This Argentinian Malbec has a deep rich red color and a bright berry nose. Rich fruit with a tannic body, this wine would pair perfectly with a pepper steak. Vanilla notes mix with pleasant fruit. A nice medium slightly dry finish completes the Renovales Malbec.
Picked this up from Grocery Outlet for about $3 and the retail is just at $14.99.
Been a week since the last update and I thought since I haven’t drank or smoked anything noteworthy, I’d just take a moment to share what I have been drinking and smoking.
First, yesterday at Grants I smoked the Triumfador by Tatuaje. I understand it’s roughly the same or similiar blend to the La Riqueza (which I need to review for this blog!) and the round of opinions from the guys who smoked it found it pleasant and and “excellent cigar.” I had to agree. Construction was solid, the wrapper held some oily notes along with that signature flavor profile by master blender Don “Pepin” Garcia. I’ll be smoking another one Saturday more than likely. Thanks Pete Johnson!
Oh, at Tobacco Road I finally picked up an Ashton VSG Sungrown. Heard this was a nice smoke and at $17 a stick, it’s blog worthy based on my standards. I’ll report that soon!
I picked up pipe smoking a few weeks back and am enjoying that but haad to deal with the learning curve. Thankfully one of the gents i smoke with has offered to introduce me to some of the finer points on pipe smoking. Btw I picked up a Perot pipe for about $35 from Grants.
This week I’ve had Murrietta’s Well Meritage which doesn’t qualify for the blog (I think it retails for about $15 a bottle) but was a delightful wine to drink. Full of structure, nice tannins and flavor, this 2005 release is one i’ll pick up a few more bottles of. Thank you Livermore Valley, California!
Also this week we had GMH Verdelho from Australia. Geoff M. Hardy’s 2006 release shows bright fruit, acidity and some tartness on this well made South Australian wine.
Of note, was a new thing I might add to the blog. Beer reviews. My girlfriend picked up Three Philsopher’s belgian style ale. Bright flavors with a typical belgian style profile and fruit held nicely on the palate with a medium finish.
Guess that’s it for now.
As always, cheers!
How many cigars do you smoke in a week? How many drinks do you consume in a day?
I ask this question for curiousity’s sake as well as to see where I fit in the moderation spectrum. You see, I recently upped the number of cigars I’ve had in a week from 4 to about 6 and maintained my drink count at 4 drinks a day. Usually two glasses of wine, two scotches.
I asked a few of the smokers I hang out with about their smoking habits and found that most seem to hover around 3-4 cigars a day. If I smoked that much I’d never get anything done!
My cigars and pipe are a relaxing thing for me that keeps me out of the office. Cigars require me to leave the house and be outside at least long enough to head to BART to go to Grants or Tobacco Road. Or at the very least I can sit ont he lake and light up.
Regarding drinks, I just never thought about why I can’t have four drinks in a day. The wine and last scotch of the night is centered around a hearty meal and the early drink I have with lunch.
I drink plenty of water, tea and juice. I eat fairly well and beileve in a good diet all around –which should include fine scotch and cigars!
What say you?
A gold colored wine in the glass possesses just about the chalkiest flavors on a medium finish I have ever tastsed. Made in Tasmania, Australia, the lack of usage in wood really allows for the grapes to show a different side. Stone fruit on the nose was faint but present.
Served with catfish, jasmine rice and edamame, the pairing wasn’t “too” far off.
For a $12 bottle, this wasn’t too bad. Yeah, I know it doesn’t really fit the blog’s suggested price range either but we ARE open to reviewing free wine…
From South Eastern Austrailia, this wine boasts balanced tannins and chocolate on the palate with a creamy oak feel in the mouth. A medium bodied Cab from Aussie Vineyards. A ripe berry nose that opens up after time. Paired well with steak covered in african spice mixture and fried potato slices.
This wine is priced at just under $20 but I picked it up for less at Grocery Outlet.
I’m not overly familiar with wines from the Castilla-La Mancha region of Spain but this one delivered. I had to hunt a little for information.
This dark colored wine with firm tannins and fruit drinks well. It’s not too young or overpowering yet it holds just enough terroir and dirt for my palate to make it a pleasurable drinking wine. Notes of violet and dark fruit lead with a medium finish.
We had it with chinese food and the two don’t really pair well but I just grabbed it not thinking LOL!
For just under $20 this wine meets the blog’s rules AND my wallet remains just as pleased as my palate. Even better, we picked this up as an overstock at Grocery Outlet so we paid $4 for it instead of close to $20.
I’d like to see what laying down a bottle would do for a year or three.
Due to a staggering economy and low foot traffic plus the fact that Oakland is a struggling city both financially and with intellect (Yeah I said it!) Franklin Square, the smaller wine bar opened and operated by the folks who brought us Lukas Taproom and Lounge (just across the street) has closed.
They had a nice selection of wines, reasonable prices on very good food and a friendly atmosphere. Tastings were held on Thursdays at a reasonable price.
Hell I probably could have lit up a cigar on the patio with a glass of wine.
But this is what happens when people don’t spend money and downtown looks like hell.
Downtown Oakland looks like a ghost town on weekends now.
Sadly I hear the champagne lounge on 24th and Telegraph is also empty much of the time.
I was extremely surprised when I first popped the cork from this wine. Pleasant flavors and typical aromas hit the nose before I’d poured into the glass. The cork crumble was expected since the wine was a few years old but 1996 was a good year for solid production in wine.
My reservation was with the fact that I paid $5 for this wine and it retails for like, $17 or so. The Grocery Outlet store here in Oakland has a less than stellar selection of wines and most of what we pick up I’d consider drinkable. Nothing more.
But this wine had structure though it was starting to fade. Deep red in color with tints of brown from age, this wine swirls with nice long legs. Aromas of cherry and fruit come to the nose with a welcome bit of terroir. Soft tannins and mellow undertones of berry fruit are evident with a nice medium finish.
After half an hour, the wine softened more and opened up with more sweetness on the palate and some light acidity that paired with spaghetti.
I’ll be going back to pick up a few more bottles of this cab at this procie for sure!
The winery’s website is: Bighorn Cellars. They like to specialize in small production of exemplary wines from the regions they grow best in. Also, they’re out of Oregon. Remind me to go back and read the label as I just saw they have a higher end wine for $45 and I’d be curious to know if I picked that up.
Cheers!
Hi Folks,
I think I’ll be updating this blog on Thursdays. It makes sense to me since I do a WriteSEX update then and traffic seems to show that I get higher views on those days.
Did you enjoy my review of the Diamond Crown Robusto? If you missed it you can find it here.
After a little thought, I’ve decided to lower my price points for reviews.The purpose of any blog is to grow, but until I have more product coming in from vendors, (and more time to dedicate to obtaining samples!) I think I can provide a valuable service by hitting the mid range prices on wines/liquors/cigars. I spoke with Thomas at Grants when asking abou a higher end stick than my normal Tatuaje or Padron and he told me that slightly above $17 per cigar, you start getting into the higher end products like the Padron 80th anniversary or Fuente OpusX.
Plus, I need to expand exposure of the blog. On a brighter note, Chehalem Vineyards is sending sample bottles of wine to me. I emailed heather at the vineyard last week and she responded with a positive note and what sounded like incredible wines from Oregon. So look for that in the coming weeks!
As always, Enjoy the Good Life!
Picked up this tidbit from TheWineNews.com and thought I’d share it. I’m a vintage snob definitely and LOVE hearing the good news.
What say ya’ll?