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Looking for a GREAT Napa Syrah???

Oh boy! I opened a bottle of wine last night that I absolutely love!

A few weeks ago a friend brought over a Bedrock Wine Co. Cabernet Sauvignon and I really enjoyed it. I liked it so much that when I found some Bedrock Syrah for sale I bought a couple of bottles. If only I’d known … I should have grabbed a couple of cases!

Bedrock’s 2012 Hudson Vineyard Syrah is fabulous! The fruit comes from the T and S blocks of the famous Hudson Ranch, which lies in Napa Valley’s Carneros AVA. The purple colored wine has a wonderful nose of smoky meat, violets and ripe red fruit. On the palate are blackberry, cassis, black cherry and licorice. I get some tobacco too! The finish is long with a hint of black olive. There is definitely a lot going on in this complex wine!

While drinking this gem I kept thinking of how it reminds me a lot of a wine from the Northern Rhone.  Well no wonder. After doing some research on the wine I realized that a smidgen of Viognier is added to the Syrah, just as they do in the Northern Rhone’s Côte-Rôtie region.

Considering I’m a huge lover of Rhone Valley wines, it’s not surprising that I’m such a fan of this Napa Syrah. Now I just need to figure out where I can buy some more!

To check out more information on Bedrock Wine Co. and their other wines, click here:  http://bedrockwineco.com

Are You Waiting to Arise??? Meet Blackbird Vineyard’s Arise!

I’ve always been a Right Bank kind of girl. Now don’t get me wrong, I love wines from the Left Bank as well. How the heck could anyone not????  But for me there is just something about the smooth, easy to drink wines from Pomerol, St. Emilion, etc.

Blackbird Vineyards has a great example of a Right Bank Bordeaux blend from Napa. Made of mostly Merlot (which means blackbird in French patois), founder Michael Polenske named this particular blend Arise, taken from the Beatles’ song Blackbird. In fact, the label is fabulous! It features nine blackbirds (as the notes) sitting on a telephone wire (as the music staff) representing the beginning notes of the Beatles’ song. Check it out! It’s true!

Please excuse the sloppy wine stain dribbled down the label. That was a bad pouring job on my behalf and was not intended on the label. I’ve therefore included an example of the label from their website as well. I wanted to be sure to include my tarnished example too, however, because I absolutely love the feathers on the bottle above the label. I’m not sure what they represent, but I like to think that it’s a symbol of the flock of people it takes to make a great wine.  And this is a great wine!

The 2012 Blackbird Arise is a blend of 58% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The garnet colored wine has licorice, blueberry, blackberry and black cherry on the nose. The well-balanced palate has lush black cherry, blueberry, cocoa powder, tobacco and a long smooth finish.

It’s hard not to sing the Beatle’s song while drinking this lovely wine. “All your life … you were only waiting for this moment to be free”! It’s like a bottle of wine, isn’t it? Opening the bottle on a specific day determines the experience the wine will become. The wine is waiting for the moment to become free from the bottle and to arise. The 2012 Blackbird Arise is drinkable now, but it will truly “Arise” with some time in the bottle. I’m going to stock my cellar with a few more and try one again in a year or two, and then another a year later. I have a feeling that I’ll then be singing “All your life … you were only waiting for this moment to arise”!

If you’d like to learn more about Arise and Blackbird Vineyards other wines, check them out here: https://www.blackbirdvineyards.com

Hitting the WINE Jackpot in Sin City!

When one thinks of Las Vegas it’s rarely of wine. I personally think of the jubilant sounds of slot machines paying lucky winners, or of the electrifying screams heard at a hot craps table.  But wine???? Hmmmm.

As Vegas has “grown up” over the years, fine dining has become a very integral part of the attraction to “Sin City”. Along with great food, of course, often comes great wine!

While visiting last month I hit an old and familiar (for me) place. My husband and I get to Vegas often, and on a long ago trip we discovered The Wine Cellar and Tasting Room at the Rio Suites Hotel and Casino.

If you like wine, this is the best bet in Vegas.  You don’t have the chance to win a bunch of cash in this quaint & chilly cellar, but you do have the opportunity to try some great wines!  Plus, it’s a great way to relax in some comfy chairs and sofas and disappear from the commotion of the casino above!

