Gourmets of Wine

Some slightly related from Technorati and Google.

[Winecast] Renwood, “Old Vine” Zinfandel 2002: Renwood, “Old Vine” Zinfandel 2002 ($20) - Dark ruby color, herb and blackberry aromas, boysenberry and plum flavors with a bit of oak and ripe tannins. Nice berry finish. Delicous. Score: 9/10

[Dharma Bums] Berry Flowers of the Northwest: We found the berry flowers blooming in abundance right now. We saw four different kinds of berries, three natives (salmonberry, thimbleberry, and pacific blackberry), and one extremely invasive species from Europe (himalayan blackberry). Here's a surprise-- all of these species are in the rose family (Rosaceae). Who knew?

[Carolyn Tillie's Ultimate California Wine Blog] Ridge - 64: 1998 Pagani Ranch, Northern Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County - 88% Zinfandel, 9% Alicante Bouschet, and 3% Petite Sirah. Hedonistic, showing up front fruit of blackberry, boysenberry, and dark raspberry. Some hints of brett. Amazingly deep and textured with a bright entry that darkens and expands, falling off a bit on the end.

[Carolyn Tillie's Ultimate California Wine Blog] Manresa and Pinot Noir: 1990 Gevrey Chambertin Premier Cru, Estournelles St. Jacques, Frederick Esmonin - Lester pulled this out near the end and I'm afraid it did it a disservice as we were ramping up the fruit and lessening the age of the offerings. After the opulent, jammy wines we had been tasting, I found this barnyard-stinky with reduced tar and concentrated gaminess.

[Atelierwinery.blogspot.com] Atelier Winery: Tasty. The 2002 Zinfandel, Contra Costa County, $18, has a big, rich nose of dark fruit with boysenberry, blackberry and caramel most prominent now. Flavors of pepper, cherry, cranberry, and raspberry are laced with bright acidity and a significant amount of somewhat rough tannin. The finish is medium-broad, medium-long, and nicely persistent with just a touch of alcohol at the end.

[Vinography.com] Vinography: a wine blog: My Conversation With Robert M. Parker, Jr.: At the end of the tasting I mentioned to him the remarkably different way he approached the wines in a setting like this -- the stories, the casual way of describing the wines. In addition to admitting perhaps a bit of this enthusiasm and informality might not come through in his writing, he said that while he tries to give some background on the wines that he reviews, that he simply can’t tell such stories about every wine, and that meant really that he couldn’t tell stories about any of them. I begrudgingly suppose this is true – the man is so serious about his job as impartial critic that perhaps these charming, informative, and enticing stories are perhaps too close to favoritism for him to abide. It’s a shame though, because as I am back to interacting with Parker through the stripped down, formal pages of his newsletter, I can’t help but remember that behind the sometimes frustratingly terse notes Parker and I speak exactly the same language.

[Vinography.com] Vinography: a wine blog: Perfect 10s Archives: At the end of the tasting I mentioned to him the remarkably different way he approached the wines in a setting like this -- the stories, the casual way of describing the wines. In addition to admitting perhaps a bit of this enthusiasm and informality might not come through in his writing, he said that while he tries to give some background on the wines that he reviews, that he simply can’t tell such stories about every wine, and that meant really that he couldn’t tell stories about any of them. I begrudgingly suppose this is true – the man is so serious about his job as impartial critic that perhaps these charming, informative, and enticing stories are perhaps too close to favoritism for him to abide. It’s a shame though, because as I am back to interacting with Parker through the stripped down, formal pages of his newsletter, I can’t help but remember that behind the sometimes frustratingly terse notes Parker and I speak exactly the same language.

[Carolyntillie_ultimate_california_wine_blog.typepad.com] Carolyn Tillie's Ultimate California Wine Blog: Sonoma - Alexander ...: 1998 Pagani Ranch, Northern Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County - 88% Zinfandel, 9% Alicante Bouschet, and 3% Petite Sirah. Hedonistic, showing up front fruit of blackberry, boysenberry, and dark raspberry. Some hints of brett. Amazingly deep and textured with a bright entry that darkens and expands, falling off a bit on the end.

[Carolyntillie_ultimate_california_wine_blog.typepad.com] Carolyn Tillie's Ultimate California Wine Blog: Santa Cruz ...: 2002 Santa Cruz Mountains - 50% Cabernet, 48% Merlot, and 2% Petite Verdot. Lovely, complex bouquet of cocoa, cherry, and spice. Same spicy entry that heightens with red fruit in the mid-palate and cedar on the back-palate.

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