Sebeka Shiraz Pinotage “Cape Blend” 2007
I’ve been sitting on this wine for a while but not sure why. Vineyard Wine Market had their Summer Sale on Saturday so I restocked and had to make room in our modest wine rack (only holds about 10 bottles). So tonight it was time to try it. With South African wines on my mind after the South African wine seminar at Wine World I thought what the heck. I remember, at least I think I remember, Vonda Freeman saying that many people put down the Pinotages from South Africa because the are a bit more difficult to grow there. I bought it because it was under $10 and had a cool label. I admit I sometimes pick a wine like my mother picks a football team to cheer for… by their uniforms.

Also, it was fitting to try something to salute the World Cup being played in South Africa, even if the US lost to Ghana. I guess it was retribution of sorts. When I was a teaching assistant at Ohio University in the School of Visual Communication, I was teaching the 101 Photojournalism class because the professor was off having a triple bypass. But before he took off for his surgery he talked a grad student from Ghana into taking the class. He was a regular grad student. Nice guy. But I had another professor actually having to issue the grades because I was a lowly TA. Poor guy. I would have passed him as he was trying hard and I knew he wasn’t going to make this his livelihood. He just took it because the professor said to. The other instructor graded him like he was trying to be the next David Turnley and gave him a D. Foreign grad students have to maintain a B average or they’re gone. I protested to no avail. All I remember is this guy getting the bad news he had a D. I hope he was the Ghana team coach. I digress.

First taste was very intense fruit, very fruit forward. But there was kind of a taste hiding in the back that I wasn’t sure of. A bit off flavor, kinda like a wine that was left open too long. Jammy, lush flavors. The aroma wasn’t anything special. It smells like a nice wine. The mouthfeel was nice. The flavors were fairly nice. Mrs. Dan like it too. But there was this extra flavor.

Mrs. Dan made some fantastic chicken salad tonight. Had “Wickles” instead of regular pickles mixed in. Wickles can be hot and smoking. She used Miracle Whip as the binding agent and had some Montreal Steak seasoning tossed in for good measure.

It was nibble night. We ate some on crackers and on bread. I then took a taste of the wine and whoa…. it was not the same wine I had 10 minutes later. The lush fruit was gone. The lingering taste that was hiding was now prominent. I ate some watermelon and the flavors started to come back around. But it didn’t seem as nice as it did before.

Here’s what the label says “South Africa. Where the cheetah hunts. Where nature reigns supreme. Where Sebeka was born. Those with adventurous tastes will be rewarded by our unique Cape Blend. The jammy blackberry, dark cherry and spice of Shiraz converge with Pinotage’s intense red berry notes and complex structure. Pour a glass and experience of a primal land far from the everyday.

Okay, it’s been about an hour since we ate and I think my palate has calmed down. This wine has been breathing some. The flavor has a bit of a grapefruit mouthfeel now, like the pucker factor of a grapefruit but not necessarily tasting like grapefruit. Maybe tastes more like the zest of a grapefruit. The other flavor is very dark cherry, almost like the dark wild cherries I used to pick as a kid, which were not sweet cherries at all. This still isn’t the wine I opened an hour ago but it is just as interesting in the flavors.
Maybe the wild cherry taste was the flavor that had been hiding.

I poured the last glass and notice that the green bottle had “wine stains” on the inside of the bottle. I tried to see if there were any dregs in the glass but this wine is so dense light does not pass through it. But I had to admit that last taste was nice.

So, I think this is a good standalone sipper. But not sure what you can pair it with. Not sure if it goes well with cheese or red meat or what. So, I don’t think I would purchase it again if I was going to entertain because I’m not sure what to pair it with. But if it is on sale and I’m in adventurous mood I might buy it to experiment with the pairings.
From: Western Cape, South Africa
Winery: Sebeka
Year: 2007

Score: 2 Corks
Dan’s Rating System:

1 Cork: Tell the obnoxious lady at Kroger looking over the wines it’s a sure buy.
2 Corks: If this was the last wine under $10 available at a country store then buy it. Or if adventurous what the heck.
3 Corks: Keep this puppy stocked in the rack.

Cono Sur is known for many of its Green practices and looks like they recovered from the February earthquake rather quickly. There were able to have a good harvest and on time.

