The Century Club

As always, if you get this as an email, please visit http://purpletooth.blogspot.com/

Hey, happy 100th blog entry!

It just so happened that I had a fantastic weekend of friends and wine for the occasion.

Last night, we ventured south on the 15 (twice actually, if you count Beth driving home and not knowing that we live closer to Riverside than San Diego. Thankfully, I directed her off at the first exit and we didn't take the kids on their first ever Mexico trip/impromptu Tijuana run). As always, it was a great trip to see the Jansens, bonus points for getting to see the Vettraino's (including new baby Zoe), and double bonus points for tremendously big Pinots. Good stuff.

balance 2009 Red Field Blend ($17.99)

I wrote about balance nearly 14 months ago, after an evening with the Grabers. I wasn't crazy about it then, and I liked the 09 even less. We had some 7 year Bass Lake Cheddar out, among other things, and balance just couldn't rise to the occasion. It started out ok, pretty good nose, very floral tasting, I was thinking "B/B-." But it was downhill from there. It got more tart and didn't finish all that well. We came to a consensus grade.

Grade: C+

Then it was showtime. Cue the Johnny Gill, "My, My, My":

Tom had some gourmet burgers and sausages to accompany these two bad boys.

Belle Glos Clark & Telephone Vineyard 2010 Pinot Noir ($44)
Wine Spectator score: 93 Points

Sojourn Gap's Crown Vineyard 2009 Pinot Noir ($48)
Wine Spectator score: 92 Points


Nothing disappointed.

In the side-by-side showdown, Belle Glos was the unanimous winner. On any other night, Sojourn would have shined. That's how yummy things were last night. Both wines were great, no, outstanding.

The Belle Glos is in the conversation for best Pinot I've had. Ever. Really big, zippy, delicious berry flavor with a long finish. Wow. Worth the rating, and worth the money.

The Sojourn just lacked a few adjectives in comparison. As I said, an outstanding wine that got better over time.

Belle Glos Grade: A
Sojourn Grade: B+

I'm a big fan of the 2010 Pinots. I'm a bigger fan of Saturdays at the Jansens.

Boy's Night In

As the ladies celebrated a much deserved weekend away in Palm Springs, I took my talents to Carlsbad with Max and Keira occupying the back seat. Tom and I figured if we were going to have our hands full, we'd might as well enjoy each other's company (and indulge in some fine vino).

The combination of making sure the girls didn't have too much more fun than us, we didn't have a skunker wine night like our last trip to C-Bad and we didn't have to share bottles with Beth and Meg, (what? I'm just being honest), had us pulling out some big guns.

First, I finally got around to introducing this to Tom:

Monchhof 2010 Riesling ($14.99)


I firmly believe that if you don't like this wine, you don't like Riesling. It's just sweet enough and super smooth. I might start calling this "Grandpa's Wine." My dad doesn't often drink wine, but when he does, you can bet that it'll be Monchhof Riesling. I just made a special trip to Hi Times for 6 more bottles for him. Of course, I had to get a few more for myself.

Grade: A

What's next:

Loring Wine Company (LWC) 2009 Gary's Vineyard, Pinot Noir ($38.00)
Wine Spectator 93 Points


Tom cracked this bad boy with apps of fine 15 year aged cheddar and shrimp cocktail.  We went Pinot before the main course, thinking the Granache would be bigger and hold up better with our beef. This might have been the first of 4 mistakes I made on the night. As I finished my last few sips with dinner, I realized those were the best sips of the bottle I'd had. It would have paired wonderfully with steaks. Pinot with steaks? Hell yeah.

It was very nice with the apps, not as powerful as the 2009 Belle Glos, and had a little, very slight burn on the way down. But I'm going to base my rating on the end of the bottle and conclude it's a really awesome bottle from some fantastic wine makers.

But I still think their purple spray paint label thing is stupid.

Grade: B+
Tom's Grade: "Solid B"


Man's dinner. Yes, the 3rd steak was for Max and James, which they devoured.

