Archives for December, 2006
Paulinshof Riesling, 2004 (A+)
I used to say I’d try anything once. Then I said I’d try anything twice… it might be an acquired taste. With riesling, I’ve had to try multiple times but I finally hit paydirt. This is an amazingly lively and fresh wine with bracing acidity, luscious textures and a five minute finish — at least. It tastes like a spicy tart apple, pear and… quince, I think (it’s been a long time since I’ve had quince but I recall it tasting like a slightly sweet and earthy apple). It’s one of those wines that make me go, “wow!” It runs about $12-13.
WBW#29
I will make a concerted effort to participate in Wine Blogging Wednesday #29 the theme of which is Biodynamic Wine. I fell off the WBW train several months ago and look forward to jumping back on in January.
Two Decent Reds After a Tattoo
My preferred drink after getting tattooed is usually something brown but since I’m also usually ravenous I more often end up drinking wine. Tonight, on the way to the grocery store to get something for dinner, I stopped by Liberty Tattoo to say hi to my friend Keet (also see Keet). Turns out Keet had an hour or so to kill so we talked each other into a quick and spontaneous session wherein I got a skull tattooed on the inside of my left elbow (sorry, no photo). My last few tattoos with Keet were multi-session, multi-hour jobs after which I usually went home with a major adrenaline high but this one was a short and easy affair. Still, I was hungry (and thirsty) afterwards so I stopped at Whole Paycheck and got myself one of their deli-prepared meals to go: barbecued turkey meatloaf, rosemary roasted potatoes and collard greens. To wash it down I first chose a 2002 St. Francis “Red”, which is a perfectly acceptable Rhone blend with typically California fruitiness but also dark, full-bodied and spicy (merlot, zinfandel, grenache and sangiovese, I give it a B), but it totally lost all flavor against the sweet and heavy barbecue sauce. I ended up switching to a 2005 Borsao “Red” (75% garnacha, 25% tempranillo, also a B). The Borsao is a lighter wine but it worked a lot better with the meal. Barbecue, especially a heavy and thick red sweet one, supposedly needs a big spicy wine such as zinfandel or shiraz. Garnacha ( aka grenache) also generally works well with barbecue but I was really expecting the bolder St Francis to be a better match. Goes to show ya.
What a life - tattoos and wine! Am I blessed or what?
Carina Cellars Santa Barbara County Syrah, 2004 (B-)
There are only so many combinations of “blackberry, currant, black pepper, spice, oak and tar” one can describe before it all starts to sound the same. Tasting notes are largely a crock of shit. They can be fun to write and sometimes illuminating but in a very limited way. When I read tasting notes I look for words that describe flavors I like and I hope that the author’s tongue works somewhat like my own. This wine smells and tastes like syrah but also zinfandel. A lot of the words that describe syrah are also used to describe zinfandel: blackberry, licorice, tannic, jammy, tart, sweet, tobacco, tar, earth, spice. To attempt to describe subtle degrees of difference can be a crude and misleading exercise. Experts will tell you otherwise and I’m too tired to pretend I know what I’m talking about tonight. I don’t know how I ended up with a 2004 when the Carina Cellars web site only shows a 2003 vintage available ($22). I like it but it’s too fruit-bomby so I add the minus.