The Wine Cellar is home to about 10,000 bottles valued at more that $10 million and offers bottles, glasses and a large selection of different flights. In fact, they offer over 100 wines by the glass, as well as some wonderful international cheeses and crusty bread with which to pair the wines.

It’s a fun place to look around as well. They have some intriguing rare historical wines displayed in this “Wine Museum” including a bottle of Madeira from 1800 that was once owned by one of America’s first oenophiles Thomas Jefferson. They also have bottlings of Chateau d’Yquem with vintages from 1858 and on, as well as a 1924 Mouton Rothschild.

We must have been in a New World kind of mood that night (which is rather rare for me), because my husband ordered the Napa Cabernet Sauvignon flight and I ordered a flight of New World Merlot. In past visits, however, I’ve sampled everything from lovely Burgundy from Pommard to a 1963 Port.

So while you’re in Vegas, check this place out. If you win some cash and want to splurge, head on down and order a Sassicaia or a Penfold’s Grange. If you just want to get out of the hustle and bustle of the strip, head down to enjoy a fun flight or a glass or bottle of whatever you like. Either way, you’ll feel like you hit the jackpot!

My Husband’s Favorite Kind of Chardonnay, And I Like it Too!

I’m usually afraid of Napa Chardonnay. I know I know … that sounds snobbish. It’s just that many Napa Chardonnays are way overdone! Too much oak masking the fruit makes me very uninterested.

The other night, however, I opened a gem. My husband was off playing poker with his buddies and I had big plans on the sofa with my dogs, a chick flick, some popcorn and a wine to compliment it all.

I cracked open the 2013 Lewis Chardonnay. This wine is not for the faint of heart, but with the right pairing it can be stellar. This is rich stuff, and along with my super duper buttered popcorn and some truffle cheese, I was in pure heaven.

This golden colored wine has ripe pear, ripe golden delicious apple, pineapple, and toasty brioche on the nose. The medium plus bodied palate confirms the fruit, with some lemon curd, vanilla, baking spices and medium acidity. This is a complex wine and the perfect pairing for my buttery popcorn. It would also pair beautifully with lobster dipped in butter and a lot of other things!

This IS my hubby’s favorite style of Chard, so I saved him some. We enjoyed a glass last night, and it was delish. In fact, I liked it even more LAST night. So I saved one more small pour for tonight (the third night). Wow, it keeps getting better!!!! It is very well balanced and I’m definitely going to buy some more of this and lay it down. This Chardonnay has some time!

My husband is off playing in a poker tournament tonight! This smidgen I saved and am enjoying on the deck while the sun sets is tasting so darned good that it makes me want to open another Chardonnay, but I fear that it won’t compare. Hmmmm. What’s a girl to do???!!!!

To learn more about this Chardonnay, and the other wonderful wines made by Lewis Cellars, check them out here:  http://www.lewiscellars.com

My New Favorite Party Wine!

I recently strolled into my favorite local wine store asking for some “every day” wines! I needed some decent bottles that come in at (or under) the $20 price range. I grabbed two bottles each of the six suggested to me.

My husband and I looked at the group and decided to crack open a California Cab for tonight. We chose the 2012 Matthew Joseph Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa. Comprised of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot and 2% Malbec, this wine is dark garnet in color, the nose has delightful currant, ripe cherry, baking spices, and coffee, perhaps even mocha. The well-balanced palate confirms the fruit and spices, along with some wonderful flavors of chocolate shavings. The substantial finish brings lovely cassis flavors.

This “MJ” really fit the bill for a tasty wine that I won’t feel guilty about opening on a random Tuesday night. I’m going to be sure to stock up on some more for those nights when I’m home alone and don’t want my hubby feeling jealous, although he still may!!! It’s also going to be a great Cab to pour for an upcoming party we’re having.

This is definitely a fruit driven wine, with soft tannins and sweet vanilla. Now don’t go expecting a Bordeaux style wine. For a nice sipper and a great wine for entertaining, however, this 2012 Matthew Joseph Napa Cab can’t be beat. And it comes in at under twenty bucks! What’s not to like?

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