I realize that Australian wines are suffering a downturn in sales the past year and many have started to look elsewhere for their wine fix. That being said, nothing brings more excitement for me then the release of the new vintage of Molly Dooker wines.
Molly Dooker wines are simply outstanding, and we have every reason to expect some top notch juice from the 2009 vintage. All reports from Australia indicate that this is a five star vintage for those who were patient and did not pick their fruit too early. I am very excited to try the Dooker wines from this vintage.
The wines from this producer are always rich an intense... Hedonistic is an appropriate descriptor. Because of the stellar conditions for growing, we will see the entire line-up available this year. If you have not tried a Molly Dooker wine from Australia, I encourage you to seek them out and give them a try. I am fully confident that you will find them just as alluring as I do.
Here are some of the wines you should look for:
Maitre D' Cabernet Sauvignon, The Boxer Shiraz, 2 Left Feet Shiraz/Cab/Merlot and The Scooter Merlot all going for around twenty-five bones.
In the upper tier there are some highly sought after wines that should be easier to get this year.
Gigglepot Cabernet Sauvignon... $49.99, Enchanted Path Shiraz/Cab ... $89.99, and Carnival of Love Shiraz ... $89.99. They also have a very tasty Verdejo that runs around twenty-five bucks, and if you want to go nuts with your money, they have a shiraz called Velvet Glove that goes for a whopping $186.00. Cheers! Stan The Wine Man
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Recent Entries
Month Archive
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Thursday, July 22
GET READY FOR THE "DOOKER" WINES!
by
Brazenly Lucid
on Thu 22 Jul 2010 09:32 PM PDT
Monday, March 29
WOODHOUSE FAMILY CELLARS 2006 KENNEDY SHAH MALBEC... $14.99
by
Brazenly Lucid
on Mon 29 Mar 2010 09:30 PM PDT
I have tried a few malbec from both Washington and California (Mostly Washington) and they have all been a little disappointing. I mean how do you compete with Argentina in this category? Not only do they produce outstanding Malbec, they also bring it to us at ridiculously low prices. This is the first Malbec from Washington that delivers the goods for a reasonable price! This baby has some gusto on the palate. A nose of green bell peppers, black pepper, anise and blackberries. The wine is subtle at first on the palate but comes to life as it approaches the mid-palate showing vibrant blackberry, cassis, and black licorice notes. Hints of caramel hit you on the back end with a nice charcoal toast on the finish that is obviously from the oak but is not a dominate flavor. This is a well balanced wine with a decent to long finish. This wine is both complex and delicious with good acid for food pairing. The price is right and the wine is delicious even showing some nice minerality which is very similar to many good Argentinian Malbecs. A very good effort for this boutique Washington winery.
Tuesday, February 2
2007 POWERS WINERY MALBEC... $11.99
by
Brazenly Lucid
on Tue 02 Feb 2010 04:58 PM PST
I have always been impressed with Powers Winery and the wines that they put out. I also feel that they are underrated in many ways. Now, I have to say that they need to go to the drawing board and come up with a better label for their main line of wines. The one they have now is, for the lack of a better term; UGLY. But, that aside their wines are a great value. This malbec is no exception. The nose shows some dusty cherry notes which are very interesting for a Washington Malbec. The fruit is quite bright on the palate. Notes of cherries and raspberries come through nicely on bright acidity and tannins that are there but very manageable for the palate. The grip of the wine makes it a perfect match for pizza, hamburgers or a pasta with red sauce. A great little bottle of wine and an excellent qpr. They did not produce a lot of this wine so get some if you can.
