Rating Vintages of Things

Let's all give a big round of applause to guest blogger, Mr. Thomas Jansen! Rock solid debut. Hopefully, a hint of what's to come.

And if you're an email subscriber, please click the link: http://purpletooth.blogspot.com. Thank you.


So, I've been busy thinking and drinking.

This ratings chart from the November Wine Spectator got me thinking about how other, non wine things, have stacked up over time. Let's take a look, shall we?

    
The Usual Suspects

1995           Original Rating: 92 Points

Kevin Spacey, Stephen Baldwin and Keyser Soze

I was so excited to revisit this  a while back. I kinda wish I'd just left it with it's hype from years past.

Grade: C     

I've concluded that perhaps my opinions of things from my college days have changed (for the better, keep reading).



Counting Crows

Yeeeaaaahhhhhh!

                                                        

1993ish      Original Rating: 93 Points

Good God. I recently flipped through the old CD album and saw August and Everything After. I was wondering why the Counting Crows never pop up on an iTunes playlist. That'd be because none of their songs have been imported to my library. Well, that had to change. I put in August and Everything After (then Recovering the Satellites) with high hopes. Max happened to be in the room and didn't take long to comment on the crappy noises coming out of the CD player. 

While it was nice to hear "Anna Begins" and go back in time to memories of Rocky Point via Aaron Detzer's Geo Metro. Convertible, Geo Metro. And, yes, that was the trip where I had to donate plasma to fund my travels. But the music didn't make it to my iTunes library. 

Grade: D


Huey Lewis and the News 

1980-85     Original Rating: 88 Points

"Power of Love," "If This Is It," "The Heart of Rock Roll," I could go on, but you should just listen to them again.

Like a fine Bordeaux, Huey (not sure he needs The News) has gotten better with age. Thank you Woody for pointing me to the Huey Lewis Pandora station. I'm a better man for it. 

Grade: B+

Sesame Street

Original Rating: 90 Points

It's been around since 1969, and I know Big Bird's been trending as of late, but IMHO, the show sucks. It's fascinating that Gordan hasn't aged in 30 years, but after 15 seconds of marveling at skin and 2 minutes of Elmo, it's about as useful to me as a VCR. Since Tom's making all things VHS obsolete in favor of DVD, I'm ready to part ways with the Sesame Street Gang. 

Grade: D

Legos 

Original Rating: 96 Points

Lego went plastic in 1947 and designed the interlocking brick in 1949. 63 years later, they've only gotten cooler. Kai's Blade Cycle (from Ninjago) that I put together Wednesday evening was awesome. I wish I was 6 again if only to be able to play with spiky hair Lego guys.

Grade: A+

Now on to things that won't get the chance to age because I drank them.

Last weekend we unintentionally did a Paso wine night with Sprout's Jalapeno Cheddar Burgers, which were ridiculously filling, ridiculously hot and ridiculously tasty:

Twisted Sister 2010 Zinfandel ($17.00)

This is from Calcarious winery but I found it at Total Wine. It's a cheaper, less phenomenal version of their Zin we've had a few times. It got the job done, and I'd buy it again, just not right away.

Grade: B-

We also cracked...

Bob Wine 2010 Cabernet ($13.00)

I know, worst name, worst label EVER!

We picked this up at Whale Bone Winery. It was one of those, "$10 tasting, tasting fee waived with purchase." So, I figured this bottle, not worth $23, would bring back a nice memory over a nice dinner for the nice price of $13. I got about what I paid for.

Grade: C

Molly Dooker "Two Left Feet" 2009 Syrah ($22.00)

Dooker's label, the antithesis of Whale Bone. Love their style. 

I prefer "The Boxer" to "Two Left Feet" but I really don't think you'd be disappointed with either. They also make an equally awesome labeled Syrah, Carnival of Love, but because it goes for $90, I think this'll be the extent of my Dooker exploration. 

Grade: B-

Callabriga Douro 2008 ($14.99)
Wine Spectator rating: 90 Points

For some odd reason, this bottle's been hanging around since early summer. I mean, I've been cellaring it, waiting for the perfect moment to open it. Well, tonight was that night.

I cracked it for the family to go along with a delicious Santa Maria tri-tip and butternut squash. Really good meal.

