2006 Domaine Mas du Bouquet VACQUEYRAS (Rhone Valley, France)

This was a very good buy, particularly for a Vacqueyras (an excellent appellation sandwiched between Chateauneuf du Pape and Gigondas), which typically cost a bit more that a regular ol' Cotes du Rhone. This one is 60% Grenache 30% Syrah 10% Mourvèdre, according to the importer's website.

Beautiful black ruby/garnet. Gorgeously ripe, fruity nose, with loads of sappy blackberries, sweet cream, and freshly-cracked stones. Fruit attacks the palate gradually, building to a deep-toned, mouth-watering fruity richness, with iodine/earthy notes. Lots of soft tannin in the long, pure-tasting finish. Nice balance. 88. Was $12 at HEB on Buffalo Speedway (but I think I have also seen this at Whole Foods on Bellaire for a little more). Imported by Laurent Terrisson Wines.

PLAN PEGAU "Lot #2007" (Southern France)

This is a grenache-based blend from the Rhone area, made by a respected producer of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. It is a soft, fruity, fun-to-drink red that would go well with lots of foods.

Dark ruby color. Direct, fruity, juicy nose. Tangy raspberry and boysenberry syrup, with a spiced peat component. Medium-bodied but densely-fruited, with a fleshy texture and a light mouthfeel. Kind of like a very ripe Beaujolais made from Rhone varietals. Mineral and berry flavors accented by a forest floor note. 87. Good value at $11.50 at Spec's on Richmond. Imported by Hand-Picked Selections.

2006 Umani Ronchi "Casal di Serra" VERDICCHIO DEI CASTELLI DE JESI Classico Superiore (Marche, Italy)

Probably better a year ago.

Medium light gold. Accessible, soft nose of pear/banana and sweet chalk. Round and soft, with full body and loads of earthy banana and pear-skin fruit, with a peppery, minerally, low acid, slightly flabby finish. Not bad, but I favor Verdicchios that are in a fresher, crisper, more minerally-stony style. 84. Was $16 at Houston Wine Merchant.

(Sorry, 2003 shown)

The Aftermath

In the aftermath of the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC, Herodotus tells us in The Histories, that Xerxes beat a hasty retreat out of the Attican peninsula in Southern Greece.  He realized that with his Navy shattered, his odds of defeating the Greeks were tilting sharply away from him.  He had tasted Greek determination twice and both were costly.  The first time was the legendary battle of Thermopylae where a force of 300 Spartans and several hundred Thebans and others held a narrow pass for three days against the million man army from Persia.  Free men fighting to defend their freedom.  Then came Salamis, where once again, a clever strategy and superior seamanship combined with the determination to defend their freedom and land allowed a Greek naval force less than a third the size of the Persian fleet to prevail.  It is said that Xerxes watched the battle from a promontory and wept at the destruction of his force.

So in the middle of the night, he packed up his army...feinted to the Greek scouts that he might be headed to the Peloponnese and headed north for the Hellespont, terrified that the Greek navy would get their first and destroy the bridge of boats.  Herodotus, as he is want to do throughout The Histories, takes the reader off on a tangent of a tale about Xerxes, and it was this that I kept thinking of yesterday as I watched the machinations of what was our House of Representatives pushing, dragging, kicking this bloated rotting cow corpse of a bill, the "Health care reform act" across the finish line.  Herodotus reported that Xerxes was in such a panic to get out of Greece that south of the Hellespont he took a boat over to the Asian side.  The boat was piloted by a Phoenician, so you know he had to be a good sailor, but nevertheless at mid passage, the boat encountered a freak storm and high waves were threatening to swamp it.  The captain told Xerxes that unless they lightened the load, they would not make it.  Xerxes ordered his entourage to jump overboard so that he might be saved.  Without question, the historian reports, the Persians leapt overboard saving their lord and master.  Herodotus goes on to declare that he believes the story is false, but the image of Obama as Xerxes stuck with me.  Pelosi, Stupak, Hoyer the whole lot were ordered to jump overboard and they did.

