Chapelle-St-Arnoux - 2010 Cotes-du-Rhone

This was a fancy bottle from Rhone Valley, France. It's the second bottle of Cotes-du-Rhone I've tried, and I’m starting to think this blend might be bad luck.

The first time I tried it was the Thanksgiving where I embarrassed myself by bringing wine to a gathering where nobody drank.

The night of this bottle was the night of a rescue mission. I had my first glass, started to relax and mellow out, and I was trying to watch a scary movie with the Scotch Man. Not even ten minutes into the movie I got a frantic call from my friend who was on vacation. Her dog, who I watched for a couple of days until her friend could come get him, had been alone in the apartment for a week because her friend never picked him up like he was supposed to.

I told her I would immediately go check on him, so I dragged the Scotch Man along with me. Convinced he'd be dead when we got there. I have never been so relieved to find something alive. He wasn't his usual peppy self, but otherwise seemed fine. He had trashed her the apartment, drank two bowls of water while we were there, and didn't want us to leave, but he is a survivor. He may never be quite the same, but hopefully he will make a full recovery from his abandonment issues.

The Scotch Man works in Law Enforcement, so he's seen his share of bodies - which is part of the reason I took him with me - so he explained that my being hungry and horny afterward the ordeal was pretty normal. Something to do with adrenaline and glucose and feeling alive.

I barely tasted the second glass of wine I had when we got back to his place. And almost poured a third, but it was late and I had to go home. It was nice to have something to take the edge off, that's for sure.

Sad to say I don't have any distinct memories of the actual flavor of this wine, but it did come with a hell of a story.

Castle Rock - 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

This was one of the bottles that the Scotch Man purchased the night of our exploration of Mass Beverage.

I didn't find this bottle nearly as good as the Zinfandel Luigi gave me for Christmas. It wasn't as mellow, and was really acidic. Of course, I still drank two glasses of it the night we opened it, none the less. 

It was another chill evening, all of us on the couch doing our own thing. The Scotch Man has his son that night, and after he put him to bed, he disappeared into the kitchen. I was engrossed in my book, but then I heard the resounding pop of the cork being removed from the bottle, and looked up with glee. Which he teased me about. We hadn’t had wine in awhile, and we didn’t traditionally drink with the munchkin around, so it was a pleasant surprise. 

Overall this seems to reaffirm that the cab sauv grape is too dry for my taste. I am curious to try some other grapes from Castle Rock, however.

Columbia Crest Grand Estates - 2008 Syrah

It was a hot one the day I cracked open this bottle. I think it got up to 107, which is pretty hot for June. July and August, usually in the 100s. It was so hot that there were asphalt roads exploding and a couple of people died. It’s shaping up to be a long summer that requires lots of wine. 

That night, I went to the liquor store looking to get the wine of the week, but it was a white, so I walked right past it. It’s probably better weather for a white, but I got two bottles of Syrah (one Syrah and one Shiraz, which apparently are essentially the same thing??) instead. So far, I'm not much of a fan of the Syrah. Too dry.

After a glass, I met Luigi on Gmail video chat and we talked for two hours while we drank. She showed me around her new apartment and we reminisced about relationships (current and past) and our high school days. We’ve been friends for 15 years, so I’ve known her half my life. Back in high school, we used to celebrate the birthdays of all of the Beatles together in high school. We were lamenting because we missed Paul’s this year. 

We haven’t lived in the same town since high school, but we chat online pretty much every day and video chat whenever the two of us have time. I’m lucky to have such an amazing best friend.

Founders Reserve Sandeman Porto

There is a liquor store next door to the grocery store where the Scotch Man does his shopping. I tagged along with him the other night, and we decided to stop by for wine, even though neither of us really needed any more bottles.

One of the three bottles he bought was the Sandeman Porto.

This was the first port either of us had tried. We brought it home that night and researched how it is supposed to be served. We learned that it is a dessert wine, served either chilled or normal red wine temperature, usually with chocolate or some other kind of dessert.

Holy cow they weren’t kidding about this being a dessert wine. It was initially incredibly sweet and then almost immediately bitter right after swallowing. For me, it wasn’t really a wine you can just sit and enjoy while you relax. I’m tempted to give it another chance when we have some chocolate, since that was the suggested pairing.

We offered this bottle for dessert at our Father’s Day gathering that we hosted at the Scotch Man’s house (thank, babe) on Father's Day, and luckily, both my Daddy-o and his girlfriend loved it. At least someone did! So the Scotch Man doesn't have to drink it all by himself.

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. ;)

Castle Rock Mendocino County - 2006 Zinfandel

My 31st birthday back in December was a mixture of happy and mournful. Mournful because, dear God, I am now not just 30, I am IN MY 30s.

But the day itself was filled with love and family and fun. We partook in our traditional New Years Even bowling and fireworks down in Aggie Ville, where more people than ever before joined us. I was also coming down from the high from my first date with the Scotch Man the night before.

Overall it was one of my more memorable birthdays.

And on that night, this bottle of Zinfandel was gifted to me by my best friend Luigi. All parts of the gifts she got me were wine-themed, which was great. Thanks, lady!

This was excellent sit and chill wine. I drank this bottle over a few nights of just relaxing and decompressing while watching movies or TV. It made splendid wine to dash of writing blog posts for the Confabulator Cafe. The Scotch man drank Scotch on these evenings instead, of course.

I enjoyed this wine enough that I'd definitely get it again. It was mild on the tongue but still flavorful. I'm quite excited, because Scotch Man purchased another bottle of Castle Rock on our last wine purchasing spree. I'm excited to try it and see if it matches up to this lovely bottle.


For those interested, here's a picture from my birthday at the bowling alley. Fun times were had by all! Although this was before my Daddy-o and his girlfriend arrived, so imagine one more happy couple making silly faces. It is also sadly lacking my new beau, who would eventually become the Scotch Man. I may have been an 11th wheel that night, but never again!

Sabor Real - 2008 Toro

Image borrowed from here

Yowza that's a dry wine. Stung my eyes and my nose. Part of the description says spice box, and it did kind of remind me of what it's like to stick your face in a spice cabinet and inhale deeply.

The night we opened it, we spent a good 30 minutes in a new (for me) liquor store called Mass Beverage. It felt a little bit like cheating, buying wine somewhere other than Cork and Barrel, my usual watering hole, but this place had a nice layout and a great wine selection. I recognized a lot of brands, and that made me happy. Makes me feel like I'm maybe a little tiny bit becoming more knowledgeable about wine. The fact that I recognize labels and wineries might not mean much, but it means I don't feel nearly as lost in a liquor store.

It was kind of fun to actually just browse through the wine, because lately I've only been popping into Cork and Barrel long enough to pick up the Wine of the Week if it sounds good.

That's where the Sabor Real came from. After we got home from Mass Beverage, I made him line up our purchases on the counter so we could decide what bottle to open first.

Instead of any of our lovely new bottles of wine, we went with the one I had already bought.

This one. I don't think I'm really a fan of the Mexican/Spanish wines, really. I don't think I've tried one I've liked much yet.

But. I'm not disappointed, really. Just excited to try the next bottle.