Next:

Villa Creek 2010 Granacha ($50.00)


Now Beth, before you go thinking we're not going to be on speaking terms for a week for drinking this bottle, understand that I made sure Aimee could replace it when she heads up to Paso next weekend. So really, think of it as a taste test, you know, to make sure you'd like it. You will, and you're welcome.

As I said, I think this should have been opened with apps, but here's where I (we) made mistake #2 on the night. We should've decanted it. Oops. The first sips of this felt like I had strawberry Pop Rocks in my mouth. Unbelievably smooth strawberry Pop Rocks, but wow, what an incredibly lively wine.

It absolutely settled down and turned into a fantastic bottle. I enjoyed it most after dinner, on it's own. As I said, lots of strawberries, a little spice, and a long, super smooth finish. Then I made mistake #3.

Tom didn't make the mistake of making s'mores for the boys. They cleaned their plate, they earned it, the timing was right. What I did was take a big bite of Max's s'more. It was heavenly. Not sure if it was the perfectly toasted marshmallow or the chocolate, but I lost that loving feeling from my Granacha. My wine was never the same. Shucks.

Grade: A

This should have concluded the evening's events. But it didn't.

We got the boys to bed with no problems then I made mistake #4. I really should have stopped while I was ahead. The two of us were already 3 bottles into the evening.  But, it was only 9ish, the tunes were solid, why not crack another bottle? And so we did. And we finished it.

It was as great as it was the last time I had it. It didn't taste so good on my morning breath though. I didn't feel so well Sunday morning. Or Sunday afternoon. I didn't even have a glass on Monday. But Saturday night was awesome.

Hello Luli

Luli Pinot Noir ($16.99) 

Crazy week. We've moved. We were all sick. Finally tonight, with the fam on the mend, a new grill and most of the important things located (camera cord to upload pics would be nice), I finally got around to cracking this Pinot from Hi Times. Quite some time ago I asked a guy working there for a recommendation for a bigger Pinot (I pointed to the bottle of LWC) at a smaller price and this ended up in my basket. Props to that guy for knowing his Pinots. Exactly what I had hoped to find, but didn't know existed. 

It had the characteristics of Pinots I love like without the certain something taste that I don't. With this, I got a lot of strawberry, raspberry, and, wait for it....cola. I swear this isn't me trying to sound fancy pants. Pinky-swear. Lot's of cola flavor, but in a really good way. 

This was by far the best Pinot I've had under $20. I'll definitely grab this again.

Grade: B+

Beth's Grade: B+

Good Times, Great Oldies

We had a sitter come over to watch the kids and Beth and I took to the town to meet up with a few of my buddies from the days of Tucson. Woo Hoo! 

Woody and his girlfriend Katie spent the week in Anaheim working the NAMM (North American Music Merchants) show for Yamaha, and Jason Jones tagged along to be a fan of rock n' roll and check out the music scene. The three of them, plus one of Woody's co-workers met us at Bandera in Corona del Mar for dinner. It was the perfect place for a group of productioned-out travelers. 

Bandera's ambiance is awesome; perfect lighting, just loud enough music. It really allows for guests to focus on their own conversations without being distracted by anyone else in the packed restaurant. Or maybe our company was just that awesome and I had no reason to be distracted? Maybe a bit of both, but once Jason got to telling classic stories like working with me and Dustin as busboys at Tucson National and Dustin dropping the steak knife off his tray and onto/into the bald head of one of the diners, complete with the sound effects and visuals of blood squirting out of his head while Dustin says, "oh, let me get you a napkin," who cared about anyone else in the place? 

Oh, and Bandera doesn't charge a corkage fee. Unheard of, especially in a town like CdM. 

I put myself in charge of the vino for the table which called for me to make a visit to a wine store. This time I opted for The Wine Exchange in Orange, where the 55 and 91 freeways meet. Cool place that probably deserves its own write-up some other time. 

Anyway, I walked out of Wine Ex and into Bandera with a Trader Joe's bag full of this:

First, we cracked the Pinot.

