We’ve had a little smoke in the air, lately. Which picture is from the area around Chiang Mai, Thailand – and which is from the area around San Francisco, California?
I’m skipping wine tastings until I can smell something besides the woodsmoke.
Archive for the ‘home’ Category
Smoke in the air
Thursday, June 26th, 2008Grenache
Monday, June 9th, 2008- 1999 Bethany, Barossa-McLaren Vale (14.5%). Showed vanillin, pepper, and robust tannins. Group score 13.
- 2000 Bethany, Barossa-McLaren Vale (14.0%). Some orange in the color, indicating oxidation. Shows strawberries and peppery tannins, but they don’t linger in the glass. Group score 27.
- 1999 T-Vine, Napa Valley (15.4%). Cloudy, with eucalyptus in the nose, leading me to pick this as an Australian. Group score 20.
- 2000 T-Vine, Napa Valley (14.4%). Fleshy texture, cedar-box, and somewhat hot. Group score 18.
- 1999 Cedarville, El Dorado (14.5%). Showed vanillin and some light fruit, marred by vegetal notes. Group score 23.
- 2000 Cedarville, El Dorado (15.5%). Showed some pleasing strawberry and soft tannins, but fell apart into rubbery aromas as the wine opened up. Group score 25.
1978 Cabernet Sauvignon
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008Except as noted, these were all 1978 Napa Valley cabs.
- Phelps Backus (13.6%): group score 50.
- Phelps Eisele (13.5%): group score 54. Showed some eucaluptol or menthol, typical for the vineyard.
- Beaulieu Rutherford (12.5%): group score 95.
- Beaulieu Private Reserve (13.5%): group score 76.
- Sterling Merlot (13%): group score 83. Grapey, mineral, and over the hill.
- Tulocay (13.3%): group score 75. Gone, and going off.
- Villa Mt Eden Reserve (13%): group score 45. Drying out, but still nice.
- Chateau Prieure Lichine, Margaux (12.5%): group score 56. Distinctive for its green bell-pepper nose, I’ll claim credit for picking this one out as the French interloper in the group. It was also my favorite of the tasting.
Brandlin Ranch Zinfandel
Monday, May 19th, 2008This was an interesting group of wines, each Zinfandel fruit from Brandlin Ranch, on Mount Veeder in Napa Valley (that’s in California, on the planet known as Earth, Terra, or Tellus).
- 1991 Rosenblum (14.1%): group score 22. This had fairly heavy sediment, and a rich earthiness alongside cedar, brambles, and a hint of barnyard.
- 1993 Rosenblum (13.8%): group score 19. Seemed to be drying out, but still fragrant, with cedar and vanillin prominent.
- 1994 Rosenblum (14.8%): group score 14. Highest alcohol = best score? There was some sediment, with prominent alcohol in the bouquet.
- 1994 Franus (14.4%): group score 20. This showed jammy fruit, followed by brambles and vanillin.
- 1995 Rosenblum (14.3%): group score 35. I thought this one was corked.
- 1996 Rosenblum (14.3%): group score 16. Typical California Zinfandel, with boiled sweets and raisins.
Mad dogs and roof cats
Thursday, May 8th, 2008When searching for a missing cat, try looking up. I wandered around for about 15 minutes, sure that I could hear Evangelina, but unable to decide which garage she was trapped inside of.
My theory is that she chased a squirrel up the birch tree on the left, but wasn’t brave enough to take the same route down. She probably spent three days and two nights up there, and wouldn’t come down for food or water. But when the ladder got too close, she jumped off the other side of the roof.
Moral of the story: this cat can survive a 17-ft fall into a bush. She might have scratched her leg, or maybe that was a pre-existing condition. She definitely acquired a sunburn, and she has a growing collection of freckles.