From the blog
2017 Almaviva (Maipo, Chile)
2013 Verite La Joie (Sonoma, California)
2003 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley, Washington)
An evening of 100 point superstars!
I attended a dinner party with friends who love Cabs, with their usual go-to being young Cabs from Napa/Sonoma. This presented a good opportunity to show that greatness can span time, region, and blends. Each distinct in their own right but all oh-so-good!
The problem was choosing what to bring! I narrowed it down to a cross section of the Americas but next time we'll sail the oceans. The Atlantic or the Pacific? Not sure yet, but looking forward to the challenge. Till then, cheers friends! 🥂
#almaviva #maipo #chileanwine #vérité #verite #sonoma #californiawine #cabernetsauvignon #quilcedacreek #columbiavalley #washingtonwine #100pointwine #winetime #winetasting #winebloggers #winebounty #winelover #winestargram #instawine #winelife #winewinewine #wineandfriends
2015 Chateau Monbousquet
No. 16 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 of 2018.
Great complexity, with aromas of crushed black cherries, mulberries and cassis with a touch of lavender, and cloves. This wine is smooth, rich, and dense. Probably drank it a tad too early, but still oh-so-good.
Blend: 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
#chateaumonbousquet #saintemilion #bordeaux #frenchwine #winelover #winetime #winestagram #instawine #winewinewine #winenot
2014 Zaca Mesa Black Bear Block Syrah
Picked this up from the winery nearly a decade ago. Named after the bears that roamed the vineyard, the Black Bear Block is 3.5 acres of Syrah planted in 1978. The Block was the first Syrah vineyard planted in Santa Barbara County and is the oldest remaining Syrah vineyard on the Central Coast.
Big rich blackberries and cassis. Dark chocolate, tobacco, and a hint of white pepper. Well structured with a smooth, lingering velvety finish.
#zacamesa #zacamesawinery #syrah #blackbear #winelover #winestagram #instawine #californiawine #santaynez #santaynezvalley #wineoclock #winewinewine
2008 Am Stein Vinz Stettener Silvaner Alte Rebe
2018 Domaine Du Vieux Telegraphed CDP
2013 Inglenook Rubicon
Fantastic evening making Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Spring Rolls) at our friend's home. Of course that required wine. I was happy to oblige!
#inglenook #rubicon #rutherford #napawine #californiawine #cabernetsauvignon #amstein #germanwine #silvaner #domaineduvieuxtelegraphe #cdp #chateaneufdupape #frenchwine #winetime #goicuon #gỏicuốn #wineandfood #winebloggers #winelover #wineoclock #winestagram #instawine #winelife #winewinewine
2019 Domaine du Grand Tinel Alexis Establet Chateauneuf-du-Pape
This is the wine you need to warm you up on a cold, snowy day (in Southern California in March!). This world has gone mad!
Deep ruby red. Powerfully aromatic, with fresh red raspberries, dark cherries, and a hint of black pepper. The palate is filled with dark berry fruits, smokiness, and sweet spices.
If there was a wild boar roaming among these pine trees and found its way to my plate in a Ragù Pappardelle, it would be the perfect dinner companion.
#rhone #frenchwine #chateaneufdupape #winetime
#winelover #winestagram #instawine #letitsnow #winenot #winewinewine #winedown
2013 Yangarra Estate Vineyards High Sands Grenache
Let this one breathe. Soft tannins layered with an abundance of red fruit, smoke, and herbs. A great sipper with friends around a fire pit because, yes, that's what we did!
#mcclarenvale #australianwine #grenache #yangarra #winetime #winelover #wineoclock #winestagram #instawine #winenot #winewinewine
2010 Terralsole Brunello di Montalcino
Just another weekday bottle to accompany my evening and latest addiction to Candy Crush. It's always the right moment to drink great wine. 😉
Balanced with super silky tannins. This beauty has aged well, bursting with ripe plums and earthiness.
#italianwine #brunellodimontalcino #brunello #sangiovese #sangiovesegrosso #candycrush #wineandgames #winetime #winebloggers #winelover #wineoclock #winestagram #instawine #terralsole #winelife #winenot #winewinewine #winedown
We had the opportunity to open a few bottles from de Négoce, the brainchild of Cameron Hughes.
Cameron leans on his 20+ years of experience sourcing and selling ultra-premium wines to bring consumers the same wine at a fraction of the price.
