Blah. That's not what I was looking for.

Vasco Sassetti 2010 Sangiovese ($11.99)


So the bald guy, who usually steers me in a new and interesting direction at Total Wine guided me to this when I asked for something to go with red sauce. This was the first and only bottle he grabbed. He seemed confident, he's been good to me before. Now, full disclosure, last week was a tough week and the "red sauce" was not Beth's sauce in fact it was Stouffer's lasagna. Shhh, I don't want to be kicked out of the family). So, would it have been any better had we paired it with a quality  sauce? Had my wife slaved in the kitchen for hours, would this have been lights out awesome? I'm going to go in the opposite direction and say it would have ruined a lot of hard work and destroyed the meal.

I'm not ready to give up on Sangiovese. I think I've had a few that I've enjoyed, but this was tart and dry. Not a good combo for my palate.


Grade: D-

Yes, all Spanish wines know each other

Tres Picos 2009 Garnacha ($13.99)
Wine Enthusiast rating: 92 points


While at ASU, I spent a lot of time and probably too much money at Four Peaks Brewery. Now that I've aged like a poor bottle of Chardonnay, I've discovered Tres Picos. Is there a 2 Peak Scotch out there for me when I hit 45?

I found Tres Picos in the Spain section of Hi Times right next to the remaining bottles of summer award winning Papa Luna. It was $3 less and rated 2 points higher. Possible steal? You bet. I know I shouldn't compare it to Papa Luna, which is a blend; I wouldn't compare a Napa wine to a Sonoma just because they're both from California, or assume all girls from New Jersey act like Snookie. But they're both from Spain! Same section of the store! Both delicious!

In my weak attempt to research the growing regions of Spain, I think I've come to realize that I like stuff from Rias Baizas, the northwest corner of the country, better than the more popular Rioja  region which produces a lot of Tempernillo. I think.

This bottle had a really nice, fruity pop. A lot going on, yet not out of control. The fruit to me was more berry, or jammy than the dark cherry flavors that I also love. At first I thought it finished a little dry. So I was thinking, ok, better flavor than Papa Luna, but drier finish. But once we had it with dinner (pollo asada) the dryness went away and it finished wonderfully. After dinner it turned into a sip, swallow, savor, tilt my head back and feel time stand still sort of wine. Really good stuff.


Grade: A-

Summer School Awards - 2011

As the sun sets on my summer vacation, I thought it necessary (ok, not at all necessary, but fun) to recognize the success of a few special 750ml glass bottles that I've had the pleasure to consume these past 2 months.

I realize a lot of things must happen for a cluster of grapes on a vine to make its way to my mouth, and though I'd like to think all winemakers have the best intentions and take pride in their end product, not all bottles are created equal. There were many bottles that made the Honor Roll, but only the best of the best get called to the stage for the photo op.

I should also note that without countless stops to the local butcher shop, 2 tanks of propane and invites & visits from the greatest friends in the world, none of this would be possible.

Boys and girls, The Summer School Awards of 2011!

This award, "The Little Engine That Could," goes to the summer's overachiever. A wine that delivered time and time again at a steal of a price that anybody on a wine budget like mine should be will appreciate.

And the winner is, at $5.99 a bottle:

The next award, "The Kermit":

I know "going green" isn't quite as cool as pumped up kicks these days, but it's still cool enough to be appreciated. This award, "The Kermit," would have Dr. King's head spinning as it's judged solely on skin color. If it were judged on it's inside, the "White" award or anything of the sort would not be cool or very PC. So, we'll give this greened skin award to my favorite white wine of the summer.

Every other white I tried this summer fell into two categories: really good, or really boring. This wine was deliciously refreshing, yet managed to be unique. It also helps to have Robert Parker in its corner saying, "All of the Crios wines are phenomenal values worth buying by the case."

The landslide winner is:

Next up, "The Donger":

This award goes to the bottle from a foreign land. It had super stiff competition from the Malbecs of Mendoza, Argentina, Sauvignon Blancs from Marlborough, New Zealand, and Spanish Riojas. But on multiple occasions, it yankied my wankie.

This summer's winner goes to the Spanish blend of Old Vine Granacha (75%), Shiraz (20%) and Montastrell (5%):

Up next, "The Seals":

This award goes to the wine that, like the Seals, doesn't quite add up, but then again, I guess it does. You take a look at Heidi Klum and see a supermodel. Then you see her husband, Seal, and see a guy that must be really sweet. She couldn't have married him for "Kiss From a Rose," could she? Yet, when you see this semi-superpower Hollywood couple, they seem to work. "The Seals"award goes to a tremendous wine that drinks like a supermodel, yet is head scratchingly priced like a guy that's really nice on the inside.

Coming in at $12.99, Peter Lehmann's Clancy's, a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

The final award of the summer, "The Billy Madison":

Not because it's not going to age well. Not that at all. Have you tried watching an Adam Sandler movie lately? Don't. I'm embarrassed to say I thought they were funny. Anyway, as you know, Billy was a little too large for his classroom competition. With all of the bottles sampled this summer, one bottle stood out like Billy playing dodgeball with 3rd graders. Not that all the other bottles were 3rd graders, but it was just that better than everything else on the playground.

