Spring Fever - 2007 Pali Sunset and a 2006 Stefania Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch

What a day it was today, and you could see everywhere that people were taking advantage of the nice weather after months of cabin fever. Being the first nice day in quite a while in NJ, the crowds were out, and Spring was in the air as the temps neared 60 degrees today. That said, we watched the movie "Bottleshock" for the first time, and then retired out to "The Bistro" for some vino with Todd & Michelle. With Spring Fever, we opted for one of our favorite Spring/Summer wines....a nice Rosé! I went down to the cellar and grabbed a 2007 Pali Wine Co. Sunset. This is a nice Rosé of pinot noir, made from 60% Oregon, and 40% California grapes. I had this downstairs in what I consider migh white wine fridge, and I did notice some crystalization in the bottom of the bottle. It was weird how the crystalization was actually a bright red color, however this had no effect on the taste of the wine.

The nose gave off some hints of peach, pear, and citrus, and this looked absolutely gorgeous in the glass, with a nice peach color. It doesn’t have the almost neon color that we are seeing in some of the other Rosé out there, but it was still nice on the eyes...especially after being couped up in the cold the last few months. On the palate, this was more of the same things that we have tasted with this bottle and vintage in the past. Nice citrus, with slight hints of strawberry, with a nice finish that makes this a pleasure to drink. All in all, a great wine to give us a little taste of Spring, and worth of 85 points.

As the evening continued "On the Bistro," it was time to pop another bottle. Earlier in the day, Todd mentioned the fact that he got his first offer from Stefania Wine for their 2006 cabernet, so I figured it would be nice to give he and Michelle a little preview of another exciting wine to be released from Stefania this Spring, the 2007 Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch. That said, I reached into the cellar and grabbed an '06 to share, and it proved once again to be a great crowd pleaser!

Gorgeous, deep, dark color in the glass, with an amazing nose of of floral dark fruits: black cherry, blueberry, blackberries, and plum, with subtle hints of caramel, vanilla, and spice. On the palate, this wine has managed to wow us yet again. This wine is just incredible, bottle after bottle, and exactly how a like a syrah. This wine has great, creamy dark fruits...black cherry, blueberry, and blackberry smother your palate, and the spice does not overwhelm you one bit, with just subtle hints of white pepper. Ths finish on this wine only gets better, and this wine has really integrated in the last 7 months since we popped our first one. Kudos yet again to Paul and Stef on making a great wine worth of 92 points! Cheers!