2005 Tobin James Cabernet Sauvignon Silver Reserve

Popped and poured tonight with a tomato pie, and another classic Tobin James wine.  Nice nose with all kinds of jammy dark fruits.  Plenty of currants, blueberry, blackberry, black cherry and raspberry, with some creamy vanilla that I attribute to the oak.  Some subtle spice rounded out the nose, along with minor hints of cassis, pomegranate and cranberry.  There was a lot going on on the nose here, including some oak that seems to have integrated nicely with some bottle time.  On the palate, once again, another big fruit bomb from Toby and Lance.  Tons of jammy, dark fruits dominate the palate, but there really is no shining star.  The oak and alcohol were subtle, and the finish was short and to the point.  These wines are always fun to drink, but I think my palate is moving away from these big over extracted fruit bombs.  We'll see.  86 points.

2006 Tobin James Petite Sirah Black Magic

Yet again, another Toby that was over the top, and albeit tasty, it was a little too much for me. I really hate to admit that these wines don't appeal to my palate like they once did.

This one was very "grapey" so to say. Nice grapey nose if you know what I mean, reminiscint of Concord grapes. Lots of blueberry and dark fruits on the nose, with subtle hints of oak.

On the palate, the fruit was all over the place. You name it, it was there, and it was in your face! Tons of red fruits, and it really reminded me of a ag of Skittles. "Taste the rainbow." A nice finish, with good acidity, and a pleasant finish. 85 points. Cheers!

2005 Tobin James Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah James Gang Reserve

If there is one wine that I absolutely have loved, it is has been Tobin James.  Toby and Lance make some fun, over the top fruit bombs, and this was no exception. 

Unfortunately, I don't know if my palate is maturing, or maybe I just wasn't in the mood for an over the top wine tonight.  This one showed quite a bit of alcohol on the nose, which is surprising given it's age.  Most of their wines drink very well young, but this one just didn't seem to come together.

On the nose, nice spice hints that I attribute to the syrah, along with some plum and pepper.  The cab strut it's stuff a bit with some blackberry, blueberry, and currants.  There was a lot of oak on the nose as well.  On the palate however, this wine left a bit to be desired.  The oak dominated with a ton of vanilla coming through, and the the alcohol seemed to overwhelm the finish.  All in all, this wine is not for the faint at heart, and I really don't see it getting any better with age.  82 points.  Cheers!  -F. Scott.

2006 Tobin James Cabernet Sauvignon James Gang Reserve

Popped and poured tonight at Stella’s Family Restaurant in Burlington, NJ, and from the get go, this was an over oaked, alcoholic mess. I truly hate to say that as I am usually a huge fan of Tobin James wines, but this one just wasn’t doing it for us tonight. Maybe it was the food, maybe it was just the entire experience, regardless, it wasn’t one of our better Saturday nights in our little food and wine world.


Tons of oak and alcohol on the nose, with some jammy red and black berries. Nothing really stood out all that much, and the oak was overwhelming. On the palate, the vanilla from the oak was overwhelming, with some jammy/chewy blackberry and dark raspberry and plum. Secondary hints of mint round out the mid palate, with a finish of more oak and alcohol. This is the first Tobin James wine I have been disappointed with, and I am wondering if these wines just no longer appeal to us. I am going to guess no as we really love their fruit bomb zins and whites, so maybe we just weren’t in the mood for a wine of this style tonight. 80 points. Cheers!

Under the Moon - Bordentown, NJ

Tonight, we met with fellow Ebob and Chowhound members tom246 for another evening of fun food and vino at Under the Moon in downtown Bordentown City. Tom had made a a 7:30PM reservation, and they had our table ready and waiting for us. Thank God Tom had made a reservation, as there wasn’t an open table in the house. Always great to see this restaurant thriving! As a matter of fact, all the restaurants in town were packed tonight as we walked by, and that is always nice to see.

We were greeted and seated by Fawn at a round table that we have been seated at quite a few times in the upper ½ of the restaurant. Many great items on the menu tonight, but unfortunately they were sold out of the strip steak. Bummer as this is always one of my favorites, and such a great bargain, but never fear, there are always some other great entrees to chose from.