On their website they said According to Francisco Ascui, Cono Sur Winery’s Export Director for United Kingdom and North America, this quick recovery is due, mainly, to the solidarity and understanding of the clients: “We received hundreds of e-mails from distributors and costumers around the world, letting us know their concern, solidarity, and support. In practical terms, they also were very sympathetic to possible delays in certain shippings – which is already 100% solved -, increased the demand of our wines, and also improved the sales mix,” he says.

According to some of the most important businessmen of the wine industry, the earthquake made us to learn. We live in a seismic country and therefore it is necessary to build the wine cellars and wine making plants with an earthquake-proof architecture, capable of withstanding a new shake of such proportions.

Okay, so I’m not really saving Cono Sur. I still like this wine. And besides, it has a bicycle on the label. How can it be bad. I reviewed the 2008 Cab back in November and the 2007 back in July. Very fruit forward. A tartness is apparently and could be described as slightly acid but when tasted with meat the taste of oak really comes out. But at less than $10 a bottle I doubt there’s any oak involved here. Nice dark berry aromas. Nice mouth feel but slightly acidity. And the nice thing is it still tasted pretty good the next day. Many of my Saturday night specials don’t last that long.

The label says there are “forest fruit aromas” and “Blackcurrants, blackberries and black cherries” is the description on the label.

This is a nice wine that I think would be nice just about any time of the year. If it goes on sale I plan to stock up.

Better yet I will one day go and visit them. Since I won the Xplorador Harvest Trip Contest I keep thinking about what I missed when they had to cancel the trip because of the earthquake. When I read some of the websites about wineries like Cono Sur, Valdivieso and Concha Y Toro (or basically all the labels they represent) I think I would like meeting these people. Hard working people who love making great wines. If I could tie in a bicycle trip around the wine country that would be heaven.

From: Central, Chile
Winery: Cono Sur
Year: 2008
Stopper: Screw Cap

Score: 3 Corks
Dan’s Rating System:

1 Cork: Wait until it’s on sale for $3. No, $2.99.
2 Corks: Wait until it’s on sale for $4.99
3 Corks: Don’t wait for a sale. Drink it now

Concha y Toro is one of the most well known wine companies in Chile, if not the world. They have numerous labels and vineyards, including XPlorador. According to their website Don Melchor, founder of Concha y Toro winery created a rumor in 1891 that the devil lived in his cellar to keep strangers away from his private reserve. Thus Casillero del Diablo or “The Devil’s Cellar” was born. Ever since they have worked to become the premier wine of Chile. Their website claims that in 2002 they became the most famous Chilean wine in the world with distribution reaching 100 countries. A year later over a million cases were sold worldwide. In 2002 they added a devil shaped icon to their redesigned bottles this time not to scare people away but as a new marketing strategy (they actually have two websites, one for the label and one for the legend.

Of course I was delighted that this wine around $10 (okay, occasionally I’ll go above $10 and besides I’m helping Chile). We had it with Mrs. Dan’s Olive loaf, a nice French baguette stuffed with an olive and cream cheese. Both were nice. A very dark red wine. The acid is a bit high at first but mellows out a bit after breathing or by simply taking a second taste. The palate has already gotten used to it. Nice sweet aroma. Fruit forward jumping to slight acid finish. The taste is of very dark berries. Mrs. Dan liked this wine very much. She said “I liked it much better than that Douglas Hill wine you bought…. you are not allowed to buy it again. Buy this one again.” Dry and slightly tart or acidic. But in the end has fairly nice balance. It would have been nice to see how it tastes after it breathes a bit but it didn’t last that long. Maybe I’ll try that on the next bottle.

Winemaker’s notes from their website: A smooth Cabernet Sauvignon full of cassis and black cherries complemented by hints of moca and dark chocolate.
From: Central Valley, Chile
Winery: Casillero del Diablo (Concha y Toro)
Cost: $10.99
Year: 2008

Here’s the recipe for Mrs. Dan’s Stuffed Olive Baguette

8 0z. cream cheese
4 oz. goat cheese
2 tsp of minced garlic
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives
2 oz. chopped spicy salami
2 tbsp minced fresh Italian Parsley
1 tsp minced frsh thyme
ground black pepper

Cut off the ends of the baguette and hollow it out with a long skinny knife. Make sure you don’t cut through the walls.
Mix the cream cheese until completely smooth using an electric mixer. Then work in the goat cheese and garlic. Beat that until thoroughly mixed. Then stir in the remaining ingredients. Don’t beat because the little pieces make the mix interesting.

