2006 Cayuse En Chamberlin and 2004 Weinbach Riesling

Took off for the weekend with the wife and two little girls to soak up some sun, lounge by the pool, and play a little golf. Oh yeah, and drink some damn fine juice. We also drank a 2005 K Vintners "The Deal" Syrah but as you can see, I haven't included it in my notes. I will update my post when I have a little extra time to type that puppy up. Cheers!

2006 Cayuse En Chamberlin
Wow, another over-oaked, over-extracted, manipulated Aussie bomb from Cayuse. Hardly (that was just a quick shout out to the haters!). Hamburgers are to Wimpy as Cayuse En Chamberlin is to me. Except I'll pay you any day of the week not just Tuesday. Pop and pour was the serving style du jour for this beast. The anticipation is palpable as you know exactly what this wine will smell like, but then it delivers an even stronger Mike Tyson Punch-Out styled KO. Immediate aromas of animal fur, blood sausage, pepperoncini, herbs, pulverized black raspberries and blackberries, and a surprise of violets. 100 point nose for me, all the way. Unctuous and dense in the mouth at first, leading the way to huge, extracted (not over, mind you) dark fruit. I felt like Chaka on Land of the Lost sitting around with black cherries and blackberries the size of Drew Carey's head. Luckily, the savory components never let this fruit get out of control as sauvage, rare beef, iron, and stony minerality keep it in check. Everything is in balance. No presence of oak with seamless and plush tannins. As any great wine should, it finishes as it begins with length and an aftertaste that I could chew on for days. This wine was a 5 course-dinner and then some. 97pts.

2004 Weinbach Grand Cru Riesling Schlossberg
Golden yellow in color, I couldn't wait for my first swig. This wine was so refreshing, I wanted to freeze it and make Weinbach Otter Pops so the neighborhood kids could have a more high class popsicle option. Quince, honeysuckle (who doesn't love to suckle honey?), peaches, and rocks fill the nose with pleasing aromatics as the acidic grip takes hold of your tongue once swallowed. The crisp apple and pear balance out the acid and the minerality on the finish leaves you thinking Chablis. Dry riesling just continues to impress me. Love it. 92pts.

A tale of two whites: $100 Cali Chard vs. a $7 WA White

I didn't set out with the intention of comparing these two whites but circumstances seemed to warrant it as I drank them on successive nights. First piece of advice when it's 100 degrees out and the only white wine you have at home is a $100 Cali chard...don't drink it. Second piece of advice is that a $7 white can certainly be better than a $100 white. I can't tell you how excited I was to drink my first Aubert Chardonnay. Unfortunately, that feeling lasted all of about 5 minutes. Conversely, I can't tell you how unenthused I was to drink a Chateau Ste. Michelle Dry Riesling that ended up to be refreshing and tasty. On to the notes...

2006 Aubert Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay
I don't know where to begin. The level of excitement for me to try this wine was certainly a 10. I have been looking forward to it for quite some time as Aubert Chardonnay gets lots of love on the board. I opened the bottle and poured myself a glass in my Riedel Chardonnay Extreme (love these glasses by the way). Upon my first whiff, I was deflated to realize this was going to be the quintessential Cali Chard. Oak, butter, popcorn. Mother*****a! It might have been a bit warm so I was going to give it the benefit of the doubt. I threw it into the fridge for 15 minutes and gave it another whirl. A bit better as some apple, pear, and acid showed up. Disappointingly, there was still way too much oak and it was flabby in a Monica Lewinsky kind of way and I actually swallowed. Oaky, buttery, and hot on the finish left me with the taste of wood in my mouth for an hour after I finished the bottle (trying to give it the benefit of the doubt). New World Chard just may not be my thing...pass me a bottle of Chablis. 75pts.

2007 Chateau Ste. Michelle Dry Riesling
I drank this the next night and was pleasantly surprised. I think Roy Hersch mentioned this wine awhile ago and I have to concur that it is the best $7 white I've had. I was scared to drink what CSM may call a dry riesling but it actually was fairly dry. Initial nose of petrol, guava, and ripe pear. The absence of oak was such a relief after my experience the previous night. This wine was crisp and clean with no caffeine. Not quite as dry on the palate as I like in a riesling but no complaints as it was acidic and minerally driven. It actually enlivened the palate as the Aubert killed the palate. A mouth puckering finish left me wondering why we spend so much on trophy wine when blue collar wine can be just as good if not better. 88 pts.
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