Aquinas 2009 Napa Valley Pinot Noir, $17.99

OK. I used to be a huge fan of Aquinas' cabernet, back in the day when they still sold it by the glass at Max Amore in Glastonbury. I totally found this bottle by accident. I was eating lunch at my favorite Japanese restaurant, Ginza in Wethersfield, when my eating companions pointed out that there was a brand-new package store next door. It was so new, I didn't even get the name. But I liked it in there. The selection was great, the prices were incredible, and you know I'll be going back.

So back to the wine. Pinot noir is growing on me, something I never thought would happen but obviously suprised the heck outta me. It has that pretty purple-ruby color that I love, and it surprisingly leaves a bunch of thin legs down the side of the glass. On the nose, I get an interesting whiff of seaweed salad (ironic, no?) - it's wild!

Unfortunately, the flavor is a little disappointing.

This wine is not bad - far from it. It's just nothing special. The mouthfeel (...) is very nice, silky & smooth. The flavor is not exceptional, though. I don't get the "polished notes of cherries and red berries" on my palate, though I do taste the tannins. But, to be fair, the tannins are quite the opposite of bitter, and there's no alcohol burn down my throat, despite the 13.8% alcohol content.

Bottom line? For a few more dollars, I'd rather purchase the Rodney Strong Estate Vineyards. That being said, I'm tracking down a bottle of the cab. Now that's love. http://marketplace.donandsons.com/Brands/Aquinas

Cheers!

Kate

Layer Cake Cabernet Sauvignon, Vintage 2009, $16.99

OK. Much like the New Yorkers, when the threat of Hurricane Irene hits, I make sure I have booze. I like my wine, the NY-ers like vodka. It doesn't matter what you're drinking, though, as long as you like it & have enough of it.

I bought this wine yesterday. Yes, it's another Layer Cake wine, but like I mentioned in my last posting, I like Layer Cake. And I was so excited when I checked out their website b/c I didn't realize they made a cab. I've had their shiraz, their malbec, their primitivo (better known as zinfandel), and now their chardonnay. This? I like cab best of all, so I can't wait to try it.

I've opened this wine at my parents' "compound" (so named b/c they have back-up generators, extra beds & a three-car brick garage attached to their brick home). Since my entire extended family is here, I needed a strong wine to make it through the next couple of days.

The alcohol is prominent on the nose! Not surprising, especially since this wine contains a 14.1% alcohol content. (So it's not vodka. Close enough.) I truly get an alcohol burn in my nostrils at the tail end of the sniff. Otherwise, the nose is very, very tight - it smells like tannins, dark & bitter. The legs are long & beautiful down the side of the glass.

BOOM!

This might be the best young cab I've ever tried, and I don't make that comment lightly. The first thing that hits me is that it's smooth. The mouthfeel (...) is absolutely incredible! It is so easy & silky on my palate and tongue, it's like drinking wine-flavored water.

Much like the scents on the nose, the flavors on the palate are tight - almost too tight to discern. There is a dull chocolate component on the palate, not dark like an enjoyable Hershey's Special Dark miniature - one of my personal favorite things in life - but more dark like Lindt's Excellence 99% Cocoa Bar (http://www.lindtusa.com/product-exec/product_id/41/category_id/5/nm/Excellence_99_Cocoa_Bar), which is an ashy, dry, smoky pure-chocolate bar. The tannins exhibit a buttery, aged-in-oak flavor, almost as if this cab was a sibling to the chardonnay. The finish is a few seconds long, but mellow & satisfying.

I truly believe that this cab rivals the $70 cabernet from Cakebread Cellars, but at a much better price point. If you, my readers, enjoy a well-crafted cabernet sauvignon at a reasonable price, this one is it. This is my hurricane gift to you. Irene will be best remembered for Layer Cake's cab!

Cheers!

Kate

Layer Cake Virgin Chardonnay, Vintage 2009, $13.99

OK. These days have not gotten any better & I'm surprised I'm not drinking more than I am. I also want you, my readers, to know that I bought & opened this bottle based solely on the fact that it has a screw top (and the fact that I happen to like Layer Cake doesn't hurt).

According to Layer Cake, "virgin" equals "unoaked." Fine. I can deal with unoaked chard, as long as it's not trying to be sauvignon blanc. There's nothing I hate more about wine than one one grape tries to be another.

Sadly, while this wine is forming some pretty heavy legs on the side of the glass, it's not doing anything else to deter me from thinking that this is sauvignon b. It smells fresh & minerally like sauvignon blanc, and it's certainly the same pale yellow shade.

