Rusack 2008 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir, Reserve, $42.00

OK. One of - OK, he is - my go-to guys in the wine industry is the unmistakable Gary Vaynerchuk. Watching his Wine Library TV and reading his books & articles really gives me insight and drives me crazy wanting to try some of his highest-rated wines. In particular, in 2008 he reviewed this pinot noir (albeit the 2006 vintage) and scored it quite highly. I have been desperate to track it down, since I find pinot noir to be either really good or really bad. The catch? Rusack Vineyards is so small, it won't ship to CT, not even if your local package store begs. But they will ship to FL.

So I had them ship it down here for when I would be here. Yes, I know how this makes me sound, but whatever.

Right off the bat, I am horrified - and horrifyingly disappointed - that the cork begins to crumble as soon as I try to remove it. I mean, disastrous. This wine is way too expensive for this to be happening. I pull out my trusty Houdini which, thankfully, removes the cork in more or less one piece, but not without depositing some bits of cork back into the bottle. Blasphemous.

Moving on. This is a really dark-colored pinot; it looks like a less-opaque version of cabernet or merlot. Legs form in about 10 seconds, dripping slowly down the side of the glass. On the nose, I get the smell of drunken strawberries - young, not-quite-ripe strawberries drowned in vodka - which isn't so surprising, given its 14.5% alcohol content. (Yet another reason I like FL: the wines I try here always tend to have a higher-than-normal alcohol content.)

Holy CRAP, this wine is good.

Despite the cork bits floating around, I am genuinely moved by this wine. The first thing I notice is the mouthfeel, which is simply incredible. The heft is commanding, but so polished at the same time, almost like someone took a silver-polishing rag & scrubbed this wine before bottling it. On the palate & the beginning of the finish, all I taste are tannins. Firm, smooth tannins. Yet, as the finish continues, I get these beautiful flavors of fruit & flowers. I get the taste of rose petals, plums & cherries. They are so pretty that it almost bums me out to take another sip & wash away all these pretty flavors.

I check the back of the bottle and, lo and behold, it states that they integrated flavors of "cherry, violet and black plum" into this wine. Spot on. I love it when the back of the bottle gets it right.

Yes, I know this wine is expensive, and yes, I know I had to go through great pains to track it down. Was it worth it? Without a doubt, yes. It may not be a wine I'd drink on a Tuesday night, but it is a fine wine that I would spend the money on again & again.

I am also glad that I agreed with Gary's assessment of this wine. While I love Gary and find his tasting notes to be insightful & fascinating, I don't always agree with him. (A 2001 Hungarian dessert wine, one that cost me $56, comes to mind.) So, cheers to Gary, cheers to Rusack, and especially cheers to the state of FL for making this all happen. God, I love this state. http://www.rusack.com/

Cheers!

Kate

Michael David 2008 Petite Petit, Lodi Appellation, $17.00

OK. So here I am, back in FL. I think you guys might have caught a post a little bit back about buying wine at Target in FL, which still amuses me to no end. (Though not as much as being able to buy wine at CVS.) I was in a great mood when I bought this wine b/c I paid a lot less for it than I would normally pay for it in CT.

In the glass, a gazillion skinny little legs form immediately and drip back into the body of the wine, which is a super dark, reddish-purplish-black color that I can't see my fingers through. The nose is harsh & tannin-filled, very old-world with a cedar box component. The alcohol is only slightly evident on the nose, despite this wine's sucker punch of a 15% alcohol content.

On the palate, there's tannins. Lots of them. Big, mellow tannins with a hint of dirt. Then, as I swallow, that mellow chemical burn - an unmistakable trademark of the petit verdot, which comprises 15% of this wine - lingers, at once soothing & comforting.

This is definitely an old-world wine, both in aroma & taste. There are no happy fruit flavors in this wine. Instead, there is a truckload of tannins with a hint of cedar. It's a very mature taste, very refined.

I love this wine for a lot of reasons - the refined taste, the high alcohol content, the petit verdot component, the elephants & circus theme on the bottle. But most of all, I love it for the fact that this wine could go head-to-head with an old-world French wine more than twice the price and, in my opinion, win. www.lodivineyards.com

Cheers!
Kate