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Three Big, Local Reds
All delicious, but in different ways
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Greetings!
I'm convinced that my offer of three very rich yet very different reds from Napa and Sonoma is not tilting at windmills. We all like variety. Variety is good, otherwise we'd all drink only, oh I don't know, T-Vine Merlot every night. (T-Vine Merlot is released next week, by the way. I'm tasting it next Tuesday.) Besides, the common demoninator of this week's "Big Three" is big & rich. That said, one leads with the fruit, one leads with the earthy spice, and one places equal weight on both. They're all delicious, and priced quite nicely for the artisanal wines that they are.
But first...BACK ROOM BLOW OUT XXXIII is this Friday night, August 28, from 5 to 8 PM.
What a line-up we have for you:
Herb Lamb Vineyards (Sauvignon Blanc & yummy Red), 
Sojourn Cellars (Two Pinot Noirs),
Uvaggio Winery (3 superb value Cal-Italians) and
Diamond Springs Vineyard (an exceptional, new El Dorado County Cabernet producer) will be pouring and telling their stories.
Holy Schmoley, it's our 33rd Blow Out! Tasting fee is $15 with $5 credit back for each bottle of Blow Out wine purchased. No reservations needed, just come on in, we'll give you a glass, and taste away!
Here's the complete tasting line-up for Blow Out XXXIII.
Write it down: Thursday tasting events start September 10.
Same hours as Friday Nights: 5 to 8. No reservation required (usually...I'll give ample notice when a reservations is recommended). Friday tastings are so chock-full of tasting fun that it's time to spread the love to another day of the week.
Thursday tastings combine fun & tasty wines of the world with an even greater focus on education.
We launch Thursdays on September 10 with "Chardonnay Zero to 100 Malolactic." Taste the difference as you scale up the ML (i.e. butter) ladder.
Also on the calendar for Thursdays:
- A tasting of Jean Louis Chave & Didier Dagueneau wines
- Merlot: Napa vs Bordeaux
- Red Burgundy from six Cote d'Or villages
- A tasting and lesson about the different styles of Sherries
Thursday tastings, just like Fridays, are from 5 to 8 P.M. (we're usually ready to pour a little earlier however) and reservations are not necessary.
We're scheduled into November on Thursday tastings (and Fridays too).
Check out the Calendar of Tasting Events here.
Yours in vino. Dan
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Three Big Reds
All delicious...in different ways
ROBERT FOLEY "Griffin" Napa Valley 2007 $32 net
Let's start with Back Room's latest BIG FAT JUICY NAPA RED BLEND. We've introduced you to many such delicious red wines the past seven + years, most notable Orin Swift's "The Prisoner." Most have been relatively unknown wineries. Today we present you such a wine crafted by the talented, slightly-famous, slightly-studly Bob Foley. The "Griffin" blend is 43% Cab Sauv, 35% Petite
Sirah, 22% Merlot. Bob's very careful not to announce his fruit sources, so suffice it to say that these grapes, and this wine, merits a price tag twice this much. The wine is a luscious, delectable red blend that drinks
big, rich, spicy and smooth. Black cherry liqueur, black pepper, cocoa,
mulberries, vanilla bean, cinnamon. Super-easy to like...a lot.
At 1900 cases made, it's not the dinky production wine most common at BRW, but mark my words: the demand for this will be high, and Griffin will fly away soon.
SAGE VINEYARDS  "Veedercrest" 2005Mount Veeder, Napa Valley $33/bottle
"Veedercrest" is a marriage of rich & succulent Napa fruit and intriguing flavors of the land. The blend is 40% Cab Sauv, 30% Merlot and 30% Cab Franc from the crest of Mount Veeder.
It's co-owned and made by Robbie Meyer, one of the best, and lesser-known, fine winemakers of Napa & Sonoma. Exceptional mountain character with dark berry/cherry, tobacco, soy
sauce and meaty flavors. Bold & rich fruit, good acidity and
healthy tannins, compliment of sweet oak and a long finish of fruit
& earth. Time in bottle has served this mountain wine well. It's particularly complex, especially for a $30ish "designer wine." Excellent food wine: of course red meat is the first choice, but also try roasted little birdies, maybe with soy-based marinade.
TURJANIS
Cabernet  Sauvignon 2006
"Poliza Estate" Sonoma Valley $36/bottle
Sweet earth & spice lead the way in this Bordeaux-esque Cabernet from Sonoma Valley. It's like a Pauillac, in a very good vintage, but much more generous in its flavors in its youth. Karen Bowers Turjanis, Owner & Winemaker (she's made Cloud View Red, from Pritchard Hill, for a stylistic frame of reference perhaps.) "Poliza Estate" is a hillside vineyard looking over Glen Ellen. This Cab will make you
appreciate all the best sensations of Sonoma Valley Cabernet: black olive,
black pepper, mocha, spicy, fruity nose. Dark rich fruit, perfect
acidity and complex flavors. Long finish of earth, licorice &
fruit. 100% Cab, all French oak, only 292 cases made.
MIXED CASE: 4 bottles of each
$375
includes 10% discount
HALF CASE: 2 bottles of each - $195
includes 5% discount
3 ways to order: Call Toll-Free at 877-322-2576,
Order online here, or just reply to this email.
Thank you! |
Another cool week
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By Napa summer standards, the days continue to stay cool. Sunny, warm and dry yes, but that stretch of 90 degree days to kick up the ripening of the Cabs, Merlots and such  hasn't come yet. Supposed to, but not yet. I think producers of everything but the Bordeaux grapes are loving the gentle weather, and winemakers who truly seek the "restrained style" of Cab are whistling a happy tune. Well-endowed Napa Cab producers, especially those in the cooler microclimates like Mount Veeder & Spring Mountain, must be wondering what the next month of weather holds. September is, after all, our highest average degree-day month.
Drink more Ovaltine
Dan
Daniel Dawson
Back Room Wines
Corner of First & Main Streets (First Street Entrance)
Downtown Napa, California 94559
Phone: (707) 226-1378 Toll Free # is 877-322-2576
email: daniel@backroomwines.com
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BACK ROOM
BLOW OUT XXXIII
This Friday,
August 28
5 to 8 P.M.Visit & taste with four local winery owners and winemakers.
Taste fine wines with those who know them best!
Tonight we welcome Uvaggio Winery,
Diamond Springs, Sojourn Cellars & Herb Lamb
Vineyards
It's Blow Out #33!
$15/tasting
Credit back with purchase.More details here. |
Taste wines from the Loire Valley
Next Friday, September 4
5 to 8 P.M.
Sancerre, Quincy,
Pouilly-Fume, Muscadet, Vouvray, Saumur-Champigny & more. Delicious by themselves, even better with food!
$15/tasting
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