Bella Glos 2009 Pinot Noir (on sale for $28.99)

This is becoming my favorite Pinot. It was better last night because the waiter had to battle the waxy top. Full bodied deliciousness.  

Grade: Still an A

Next up:

Punch 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ($27.99)

I think the story of this wine sold me. High-end winemakers got together to make a wine that they could afford. They outsource their grapes from different places every year, which is why the bottle simply says, "California." 

Punch was a fitting name. It packed one. A big blast of fruit up front with a nice long chewy finish. 

Grade: B

Batting third:

La Storia 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon ($16.99)

I wasn't sure we would need a third bottle, but I brought one just in case. Yeah, mid dinner we tore into the La Storia. Hey-oh! This was really good. Super smooth, just the way I like my Cabs. I definitely need to revisit this because I'd had a few glasses by this point.

Grade: A (I think)

Great evening with great friends. 

Happy New Year!

What a tremendous evening of the finest meats, cheeses, and wine in all the land. Yesterday, the Jansen's came up our way to say adios to 2011. This evening had been on the books for months, so expectations were a mile high.  I'd say confidently that it did not disappoint, well, Tom may be a little disappointed that I spilled his glass of wine on him near the end of dinner. My bad.

If it weren't for the baby formula on the counter and baby bottles on the drying rack, you'd might have confused our pad for Mastro's.

We kicked off the evening, err, afternoon with some bubbly.

Yes, we were outside enjoying the 75ish degree weather.

I spontaneously picked up some sparkling stuff for the boys. They didn't like it. Tom did his usual Wine Spectator research on a tasty bottle of Champagne. We loved it.  It impressed with the cheese Beth and I brought back from New Jersey and Tom and Meg brought back from Wisconsin. I guess you can't get cheese in California? Tom also made some oyster shooters. Good stuff.

Then it was on to the Pinots.

Morey-Saint-Denis 1st Cru 2005 Pinot Noir ($59.99) &
Belle Glos 2009 Pinot Noir Los Altures ($34.99)


The bottle on the left was a highly anticipated WTSO purchase from September. It was 70% off of its original price of $200. I was wine tasting at the time and it seemed like a good idea. Eh, not so much. It was ok, I guess. Nothing super special about it. It smelled like Pinot, was very jammy out of the gate, then didn't deliver. 92 points my arse!

Grade: C+
Beth's Grade: C


The bottle on the right I wrote about a few weeks ago with the pain in the ass waxy top. It's the best Pinot I've had not bottled by William's Selyem. It is such a big, bold, beautiful wine, yet perfectly balanced with a super smooth finish. De-lish.

Grade: A
Beth's Grade: A-


We wrapped up appetizers and Pinots about an hour and a half before dinner, so I opened a bottle to pass the time, not yet wanting to tap into the big guns.

Columbia Crest 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon H3 ($9.98)


Hey, a nice little find from Hi-Times! Turns out, this scored 90 Points from Wine Spectator and just made their "100 Outstanding Values" list. It's also Hi-Times Wine of the Month. I put it in a really tough spot following up the Belle Glos, but the H3 held its own. For $10, its a great Cab that I'll definitely get again.

Grade: B


For the main course we put together a solid spread and busted out the wedding gift China.

Filets, lobster tails, roasted butternut squash & red potatoes, and a nice salad.

Hall 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ($42.00)
Anderson's Conn Valley Eloge 2008 ($99.99)


I picked up the Hall from Hi-Times. It had a 95 point rating from Robert Parker and a scored a 91 from Wine Spectator. It was a big, chewy, full bodied, super smooth Napa Cab. It easily lived up to its high marks.

The Eloge is a blend of 55% Cab Sauvignon, 25% Cab Franc, Petite Verdot, and Merlot. Robert Parker gave it 96-98 (?) points. This was a powerful, fruit blasting, yet controlled wine. There were so many things going on and all of them good.

They're two different varietals, they should be different. It probably wasn't fair to have these side by side, but we did. And since we did, it's only natural that we picked favorites. Beth, Meg, and I preferred the smoothness of the Cab and Tom crowned the complexity of the Eloge, champ.

