I find it hard to believe that this wine of such scarcity and infamous acclaim could be worth the hefty price tag when there are just so many great wines in the world for a fraction of the price. How about a case of Caymus or a few bottles of Richeborg? Surely the world has gone mad if they are willing to shell out over a thousand bucks for this junk. Monkey see, Monkey do I guess!! I may never taste this wine in my lifetime, but I already know it's not worth it. Anyone out there had this jazz??

Short History:

Standing as the ultimate cult-wine of cult-wines, Screaming Eagle was established in 1986 by Jean Phillips, a former real estate agent who bought the 57 acres vineyard in which was planted to produce a mix of varieties, most of which Phillips sold to various Napa wineries. The first vintage of Screaming Eagle was produced in 1992 with the help of Heidi Peterson-Barrett, the consulting winemaker for the first dozen vintages. When the winery was sold, the 2004 was still in barrel. The new team, with Andy Erickson as full-time winemaker and Michel Rolland as consultant, tweaked the blend. They also blended the 2005. In 2006 the estate was sold to Santa Barbara businessmen Charles Banks and Stanley Kroenke. In an ongoing replanting scheme, the vineyard manager David Abreu is employed to oversee the process. The vineyards are tended by viticulturist Annie Favia and vineyard foreman Jorge Delgado, while the current winemaker is Andy Erickson.

Someday in the extended future (and I mean EXTENDED!!) I have the dream of owning my own estate vineyard. I'm not talking about a huge vineyard or even a vineyard large enough to produce sufficient wine to sell on the market. Just a few simple rows of Cabernet or whatever grapes would be suitable for my soil. I would love to learn every aspect of viticulture and make wine for my family and start a legacy for my children. This will take quite an investment and I would need a great piece of land, but I know that I will someday make my own wine. Cheers!

I honestly believe that this is one of the best Rieslings in the world. I have tasted a few hundred over the course of my short wine career and this one stands out as one of the very best. Terry Theise is a brilliant mastermind of German wine imports and this is one of the stars of his illustrious portfolio.  The bouquet of this wine is truly magnificent with it's stunning aromas of mandarin orange, white blossom, honey suckle, slate, mineral, nectarine, dried apricot, lime peel, and probably a whole list of nuances that I'm not sharp enough to distinguish!! On the palate this wine shimmers with brilliant acidity and amazing viscosity that coats the palate with flavors of apricot nectar, orange marmalade, citrus peel, honey suckle, honey dew melon, and urethral mineral notes. This is a hedonistic, ultra seamless, perfectly balanced, motherfucker of a wine!! 95+ points and I'm a being ultra conservative with that score. 

Took me a few months but I finally watch "Bottle Shock".  Personally I found the movie to be a bit annoying but I'll watch any movie that is about wine. In fact I wish that more motion pictures would be about wine and all the intricate facets that surround the beverage we all love. Of course I had to have a glass of wine in my hand when I was watching it, so I cracked a bottle of Torrontes from Argentina. I can't quite remember the name of the wine because I ended up dumping about three fourths of it down the drain. It was a thin, acidic, and poor excuse for a wine that was giving me heart burn with every sip. Anyways, that about sums up my bottle shock experience! 

This Chianti Classico is composed of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Merlot and has a soft ruby red color which is quite typical for Sangiovese based wines. The aromas of this wine are quite expressive of the region and show great fruit complexity combined with a textbook Tuscan soil composition. I really enjoy the cherry cola, plum, and cranberry notes that are intertwined with soil, leather, and cinnamon infused dark chocolate. On the palate this wine is soft and seductive but has a perfect balance of acid and tannin. Flavors of tart cherry, red apple skin, red plum, pomegranate, leather, soil, and coco powder all make up what is a very impressive and complex wine. This wine would be absolutely brilliant with simple Italian foods such as spaghetti, lasagna, and pizza. 90 Points

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This Washington State Syrah is full of deep black fruits on the nose and expresses the fully extracted blackberry and black currants we've come to expect with this variety. There is also a touch of black licorice, molasses, and soil amongst the fruit aroma complex. On the palate this wine is chalk full of black currant, bitter pencil lead, over ripe blackberry,and loads of alcohol on the finish. The heat on the finish coupled with the heavy and bitter tannins make this wine a little tough to handle on it's own. I might soften up in the bottle and I do understand this wine is still very young. Although not my favorite style I still think some will enjoy this wine and I score it 84 points.