Stuff the mix from both ends, packing it tight. Make sure you don’t leave an air bubble in the middle. Once filled, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate. It has to sit in the fridge for several hours to be firm enough to cut.

Blue Jean Red
I tried this one back in September at a tasting at the Vineyard but for the life of me couldn’t remember what it tasted like. I looked up my notes from that tasting and all it said was “after 7 months this wine is back.”

Being a blend from California that has no vintage you never know when a wine like this might pop up. Usually California blends are someone’s second label especially if they don’t show a vintage. I was going to check out their tasting notes on their website and then post the URL to but I got a warning from my Google search that this site might harm my computer. Being on a Mac I doubt it but I don’t want to infect the Windows users out there.

Since I didn’t want to visit their site I did a Google search and found one site saying it was a blend 53 percent zinfandel; 37 percent syrah; 10 percent cabernet franc. And another saying it was 37% cabernet franc and great tasting if you drink the bottle at one time. But who knows what the blend is since it has no vintage the mix could change from year to year.

The label says “Low rise, boot cut or slim fit; Jeans are easy and ready for any occasion. Blue Jean–relaxed and comfortable, original in flavor.” And that’s about it. This is bottle in Sonoma but since it says “California Red Wine” on the label there’s no telling where the grapes came from.

I like the aroma of this wine. Very robust, maybe a dark berry jam aroma or wild raspberries picked on the side of the road. Nice deep reddish purple color. I read one review from the Cleveland Plain Dealer website that said “earthy flavor, followed by ripe dark raspberry, black plums and a little licorice on the finish.” I’m glad I read that because I was trying to find a way to describe the finish. The taste is similar to the aroma, very dark berry flavors. That finish seems to linger for a while that evolves into a dry tannin feel on the sides of the tongue.

The review recommended “This is a perfect wine for grilled burgers, brats and Slovenian sausages; a pulled pork sandwich, even a nice steak off the grill. ” Southerners don’t eat Brats. Those guys around Cleveland and Chicago if you poked them with a stick a brat would pop out. We had it with “orange pizza” from Little Caeser’s”. And hey, Mrs. Dan really liked it. We followed the other reviewers’ advice and finished the bottle. I think that tells a story right there.
From: California
Winery: Blue Jean Winery
Cost: $7.99
Stopper: Composite wood cork

Score: 3 Corks
Dan’s Rating System:

1 Cork: Don’t stop, keep strolling. Ignore the fact it’s under $10
2 Corks: One time is enough time
3 Corks: One time is not enough especially at this price

Key West Sunset Ale
This was a gift from Mrs Dan’s dad. He picked it up during travels across Florida. I’m always up to try something new especially if its paid for by someone else. I poured out my first one into a chilled pint glass. It was very good and malty and almost tasted of being a wheat beer. I looked around for a slice of orange to add. Later I opened another one. And this one didn’t taste anything like the first one. It was kind of sour. There was an acidic taste. It didn’t taste like anything I would try again. Mrs. Dan had a sip of the first one and agreed that it was nice and malty, maybe even slightly sweet as compared to being bitter. A nice balance between malt and hops. More malty than hoppy. The hops were not bitter. She also tried the second and agreed it was different.

Hmmmm. Can’t say I’ve had a beer that I liked and disliked. Maybe our palates got whacked by something we were nibbling on. Maybe the second bottle was from a different batch or was on the sunny side of the truck and got skunked.

So, I waited a few days before trying again. The third bottle was also weird tasting. I started to wonder if the first bottle was the oddity and this is what it is supposed to be like. Sort of like when we tried the Odd Notion Winter Brew that was a sour brew and supposed to taste that way. Maybe I had eaten something that put my palate in line with the beer. So I went to their website to see what they said it was supposed to be.

