Bernardus Marinus 2003 - Super nice California Meritage!

When in California, I found myself comparing Meritage from whomever produced it. Justin Isosceles, Calcereous Twisted Sister, Williamson Allure, etc... We wandered into Carmel Village and found Bernardus. Good Chardonnay there, but the star is Marinus. I got a shot at the reserve and was pleasantly rewarded. I don't want to talk about the price however...

For those of us who like to drink more than cellar, there is the regular release Marinus. I luckily found a 2003 Marinus on the shelf at regular price here in Naples! As predicted, the 2003 let go of the tannin tightness I found in the 2005. It's ready to drink now.

Leather and liquorice on the nose. Big ripe fruits and tingling sting on the tongue says that tannins still remain, but are loose now. Big fruity cherry Slushy feel throughout. Light and long fruity tannin finish. Heck of a nice Meritage here! Very Bordeaux-like feel and structure.

The composition disclosed by Bernardus is as follows: "The 2003 vintage is comprised of 73.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19.6% Merlot, 3.6% Cabernet Franc and 1.9% Petit Verdot and 1.6% Malbec."

If you can find it, get it. You will not get the big Bordeaux structure in a more affordable bottle. I'm thinking case here if I can find more at home at this price.

T-Scale 91 - $25.99, one of the best values on the market at this price. My favorite, Justin Isosceles, is $60.00 a bottle. The 2003 Marinus is nearly as good but a whole lot more affordable. Let me know if you find it locally. It might not be readily available.

Montgras Carmenere 2008 - Chile

Carmenere is a new grape to me. At one time, this was a fairly common blending grape in Bordeaux but now only is found in Chile. The Chileans do great things with Malbec as you know. Carmenere gets good reviews, so I'm having a taste.

This gets a 90 from Parker and Enthusiast and I went in with heightened expectations. First impressions from the nose remind me of cab blends or malbec. First taste reminds me of 89-90 rated cab with smooth finish and subtle tannin. Very Bordeaux-like. Velvet soft oak finish and light tanning unlike Rhone varietals like zin and syrah. Another good Chilean choice here!

T-scale 90+ Great price $12.99. I've had grape juice twice this price I've enjoyed half as much. Think about Chile next time you're shopping. Chile is the Australia of 5 years ago, bargains galore! Malbec is a bit too full of tannin but Carmenere is much more tame. Try this one.

T-Scale Thanksgiving edition - need a holiday reco?

Everyone's doing it I know... I know... but here's my $0.02 worth for your holiday quaffing. Forget cab, pinot, and merlot-based stuff this holiday. The food is king and the complexities of the usual good stuff gets lost in a sea of stuffing, sides, and desserts. What you want is something that dominates the taste buds and stands out above the chow.

Reds: Zinfandel is the word. Don't go after the big names with the big price tags. You don't need that, just get one that is a heavy-hitting peppery

delight. Try this guy - Lodi 7 Deadly Zins. Readily available, tasty, and big.

Whites: Gewürztraminer or Reisling. Why? A little sweetness on the palette.

Chances are you are like me and are going to entertain those people who aren't regular wine consumers.

Fortunately these offer them (and you) a way to enjoy a white you don't normally choose.

The great thing about the German varietals is the low price of really great bottles. Try the Washington grown Chateau St. Michelle

gewurtz

Sparklers are IN for the holidays. The names in US made bubbly are Domain Carneros,

Domain Chandon, and my new fav, Gloria Ferrer. I prefer brut rose but recently tried the Royal

Cuvee 2001 and now will keep it on my short list.

Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel 2006 - decent!

Every once in a while you get in a rush to pick one quickly at a store that specializes in crap beer and white zinfandel. So I made the trek to the quickie store in hopes of finding a diamond in the rough. Well it's not a diamond, but it's definitely a gem of sorts.

At $10.99, this is probably the best zin I've had at this level. If you're stuck in a tight spot, look for Bogle. What I've had from them is solid, most notably the Petit Syrah and now the Old Vine Zin.

