Mirassou - 2013 Pinot Noir

A friend of mine got married recently. Almost a year ago now, I guess. We've lost touch, both of us absorbed in our own lives. But recently, we met at the Plaza in Kansas City with another mutual friend to talk about old times.

Old times were not really talked about. It was mostly awkward silence and stilted conversation. This is a man I had a short relationship with. Things have always been tense between us, whether we were sleeping together or not. So. Of course I drank a glass of wine before he showed up that night in hopes of giving the evening some social lubricant. That ploy was only moderately successful, and I was relieved when he went off on his own, saying he couldn't join us for dessert after all.

The night itself was not memorable, but the glass of wine was. My friend and I sat at the bar while we waited for our other friend, and I struck up a conversation with the bartender about different wines. I've discovered if you express an interest in wines and tell the bartender you're not sure which to go with, they will let you taste test a couple of wines. So that's what I did. It was a blind taste test between a wine that was $6 a glass and a wine that was $12 a glass. I tried them both, and one of them was significantly more robust, in my opinion. I told her which one, and she seemed surprised. "You know best," she told me, and revealed the one I had chosen.

The Mirassou. The $6 a glass wine. I was shocked. I really thought I had chosen the more expensive of the two.

I like it because it has a tart taste with a strong finish. I've decided that finish can make or break a wine for me. If the finish leaves me unsatisfied, I don't like it much, regardless of that initial taste. Even my brother, who really doesn't like wine (but always tries it, the goofball), can appreciate a wine that has a good finish.

Anyway. I spent the evening on the Plaza pleasantly buzzed on Mirassou, and it was such a good wine that the next time I went to the liquor store, I bought myself a bottle. It's kept well, surviving three different nights over the course of a week. The last night it was getting a little stale, but overall I'm impressed with how this wine held up.

I'm adding this to my list of favorites. It's at an affordable price point, it's pretty complex for a Pinot Noir, and it lasts past the first night it is opened. All good things!

Rickshaw - 2011 Pinot Noir

This was one of Cork and Barrel's Wine of the Week picks. They do tastings from 4-6pm every Wednesday of their wine of the week, so the weeks I'm interested, I make sure to go down on Wednesdays after work.

I was hooked on this wine before I even tried it. The weekly email they sent out claimed it was one of the few true, 100% pinot noirs out there, without any other grape add-in (they say Shiraz is a popular one to blend it with). This made me curious, because I seem to enjoy the lightness of the pinot noirs. The woman doing the tasting said it was a a good summer wine because it was almost as light as a rose.

I'm not that fond of anything that light on the red spectrum, but I tried it, and she was right. Most people switch to white wine in the summer, but this one you could just as easily drink alongside your light whites. Sweet, tangy, and light are words I'd use to describe this. A very good flavor, not just of grapes like a lot of young wines, but of substance. I am curious how this one would age, but it was too delicious to save.

So I ate it with dinner the night we had BBQ outside. The first truly summer-feeling evening we've had. Spring came really late this year.

But as sweet as this wine was, the evening was bittersweet. We are losing the Jedi, the Scotch Man's son, at the end of this week. He will leave to be with his mother for the summer, and then come back to us for two weeks, but then go back to be with her for the fall. We'll get him again in the spring.

The Scotch Man and I are heartbroken and doing what we can to enjoy the few evenings we have left with him. By the time this post goes live, he'll be gone.

And we'll be working hard to fill my new wine rack, and empty it again. Hopefully that will mean more posts. Although they may be melancholy ones.

So probably see you soon, friends. In the meantime, enjoy your wine.

Lomas del Valle - 2010 Malbec

I loved this bottle of wine. It was dry but had a lovely finish that was smooth and had a very fruity flavor. I think Malbec might be making it's way up there as far as preferred grape. I think the only two bottles that compared to this were the Amitage and the Castle Rock Zinfandel.

I have new bottles from both vineyards to try soon, so stay tuned for those reviews.

A couple of months ago I managed to really hurt my neck somehow. It was bad enough that I went to the doctor, who ended up prescribing me physical therapy and muscle relaxers. After a week straight of taking muscle relaxers every night, I decided to try an evening without, so I treated myself to this bottle with the pretty blue design on the side. It was a relief to be "high" on something other than drugs. Especially since this was such a pleasant, mellow bottle.

After a few weeks I was finally feeling more like myself, so I finished off the bottle with the Scotch Man. It resulted in a relaxing evening with a sexy conclusion.

I noticed when photographing the bottle that this wine was is a product  of Chile. I always have had a thing for the Latinos.

But don't tell the Scotch Man. He actually is Scottish. ;)