Bottle Variations

Drank like a baby! Jesus, amazing. Bright red fruits, incense, oak spice. Beautiful dusty tannins, and glorious length. Could do with another five years in the bottle. 96 points. Best wine I've had in a while.

Pardon the miserable photo, but I'm out on my patio on this fine late-summer evening enjoying this positively wonderful Albarino from Rias Baixas. Great mouth weight, minerals, nectarine, and a delightful hint of mustard greens, just to keep things interesting. Lovely stuff! 92 points.

Hidden in the background: Maybach Materium. Cali Cab: The redheaded stepchild at a Chablis-off. The 02 Dauvissat Les Clos was by far the best. Weighty, open, and delicious.

Tuscany? No! Capitol Hill! I took this on my iPhone (what now!) at Howell and Boylston-ish. Love it!

Ordered a Chimay Tripel, got it in a keg cup. Oh well; at least it's in a 14 oz keg cup!

Oddfellows cucumber-avocado gazpacho. I have found perfection in simplicity.

Again, I really wanted to like this book. I've heard that Cherie Priest is a good author, and I'm going to give at least one more of her books a shot. This one didn't do it for me. 82 points.

Current vintage. Infanticide, I know, but it shows great potential. 96 points.

This book is very fun to read; Gaiman's voice is personable, and the characters are engaging. However, there are some pacing issues, and the book seems to lack identity; it's not sure what kind of a book it is. Still, good read though. 89 points.

Has anyone heard of this? A supposedly culty Sonoma Pinot. It was pretty good! Big, but not to the point of being a blueberry pie.

These were from later on the evening of the Chard-off. Things get a bit hazy, but the Crozes was disappointing, and I'm told I liked the Dujac very much!

At the top of Seven Hills Vineyard. Beautiful view, even if I did bring the rain with me from Seattle.

Chard-off last night. Very different wines- the Arnot-Roberts (left) was mineral-driven and steely, the Aubert was big, fat and ridiculous - it smelled of maple bacon - and the Sleight of Hand was somewhere in the middle, but definitely the cleanest of the three.

I'm going on vacation this week. This is what it's going to look like.

Still, great read, I loved it. 92 points.

Low-end wines from a classic producer can be so awesome. If this, Roty's 'Cuvee de Pressonier,' were $10 cheaper I'd drink it every day. Bright red fruit with a hint of dried sage and a sarsaparilla tinge. Love it!