Finally, an actual, damn good Pinot Noir, for under $20.
Friday, October 20th, 2017 Posted in Cheap and Red, Oregon, Pinot Noir | No Comments »I've often said "Pinots are like Porsches. Good ones are expensive, and bad ones are also expensive." A truly great Pinot Noir is a treasure, but they are elusive, and usually expensive. In my experience "cheap" Pinot Noirs are often ...
Damn good wine for under $9!
Tuesday, May 30th, 2017 Posted in Cheap and Red, Grenache, Spain | No Comments »[caption width="552" id="attachment_385" align="alignnone"] 2012 Espelt Garnacha Old Vines[/caption] I grabbed this wine a little less than a year ago from Wine Exchange. The price was $8.98, which is an incredible bargain for what this bottle represents. It isn't available there ...
Ain’t Life Grand? Cameron Hughes Lot 602, 2014 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Sunday, May 21st, 2017 Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Cheap and Red, Napa | No Comments »I think the first contemporary vintages of Napa Valley cabernets I ever tasted were from the late 70s, likely 1978/79. I was just a wee barbarian, drinking at the table of my father, whose wine exploits and palette I aspire ...
Best Value Red of 2016/17: CH Lot 575, 2014 Red Blend, Red Mountain, Washington State
Wednesday, April 5th, 2017 Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, Cheap and Red, Merlot, Odds, Ends & Blends, Syrah, Walla Walla, Washington State | No Comments »Only in America will you find a winemaker who will mix a Rhone varietal into a classic Bordeaux blend. "America, Fuck Yeah!" This wine appeared in my autumn shipment mixed case from Cameron Hughes, and it was a revelation. After I ...
“What’s the best/most expensive wine you have ever had?”
Monday, February 6th, 2017 Posted in Cellar Treasures, Cheap and Red, Expensive, On Somebody Else's Tab, Spain, Tempranillo | 3 Comments »I used to like beer. I used to drink it a lot. But then the whole IPA thing started happening about a decade ago and quite frankly, got completely out of hand. Every craft brewer was trying to out-hop the ...
Lowball Bordeaux Grand Cru: 2004 Chateau Lusseau Saint-Emilion
Friday, February 3rd, 2017 Posted in Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cheap and Red, France, Merlot | No Comments »Like most folks, my buying habits have changed over the past decade. I can't recall the last time I bought a bottle of wine in a store. I do most of my buying online these days. Most of my household ...
Two dramatically different Carmeneres: Canepa 2014 & Arenal 2012
Wednesday, January 4th, 2017 Posted in Carmenère, Cheap and Red, Chile, The Spit Bucket | No Comments »The Bad: Canepa Reserva Famiglia 2014 Carmenere No idea what this costs, as it was given to Testa Rossa as a gift. Some online research points to around $8.00 a bottle. I'm glad we didn't pay anything for this because it ...
Snowed in with a (not yet so) Super Tuscan
Wednesday, December 14th, 2016 Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, Cheap and Red, Italy, Merlot, Odds, Ends & Blends, Sangiovese | No Comments »I live in the mountains. I can't imagine living anywhere else to be honest. Beaches are not my thing. Neither are cities (though I visit them often and see their charm, especially when it comes to finding good eats.) One ...
Some Lunchtime Drinking: Cameron Hughes Lot 527 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
Wednesday, December 7th, 2016 Posted in Alexander Valley, California, Cheap and Red, Pinot Noir | No Comments »I've had a lot of life changes over the past few years. Many of them were the cause of my lack of wine-blogging, some of them were the cause of me wine-blogging again. A move from one state to another. ...
Cellar Treasure: Walter Clore Private Reserve Columbia Crest 2003 Red
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2016 Posted in Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cellar Treasures, Cheap and Red, Merlot, Odds, Ends & Blends, Petite Verdot, Washington State | No Comments »This bottle has been laying about my family's cellars for well over a decade. First in my father's basement, and eventually mine, as my folks sold the family home earlier this year and the goods were distributed among the kids ...