“Sunset Ale is an American medium-bodied Amber Ale with a tropical twist. It is brewed with pale and caramel malts, blended with hops, to create a crisp, satisfying taste. “

My first taste was in line with the caramel malts. The second and third ones were more hoppy but strongly acidic. So, I waited a day or so again and this time made sure I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything that might influence it. The fourth bottle was acidic again. The fifth one was more in line with the first one. The last bottle was was somewhere in between.

So, my conclusion: I didn’t have money invested in this so no harm done. But then again nothing gained other than to think twice before I fork out any money to buy some. (Probably won’t see it again since they only have one location in Georgia that stocks it and that’s in Marietta. Also, a note to their webmaster. What the heck were you thinking when you used yellow as the font color on your locator page).
From: Melbourne, Florida
Brewery: Florida Beer Company

Never mind it was Memorial Day Weekend and now it’s early June. I got distracted. We were at the lake two days. Camping for two days with 2 and 1/2 people means that every inch of a GMC Acadia must be filled with everything you might possibly need. Except for any pots and pans we might cook on. Well that’s not true. I was being being a Boy Scout and grabbing my old camping gear packed in a simple little bag. But that little bag contained my little nestled pots and frying pan that cooked most of our meals. Luckily I packed a spatula. Anyway, with all the …. stuff… we packed it took hours to unpack, unwind and of course dry out since it started raining during the last night and pretty much rained for three more days. Kinda hard to dry out the tent on a rainy day before packing it back up.

And then there was the “tick”.

It seems like I’m doomed to get stuck with a nasty tick over Memorial Day Weekend. It happened to me 2 years ago. We went up to the lake for the day to picnic. It was almost 2 weeks before I found the damn thing. Before I found it I had been aching, feverish, acting goofy. Convinced my doctor I had West Nile. He gave me some antibiotics that immediately started getting me better. Then by chance I scratched a spot on my back that I can’t normally reach and the dead tick popped off. Freak out? It had been one of those swollen ticks. I couldn’t feel it and couldn’t see it. I told Mrs. Dan “wow, after this, nothing worse can possibly happen to me today.” I was wrong. That was the day the newspaper industry kicked me out the door. I digress.

So, after finding a tick I was a bit freaked again. Writing up a wine review was the last thing on my mind.

But here it is. Mrs. Dan spent $6.99 for a bottle of Beach Dogs Cabernet Sauvignon. A 1.5 Liter bottle mind you. This kept us happy for many days (although I was forced to drink a beer when I was hovering over a hot grill). This little wine has no vintage. It has a dog on a surfboard on the label. What you see on the label is what you see on their website. Literally, the website is the label, a simple snapshot. No links to anything else. I would suspect this is someone’s second or maybe third label. This was probably left over wine or juice from several years. That doesn’t really matter to me as long as it’s good.

I liked the wine especially considering the price. A fairly decent cab and what made it really good was that Mrs. Dan liked it. Fruit forward. Not overly sweet. It was food friendly. Paired up really nicely with cheese… sorry. Make that Cheetos. It paired up nicely with good old puffy Cheetos. When you got a 4 year old and you go picniciking/camping you got to have Cheetos. It’s probably a law.

“Ride Your Own Wave” is their motto.

Spending $6.99 for a bottle of wine that lasted days helped me recover from Mrs. Dan spending over $250 buying “stuff” for this 2-day excursion (that included a portable refrigerator— or rather a portable cooler that you plug in–Now I got to find someplace to store this thing). Yeah, she has my heart and pleased it with a nice cheap wine but then smashed that sucker buying all that other stuff. But all is well as Mr. Ben had a great time outdoors. He pretty much spent it playing with Daddy’s iPhone and Mommy’s iPad. And I did manage to land a 3 pound bass so I was very happy.

Good luck finding this one. Mrs. Dan found it at a Walmart in North Augusta. I’ve not been able to find it anywhere else, even in any Walmarts on this side of the river.
From: South Eastern Australia
Winery: Beach Dog Vineyards
Purchased: Walmart
Cost: $6.99
Size: 1.5 L
Stopper: Plastic Cork

Score: 3 Corks
Dan’s Rating System:

1 Cork: Use it to tie-dye a t-shirt
2 Corks: Use it to forget about the tick you just found
3 Corks: Use it to sit down and prepare yourself to put away a ton of camping gear and say “eh. I’ll do it tomorrow.”

