2002 Calera Pinot Noir Mills Vineyard

Nice wine worthy of 91 points. Formal notes to come.

2007 Schmitges Rivaner Qualitätswein

Tasted this today at CoolVines Princeton. Very nice, crisp, riesling blend. This will be an awesome summer wine. All the things that I love about riesling with a toned down sweetness!

2006 Iris Vineyards Pinot Noir

This nicely priced, very young Oregon pinot was not of the norm! Most of the '06 Oregon's we have we are sitting on as the fruit is not showing well at the moment, but will come out in time. This was the exact opposite, and reminded me more of the fruit forward California styled pinot than that of Oregon. Very nice cherry tones on the nose that hit you from a foot away. WOW, what a great nose. Hints of earth as well, but an abundance of fruit. The palate hits you like a hammer, with gushing fruit. Tons of dark cherry and other dark fruits make it hard for me to believe that this is Oregon. This is definitely not your typical $20 Oregon pinot! A hint of spice and pepper on the finish, that seems to linger for just a few seconds, but it is a delightful finish. This paired surprisingly well with noodles at Tsukasa. Nice Oregon pinot for the money, and in my opinion, better than the normal bottlings from Argyle and Benton Lane, and has a ton more fruit. This is a wine worth purchasing by the case. Kudos to CoolVines!

Happy New Year!

From our house to yours, we wish you the best in 2009! Once of my New Years resolutions this year is to keep up with this BLOG more than I have, but the end of the year was a busy year for us, with lots of travels, and lots of Air Force stuff going on. That being said, look for great things in 2009! As the ball has started to drop, we wish you a Happy New Year! Cheers!

2000 Château Lascombes

Definitely think this wine is in a shut down phase right now, and wish we would have waited. Not much of anything even after a 2 plus hour decant. Would hold for another 5 years... formal notes to come, but kind of disappointing unfortunately.

2005 Château Bois Redon

Gorgeous nose, but lacking in the fruit department. Might get better with time, but I think it's just your typical budget, mass produced Bordeaux...formal notes to come, and ok starter for New Years Eve before heading onto the good stuff. 80 points. Formal notes maybe...not really worth writing about.

2004 Taz Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County

This wine got much better with air, and was a pleasure to drink, but gave me a terrible headache which I found odd as I have never experienced this with Taz, or any wine or that matter. Formal notes to come, but worthy of 87 points.

2007 Seghesio Family Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County

This wine will definitely benefit from some more time in the bottle. Picked up today locally about hearing all the rants and raves about this wine. Got it home, had it in the Avanti for a few hours, then decanted through the Vinturi, into a decanter and let it sit for a good hour and a half before consuming. Beautiful nose of raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, and spice. There is still a bit of alcohol on the nose here as well, but I think that this will integrate nicely with 6 months to a year in the bottle. On the palate, a nice medium body, with hints of jammy blackberry and cherry. This some alcohol on the palate, and this wine is a bit hot, even after decanting. Tannins and spice prevalent on the palate, and more heat on the finish. Again, I think that time in the bottle is going to be everything with this wine. Still have 3 more in the cellar, and will pick some more up as it is just under $18 a bottle locally. Hell of a QPR, and looking forward to picking up a case of these soon! 88 points now, but will go well over 90 with some time in the bottle. Cheers! (

2000 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

Another great wine tonight with friends, this wine is still very young in the bottle, even after being decanted for an hour and a half-2 hours. This wine has a very deep, dark garnet color in the glass. On the nose, some dark blue and black fruits: blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, vanilla, coffee, and a whole lot of cigar box. This wine seemed very floral on the nose. On the palate, the first glass was very tannic, but this settled out very nicely with some time in the glass. Again, this wine is still very young, and has many years left in my opinion. More blackberry and black cherry on the palate, and other identifiable dark fruits. Nice medium length, very pleasant finish. This wine was even better on day 2! I would love to have a few of these to try every 2 years or so to see how this wine is going to evolve. This is definitely a winner, and another possible runner up for my wine of the year! 95 points! Thanks for bringing this "Dennis" and Denise!