The wine was not like anything else I can recall having. It was a dark, almost coffee color, but didn't drink nearly as heavy as it looked. It had a very pleasant berry flavor with a solid finish. It went very well with the meal and it's always good to try something new.

Grade: B

Here's to aging like Legos! 

The Oregon Trail

Guest blog by Tom Jansen

Admittedly, I’m not sure why I agreed to guest blog for Mr. Purple Tooth himself.  His palate and prose are unmatched in my humble opinion and I think I speak for all of his loyal followers in saying that we appreciate his (and Ms. Purple Tooth herself of course) plain speak approach to something we all have in common.  As my former brother-in-law from Wisconsin once simply stated, “Meat is good.” I would say that we can all heartily agree that wine is in fact, good and one of life’s simple pleasures.  Judging from my monthly Total Wine bill, I would say that’s it’s not just good, wine has captured my passion and my wallet with no chance of letting up anytime soon.

I am an unabashed Pinot Noir fan, guilty as charged.  It’s well reputed that Pinot Noir is already one of the more expensive and finicky grapes to grow.  We’ve all seen the movie Sideways and know it takes a little deeper dive into the jean pockets to find a Pinot that delivers.  Many times in my quest for great Pinot, the landing spot is sometimes Oregon.  One of my great childhood memories was getting my allotted time in front of my Apple II (yes, Apple II) and exploring the world in the form of the Oregon Trail video game.  From what I can remember, it involved wagons, hunting, and death.  I felt like a sniper as I reigned down shotgun pellets to stop a slow moving bison allowing me and my party to have 100 lbs. of meat.  In retrospect, I’m not sure why they limited this sacrifice to 100 lbs. given the mass size of a bison, but maybe the genius of the game was making me feel bad for killing an animal and not taking all its food.   At any rate, regardless of food capacity I always seemed to lose a few members of my party to dysentery, which for some reason I remember to this day, but still have no idea how it causes death.  I created countless tombstones, a profound effect for a 7-10 year old boy.  Losing a member of your party was one thing, but I was particularly affected by the loss of one of my oxen.  Jesus, is this why I drink so much wine?  That’s not rhetorical question btw.  I digress, on to the wine…… 

We started the night with this Total Wine hyped offering.

Kudos Pinot Noir Zena Crown Vineyard Eola-Amity Hills, 2009

$24.99

91 points, Wine and Spirits Magazine

This wine was balanced and fruity, both very good things.  Megan commented on the its easy drinking nature and nice flavor, but noted it didn’t smell good.  I tend to agree, while I love Pinot Noirs, I hate when they smell like one.  Is that strange?  It was a good starter to the evening paired with cheese, hummus, and crackers. Wasn’t expecting this to punch me in the face and it was soft as a kiss.  It still tasted like Oregon Pinot though.  Wait, it is from Oregon, what am I complaining about?

Grade- B-

And on to the main course…..

Ken Wright Pinot Noir Savoya, 2010

$43.99

94 points, Wine Enthusiast

We paired out pasta dinner with a strikingly beautiful/uniquely labeled bottle from Ken Wright.  I have always noticed his wines in the store, but never was compelled to pick one up.  Since I was bucking my usual trend, I picked this wine up to see where I truly stand on the California vs. Oregon Pinot argument once and for all.  This wine was noticeably smooth and smelled delicious.  It was described as full bodied, but I felt otherwise.  Nothing to complain about here, the flavors rolled effortlessly and had a satisfying finish.  I could definitely tell a lot was going on in this wine, but it just didn’t for me, especially for the price. 

Grade- Solid B

As mentioned above, I love Pinot Noir.  I know for a fact that Oregon makes world class Pinot Noirs, no one can argue this.  But, for me, I simply can’t find one that matches the profile I find in some California Pinots.  Oregon pinots tend to express bright acidity and earthiness and always look, feel and tastelighter on their feet. California Pinot’s for are more fruit driven and generally bigger in style. Doesn’t mean one is better than the other, but my choice is easy.  Bottom line is forget about the buzz, terroir is for real.  To me, the key to finding good wines is to not force what’s “supposed” to be good, but listen to what your taste buds are telling you.  You might find yourself spending less and enjoying more. 

That’s it for me.  Keep up the great work J!