2007 Auteur Pinot Noir "Ophelia"

For a young wine, all I can say about this is WOW! If this is this good right now, I can only imagine what it is going to be like in 3-5 years. Thankfully, we have more, so I figured this would be a great wine to bring and share with Dee tonight at Oliver - A Bistro. This is a great blend of California (15%), with the classic styles of Burgundy coming from the fruit from Oregon(85%). Nice tones of cherry, strawberry, and raspberry on the nose, along with some soily/earthy undertones, and the slightest hint of lavendar. On the palate, tons of dark fruit and dark cherry coming through, with the slightest bit of mineral. Nice acidity, and very balanced, I really look forward to trying this wine once it has a few years in the bottle. Kudos to Laura and Ken and Auteur for the great customer service, and for creating such incredible wines! Keep up the great work guys! I look forward to your orders every January! 92 points, and this will be at least 2 points better with time in the bottle! Cheers!

2005 Orin Swift The Prisoner

This wine came in at #17 on Wine Spectators Top 100 list for 2007, so I figured it was worth a shot for a wine around $30.

To me, zinfandel is a great wine during the cooler months. I love a nice zin in the fall, or paired with the right foods. This one is no different.

Tonight we enjoyed this bottle at Oliver-A Bistro in Bordentown. This bottle was popped and poured, and ready stright out of the bottle. Decanting would have been a plus, but what can you do at a restaurant where you are in and out?

On the nose, lots of dark fruits and berries, with similar qualities on the palate. This wine is definitely drinking well now, but could probably improve slightly with more time in the bottle.

All in all, this is a great blend, and very easy to drink. This is definitely a fruit forward wine, however, it is not a new world "fruit bomb" so to speak. I felt as though it was a bigger wine, and could almost be considered a "late harvest" wine, as it seems as though the fruit is almost to the point of over-ripeness. This was not a bad thing however.

The blend: 48% Zinfandel, 26% Cabernet, 14% Syrah, 10% Petite Syrah and 2% Charbono. All in all, an easy drinking wine worth of 90 points! Cheers!