Hall Grade: A                   Eloge Grade: A-
Beth's Hall Grade: A       Beth's Eloge Grade: A-


Overall, it was awesome, baby!

Happy New Year! 

Cheers!

Turkey Day Wine List

Since thousands have asked about which wines will be on the table to accompany the Eldridge/Smith Family bird, here goes...

In the white department we've got a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc favorite from Hi-Times. I think Aimee will dig it, plus it should make a nice pregame beverage:

Also in the white department, two of my favorite German Rieslings:

The Dr. Heidemanns-Bergweiller goes for 8-10 bucks. I've picked it up at the Tustin Total Wine and I was able to direct my dad to it at the Tucson location. If I recall correctly, it scored a 92 points from Spectator. A very nice, green appley Riesling, again, if I recall correctly.

The Monchhof is a 2010 Turkey Day find from Hi-Times. I've had it a few times since and loved it every time. A very smooth bottle.

As for the reds, we're going with:

The Beaujolais-Villages is the Hi-Times November Wine of the Month. It goes for $8.99 (I think) and I also saw it yesterday at the grocery store here in Arizona.

The Inman Family 2007 Pinot was a WTSO purchase that Tom thinks I won't enjoy. We shall see.

I've never really found a wine to go with the Thanksgiving Day meal. Perhaps, Matt Money Smith of the "Petros and Money Show" is right when he said there's too many flavors on a traditional Thanksgiving Day plate that if you think about it, don't really go together, so it makes pairing wine nearly impossible. He suggests a nice, rich Brown Ale.

I'd love to hear what you're cracking Thursday. I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

Cheers!

A Peaceful Easy Feeling

What an enjoyable Saturday. Granted, it took rain, 2 semi-sick kids, good football games and wine to enjoy it, but I (we) enjoyed it none the less. There's a chance you know that I've been wanting to try the Pinot Noir that the Jansen's gave us as a token of appreciation for watching James. I guess I was waiting for a good food pairing? Maybe I was holding out for the right non-week day opportunity? Either way, I decided to make salmon for dinner (I decided to tell my wife to make salmon for dinner), therefor tonight was the night for Pinot.

Belle Glos 2009 Pinot Noir

If you did any fact checking on my Riesling post below (scroll down till you see two adorable boys in Michigan jerseys), you know why I dropped out of the school of journalism. I said that the Wellesley Wine Press wrote about the Riesling, when they didn't. That was someone else. But they did rave about this bottle of Pinot, and I can clearly see why. 

As I said, we opted for salmon for dinner. The problem (problem?) was that around 2:30, watching the Michigan game, beer just wasn't cutting it for me and with the cloud coverage and the time change, it looked late enough to start drinking wine. So I did. 

Opening the bottle was/is my biggest complaint. It had a candle waxy thing going on instead of the usual foil coverage. I shouldn't have to know my way around The Home Depot to open a bottle of wine, should I?

Anyway, this wine was a success on its own, with our appetizer of Cheddar Chex Mix, with our fabulous main course, and even out of my nose. See, mid-meal, Max, who's been really into planets this week asked somewhat out of the blue and mid-sip, "Dad, what if I call Uranus, Uranus-anus?" Hence, me giggling like a 7th grader, and nearly choking on my wine. It was still good, barely burning my nostrils. 

It's hard for me to use adjectives for Pinot. It's either enjoyable or it's not, and this one was awesome. It was bigger and chewier than most I've had lately (or ever). Smoother too. Very, very enjoyable wine. I agree with Tom's assessment that this was better than the LWC from a few months back. It was that good. 

Tom, we will work for wine anytime. Thanks again. 

Grade: A / 4 (I stole some sips from Beth)

Beth's Grade: A-

Pinots and Pumpkins

The Jansen's came by, and while the they were doing this:

Tom and I got into this:

On the left, Bedrock 2009 Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley) $39.99

And on the right, Nicolas Potel Maison Roche De Bellene Volnay Taille Pieds Premier Cru 2009 Pinot Noir $39.00



"I don't always drink California Pinots. But when I do, I've noticed a lot of them taste like Bedrock."

