My New(est) Addiction

One of the best things about working in a wine shop is bringing home a bottle of wine that you've had on the shelf for months that hasn't been selling, and going, "Holy Crap!! This rocks my socks!!!"

...And then subsequently selling the rest of the case to a customer who is as much of a cork dork as you.... and then realizing this means you won't have any for yourself...

Ever heard of a white Merlot? Me neither. It's made from 100% Merlot grapes, from (wait for it) an Italian speaking part of Switzerland, called Ticino!!

Everything about this wine is just so "out there" it's awesome!! It's made by Delea, and is called Chiar di Luna. I know everyone has heard about or read about "that study they did" where "they" served a panel of wine judges the same wine twice, once as a white wine, and the second time with red food coloring added, and got a different tasting note for the white and the "red"... If you haven't, you just did, congrats. ;)
Anyway, I think I've fallen into that trap, because my nose and mouth tell me I'm smelling/tasting white peaches, citrus, a hint of green apple, *some* strawberry, and if you pay attention to what TOLR (The Original Lab Rat) says, something "salty". But take that with a grain of salt, b/c all white wines either taste salty or like Cheerios to him. ;)

But again, I think that's one of the reasons I like this wine, my brain *knows* I'm tasting a red grape, so I'm expecting all the traditional Merlot aromas and flavors like currants, plum, etc... but my nose tells me something completely different...

Like I said, it's so weird and dorky and just plain GOOD that all I can really say is, "Hello Addiction" !!

Alain Corcia 2006 "Creme de la Creme" Chateauneuf-du-Pape

I was intending to age this a little more, but after working for almost two weeks straight (we're building a new website, hooray overtime!!!) and a certain someone getting his doctorate, I decided this was deserved!!

It's a dark, opaque, inky purple, with lots of red, ripe fruits on the nose. A little black plum, some smoke, tobacco, black pepper, and something meaty, almost leathery on the nose.

The mouth is more smoke and definitely tar, pepper, leather, raspberry, violets, and some plum. It seems the focus is more on savory meat-type things than fruit, definitely old world! It finishes nicely, with a bit more of the violet character coming through. It seems a bit tight right now, I bet it would be beautiful and dusty in about three years!!!

All in all, not bad for instant gratification!!

Celebrity Wines

My normal morning routine consists of coffee, cursing at my liver, and reading various news sites and yes, lolcats. Occasionally I get frisky in the morning and decide to check the Washington Post's wine section, (especially lately, since we've been getting press for carrying wines we sometimes don't, and I like to stay ahead of these things) and came across this article on Sting and his winemaking adventures. They're a little late, since Sting's been at this for a while, but it got me thinking about other celebrity wines.
There's the obvious, like Coppola and his brood of wines, and the not-so-obvious, like actor Gerard Depardieu. I thought I'd do some more "investigation" on this matter, but found this article and then a Slate article, and decided to call it a day. That's dedication! ;)