Last night, it was our selection at Rose Angelis to accompany the over-ordering of pasta we all partook in. It's actually a red blend with cabernet, merlot, and syrah grapes complementing the Nero d'Avola flavors.

As my best reviews will come from my couch where I can focus on flavors, I can't say I remember many particulars other than it's a great Italian wine when you are looking for something a less dry and a bit more sweet than your typical chianti. Oak and vanilla flavors in the finish. "Spot on," says one from our party. 7/10 rating. It's in the mid-$30 at these mentioned restaurants, but can be found online for ~$18.

2005 Rosenblum North Coast Zinfandel

While trying to kill the 1.5 hour wait for Rose Angeles, our party of 4 went across the street to Maeve to kill a bottle and start the evening. Our friends from Sydney were in town and mentioned they had never had a zinfandel wine and were curious to try it. Knowing I needed a wine to impress, the Klinker Brick I reviewed last week caught my eye on the menu. After placing our order, our sorry excuse for a waitress started to open a bottle which I didn't recognize (the Klinker has a pretty distinct bottle shape and label). "Oh, we were out of that, but this is close." Well, it was a Zinfandel...the 2005 Rosenblum North Coast Zinfandel, but the similarities ended there. This wine was very sweet, much too sweet for us. Deep blackberry/currant flavors, little finish.

As the bill came, they charged us $38 for the Klinker and if it wasn't for us meddling kids, this washed up waitress probably would have completed the bait and switch. I found the Rosenblum for $14-19 online. 1/10 rating for both the wine and having wine at Maeve.

P.S. We did learn something interesting from our Aussie friends during this bottle: In Australia, they do not use the word 'fanny' to refer to one's backside. In fact, they use it to refer to a very close area that appears on only females. When I asked if Scott had a 'fanny pack', the reaction was truly priceless.

Study: Pesticides found in euro wine

After all of the studies on how healthy wine can be (in moderation, of course), here's the latest:

PARIS, April 4 (UPI) -- A European environmental group said pesticides used on grapes were found in 35 of the 40 bottles of wine they tested.

Pesticide Action Network Europe, working with groups on Austria, France and Germany, said a study found pesticides in all the conventional wines, and a low level of pesticide residues in one of six organic wines. The analysis revealed 24 different pesticide contaminants in the wines.

Didn't a Simpson's episode once warn us of these atrocities? At least we've got North & South America, New Zealand & Australian bottles to choose from. It's not a news flash for me that most of the over processed, genetically altered, franken-food is going to kill me. At least I'll die with a full belly and a smile...

Chateau Malbec 2005 Bordeaux

It's been over 60 degrees (that's over 16 Celsius, my good international readers) all weekend so as I write this on Sunday night, I am exhausted. The wife is out with friends for dinner, I put the little one to bed, and cooked a 12oz. NY strip steak on the grill and had the last glass of this bottle with it. With all of the weekend activity, my back was killing me, so I took some fine "back medicine" which lead to putting on a 1974 Dead show. By the time the meat came off the barbie and enjoyed a sip, I was in Wonderland. The wine complemented my rare meat very well. In fact, we opened this bottle on Thursday and sipped it while watching some Wife Swap, but weren't big fans due to strong acidity and heavy tannins. Lesson learned, the 2005 Chateau Malbec Bordeaux needs a big steak, pharmaceuticals, and some Grateful Dead for optimal enjoyment.

Klinker Brick 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel

That's a might fine wine. Oak on the nose, oak lingering on the long finish, along with pepper/spice. This finish is worth waiting for with every sip...drink her slooooow. Cherry, plum and subtle strawberry help this full-bodied zin bring home a big mouthful of goodness. The spicy finish helps balance out that big fruit flavor at the start.

A great wine, but due to the high $17 price point at Sam's Wine, I'm giving it a strong 7. Remember, my goal is to find the best "cheap" wines, under $15. If it was $5 bucks less, you'd be drinking an 8.5. That said, fine work from Klinker Brick Winery in Lodi, CA.