2002 Ruston Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Ruston the only Napa Cab we have on the wine list at BONDA right now. We just like it. It has big fruit, anchored with some oak, and character which a lot of Californian wines do not seem to have and a fantastically long finish and we can sell it for $74. We are on the '04 at the restaurant, but my father-in-law still has a few bottles of the case of '02 he bought in 2006.

He grilled a ribeye, which really made the wine sing. It is still a big monster, and can sit for years, but the tannins have mellowed - lots of anise, blackberry, charred oak, with hints of earth and soil. Totally delish.

2003 Ch. St. Jean Cinq Cepages

Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot from Sonoma.

A friend brought this bottle over a few weeks ago to compare to a bunch of '00 and '03 Bordeaux.

I liked this blend a lot more than I expected. Big fruit, but actually had a bit of balance. A bit too young, but tasty.

03.27.08 /Chapallet Mountain Cuvee 2005

The 2004 vintage of this wine is one of my go to house wines, so I was excited to try the '05. A bit of a disappointment, but should get better over time. I can taste a wine and imagine how it will grow, or dissipate - how the tannins will mellow, alcohol will burn off, sweetness relax. But that is not always the case. That is, I cannot always imagine where it will go and if I do, it is not always a correct assessment!

57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 41% Merlot - but the Merlot seems to dominate as it is much sweeter than the previous vintage (which I think had Petit Verdot or Cab Franc). Also it is pretty hot with 14.6% alcohol. It smells a little generic with big black fruit and tons of oak. The Parkerization of wine. This could settle. Not an oak bomb, but very new oaky.

I was at BONDA, so I had the Lamb Tenderloin with Eggplant and Tomato Timbale. The lamb complemented the wine and tamed it a bit. I bought four bottles, hoping to order more (as we went through about 10 cases of the last vintage) but I do not think there will be another order for a few months.

I wasn't floored, and that is how I need to be to put a wine on the list at BONDA.

02.21.08 / Barnett Tasting

We are doing a wine tasting with Barnett Family Vineyards in April at BONDA, so our distributor brought the wines by for us to try. We were familiar with their Chards, but we also tried a single vineyard Pinot Noir, single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and a reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

I have the list, but forgot at the restaurant.

They were all delish, and will provide detailed tasting notes with our food thoughts soon.

02.06.08 / 2005 Godolphin by Ben Glaetzer

Jamie and I have been sitting on this wine for awhile, waiting for the perfect time to drink it. I had been resisting buying a case, but I heard such great things about this wine, that I had to buy a six pack. We will sell it for $92, and it is well worth it. I was not a fan of Australian Shiraz until about 4 years back when I had a 2000 Henry's Drive Reserve. I have had many fantastic Shirazs and many mediocre Shirazs. The Godolhpin is not mediocre. 80% Shiraz and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Delicate, bold, delicious!

Cooper says, OK Daddy, if you like it, but I'll keep my formula.

Big and fleshy, with notes of oak that don't over power the fruit. Flavors of dark chocolate and mocha, super smooth, with mild tannins. It just kept getting better, and probably could have used some time in the decanter.

01.13.08 Dinner Party at Jamie and Kim's

We started off the night with a great magnum of NV Prosecco, which went into











a 2004 Scheuller Riesling from Alsace, into



















a Mag of 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon from Alto Adige, into











a 1978 Barolo into











a 1998 Barolo.



The Russells, Kingstons, Court and myself were the guests. All the wines were great. The Mags were a Christmas gift from Rob Mackin, I brought the Schueller, Bill brought the '78 Barolo and Sam brought the '98 Barolo. Jamie made some great hors d'oeurves, a parsnip soup, and a beef bourginon from BONDA.

A good time all around.

01.09.08 Trying Wine for the Restaurant

Luckily the FCWAC still had some tasting left in them after the Staglin, as Jamie and I have compiled about twelve bottles of wine to try for BONDA. Generally we sit down with dinner and have a bottle at a time - wines that we have ordered as sample bottles, or new vintages that we get a case blind - to write the wine descriptions on the wine list, and to just check them out.

The picture, which I am having trouble posting, shows all the wine we tried, not all of the bottles being finished. I will give a quick recap of the wines but no go into too much detail as they officially cannot rank in the 365 Wines schema.

2006 Merryhill Cabernet Sauvignon: this is a wine we got for by the glass on a recomendation from Mike and Rob Makin. It had lots of cotton candy on the nose with earthy notes, high red fruit and medium tannins. Jamie noticed a lot of butterscotch. It was really tough coming off the Staglin, and most of the group had their palates upturned.

2005 Ridge Pagani Ranch: this wine only comes around every once and awhile so I was happy to score a case. Lots of elderberry and dark chocolate with a little acetone. It has the most Zin of any Ridge wine, a fact that made Sam call the wine "Very Zinny". Could benefit from more time in the bottle. I think they release a handful of their wines too soon. I usually sit on them for a while before putting them on the list.

2005 Ridge Lytton Springs: this is one of those Ridges that needs to sit for awhile. We ordered a case for a customer's party, so we had to dig into a bottle to make sure it was good. A bit of acetone on the nose with a wheated cereal note and almost a honeyed finish. Nice raspberry and blackberry fruit.

1992 Staglin Family Cabernet Sauvignon

My first "official" dinner with the Fairfield County Wine Appreciation Club, a group that has been coming into BONDA for Open That Bottle Night for the last two or three years, was last night. And a good bottle to start with: Staglin Family. A wine that I probably would not buy - pricey, overrated - but I do like to drink on occasion.

The FCWAC is comprised of Sam Kingston, Ted Lahey, Sam Hawley, Kevin McCulloch, Brad Essig, and Michael Solimene with occasional guest appearances by a handful of other dudes.

The group used to bring in a bottle each (6 of them), choosing a region or year, then they paired it down to partners each bringing a bottle - and now they usually buy wine at auction, large format, to imbibe. Jamie and I have participated many times, usually throwing a bottle or two in if we have one that matches the theme.

Sam opened the bottle of Staglin around 6:30, we had the first glass at 7:40. Very tight, even on the nose, with dark berries and cedar - reminiscent of a late 1980s Bordeaux continuing to the palate. Rich plum with tannins galore, and a hint of bourbon in the finish. Very tasty and promising.

Trying again at 8:20, it mellowed and almost flat lined, but still remained hearty and really benefited from a little fat with the food. Most opted for bacon or pork belly to start with short ribs or the fillet to compliment the vino. I liked it, and it was a good value at auction for $170 or so. 4 bottles of 1992 Staglin Cab for that price - unheard of at retail.