For the month of May, 2000, the Bad Man is picking the ‘97 Lewis Cabernet Sauvignon. With all the hype and sudden price acceleration regarding the overrated Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages, a much more intense wine can be found in the Lewis Cabernet Sauvignon. Full chewy rich body of the blackest fruit flow under [...]
Archive > May 2009
From the Vaults. Episode VI – Bad Man’s Ultimate Sonoma Trip circa late 20th century
Arrowood Vineyards ($3) – 10:00 – 16:30 – Beautiful Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Chardonnay. Elegant new tasting room with marble counter and fireplace make this a stress-free stop between Sonoma and Santa Rosa. Consistently a winner in blind tastings across all their varietals, this winery is a top Sonoma estate.
Christopher Creek Winery – 11:00 – [...]
Syrah redux – 20090517
Tally-Ho and I decided to revisit the Syrah varietal.
Layer Cake Shiraz 2008, South Australia, 14.9%, $16.99
Ledgewood Creek Winery & Vineyards 2005 Estate Grown Syrah, Suisun Valley, 14.2%, $16.00
Rosenblum Cellars 2005 England-Shaw Vineyard Syrah, Solano County, 14.2%, $14.99
Rosenblum Cellars 2005 Hillside Vineyards Syrah, Sonoma County, 14.6%, $21.99
Zaca Mesa Estate Grown & Bottled 2004 Syrah, Santa Ynez [...]
Bad Man Special Cellar Selection i – 1er Grand Cru Classé Clos Fourtet 2003 Saint-Émilion
Bad Man (that’s me) is going through some very positive life changes right now – wrapping up a personal relationship that’s been in the iron works for some time, finding a better employment situation, traveling to a distant isle – all are in the forecast from May through August. All very exciting and positive life [...]
From the Vaults. Episode V – Bad Man’s Ultimate Napa Trip circa late 20th century
Fee, Times, Winery – Speciality Wines
$20 10:30 – 16:30 Beaulieu Vineyards – Georges de Latour CS, Rutherford CS
Their normal wine is quite average, but go to the separate Reserve room to try their best.
1960 St. Helena Highway, Rutherford, CA 94570. 707.967.5200
Free Appt. only Caymus Vineyards – Special Select CS, CS, Zin
Free, but you will need [...]
Things I’ve learned
Over our first inaugural year here at The Royal Tannin Bombs I’ve learned a few things about wine tasting. Let’s enumerate and discuss.
When not employing a carafe, don’t pour from the bottle into the glass with the label facing you. You’ve already seen the label – turn it toward the glass so you get those [...]
From the Vaults. Episode IX – Palette Evolution
Most of us wine drinkers started with something off-dry and fruity because it tasted good, reminded us of soda-pop, was thirst quenching or simply that it contained alcohol and we could swallow it without cringing. Perhaps we’ve even gotten some converts over from the college beer lover’s world. But eventually most of us tend to [...]
Indian and Pacific Oceans and Europe
What do the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and Europe, have in common? Once identified, why is it that they have this common?
From the Vaults. Episode IV – circa 2000 – Bad Man’s First Growth
The term First Growth is often misused in the wine industry. Originally coined in 1855 with the economic classification of Bordeaux based on price, that particular rating should be considered of interest only in a historical sense today. As wineries rise to supremacy and fall to despair one must continually reevaluate their merits and to [...]
Zinfandel, Tier I, mk iii, affordable – assaggio majoralus
Another stab at Zinfandel upper echelon madness – The Royal Tannin Bombs Tier I affordable showdown tasting. Which showed us Royals up, more than it was a show-down.
The contenders were:
2005 Rosenblum Cellars Annette’s Reserve Redwood Valley Zinfandel, 14.7% abv, $30
2006 Rosenblum Cellars Annette’s Reserve Redwood Valley Zinfandel, 14.9% abv, $35
2006 Four Vines Winery “Maverick” Amador [...]