If history is a guide, the Persian Wars can be viewed as an allegory for the battle between conservatives and statists.  The Battle of Marathon when the badly outnumbered Athenians defeated the Persians under Darius in 490 BC would be analogous to the Clintons' attempt at taking over health care...the Persians landed at Marathon and were promptly whupped.  Yesterday was, in my opinion, analogous to Thermopylae...and in a lot of ways.  The good guys (those that love freedom) were ultimately defeated, but they put up a spirited defense.  Remember, the way the Persians finally defeated the Spartans was when a Greek traitor, Ephialtes (Stupak?), told the Persians about a goat path that led behind the Spartan line. Now in fairness, the Republicans should never have gotten in this predicament...they are where they are because they betrayed the trust of the American people - a lesson that will soon be dealt to the presiding Democrats - but then, if the Athenians had not meddled with the Ionian city states in Asia, Darius and Xerxes might have left them alone.  In each case, the seeds for defeat were sown long before.  But at least they held firm together and died honorably.  "Honor;"  what a quaint, distinctly western concept.  The Democrats would do well to consider the rest of the story after Thermopylae.  First came the disaster at Salamis, but ultimately came the horrifying defeat at Plataea in 479 BC.  Only 3,000 Persians out of 300,000 walked out of that blood bath.  The Democrats might do well to look up the term "Pyrrhic victory" while they are at it because I sense an anger and a level of activism I have not seen before...ever.  And it is broad based.

I remember the anger of the protests in the 1960's.  It was violent and scary and we thought the country was going to tear itself apart.  But that was carried out by a small group of people - the anti-Vietnam War folks were primarily radicalized college students; the race riots were primarily agitating (community organizing on steroids) anarchists embedding themselves in a just cause for racial justice.  This is different.  This will not end in riots and destruction, it is a seething anger that wants retribution.  Here's another interesting tidbit: this "reform" bill, which bloats the size of the IRS, takes over the private institutions of student loans and wrecks the most innovative and effective healthcare system in the world, was passed on the same day as the Stamp Act in 1765.  OK, to be precise, the Stamp Act was passed on the 22nd of March, but it was passed in England.  By the time the vote was held last night at 11PM, it was already dawn on the 22nd in England, so I think the analogy holds.

For a quick refresher on the significance of the Stamp Act, here's Wikipedia's take:

The Stamp Act of 1765 (short title Duties in American Colonies Act 1765; 5 George III, c. 12) was a tax imposed by the British Parliament on the colonies of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced onstamped paper produced in London and carrying an embossed revenue stamp.^[1][2] These printed materials were legal documents, magazines, newspapers and many other types of paper used throughout the colonies. Like previous taxes, the Stamp tax had to be paid in valid British currency, not in colonial paper money.^[3] The purpose of the tax was to help pay for troops stationed in North America after the British victory in the Seven Years' War. The British government felt that the colonies were the primary beneficiaries of this military presence, and should pay at least a portion of the expense.

The Stamp Act met with great resistance in the colonies. It was seen as a violation of the right of Englishmen to be taxed only with their consent—consent that only the colonial legislatures could grant. Colonial assemblies sent petitions of protests, and theStamp Act Congress, reflecting the first significant joint colonial response to any British measure, also petitioned Parliament and the king. Local protest groups, led by colonial merchants and landowners, established connections through correspondence that created a loose coalition that extended from New England to Georgia. Protests and demonstrations initiated by the Sons of Liberty often turned violent and destructive as the masses became involved. Very soon all stamp tax distributors were intimidated into resigning their commissions, and the tax was never effectively collected.

"Met with great resistance."  I should say so...and the tax was "never effectively collected."  A volcano has been building in this country.  We see charts like this:

and we say to ourselves "what the f...???" And, as the chart illustrates, a pox on both their houses!  Out here in the real world, we know that this is unsustainable.  And what is Washington doing about it?  Well, they are laying on trillions more in income redistribution hastening the "Thatcher moment," when all statists fail - they run out of people to tax and they run out of OUR money.  We don't want to be France and we damned sure don't want to be Greece.  This is something deep in the American character, call it the "bird versus poultry" mentality.

I have nothing against poultry - I like a good breast of chicken properly grilled.  But I wouldn't want to be a chicken.  I would much rather be a bird.  Now the chicken has some good things going for it: it stays warm in it's coop, free food, hell IT gets free healthcare!  You see, statists want to be the farmers and they love it when the people play poultry.  They get to tell us how much water we can drink, they provide us with the same dull food everyday...now they are going to provide us with healthcare.  This is the European model of statist control that the folks on the far left want to apply here.  Now a bird has a riskier life...it might be cold in the winter and have a hard time foraging for food after a heavy snow.  But  at 500 feet, the bird has a spectacular view; and it can choose where it wants to go.  I submit that, if polled, far more Americans would choose the bird's life.