1997 Kistler Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard

I know, it has been forever since I have put an update on here. Sorry, super busy as of late, but these wines deserve some notes! Opened with friends tonight and this wine was gorgeous. I cannot possibly imagine this wine getting any better at this point, but I assume anything is possible. Great dark ruby in the glass, showing some nice age and maturity.Gorgeous nose of cherry and strawberries, with a tad of earth. This nose on this wine was incredible, yet in a subdued, Burgundian style. On the palate, this was definitely not your new world, fruit forward pinot noir. Very nice strawberry, cherry, with hints of plum and spice, with a hint of black cherry and cola. Nice 30 second plus, silky smooth and creamy finish! Incredible wine, and right there for my runner up for my wine of the year! 94 points....Cheers.

Gordon Ramsay At the London - New York

Here it is, the night after Halloween, and we couldn't ask for better weather to hop on the train and head to Manhattan to celebrate our anniversary, albeit a few days late. But with busy schedules, it made perfect sense to save a special celebration for a weekend night!

Tonight we are dining at Gordon Ramsay At the London. We are both huge fans of Chef Ramsay, and we have wanted to dine here for months. I originially wanted to bring Zelda here for her birthday, but I had no idea that you have to book 2 months in advance, to the day. That being said, I made our reservation first thing on the morning of September 1st, and here we are.

Upon arriving at The London, you will see the bar and restaurant "Maze," also ran by Gordon on the right hand side. We were greatest by the hostess when we walked in, who immediately sent us to the host stand on the left. Upon looking around, Maze is a more laid back restaurant and bar, compared to the more formal dining that is in the main dining room. There was all sorts of attire, ranging from nice dresses and suits, to more casual blue jeans.

We were led to the back of the room left, and brought to a glass door, and upon opening this door, it revealed a gorgeous dining room. Gorgeous chairs with table settings with white linen and very nice china plates. Everything sitting perfectly, and everything uniformly spaced, from the placement of the napkins, to the placement of the silverware, to the wine glasses, water glasses, etc. Everything was set with a masterful precision, and I am sure that they would not settle for anything less.

Other things that I noticed was their gorgeous climate controlled cellar in the back of the restaurant on the way to the kitchen. This cellar is done in stainless steel and glass, with wire racking stacked nearly 15 feet tall. You can see this plain as day upon entry, and it is a gorgeous view! As we sat, we see a gorgeous Champagne cart being rolled around the dining room, with many different types of Champagne being poured. A few moments later, a cheese cart containing at least 25 different blocks of cheese rolled by, that looked like absolute heaven! YUM!

More to come when I get more time!

2005 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Koplen Vineyard

Purchased off the winelist at Gordon Ramsay "At the London." Over-inflated price, but what do you expect. One, it is Gordon Ramsay's Restaurant. Two, it is New York City. And Three, it is Kosta Browne. Regardless, it was our anniversary celebration, and worth every penny.

Popped and poured from the bottle, this wine immediately showed a gorgeous garnet/ruby color in the glass. The nose of the Koplen is absolutely intoxicating, and absolutely Kosta Browne! Tons of dark berries: blackberry, boysenberry, black cherry, jammy raspberry, and a hint of spice. This is a wine that I can sit and smell all night long.

On the palate, this wine is singing, which was kind of surprising. Regardless, this is a HUGE wine! When I say HUGE, I mean massive! I really expected this wine to be tight, and needing more time in the glass. I also expected a little more heat and alcohol on this wine, but not the case! This wine will however, still benefit from a few more years in the bottle or a nice splash decant.

Gorgeous silky smooth feel on the palate with more black fruits shining through again....dark raspberry, black cherry, a hint of color, and the slightest bit of earthyness. Wow this wine is amazing, and it just kept opening up with more time in the glass. The finish on the wine lingers forever, making it a pure joy to drink.

The 2005 Koplen is in contention for my personal wine of the year! 95 points, and a perfect example of why I love pinot noir! Happy Anniversary Zelda!

1975 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

This was a great bottle that we opened tonight for our anniversary, and has been stored perfectly throughout the years. The cork was soaked about 3/4 of the way through, and came out in 2 large pieces thankfully. No decanting at all for sediment as it looked clean, so popped and poured into the glass.

The slightest bit of bricking in the glass, with just a hint of brett. An amazing nose, full of blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, prune, earth, cigar box, and mushroom. If only the palate was as fruity, this would be the sleeper of sleepers.

