2005 Rusak Soul Of The Vine

The failure of the Kunde to delight my palate was the perfect excuse to finish off this desert wine that had been languishing half full in my fridge for months.

We bought this wine on our last trip to Solvang. SaraGraces mother is a fan of Australian Botrytis infected Semillon, so when one of our Santa Barbara favorite wineries, Rusak, had one from California available, we thought we'd give it a go.

Now I don't know for how long this has been sitting open in our fridge as I'm sure it was originally opened by SGK when her mother was here. Certainly this means after the new year, as I know we didn't have it when Kristin was over New Years Eve.

Raisins. This is a good example of the noble rot. Raisins. Yum. Did I mention that it was like drinking liquid raisins?

I am extremely impressed with how well this wine has held up, being over-chilled for too long, never mind opened and sitting on the fridge door where it got nocked around for god knows how many days.

The Presentation was OK. It came in a clear, split bottle with a pen and ink on the label. The winery is hidden amongst the descriptive text on the rear label.

It had a foil capsule and a real cork.

The Verdict:

Good example of the style. Great holding power.

Style:	Dessert
Varietals:	Semillon
Appellation/Terrior:	Ballard Canyon, Santa Ynez Valley, California
Vintage:	2005
Vintner:	Rusak
Alcohol:	14.8% by Volume

2004 Bridlewood Syrah Port

We bought this wine on our annual pilgrimage to the Santa Barbara wine country. We went into the beautiful winery with high expectations, but this single bottle was our only purchase.

Since Kristin was over, it was a double dessert wine night; we Drank this wine to follow the Van Halen Concert (after the Mole dinner of the previous post.)

The presentation is poor. It comes in a Rhône style split bottle. The label gives only the legal minimum and the meaningless words "Winner's Circle Selection". Given that the winery has an equestrian theme, the "Winner's Circle" is the name of their wine club. (Note that the grammatically incorrect use of apostrophes is that of the winery and not this author's). The Tasting notes are OK, but both the notes and the label itself show that the wine marketer did not pay attention in class. This is an estate wine - yet the label does not show that. It is also incorrectly labeled a "Port" - which it cannot be because it is made from an inappropriate grape for a "Port". In reality it is Fortified Dessert wine made from Syrah grapes.

It had a real cork with no penetration, and it left only a wet tattoo.

It did have a thick red port colour with the aroma of Blackberries and chocolate. The legs were slow to form.

It was a thick, full wine that left a burning alcohol taste on the pallate.

The Verdict:

Pass

Style:	Dessert
Varietals:	Syrah
Appellation/Terrior:	Santa Ynez Valley, California
Vintage:	2004
Vintner:	Bridlewood
Alcohol:	18.1% by Volume
Price:	Don't remember

2003 Barón Balché Dulché

We bought this wine on our annual pilgrimage to the Valle de Guadeloupe. Balché is one of the few wineries in this region that you do not have to make an appointment to taste. We had great hopes when our host led us 10Mts underground to thiner cask aging cellar where we tasted their purveyance. We selected several wines, and were led back upstairs where our hopes were dashed when the bottles we wished to purchaced were pulled out of a tin shed on the desert floor where it was currently 100ºf.

We Drank this wine to follow the Mole dinner of the previous post.

The presentation is OK. It comes in a clear split bottle. The label is printed on clear plastic and is all in Spanish. The real cork was penetrated about ¼ inch, left the faintest tattoo and smelled of vinegar. Really shows the poor storage of the vintner.

It was a pale blush brandy colour, with lots of sugar on the nose and the faintest scent of Botrytis. I would expect a desert wine to be as leggy as Marilyn Monroe, but it took 2 swirls to get 4 faint legs to show. All of that swirling rewarded us with sweet raisins on the nose.

Drinking it was like drinking liquid sultanas. Brilliant. Our friend Kris who is very partial to Ports got a hint of walnut.

The Verdict:

I loved it, but do to the poor storage techniques of the vintner, I would be careful to inspect closely any bottles I purchased in the future.

Style:	Dessert
Varietals:	Syrah, Ruby Red
Appellation/Terrior:	Valle De Guapeloupe, Baja California
Vintage:	2003
Vintner:	Balché
Alcohol:	13.5% by Volume
Price:	Pricey for a Mexican wine