So now the real struggle begins.  The statists will blanket the airwaves with messages of how this bill saved healthcare and how wonderful it is! It is a form of anesthesia they are desperately going to try to administer to we, the people.  We need to be vigilant and stalwart in avoiding this ruse.  The first fight will be in the courts...Obama may rue the day he dragged the Supreme Court up for childish derision in the State of the Pep Rally err, Union speech.  If unsuccessful there, it will be fought by the states.  Already states attorneys general are lining up to sue...in Tennessee, our governor, a Democrat, has told us that it will cost us over $1 billion in the first five years alone.  This from a guy that dismantled our version of Obamacare called Tenncare because it was bankrupting the state.  Then it will be fought in the ballot booth come November.  Obaxerxes may be triumphant now, but the Oracles are clear about hubris.  The day of reckoning awaits.

It's Official: Prostitution Passes Healthcare Bill

If you haven't heard, the House passed the Obamacare bill 219-212 today. Bart Stupak, the Democrat who stood strong on his pro-life beliefs sold his soul to the devil for three airports which swung the vote of 8 or 9 pro-life Democrats from 'No' to 'Yes'. So much for principles.

This isn't over yet. This will have its day in the courts. With an estimated 38 states preparing lawsuits against the healthcare bill, we may see an effort by the states to repeal the bill. It only takes 2/3 of the states to do that.

So just relax a little and let's see how this plays out over the next few weeks. It isn't law yet.

Great tasting of Silver Oak and Twomey wines

I was invited to a special private tasting last week with Daniel Baron, the winemaker at Silver Oak -- one of the most prestigious names in all of California winedom. For me, it was a real treat, because I have not attended many formal tastings since leaving the wine biz in the mid-1980s, and I actually have never had the pleasure of drinking a Silver Oak wine.

It occurred during my regular work hours, so I unfortunately had to religiously spit, but I enjoyed it immensely anyway. Not only were the wines very special (notes to follow), but Daniel Baron has been making wine in the highest eschelons for decades. As we were tasting, he regaled us not only with a wealth of winemaking information, but also some great anecdotes from his interesting career.

The wines comprised not only the two Silver Oak Cabernets (the Alexander Valley and the Napa Valley), but also from Twomey Vineyards, with is associated with Silver Oak, though it focuses on varietals other than Cabernet (a Sauvignon Blanc, several Pinot Noirs, and a Merlot). All the wines were either currently on the market or about to be released.

2008 Twomey Napa Valley SAUVIGNON BLANC -- from old vines formerly owned by the now defunct Stonegate Winery, this was a very tight, crisp, French-styled Sauvignon Blanc. Restrained nose with light earthy, toasty notes and citrusy fruit. Crisp as all heck in the mouth, with a pervasive minerality and a refreshing style. Long, lean finish. Would be a dynamite accompaniment to sweet shellfish such as shrimp or scallops.

The following Pinot Noirs are denominated by regional appellation only, as they are blended from multiple vineyards within the designated region.

2008 Twomey Santa Barbara PINOT NOIR -- Tart and very tight. Gorgeous light pomegranate ruby color. Bright, nervous nose of sappy yet crisp cherries. High acidity, razor-like focus, but good ripeness. Long cherry-skin finish. (Daniel said this P.N. was from the coolest climate of the four, and will open up with time.)

2008 Twomey Anderson Valley PINOT NOIR -- Slightly darker color. Deeper, sappier nose, with spice and earth notes. Lower-toned flavors, with more earthy, humus (not hummus) notes. Longer finish too. Drinking well already.

2008 Twomey Sonoma Coast PINOT NOIR -- Darker still, with purply-ruby hues. Sweeter, riper nose, with lots of fruit and cinnamon. Broader, expansive mouthfeel, with lots of secondary flavors already showing up in addition to great, sappy Pinot fruit. Tightens up in the long finish. Needs a little time to get itself fully together, but already very tasty.

2008 Twomey Russian River PINOT NOIR -- Wow! Of all these appellations, Russian River is usually my least favorite, but this was fantastic. Great fruit on the nose. Gobs of focused, ripe cherry and a few other berries in the background. Round, silky, and concentrated in the mouth, but with a light feel. Lovely, pure fruity, soft and extra-long finish. Great balance.