Saturday, January 23
2007 BODEGAS EL NIDO CLIO... $46.99
by
Brazenly Lucid
on Sat 23 Jan 2010 08:29 PM PST
I know we are living in tough economic times and a wine for close to fifty bucks seems a little extravagant. Let me tell you in all honesty that this is worth every penny. I normally shy away from wines at this price point, but this one brings all the thunder you would want for the price you pay. This wine boasts a 15.5% alcohol level that is literally unnoticeable except for the richness that the wine exudes. The nose is heady enough that you may be tempted just to smell your fifty bucks worth. Dark fruit, mocha and licorice notes fill your nasal cavity to the point where you might feel like just smelling it should be illegal. The palate displays hedonistic fruit notes of boysenberries, dark cherry, currant, cassis and blueberry notes. The tannins are fresh and lively letting you know that this monster could age for the next ten years and get better and better. Don't get me wrong, this wine is quite enjoyable now, but unlike prior vintages this one has some serious aging potential. 30% cabernet sauvignon, 70% mouvedre (From 63 year old vines). The importer is one of my favorite guys, Jorge Ordonez... He does an outstanding job. If you have a couple of extra bucks hanging around, I would implore you to spend it on this wine if you want a tremendous wine experience! Sunday, November 29
2007 DOMAINE ROGER PERRIN CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE... 35.99
by
Brazenly Lucid
on Sun 29 Nov 2009 09:07 PM PST
We have all heard by now the rave reviews of the 2007 vintage in southern Rhone. Robert Parke Jr. declares it the best vintage in this area of his 30 year career. I have been searching for some deals out of Chateauneuf -du-Pape from the 2007 vintage. Now I know that thirty-six bucks does not sound like a deal, but let me tell you that anything under fifty bucks IS a deal from this region. I had this wine with my Thanksgiving meal, and it did not let me down. This wine was a big boy with loads of black pepper and dark fruit on the nose. The wine filled the palate with black pepper, cassis, forest floor notes and hints of mushroom. There was some nice black tea and leather notes on the back end which told me that this wine could sit in your cellar for the next ten years and it will only get better. If you do not have the patience for that, it is a great experience now but if you are in to putting wine away and would like a bargain for your cellar... This is the ticket. 92 points.
Wednesday, November 25
2008 PORTTEUS RATTLESNAKE HILLS PURPLE HAZE RED... 11.99
by
Brazenly Lucid
on Wed 25 Nov 2009 08:47 PM PST
Paul Porteuas came by the store the other day, and we had a nice little chat about what is going on at his winery. In the discussion he mentioned some of the wines he was producing, in particular the blends. He mentioned the Purple Haze which is a blend of 50% Petite Sirah and 50% Sangiovese. This peaked my interest because this is a blend that I have not seen from Washington State. I am sure there is another one out there, but I have never seen it. He and his wife assured me that it was very good wine, so I pulled the trigger and ordered some for the store. This wine has one of the most interesting flavor profiles I have tasted in a wine. The nose had notes of sour pie cherries and red currants. On the palate it reminded me of cranberry infused applesauce. Now this may sound strange for a red, but it was not a bad thing. After it had breathed awhile the nose started to pick up some old world style earth and toast. The palate had a definite cranberry, cherry play with good acidity and a freshness that told me this wine would get a lot better after a couple of years in the bottle. This is a great food wine and will mellow with some age. 88 points
Thursday, November 12
2007 STEPHENSON CELLARS VIOGNIER... 19.99
by
Brazenly Lucid
on Thu 12 Nov 2009 11:53 AM PST
I have yet to try a wine from this guy that I do not like. He has the touch, know how, skills and fruit source that are required to produce quality wine. It is true that some get lucky from time to time, but this is not the case with David Stephenson. He is a hard worker and his labor of love comes through in the wine. Sorry for all the gushing, but wait until you taste his viognier! To digress for just a moment, I had the privilege of consuming some Guigal Condrieu a few months ago. I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. Condrieu is a vineyard planted entirely with the viognier grape in northern Rhone and is quite hard to find. The wine is absolutely