As usual, we both brought many options for wine. From Tom’s stash, we opted for a 2004 Copain Cerise, and from my bag we went with the 2005 Tobin James Dusi Vineyard zinfandel. I also asked Silvi to throw a 2006 Tobin James Charisma into their fridge for dessert. Feel free to read the wine reviews in previous posts, or see my notes on CellarTracker.com. Fawn brought some of their signature bread out, which is small, sliced, light and fluffy bread rounds, toasted on the Panini press with a little oil and garlic. It’s always nice, and gets a little something in your belly before the salads come out. The side of chimichurri that comes with it is to die for, and one of Mama's many homemade treats.

For dinner tonight, I was torn between the Autumn Pork, which I have had on a few other occasions, as well as the French Pork, which I have never had. I ended up going with the French Pork just to try something new. Zelda ordered the seafood enchiladas tonight, while Tom ordered the Autumn Pork, and Denise opted for the crab cakes.

A few minutes after ordering, out came the house salads that are always included with the entrees. These are always nice little salads, with fresh lettuce, a couple sliced tomatoes, some red onion, dried herbs, and a nice balsamic vinaigrette. This is a nice, light salad, and yet another pleasure while we waited for our entrees to come out.

With great conversation throughout the night about wine, it seemed as though our entrees came out in no time...which they probably did. As usual, the portions were very large. I had two nice pork medallions on my plate, that were the perfect thickness. Not too thick as though they will not cook through, yet not to thin that they will dry out. It came accompanied with a nice side of rice, and the pork itself was smothered in a nice medley of apple, fig maybe, cinnamon, and some other spices. It really brought out a nice flavor in the pork. Zelda's seafood enchilladas were absolutely phenomenol. Not only were they large, but they were filled with some great shrimp, scallop, crab, and I am not sure what else quite honestly. The texture was wonderful, the filling was rich and creamy, and the sauce on top was a a perfect finisher. I look forward to ordering these for myself in the future. The other entrees at the table looked nice as well, and I have had them both in the past. As much as I love the crab cakes that I make, Santiago uses my same concept...let the flavors of the crab shine. Don't doctor them up with a bunch of vegetables or seasoning, and use as little filler as possible. This is a great philosophy! After dinner, we were all absolutely stuffed, and instead of ordering dessert, we opened the Charisma that I had brought, which actually turned out to be thin, alcohol tasting, and rather disappointing. I guess we should have brought some Tobin James Liquid Love instead, but at least we know for next time. All in all, a wonderful evening with some friends that we really enjoy chatting with about two of our favorite hobbies, food and wine. As always, the Under the Moon gang provided great service and a wonderful dinner, and we always look forward to visiting them. Hopefully we'll be back soon! Cheers!

DISCLAIMER: this review was written in a hurry, and I need to go back in, clean it up, and add some details when I get some more time.

2006 Tobin James Zinfandel Charisma

Anyone who knows Tobin James knows how much of a treat their dessert wines are. We have had their Liquid Love many times, whether it be just the normal bottling, reserve, or Late Harvest, and they have all been very enjoyable. I have head nothing but great things about the Charisma, so I figured it would be fun to enjoy one tonight with Tom and Denise. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as some of the other wines we have had, but what can you do?

Silvi put this in the fridge for us during dinner, so it stayed nice and cold. Unfortunately, when we opened this wine, the nose didn't give off a whole lot really, and the wine seemed really thing on the palate. The Liquid Love on the other hand has always been very jammy, and thick, but maybe the thin style of the Charisma is how Toby and Lance like to craft this wine. We didn't finish this bottle unfortunately, but I did put a vacuum seal on it and throw it in the fridge, so we'll be sure to check this wine out again maybe on Monday night. More to come, but currently 82 points for the high alohol taste on the palate, and lack of complexity. Cheers!

2006 Tobin James Lagrein Silver Reserve

Brought over to Jim and Stacy's tonight in Chesterfield to enjoy with them and Johnny D and Liz. Enjoyed this after a nice Stag's Leap viogner with sushi. Definitely not the best pairing with the sushi, or after the viogner for that matter, but still a nice wine. Old Tobin James and Lance have done it again with another great, albeit over the top wine. One of only 3 wineries making a straight Lagrein in the states, but who knows, that could change in time. No blend needed on this wine, and it is a joy to drink, but what "Toby's" aren't? Very dark color in the glass...almost black like tar. Speaking of tar, lots of tar on the nose, with some jammy raspberry and other black fruits, and hints of spice. On the palate, this wine opened up nicely into another Tobin James fruit bomb. Sure, might not be a classic Lagrein from Italy, but how can you not love these over the top, new world, fruit forward wines. What a joy! Tons of dark fruit on the palate, and almost a bit zinfandel/syrah esque. Lots of jammy fruit once this wine opened up, with raspberry and black cherry. Sublte spices, a smooth finish, with well integrated tannins make this wine yet another Tobin James winner. Great job Toby and Lance! 86 points. Cheers!