2006 Twomey Napa Valley MERLOT -- I'm not usually a huge Merlot guy, but this ROCKED! From a single vineyard in SE Napa near Stag's Leap (Daniel said the soil is very poor, volcanic pumice), made only with French clones of Merlot, and aged in French oak. An elegant, blackish ruby color. Intense, focused blackberry fruit on the nose. Tight in the mouth, with ripe fruit but avoiding any jamminess or perceptible residual sugar. Lots of gravelly, stony notes, and gobs of very fine-grained tannins. Full-bodied, with fantastic length. I thought this was very much like a top growth St. Emilion or Pomerol. I probably would not have picked this out as a California wine if I didn't know what it was.

All the Twomey reds will retail at $50. (I can't remember what he said the Sauvignon Blanc sells for.)

2005 Silver Oak Alexander Valley CABERNET SAUVIGNON -- As all Silver Oak Cabs, this was 100% Cabernet and aged in 100% American Oak (50% was new for this wine). Dark black ruby color. Rich, earthy, cigar box, and humus notes along with ripe, dark fruit. Ripe and rich in the mouth, but with a nice, tight, concentrated core of fruit. Nice structure and balance. A very complete wine.

2004 Silver Oak Napa Valley CABERNET SAUVIGNON -- Very sedate color. Fantastic and unique nose, with sweet, perfumey cassis and cigar leaf, and a deep-toned inky component. Lots of minerally gravel notes in the mouth, with great focus and concentration. Impeccable balance. Still a fair amount of tannin, but a soft texture nonetheless. Very long finish.

Finally, Daniel explained a unique cork quality program that Silver Oak has instituted. I was amazed at how much thought and empirical data went into it, and the result, he said, was that, for their 750 ml bottles, the incidence of corked wine has been reduced from 2% (which seemed already pretty low to me), to an unheard of 0.67%. He also mentioned that for each and every bottle of 3L or larger, the corks are individually inspected! Amazing attention to quality.

***************************

All in all, a great experience!

Play BamaOpoly with the Bamster and his Socialist pals

A game that warms the crusty hearts of even the most seasoned Hollywood Libs. Help Obama take over Banks, Union adled industries and the lapdog media.

A San Fran' Nancy Pelosi / Heart-throb Harry Reid approved game suitable for all the proletariat, from the mind of Saul Alinsky.



Click to enlarge.

2008 Elementos GARNACHA (Calatayud, Spain)

Another very good value, food-friendly Grenache from Calatayud. Surprise, surprise.

Dark ruby with a purple tinge near the rim. Lively, youthful nose of raspberries, pungent minerals, and scorched earth. Full-bodied, aggressively fruity flavors (mostly raspberry) attacking the palate with earnest determination. A really good weekday night pasta or stew wine. 87. Was $8.99 at Whole Foods on Bellaire.

(Sorry, can't find a photo).

2007 Domaine du Bagnol CASSIS (Provence, France)

A flavorful, balanced, easy-going white from a tiny appellation near Marseille.

Light, bright gold. Ripe, soft nose of earthy peach and pear fruit, flowers, and bath powder. A soft, broad, low-acid mouthfeel, with ripe apple/pear fruit and a clean, lightly-minerally finish. Very easy to drink. Were it cheaper, it would be a great party white with broad appeal, and would also be ridiculously good with spicy Asian food. 88. Was $25 at Spec's on Smith, making it kind of pricy for such a casual style. Imported by Neal Rosenthal Selections.

2004 Optima CABERNET SAUVIGNON (Alexander Valley, Cal.)

Disappointing. An over-ripe, over-extracted, over-oaked behemoth. I usually love well-made Alexander Valley Cabs for their easy going texture, ripe berry fruit, and loamy gravel notes, but this had none of those qualities.

Nearly saturated black, black ruby. Rich nose of intensely oaky, scorched earth, with lots of baker's chocolate. Very little fruit. Tannic, massive, highly extracted flavors, again with little fruit and almost all inky, baker's chocolate flavors and lots of peppery heat from the too-high alcohol in the back of the throat. D. Was $18 from Wines 'til Sold Out. (I have 3 more bottles, so if the others turn out better, I will update with a new post. If not, I have a lot of expensive cooking wine).

2005 Chateau de Peyremorin (Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux)

A decent Bordeaux, but not a repeat purchase.

