Rutz Cellars 2005 Dutton Ranch Russian River Pinot Noir and the Venturi Wine Aerator

For those who care, the release notes can be found here.

I had this at a tasting.  It's beyond my usual price point, but a quality wine is worth it.  Cousin David was at the same tasting, and he left with a case.  He's moving from the boonies of Tennesee to the boonies of Ohio, so when he finds something he likes, he buys in bulk.

I felt like having a good red with dinner tonight, so I grabbed this one off of the rack.  My first thought was that it was good, but it was too tight and needed to breathe.  "Too tight" and "needs to breathe" are expressions that us so-called-wine experts use so that people like you think that we are smarter than you.  We like to keep the rabble in their place.  (Once again, drinking while blogging,)

Behold!  My Valentine's day gift from Mrs. Rye.  The Venturi Red Wine Aerator.  The idea is that instead of decanting a good bottle of wine, you pour it through the aerator and get a similar result.  I don't think that it completely replaces the decanter, but when you're opening a bottle for yourself, and not a dinner party, it's an acceptable substitute.  When you pour the wine, it emits a weird hissing noise, kind of like when you are fixing that drip your bathroom sink and the under-the-sink shutoff valve sounds like it's going to explode when you try to close it.  Aaah, the joy of do-it-yourself plumbing in an older house.  I think that the aerator does make a difference.  There may be some placebo affect, but I don't care.

So how did it taste?  It has nice acidity and a nice velvet texture on the tongue, with some cherry, plum, and leather notes in the flavor.

Cost: $34.99
Grade: B+
Cost Adjusted Grade: B

Chateau Greysac

A much better review of this wine can be found here.   I know this guy, and he knows a hell of a lot more about wine than I do.

It's an odd thing.  I crave balance in the beer that I drink, but when it comes to red wine, I like them to err on the fruity side.  This wine is very well balanced, but I doesn't work for me.  It's still a little tight.  I bought four bottles and I'm going to let the other 3 lay down for a few years and see how it goes.

How would Two Parts Rye review this wine?  I went to Tijuana during college spring break and came home with a raging case of Chateau Greysac.  A shot of penicillin cleared it up.

I'm not going to grade it because I think that it still needs a few years of aging.  Wine Enclave called it approachable, which I translate to C+ to B-.

Schäfer 2003 Pinot Noir - Auslese

This is a pinot noir from Germany that's very sweet.  Actually, it's quite Kool-Aidish.  I bought it to go with the paella for last night's dinner.  It's not sangria sweet, but it's in the ball park.  It's ok.  The seafood and spices bring out some of the structure in the wine.  Food and wine working well together.

Drinker, angry football fan, fantastic cook as well.

Needs to work on the photography though....

Cost: $8.99 for 500 ml, which is 2/3 of a normal bottle

Grade: C+

Gregory Graham 2006 Grenache

Crimson Hill Vinyard
You won't see me reviewing many wines over $20, because that's out of my blind purchase price range.  I had this one at a tasting and it's one of my favorites.  It's a holiday/dinner party/gift wine.  Impress your friends.

Web Stuff:  The crimson red, volcanic soil of our vineyard provides the the perfect site for growing red wines. This wine is an example of the quality that can be attained by the vigneron "wine grower," where the grower and winemaker are the same. This unique and exceptional wine is the creation and result of Greg's experience, passion, and effort.

How does it taste?  It has a nice balance of fruit with acidity.  If you like your wines more earthy and tannic, try his syrah.  It's quite tasty too.

Cost: $21.99
Grade: B+
Cost Adjusted Grade: B+

Vino Family Vinyards Don Vino

Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Napa Valley

Label Stuff: This very attractive aromatic invitation weaves together currant, black cherry, tobacco, and forest floor quite harmoniously. The core of mid-palate flavors are deep and thick of cedar, blackberry, and chocolate. All of which leads in to a seamless juicy texture with rich acidity that carry the tannins to a balanced crisp finish.

I don't know about the forest floor BS, but it has a nice blackberry flavor with a little bit of acidity to keep it from being too sweet.  You still get a little bit of berry in the finish.  It's a good wine.  Impress your friends.

Cost: $14.99
Grade: B
Cost Adjusted Grade: A-

I haven't done a wine review in a month.

La Grange de Piaugier Côtes du Rhône 2007

It's a traditional french wine.  No web site, no extra info on the label.  In the US, we're used to seeing the grape variatal instead of the region.  Some research has led me to believe that the grape in this wine is granache.  I like my granache to be a bit more lighter than this wine.

That's fascinating, what does it taste like?  A little bit of berry, not too much tannin.  Kind of earthy.  The sophisticated palate appreciates a glass of dirt.  This is better known as terroir.

Cost: $12.99
Grade: C+
Cost Adjusted Grade: B-

Château d'Or et de Gueules

Costières De Nîmes. 2006

The name comes from the family crest. It means gold and red. (Gueules is the old french word for red.) Oddly enough, in modern french, ta geuele means shut up or more literally shut-your-mouth. Reminds me of a song.

What's the inexpensive red wine that tastes really good for all the chicks?
Costières De Nîmes.
They say that Costières De Nîmes is a bad mother...
Ta Gueule!
I'm only talking about Costières De Nîmes!
We can dig it.
It's a complicated wine for it's price point....

Web stuff:
WHERE IT COMES FROM :
The Château d’Or et de Gueules is situated in the doorstep of the camargue region, 4 kms from the village of St Gilles on the southern slope of Nîmes. The red stony soil and the exceptional climatic conditions (251 days of sun every year) give the grape a maximum maturity, allowing the production of fruity wines with velvety tannins.





Those tannins are beautiful, what are they velvet?





INGREDIENTS
90% old mourvèdre de 90 years age 10% Syrah
OUTPUT
10hl/ha don't care.
WINE MAKING PROCESS
The grape is harvest by hand early october. Extraction is done by “Pigeage”.
DESCRIPTION OF WINE
Impressive deep-coloured with a light spicy , caramel nose and a mouth filling mixed red and black fruits flavours. YES! A big complexity for a top elegant wine. A big complexity for a cheap red! Decant now to drink.

Cost: $9.99
Grade: B
Cost Adjusted Grade: A. Good cheap reds are hard to find.