Ahhhh yes....our group wine night! And the hosts requirements were: Bring an Eclectic bottle of wine (which we brown bag...pour..taste...review....rate! and THEN open to see what we drank)!. OK...first off, what the heck does "eclectic" mean relating wine? I guess....sort of subject to personal interpretation.....which made for an interesting assortment of wines last night (because usually...it's a "Rhone night" or a "Bordeaux night" or a "Pinot night" or "California"...but last night...Eclecticism ruled.....any type from anywhere (originally I was thinking Thunderbird or Boone's Farm--now...THAT'S Eclectic).
Just to tease our pallets as we arrived, host Paul started us with a Crema di Limoni---a creamy lemoncello with--oh yeah..20% alcohol! Sort of a light, creamy, lemony, liquid velvet....and what a kick!....then.....let the tasting begin:
....onto the brown bags--which had now been numbered #1-#3.....so...
What was in bag #1? Not able to see the wine of course...most agreed it was a little spicy, some pepper, loads of dark plumb fruit, nicely balanced, smooth and subtle with a nice finish. Light tannins, probably not very age worthy...but very drinkable. Very pleasant wine....and it had a hint of just "something" that we could not "quite" identify.
Next....bag #2!...Oh..now this was BIG! Huge!~ Fruit bomb....most thought this to be a Paso wine (and I was getting looks). First...maybe it wasn't even my wine...second..I swore I did NOT bring a Paso wine this time! No one believed me. Lots of dark fruit, plumb, sour cherry, earthy and mineralty finish. Good tannins, age worthy. BIG mouth feel, nice and complex and well structured...with an incredible finish. All agreed...this beat bag #1.
after some more good talk and food (guacamole, shrimp, an assortment of cheeses, fruit, lox/cream cheese canapes, and other goodies--and of course, chocolate).....we went onto bag #3!
OK.....everyone now is glaring at me...DEFINITELY a Paso wine! No one believed me. THIS was jammy...big big fruit bomb. Something indiscernible teasing the nasal senses. Great nose, Good tannins, huge fruit, structured, complex..definitely would age very well...... then lingering to an earthy finish that went on and on. This was (sorry Mike) definitely YUMMY! Let me repeat: VERY YUMMMMMMY It was a hard choice between #2 and #3....but the final tally was:
3rd place: Bag #1: Which turned out to be a 2008 Malibu Solstice Cabernet! Grapes grown high in the hills of the Santa Monica Mountains....overlooking Malibu and the blue Pacific with it's rolling surf.... Oh...and that "something" we could not "quite" identify? Could it have been a hint of salty ocean spray? The smell of the surf as it rolls into the hot summer sand? Seaweed.......now THIS is a wine for every night...anywhere, anytime----at $27!
2nd place: Bag #2. Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta 2005. A Chilean Bordeaux blend and Wine spectators #1 Wine of the Year from 2008!....provided by the good Dr. Mike....
and the winner was (by about 1/2 point only)
1st Place: Bag #3. 2006 Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico! You see...I did NOT bring a Paso wine! Wine Spectators 2010 #36 of the top 100.
All the wines were wonderful...and eclectically worldly: Malibu----Chile----Italy.....as were the hosts and the food and the conversation.......but I think (And Mike agreed)....the best part of the evening? WE BEAT OUT PAUL!!! FINALLY!!!! Probably won't happen again....(as Paul IS Mr. Wine).......OK...that wasn't the best part of the evening.....it was one of the best parts.
but I'm still wondering: WHAT was meant by ECLECTIC?
Cheers!
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