2001 Witch Creek Le Mirage

Let this one sit open a bit. It will open nicely.

1998 Chateau Le Calilio Pomerol

Very nice, very smokey.

If you let it open up for a while, you will be rewarded with an elegant, beautiful wine.

2002 Ross Estate Barossa Valley Reserve Shiraz

This one is not quite ready to drink yet. If you open it now, you will find it is a little harsh on the finish, but I think in a couple of years, this will be awesome!

2000 Per Sempre Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Nice, but nothing to write home about.

This is currently running at about $15 and at that price it is a steal. Get it fast, as I think the brand is about to disappear.

2003 Rosenblum Rockpile Road Vineyard Zinfandel

What can I say that the big-time wine magazine has not?

If you have this one in your cellar, consider yourself lucky, if not, too bad – you’ll probably never see it again on the shelf.

A&D’s mystery wine

Yeah, not quite a 100% Zinfandel says me!

Right, it has a little Petite Syrah to tame that high alcohol!

The majority agree that this is nothing less than a future Gold medal winner.

What can I say, for $240 it ought to taste great, right?

It did!

I started by decanting it, with the candle showing the way of course, an hour or so before consumption.

At the first sip, someone said that it seemed like it took the enamel off of their teeth.

My feelings exactly – this is truly a HUGE wine!

But it is also a sipping wine, to be savored over time with good friends, and good conversation.

As it opened up it smoothed out – a lot!

Andrea Immer says that this is a once in a lifetime wine. It would be a shame to limit it thusly.

I say get some friends together and share the cost. And even though it should sit another five to twenty-five years, I say drink it now. You might die tomorrow!

The host asked what we thought we were drinking.

The first guess was that it was a Merlot.

Not in my mouth it wasn’t, as this was an amazing wine, and definitely not a typical Merlot.

So I dissented, and was asked for my thoughts.

I said, I think this is a classic Rhone varietal blend (of the American style of course), I said that it was probably a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre.

Nailed it – of course!

But I have to admit that I was a bit wrong because there is more Syrah than Grenache. But it is very spicy, with tons of dark fruit. Very smooth, very elegant. Got to get me some more.

If I was stuck on a desert island and only could choose one wine to take with me, this might be the one, as I don’t think that I would ever tire of it.

Where the heck did this come from?

I was looking for something to finish my pizza with and this was on the middle shelf, right under the white wines.

In my system that means that I didn’t pay much for it, and I don’t expect much out of it. In other words, a good pizza wine.

But HOLY COW! It is very much ready to drink right now!

If you like your Zinfandels on the hot side, then this Meritage is for you. It says 13.5% on the bottle, but they lied. It has to be pushing 15%. It is a very nice dark purple with nice vicious legs. (Thus my thinking that it is higher than published on the alcohol!)

I say it is ready to drink now, because in another few months, the dark cherry will turn to raisins.

This one is velvety-smooth and elegant.

The label lists the blend as 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and 27% Merlot. From the Alexander Valley. There is just a touch of the Alexander Valley flavor there still, but catch it fast, as it is going to fade on you.

Drink it now with your favorite home-made pizza!

A good pizza wine, but nothing special.

This is a nice $20 (plus or minus) Cabernet Sauvignon. I would buy it again, but I probably like the Stonestreet Cabernet just a little better.

If you are looking for a nice wine to accompany spaghetti or pizza, you could do a lot worse than this one!