The "Billy Madison" goes to:

Cheers! 

The Unbalanced Lineup

The Graber's came over tonight. We had an awesome time, great conversation, kids playing together, fabulous food, (we served our summertime staple of seared Ahi and crab stuffed mushrooms), and pretty fantastic wine. T.J. brought the DuMol Syrah, and I thought I'd revisit Balance since I thought it went so well with this meal 5 weeks ago.

DuMol 2006 Syrah ($59.99)
94 points: Wine Spectator, 93 points: Robert Parker


We opened this first and it blew the doors off the place from the get go. After the first sip I had a, "I wish I could drink wine like this everyday" feeling. This was a fantastic wine. It was earthy, smokey, peppery, yet silky smooth. Wow. Some good wines dissolve/disappear, some wines burn all the way down. This one seemed to hang around for a while letting us enjoy the experience even longer.


Grade: A

UFR: balance 2007 Red Field Blend ($17.99)


"It's not your fault."
Look at me. Listen to me..."It's not your fault."

Balance was the unfortunate wingman to the super model tonight. It's a really nice wine. Really nice. But tonight, DuMol was Giselle and Balance was the cute girl at The Blue Beet on a Thursday night. I still feel Balance is a nice buy, but UFR (upon further review), I can't give it the A- I gave it a few weeks ago.

UFR Grade: B

Mueller? Mueller!

Mueller 2007 Zinfandel - Old Vine ($23.99)
Wine Spectator: 92 Points, Wine & Spirits: 93 points


Iv'e been off the Zin kick for quite some time. I think the reason for my Zin hiatus is that I was, both literally and figuratively, getting burned by $8 bottles. For me, bad zin burns going down and overpowers the food I'd pair it with. I don't think it's a good value varietal. Like Pinot, you gotta spend a little to get the good stuff.

So, I dipped my toe in the water last week at Total Wine and picked up a bottle. I wasn't looking to dispute my theory; I wanted to get a good one. I saw this for $24 with high numbers, (my eyes are so drawn to rating tags it's disturbing) figured I had the $5 off coupon going for me, plus a strong recommendation from Tom who had put a bottle in his cart, so I went for it.

I'd like to thank winemaker, Robert Mueller for his unintentional compliment. On the back of the bottle he writes, "Over the years professional wine writers have described our wines as supple, polished, rich and complex." That's EXACTLY what I was gonna say! This was a nice wine.

We had it with chicken breasts stuffed with bread and herb from El Toro Meats. The food didn't really do the wine any favors. The boobs were just ok. So if you're keeping score of stuffed items from El Toro at home, that's 1 great (crab stuffed mushrooms) and 2 don't bothers (chicken breast, and twice baked potatoes). Back the the wine: It had a great earthy, smokey, tobaccoey, coffee nose. Super flavorful from the first sip, dark cherry, plum, maybe cinnamon?, then finished really smoothly. Damn, I really wish I had picked up steaks instead.

Grade: A-

UFR - Papa Luna

Papa Luna 2007 ($16.99)


So I went back to Hi Times last week, mainly to get another bottle of Papa Luna. I happened to pick up a few other bottles along the way, but I was curious to see if I still felt the same about this bottle as I did 6 weeks ago. So, UFR, upon further review, I maintain the notion that this is still an awesome bottle that I wish I had more of.

I initially gave this bottle an A, which was very generous. Ok, too generous. But this Spanish blend of Old Vine Granacha (75%), Shiraz (20%), and Montastrell (5%) was money. It was very cherry on the nose, but still picked up that earthiness that I'm guessing came from the Shiraz. The wine changed quite a bit through the meal (El Toro Carne Asada and grilled veggie salad, our summer staple). It was solid on its own, solid with the grilled veggies in the salad, then stepped it up after a piece of carne with a little heat, yet still smooth enough to not burn. This bottle really made the meal. Really nice cherry flavor, very smooth finish.

When I walked out of Hi Times there were only 10 bottles left. I wish I had bought more. It was that good.

Oh, forgot to mention, this had a 90 point rating from Wine Enthusiast. 

UFR Grade: A-

Solid Malbec, Great Price

Andeluna 2009 Malbec ($9.99) Mendoza, Argentina


Winemaker, Silvio Alberto writes on the back of the bottle to, "Please enjoy this wine with our best wishes." I can say confidently that we did. This was a great pick up, especially for the price, from Hi Times.

It was a bigger Malbec. It had a dark, inky color. It had a great nose, though I'm not sure I picked up the "black currant," "cassis" or "lavender." I did agree with the "lush flavors" noted on the back of the bottle. It had a lot going on, yet it was balanced. It had a bit of spice, which before dinner seemed "smokey" and after dinner seemed to have a bit of a burn. Nothing to worry about though. This was a really, really nice bottle for under $10.


Grade: B