This came from Mr. Ben sitting in his child seat as we cruised down Washington Road. It was like a scene in a movie when the person driving stares at a passenger for an incredible amount of time and you have to wonder why they haven’t hit something yet. I was stunned. I managed not to rear-end someone.

Now, I’ve had a few bosses over the years tell me that but not using the word poop. So, I’m not sure how to take that from my four year-old.

Same with this wine. I’m not sure how to take it. I opened this this bottle later while making dinner for Mr. Ben. After I got him his chicken and carrots and having a battle of the wills against having “orange pizza from the pizza store” i.e. Little Caesars, I tried a sip of this wine. As my wine palate has grown over the past year I start thinking about things such as letting the wine breath, what foods does it go with and such. Kinda takes away the fun of just sitting down for a nice sip. I didn’t have enough of the chicken to feed both me and Mr. Ben so I let him have the good stuff and I was going to … well…. experiment with dinner. I got no clue as to when Mrs. Dan is coming home. She’s at work worrying about work stuff.

The aroma was sweet like overripe fruit with a smell of oak but not the kind of oak smell you usually have. More like you just sawed up a bunch of oak or maybe some other wood. But it was a nice aroma. Then I tried it. Very fruity especially on first sip. A slight acid finish toward the end but no tannins to speak of. ….. I just got a robo call saying I might quality for a free funeral … if you get a phone call from 706-901-7982… ignore it. It says its a cell phone but I think someone is spoofing the system. I digress.

This wine is pretty good for $5.98. At full price of $10.99 I’m not so sure because I haven’t found much in the way of food that pairs well with it.

Didn’t go with anything that touched a tomato. Didn’t go with the roasted chicken I served Mr. Ben. I checked the label and it says drink it with pepper steak. That’s kind of limiting. I’m not sure what pepper steak is. At one point I thought it was those salisbury type of steaks smothered with green bell peppers. Then I was lead to believe that pepper steak is drowned in black pepper. I’m not making either of those so I guess this is a sipping wine not a food wine.

Here’s what the label said. “Aboriginal legend has it that the rollicking laugh of the Kalbarri’s resident Kookaburra bird signals the sky spirits to light the great fire of the sun in the morning and put it out at night. With deep red color and rounded flavors of raspberry, plum black current and subtle oak, Kalbarri Cabernet Sauvingnon captures the essence of Australia. Pair with Pepper steak. Or just sip slowly.”

If what you are eating involves a tomato, stay away. I started experimenting. I tried a bit of tomato sauce on an english muffin. The taste of the wine turned 360. Took a sip and wine had no fruit, almost like it was a corked wine. I tried it with couple of other things. I made up some weird mix of spaghetti sauce and mozzarella and no luck. I could not get that original flavor back. Some shredded cheddar cheese helped bring the palate back around.

When Mrs. Dan came home I used her for an experiment. She tried it and liked it. I had her sample my tomato sauce and then the wine again and she accused me of poisoning her.

So, I like the wine on first taste but I’m afraid to eat anything with it. So, I think I will pass on this one when it comes on sale again. Why buy a wine if you aren’t sure what to nibble with it.

As for Mr. Ben and his poop comment. It seems like I can blame too much TV. We had been watching Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe over the weekend and Mike is fond of talking about jobs cleaning up “poo.” Mr. Ben doesn’t know the difference between poo and poop. (I guess there is no difference). So I interrogated him about this. “Did someone at school teach you to say that? Did your mother? (Actually I didn’t ask him that but thought I would toss it in to see if Mrs. Dan is reading my reviews again). He finally said “The man on TV. He said he cleans up poop.” So thanks, Mike Rowe. My son now has a new use for the word poop.
From: South Eastern Australia
Winery: Kalbarri Vineyards
Purchased: Kroger
Cost: $5.98 (on sale from 10.99)
Year: 2006

Score: 2 Corks
Dan’s Rating System:

1 Cork: See if it makes good slug bait in the garden
2 Corks: Use it at a blind tasting and say someone else brought it
3 Corks: Give a bottle to Mike Rowe

Cycles Gladiator Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Okay, nothing new here. I’ve actually reviewed this wine before. But I decided to have a glass or two tonight in honor of the end of BRAG (Bike Ride Across Georgia). I heard it was hot as Hell the last few days and I think that even though the last day was the shortest (42 miles between Newnan and Fayetteville) it was hot as can be. The clincher was this wine was on sale for $7.99 (I think, I’m digging for the receipt now). This wine’s price jumps all around during the year. The vintage is the same I reviewed back in February. But I think it was around $9 then. The PInot Noir is always the most expensive.

