Playing Catch-up pt. 1

Pillar Box Red 2005

Beautiful and full of fruit. Almost 60% Cabernet offers some tannic backbone, but the Aussie-style shiraz-heavy fruit is what shines through. Really full body and mouth-coating. A serious deal at less than 10 bucks.

Domaine de Roche Saint Jean - Beaujulais Morgon 2004

Something cheap on closeout. Not bad, considering what it is, which is soft and light and easy to drink. I guess there’s a reason that wine from Beaujulais never seems to break 90 points on any scale, but there are always folks out there who like to drink softer wines.

Heitz Cellars

Heitz Chardonnay 2005

Light and crisp, quite beautiful. A tiny influence of oak but not too much by any means. A quencher, in the mood of sauvignon blanc while still patently chardonnay.

Heitz Grigolino

Strange, and not in a good way. This wine has an almost sugary-sweet nose, like how a sweet blush would taste. In the mouth it is much more dry than expected, very thin, and just a little unpleasant. I guess a non wine drinker might like this, but I can’t see why.

Heitz Bella Oaks 2001
Heitz Bella Oaks 1996
Heitz Martha's Vineyard 2001
Heitz Napa 2001

It is now a few weeks after trying these wines, so I’ve lost the specific differences other than the up-front green vegetal nature of the ’96. I thought all were of reasonable quality, fitting the definition of cabernet with big tannins and subdued fruit, they did not live up to their reputation. Even the Martha’s vineyard seemed to be lacking something.

Heitz Port

They try to keep this one faithful to Port by using original port varietals found in the Duoro. I might suggest that those grapes are best suited to growing in the harsh climates of Portugal and not the lush environment in California. The wine tends to be too thin for a port (yet too heavy and syrupy for any other kind of wine) which I suggest is a result of too much rain and too large and heavy of grapes.

Mojito Time!

Following the latest drink craze, I've learned to mix my own mojitos. It's not tough, but it is sort of time consuming. Mint leaves, lime, rum, simple sugar, and soda makes a great drink.