Ironically, we saw that commercial while carving pumpkins. 

Bedrock was a little light in color, and had a good solid nose. There was a lot of strawberry jamminess going on. Beth, Tom and I thought it was good not great. Meg thought she answered wrong by liking it a lot. 

This wine is a great reminder of why I ventured away from Pinot for a while. When I wasn't enjoying "the good ones" at $25-$40, I figured the grape just wasn't for me. Then Johnny dropped the Williams Selyem bomb on us, Jared threw LWC my way, Wine Spectator said the 2009 California Pinot vintage was the best thing invented since the Rubix Cube, and I'm back on the Hot Tamale Pinot Train.

Perhaps I need a bigger bodied Pinot? Maybe my palate's screwed up? Either way, I was left feeling like I don't get it and Pinot is the worst valued varietal on the market. I'm not trying to pile on Bedrock. "It's not your fault." But I'm close to putting Pinot with Tri-Tip as things other people like and I never need to order (I go pulled pork EVERY time). 

Bedrock Grade: C

Beth's Grade: C-

The French wine was sort of Johnny's doing. About 6 weeks ago on a Friday night, right before kick-off of CDM's first game, I got a WTSO email for a $113 Pinot being sold for $39.99. I forwarded it to John, who I'm sure had already received the email, with a message of "Wtf?"Around halftime John replied, saying he'd "already made an executive decision and bought (me) a bottle." That's a good friend.

As for the wine, what a difference 6,000 miles makes. The WTSO write up says, "Layers upon layers of complex flavors." I was going to describe it as "different," but I'll go with what they said. The finish was  the most interesting thing to me. There was almost no finish, super smooth. I'm not sure if that's really awesome and that's what I paid for or if it was overpriced and for $40 I should have had a more flavorful, longer finish. Either way, I liked it, but didn't love it. 

Grade: B-
Beth's Grade: "Probably the same."

The winner of the evening? Pure pumpkin carving awesomeness. 

Red Carpeting the Hood

LWC (Clos Pepe Vineyard) 2009 Pinot Noir ($36.99)
Wine Spectator rating: 93 Points


My dad, sister and brother-in-law got out of  the Arizona heat this holiday weekend to spend some time with us. They got the 2011 Royal Eldridge treatment. Pulled pork for lunch, with beer by the way, football was on. For dinner we seared some Ahi steaks with crab stuffed mushrooms. Maybe it's a good thing they're leaving today; we have no more tricks up our sleeve.

The Pinot we cracked for dinner has an interesting story. About a month ago, Jared sent a text about a "phenomenal" Pinot he had the night before. I asked for a pic because, shocker, I had plans to go to Total Wine with Tom later that day. I got the pic and wasn't impressed by the spray paint stencil look, but decided if Total Wine carries it, I'd get a bottle. Must satisfy my reader, right?

On the Pinot aisle, I pulled the pic up on my phone and searched for LWC (Loring Wine Company). I instinctively grabbed my pants to protect my money and looked side to side expecting to get mugged. There on in the middle of the aisle were 7 or so different LWC Pinots. So much purple spray paint, for a split second, I thought I was in Compton. My mind was quickly put to ease, however, as I noticed most had Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast tags dangling below the bottles. Whew! Then I noticed the prices. Who does Jared think he is cracking $30 bottles of Pinot on Sunday nights? I shot him a text telling him I found LWC, but they were pricey. He got back to me saying "That makes sense. My wealthy friend brought it over last night." Classic. I decided I wanted to see what the wealthy people were drinking and got the highest rated one: a 93 pointer.

Don't let the label fool ya. This was a very nice bottle of wine. Strong earthy / cherry nose. Loads of flavor, yet still soft. Very well balanced. Tom picked up a bottle as well and described it as "lush, earthy,  and elegant." I couldn't agree more. Excellent pickup.

