Posts belonging to Category Tempranillo

It must be the end of the first quarter in the new decade. Expectations for change are high. The White House has found its cojones and set a new tone for in-your-face confrontation. Whatever, it seems like it is time to clear the deck on several items of marginal interest for which discriminating palates have grown exceedingly tired and for whom or which time has run out. Hold on to your Pinot balloon bowl. We’re going head hunting. (more…)

Yessirree. We caught some bigguns over the Holiday. We also learned what to serve with paella…Spanish wines. Chad – sales guy extraordinaire from local emporium Woodland Hills Wine Co – played Santa’s elf and made sure we chose the right wines. We embellished with a couple sweeties and some cheeses only a Mouse would know about. All is reported below. This entry finishes the review of wines tasted over the 2009 Christmas and New Year holiday. Looking back, it must have been pretty good. This set was tasted under one roof on the same evening. (more…)

Labor Day is the nominal “end-of-summer” holiday. Of course, we know summer can last another 6 to 8 weeks easily. And we want it to. This summer tBoW converted to the Church of Chenin Blanc. Blame tBoW taster/blogger Mouse who got it all started with two tastings in July. After tasting through a couple Coteaux de Layons and a Quarts de Chaume it all became clear. This was enough to prompt tBoW to trade the remainder of his vintage Sauternes holdings for a bunch of Coteaux du Layon and Quarts de Chaume wines. I do not think I will ever look back. [ed. what tBoW traded above; what he got below] (more…)

We continue with the evening session of a Great Riesling Tasting in 100 degree heat. As you can see laying down a leeching field is critical. If you missed the preceding afternoon session click here.
Icardi Suri Vigin Brachetto NV $19: Time to transition to red. How about a sparkling red from Piemonte? Wow. Absolutely delicious. These light sparkling fruity wines are the joy of summer. Pronounced blueberry flavors with just a hint of pepper in the back. The King decrees Brachetto is a fun wine. Long live the King!! 6.5%

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Turn tough times to good times. Purge the cellar. Hold onto cash. As with everything there is risk. Cellar purging has the risk of finding forgotten wines. The last thing we need today is another letdown.
Feces occurs so often that when it does we think in familiar ways, like why we thought the wine would be GOOD. Good pedigree (Alejandro Fernandez), good score (Parker 91), good story (bottled only in the BEST vintages). How did we lose sight? How did we let a good wine go bad? Here is my story. (more…)

To cancel or not to cancel my wine club subscriptions? The economic crisis (i.e, we gonna have a lot less disposable $$) means making adjustments all down the line. Including wine…and especially wine clubs
tBoW subscribes to a handful or two of wine clubs including 20 year memberships in the Rochioli and Williams Selyem wine clubs. I sell off these wines because they are simply too damn pricey and having tasted 15 consecutive vintages from 1982 through 1997 I have a very good idea about what each winery aims for and how well they hit their marks (very well). (more…)

The Perseid meteor shower in mid August seemed like a great excuse to return to the Villa del Valle in Guadalupe Valley, rest a bunch, watch the llueve de estrellas and shop in Ensenada and Rosarito. The Missus conspired to visit wineries we had missed the first time…and tBoW was impressed! This is harvest time so the vines are heavy with fruit. (more…)

This year was the 30th anniversary of the Playboy Jazz Festival. It is a day in the sun with “mature” party pipples including the tBoW crew. We bring plenty of wine, cheese, a camera and binocs because the best performers are not always on stage.
The festival lineup follows a rather inflexible format: 3 or 4 new performers paired with seasoned tigers fill the first half of the day. Then there is a dinner act followed by the pop stars, a “classic” vet, and closing with a crowd pumper (Tower of Power this year and they did pump). The downside is minor if predictable. Bill Cosby, exercising his traditional emcee role, puts together “his” ensemble of local premium performers who jam under the name Cos of Good Music. The indulgence is tolerable because the ensemble features truly great musicians (such as trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire) who, having never played in one group, are compelled to exhibit their talent in featured solos. (more…)

Tension builds as we await hot summer nights in Los Angeles that go so well with BBQs, lounging outside, dinner with friends and all kinds of wines. You can tell folks are getting restless when Memorial Day arrives with a full dinner party calendar. We attended two and, what a surprise, wine was the theme. One was a little more structured featuring Argentina wines and wine glasses with the tBoW URL!!!and our host’s names in larger script – go figure. The second was more informal meandering through a cellar that needs purging. tBoW was careful to take notes for your information. (more…)

Pardon my indulgence here, as we add another zero to Wines Under $20. But man, what a night . . . John Caplan, owner of Grapes Wine in Norwalk, CT., ushered in my 50th birthday with an assortment of wine that defied generosity. He’s got a great palate, his store gets wines that others don’t, and here we go!
Wine One! (more…)