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Another wine that is part of what I call the current "wine glut". We got our hands on a bunch of this old Barolo for pennies on the dollar and I thought for the price and the age of this wine, it was well worth the extra pocket change. Aged Barolo is always a treat and especially for someone who love to really analyze the aromas of a wine. I find that Nebbiolo based wines have some of the best bouquet's in the world of wine, especially when properly cellared. 

On the nose I get aromas of cherry, rust, tomato sauce, tobacco, tea leaf, leather, and some very attractive plum notes. As you might imagine, this wine is rapidly fading in color and is full of red brick tones, turning slightly brownish. The flavors are soft and quite seductive showing notes of cherry, tea leaf, tea berry, and lots of tobacco. There is also some nice milk chocolate that creeps in on the cherry and red apple filled finish. The tannins are well integrated but amazingly enough still grip down on the mid-palate. The finish is medium in length but very enjoyable. 91 points

This wine is distinctively Burgundian and shows all the terroir and funk one would love if he or she were a Franko-phile. On the bouquet this wine shows elements of wet pavement, chalk, earth, dirt, roots, and a touch of brett. There are some underlining cherry notes that seem to be the only fruit aromas and just the faintest bit of menthol. On the palate this wine has a zippy attack and tingles it's earthy complexities onto the palate with a cool menthol-like sensory.  It's amazingly earthy and shows notes of wet leather, minerals, wet stone, vitamin, dirt, and some nice cherry cola notes. I also detected a bit of sweet red bell pepper that I found really interesting. This wine is strictly for the Burgundy lovers but with it's long finish and complexity I would score it 90 points. 

This Barbaresco is made from a really reputable winery that pays close attention to detail and makes wine of great quality from some of the best vineyards in the region. I took the liberty to decant this wine because of the natural tannin usually associated with these young Nebbiolo wines and also because I really wanted to bring out the aromatics.  On the nose I get brilliant cherry notes as well as some very pronounces tea leaf, red plum, and touches of leather. There is also some nice violet and floral notes that I enjoy. On the palate this wine grips down with incredible force and some really firm tannin. The cherry notes and sweet plum notes are accented by hints of tea berry, plum skin, and leather. This wine is beginning to really open up after about an hour of aeration. In the video tasting below you'll notice that I could hardly drink this stuff because of the chalky and almost bitter tannins, but now the wine is actually tasting quite brilliant! Anyone who pops a bottle of this needs to wait at least and hour or more before this wine will shows it's fruit character. I also feel this wine will improve in the bottle and needs a few additional years of cellaring. As is I score this wine 89+ points 

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This Chardonnay from the Arroyo Seco appellation of Monterey County is made from Dijon Clones and has a distinct flavor profile with distinct nuances that you would not expect to find in a cooler climate Chardonnay. Very ripe and fruit forward in it's approach, this wine showcases aromas of lemon curd, buttered toast, baked apple, and over-ripe pear. On the palate the wine continues it's ripened fruit explosion with flavors of orange marmalade, pear, honey suckle, apple spice, and touches of dried apricot. It appears to be laced with a little residual sugar and has a long, toasty, apple-pear finish. Like I said in my live tasting below, this is not my favorite style of Chardonnay because I don't feel it would pair well with food, nor does it speak to me in the way of dynamic complexity. By that I mean it has loads of jammy marmalade and sweet fruit flavors, but has little to no minerality or terroir. I don't feel as though this wine speaks of it's soil or micro-climate and feels a bit over done. However, this wine might be perfect for a person looking for a Chardonnay that's very fruit rich and slightly sweet. 85-86 points

