2009 Creme de Lys California Chardonnay, $11.99

OK. I was told by Bruce at Stew Leonard's that this wine was exceptional. The price made it hard to turn down. Besides, I'm always on the lookout for a good chardonnay.

To me, a good chardonnay is oakey. Buttery. Creamy. Smooth, too. (It would be perfect if the alcohol content were higher than 13%, but I can't have everything.) A good chardonnay should not taste like a sauvignon blanc. There's a name for a chardonnay that tastes acidic and sharp, and that name would be sauvignon blanc.

This chardonnay is beautiful in the glass, a buttery yellow color that slides down the side of the glass, leaving droplets behind. The back of the bottle says that this wine contains "tropical fruit, baked apple and citrus...[and] adds hints of vanilla and creme brulee on the finish." Delicious. On the nose, this wine smells soft, like vanilla & custard.

My God, this wine is totally - if I may borrow a phrase from Gary Vaynerchuk - "hedonistic on my palate." From the moment it passes over my list, I'm just dying with pleasure. I taste all those bursts of tropical & citrus fruit in my mouth, flanked by the creamy vanilla, followed by a smooth, custardey finish. I don't taste any baked apple, but whatever. When a wine tastes this good, you just throw on a side of baked apple & call it a day. Bring cinnamon.

The final kill-me-with-pleasure point? This wine clocks in with an alcohol content of 13.5%. Somebody upstairs was listening to me when I described my perfect chard. Well, this one may not be perfect, but it's awfully frickin' close. Check out www.cremedelys.com for more details. And please, pass the cinnamon.

Cheers!

Kate

2009 Frog's Leap Sauvignon Blanc Rutherford Napa Valley, $20.99

OK. I am so not excited to try this wine. Well, I was when I bought it. Then I went to open it up and saw the label on the back of the bottle. Clearly printed underneath the barcode is the phrase OPEN OTHER END. Is this a joke? 'Cuz if it is, I'm not getting it. And I have a pretty good sense of humor. And then there's the whole California sauvignon blanc stereotype. I'm just not winning with the sauvignons from Cali. New Zealand & Australia, as far as I'm concerned, are the real winners. Not Cali.

This wine looks like a chardonnay in the glass, medium-yellow. When I swirl it around in the glass, I barely see the sheet forming, but I can tell you I smell the wine from 18 inches away. Putting my nose in the glass & taking a sniff, I have to tell you this wine smells amazing. The mineral scent hits me first, followed quickly by lime, actually the acidity of the lime. I could swear I get the shortest hint of fresh-cut grass at the top of my inhale.

BOOM! NZ & AU, you got some serious competition.

When I taste this wine, the first thing I can think is that it tastes just like a sauvignon blanc from Chile or Argentina. Mmm, yummy. The acidity is sharp like a razor. This wine tastes exactly as it smells, the clean mineral taste with the idea of lime in it, followed by an almost vanilla aftertaste. I love a vanilla aftertaste, I don't care where it comes from.

This wine is not soft in the mouth at all. It's sharp & crisp, due in a small part to the wine's 12.6% alcohol content. I love how it feels in my mouth, like it's taking no prisoners. This is the perfect summertime wine, and although we're well into fall - almost into winter, actually - I'm loving drinking it. Maybe for next summer.

So yes, definitely look for this wine. And then forgive them for the stupid joke on the back of the bottle. They made a great sauvignon blanc in Napa.

Cheers!

Kate

Hansom 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, $22.99

OK. You all know my obsession with Stew Leonard's Wine Shop. So when they sent me this e-mail, I ran. By "this e-mail," I mean the e-mail where they explained that a famous winemaker whose bottles of cab retail for $70+ has a side project; said side project costing less than a third of the cost. Readers, I drove so fast to Stew's I'm surprised the New Britski cops didn't pull me over.

The e-mail wouldn't reveal the vineyard. But you know me, I've got clout. Bruce told me that it's Correggia Vineyard. Huh? Never heard of them before, so I certainly don't understand the $70 asking price. I did Google them, though; apparently, the head winemaker, Matteo Correggia, died tragically in 2001. Bummer.

In the glass, this wine is dark. And medium-to-heavy-bodied, with little legs forming on one side of the glass, then the other. And the smell is a little off-putting. It smells like leather, which is not so bad to smell, but weird to put in my mouth. There's no scent of alcohol despite its 13.9% content.

On the palate, this wine is soft & smooth. Really soft. It's such a pleasure to drink. Though I have to admit here, it tastes no different than the Bommarito cab. There are no surprising, hidden flavors. This is a straight-up cabernet, but a very polished, price-friendly one that feels great in my mouth.

So would I purchase this one again? Yes, actually. Though it's a straight-up cab - and believe me, I have no problems with that - the mouthfeel (!!!) & price make it well worth the purchase. If Bommarito felt this good in my mouth at this price, I'd be all over it like white on rice. But this one is the clear winner. Buy with no regrets.

Cheers!

Kate

Bommarito 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, $59.99

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!

Ruca Malen Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2007, $17.99

OK. As much as I love cabs from Argentina, I fought with this wine right off the bat. As I used my fantastic Houdini wine opening device, I noticed myself fighting with the cork. As I finally ripped the cork out, I noticed the bottom portion was ripping apart. Great. If I find any cork pieces floating around in my wine, I'm not going to be happy.

At first smell, I catch a whiff of pungent alcohol. Whew. This is a 13.9% alcohol content, all right. But as I take a another deep sniff, I notice the berries. Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries. Then there's a little black pepper component. It smells luscious. And the back of the bottle proclaims that there's "black fuit, blackberry, and...figs along with emerging peppery notes" on the nose. BINGO! I love it when the back of the bottle gets is right.

Looking at this wine in the glass, it's a very pretty, grapey cabernet. It's so heavy-bodied that it takes 15 - 20 seconds for the legs to form down the side of the glass. And - wait, what's that? Cork? There are pieces of cork floating around in my wine! Anybody got a tissue? I am seriously depressed. The only way to lift me out of this depression would be for the wine to taste amazing.

On the bright side, this wine does taste amazing. Even with the cork bits floating around in it. At first it tastes like bitter tannins, but then the tanning become smooth & velvety. The have a great mouthfeel (!!!), really polished and elegant. There's a hint of vanilla lurking in the background, which gets a bit stronger on the finish. And talk about a long finish - it's about ten seconds long.

Such a great wine. I you like Hispanic reds, this is one you've gotta try. Hit up www.bodegarucamelen.com for more info.

Cheers!

Kate