OK. This is a very special wine for me. There's a lot of love in & for this bottle. Today, I wanted love. So I opened it.
This year, in February, I turned 30. Actually, I have to say, with the exception of my 24th birthday where we ate at the Cheesecake Factory, then went to see the "Male Entertainment" dancers in Saugus, my 30th birthday was the most profound & exciting celebration. It consisted of the glorious city of Boston, close friends, the Nine Zero Hotel, Abe & Louie's (and lobster mac 'n cheese - thank you, Canal!), 2002 Cristal champagne, White Flowers sparkling riesling, coconut birthday cake (R.I.P. Sugarbelle), KO Prime, Beantown Pub (complete with nachos & french fries), and this wine, albeit the 2005 vintage, of which I split the bottle with my girl Rachel, then stole the empty & proudly put it on display at my house. A very happy birthday, indeed.
About a month later, Rachel found a wine distributor who would order a case for her. The 2005 vintage was sold out, but the 2006 vintage was available. The upshot? We split the case & I wandered home with no less than 6 bottles. All 6 of which were hosted in the wine cellar. Until now.
1st off, this wine has a screw top. God bless you, Bommarito; I was in no mood to fight with the Houdini today. I poured a glass & let it sit. It's really dark & grapey in the glass, a trait I'm beginning to love in my Napa cabs. This wine is heavy-bodied, taking about 20 seconds for the legs to form down the side of the glass. And it reeks of alcohol, not surprising since the alcohol content clocks in at 14.5%.
This wine is surprising. If I slip it slowly, it feels soft in my mouth, gliding down my throat with ease. If I swallow it quickly, it burns the underside of my tongue & my soft palate, and continues to burn down my throat. Odd. There are no complexities to this wine, it literally tastes only like the cabernet grapes. There are no secondary or hidden flavors; there is no extraneous fruit to detract from the grapes. This is an old-school wine, made with nothing but the grapes & the ethanol.
So I'd have to say, even though I thoroughly enjoy this wine & have a lot of love for it, I wouldn't buy it again. Why? This is a great wine, yes - at a $25 price point. The Clos du Val tastes a lot like it, with a little added PV kick, for under $25. So until Bommarito can cut the price by 50%, Rachel's distributor won't be hearing from me. And besides, my 31st birthday is only a few months away. Who knows what wine(s) I'll be drinking then?
Cheers!
Kate
P.S. This photo is Jess, Rachel, Nancy & me, posing with our glasses of Cristal, on the bed in the Nine Zero. We had just returned from dinner at KO Prime & were already a little drunk. Nobody ever could've had a better 30th birthday than I did. Thanks, guys! I heart you!
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