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I'll admit it,....I'm a sucker for white Burgundy and this wine has further convinced me of my love for these masterpiece wines of purity, complexity, and textbook balance. The bouquet on this Meursault is as complex as I've experienced with Chardonnay showing beautiful aromas of orange creme-sickle, fresh baked bread, mineral, wet stone, stone fruit, pear, and baked apple pie. On the palate toasted oak, baked apple, caramel, orange creme, and hints of buttered toast grace the palate with seamless balance and razor sharp acidity. The finish is very long and extended and shows lingering citrus notes. I have "toast with apple sauce" in my notes, because that's what this wine triggered for me (memories of my mother making buttered toast and spreading apple sauce on it). Really can't say enough about this style, perfect and impeccable balance. 93+ points

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The 2006 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir from The Four Graces winery is a fabulously fruit forward Oregon Pinot Noir that shows stunning aromas of strawberry candy. Sourced from the low-yielding Black Family Estate located in the Dundee Hills AVA, this pinot has impecable elegance and purity. On the palate delicous strawberry pie and cranberry notes grace the palate with bright acidity and fruit purity. The wine although very tasty and fruit forward, lacks a touch of depth but I am convinced that this style of Oregon Pinot Noir is very positive. What I mean is that it's not earthy and too dry, and I think it's more consumer friendly then some "Burgundian style" Pinots from this area. 89+ points

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The 2002 vintage of Chateau Rieussec is a classic example of an off- vintage for the region, but a wine that is perhaps a bit under valued, and although not a super stunner for the real Sauternes nut, could be a value quaff for simple occasions. The aromas of this wine consists of apricot nectar, honey, nutmeg-spice, and a pretty pronounced chemical-paint like component. These aromas and nuances translate onto the palate where the wine hits the palate with notes of apricot, orange marmalade, nutmeg, and that sort of dicey chemical contingency. The wine has nice acidity but is slightly disjointed on the finish because of a noted alcohol issue that brings a bit of heat. Overall I believe this wine is still value for under thirty bucks but it's not the prime example of concentration and beauty that we're used to with Rieussec. Good but really far from great, 90 points.

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If anyone watches the show "LOST" this will make you smile! It's a box wine from the "Dharma Initiative". Seems as though ol' Sawyer is a wino after all !! I wonder if the grapes were grown on the island or if they were flown in by Benjamin Linus!!

It's always an amazing experience tasting wines of this stature and especially those that have been carefully aged over a few decades. I consider myself extremely lucky to have a few generous friends and acquaintances that would allow a young whipper-snapper like me to indulge in such wines. As for scoring a wine like this, I really don't have much in the way of experience with wines like these (except for a few gems you can search for in the archives) to be able to opine or compare. These are just a few thoughts I wrote down while tasting this beauty:

On the nose I got an ever-evolving bouquet of plum, tobacco, soft leather, game, Spanish chorizo, and semi-sweet coco. Yeah,.. I know the chorizo thing sounds a bit odd, but I would have bet my life on it!! There was also a sweet tea leaf element that crept in as the wine continued to open up after an hour or two. On the palate this wine was extremely soft and urethral, touches of leather, tea leaf, tobacco, and plum were the main elements, with soft cherry notes on the finish. Speaking of the finish, seldom have I tasted a wine with such depth and length, the wine finished for several minutes on the palate. What caught me off guard was the deep color, which I had expected to be more red-brick, but was surprisingly a youthful looking ruby red just fading clear towards the edges. Comparing it to all other wines I've tasted and to those few heavy hitters I've experienced in the past, I give this wine a 98 point score.

