1996 Bodegas Montecillo Rioja Gran Reserva
Tempranillo
$23
Score: 88
Ready for drinking now, this is an excellent example of what Tempranillo should be. Dark, smoky, with hints of floral and chocolate, this wine aged very well and is peaking now.
It goes great with strong Italian or Spanish cheeses.
2002 Deerfield Ranch Red Rex
Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, and Zinfandel
$15
Score: 80
What a lineup for blending. Just about every major grape ‘other than Pinot’ from California goes into this wine to create a smooth yet complex and structured taste. I would have liked a little more pepper or spice to the wine to compliment my usual choice in food, but otherwise, a great wine and an amazing value.
2000 Luce La Vite Lucente Toscana IGT
Super Tuscan ‘Sangiovese & Merlot’
$30
Score: 94
This is the second bottling of Luce , the Super Tuscan from Mondavi and Frescobaldi. Great color and flavor, this is one of our all time favorite wines. Consistently excellent, and a great value at around $30. This is a high production wine, so it should be easy to find and pick up in your local stores; I have even seen them at Kroger.
2004 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Gary’s Vineyard
Pinot Noir
$45
Score: 71
First of all, SCREWTOP! Need I say more? I heard about this travesty of a wine from Grape Radio , when the wine maker was attempting to compare his wine to that of Arcadian . What a joke! This wine had no structure, tasted flat, and reminded me a lot of Welch’s grape jam. If you have money to blow and have no idea what wine should taste like, have I got the wine for you.
1999 Borgo Pretale Chianti Classico
Sangiovese
$13
Score: 88
I was looking back and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t reviewed this wine. We first had Borgo Pretale back when it was Risvera ‘pre 1998′, on our honeymoon and fell in love with it right then and there. These are hard to find and most likely have to be ordered. I can order them for you if you contact me.
With Ruby color, very floral nose, smooth finish, this is the quintessential Chianti, especially for the price. No complaints at all, only that I am running out of this great vintage.
2000 Luce della Vite Toscana IGT
Super Tuscan ‘Sangiovese & Merlot’
$70
Score: 92
Although we all know I cant stand Merlot, this is an excellent wine. A little pricey compared to its second bottling ‘Lucente’, but excellent nonetheless. Deep garnet color, great nose, wonderful complexity, like all Italian wine this will compliment any meal, but the bolder the flavors of the meat, the better this wine will perform.
This is another Super Tuscan, meaning that the grapes come from Tuscany, usually Chianti, but are not in the right ratio to merit the DOCG designation. This is not a flaw in the wine or the designation, just something to note.
Another note about this wine is that it is an Italian venture by Mondavi and Frescobaldi, two great names from different sides of the Atlantic.
I don’t forward chainmail, so I’ll post it.
3-year-old Reese: “Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is His name. Amen.”
A little boy was overheard praying: “Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it. I’m having a real good time like I am.”
After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, “That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys.”
I had been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord’s Prayer for several evenings at bedtime. She would repeat after me the lines from the prayer. Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer: “Lead us not into temptation,” she prayed, “but deliver us from E-mail.
One particular four-year-old prayed, “And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.”
A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service, “And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?”
One bright little girl replied, “Because people are sleeping.”
Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother, Joel, were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had had enough.
“You’re not supposed to talk out loud in church.”
“Why? Who’s going to stop me?” Joel asked.
Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, “See those two men standing by the door?
They’re hushers.”
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons,Kevin 5, and Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson.
“If Jesus were sitting here, He would say,
‘Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.’
Kevin turned to his younger brother and said,
“Ryan, you be Jesus!”
A father was at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand.
“Daddy, what happened to him?” the son asked.
“He died and went to Heaven,” the Dad replied.
The boy thought a moment and then said,
“Did God throw him back down?”
A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said,
“Would you like to say the blessing?”
“I wouldn’t know what to say,” the girl replied.
“Just say what you hear Mommy say,” the wife answered.
The daughter bowed her head and said, “Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”
Today I watched as the clock on my computer turned to 1:00 PM. I realized that I haven’t ever noticed or remember looking at the computer clock when it changes. This is a blog worthy event.
Take the quiz:
Mac OS X
You’re functional and good looking. You know how to do a lot of “cool” things and try to make peoples’ lives easier. Making things more user-friendly and efficient is one of your main goals. However, many people do not know you; they think that you’re slow and inferior to others. In many ways, you represent the future, coming up with ideas that others are quick to copy.
Quizzes by myYearbook.com — the World’s Biggest Yearbook!
2002 Salentein Malbec
Malbec
$16
Score: 85
Great color, but this was perhaps a little young still. Once some of the cork blew off, it really opened up and was quite nice. Earthly like a Malbec should be, cherries and some leather on the finish. Eat with bold food like cured beef and veggies or some hard cheese.
This is a great example of the good to excellent wines Argentina is producing at very reasonable prices. They have some Old World flair at affordable everyday prices.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)
The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time Series #1) by Robert Jordan
Relic by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child (With)
Fall with Honor (Vampire Earth Series #7) by E. E. Knight
Best of Tin House: Stories by Tin House Books, Amy Bloom, Pinckney Benedict, Aimee Bender, David Benioff