in pursuit of the juiciest wine: day fifty-four

Alright. I’m in a good mood. A jazzy mood. A fusion jazzy mood. A Miles Davis mood. I love, love, love Miles Davis to no end, especially his fusion jazz. The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions (would someone get this for me please. Here’s a link: http://tinyurl.com/269gucj. Thank you. All I have is the one cd version of the LP. Only two songs.), Bitches Brew, Live-Evil, Dark Magus, On the Corner (I’d love to have the Complete On the Corner Sessions, too. I’ve only got the one cd version. Here’ s a link: http://tinyurl.com/39g4a8c), . . . . The non-fusion: In a Silent Way is just, just the best. “Shhh/Peaceful” blows me away. Everything Miles is Good. Sketches of Spain is not jazz, but it is tremendous. (Isn’t that piece made for a guitar? but when Miles plays it, it’s for the trumpet.) Everything Miles is good or great, except for Tutu. I’ve been listening to Miles a lot lately. (I have about 2 1/2 feet of Miles Davis cds.) He gets me through work. The day. He’s almost as good as my girlfriend. My girlfriend is limitless.

Besides Miles making me smiles, I got a cool gizmo that allows me to play my iPod in the car. I plug one end of the gizmo into the cigarette lighter and the other end into the bottom of the iPod, find an unused radio station, and boom I can listen to Miles over the car speakers. It’s really amazing.

And then I finally got some good speakers for the computer, because the computer is where I’m listening to most of my music these days, and my stereo is ancient. My beautiful three-foot speakers, which used to play loud and beautiful, can’t go over 2 1/2 now. The CD player is crippled. The receiver is from the early 90s. It works fine. But as I said, the desk is where I listen to my music. But these speakers plus a 42W subwoofer . . . . It has so much bass that I have to turn the bass volume to almost zero. It’s so overwhelming otherwise. Bonus: the speakers fill the 50′ x 30′ x 14′ apartment quite well. Quite well indeed. Bitches Brew sounds *amazing*.

I’m starting to think this post should be called The Miles, Music, and Wine post. So let’s get to the wine.

Allons-y.

The California Cabernet Sauvignon extended mini tour continues with Paso Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 from Paso Robles, California.

I busted the light bulb a little bit ago, so I can’t quite tell how dark this wine is. Okay, I walked over to a lighted place. It’s like 97% opaque. Unfortunately, there are some cork crumbs floating on the surface. It’ll be a fusion of cork and wine. Sigh. That’s not the fusion I like.

The wine is fruity on the nose, but I also get berries like cranberries and cherries. Is cherry a berry? It rhymes with berry, so a cherry, logically and therefore, must be, ipso facto, a berry, of course, of course. There is also some coffee back there. Java Estate. Light-medium roasted Java Estate. When I inhale deeply, I can see the beans light brown color and smooth surface. Such a beautiful bean.

The Paso Creek is quite smooth on the palate. It’s not very dry. I can let it sit in mouth for, well, for indefinitely if I had to because it sits well on the tongue. But even in its sitting, I don’t get the typical Cabernet Sauvignon dryness. But I do get plums and some juicy fruit – juicy for a cab, that is.

The finish has just a hint of tartness, but not much else.

I’m really enjoying this, despite the cork crumbs.

This is straight up pleasant. It’s worth the $15. If it were less expensive, it would be a really good everyday wine.

Oh, so points. Points, points, points. I got 88 of them for this one. I recommend it for casual drinking. You know, for a casual party.//

in pursuit of the juiciest wine: day fifty-three

It’s the first Sunday of NFL football, and I’m realizing I don’t have a handle of the teams yet. Last year, I was on. This year, eh. Anyway. Wine.

The California Cabernet Sauvignon extended mini tour continues with Beringer Founder’s Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. This is different from the Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon from day fifty-one. This one is the Founder’s Estate for $8 on sale, and the other is Knight’s Valley for, I think, $14 on sale. Hopefully, the Founders Estate is comparable and hopefully better.

The Founder’s Estate is much darker than the Knights Valley. It’s also fruitier on the nose and softer, too. My girlfriend and I both get mushrooms. I also get a hint of vanilla, green grapes, and pepper. Do I get basil, too?

