2008 Locati Cellars Columbia Valley Barbera

2008 Locati Cellars Columbia Valley Barbera
Varietal:  Barbera
Cost per bottle: $26


"This Barbera, a variety originating in northwest Italy's Piedmont region, finds a beautiful expression in the Lonesome Springs Vineyard. Jumping from the glass are bright aromatics of huckleberries, allspice and lemon rind. Bridging the best of the old and new worlds, the palate combines an earthy character and lively acidity with ripe red cherries and raspberries. "

This wine is so smooth!  It rolls into your mouth and leaves no trace when swallowed.  It looks and smells like red berries while having a grown-up wine flavor.  I think this is the first time I've had Barbera, and now I wonder where it has been all my life.

This one is meant to be sipped and savored.  Probably great for sharing too, but I'm not sure that I like any of you enough to give up a glass. My precccioussss! I feel sad that the wine sample bottle is so tiny.

Shirt.Woot is awesome

I ordered this shirt a little over a week ago.  It is called Mort-Vivant (Living Dead).  It is in the style of Alphonse Mucha's work.

It arrived today and I thought they had sent me a Mens size shirt.  They didn't.

It turns out that the sizing had changed and I didn't notice.  Woot's Womens shirts had been a straight-down cut in Juniors-like sizing, so I had been ordering an WXL which was still pretty snug over my chest.  The new shirts are supposed to have room for a little curve in the bust and hips.

To be honest, I don't usually read the shirt descriptions. They always make up a little story to go with the design and I don't care enough to read them.  Because of my tl;dr attitude, I missed the bright gold box at the bottom announcing the size/style changes.  In the new style of shirt, I needed a Medium.

Woot does not do returns/exchanges, but they are taking pity on me and sending the size I really need even though it was my own fault for not reading the description.

They don't want me to return the shirt I already received, so I need to find a new home for it.


Womens XL - Chest 23" (46" around) - Length 28".  It is 100% cotton and likely to shrink a little.

Mort-vivant

Lava Cap '07 Reserve El Dorado Merlot

Lava Cap '07 Reserve El Dorado Merlot
Varietal:  92% Merlot, 8% Sangiovese
Cost per bottle: $20


"The grapes for Lava Cap’s '07 "Reserve" Merlot were grown exclusively in their estate vineyard and hand-harvested. Cold soaked for 72 hours, the juice was then inoculated with specially selected cultured yeast strains. The wine was aged for 15 months in small French Oak barrels. Final blending included 8% Sangiovese for a sleek, velvety, full-bodied finish. This elegant, well-structured wine has clean notes of ripe cherry, anise, green apple and chocolate balanced with juicy tannins."

Interesting color - it looks like blood that has been out just long enough to begin oxidizing.  It even gives the illusion of plasma separation when you tilt the glass.  I'm not saying that as a negative.

It is tart, but not sour or bitter.  I'm not fond of anise or green apple, so this Merlot wouldn't be my very first choice but I wouldn't turn it down either.  It is a good one for those that do like those flavors.  The finish is very smooth, no aftertaste.

Peterson Winery bust, Tasting Room steps up

Something is clearly wrong with the whole case of samples from Peterson Winery.  Each one has been terrible.  The Sauvignon Blanc tasted like watery bitter beer, the Zinfandel had an 'old' flavor.  Not liked aged wine, but like moldy socks.  It is possible that the case was subjected to very high or low temperatures.  Maybe there was a problem with the bottling process that day.

It isn't even worth continuing to review them, because you can't accurately review a damaged product.

I contacted Tasting Room to let them know, in case other people were having similar issues with this batch.  They've offered to send out a new set of samples from a different source as a replacement.  I did not ask for a replacement, so this is extra nice of them.  They are sending this one: A Taste Adventure-Red Essentials

2005 Peterson AgRaria "Big Barn Red"

I have six tiny bottles of wine to sample from Peterson Winery in California.  Starting with:

AgRaria "Big Barn Red" 2005
Varietal:  78% Cabernet Franc, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon
Cost per bottle: $50 - $60

The Claim:

"Complex aromas and flavors of spicy cedar, violets, berry and dusty tannins reflect a classic Cabernet blend. The mountain terroir contributes an alluring minerality and robust acidity that wind around the palate, enhancing the flavors and complexity while making this wine an ideal match with food. The finish shows off the lovely combination of fruit, oak and tannins, and as the flavors dissipate you are ready to sip again, and again."

The Reality:

After 15 minutes of letting this wine breathe, the aroma is best described as 'flammable'.  There is no discernible fruit scent underneath the alcohol.  I didn't let that stop me, of course.  I've been to college.  I've had worse.

When it hit my tongue, the first impression was 'sour'.  Sour like biting into an unripe grapefruit through the rind.  I took several more tiny sips trying to detect any other flavors, but my tongue went numb.  No joke, I literally lost feeling for a few moments.  As sensation came back, the inside of my mouth was left feeling extremely dry.

The finish isn't so much a taste but a sensation of fumes coming out the nose.  In addition, my face began to sweat.

Further whining; there was sediment in the bottle, and the wine stained my teeth.

The Conclusion:

Maybe the name "Big Barn Red" comes from being made with fermenting silage in an actual barn full of cattle.

This wine was so remarkably bad that I wonder if there was something wrong with my sample bottle.  This is supposed to be one of Peterson's special blends and it has positive reviews from other tasters.  At this point, my advice is not to buy without trying it because the price is too steep to take the chance.