A Taste of a "Quiet" Wine

So not one week after pegging Columbia Crest as one of the weaker wines tasted at our "meeting of the wine minds" the other weekend, I find out that Chateau Ste Michelle, the producers of Columbia Crest (among many others), has signed on to be a sponsor of my theater. Looks like I am destined to give these Washington wines a chance.

My co-worker then tells me that the Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling is excellent. Okay, I tell her, I will have to give it a try. That same day, Danny tells me that my former secretary has given him a bottle of wine to try. Behold! It just happens to be the Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling, a 2006. How weird is that.

So we (or shall I say I) decided to open it last night. It was quite nice - peachy, with a hint of sweetness and very mild. Definitely a lot less sweet than your typical Riesling. I think I'm starting to get what Rich means by non-overpowering Washington wines. I would say this wine fits in exactly with that description. I very much got the "chill" vibe from this wine - very laid back, "hey, take it EZ man" libation. So interesting. Now I can't wait to try more and see if that character is consistent among all WA wines.

Danny did mention a slight bitterness to the wine, which I barely noticed. And I guess I should mention that the reason Pam gave the wine to Danny in the first place was because she didn't like it. I, however, give it a thumbs up. Definitely worth a taste, especially for appx. $8.99/bottle.

Glaxo Says Compound in Wine May Fight Aging

If you needed any other reason to drink wine...

Glaxo Says Compound in Wine May Fight Aging
By ANDREW POLLACK
Published: April 23, 2008

Like many aging pharmaceutical companies, GlaxoSmithKline has been looking for rejuvenation. Now it thinks it might have literally found the elixir of youth.

Glaxo, a British drug maker, said Tuesday it would acquire an American biotechnology company that is pursuing the notion that a compound found in red wine might retard aging and let people live longer.

Glaxo will pay $720 million in cash, or $22.50 a share, for the company, Sirtris Pharmaceuticals. That is an 84 percent premium to Sirtris’s closing price Tuesday of $12.23.

Sirtris, based in Cambridge, Mass., was founded in 2004 after Dr. David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School found that a wine ingredient, resveratrol, made yeast live longer. Subsequently Dr. Sinclair, a co-founder of Sirtris, showed that the compound could counter the effects of a high-fat diet in mice and extend their lives.

Christoph Westphal, the chief executive of Sirtris, said Tuesday that drugs that mimic resveratrol, by activating enzymes called sirtuins, could “treat in a safe, natural new way, many of the major killers of western society.”

Because the Food and Drug Administration does not consider aging itself a disease, Sirtris is testing its compounds against illnesses associated with aging.

Two early-stage clinical trials provided preliminary evidence that Sirtris’s formulation of resveratrol could lower blood sugar in people with diabetes. Sirtris hopes to soon begin trials of a synthetic compound that is much more potent than resveratrol.

Glaxo and other drug companies have been paying high prices for biotech companies to bolster their drug pipelines.

Moncef Slaoui, chairman of Glaxo’s research and development arm, said Sirtris had “potentially transformative science.” Sirtris will remain an autonomous unit within Glaxo, with Dr. Westphal in charge.

The Aftermath

I am happy to appear to be the FIRST! to report on the Norcal/Socal meeting of the wine minds that took place last weekend. First off, I would just like to thank Rich and Neel for making the trip down here with a great supply of wines for us to try. Despite my illness and semi-drunkenness, I do remember tasting six wines - 6th Sense Syrah, Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc, Twenty Bench Cab, Seriously Cab, The Show Cab, and the Washington "chill" Cab which I think was Columbia Crest?

I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the 6th Sense Syrah, despite my initial misgivings. I really don't like those syrahs. However, this one was quite nice. I immediately tasted the spice to it, and it had a nice clean finish. It started to taste bitter to me toward the end, but I think that was my cold coming through to my taste buds.

I just have one word for the Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc: YUMMY!

The Twenty Bench, Seriously, and Show cabs were all very good, but I think my favorite was the Seriously.

Okay, I wasn't a big fan of the "chill" cab from Washington, but it could be that by that point everything was mixing into one big non-identifying taste. I've decided to give the "chill" cab another try one of these days.

After these six, it was on to the Santa Ynez wines that Alex brought, starting with the Foley Pinot, mmmm. Unfortunately, by that time my sickness was dragging me down and it was time for me to go. Sorry I couldn't forge onward guys; looking forward to our next trip.

Get it crackin'

'Yeah, ummm yeah... I'm gonna need you to come in on the weekend'
It's going down! The Norcal/Socal meeting of the minds goes down this weekend. Danny, Laurie, Neel & I will be popping corks, decanting, sniffing, tasting, pairing and buzzing all in the name of critical analysis. Look for the full update next week.

2005 Montes Alpha Cabernet

Straight outta Chile! Getting international on that ass. This was recommended by Neel's dad and I've always been intrigued by it as its usually covered with white tissue paper at Costco. Priced at $14.99, it's something new to try and I'm always down to try something new considering that it seems you can get really good value for your buck by going elsewhere other than California as long as you keep an open mind about what you're trying. This took a good hour of airing out before it started tasting better. Ass out the bottle but give it some air and it turns out to be a medium bodied, slightly sweet and fruity, not very intense but pretty subtle in the way it goes down, smooth, real smooth. Would I pay $14.99 again? That's the million dollar question with any wines, would you pay the money again to drink it again? And I'd say i'm 70/30, while pretty good, it didn't blow my mind enough to warrant another purchase considering it came from Chile and I think the dollar still reigns supreme over the Chilean Peso. As good as a Twenty Bench or a Seriously would be, just how many times can you possibly drink them? Throw in an Australian Shiraz blend here and there, maybe a Malbec or a Chilean Cabernet and things don't get so boring. Come to think of it, I DO recommend this too try at least once. It's not a huge financial risk, recession be damned, worth to try at the very least. Salud.