In the glass, the first 1/2 hour still showed a sleepy and dusty wine, but as this wine warmed up in the glass, the complexity started to show. Sure, this wine is tired, and definitely on the down slope, but it still is very tasty. Hints of blackberry and currants on the palate, with hints of blueberry and slate as well. A nice lingering finish make this wine worthy of 94 points. Would love to enjoy this again, and it was a true treat at Acacia in Lawrenceville on our anniversary! Love the NJ BYO's!

Acacia - Lawrenceville, NJ

What better night to hit Acacia in Lawrenceville than on our second anniversary? Happy anniversary hot stuff! We left out for an early dinner, on a cold, rainy, October Jersey night. Upon arriving at Acacia, there was nobody in the restaurant, but what could you expect with the weather, and with the fact that it was a Tuesday night. Maybe everyone stayed in tonight in hopes that the Phillies were going to play ball tonight. OK, probably not the case, but…. We were greeted by the hostess who graciously took Zelda's coat and seated us at a great table by the window. The atmosphere at Acacia is very nice. Gorgeous, large wood trim, and paint and décor that is very elegant. Awesome atmosphere, and this would be a great place to do a wine tasting one night! Our waiter came over and opened out 1975 Ducru-Beaucaillou, and told us about the soup and one dinner special. We both ended up ordering a cup of the shrimp bisque, and we ended up ordering a Caesar to split between the two of us. First came the salad, with nice greens, and freshly shaved cheese. The salad looked very nice, and the dressing was just OK. I almost question whether or not they make their dressing in house, or if maybe it was from a bottle. Regardless, it was nice, and more of a oil and vinegar based dressing than your typical creamy caesar. Don't get me wrong, it had a nice flavor to it, but I would expect a little more from Acacia. Next came the shrimp bisque, and although this was very tasty, it was definitely lacking in the sprimp department. You could tell that there was some shrimp puree'd into the soup, but my suggestion would be to add more. Maybe we got top ladles from the soup pan, or maybe they just do not want to overwhelm you with soup. Nonetheless, this was a nice soup with great flavor, and all it needs is a little more shimp to beef it up. On to the entrees, Zelda ordered the Frenched Free-Range Chicken with crabmeat stuffing, roasted asparagas, fontina, garlic sherry wine jus, and a potato croquette. The presentation for this was absolutely gorgeous, although I am sure that Gordon Ramsay would have help the plate up and blown all the parsley off of the plate. More to come soon!

Bistro Soleil - Hightstown, NJ

Tonight we decided to try Bistro Soleil for the first time, after reading much about it on Chowhound. Needless to say, we were not disappointed. We were first greeted by a parking lot, and it is nice to know that parking here is not a problem at all. Many spaces, which is a bonus for restaurants in a little 'burg like Hightstown. Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by warm colors, and a team at the host stand, who quickly seated us with no reservation. We sat on the right hand side of the restaurant if you were looking at it from the outside, and the back of the restaurant seemed like it was missing something, and there was just a lot of dead space in the restaurant. I guess this is great for the future though, so they can add tables when they start getting busier, and their clientel starts to increase. Kerri was our server, and came quickly to the table to greet us, and to open our 2006 Stefania Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch. Shortly after, our water glasses were filled, and bread and oil was brought to the table. One of the first things we noticed yet again was the lack of salt and pepper shakers on the tables. This seems to be the thing lately, and quite honestly, I think that it shows a little arrogance in the kitchen that the chef doesn't feel the need to have it on the table. We'll see. We both started off with cups of the seafood chowder. The soup was good, but it was definitely lacking something. A little bit of salt and pepper would have gone a long way, and really "spiced" the soup up, no pun intended. Regardless, it was still "good," but not great. For dinner, Zelda ordered the Salmon Wellington, and it came out in a good size portion, cut in half, with a beautiful crust, and nice mushroom mix inside. The salmon was cooked perfectly, and this was a large portion. She ended up taking 1/2 home, so it could be consumed for lunch the following day. I went for the Bistro Strip and Fries, as it was said to be a bistro staple. It was a nice NY Strip, cooked to perfection with nice cross char marks on it. Upon first cut, it was very tough, and I wasn't expecting much from it at that point. Once it hit my mouth however, I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty this cut was, and it wasn't tough to say the least. No, you couldn't cut it with a fork, but how many NY strips can you really do that with anyway?

More to come when I get some more time!