Impressively enough, it doesn't tast exactly like sauvignon blanc. It tastes, truly, like Layer Cake made a vat of chard, a cat of sauvignon blanc, then mixed the two together. I get the creaminess & buttery goodness of chard with the crispness & acidity of sauvignon blanc. The mouthfeel (...) is also closer to sauvignon blanc, thin & silky. There's also no alcohol bite despite this bottle's 13.5%.

I am liking this wine! It's not my favorite, but it just goes to show that I can enjoy something new that I normally wouldn't pick if it's a good vineyard. I so love the Layer Cake! http://www.layercakewine.com//index.cfm

Cheers!

Kate

P.S. I think this blog post gets the win for the most times the term "sauvignon blanc" is used without it actually being about sauvignon blanc. Sad.

Trinitas 2009 Chardonnay, $30.00

OK. This is one hell of an expensive chard. Bruce at Stew Leonard's told me it was a good one & that I'd like it. Reading the back of the bottle, I find that this wine "displays classic citrus aromas of lemon zest and its velvety finish leaves a layer of creamy butter, vanilla, and toast." Well geez, it sure as hell sounds delicious. And the fact that it has a killer 14.4% alcohol content is certainly to its advantage.

In the glass, this wine is a pale golden-yellow color. Then, on the nose, it unleashes its heavy, oakey, buttery aroma without holding back. Along the side of the glass, the wine forms stubby, fast legs that foretell the heft of this wine.

If ever a wine was true to the back of the bottle, this one is it.

I feel like a thousand flavors explode in my mouth on the first sip. It's a really interesting combination of citrus flavors (orange, lemon, starfruit - is starfruit a citrus fruit? I can't remember), vanilla custard, whipped butter, creme brulee, and french toast (minus the maple syrup). The finish is long & creamy, and I get this complex golden-brown-toasted-Italian-bread flavor on the finish. The mouthfeel (...) is incredibly lush & full, smooth with the tiniest hint of an alcohol tingle. Bravo.

That being said, I don't know if I will purchase this wine again.

Yes, it is delicious - I would never deny that it is delicious and obviously well-made. The proprietors, Tim & Steph Busch, obviously put a lot of love, thought and care into this wine. But I feel as though this wine should not be priced the way it is. If it were $20, I would buy it again to re-stock my wine fridge, no questions asked, as it compares well to the B.R. Cohn chardonnay. At $30, however, it is a bit too pricey for my taste.

Don't get me wrong, I have dropped more than $30 on a bottle of wine before. Take the Ken Wright Cellars pinot noir, for example. At $34, I thought it was way too expensive - until I tasted it. That wine over-delivered for its value, and I actually bought another bottle of it today. This wine? Delicious, but not over-delivering the goods for the price. So no, I probably will not be purchasing it again. Now, that being said, I encourage you, my readers, to give it a try once. Maybe you'll agree with me, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll absolutely hate this wine, maybe you'll love it & buy a case. Regardless, try it. You won't be sorry for trying it. http://www.trinitascellars.com/

Cheers!

Kate

Trazado 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, D.O. Maipo Valley, Chile, $22.99 or 2/$40

OK. I love cab & you all know how much I love a good Chilean red. So when you add in this wine's 14.5% alcohol content, you've got the perfect wine for right now.

The last three weeks have been hell on wheels. Where to begin? There are so many bad things going on that I could cry. But let's not dwell on the bad things. Let's just say, we need to have a shout-out to the following people: Ta, Pazza, Jill, Anthony, Kate's knee.

So this wine is a real treat. It smells really spicy & meaty on the nose, with quick-miving legs down the side of the glass. It's a gorgeous color, like a dark cherry red, which is nice b/c the back of the bottle says that there are "rich flavours of black cherry and plum" in the glass.

Tragedy. This wine is not as good as I hoped.

Now, don't get me wrong, it's not a bad wine, and it's certainly better than a lot of other wines I've had. It's just too damn spicy, plus the tannins are off-the-charts bitter. I don't taste the black cherry or plum, all I taste is spice & bitter.

That being said, the mouthfeel (...) on this wine is smooth & silky, and I can tell it's very well-crafted. I'm just not in love with the way it tastes. It's very Old-world, and while I don't have a problem with Old-world flavors, I do have a problem with paying this much money for a bottle of wine where all I taste is bitter.

Tell you what. I'll return tomorrow, when the rest of the bottle is decanted, and report back. This wine cannot be this much of a tragedy, I won't allow it.

Cheers!

Kate