Nathanson Creek Merlot - 96

Fancy synthetic cork smells nice. Wine smells hard; just sniffing it warms my belly. Tastes somewhat vegetable, salty. Has that round feel -- makes me feel I'm rolling a bouncy-ball in my mouth.

I'll admit that after I've seen there's no date and it's (probably) made by Woodbridge, I've turned against it.

But it was good each time I re-opened it, all the way into September, and if I wanted a sure thing from the one I've had so far, this would be it.

Available for $8.63 a bottle with shipping online. Drank in late summer, 2001, when I'd only drunk about 20 wines. I'm not sure how I'd rate it now, 'cause I can't find it in stores any more, and I have trouble spending $8.63 a bottle for wine available in a jug.

This is the second post in a planned series to see if I can track down my favorite wines online, for stockpiling purposes. Previously:
2000 Salice Salentino - 100
1998 Hogue Syrah - 98

1998 Hogue Syrah - 98

Standard cheapish nose, but the mouth! Rich and powerful (like I like 'em...) -- spicy, thick, heavy, and a dignified fruit at the end -- is it fig? berry? grape? Every time it's a bit different. I want more. But it was a gift, likely bought at a nice wine shop near the Pike Place market in Seattle (likely in the $20 range), and I can't find it online at all.
It's easy to find other Hogue wines in the grocery store, but they vary, down to about a 70 rating for me, I think, so I probably won't spend $14 a bottle just to see if I like the closest thing I found, a 2001 Hogue Syrah.

This is the second post in a planned series to see if I can track down my favorite wines online, for stockpiling purposes. Previously:
2000 Salice Salentino - 100

2000 Salice Salentino Candido - 100

I like to buy the cheapest wine I haven't yet had and hated, and I take every opportunity to drink free wine. Then I take notes. I'm not good at all at picking up specific flavors (yet? I think it's just a matter of thinking about lots of individual flavors while drinking then discarding all but the ones that fit), but I have two books full of my amateurish scribblings.

As my ridiculous notion of wedding planning proceeds (I have a great "wedding" music playlist and a vague notion that I like the trend of cupcakes instead of a cake), I've realized that my wine ratings will help me choose wine for my wedding that I, at least, like a lot.

My favorite wine so far has been the 2000 Salice Salentino Candido, from the Puglia region of Italy (I am so going there). I drank it in mid-2006. Here are my amateurish scribblings on it:

jasonrumney.net

Love at first sniff. Berries shot out the second the (real!*) cork was pulled. In the glass, it smells like brandy and looks a sophisticated brickaroon**. I burned the fuck out of my tongue earlier, but this thing has no harshness -- in fact, I think it has "notes." Day-umn. It's like they built this beauty for me (reminds me of a fellow I know). It smells like the home of your first love.*** You know?

*I don't recall what merited an exclamation point here. I must have had a run of either corks that ruined the wine or fake corks (which I've come to appreciate).
**Brick+maroon. Evokes "octoroon" (which just sounds racist, whether it is yet or not) rather unfortunately and utterly unintentionally.
***It occurs to me now, for whatever reason, that one's first love's house might smell, for example, like their housemate's cats shat in the closet, the housemate moved out, and no one has taken responsibility for cleaning it up yet. Yes, I realize that discussing this in conjunction with my wedding, two important romances, and my favorite wine is not appropriate.

I try to keep track of where I procure wines, but I don't have it written down here. I suspect this came from Wild Oats, and cost less than $11. When in doubt, I prefer paying shipping charges to driving all over town looking, so I'm tempted to buy a few bottles of this here before they go away.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a wine I liked so much had been rated 87 by Wine Spectator, though for all I know, that's what made me pull it off the shelf to begin with. Also, re-examination of the web page shows it's not fancy Wine Spectator, but (more down-market?) Wine Enthusiast. And no, 87 ain't 100, but I ain't ever spending $50 on anything just to get a few extra enthusiast points.