2006 Melville Pinot Noir Estate

Very disappointing compared to other bottles. Lacked fruit and complexity. Hopefully this was just a case of bad storage at Canal's or bottle variation. Woudn't have paid $10 for this bottle. 83 points, and formal notes forthcoming.

2005 Melville Pinot Noir Estate

Another greawt release from Melville! Popped and poured at Tsukasa Japanese Restaraunt in Bordentown, NJ tonight, this wine showed a nice ruby red in the glass. Surprisingly, very little alcohol showing on this wine, even though it was in the mid 15's. This wine would definitely benefit from some open bottle time, but I really have no complaints all considered. I think this wine will also show better with another year in the bottle.

On the nose, lots of dark cherry, spice, and earth...it had that typical Santa Rita Hills soil smell. On the palate, more of the same followed, along with hints of plum and red fruits. This wine was a little spicy when first popped, but it settled down nicely in the glass, making it a joy to drink, and a great QPR. Will purchase more of this in the future, and will be great with another year in the bottle. All in all, yet another from Santa Rita Hills worthy of 90 points! Cheers!

Tsukasa Japanese Restaurant - Bordentown, NJ

Another great meal at Tsukasa! Kudos to this family, and we'll do whatever we can to ensure that they are successful! A nice fresh breath of air, and just what Bordentown needs! It's nice to have another option other than Italian in the "little city with a lot of charm." Upon walking in, we were lucky enough to snatch up the last table, so it was great to see their business thriving during this "Street Fair Weekend." Skipped the white wine tonight and enjoyed a Melville pinot noir with dinner. Not the best pairing for sushi, but it definitely worked! See the review here as well! Tonight we opted to do a soup and sushi combination. No, this is not a combo on the menu, but one that we created ourselves. Zelda opted for the Tempura Udon, which was a nice soy based soup, with big, thick, white udon noodles. We've never tried the udon before, and I do think that I prefer the soba over udon personally. I opted for the Tempura Soba, made with thin buckwheat noodles, and made from the same soy based broth. Both soups came with 2 nice sized shrimp tempura on the side, as well as a nice pairing of tempura vegetables. A lot of places will serve the tempura in the soup, however I think that it is much more enjoyable when placed on the side, so you can really enjoy that tempura crunch! On the sushi side, I opted for the delicious Philly roll, containing salmon, cream cheese, and cucumber, as well as the spicy tuna roll, which is a staple at Tsukasa...at least a staple for me. Zelda opted for the salmon and avocado roll, as well as a California roll. As always, the fish was very fresh, and very enjoyable. This sushi chef has some skills, and he knows how to make some damn good rolls! If I had to pick a gripe, I would mention that I would enjoy the rolls to be about 10 degrees colder, as I like my sushi very cold, but the temperature that it is currently served at is probably right at industry standard. As always, the service was great and friendly. It really is a pleasure to dine with the folks at Tsukasa! Check it out and support them! They need to stay in Bordentown! That's my 2 yen. Cheers! 1 Crosswicks Street Bordentown, NJ 08505 Phone: (609) 298-3838