MALBECS SCHMALBECS

Malbecs haven't gotten much love from us now or ever. Laurie even posted sometime last year about it without much positivity. We've sh*tted on it in conversation heavily. Tsk Tsk. Is it time to revisit this much forgotten grape used primarily for blending and make amends? Possibly. 

I'd be lying to you if I told you I am not partially swayed by the Robert Parker, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator ratings you see all over the place. That rat bastard is regarded pretty freaking high in the wine world, to the point where his palate is insured, those damn numbers can make or break a wine. That makes him and J-Lo as the only people I know who have body parts insured too bad that dude straight up looks like a savage!!! He may be missing some teeth too, check out his webpage and tell me he doesn't look particularly caveman-ish. Anyways, now I probably won't take his word for any wine over $10 cause I ain't got scratch like that but tell me a sub-$10 wine got a 90+ point rating and I may do the math and check it out. Why not, low risk and isn't trying new wines half the fun anyways? Now there's always the question of whether the rating could sway your taste buds but for the most part ass sweat tastes like ass sweat, or so i'm told.

Now where was I going with this? Ah yes, back to Malbecs, sounds like Maybach almost. So while perusing the aisles at Costco, I'm disenchanted with the over-$10 wines they have as I've probably tried them all already or won't fork over $30 for everyday drinking. Most of the wines you'll see are from Napa but with Napa you will pay for Napa. Like pay for the winery property tax and the high cost of living etc. Now don't get me wrong, Napa is wine country blah blah blah but I think you'd be doing yourself a deservice if you neglected the other countless wine growing regions of the world. I probably would not touch a French wine just cause the labels are encrypted in some crazy ass hieroglyphics, have you seen a bordeaux label???? That shit is hella confusing. 

Again digressing, with a recession around the corner and the US dollar still stronger than the Argentinian Peso, I figure I'd try the Pascual Toso Malbec, it got a 91 point rating and at $7.99 priced nicely for my unemployed ass. Why not? Life is too short to drink the same wines and worst case scenario it would be a $7.99 learning experience. So how was the wine? Good. Better than you'd think a wine priced at $7.99 would be, better than any Malbec you've ever tasted probably. After an hour of airing out, it ended up being medium bodied, smooth, fruity and slightly sweet. Would I drink it again? Without a doubt. Please get past my unspectacular tasting notes as this is a winner, I freaking guarantee it.

2006 Henry's Drive Pillar Box Red

*edit* (This wine is even better the second night, that is after you twist the cap tightly back on!!! My parents were not too keen on this the first night as it was way too alcoholic but on the second night it smoothed out considerably and is pretty damn good. $7.99 peoples! Get at this! Also, there's a lot of sediment too)

Do not let the twist cap fool you, priced at $7.99, I am not mad at this at all. Out of Australia, this is a mainly shiraz blend which is the Australian equivalent to syrah. Priced nicely and easily found at Costco, my only complaint is the crazy 15% alcohol, it's pretty prevalent when you open it up, practically hot and bitter but does mellow out a bit after letting it sit for an hour or so. Once it does, it gets fruity, smooth and pretty deep and dark. I don't know what I mean when I say deep and dark but you'll figure it out when you try it. Not bold but deep, it may be the 15% talking which might explain the slight bite, but drinks freaking good. The longer I take to drink this, the better it seems to be getting, then again it may be the 15% alcohol. For under $10, this is a winner, a better value than the Blackstone Merlot even. Too bad it doesn't have a cork but don't let that dissuade you from trying it. Really. 

Blackstone Merlot

*edit* Costco now sells 1.5 liter magnums of this for $12.99, that is a whole lot of wine.

This was a recommendation from Neel's dad who said it was a good value for the price. At $6.99 from Costco, who can argue? You just need to keep in mind the price you paid otherwise you'll be disappointed.

Even though this wine cost $6.99 you probably should air it out regardless. Like a pair of stanky gym sneakers or like when Andy Dufresne crawled out the sewer pipe to freedom in Shawshank Redemption, give it some air. The wine most likely hasn't mingled with air since the time it was bottled and it could be anywhere from 6 months to maybe even years, so it couldn't hurt to leave a bottle be for a few minutes or maybe even an hour.

This sub $10 wine was no exception cause it tasted like watery ass out the bottle. After an hour it developed some body and went down a whole lot better, light and fruity. You just need to remember the price you paid and you'll be straight. Blackstone makes a few different merlots so make sure you grab the one that says California Merlot and not the one that says Napa or any other specific region.

Lot 57

Another Cameron Hughes chardonnay, this time from Carneros. Priced at $9.99 it was okay, not as good as the Russian River Valley Lot 59 which I would buy again.

This chardonnay smelled like crazy fruits but was not very sweet, very dry really. It almost tasted as though there was no acid and practically tasted oily if you can imagine. One thing you will be overwhelmed with is the oakiness. Like drinking mesquite wood chips.

Would not buy again but don't regret trying it.