A little time in the open does this some justice. Find blackberries, black cherries, some light vanilla and the earthy notes that zins express so nicely. Ok, it's not Ridge or Turley, but at this price, it's quite nice. Need a good little zin for company, you can't go wrong here. Also a good little number for the mid week evening when you don't want to get in the cellar and hit the money bottles. No slouch here.

T-Scale 88+ Heckuva good value here. Solid zin. Getcha some, it's everywhere and it's a value.

2007 Angels Landing Cab - Stag's Leap District.. really?

Ok, one of my local retailers pitched this to me as a "real steal" because the grapes are from Stag's Leap.. blah blah blah. I bit.. got bit too.

I'm not usually one for flaming wines, I just choose to ignore them for this forum. Well, you might get this one pitched to you at some point. A V O I D!

Flab. Flat. Not much there. $19.99 is no deal. In fact, there are 20 cabs less than $15 I can tell you about that kick the bejeezus out of this thing.

Nuff said. Just pass on this guy if you see it. There's apparently a bunch of it out there so beware. If you're feeling like a cheap cab that has chutzpah, do the Louis Martini or Kendall Jackson.

T-scale... didn't register. I promise not to do this often, but I thought it was worth telling y'all.

Cline "Live Oak" zinfandel 2007 Contra Coasta County

I've been drinking more zinfandel lately. Zinfandel, more than most other grapes, has such small subtleties making each wine maker's offering different than the other. I've had many in past year thus making my scrutiny much tougher on zins than most everything else.

So here is the Cline "Live Oak" zin. I tasted two other Cline zins (Bridgehead and Big Break) during the same sitting and it was hard to choose between them. Live Oak, however, is the roundest of the three, possessing all of the desirable traits I like in zin.

Green pepper and grilled asparagus on the nose. Huge fruit and a little bit of the sting on the tongue from the black pepper you expect. The dark fruit keeps coming throughout making for a pleasurable long finish. Nice and refined, not too much zip, not flat either.

T-scale 92, great value at $19.99! In my top 10 zins easily, especially at this price. This could be your house zin!

Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Pinot Gris 2008

Kendall Jackson's reserves are usually a cut above the regular offerings from Jess Jackson's vineyards. Very hearty pinot gris here with constant ripe red grapefruit throughout. Floral notes with citrus which gives way to faint bouquet of Edam cheese as it warms.

Pinot gris is usually a meal wine which complements outdoor fair such as grilled tuna or pork chops. This will also put out the fires of spicy foods like Thai or Mandarin.

Choose to enjoy it without food and you will still have a winner here. You all know how I feel about chardonnay, so if you're like me, you want that other white for your cellar. This is a good option.

Although it's not like Italian offerings, the qualities of the blue grape gone-white-in-the-bottle still survive, much magnified.

T-Scale 87+ as this is quite good and nicely priced at $14.99 - 17.99. Serve it with dinner in the winter or shelve it for the summer outdoors. Good Florida vacation wine!

Patricia Green 2006 Panama White sauvignon blanc

Yep, the label really is blank white. Hold it close to your eyes and you see writing is embossed onto the bottle. No matter, this is a most interesting sauvignon blanc! Tasting this blind, one might think this is some kind of heavy tasty chardonnay or other white. Sip further into Panama and you will find the usual sauvignon qualities of citrus and grasses.

The nose is buttery toast with lime and a slight rubbery something. Patricia Green coerced malolactic fermentation into this by leaving it in the barrel a bit longer than usual. My local sommelier advised me that this one "got away from the wine maker." This would explain the outrageous level of alcohol (16.3%!) and the buttery finish.

Overall a hoot! A bit pricy at $32.00, but locally, this is $10.00 less than the online prices I've found. It might be hard to get outside of my local stash, but if you find it, give it a try. I assure you that you will not find a sauvignon blanc quite like this one.

T-Scale 89. Pricey, unique and nice.