2004 Sanford Chardonnay

A great second wine to celebrate the 4th of July! Full review to come!

2007 Pali Wine Co. Sunset Rosé

A great 4th of July starter! Full review to come!

2000 & 2001 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Alexander Valley

Full reviews to come of these 2 stellar sub $25 cabs!

RELEASE ALERT - Kistler Vineyards Fall 2008 Release

It's with much eager anticipation that the Fall 2008 Kistler Release is announced, and they are taking orders. The Fall releases for 2008 include: 2006 McCrea Vineyard Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay - “The 2006 Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard exhibits a light gold/green hue along with aromas of stone fruits, honey, orange zest (or is it tangerine?), and subtle wood spices. Full-bodied with beautiful texture as well as purity, and a long finish, it should drink well for 5-7 years. Green-tinged pale yellow. Classic Chablis nose featuring minerals, roasted grain, and a faint suggestion of tangerine skin. Richer than normal with loads of extract, but with a distinctly mineral spine that maintains the wine’s shape and stony precision. Delicious now.” 93-94 points. $75 Allocated 24 2006 Dutton Ranch Russian River Valley Chardonnay - “The 2006 Chardonnay Dutton Ranch is structured and tannic, with more acidity, and a leaner, more backward personality with a chalky character. White currant, hazelnut, and wood spice notes are present in this medium to full-bodied white. Green-tinged pale yellow. Pungent, leesy bouquet combines toasted grains, marzipan, brown spices, and minerals. Deeply concentrated but precise. Finishes with mouthfilling pit fruit flavors energized by a firm mineralilty and complex sulfides. Delicious now.” 92-94 points $75 Allocated 24 2006 Durell Vineyard Sonoma Coast Chardonnay - “Always dominated by crushed rock and a liquid minerality component, it also possesses notes of lemon oil, brioche, white currants, white peaches, and a lemon custard-like character. Full-bodied with beautiful subtlety, zesty acidity, and a long finish, it can be enjoyed over the next 5-7 years. Green-tinged yellow. Distinctly pungent, soil-inflected chardonnay. A vibrant, tightly-wound wine densely packed and powerfully mineral on the palate. Brisk acids frame long, stony finish. Delicious now.” 94-96 points $75 Allocated 8 2006 Kistler Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir - Inky purple. Vividly perfumed, primary aromas featuring cassis, blueberry, violet, and graphite. Deeply concentrated and precise with terrific innermouth energy and freshness. Finishes with a captivating wildness and considerable soil character. Delicious now. $80 Allocated 8 If anyone is interested, we're not going to take them all. We're in for 1 each of the chards, and 3 pinot, so that leaves a bunch of wine up for the taking. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail if you're interested. These wines will ship in November 2008. Cheers!

2006 Pure Love Wines Shiraz Layer Cake

Full review to come!

The Farnsworth House - Bordentown, NJ

A long day in class and a hot afternoon cleaning out the interior of the car made for a great night to try the bar menu and a black and tan at this famous Bordentown establishment.

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There was room at the bar for us tonight, so we opted to have cocktails and dinner off the bar menu tonight. We started with the fried mozzarella, which were healthy pieces of fresh buffalo mozz, breaded and fried to golden perfection. This is a great appetizer, and the fresh mozz makes this so perfect. I then opted for the Stuffed Roasted Peppers, stuffed with Prosciutto & Fresh Mozzarella. This too was great, drizzled with a nice balsamic. Very refreshing for a hot summer night. Zelda opted for the chicken satay which was also great, consisting of 2 healthy skewers of chicken and a very good, not overly covered sauce. All in all a great, cheap night out with good food. Highly recommended!

2003 Château Malmaison

Full review to come!

Oliver - A Bistro Bordentown, NJ

A great night to take a trip into Bordentown City. Upon arriving at Oliver - A Bistro, Danielle greeted us to a packed house, so we headed down to the outside bar on the deck of Marcello's for a few glasses of sangria. As usual, the sangria was very tasty, and we enjoyed a glass for about a 1/2 hour before calling over to Oliver's to see if Danielle had a table for us. She did indeed!

The restaurant was still packed which is great to see! We love the fact that Matt and Danielle took Bordentown's best lunch spot and also turned it into the best dinner spot in town as well. As usual, Bruce was the man and server for us tonight, and it is always a joy!

We skipped out on appetizers tonight and went straight for the entrees. Zelda selected the Crispy Chicken once again, served over sweet pea risotto. This dish is an absolute winner, and the sauce that Matt created for the chicken is fabulous. The skin on the chicken has a nice crispiness to it, yet it is not charred or burned. It was cooked perfectly, and I think that Zelda said it best when she said that you could literally drink the sauce. I cannot explain it, and I would kill to be able to know how to make this sauce. It really compliments the chicken well, and it also pairs nicely with the risotto.

I took a different route tonight, and did something against my better judgement by ordering the crab cakes. As some know, I am very particular when it comes to crab cakes, the spices used, as well as the type of crab meat used. Most places use backfin, which is good, but they tend to put too much filler in. Thankfully, I was very happy with my decision, and the crab cakes were delicious! Were they as good as mine? No! Sorry Matt! But he does use some nice backfin, with clumps of lump meat as well. He used very little filler, so it gives you the choice to enjoy the crab. I also like the fact that he doesn't use red pepper, or pimento, or some other type of filler that really masks the taste of the crab. All in all, these were very good, and I would order them again sometime.

