2003 Fielding Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley

This wine is from a small, highly regarded producer in Washington State. It was rated 93 points by Wine Enthusiast.

It is another one of those wines that you will never see in a store. Their production is tiny (less than 300 cases).

I decanted the wine for about 2 hours and then poured it back in the bottle for serving. We served it with a main course of beef roast prepared in a recipe that only Caren could whip up.

Black currant and earthy blueberry/blackberry nose; sweet tannins balancing tasty fruit on the palate. This wine is a price/performer. Compares very favorably with Cabs from Napa that are 2x-4x the price.

2007 Lancaster Estate Samantha's Sauvignon Blanc

Tonight, we had Stacey and Chris over for dinner. We are going to be out of town for Stacey's baby shower, so this was our chance to give her our shower gifts.

We served this wine with the appetizer course of shrimp and smoked salmon.

Lancaster Estate is located in the Chalk Hill area of the Alexander Valley. It is owned by an executive of Southern Wine and Spirits. They've built a modern winery and a magnificent contemporary architecture house on the property.

Winemaker's notes: Our 2007 Sauvignon Blanc honors our daughter, Samantha. This wine exhibits baked, ripe pineapple and sweet grapefruit aromas, with complex, full flavors of honeydew melon and citrus characters. Aged 7 months in 90% stainless steel and 10% new French oak barrels, the wine was bottled unfiltered, to retain purity of expression. 600 cases produced.

This Sauvignon Blanc was different from those originating from New Zealand and Chile that have much more pronounced grapefruit or lime flavors. Not better or worse, just different.

1999 Feudi di San Gregorio Riserva Piano di Montevergine

We went out to dinner with Ed and Elyn at Melograno Italian restaurant in Hollywood. I brought along this bottle of wine that I actually bought at Costco a couple of years ago. It was 100% old vine Aglianico grapes. We all raved about how good it was.

Feudi di San Gregorio is Campania's premier winemaking estate. Situated in the village of Sorbo Serpico in southwestern Italy, Feudi di San Gregorio was established in 1986 in a joint venture between the Ercolino and Capaldo families of Irpinia.

This wine was rated 95 points by Robert Parker and 90 points by Wine Spectator.

Intense bouquet of wild fruits underscored by vanilla and spice notes. Full-bodied and balanced, with supple tannins and dark fruit flavors. Well-matched with red meat entrées, fish steaks and hearty casseroles.

2005 Novy Judge Family Vineyard Syrah

Novy Family Cellars is a small winery located in an industrial park in Santa Rosa. They make exceptional Syrah, Zinfandel, Grenache, and a liitle bit of Chardonnay. They are owned and operated by the same people as Siduri Wines. We visited their facility about 18 months ago with our friends John and Pauline. We ordered this wine and some others on that visit.

We had an impromptu dinner tonight - I had Chinese steamed pork buns and a salad. Caren had one of her diet tostadas. This wine was a decent pairing for both dinners.

316 cases of this wine were produced - that's miniscule. The vineyard is located in the Bennett Valley of Sonoma County. The wine was rated 90 points by Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast.

Winemaker's tasting notes: The 2005 Novy Judge Vineyard Syrah is one of our most aromatically expressive wines. On the nose you smell berries, sage, and raspberry with hints of mushroom and earth. The palate is rich and velvet-like with sweet raspberry and plum fruits and flavors of bacon and truffles. This is a concentrated, complex, and compelling Syrah that makes for fine immediate drinking, yet will undoubtedly improve with several hours aeration or several years of aging.