Recent Posts

2008 Catena Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2008 Catena Cabernet Sauvignon (Bodega Zapata) is made from grapes grown at high altitudes (3700 to 5000 feet) and has a medium garnet color. The nose is light with dark spicy fruit and cedar. The tannins are well integrated with nice acid and there are leather, tobacco, dark fruit flavors with a little vanilla. A beautiful complex wine with […]

2006 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir “La Bauge Au-dessus”

This Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir from the Santa Maria Valley has a light ruby, semi transparent color and a smokey, earthy nose. It has flavors to match the nose, earthy and smokey with tart fruit. There are moderate tannins and good acidity. The body is light with a moderately long finish of both flavor and tannins (alc 13.5%) The […]

Domestic Merlot With a Twist

This Thursday the wines for tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton was advertised as domestic Merlot. However, George was up to his old tricks and slipped a Pomerol and a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend into the mix. We had a pretty small group this week which made for an informal atmosphere and a great exchange of opinion.

2007 Bodega Norton Barrel Select Malbec

The 2007 Bodega Norton Barrel Select Malbec from Mendoza is a dark ruby color with dark smokey fruit and a hint of tar on the nose. There are medium tannins and plenty of acid to accompany the flavors of dark fruit, tar, leather and smoke. The body is light and the finish is medium to long.

GSM Wines From Around the World

GSM wines were the subject of our Thursday night tasting this week. GSM stands for Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, the blend used in many southern Rhone wines. Our tasks for the evening were to choose our favorite wine and see if we could pick-out the predominant grape (G,S or M) in each wine. Alan presented the tasting and gave us […]

2004 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Jerusalem Hill Vineyard

This wine from Oregon’s Domaine Serene’s Jerusalem Hill Vineyard was a light ruby color. There was a minimal nose of blackberries and smoke, decanting would probably bring out the nose more. There was a lot of fruit, fairly big wine with some smokiness, very flavorful. The tannins were smooth with good acid and a medium length finish.

2007 L’Ecolle No. 41 Columbia Valley Merlot

The 2007 L’Ecolle No. 41 Merlot from Walla Walla in eastern Washington has a dark ruby color has aromas of dark fruit and tobacco. The flavors are dark fruit, light vanilla and some spiciness, maybe black pepper. The tannins are light and well integrated with good acid. It has a medium length finish. While the wine was nice drinking on […]

Food and Wine on Thursday Night

Our Thursday night wine tasting was a food and wine pairing. Gail invited Marianne McCarroll of Marianne’s Pantry to make three dishes to compare with the wines. We tasted two different wines with each of the three appetizers Marianne prepared. Our mission for the evening was to decide which wine paired better with each appetizer. Each wine was tasted blind, […]

Monday Sangiovese and Stroganoff

This Monday night Nancy made a great Beef Stroganoff from her own recipe to go with our wine of the evening. She used a chuck roast (grass fed) that was finely diced with a small amount of Italian sausage. She used crème fraiche instead of sour cream. Nancy served it with rice and peas mixed with sauteed mushrooms and shallots. […]

Back In The Saddle Again!

Well, we are back to the Thursday night wine tastings at Fine Wines of Stockton. George and Gail have started us out with a complicated topic. This week the tasting was titled Italian Super Tuscan wines…what the heck?