The 2005 Chateau Pipeau is composed of 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The average age of the vines that produce this wine is 50 years, so we're talking about a wine with loads of concentration and brooding wine power. The color of the wine is extremely dark and opaque, and the flavors follow suit. On the nose I get bucket loads of black currant, spice, blackberry, cedar, melted black licorice, and vanilla. On the palate this wine grips down with a extreme amount of force and tannins that bite down on the front palate. Rustic black currant, blackberry extract, pencil lead, and cedar box are just a few of the humongous and dark flavors that destroy the palate. There is lots of green and woody tannins on the front palate but the finish is loaded with black fruit purity. I believe this could be real a stunner in 10-15 years, but right now I must be honest and say that it's hardly drinkable. It's like licking a cedar box, then eating a cluster of unripe black currants! I do believe in the aging potential and backbone of this wine and love wines that don't take the over-ripe and sugarfied way out. This wine shows real guts and a traditional rusticity and force. 89+ Points

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Here are a few pictures of an amazing wine tasting I was fortunate enough to attend. A big shout out to Merlin, Lenzo, Ed, Nancy (Lasagna), Mary, Satan, Big Kev, and all those who attended! There were amazing wines and lots of laughs too! Here's a short list of just a few wines at the tasting:

1978 Chateau Margaux
1974 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
2003 Solaia
2001 Tignanello
1997 Ornellaia
2000 Casa Lapostalle Clos Apalta
1998 Mastrojanni Reserve Brunello di Montalcino
1999 Mastrojanni Reserve Brunello di Montalcino
2006 Marquis Philips Shiraz 9
2005 Chateau Pipeau Saint Emilion Grand Cru

These were just a few!!!! I will follow up with a few tasting notes in the next few days! Cheers!

Just thought I would remind all of you new homebuyers to make sure to take advantage of this Real Estate Bailout that the government has so kindly put into effect. I actually bought my home four days before the cutoff of this credit so I wasn't able to enroll. Don't miss the chance to receive this money. Here are the basics:

The federal income tax credit for homebuyers has been extended and expanded to now include homeowners who wish to "move on" after 5 years of living in their current property, as well as first-time homebuyers.

-First-time homebuyers, or those who have not owned in the last three years, can receive up to an $8,000 tax credit
-Homeowners who have lived in a current home consecutively for 5 of the past 8 years can receive up to a $6,500 tax credit
-There may be no future extensions, so all qualified homebuyers are urged to act and have a written, binding contract by April 30, 2010 (close by June 30, 2010)
-Income limits are now $125,000 for singles, $225,000 for married couples with a $20,000 phase-out of the credit for both.




The video above does a lot better to explain the finite details of the program. I would strongly urge those of you who are looking to buy a house for the first time to take advantage of this program. It's basically a free, no interest loan, that you can use to get in a home and start to look towards the future.

Why not take advantage of programs like these? If the government are so eager to spend our money then we should take every chance we get to spend this tax payer money on improving our lives.

This simple Pinot Grigio was a stinker to find information on, so I'm not sure who made it or how it was made! I do however know that it's an inexpensive Pinot Grigio from the Veneto and It's one of the only wines in my house that I was willing to open this late at night. Anyways, the wine starts out with a simple bouquet of lemon-lime, fennel, white blossom, and a slight nutty-oxidation. On the palate the wine shows flavors of mandarin peel, tangerine, and salty mineral components. The wine although light in texture, finishes quite long with a savory citrus and slight nuttiness. There is good acid and saltiness to this wine and so I think it would be a brilliant pairing for light fleshed fish. Flounder anyone!?! 84+ points

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I'm still sick but did manage to make it to a local wine shop where I picked up a pretty cool bottle of wine. Watch the video!

I haven't been able to taste wine in the last few days because I'm sick. The funny thing is I have a huge wine tasting party coming up this Saturday and I'm doing everything in my power to recover so I can taste the amazing wines a few friends are going to bring. I'm drinking a shit load of water and vitamins trying to get cured so I can have my nose back!! I guess there's some rumors about some 70's Margaux and other heavy hitters, so I'm desperate to get better so I can take notes and pictures for you guys. Anyways, I apologize for the lack of reviews and articles. Believe me I'm dying to have a glass of wine lately. Cheers!