We overindulged this past weekend. Friday night we went to our usual place of indulgence, our friend’s house. This time I did my best to moderate my drinking to keep from saturating my pallet, considering the line up we were going to enjoy. I made sure to pour small glasses until I had a chance to sample each bottle. The night was in celebration of our host’s Superbowl winnings. They picked up a magnum of 04 Caymus, special selection. Not real sure what they paid, but it had to be over $300. I’m still not sure what I think about this bottle. While I was extremely appreciative to the hosts for sharing it, I found it too fruit forward for my tastes. It was terrific, but just not how I’d expect a cab to taste.

In addition to the Caymus, we had several other excellent bottles.

First up were two bottles I brought along.

1- Vintage Feildstone, 92 Cab. It was wonderful. Tasted just like a well aged cab should. ($60)
2- 98 Mondovi Napa Cab. Again, very nice bottle. This was when Mondovi used to know how to make wine. ($30 back in 2000)

Next up were a few bottles that a couple other guys brought along.

1- 04 Terra Valentine. Not real sure what this was other than a red blend. Very nice bottle though. (roughly $40)
2- 04 Leonetti Cellars Merlot. This vineyard has to be the best Washington State vineyards around. I have yet to have one of their wines that didn’t floor me. This one was no exception. ($75)
3- 04 Flora Springs Club Selection Merlot. Another great bottle. This one is only available to wine club members. ($25)
4- 2000 Chateau St. Michelle Syrah. I couldn’t believe how good this bottle was. Yummmm ($30)
5- 02 Havens Napa Red Wine Bourriqot. This was probable the most unusual red I’ve ever had. It’s a blend of Carneros Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Very nice bottle. I’ll be ordering some of these. ($40)
6- The last bottle of the night was a 2002 Quintessa Rutherford Blend. Another home run with this bottle. Too damn expensive for me to buy, but I’ll sure help anyone drink it, any time. ($135)

Saturday night a friend came over and we opened up a couple more bottles.

First bottle up was a 99 ZD Merlot that I’ve been holding onto for a few years. Very nice bottle. The taste of Merlot with the structure of a cab. Glad I have a couple more left. ($35)
Second bottle we had as a desert. I sliced up some fresh peaches and opened up an 05 Castello di Amorosa Gewurztraminer. The two paired very well. I’m not usually into white, and especially sweat ones, but Castello di Amorosa does a very nice job with their white wines. Not too sweat, great finish and structure. ($25)

Last night another buddy came over with a bottle of 03 Flora Springs Hillside Select Cab. Very nice juice. I’m glad he likes to share his Flora Springs wines with us, because I’d go broke buying them…. ($85)
Next bottle was one I bought out of curiosity. It was a Sonoma Coast, 06 Flowers Perennial. It’s a blend of 76% Pinot Noir, 15% Syrah, 8% Pinot Meunier and 1% Chardonnay. None of us were overly impressed with this bottle. It just didn’t have much going for it. Not much nose, structure and wimpy finish. I won’t be buying any more of these… ($40)

I’m on the wagon for a while after this past weekend.

You guys can sure throw a tasting! You don't need to come to Napa with friends like that.
Nothing so grand for us this weekend, but I did open a bottle of the Beringer Knights Valley Alluvium Red 2004 from the shipment I received today. The wife and I were very pleased with this full bodied dry Cab, for $17.99 Imo it's a great find, I'll be ordering a few more bottles while it's on sale.

You don't let the bottles sit for a while before you open them after you get a shipment?

Not real sure what happens or why, but they apparently go through some sort of bounce shock when traveling. I usually lay them down for five to seven days before opening.

I've never heard of bounce shock, good to know.
Normally new bottles go to the cellar or the rack from a week to a year depending on the vintage, but my wife saw the new shipment and grabbed one for dinner.
Most the wine I buy usually takes only a day in transit as most of them are from Calif. I would venture to say your bottles get a much more considerable amount of shock due to distance travelled.

When I first heard about this from one of my wino friends, my response was “Ya, sure – right; and where’d you say you parked your space ship again?” I’ve since become a believer. I’ve tried opening two different bottles the first day the shipment arrived, and they were just ‘off’. I opened them again a week later and they tasted right.

I can’t get anyone to tell me what happens or why, and I ask just about everywhere I buy wine. No one has been able to explain to me, to my satisfaction what happens.

I bet the Vinturi can fix that bounce shock.

It’s worth a try…. Decanting doesn’t help though.

I had a nice bottle from Chile last night. Marques de Casa Concha, Concha Y Toro 2004 Cab Sav. Very nice balance, good structure, nice nose and good finish. Its age was pretty deceiving and I would have guessed that it had been lying down for several years. The best part, is it’s under $20. I’m really getting into these gems from Chile……

I've had the Concha Y Toro Cabs and enjoy them very much, they run anywhere from $9.00 to $20.00 out here. Another Chilean Cab that we really enjoy is Root 1, runs about $9.00 to $11.00 a bottle.

Chile seams to be the best bang for the buck going right now. I have a mixed case of Chilean wines on order from Wine.com, including the Root 1. I’m looking forward to trying a few that I can’t find locally. I don’t think I had one in my cart over $15.

That Almaviva we had last week was an extraordinary bottle. They retail for about $60 when they are first released and Parker has been giving them +93 each year. If that were a California wine, it would most likely cost well over $100.

Tug boat red?
That's just not right on a few levels.