Being a cyclist I can appreciate a wine that has a naked lady holding onto a bicycle. Having ridden on RAGBRAI in 2000 and 2003 I’ve seen some nudity associated with bike riding. I saw stuff on RAGBRAI that a gentleman would never put into writing on a website. I’ll just say the couple outside in the bar’s beer garden in Harlan, Iowa were wearing grass skirts and obviously nothing underneath and in the middle of everyone dancing they had there own little show. One of the Bud girls up on the Bud bus was even shocked. And there were lots of guys who wore skirts while riding but had raw meat hanging on the saddle. Then there were the wet t-shirt contests at the last rest stop of the day. But you don’t see anything like that on BRAG It’s a family ride. But on occasion they have beer at the End of the Road party. Not this year. It started and ended at a Catholic High School. You don’t see wine or beer normally during the week because we stay at schools and you can’t have alcohol but once in a while there is a nearby park or facility that allows beer and we enjoy. I digress.

So, until next BRAG. I’m saving up my coins so I can do the entire week next year. When you peddle 50-70 miles a day across back roads Georgia you don’t think about work, oil spills in the Gulf or the mortgage payment. All you think about is getting to the next rest stop without dying. It kinds of clears the mind. Throw in a few muscle cramps and you don’t think about anything else.

I love BRAG. I’m kinda sad I only got to go two days and only rode on one of them.

So tonight it’s Cycles Gladiator Cabernet Sauvignon. (last night it was New Belgium brews I drank to celebrate BRAG.) It’s a California wine using a poster from a turn of the century French cycle maker. You can go to their website to read about it and the fact this wine is banned in Alabama because it has a “necket” lady on the label.

Very fruit forward. Dark, dark reddish purple. More than medium-body. Not a long lingering finish. We had it tonight with a new dish we are trying called BottleReport Version of Angie’s Dish. It had ground hamburger, onions, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, sour cream and shredded cheese. It’s basically a lasagna without the pasta crossed with a tomato pie. Really yummy. We will be posting the recipe on our sister site dishreport..com and here later.

This wine once again is a good wine that gets better as the price gets lower, especially if you are a cheap guy. Since they are still selling the 2007 in local stores I assume they’ve got a lot to unload (maybe the lack of Alabama sales has caused a glut). I looked back at my last review and I said the aroma reminded me of a fresh baked fruit pie. I think I was right back then. Very fruit forward. A quick acidic rush then a lingering fruit finish. A great $7.99 cab.

I also wanted to celebrate a week of pure cycling. With all the crap being dished out by Floyd Landis I’m a bit disillusioned about the professional cycling world. I don’t think you have to worry about people taking human growth hormones to ride BRAG. A poop load of Advil maybe but nothing that warrants a drug test.

Congratulations on a great ride to my friends on Team Occisus Via.
From: California
Winery: Cycles Winery
Cost: $7.99
Year: 2007

Score: 3 Corks
Dan’s Rating System:

1 Cork: Use it to wipe off the chain tattoos from your nasty chain
2 Corks: Drink it when you got nothing left to peddle for
3 Corks: Prop up your feet and relax. Have a second glass

Yellow Tail Pinot Noir 2009
What goes clink! Glug, glug. @#@U#+#. Sob, sob, sob!

“Clink” is the bottom of a bottle of wine hitting the edge of the granite corner top, riding in a Publix reusable shopping bag. “Glug, glug” is the bottom of the bottle dropping out and filling said bag with red wine. “@#@U#+#” is me cussing as I dash for the sink before said bag starts dripping on the floor. “Sob, sob, sob” is me crying over spilt wine.