Grade: A- 
Beth's Grade: B+ 
Aimee's Grade: A
Tom's Grade: A-

Wut U Had

Thanks for the audience participation last night. America has voted:

Jared's Pick: Sequana 2008 Pinot Noir ($36, on sale for $16.99)


Grade: A

Tom's Pick: Frog's Leap 2008 Zinfandel ($17.99)
Wine Enthusiast Rating: 91 Points


"The Carlsbad Jansens paired their gourmet Dominoes 2 mediums for $5.55 feast with a 2008 Frog's Leap Zin from Napa Valley $19.99, 91 pts WE). This wine impressed from the start and we were glad we made the "leap." It was everything a zin should be, a nice fruit forward approach with a spicy finish. This wine had a decent amount of petite syrah in it which gave it some nice tannins and a bit of a drier finish. Very robust though, I'm convinced this wine could have held its own with any meal (steak, pizza, bbq). I really am back on the zin train, for a variety of reasons. One Zin might be medium-bodied and very fruity, some are rich and full-bodied, others are a bit sweet (my least favorite), and some are even rustic and tannic. You are 

almost always assured of a wine that will be full of zesty spices, like pepper, cedar, bold red fruits. Ok, I'll get off my soapbox and let the professional do the bloggin:)


I have to commend Mr. Purpletooth himself on a great site. In a world gone mad, it's nice to see good people talking about good wine, especially with the prose and palate of one Jason Eldridge. Keep up the good work J, you're the next Robert Parker!"

Gracias!

Grade: Not Given

Beth's Pick: Mallee Point 2009 Shiraz ($4.99)


"Surprisingly de-lish! Smooth, kind of fruity and just GOOD."

I actually got paid to get this bottle. I had Total Wine's usual, get $5 off every $50 coupon. My bill on one trip was $48 at check out. So, they have these bottles at the check stand, like gum at a grocery store, and by spending $2, they took $3 off my bill. The checker said it is his favorite wine under $5 in the store.

I had a glass at midnight to celebrate a Sea King victory. Nice flavor. A tad dry, but I didn't have it with food. A bag of sunflower seeds probably didn't do my palate any favors, though.


Beth's Grade: B+ / My Grade: B-

Porta Reserva 2009 Pinot Noir ($ no clue)


Damn the fat Pinot bottle that doesn't fit in the wine fridge.

Damn drinking William's Selyem Pinot the last time we did seared Ahi and crab-stuffed mushrooms. My wine pales, nah, it sucks in comparison. Side note, if you visit for dinner in the near future, you're probably getting seared Ahi for dinner and if you don't like fish, swing by Carl's Jr. drive thru before you come. It's so damn good and the only way it doesn't turn out well is if I drink too much good wine and leave the fish on the grill too long. Hopefully for you, Johnny will join us and bring another A+ bottle so you're not disappointed with my vino.

Again, this bottle somehow found its fat self in the wine fridge. No proof of purchase, no on-line pricing info. Just magically appeared. I swear I'm not stealing wine.

Anyway, don't worry too much about where it came from or what it cost because you shouldn't be buying or stealing it. It's not that good. Flat, boring, and a little burn on the way down. We didn't dump it, and it did get a little better with food, but still, pass.

Grade: D

Italian Pinot. Who knew?

Conte Priola Pinot Noir ($6.99)


The bald guy at Total Wine knows his stuff. This isn't the first time he's suggested a cheaper European bottle that I never would have picked up on my own.

This was really really good. And for under $7? Fugitaboutit! Very flavorful, but smooth. It went well on its own before dinner and paired well with grilled salmon.

Note to self: Run back to Total Wine and stock up.

Grade: B (For the price, B+)

Mystery Pinot

Chalten Reserva 2008 Pinot Noir $10ish?


I really have no recollection of buying this bottle, it's not on any of the receipts I've saved since starting this space. Maybe someone left it here? Strange. Since it was here, and didn't seem to be tampered with, I put my family at risk, took one for the blog, opened it and drank it down.

This was really tasty. It seemed like La Crema to me. Soft and smooth. Not a ton of flavor, but something easy to drink to wind down the night. Now I just wonder where it came from.

Grade: B-