2006 Tobin James Malbec

Popped and poured at Delorenzo's in Robbinsville, NJ tonight. You would never in a million years guess taht this is a Malbec if tasting it blind in the first 15 minutes this wine was in the glass. Nice color in the glass, but wasn't as dark as your typical Malbec. On the nose, nice hints of dark fruits, cinammon, and nutmeg. Great feel on the palate with nice hints of spice and clove, along with some nice dark fruits once again. Nice finish, and a great wine. This is a lot different from South American Malbec in my opinion, but leave it to Tobin James to take it over the top. What a joyous wine to drink! Only wish we had more. More notes to come when I get a chance. 88 points. Cheers!

2006 Tobin James Chardonnay James Gang Reserve

Another fun release from Tobin James, and another a bit over the top wine. They claim that this wine is rich and creamy, and it really is. Nose has some passion fruit, citrus, and a hint of grapefruit. On the palate, lots of caramel and vanilla that I attribute to the 100% new French Oak. This wine is very creamy as stated, with hints of grapefruit and citrus. It also has a certain sweetness to it, and combined with that texture, it really reminds me of a Sauternes. Regardless, it's a fun wine, and I would love to get my hands on some more. 89 points! Cheers!

Tobin James - James Gang HAS ARRIVED!

Tobin James has arrived! As I said in one of my previous posts, Tobin James is the creator of some very fun, yet very over the top wines. They aren't exactly easy to find in our area, but if you find them, pick one of up and check it out. I don't think that you will be disappointed in the least!

The "James Gang" Wine Club is a great opportunity to enjoy 16 of their wines over the course of a year. For $145 per shipment, plus shipping, you will receive a fall shipment, as well as a spring shipment of 8 of their wines, as well as a free gift. The spring 2008 shipment consisted of the following wines:

2006 Tobin James Zinfandel Liquid Love, Late Harvest
2006 Tobin James Chardonnay James Gang Reserve
2005 Tobin James Petite Sirah Black Magic
2005 Tobin James Lagrein Silver Reserve
2005 Tobin James Cabernet Franc James Gang Reserve
2005 Tobin James Syrah Silver Reserve
2005 Tobin James Zinfandel French Camp
2005 Tobin James Zinfandel Fat Boy

All in all, a great group of wines that I am very excited to try! I think out of all of them, I am really looking forward to the petite sirah, and the French Camp and Fat Boy zin's! I am sure they will all be big fruit forward fruit bombs, but that is a great thing.

For the money, you really cannot beat this club! The cost of replacement to place the exact same order for these wines would be close to $300, so can you really go wrong for $145?

This years free gift was a heavy, wrough iron napkin holder in the shape of the Tobin James logo. Is it a purplish-blue color, and it will be perfect to keep napkins on the patio table as Raphael stated!

For more information on the club, check out: http://www.tobinjames.com/club.asp

James Gang Benefits:
No membership fee, Incredible discounts on James Gang shipments, 15% discount on all wine purchases, 20% discount on a case or more wine purchases, Invitations to special events, 10% discount on logo merchandise, Our newsletter with each shipment.

Each member will receive:
Eight bottles of wine, shipped Spring & Fall, Special GIFT in each shipment!! The cost of each shipment will be $145, which includes shipping and handling in California. Each shipment will be conveniently charged to your credit card. Membership is at no cost and can be cancelled with a 30 days written notice before the next shipment.

Check it out, you won't regret it! Cheers!

RELEASE ALERT - Tobin James

Unfortunately, you just don't know what you are going to get until it arrives at the house, but this morning I saw the charge on my debit card statement for my Spring Tobin James release.

If you are a lover of crazy, fruit forward, over the top wines, I highly recommend Tobin James to you. Their zinfandel's are amazing, and their dessert wines to die for. Check them out at: http://www.tobinjames.com/ or visit them at:

8950 Union Road
Paso Robles, CA 93446
Phone (805) 239-2204

Their Spring and Fall release consists of 8 bottles for $145 plus shipping. For that price, you really can't do a whole lot better for some tasty vino! Log on and join their club! You won't regret it! Cheers!