I’m not sure what makes me sadder/madder. The fact I wasted a bottle of wine and thus $6.49 or the fact I wasted a great $6.49 opportunity. If I’m sitting here crying over a bottle of Cab but then why is this review about a Pinot Noir? Well the real reason I’m ticked off about breaking a $6.49 bottle of wine is this is the fourth bottle of Yellow Tail Cab I’ve bought to try and taste test their standard run of the range Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon against their Special Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

I bought the same vintages of their Special Reserve and their regular stuff about two months ago. Both were on sale with the regular stuff around $7.49 and the Reserve only 50 cents more. I was happy to find the two with the same vintage. But being a man with no will power, and Mrs. Dan imploring me to open a bottle of wine I opened the regular cab. Not once but four times. So, here I was ready to try the comparison again…. unfortunately with a different vintage but for $2 less. Hey! I’m a cheap bastard. Now the Special Reserve is pushing $11 so I project my $7.99 investment closely. These wines are priced like the stock market.

Yellow Tail Pinot Noir 2009

I took breaking this, the fifth bottle of regular Cab, as a sign from the wine gods. I knew Mrs. Dan would like a glass with dinner so I went back and bought their Pinot Noir. Same price on sale price. I will buy the regular cab when my mojo returns.

I would have to say I liked the Pinot Noir as much as I liked first four bottles of Cabernet. (I didn’t take any notes so I can’t tell you much other than to say they were okay and didn’t stink. Mrs. Dan liked the Pinot and that’s good for me. Nice dark color, got some dark cherry flavors going on. The label says “strawberry, raspberries and dark cherry.” I think a raspberry aroma is hiding in there. It was on the dry side with nice fruit forward. Not a heavy wine. A medium mouthfeel I would say. We drank it while nibbling some cheeses, mainly string cheeses and with some hummus and crackers. For $6.49 I’m happy. Well, I’m happy for the Pinot Noir but I’m still mourning the loss of the Cabernet. One day I will taste test the regular Cab against the Special Reserve. I’ve got to see if the Special Reserve was worth the extra 50 cents, or 3 bucks or whatever the going rate is at the time I taste them.
From: South Eastern Australia
Winery: Casella Wines
Cost: $6.49
Year: 2009

Score: 3 Corks
Dan’s Rating System:

1 Cork: Empty the wine and use the bottle for target practice
2 Corks: Drink something else nice to numb the palate and then have this for the second glass. Don’t buy again
3 Corks: Don’t fight my automatic response to grab any wine I see for under $7. Just go with the flow.

Pine & Post Cab 2007

Pine & Post Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
I stopped by to purchase a bottle of something for the weekend. I had posted the wine list for the Vineyard’s Saturday’s tasting and saw that Pine & Post was being featured. John pointed out the Cab cost $8.99 and that fits my budget. I can’t say I’ve had many Washington Cabs so it was worth a try. I liked it and Mrs. Dan liked it. Now it’s barely a cab at 75% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. It was a nice way to end the week. I let it decant for a while and the taste changed a little. The fruit forward taste lingers into a long smooth finish with some nice tannins. No abrupt changes in the taste. I was trying to determine the aroma before reading the tasting notes. Couldn’t quite hit it but the notes says “hint of cedar.” Hmm. I think that does describe it. Not that it makes it smell like my sock drawer where there’s a cedar shaving freshener. Something different from what that I’m used to.

Nice balance of fruit forward taste and dry finish. The tasting notes say ” A full mouthfeel is complimented with developed blueberry and leather notes. Lingering fruit and coffee gives way to balanced tannins on the finish.” Definitely a full bodied wine. Not sure about the blueberry but the leather is a possibility. The fruit does linger. Not sure about the coffee.

I noticed the cork wasn’t really cork. It had a “Diam2″ logon on it. I went to their website and this is a composite closure made to have neutral effects on wine. I had seen this type before but had never noticed the logo. I would imagine with all the wines out there is only so many cork trees. I might to look at this some more.

I look forward to tasting it again at the Vineyard’s Saturday tasting. Anyway, P&P Cab. I give it three corks

From: Washington State
Winery: Pine & Post
Cost: $8.99
Year: 2007
Stopper: {WEB 2}Diam2 Closure

1 Cork: Drink it on April 14th while finishing your tastes to prep yourself for an even worse taste
2 Corks: Drink it on April 15th after determining you only owe one arm
3 Corks: Drink it on April 16th to celebrate getting a refund.