stunning! Viscous, rich, intense, oily, excellent fruit...mango, peach, apricots, well balanced I guess you could say mind-blowing. The only problem is that it is not cheap. The Guigal is around sixty bucks and that is not the most expensive of the bunch. I knew that it would be a special treat if I would ever try it again. Along comes Stephenson Cellars. I know this may sound sacrilegious to some but I am going to say, you could slip the Stephenson Cellar in a blind tasting of Condrieu and I would be hard pressed to tell if it was not one of the gems from northern Rhone... it is that good! I have to admit that when I tried it I was not prepared for what I was getting. This baby is huge in the mouth and really needs some food. Yes, it was oily, viscous and intense with excellent fruit notes of apricots and peaches that were as rich as the aforementioned Condrieu. Now here is the good part... only twenty bucks. Wow! Do your best to find some, because this wine is not only mind blowing, it would be a stellar compliment to the Thanksgiving meal. Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, October 21
COYOTE CANYON VINEYARDS ALBARINO 2008... $17.99
by
Brazenly Lucid
on Wed 21 Oct 2009 09:10 PM PDT
When you see Albarino on the label you automatically think Spain. I was surprised when Mike Andrews brought this out in his tasting room. He told me it was one of the most popular wines he had and sold a ton of it out of his shop. When he served it to me, it was quite cold so I had trouble extracting anything except sugar cane. I took one home, warmed it up and felt the magic of Mike Andrews. This has an incredible nose of tropical fruits... mangos, papaya, mandarin orange. The palate is definitely fruit forward with a sweetness that will make it a nice match with Thanksgiving fare. The sweetness is quite natural however, like freshly squeezed mandarin oranges blended with ripe peaches and nectarines. Can you imagine how good this will be with turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and fruit salad! I am getting the shivers just thinking about it. Needless to say, this wine is also quite excellent solo. Do not miss out on a chance to try this superb Washington Albarino... If not now at least on the fourth Thursday of November. 90 points ( Remember, do not drink this one too cold... you will lose a lot of the magic!)
Monday, September 7
STEPHENSON CELLARS RED WINE (NON VINTAGE)... 19.99
by
Brazenly Lucid
on Mon 07 Sep 2009 08:27 PM PDT
Stephenson Cellars is a tiny winery located in the famous airport area of Walla Walla. If you blink you might miss it and that would be a shame. Dave Stephenson, owner and winemaker is one of the hardest working guys I have met. Hands stained with grape juice and shirt wet from sweat, Dave greets you with a warm smile and is ready to pour you a sample of some of his outstanding wine. He is very proud of his syrah as he should be but all of his wines rank in the outstanding category in my humble opinion. I was excited to try this new effort, a red blend with no vintage or appellation... simply a red wine. The back of the bottle has a cute little introduction..."This wine was produced, stared at, liberally sampled, blended, coddled, and eventually bottled by Stephenson Cellars LLC, Walla Walla..." I have to say I was impressed with this wine, which is no surprise. Very intense on the palate with dark berry tones, good acidity and serious but soft tannins. The wine hit you immediately with gorgeous fruit notes but never reached the point of too ripe even though it has a 14.1% alcohol level. The wine stayed intense through the mid-palate with a seamless flow into a very lasting finish. I love the balance of this wine and the fact that you feel like you are drinking an expensive bottle and yet you only spent twenty bucks. In this economy we could use more of these kind of wines. 90 points
(By the way, there is not a lot of this, so if you see it, snap it up) Wednesday, December 3
OWEN ROE DUBRUL VINEYARDS CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007....... $74.99
by
Brazenly Lucid
on Wed 03 Dec 2008 08:39 AM PST
This wine has just been released and like vintages in the past will not last long. This Cab is quite massive and built to last for some years. Both the Merlot and the Cab from Dubrul Vineyards are highly sought after. If you want a special wine to have with prime rib at Christmas this would be my suggestion. It is a little pricey but it is worth every penny. Both the Cab and the Merlot are available at King’s Market. If you would like to get your hands on some call (360) 378-4505.
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