What can we say? Another great meal in a great town. Our dinnr paired very well with a bottl of Stefania's latest release, Haut Tubee.

2006 Stefania Haut Tubee

This is a nice blend made from grapes grown in Paul and Stefania's yard at their house. Per Paul, it's a blend from 10 Grenache, 20 Syrah, 4 Mourvedre, and 3 Zinfandel plants. This wine was popped and poured tonight at Oliver - A Bistro in Bordentown. The nose on this wine really reminded me of Orin Swift's The Prisoner, but I am sure that was my nose just being funky. Maybe some of you will agree. This wine has some nice red fruits to it, and you can definitely taste the grenache in there, making this very reminiscent of a Rhone styled blend...it actually had some very similar features to some of Andrew Murray's wines that we have enjoyed over the years!

Back to the nose, lots of nice dark red fruits, plum, black cherry, and raspberry, with a bit of spice and herb. On the palate, this wine would be hard for me to pick out in a blind tasting looking for varietals. I would guess that maybe it is a Rhone styled California syrah, but I could also see confusing it with a zin. It would be tough! More of the same on the palate however, with lots of dark fruits.

I think that this wine is a lot of fun, and it will definitely benefit from some time in the bottle, and I would recommend a nice decant before popping one. Next time we open one, I will give this at least a 2 hour decent to give it some time to mellow out. Regardless, it's a great wine and worthy of 89 points. Cheers!

2006 Newhaven Sauvignon Blanc

Another great Marlborough release that we have enjoyed many of times. This is a bottle worth keeping a few of in the fridge. Tonight we enjoyed this on the bistro, and for about $10, it's a great QPR! Nose of lemon, lime, and grapefruit, with more of the same on the palate. A crisp acidity yet short finish make this sauvignon blanc a pleasure to drink on a hot summer day!

2007 Pali Wine Co. Sunset Rosé

What a great Rosé for the money, and another fun offer from Pali. Not the typical "neon" color that is coming out of the California wineries that are dabbling in rosé, but it does have a nice "peachy" sort of pink color.

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This wine is made from pinot noir(60% Oregon, 40% California), with just a touch of chardonnay. You can actually see smell and taste hints of both in each which is nice. Hints of passion fruit guava, pear, and citrus on the nose, while the palate is nice and smooth with hints of watermelon and strawberry on the palate. All in all, a fun summer sipper, and a great release from Pali that pairs well with a game of "cornhole." 87 points. Cheers!

2003 Peju Cabernet Sauvignon

Although this was a great wine, it was definitely way too young to drink, and could sit in the bottle for at least another 10 years and be absolutely incredible. Purchased this down in Lavalette, NJ this weekend while visiting Todd & Michelle's beach house.

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Gorgeous fragrances right as the bottle was opened, and you could really smell this wine. This was put back into the cellar for a few hours while we drank the previous whites, and it really opened up overtime. Nice hints of blackberry, dark cherry, vanilla, and currants on the nose, with the slightest bit of oak. On the palate, the fruit gushes into your mouth, with more hints of vanilla, blackberry jam, and raspberry on the palate. Nice long 30 plus second finish made this wine a pleasure to drink. Drink or hold, but if you drink now, decant for 3 plus hours. 92 points! Cheers!

2006 Foley Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay

Another great release from Foley, and our first chard from them as we usually drink their pinot noir. Great rich nose of tangerine and grapefruit. More lemon, lime, and citrus on the palate, with hints of a nice and creamy vanilla. Short, mildy acidic finish makes this wine a true crowd pleaser. Paired very well with paella on the 3rd floor deck overlooking the beach at Lavalette. 88 points.

2007 LongBoard Sauvignon Blanc

A great Russian River sauvignon blanc that was perfect for a little game of "cornhole" out on the street at Todd & Michelle's beach house in Lavalette. Very floral with hints of grapefruit, mellon, and honey.

Full review to come!

90 points

Crab's Claw Inn "On the Side" - Lavalette, NJ

After a quick stop at B&B in Lavalette for new bathing suits, we took a walk down to the Crab's Claw Inn for some lunch. It's been years since we visited the Crab's Claw in, and we used to frequent here for karaoke with Dave from Kamikaze On Fire.

Today we sat out on the bistro along the sidewalk, and it was a great day to sit outside and see the traffic go by, and just enjoy being "down the shore."

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We both ordered the fish and chips today, and it came with a soup, as well as a salad. We both opted for the seafood chowder, for an extra 1.29 supplemental fee. Well worth it in my opinion. The chowder had a nice base, not to thick, with lots of clams, salmon, shrimp, potato, and celery. This was a great chowder with good favor, seasoned very well, and only needed the smallest shake of pepper to make it outstanding. We both opted to skip the salad.

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The fish and chips came out, and was a healthy portion with 3 pieces, and more fries that I could eat. The batter was wonderful and light, and I am not sure what kind of fish it was, but it sure reminded me of tilapia. You could tell that the fish was breaded and cooked to order, and was perfectly paired with a side of tarter sauce.

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All in all a great meal with a nice view, seeing the locals travel up and down the local area, visiting the stores, and doing some shopping. Only complaints were that the service could have been a bit more friendly, and there is a big level of uneveness out front where they have the tables. The tables slant from the front of he restaurant towards the street, and it almot gives you a feeling of sickness in your stomach. Aside from that, the food was great.