Variety: Barbera
Appellation: Barbera d'Alba, Pajana Vinyard
Year: 2008
Price: $22
Producer: Kenzo Seghesio
Rating: 4.5
Notes:
This estate bottled wine was quite the find at Bar Ferdinand. E's comment was, "we haven't bought wine this good in a long time", and I have to agree. The flavors were well blended and left no icky aftertaste. Each glass was delicious. :) I think we'll buy a case, and that should say a lot.
After a lovely weekend in Prosser, WA with some of our dear friends, we ended up tasting too many wines for me to log individually in any kind of timely manner.
With that, I decided 2 things:
1) I will upload only pictures for this post of all those good wines and wines I've enjoyed since to catch up
2) I will only record wines worth buying from now until eternity
Enjoy!
Label: Five Star Cellars (http://www.fivestarcellars.com/index.html)
Appellation: Walla Walla Valley
Year: 2008
Price: unknown as we had this at a friend's house, but presumably ~$30 based on their other wines
Overall rating: 4 stars
Notes:
Last night we were lucky enough to have dinner made by one of our friends, a professional chef and lover of wine. And to top it off, he shared his lovely Five Star Cellars Sangiovese with us. The wine was delicious, really, and paired well with the Italian course we were eating. Even on its own, though, this wine is darn tasty with little aftertaste (this is impotant to me).
I have had so many good wines for <$20 and although it's hard to part with $30, the wine was very good and it's an easy choice if I see it again for sale.
Variety: Chardonnay
Appellation/Geography: California
Year: 2010
Price: ~$11
Overall rating: 4 stars
Notes:
To be honest, I'm not much of a white wine drinker. But I find that as I get older, white wines tend to be a little kinder on my body. Hence my newfound interest in white wines.
A good chardonnay is hard to find. I'm a longtime fan of Bonair, but with that particular brand unavailable, I fell hook, line, and sink for the interesting label of the Toasted Head Chardonnay and I wasn't disappointed. With small hints of butter, this wine hit the spot on the sunny day we enjoyed it on and I'm 80% sure I'd buy it again, despite the incredibly cheesy label.
Trail destination: Jolly Mountain Lookout
Roundtrip: ~7miles
Elevation gain: ~1600 feet
Trip time: ~4 hours, including a break at the top
Getting there
I90 to exit 80, through Rosyln, past the end of Cle Elum Lake (past Cle Elum River campground), turn right on forest road 4315. Park almost near the top when the road is gated.
Brief Trip Report
To be honest, taking forest road 4315 saved us a lot of elevation gain and time. And it was great. The trail is easy to keep and has stunning views, almost from the beginning of Rainier, and soon of all of the Cascades.
We hit this trail the morning after car camping at Cle Elum River campground with some friends when the sun was shining and temperatures were in teh high 70s - couldn't have asked for a better surprise hike.
The Good Stuff (Pictures)
Alamos
Variety: Malbec
Appellation/Geography: Argentina
Price: $10 or under
Overall rating: 4.5
Notes:
Great value for the great flavor. I tasted this wine after a long day's work (aren't all days of working long?) and immediately liked the flavor. Most of the time I'm not a malbec fan because I tend to find it too stinky, but this was a crowd pleaser. And when E told me it cost $9 or $10, well, I can't help but want to buy this again.
Based on this blog, you might think I rate wines high in general. But I tend to think I only bother rating the wines I like. That's what I think.
Raised by Wolves (Elevevage Wine Company)
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation/Geography: Columbia Valley, Washington
Price: $18
Overall rating: 4.5
Notes:
After babysitting for a friend, this was my reward - and what a reward! Although I'm usually turned off by animated and "catchy" labels, I'll make an exception for this wine. Strong undertones of a chocolatey oak dominated this wine, much less peppery than most cabernets that I taste. We opened this wine to celebrate our 13th anniversary and later went to dinner tasting wine that wasn't nearly as good. At $18 per bottle, I'd definitely buy this again.
Calina
Variety: 80% Carménère/12% Merlot/5% Syrah/3% Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation/Geography: Maule Valley (Chile)
Price: $24 in a restaurant, $10 online (http://www.calina.com/ingles/calina_cm.html)
Overall rating: 4.5
Notes:
This is a great value. A crowd pleaser, there aren't strong tannins and not a hint of sour flavor. One of the other things I liked most about this wine is the virtually non-existent aftertaste. We had this at Majorie with a variety of foods (rib eye, piquillo relleno, kale) and it paired well with everything. Definitely want to purchase again.
Gouguenheim
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation/Geography: Valle Escondido, Mendoza, Argentina
Price: unknown
Overall rating: 4.5
Notes:
This wine was just lovely. Velvety and chocolaty hints, works very well on its own or with coq au vin.
