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

Ken Wright Cellars 2009 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, $34.99

Uh-oh. What the hell am I thinking, opening up a 35-dollar bottle of wine on a school night? Oh well, too late now.

Believe it or not, this has been a great week for me. Work days have moved along quickly - I can't believe tomorrow is Thursday - and I've even dropped five pounds. Nice! So guess what? I'm treating myself to a 35-dollar bottle of wine. Besides, it's about time I opened this bad boy up. It's been sitting in my wine fridge for the last four months.

On the nose, this wine has some pretty cherry blossoms mixed with a teeny bit of unwashed plum. It's very pretty in the glass, almost clear to a fault, with just enough purple mixed in. It's actually fairly heavy in body, leaving plenty of chubby little legs dripping down the side of the glass.

On the palate, this wine blows me away. It tastes even better than my previous favorite pinot, the undeniably good Rodney Strong Estate Vineyards from Russian River Valley. Even better! I get tart, soft cherries, plus the aforementioned cherry blossoms, mixed with good tannins. The mouthfeel (...) is outrageous! Just like Jem the 80s cartoon, but edible. OK, a little off subject, but the mouthfeel is insanely lush, soft, full & gorgeous. And even more incredible, I have no clue there's any alcohol in this. It doesn't taste like alcohol or contain the stinging burn of alcohol, despite having an alcohol content of 13.5%.

I can't believe I have a new winner in the pinot noir category. I didn't even have high hopes for this wine! Now here's a way to make any school night better, even if it is a little pricey (I could buy three actual school-night wines for less dough than this bottle). Please, please, please splurge a little on this bottle. You'll thank me later. http://www.kenwrightcellars.com/kwchome.shtml

Cheers!

Kate

Pine Ridge 2010 Chenin Blanc + Viognier, $12.99

OK. Those of you who have been reading my wine blog(s) for any length of time know that I prefer red over white, but if I must have white, I prefer a heavy, buttery, oakey chardonnay. You would also know that my personal holy trinity of red wine is cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot & either malbec or tempranillo (depending on the day). But what about my holy trinity of white wines? Without a doubt, it's chardonnay, chenin blanc & viognier. Despite the sweetness that the viognier (and sometimes the chenin blanc too) can bring, there's something about their body & heft that make me love them. So when I saw this white blend of 79% chenin blanc & 21% viognier with a 13% alcohol content, I was sold.

This wine looks like pee in the glass. Yeah, OK, not the most appetizing image. But if you can move past its color, this wine is just dripping with aromas of peach, honey, apricot, baby spring flowers...I want to eat it. It is so heavy-bodied that the legs just drip down the side of the glass, more so than even some of the red wines I've had.

But the best part about this wine is the taste. Despite its aroma, it is not sweet. Its flavor is reminiscent of a sauvignon blanc, slightly sharp, good acidity, minerally with hints of unwashed apple & pear on the tail end. Delicious!

I am so pleased with this wine, and not just b/c it's a good wine at a good price. As I've explained before, I'm not a fan of white wines from CA, especially not ones that aren't chardonnay. I'm not a huge fan of CA sauvignon blanc b/c I think there are other places - New Zealand, Chile, Australia - that turn out it better. This is a lovely alternative to CA sauvignon blanc, one I will purchase again. http://www.pineridgewinery.com/

Cheers!

Kate

B.R. Cohn 2009 Sonoma County Chardonnay, $19.99

OK. Back to my beloved chard. I love oaky, creamy, buttery, heavy-weight chardonnay. Now, just so you all don't go thinking I dislike unoaked chard, I don't. I just don't want an unoaked chard that's trying to be sauvignon blanc.

This is a hefty white wine. It forms a thick sheet on the glass that just hangs there & looks like it wants to form legs. On the nose, it smells like honeysuckle, lavender & honey-covered peaches. There's not a lick of alcohol in the scent, pretty impressive for a 14.1% alcohol punch.

I love the way this wine feels in my mouth. It is thick, heavy & silky, all at the same time. It is so smooth. I taste alcohol & peaches on the mid-palate, with the peach taste growing stronger on the finish. And man, the finish is going on for a while.

Personally, I happen to love B.R. Cohn. And I do love this wine. That being said, I have to be in the mood for this wine. This is not an easy-drinking, toss-back-a-glass-on-Tuesday-night wine. (Oops.) I just have to be in the mood for this wine so I can properly enjoy it & appreciate it. Learn more at www.brcohn.com.

Cheers!

Kate

Todd Lauren 2009 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, $19.99

OK. I've never seen the movie Sideways (with my girl Sandra Oh, who plays Dr. Yang on Grey's Anatomy), but apparently it gave pinot noir a shot at stardom. It also crapped all over my beloved oakey chardonnay, but that's beside the point. The point is, I don't care what wine is popular (hence the reason you don't see me buying pinot grigio), I just go with what I think tastes good. If you happen to respect and/or appreciate my tasting notes, great. If not, that's great too.

So this wine came recommended to me by Bruce at Stew Leonard's. It's very pretty in the glass, a sort of red ruby/purple amethyst gem color that's so clear I can practically see through it. It's a heavy-bodied light body wine - does that make sense? It starts off as a sheet but, after 60 seconds, forms legs if left undisturbed long enough. I suppose that would make it heavy-bodied, but I'm leaving it as somewhere in the middle. The nose is very Old World, smelling of tannins & sour. On second sniff, it smells gamy & leathery, almost like a shoe in the oven with a Cornish hen.

Great, a sneaker in the oven with a roast chicken. Yeah, I know, doesn't sound too appealing to me, either.

One of the many reasons I love wine is that oftentimes, the wine doesn't taste at all like how the wine smells. In this case, that's a great thing. I get this very pretty flower/berry taste in my mouth, like daisies & blackberries mixed together, with a little bit of earthy, minerally flavors lurking on the tail end. It's smooth & silky on the palate, without a hint of alcohol burn or tingle. That's impressive, given the 13.8% alcohol content.

This is a nice wine that impresses me, but doesn't blow me away. And lets face it, $20 for a bottle of wine isn't cheap. I can think of wines at the ten-dollars-and-under price point (see http://chicksreviewcheapwine.blogspot.com/ for more details) that are nice bottles to relax with on a Wednesday night. I can also come up with other bottles for $20 or better, even pinot noirs, that'll knock my socks off for the same exact price. So, while I enjoyed this wine, I won't purchase it again.

Cheers!

Kate

P.S. Now, that bottle of Mohua, on the other hand, I've already bought again. And the Rodney Strong Russian River Valley pinot noir, too.

P.P.S. I'd like to send out a very special "F**k You" to Governor Dan Malloy for not only raising the sales tax yesterday and putting our state workers' jobs in jeopardy, but for also imposing a luxury tax on cars over $50,000, jewelry over $4000, gasoline, cigarettes, manis/pedis, hairdressing services & wine. I hope he pulls a John G. Rowland & gets arrested sometime during his term.