I get cherries on the palate. There is a sour finish that’s a bit acidic, too.

This would complement a pizza fairly well, especially a frozen pizza.

In the end, there’s nothing special about this wine.

Here’s my comparative wine score: 87. It tastes as good as many 87 cabs I’ve had. For the same price though, you can get the Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon and have a more enjoyable experience.//

in pursuit of the juiciest wine: day fifty-two

The NFL season began yesterday with a game that seemed like it would be explosive, but it turned out to be okay. And my fantasy football teams started rather pathetically, too. But tonight, as part of the California Cabernet Sauvignon extended mini tour, my bottle of Geyser Peak Block Collection Walking Tree Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 from Alexander Valley opened with a loud pop. It popped like it was champagne, and the cork expanded to an abnormally large size at the bottom end. I don’t know what that means. I’ll have to look into that.

In the meanwhile, I just looked out my window. The sunset is beautiful. It’s the color of an Oregon Pinot Noir, like Erath. I held my glass of wine up to it, and it’s the same hue but several shades darker. The meniscus matches almost perfectly. This glass of wine complements the sky.

And now it’s going to complement me. Allons-y.

If the sunset had a smell, it would smell like this wine. Ah, pushed that one a bit but not a lot. I do like the smell, but it smells thin and not like a cab. Though I do pick up eucalyptus, which seems to be a common note with these Californian cabs. I also get subtle hint of mint and anise. But mostly I get juicy red berries.

It’s so smooth and cool. Cool because it’s been sitting on the window ledge on this cool and delightful evening.

The palate is hit with dark berries and dark cherries. And the body is bigger here than on the nose.

The finish is unexpectedly dry and a bit tart. A half-hour later, which is an hour since the big pop, and the finish is clean. It’s not tart or dry at all. Oh this wine took a good turn. I hope my fantasy football teams does too.

Alright. The Wine Enthusiast gave this 91 points and the Wine News gave it 89. one of these days I’m going to learn that formula for calculating the points. It’s like 4+4+1+2 or something like that. That’s two things I have to look into now.

Because of that turn, I’m leaning to 90 points, as well. (I really got stop doing this point thing since I only partially know what I’m doing. My point system is comparative.)

Anyway. Good wine. I got it on sale for $14, and I’d pay that price again.

As for that big pop, I think it translates into, “Let me out to mellow. I’m so fine.” Either that or it wants to be a Châteauneuf-du-Pop. (Oh my, this tasting ends . . . now.)//

in pursuit of the juiciest wine: day fifty-one

The I-90 Revolution is so, so close.

Prepare yourself.

And since it is so close, this post will be quick.

The Californian Cabernet Sauvignon extended mini tour continues with Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007.

It’s ruby in color and 75 percent opaque.

The nose has black currants, dark cherries, and some chocolate.

It’s quite smooth with a slightly peppery finish.

There are yummy cherries on the palate, and it’s a little bit jammy.

My girlfriend gets broccoli on the nose and palate. Now, I get it, too. A steamed broccoli stalk.

This is pretty good. 88-89 points.//

in pursuit of the juiciest wine: day fifty

Two wine posts in one night! And, actually, this is my third wine post for the day, since 48 happened shortly after midnight and 49 just happened recently. I’m on a roll.

Well, this is the fiftieth in the pursuit of the juiciest wine. Number fifty only deserves the best, so Hall Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. In  addition, it continues the Californian Cabernet Sauvignon extended mini tour.

If you want to read my other tasting notes about this wine, check out day thirty-three. For the 2005, check out day thirty-six.

This is one of the best wines I’ve had in a long time. I already know this will be like 94 points or so.

This smells denser and tarter than I remember. It probably needs a little more time to open up. So, let’s wait a while. It’s only been about 30 minutes already, and I remember it needing time.

Now I get black licorice on the nose as well as currants and plums. The nose is not the best of the wine, which is odd for me because the nose is usually my favorite part.

It’s got a big body and it’s a bit dry. This probably still needs more time to open.

Tick tick tick . . . tick tick tick . . . tick tick tick.

It’s been about two hours now. The nose has loosened up to some cherries and juicier plums. There’s also a slightly peppery finish.

This isn’t as good as the last time I had it, but it’s still good. This time I’m only giving it 90 points.//