Wine Notes

Lately, I've been drinking some killer wines.  Here's some notes on what I've found in case you enjoy the vino.

Jacob's Creek Shiraz - Reserve (not sure of the year) - Australia
Wow. Unreal depth to the fruit flavors here.  I'm not good enough (yet) to discern between "black cherry" and "black current" like Robert Parker but you'll get the idea.  I believe Jacob's Creek does a regular old Shiraz too which is OK for the money but nothing compared to the reserve.  Match it up with a lean cut of meat or a pasta with a light herbed red sauce and you'll be very pleased.  This was served up by our good friends (Thanks Jason/Katie) with an assortment of cheeses ranging from a mild goat to an aged Gouda that were killer.  The fruitiness went very well with the cheese bite.  We had more than one bottle because it was just that good.

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (not sure of the year) - Napa
This was a very clean white with the right kind of fruitiness for me.  "Right kind of fruitiness" to me is intense fruit that changes as the sip heats and moves over the tongue without being sweet.  I'm not a sweet wine fan unless it's for dessert and being paired appropriately.  This wine as a big value to at about $12 from Costco. 

Nobilo  Sauvignon Blanc - 2006 - New Zealand
I'd give this the same treatment as the Kim Crawford but less refined. This bottle is only about $7 at Costco while the Nobilo brand does offer some more limited reserve type stuff in Costco's "wooden bins" for about $12-$14. 

Banfi - Rosa Regale - 2004 - Italy
Wow.  Just fantastic with dark chocolate.  I think we had this at restaurant with a wicked dark chocolate cake and it was unreal.  At home with friends, we had it with 64% and over 70% dark chocolate and it's just plain awesome.  The wine is lightly sweet but has such a great character and just the right amount of sparkle.  It's VERY inexpensive and will score you big points at your next dinner party. 

HOT TIP - Isaac says that D-Cubed Zinfandel was the best wine he's ever had pretty much and he bought all of Bevmo's inventory :)  I'm going to attempt a local purchase to compare notes!

CHEAP WINE TIP - I've had very good luck lately with a wine label called BANROCK STATION.  All Aussie all the time.  They sport various Shiraz blends but I'm partial to the full Shiraz bottle.  It's got the staying power and depth that's well worth the $3.99 I paid per bottle (not counting the case discount of 10%)!!!!
They have a Sauvignon Blanc that does the trick too for clean white wine with a piece of fish or some lemon/button chicken.

Cheers for now.