Dark ruby garnet with a tad bit of amber at the rim. No nose at first, but run through a Vinturi, it showed medium-intensity aromas of dark cherry, scorched earth, and smoky autumn leaves. A leaner, bone-dry style, with tight, dry black cherry fruit and some gravelly minerality. A fair amount of noticeable tannin. Probably not going to get any better. 85. Was about $15 at Spec's Warehouse on Westheimer and Montrose.

2007 Louis M. Martini CABERNET SAUVIGNON (Sonoma County)

This is the entry level Cabernet from this widely-available winery, and it's a solid effort.

Dark, blackish ruby. Ripe, inviting nose of ripe blackberry and sweet cream. Rich, mouthfilling blackberry fruit, with lots of soft, minerally-tinged tannin clinging to the palate. Not a complex or serious Cab, but satisfying, balanced, and fun to drink. 87. I believe I got this at Randall's on Weslayan for about $16, but it's available just about everywhere.

2006 Domaine Sorin BANDOL (Provence, France)

A very solid, classic Mourvedre from this appellation.

Very blackish ruby. Classic Bandol nose of smoky blackberry under a veneer of tree bark, with a touch of sweet cream. Tannic and ripe, with inky, palate-clinging flavors of dry blackberry extract, iodine, and gravel. Long, tannic finish. Needs another 2-4 years to soften and develop. 88+. Was about $26 at Spec's on Richmond. Imported by Bandol Wines LLC, of Houston.

2008 Ranch Zabaco ZINFANDEL "Sonoma Heritage Vines" (Sonoma County, Cal.)

Simple and grapy, but with a lot of flavor.

Nearly saturated purplish dark ruby. Nose of sweet crushed red grapes and boysenberries, with a touch of pine resin and sweet cream. Round, ripe, and soft, with simple, fruity, direct flavors. Full-bodies, with some tannin for physical structure underneath the thick fruit. Gutsy and direct, but not as complex as this wine usually is. 86. Decent value at $12.99 (just about everywhere).

2006 Quinta do Alqeve "Tradicional" (Ribatejo, Portugal)

I drank and enjoyed the 2001 of this several years ago, but this iteration was disappointing.

Thin, tight, with altogether too much acidity (much of it volatile acidity, i.e., acetic acid), with little redeeming flavor. Avoid. F.

Who Was The Stimulus Supposed To Help?

I was watching Hannity tonight and he gave some shocking numbers I had not heard. Unemployment among government workers is three percent. In the construction industry it is almost 25 percent.

During the campaign, Obama said the stimulus package was going to give us "shovel-ready" jobs.

We need shovels alright. We need them to shovel all of the Obama BS we've heard since the campaign started. He chided John McCain at the healthcare summit saying that the campaign was over. I don't think it is over for Obama.

Cartoon Credit: Ramirez

I'm So Glad I Lost My Job Today

The American economy is in full recovery. Times are good. So good that only 36,000 people lost their jobs today. So says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. I'm sure every one of those 36,000 people are excited about losing their job.

This is irrefutable proof that the Democratic leadership has completely and utterly lost touch with reality. They are taking elitism to a whole new level.

The actual good news? Unemployment among Democrats is going to spike in early November. Let's see how good it is for Harry Reid when he loses his job. What a dolt.

Nancy Pelosi's Hypocrisy

What do Tom DeLay and Charlie Rangel have in common? Nothing if you ask Nancy Pelosi. When then Majority Leader Tom DeLay was facing ethics charges, Nancy Pelosi had this to say:

The burden falls upon his fellow House Republicans. Republicans must answer: Do they want an ethically unfit person to be their majority leader or do they want to remove the ethical cloud that hangs over the Capitol?

Now that Charlie Rangel, the chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has some serious ethics charges against him, what does Nancy Pelosi have to say?

But the fact is, is that what Mr. Rangel has been admonished for is not good. It was a violation of the rules of the House. It was not a–something that jeopardized our country in any way.

So that is the new standard for ethics violations? It's only bad if the country is put in jeopardy?

I have news for you. The fact that these morons are in charge is putting the country in jeopardy.

RSC Endorsement: U.S. Senate Arizona

I think most people would agree, it is past time for John McCain to go. It was his RINO, maverick attitude that played a big role in the right losing the 2008 presidential election.

J.D. Hayworth is a true conservative and a leader. He does not back down from opposition. He does not get in bed with politicians on both side of the aisle.