Sound too good to be true? Read on . . .
https://winebounty.com/de-negoce-great-wine-without-the-middleman/
#denegoce #cameronhughes #winewednesday #winebounty #wineblogger #winetasting #winestagram #instawine #winelover #winetime #winenot #winewinewine
2018 Williams Selyem Terra de Promissio Vineyard Pinot Noir
2015 Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere
2007 Markus Molitor Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling
2018 Tensley Late Harvest 20 M Viognier
Wat do you do when an out-of-town relative makes an out-of-the-way pitstop to see you during a business trip? You bring out great wine, of course!
Loved each of these bottles in their own right.
The 2018 Williams Selyem from the Petaluma Gap delivered on the earthiness I adore from the cool climate Pinots in this region.
The 2015 Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere was the perfect representation of St. Emilion and easy to see how it ended up #2 on Wine Spectators Top Wines of 2018. Deep purple with cedar and floral notes leading to a burst of blue fruits touched by tobacco.
The 2007 Markus Molitor was liquid gold in the glass. Honeysuckle, apricots, and pineapple were off-dry and perfectly balanced.
And last, but not least, a special treat from Tensley with their Late Harvest Viognier. A unique labor of love for Joey Tensley; he even signed the bottle! Only 0.7 tons per acre, it was sweet decadence with notes of pear and apple kissed by French vanilla.
It was a good evening. 🥂
#pinotnoir #californiawine #sonomacoast
#sonoma #williamsselyem #bordeaux #stemilion #chateaucanonlagaffeliere #frenchwine #reisling #mosel #germanwine #markusmolitor #tensley #lateharvest #viognier #santaynezvalley #santanarbara #californiawine #winetime #winebloggers #winelover #wineoclock #wimestagram #instawine #winenot #winewinewine
Flagstone Time Manner Place Pinotage Reserve 2013
South Africa's signature varietal, Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut.
Flagstone does it justice. This 2013 Pinotage Reserve is the deepest of reds, smoky, earthy, and just delightful. Dark fruits and equally dark chocolate on the palate. Smooth and balanced. I'm a fan.
#pinotage #southafricanwine #flagstone #winetime #winelover #wineoclock #winestargram #winelife #instagram #winenot #wine
2018 Weingut Franz Keller Oberrotweiler Eichberg Spätburgunder GG
2016 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon
Great evening with friends, wine, and sushi. My friends are solid red drinkers so I changed things up and brought a German Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir).
If I'm not drinking a white with sushi, I do love a good Pinot and this was delish. I brought it back from Berlin a few months ago and I am now wishing I grabbed more!
We finished the evening with a big, bold Groth Cab that did not disappoint.
A beautiful Los Angeles evening on a patio 20+ floors into the skyline.
The atmosphere and food set the mood, the wine enhanced it, and the great conversation carried it through.
These are the moments we live for. Cheers.
#spätburgunder #germanwine #pinotnoir #franzkeller #cabernetsauvignon #napawine #groth #winelover #winetime #winewednesday #winestagram #instawine #wineoclock #takami
A good friend brought this bottle over last night. He spent some time in Argentina years ago and -- in his own words -- had the most amazing bottle of Malbec he had ever tasted. Now, that could be the savory steak that accompanied it, or the fact that he had a few bottles prior, but regardless he was smitten about this wine.
Unfortunately, the wine went by a different name outside of Argentina, and he had trouble locating it to relive the experience.
I know a winery owner in Argentina and, through some digging, we discovered the wine was Angelica Zapata Malbec Alta.
A few months ago, my friend was in Ecuador and saw THE bottle in the airport duty free shop and quickly scooped it up, giddy with excitement.
We tasted it last night and couldn't agree more. Incredibly smooth and velvety tannins. Flavors and aromas are laser-focused and complex, bursting with blackberry, plum, and a hint of oak, vanilla, and earthiness.
To our surprise we discovered that the local Total Wine had a few bottles available. Go figure! Today, he ran down and purchased the bottles.
This is the perfect example of how wine isn't just a drink, it's an experience. And some experiences stay with us forever. Happy Hunting, My Friends.
#catenazapata #angelicazapata #malbec #argentina #argentinianwine #wineandfriends #winestagram #instawine #winetasting #winelover #winetime